30 November 2008

Thanksgiving

My favorite holiday . . . and what a feast yet again! If you have not picked it up from a previous post; JP's sister, husband, and three kiddos are here this week! Even with just 4 adults and 5 kids we still did ALL the favorites including cranberry sauce which we made from scratch for the first time. It was so easy . . . not sure why anyone would buy the stuff in a can.

It was a fun lazy day starting with cinnamon rolls and quiche while reading the paper and shopping the ads and then watching the parade and cooking the turkey!

Cee-Cee came over for her annual Thanksgiving craft and this year she had a larger class. She even thought to include the girls in something.The boys made Pilgrims out of terra cotta pots as well as little snowmen ornaments.Anyone else notice Pickle stealing Cheerios . . . ?Even though the day started out rainy it cleared up in time to be able to eat outside. After dinner we lit a fire in the chimenea and watched the kids run wild.So much for which to be thankful . . . .

Tuesday - Tonto National Monument

On Tuesday we adventured over to Tonto National Monument via the Apache Trail half of which is a one-lane dirt road. The drive was very pretty along Tonto Lake and then Apache Lake ending at Roosevelt Dam. We had to take two cars with the boys in one and the girls in another. Everyone enjoyed the drive . . . even the girls who were giggling as we bumped along!

Tonto became a National Monument in 1907 and preserves several cliff dwellings of the Salado people that were inhabited in the 13th, 14th, and early 15th centuries.The boys took part in the Junior Ranger Program that began with an 18-minute movie and included a short hike to the Lower Cliff Dwelling in which we were allowed to tour.We now have three Junior Tonto National Monument Rangers!

24 November 2008

Pickle's 1st Birthday


Can you believe it? Our little Pickle is 1! She had an exciting day that actually began on Saturday afternoon with the arrival of a balloon bouquet from MeMe! The balloons were a big hit!
She had quite a haul on her birthday with a fancy new wagon, her first doll house, a fun giggly octopus thing, and a bunch of new clothes. The giggly octopus sounds just like her when she does her evil laugh!The kids and I went to the park to hang out at the bike race with JP and she got to ride in her wagon.
The day was completed by the arrival of the cousins! An exciting trip to the airport and getting reacquainted with her cousin who is 20 months (these pictures are from today).
The girls were already ruling the roost last night when they figured out they could throw rocks from the sunroom window on their brothers. They are a cute twosome!

Her birthday ended with a final present . . . her very own Minnie! She hugged it close to her and was very excited to sleep with her last night.
Post birthday included a trip today to the doctor for her 1 year check up and shots. She weighed 21.1 lbs and is 30 1/2 inches tall which is the 90th percentile. Pickle is trying to walk and can take a few steps when she wants. Her strength is climbing!

21 November 2008

New Favorite Quote

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the driveway before it has stopped snowing." - Erma Bombeck

This is my new favorite quote and one I am going to TRY and remember. I understand the futility of picking up when they are just going to drag the toys back out, but I like to have a little bit of order to the house not to mention SAFETY! You know what I mean if you've ever stepped on a Lego - it hurts!

I'm also learning to accept a little bit of sand here and there and if he wants to sleep in 1/2 his sandbox that he's transported to his bed then whay should I care. But the crumbs and spilled milk are another story . . . anyone ever heard of ants and bugs?

I am counting the days until we can install the new floor and I can happily Swiffer once again!

20 November 2008

All I Want For Christmas is New Floor

We did it . . . new floor has been ordered. Almost 2 tons of laminate floor will be delivered in a few weeks! When the new floor is installed there will be no more Pickle pushing P-man. It's really cute to watch P roll in with his sister powering the ride!
And the cabinets are finished! They look really good and are already VERY full!

17 November 2008

There Was a Brawl in The Jail Cell!



So today there was an incident. The kind of incident that befalls little girls that climb on chairs.
It was during such a climbing event that Pickle lost her balance and fell backwards to the once tiled floor. She has 2 little bumps now. Each one lines up with the 1/2" trowel pattern of thin-set left after the tile was removed. No major damage done, but a good scare for her. She has not learned her lesson though. She cried for fewer than 30 seconds and then once released tried to climb on the coffee table once again.

12 November 2008

Grammatical Complacency

If you know me, or have looked at the description of the blog, you know that I am indeed a nerd. I spent an entire ride today listening to grammar rules to ensure my superiority on the subject. Much to my dismay, some of the rules are being changed. Perhaps changed is the wrong word. Rules are being disregarded, ignored, and subverted due to the general malaise and communicative ineptitude of society.

How far must we sink into depravity before we hit bottom?

You are probably thinking this is not a big deal and I am just a curmudgeon. I am a curmudgeon, but this is a serious matter. What are a few prepositions here and a misplaced object there? It is not that the rules have evolved, it is how they have evolved. The proper rules were dropped as a result of people not following them. This is not the democratization of grammar as some have argued. This was a junta run by imbeciles. The finer points of speech are being lost as the common speaker becomes more and more lazy. The interchangeability of done and finished has grown so ubiquitous that correction is almost no longer warranted. Sure, I still correct Ranger thus ensuring that he can one day look back, forlornly, at the golden age of grammar when rules were cut and dry and roasts were done while tasks were finished.

I will not go into every example of lost rules and how I lament the end of an era. I will only say that sentences should not end in prepositions, a noun following a linking verb should be in the subjective form, and the adverb hopefully should not begin a sentence. I am hopeful that one day people will remember when working with quantifiable entities that fewer is the noun of choice where as when dealing with measurements one should choose to use less.

It is said that ignorance is bliss. Well, I would have had a more blissful day if I would have remained ignorant to the speaking patterns of the unlearned and the denigrating effects they are having on grammatical expectations.

Lastly, nauseous means you are emanating a smell that is making others nauseated. Is that really what you are trying to say? As Inigo told Vizzini, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

10 November 2008

Birthday Weekend


JP had a weekend of celebrating ending with a 7:15pm bedtime last night on his birthday! He's not 25 anymore . . . . The 30's are tougher honey!

Friday night we HAD A DATE! It was the first time we have been out alone since our anniversary (in May). We had sushi and then went shopping. Saturday night JP had a boys night with several of his friends who all have birthdays around this time of year. They hung out at our friend Jason's house sitting outside by the fireplace, grilling, and playing poker. He rolled in about 3am . . . .

And of course because of the excitement of Daddy's birthday, Little Guy was up at 5:30am! I sent him back to bed and told him not to come out until after 6:30am . . . he was very punctual. Poor Daddy! We sent JP back to bed not long after our pancake breakfast.

I got him a pasta roller for his birthday and he made us a fabulous dinner of steak and fresh fettuccine with sauteed mushrooms and fresh basil. What a great dinner . . . I felt bad that he cooked on his birthday but he wanted to play with his new toy!

04 November 2008

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