Can we open them now?

Auntie Nille's presents arrived from Brooklyn yesterday and the boys haven't left them alone since. I did text her to make sure they wouldn't break if the boys hauled them around the house and she assured me that they would have to drop them from a jet plane to cause much damage.

The boys have been carting their gifts around the house playing "fed-ex guys". They deliver them to each other over and over. The funny thing is our packages were delivered in a budget rent-a-truck so I don't know how they knew he was a fed-ex guy. It's not like we get tons of packages. Oh well, they are having fun.

I did catch Tate trying to peek under the wrapping this morning. He had the gift on his lap and was lifting the wrapping paper just enough to look under it. He wasn't able to see anything, but he sure wanted to! (See Mom, it must be genetic!)

(sorry for the crappy picture... I took it with my phone.)

Hello??!???

So, I've decided it's very hard to talk to myself on this blog all the time. I know there are people (besides my mother!) who read this thing... some even every day. Could you do me a favor and leave a comment or even just a smiley face (or a frowny one if you feel the need)? It would help me immensely to know if people care what I have to say or if they just stop by to laugh at me. Thanks!


I would add a cute picture if I could, but Blogger seems to have it in for me today... and a day I actually post!

What is Mary doing on the roof?

Sorry for the bad pictures, but I wanted to post about the nativity set that I now have. It was the same one my baby sis and I had a little girls. There is a manger with real hay on the roof and it even lights up. The great thing about it is all the animals and people are made of plastic, so it is completely kid proof. If only it was dog proof, but I'll get to that in a minute...

My sis and I used to have a great time rearranging all the Christmas characters every year. I can remember us spending hours trying to get it to look right. Should the donkey go here? What about the camels? How can we get the angel to stand out? It has lots of memories for me and so I was glad when Mom handed it down to me for my kids to enjoy. (Sorry Nille... that's the prize for having kids first!)

The boys are fascinated with it. I think partly because I'm not yelling at them to just look at it! Don't touch! like I tend to do with the rest of the Christmas stuff and also because they are movable. Riley of course loves packing the animals around. He has a thing for things with four legs. He's even added a few more mammals to the picture. I found a giraffe and elephant in there yesterday.

He also enjoys looking at the "baby". He always picks up Baby Jesus and wants him put back in his manger. Ri also likes to cart him around the house. Baby Jesus enjoyed a wheelbarrow ride on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Jesus is small and so I have to do a house search for him before I vacuum. There was a bit of a panic yesterday after I vacuumed and realized I couldn't find Him. Luckily I have a canister vacuum and can quickly look through all the dirt and dog hair to see if He was in there. He wasn't but was under the recliner. (Hope all this activity isn't buying me a one way ticket to hell.)

Tate likes to play with the angel and if you have boys, you will know why... she has wings so she can fly! He whips her around the house yelling, "Look out!" at everyone he come close to hitting. i tried to explain to him that angels probably didn't yell Look out! since they were nice and had great manners. His solution: "Look out, please!"

On to why dogs are such a problem with this set... take a look at the difference between Mary and Joseph in the picture below. Want to know why Joseph is sooooo small? Our dog ate both Jesus and Joseph when we were growing up. Mom was able to replace Jesus with a correct sized one, but poor Joseph... not so much.

(Also look at the top picture. Did anyone notice Mary on the roof of the barn?)

Here's a fun post I found on Fresh Picked Whimsy. You're supposed to bold the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
.36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

I've done a few things, but would like to be able to cross a few more off of this list.

An ode to Mimi

Mimi moved into our house shortly after Taters was born. "He" came dressed so nicely, not a spot on him and he definitely did not smell bad. He was soft and colorful and lovely to be around. However, after a few months of being around Tate, this was no longer the case. He became a nuisance, a pain, and down-right stinky. He even decided to change his name along the way. After those first few months of living with us, we gave him the nickname of stinky. It was fitting. It was given with love, but with some honesty behind it. About a year into this living arrangement, Tate changed his name to Mimi. No explanation as to why. Maybe it was because he was just starting to talk and didn't want his best friend to be called Stinky, but he's never given us a true reason. Mimi has now lived with us for 3 1/2 years and he is wearing thin. I can see right through him. I no longer find him to be bright and cheerful. He's drab and ugly. I guess if Tate finds him alright to be around, I will let him stay, but seriously, how much longer do I have to put up with this guy?

When did Bert become such a rock star?

What will keep the attention of a 20 month old for almost two hours?
Elmo, of course!

We got to go to Elmo and Seseame Street Live down in Bozeman last week, thanks to the in-laws. They bought great tickets... right in the middle and close enough to see everything, but not so close that you had to strain your head up to see on the stage.

The show was almost all music, and yet not a minute was eye-glazingly boring. It was fun to see all the old characters that I loved as a kid, such as Oscar and the Count. The kids of course went crazy for Elmo and Big Bird.

The best part was when they did the hustle. Bert came out in this white, Bee-Gee's inspired suit and proceeded to disco. I would love to know how they are able to dance and sing in those suits without falling on their butts.

Since that night, Riley has been hauling around his Elmo everywhere he goes, even the dirt pile out front. Elmo gets a quick shake off and then it's off to bed with Ri, also. He even hollers for Elmo in the middle of the night if he can't find him.

The pictures I will show his high school girlfriend

The kid knows how to dress. Unfortunately, you can't see the brown sneakers he has on to compliment this ensemble.