Christmas Round up

So it is finally over! It has been a busy busy month, hence not many posts. Between going to work, gym, preschool, the playgroup and shopping for those bargains I feel like I need a vacation. LOL.
Overall everything was great so here we go with the round up...


I took Skylee to the Crafty Cottage in Bentonville to make some Christmas gifts and she had a great time painting a statue for herself! This kid loves art of any kind, but she really loves that "paint your own pottery" stuff.


And just who thinks giving makeup to a 4 yr old is a good idea? She insists on applying it herself and then going out in public. How would you feel going to the mall with a kid that looks like this? LOL. Can I hang a sign on her that says "I did this to myself" ?


We met with friends for a dinner at AQ Chicken with Santa. This is the only Santa we had our pic with this year. It really pisses me off but apparently all the Santa's around here will not allow you to take a picture on your own camera. they force you to buy their expensive and lousy pictures.


She saw me ironing my hair and really wanted me to do it for her. So about 20 minutes later it was done. She was such a sport and did great while I ironed. We then went to watch "The Princess and the Frog" and she liked the movie. They sure do have the Cajun speak down in that one. LOL. The next day she wore her hair straight for preschool. Austin came walking in and Skylee's words?
"Hi Austin, notice anything different?"
Not missing a beat, he replied "Nice hair"
Good boy!! His Daddy has him on the right path! He dodged his first girl bullet on that one.
Best part about the straight hair.. she finally allowed her hair to be cut. So they gave her a trim and a little bit of layers.
She had her Christmas party at school where they decorated cookies, and strung beads on pipe cleaners. Fun was had by all. That night they did their Christmas program. I am still awaiting a copy of the performance from Tracy and as soon as I get it I will post it.



Christmas was fun! Despite the look of the pic it wasn't as bad as previous years. Hopefully you can ignore the toy box mess besides the tree. We woke up to 4 inches of snow, and I think that was Skylee's fave gift.


Bruno and Flower shared a stocking this year and his fave toy was this honking goose. He kept trying to get someone to play with him while we opened our gifts. Doesn't he look so cute in his sweater? He is finally feeling better. The dweeb pulled a tendon in his paw and carried on just like a man. He insisted on being hand fed cheeseburger patties, and water. After a quick trip to the vet and a steroid shot he was back to normal the next day. He is up to 16 lbs. who would have guessed since both of his parents were 6 lbs.


Skylee loved all her gifts.


She received the almighty Zhu Zhu pet with accessories! Yeah me!! I guess that four hours in line at Toys R Us paid off!!


After that it was time to head outside to play in the snow. Bruno didn't like it unless someone was out there with him.


Here is the gas powered four wheeler Papa got Skylee for Christmas. Unfortunately we couldn't get it to start so Pop took it back to the Honda dealership yesterday to get fixed. I sure hope insurance copays come along with this gift. She did get a helmet and he says he turned it down.. cros your fingers for us!


What would Christmas in Arkansas be without a gingerbread Santa Pig? Freaky Razorback fans!


And last but not least here is a little bit of Flower and Bruno playing. They are such good friends. They get along really well even though I have a feeling she is going to be bigger than him.

Thanksgiving Roundup

Be forewarned still no battery for my camera and I suck with the Blackberry pics. LOL



Well Thanksgiving 2009 is behind us. Usually we have it at our house but Tracy offered to do it at her place and boy was it nice! To be able to leave and go home to some relative peace and quiet. LOL.
Okay so the morning started out early. Skylee and I got up at 5am to be at Kmart at 6:15. We were 2nd in line and got some little goodies!! Skylee had a really good time despite getting up when it was still dark outside!. Just before the doors opened I gave her a few pointers as it was her very first Black Friday experience. Since she was in the basket area of the cart I told her to keep her elbows out and if anyone gets too close, just give them a whack. hehe.

After that we went back home to finish a few loafs of beer bread and spinach dip. We had dinner around noon as Damien had to be somewhere at 3. And that is something I notice and I am not sure if it is a regional thing but on the whole people eat dinner early around here. Growing up we ate dinner at 7 or 8? But maybe that is because I had working parents. Here on my nights off I start dinner anywhere from 4:30 to 5 since Brenda has to be at work before 8.

Okay back to the story.. so we hung out at the house for awhile. At 8 I thought I would go get some gas in my car, pick up a Rockstar drink and check out Toys R Us on the way back. Well there were already a few people in line so I parked and got in line. After an hour the manager cleared out the cart bay and let the first 50 people wait inside the cart area in the warmth. This was a pretty sweet deal since they didn't open until midnight and it was already in the 30's.
Now some of you may be asking why was I lined up in front of Toys R Us for 4 hours. Damien has declared he will NEVER wait in a line for anything. I tend to disagree with that statement. I have a feeling if it was XBOX, beer or some other man thing he totally would. On this day I was in line for a few things but most importantly a Zhu Zhu pet. Each store has 100 to sell and it was first come first serve. So I was 11 in line and got my $9.99 pet and was out the door at 12:15. Brenda came to join me in the line at 11 and went home to rest after that. Now those without children may be asking "what in the hell is a Zhu Zhu pet?" Well it is a motorized hamster that makes noises....

These cute little bastards are THE toy to have this year. And of course what did Skylee ask Santa for this year?
1. Hamster
2. a non stinky crab
3. Antlers for Bruno

We all know there is no such thing as a non stinky hermit crab, and I am sure Bruno would love a pair of antlers, but the only thing I could really deliver is the hamster.

So after drinking an extra large energy drink and standing around for 4 hours I really had to pee. So I stopped at the Fayetteville Walmart to do this. Well this happes to be next to Old Navy and there was already a line at that store for their 3am opening. So I hopped in line and waited in the 26 degree temps for what? A free copy of Lego Rock band for the Wii, a few $5 fleece sweaters, and a winter coat for $15 for the munchkin. In and out by 3:20.
Did I go home and rest? Heck No!!!

Me freezing in line!!


I picked up Brenda and we headed to Walmart. Their sale started at 5 so after picking up a last few things we were home by 6:30. Did I go to sleep? hmm nope. I made breakfast for us since Skylee was awake by this point. I did finally manage to get to sleep around 8:30 that night. So after 40 hours awake I had some great buys to show for it.

I can't wait for next year. I always have a really good time. I wish my girlfriends weren't so wimpy and would enjoy it with me. That would make it really fun. I always make friends with the fellow nuts in the lines, but it isn't the same. Of course the drawback to my friends is that we would probably end up in a fist fight with some rude line jumpers and end up in jail.LOL. It never fails. Girls Night out always ends up with someone threatening to take out the skinny bitch next to us that made a rude comment over shoes. LOL.

On an end note. I came home from work this morning and just closed my eyes to Skylee standing in front of me holding a play doh kitchen that I purchased on Black Friday (one of her presents)
Skylee... "mom, mom can I have this?"
me.. "what? Where did you get that?"
Skylee... " It was hiding in Nanny's room. I saw it when she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth last night. She told me I had to wait and ask you. Please? I will give you a penny for it."
Me...." Stay out of Nanny's room. That was a christmas present. You want it now or later?"
Skylee... "Now please"
Me.. "sure OK"

So after that I leave for the gym. I come home to Daddy playing POGO on the computer, Skylee in the same clothes she was wearing when I left for work, last night(pants on backwards too), play doh all over the carpet, and a healthy breakfast of soda and cookies. God help us if something were to happen to me. She would end up a wild heathen.

Note to self... Play doh wont freeze, leave it in the garage with all the other christmas presents. No hiding spot is safe. fix breakfast and dress Skylee BEFORE leaving for the gym.

Just like me

So that could be a really bad thing if Skylee was just like me. She is pretty much the spitting image and behaves very similar. Well, now the mouth is about to follow. Anyone who knows me knows that my potty mouth is horrible. My sister says I could cuss like a sailor at an early age. So here is a recent convo between Skylee and I.

Skylee: "Where is Flower?"
Me: "She is probably out hunting Squirrels or something, she will show up when she feels like it."
Skylee: " Yeah, I hope she gets those squirrels, Damn bastards."
Me: " Oh man, Damien is going to kill me."


Me: " Skylee please eat your dinner."
Skylee: "I am."
Me: " Hey I asked you not to talk that way"
Skylee: "Okay Miss Bossy."
Me: "That's right, I am your mom and that makes me your boss forever."

Hindsight.. I should probably stop making comments about Max and Ruby like "Man that Ruby is a bossy cow" I am okay with her calling me bossy, but a cow is crossing the line;)

School is going really well. She seems to enjoy it and loves her teacher. Next week I will have to update her recent art work. At the moment my camera battery is DRT (dead right there) so as soon as I can force myself into buying another battery you will get updates. Until then you will have to resign yourself to facebook pics from my phone.
We had a girls night out to watch the New Moon flick on Friday night. Luckily we made it thru without getting beat up, no thanks to Lenka's loud(but funny) comments thru the whole movie. I swear those crazy Czech's.
This week is super busy! Thanksgiving is coming up and that means Black Friday!! This year we are doing the Toys R Us a midnight, Old Navy at 3, and Walmart at 5, then Target after that. Yikes it is going to be a long night.
Just remember how much you have and how great the life you have is!!!

Thankful

This month in school Skylee's class will be learning about Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Native Americans, and things they are thankful for. Tomorrow her show and tell is something she is thankful for. So I asked her what she is thankful for and she said "my family". I just love it. I was expecting something along the lines of Spongebob or another 4 yr old love. LOL. So this morning we made a collage and put on there pics of her family, Scooby Doo, kitties, a horse, flowers and added some sparkles. It's amazing how you get these little moments that let you peer into their adult future. Last night she insisted on watching some gross show that involved maggots in a ladies head. She refused to let me change the channel and took the remote with her when she left the room for just a moment. Oh the poor man that marries her, he wont stand a chance.

I want to take a moment to send all my thoughts to the families that are aftected by the Fort Hood shooting. It amazes me that eight years after 9/11 that we are still feeling it's affects. Damien is no longer in the Marines. But he says "Once a Marine, always a Marine." So maybe it's true about military families. I guess we will always be one and feel their pain and triumphs.

Halloween Round up

Well it's finally over. It has been a long week filled with Halloween activities. All in all we had a lot of fun, and with only a few melt downs. Mostly over having our pictures taken. I will start from last night and work my way backwards.


Last night we went Trick or Treating with Damien's family at his cousin Tina's house. Skylee absolutely refused to join everyone for a group picture. But what can you do right? The first few houses she cried and wouldn't say anything. Go figure. It wasn;t her first time doing this, I think she was just really tired and had been acting cranky all day anyways. But soon she warmed up and was having a great time going door to door. We went from 6-7:30 then stopped at Sonic for hot dogs and corn dogs on our way home. She filled her Scooby Doo bag and was in bed by 9:30. Not bad!





On friday Lenka and Jackson joined us for Fayetteville's Trick or Treat on the Square. All the businesses hand out candy and there are costume contests, pets and fun stuff. It wouldn't be fun without walking all over the plants and picking some right? Skylee changed her mind about Bruno's costume at the last minute. Apparently my buffalo wasn't so good. She dressed him in his dragon costume and he won the small dog award in the costume contest.


It's Batman!!


Bruno loved this bull dog!


Jackson and Lenka





Getting ready together!


On Thursday we had a Halloween party at School. The kids played games and did crafts. Then they ate snacks. Fun was had by all! Austin is at the head of the table, and Skylee's other friend Triston is in the orange shirt. Skylee is now declaring Austin her boyfriend.


And here she is hugging on Brian's leg. Brian is Austin's dad and such a good sport.




Cookies from Shelby Lynn's bakery.


Sitting with Flower. Doesn;t she look excited to be in this pic. I love the expressions cats give.


On Wednesday we visited the pumpkin patch. Skylee took this picture of these creepy scarecrows. Yuck.


Abe and Levi joined us with their Grandma Linda. Isn't Levi such a sweet boy? Abe never stood still long enough for a picture. He had a great time crashing the wagons down the hill.


Triston


Alexis


Jackson


Queen of the pumpkins. And might I add she really didn't wear this shirt every day. It just kind of looks like that. But we did try to get a lot of use out of it before Halloween was over.


A rare moment of these two being nice and sweet to each other.


Playgroup Halloween party. This was held at the Prarie Grove Battlefield and was pot luck style. It was the one day of the week that the high was not so high. I think it was in the low 40's by the time the party rolled around.
Wouldn't be a party with out throwing leaves on our friends.


Alexis, Skylee and Claire


Ryan, Alexis and Austin making Smores


Of course we had to sit next to Austin's family at the party. Skylee had the best time playing with Austin and his dad and uncle.


Pumpkin pic


This morning we went bargain shopping and bought a costume for Bruno for next year. Once again Skylee shot down the hot dog. She picked him out a lobster costume. So maybe I can make her a mermaid costume or something to match it next year.

Zoo Day

Monday turned out to be a really nice day in the 70's so we went to the Tulsa Zoo. Now for all my family who aren't familiar with the Arkansas weather, let me tell you.... you never know what you will get. Saturday it was in the 40's and here on Monday the 70's. Crazy right?

So anyways we went with a few friends from our playgroup and Tiffany. Skylee was in one of those "no pictures please" moods so getting a snapshot of her was almost impossible. But we did have a super nice time.

Lately Skylee has been dragging around a giraffe Webkinz named Sookie. Skylee really wanted the giraffes to meet her Sookie. Skylee also wants me to tell all of you that they are raising money for a new giraffe feeding tower at the Tulsa Zoo. They have 2 new female giraffes, and Skylee really wants to feed these things so "everyone needs to pay". Apparently she thinks that we are all made of money!



A fave of ours was the penguins. Usually they just hang out waiting for food, but instead they were swimming and coming right up to the windows. Very cool.



This monkey was one of Skylee's faves. It is one that sat next to Skylee at the window on previous visits. Today it was such a nice day that even the animals chose to be outside.


Hey aren't there supposed to be horses pulling this thing. Here we are with Diesel, Ryan and Claire.




And I couldn't get Skylee to be in this picture. So That would be me in glasses, and the only adult in the pic. Come on kid, live a little. It is okay to be a little silly!


For some reason I have never noticed this bear at the zoo before. Kind of cool.


Here is Skylee taking pics on her camera. That is her absolute fave thing to do right now. It has picture and video camera settings. When she isn't taking pics of the pets, she is filming herself pretending to be iCarly. If you haven't seen this show, it's about 3 preteens that carry on their own web show. Kinda cute.


And this week in preschool they are learning about owls and other animals that come out at night. So we took this pic just for her to share at Show and Tell.


All in all a pretty good day. the zoos here don't match up to San Diego, but they are still a lot of fun for us to do.
Today we also had an eye exam and it was the first time they dilated her eyes. She had some redness in her eye we needed to check it out so off we went. The redness is like a bruise. She most likely was poked in the eye recently and it should heal within 7 days. Her vision is 20/40 and is about normal for her age. She may end up being near sighted like Damien and I but no need for glasses at this point. The Dr and I ended up tag team style holding her down to get the eye drops in and it was horrible. When we left I got to wear a really cool looking pair of disposable glasses while Skylee wore my own sunglasses.
They used pictures during the eye test instead of letters and when the Dr showed her a butterfly Skylee told her it was mariposa. Well the Dr turned to me and asked "what did she say?"
I had her repeat it and the Dr said that is the Spanish word for butterfly. Who knew? Kind of neat to see that Dora the Explorer and Ne Hao Kai Lan are paying off. Kind of crazy they learn stuff from today's cartoons. So this led me to make a list of things I learned from cartoons as a kid...

Proper hand placement when sword fighting (He-Man)
GI Joe is the real American Hero (GI Joe)
Despite what scientists say there ARE little bears living in the clouds and God forbid if they stare at you (Care Bears)
How to kick my sister's butt by eating my spinach (popeye)

Well coming up for us is two Halloween parties this weekend, a school party and Halloween itself. So we will have a bunch of stuff to share!