Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

Less than two weeks until the return of the mighty vacuum cleaner! I'm kind of excited. I have piles of crumbs and too many toys lying around on the floor. I know a certain somebody who can take care of both problems.

I'm Pretty Sure Zoe Rues the Day...

Remember the part where I said cheap thrills are readily available around here? Yeah. This would be an example of that. We like to call it The Cat Show.



Funny thing. I don't think Zoe has really expressed any gratitude to us for bringing home a new playmate for her. Ungrateful whelp.

A Neuter Update...

You want a virtual cupcake, don't you? I know you do. Calorie free even. Well, there's a few ways to get one, but the easiest is to scroll down to the bottom and donate to the Neuter Rich fund. A few things you people should know:

1- The average vasectomy in the US costs between $500-$1000.

2- My biological timeclock has started screaming for number four. It's not pretty.

3- So far, we have a total of $78.48. That's due to generous gifts from Phil and Kelly, Happy, my brother John and Adam. That's not going to buy Rich a lot of anesthetic people.

The Return of Name That Offspring...

Anyone remember a crazy little game called Name That Offspring? It's back! So, who is it? Shea, Atlee or Greeley? Be sure to vote over on the right. Thanks for playing!

Keeping Ourselves Entertained...

Entertainment was the common denominator I came up with for all these pictures. I suppose I could also consider that they were all taken last weekend, but aren't getting posted until Thursday.

Our friends, Phil and Kelly, came to visit last weekend. We haven't seen them since their wedding in August of 2007. This was the only photo I took. Pathetic, really.

The kids talked them into playing Skip-Bo.
Shea dragged Greeley around on a blanket for a bit. Cheap thrills are readily available around here.

We also got snow last weekend. Rich bundled Atlee and Greeley up for sledding in the front yard. See the mystical spirit orb on Greeley's butt? When I first saw it, I was all "Wow! The first picture I've ever taken in Gettysburg with an orb!" Then I realized Greeley's snowsuit had a reflective triangle on it. To be fair to me, I had been drinking.

"I can't put my arms down!"

Rich had to pull them back to the top of the [ahem] hill each time. What's that? Oh, it's the sound of all of my Adirondack friends laughing at my liberal use of the word hill.

Oh Happy Day!

Words aren't really adequate today, are they?

Glamour Shots

Have you heard it's kind of cold on the East Coast?

Granted, it's clearly not as cold here as it is for all of our friends and family up north. But, methinks we're still getting a bit squirrelly around here. [Me also thinks spell check won't recognize a word like squirrelly.]

Want to know what Shea will look like in the teenage years?

How about Atlee if she becomes all famous and needs to walk on a red carpet some day?

Greeley will be her date.

Conversations with a Toddler...

"More?"

"No more."

"More?"

"No more. If you want more cat food, you can just eat it off the floor like the cats."

Works For Me Wednesday

Hello and a happy Wednesday to you all. I'm still thinking about Christmas around here. Perhaps because I just took down my tree the other day? I've been packing up tote after tote of holiday related stuff, including lots of stuff to be recycled next year.

For example, Christmas Cards around here get saved and turned into gift tags the next year. The ribbon decorating presents we receive gets saved and used again next year-for wrapping or decorating. I just can't let a sparkly, shiny taffeta ribbon go into the garbage. Argh! The waste of it all!!

Another reusing that happened this year? The lower branches that were cut off the tree [so we could stuff him into the stand] were strapped down to the deck railing and topped with lights. They made me happy during the Christmas Party this year.


But, I would love to hear more ideas on Christmas/Holiday related recycling. What do you do?

And, of course, those of you who actually aren't here from Rocks in My Dryer should head over there to see what's working for others this week.

Procrastination

Because, let's face it. If you're here, you're no doubt procrastinating doing something.




Edited to ask ~on a related sort of note~ am I the only one who still has a fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room? Just sort of wondering...

A Post That's Not About Neutering Rich...

At one point this week, I looked into our bathroom and saw this:

Eeeeeek!!!! There's a big open hole in the floor where the potty used to be. What's going on around here? Where'd the potty go?


Oh, wait. Here it is. In the shower.

And I started thinking maybe Rich and I needed to discuss our home improvement project plans a little more. I don't recall the plan to combine the potty and the shower into one unit.

But, wait. What's that over there? It's tile! It's tile! It's tile!

Be happy the pictures are this clear. It's difficult to get good pictures when you're so busy hopping up and down with excitement.

In other news, Greeley can't be bothered to walk any more. Luckily her sturdy mule is happy to carry her upstairs, downstairs and all around.

Please!

We had a small scare recently. The sort of scare that makes you realize that your family of five feels pretty darn complete at five and that something should be done to make that a permanent sort of situation. Then we realized we still don't have health insurance and still don't have the money required to accomplish the task. So, um, welcome to my bake sale to help neuter Rich. Only without the cupcakes. Or promises of it being a tax free donation. Together we can reduce the overpopulation of Gettysburg.


Click on the Paypal Link to Donate to the Neuter My Husband Fund. Yes, it's an actual link. No, I have no shame.

Ah! Bless the Digital Age!

You know the best part about living in this brandy new digital world? It might be the HDTV, but we don't know about that around here. No, the answer around here is that when you (ahem) forget (again) to actually use the camera you bring to all of the family functions, your family sends you pictures! These are all compliments of my sister-in-law, Monique.

First up, Rich and I looking pretty goofy sitting together. Without any children around. Or in my lap. Really a unique sort of photo.

That's because my littlest one had cornered my other sister-in-law, Cathy. Cathy and my brother, Mike, have a new baby, Zoe. They didn't get to hold much of their baby when the family got together. Greeley kept Cathy from getting lonely. That Greeley, she's always willing to help. A real team player.

One of my favorite quotes was from Atlee over the holidays. We'd been to four different houses in just a few days, traveling to see family with family. At my sister's house, Atlee looked up at Cathy and asked, "How come you're at every place I go?"

If Monique hadn't sent these photos, I'd never have this shot. I love this picture. That's my Dad with Greeley.

I'd also never have this shot of my two girls.

Greeley's peeling the wallpaper off the upstairs hallway wall when Grandpa isn't looking.

The Seven Weird Things Meme I Was Supposed to Do Last Month

So, um, yeah, City Mouse tagged me for this last month. And it's a bit overdue. I'm supposed to list seven weird and or random things about myself.

1- I MUST smell a glass before I pour a drink into it. It's really almost an OCD thing. It's kind of odd because we have a dishwasher. They never really smell like much of anything, and yet I sniff.

2- I occasionally like shellfish but despise fish. I've been known to tell people I'm allergic to it. But really- isn't that gagging reflex almost an allergy? If I think I'm going to die if I have to eat it, does that count?

3- I dropped out of high school to go to community college. I actually was still attending high school for a bit after I had the GED. Luckily most job applications ask you what high school you attended and the highest level of education completed. I fill in the BA from SUNY Plattsburgh part and don't bring up the lack of senior year part.

4- My past international travel is limited to the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

5- When I was little I had a pet crayfish for like two days. He died. In my defense he didn't exactly come with a book on crayfish care.

6- My husband and I got married in a double ceremony with my brother and sister-in-law... three times. First time in my Aunt and Uncle's garden in Berkeley, CA. Second time on one of the big boats on Lake George; another brother was the captain. The third time was at the Saranac Lake Golf Course in Ray Brook on the driving range. How many people get to show up to their wedding in a golf cart?

7- When I was younger, I didn't like or want kids. It's funny the places life takes you.

Bonus Baby Christmas and Dog Video:





I'm too lazy tonight to actually tag anyone, but if you want to play along- go for it!

Pictures From The Road

So, we're finally home. We had a great time visiting New York and New Hampshire. We also had a great time coming home to a place that wasn't below zero with snow all over the place and blasting cold wind. Thank you again wonderful husband for moving us out of the frozen Arctic Tundra. On to the pictures!


Let's start with sweet Atlee waking up Christmas morning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she came down the stairs at Grandma and Grandpa's house. What's that? The observant amongst you are wondering about what's in that green stocking?


Oh- that would be known as sweet revenge. See, twenty-five years ago or so, I woke up Christmas morning and found my stocking full of ashes from the woodstove. Oh how I howled. I howled as only an eight year old child that's found a stocking full of ashes can howl on Christmas morning. That's a different sort of howling than my two responsible brothers were doing. They were howling with laughter at my reaction as they rolled around on the floor. This year my big brother, John, decided that Santa made a value judgment on my big brother, Michael-one of the guilty brothers, and gave him a stocking full of coal. What a sweet Christmas Present revenge can be.


After Christmas, we moseyed on over to New Hampshire to spend the New Year with Rich's family. My sister-in-law, Bev, made doughboys one morning. Doughboys are fried bread dough. Fried bread dough is good. Fried bread dough is even better when served with bacon. My brother-in-law, Gene, provided the bacon. Mmmmmm, bacon.

Meanwhile, Rich and Atlee created an army with the Littlest Pet Shop characters. They were all marching to an army cadence and ready to take over the world.

This is just a sweet shot of my sister-in-law, Mary, holding Greeley.

And that would be all the pictures I took over our vacation. Perhaps the New Year's Resolution should be to take the pretty camera Uncle Michael purchased me OUT of the diaper bag on occasion.