. . . b•y•o•s . . .

. . . bring your own socks . . .

the rules:

•each girl brings socks {only one duplicate pair = miraculous!}

•you play the left/right passing game

•everyone turns into a foot model

•and leaves with happy toes

. . . more fun ensues afterward ~ involving:

•popcorn chicken

•spicy wings

•yummy spinach dip

•chips and salsa

•scotcheroos, and

•hot chocolate

. . . merry christmas to our awesome laurels . . .

. . . blue, blue, you got the flu . . .

. . . we believe in equal opportunity babies 'round here . . .

. . . so . . .

. . . let's hear it for the boys . . .

. . . and although you won't find any sign of snips . . .

. . . snails, or puppy dog tails . . .

. . . you will find the christmas sale is still going on . . .

. . . two dollars off the price of each oops! . . .

. . . making them just ten dollars a piece . . .

. . . now 'til christmas . . .

. . . pink, pink, you stink . . .

. . . here's a fresh batch of girly oops! . . .

. . . perfect for stuffing ittybitty/teenytiny stockings . . .

. . . with shades of bubble gum, magenta and pepto bismal . . .

. . . they're sugar and spice and everything nice . . .

. . . 'cuz that's what little girls are made of . . .

. . . and in the spirit of the season . . .

. . . have i got a deal for you!!! . . .

. . . all in-stock oops! are just ten bucks a piece . . .

{save $2.00 each ~ now 'til christmas!}

. . . move over michael scott . . .

. . . meet sue sylvester . . .

. . . coach of the cheerios . . .

. . . my favorite tv character these days . . .

. . . tonight, on the season finale, when she said,

"i'm going to my condo in boca to brown up a bit" . . .

. . . yes, i had a "diet coke out the nose" moment . . .

. . . can't wait for new episodes next spring . . .

. . . nacimiento . . .

. . . a friend suggested that i ask drew

to pick up two nativity sets

while he's in mexico . . .

. . . one for me and one for his future wife . . .

. . . i thought that was a great idea . . .

. . . drew? not so much . . .

. . . he said, "i have no idea

where to find a nativity scene here.

i will look, but i can't promise anything.

i don't even know where to buy one

in the states." . . .

. . . i believe him . . .

. . . unless nike, volcom or nixon makes it,

he wouldn't have a clue! . . .

. . . so, bless chris and amber's hearts . . .

. . . they found one for me

at one of their cruise stops . . .

. . . it's so charming . . .

. . . there's plenty of livestock . . .

. . . don't you just love mary and joseph's halos? . . .

. . . and the knobby thingies on the angel's head? . . .

. . . and how the Baby looks just like his mother? . . .

. . . the wisemen are my personal favorites . . .

. . . one blond, one african . . .

. . . and the asian has michael jackson's nose . . .

. . . talk about your cultural diversity . . .

. . . compare/contrast . . .

. . . true story . . .

. . . people have laughed at me . . .

. . . for hauling out the laptop . . .

. . . pulling up old blog posts . . .

. . . and referring to them . . .

. . . while decorating for christmas . . .

. . . seriously . . .

. . . i have a LOT of shtuff . . .

. . . and i figure ~ hey! if it looked good last year . . .

. . . repeat! . . .

. . . so ~ here's christmas 2007 . . .

. . . and christmas 2009 . . .

. . . which looks a little different . . .

. . . reason being? . . .

. . . awesome friends keep giving me wonderful things . . .

. . . like this huge snowman platter . . .

. . . and red apothecary jar . . .

. . . hello, gorgeous! . . .

. . . on the other hand . . .

. . . see if you can spot the difference

between tree "two years ago" . . .

. . . and tree "today" . . .

. . . aside from the obvious change in carpet! . . .

. . . anyone????? . . .

. . . dear santa . . .

. . . waiting patiently . . .

. . . the excitement builds . . .

. . . halleigh's turn . . .

. . . a pencil? . . .

. . . addi's turn . . .

. . . which took a while . . .

. . . santa is a genius . . .

. . . he gave out shiny new pencils . . .

{candy canes are so overrated!}

. . . for writing letters to the man in red . . .

. . . which they did . . .

. . . from addison . . .

. . . who has plenty to say . . .

{the parts i was able to decipher:}

"my wish list 12/6/09. dear santa,

........ dora links, baby alive whoopsie doo,

a real microphone, a real flute, a real drum,

moxie girlz, a real live clown fish,

a real phone, a real computer, a real iPhone,

a real makeup set, new clothes, high heels,

barbie and the nutcracker, two kens, ......., moonsand"

. . . and from halleigh . . .

. . . who believes in keeping it short and sweet . . .

"dear santa, can i please have this?

a microphone, a piano, a drum, a saxophone.

if you have a clock can you come at 12:00?

if you can, thank you."

. . . well said, girlies . . .

. . . if you ask me . . .

. . . homework, backpacks and lunchboxes are overrated . . .

. . . especially if you are

in first or second grade . . .

. . . i've come to this conclusion

five days into a nine-day

babysitting stint . . .

. . . yes, we have houseguests

~ addison and halleigh ~

while their parents are relaxing

on this little boat . . .

. . . naturally, this is the week

when "country" reports are due . . .

. . . complete with a paper doll

representing native dress . . .

. . . addi chose mexico . . .

. . . so, fortunately, we got to use

drew's girlfriend

as our inspiration . . .

. . . addi named her gabriela . . .

. . . now, all that's left to do

is research and write

a one page report . . .

. . . wish us luck . . .

. . . twenty/four . . .

. . . only a few more months . . .

{thanksgiving 2009}

. . . 'til drew'll be back

to "ruin" our holiday pictures

once again . . .

{christmas 2007}

. . . for now, he's managing to do

a pretty good job

annoying the mission president's wife

with his "silly" faces . . .

{click above and scroll down nine or ten photos}

edit ~ okay kids . . . here's the deal

re: me wearing an "orange" shirt.

let's just say that

on the old navy website's clearance section

"ancho chile" looked a lot more mustard-y than rust-y.

now, i like mustard.

but, for $4.99 i decided to wear rust - twice.

halloween and thanksgiving.

i know.

i'm confused, too.

. . . this little turkey . . .

. . . turns one today . . .

. . . and even though elliott's mommy

doesn't want him to get any bigger . . .

. . . i bet she's happy

to be eating her mashed potatoes

with the family this year . . .

. . . instead of in a hospital room . . .

. . . happy birthday edrew . . .