June Cleaver Nirvana

Two monumental things happened today. My steri-strips fell off and revealed that I am not horribly disfigured (listen people, you asked for this picture...). I also got my hair colored (which is why pulling back my hair is not revealing the dreaded...GRAY). I have been a blonde all my life, but recently it has become obvious that I am no longer blonde. In an attempt to keep my color trips to twice a year because I am cheap get in touch with the real me, I have been asking for a hair color that matches my roots, but my hairdresser (do we still use that term?) has said no. She told me that she never changes a person's hair color until they have been there 3 times. Who makes these rules? Why do I play along? So, I was a little irritated when last visit, my third visit, I was again turned down. So today, channeling the alter-ego persona of Power Mom, I was not going to take no for an answer. After a long discussion and comments like "I don't recommend it", "are you scared" and "it wasn't MY idea" (by the way, those are never fun things to hear when you can't see what is going on up there even when you are super confident super hero in disguise) she did it and....I am not horribly disfigured! I actually like it and am trying out my new brunette spunk.

PS--the ring is courtesy of blog-Stedman in honor of what he refers to as the longest years of his life our 16th anniversary--yeah!

I am contributing the food to the potluck that I wish I had made for dinner--chicken quesadillas with homemade salsa, a light salad and that chocolate cake that is still liquidy in the middle and served warm.

The above picture is what I saw in my rear view mirror today while driving around town. Have I mentioned that my 4 y/o is a blue power ranger?

In the minivan war 2008, the score is now minivan-2, Holly-0. I really had no intention of going to war with my minivan, but that minivan is really getting aggressive. I am going to have to start defending myself soon:

The first point was scored when my minivan door attacked me resulting in an unknown number of stitches. Unknown? On Friday when I went in to have them removed I casually asked, "so how many stitches did you put up there?" I have a blogpublic that needs to know these things! "I don't know..." was the plastic surgeon's reply. You don't know? You don't know! I have a blog to write, come on...make something up. So, I took a peek and it looked like there were 4 regular stitches (2 on each end) and then the 1 1/2 inches in the middle was stitched together with one long thread underneath the skin. That's all I know. And when he was done removing them he again slathered my forehead with steri-strips so no picture will be very informative until those fall off. Don't worry, you know me, I'll post 'em if I have 'em.

The second point was scored today when I took my minivan in to the dealer for tire issues. Let me just start by saying that I have the Honda Odyssey with the run-flat tires. I am not a fan of the run-flat tires. They can only be serviced by a dealer, they are obscenely expensive, the tire pressure warning light goes on with any 10 degree shift in outdoor temperature and in my experience have not run when flat. I was expecting to replace 2 worn out tires and have a third fixed (one of the tires I replaced 8,000 miles ago had a nail in it). It was then discovered the nail tire couldn't be repaired and would need to be replaced. Thankfully, it was under warranty but this is the second tire replaced under warranty since I have owned the minivan. The grand total of tires replaced on my minivan before 50,000 miles is 6. CRAZY!

Speaking of cars, if you drive a white scion with Oklahoma plates, please note that the left hand lane is for passing only.

Yesterday afternoon we had a fun time fishing at grandma and grandpa's house. It was really windy, but the boys really wanted to go fishing so grandpa obliged. 3 hours later we gave up. The fish were jumping all around us. Taunting our poles. Scoffing our bait. Teasing our skills. Mean old fish. I would have had better luck getting a photograph.

A conversation in the mini-van yesterday:

Reid(4): Mommy, is God coming with Santa Claus at Christmas time?

Me: No honey, I think those events happen independently.

Reid: How do you know? You can't see God.

Me: Good point, maybe He does come along.

I am sure I will be quoted in churches all over the country for that incredible insight. Why can't I just say something like I don't know and I will look into it?

I took this picture last night of this most amazing sight. This tree is in a large, dark field just a few miles from my house. It is breath-taking in its contrast and solitude. It is a secret treasure tucked off the beaten track. It is a lesson in Christmas decoration editing. It is perfect.

Here is an approved pictures from the carriage ride party . Thanks to Little Faces Photography, my eyes are not fully closed in this one. I even have one of the carriage and horses that looks like a carriage and horses that I would totally post if I could figure out how to post more than one picture at a time without having crazy spatial problems. By the way, blog-Stedman had to work that night and was not just being paparazzi-shy.

So, Jodi volunteered cottage cheese loaf for the potluck and I am bringing my grandma's famous garbanzo taffy. I just have a little advice that you might want to skip the food and head right for the beverages.

I have decided to stop living on the edge. As a declaration to the world to that effect, I filled up my gas tank on Monday when the gauge wasn't even within 3/16 of the "E" position. It occurred to me that it wouldn't be much fun, very safe or even super responsible of me to run out of gas with a minivan full of kids. It is not that I chose to be this way. I was born and reared this way. I feel fully confident throwing my dad under the bus for this one, especially since he was the hero of my last story. My dad, and I am not exaggerating in this area, has never filled up a gas tank that is not already running on fumes. I remember car trips across the country (these stories will be saved for other blogs when I have ALOT more time) in which my mom lead us in fervent prayer that a gas station could miraculously appear in the middle of West Texas, West Nebraska, Southern Oregon, anywhere in Utah or seriously northern California. The only time in my whole life that I have run out of gas was when I borrowed my dad's car and COULDN'T EVEN MAKE IT THE 2 MILES TO THE GAS STATION! I don't even need a big bill and a couch to figure this one out...it is not my fault! Fast forward to blog-Stedman's side of the story. Blog-Stedman fills up the car any time that it is around the 1/2 full mark (which prior to kids I just felt was the hugest waste of time). So whenever he drives my car he ends up filling it up because of course it is 1/2 full or lower, much lower. This drives him literally insane and while that is entertaining (and I save myself a trip to the pump) it isn't nice or responsible. I have figured out with this simple step toward adulthood I get a bonus of improving my marriage. Here's to spending less then $50 every time I fill up!

I have been working on my Christmas cards for 132 days now (that may be a slight exaggeration in physical time, but not mental time which totally counts!)...it is NEVER going to end. The problem is that I am trying to coordinate/consolidate/collate/perpetuate/ridiculate my list to one concise and comprehensive list. When this is completed angels will sing, nutcrackers will dance and hell will have frozen over. I know enough about creating printed label lists to be doing my cards by hand from 4 different lists and the envelopes of cards I receive. Hint, hint: get your card to me early and receive your card in time for Christmas! In my dreams, after the holiday season I will have entered everyone's complete information, including email address and phone number into my phone which can be sync'd for label prep. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm hanging onto the dream...

I have a theory related to mini-van evolution: The over-squirted juice from boxes, near-empty lollipop sticks, goldfish paste, cheerio puree, graham cracker goop, water bottle condensation and starbucks residue serve the purpose to decrease the interior sliding of grocery bags, toys and other essential gear.

Today was a first or two. A first or two in bravery for motherhood. I purchased tickets last month to take all 3 of the boys to the Casa Manana theatrical production of "Frosty the Snowman". As the time approached I began to be afraid, very afraid. There are so many things that could go wrong with this senario, I can't even begin to list them. But this morning I got up, got the boys ready all in a hope that if I pretended like this is a good plan things will go smoothly. We got in the car and Ryan was acting super-crazed so I stopped the car, took him out, had a "come to Jesus meeting" threatening to find a drop-off hourly day car between here and there if he didn't shape up ASAP. Thankfully, things got a bit better and we made it on time, got seated and the show began. I was unaware that in Frosty the Snowman, and evil scientist creates a Frosty nemisis, but OK I guess that is artistic license. It was a bit scary at times which was odd. Overall, very fun, very successful and the boys were behaved--wow.

So well behaved that I agreed to stop at Ol' South Pancake House for lunch (which DOESN'T include a playarea--so this the second first) and by the end of lunch all were happy and sticky. Further proof that our bloodline includes elf is demonstrated by the above picture of Ryan eating the powder sugar straight that came on the "side" of his french toast.

The picture above is of the very hard-working and dedicated horses that visited our neighborhood last night and pulled a carriage for hours. I have 4 lovely pictures of the boys and I enjoying the ride, but in all of them my eyes are shut so until I have a good meeting with photoshop they are off limits (which is so unfortunate because we were looking so cute). Sorry this one isn't the greatest either, but think of it as art.

I have been trying to take at least one good picture a day. Starting in January I plan on doing a digital scrapbook that has a page for each day. I realize how completely obsessive that sounds and it isn't going to be easy hence the practicing now. It really has been fun and yesterday when someone mentioned they had forgotten their camera, I pulled mine out of my pocket. Before you start thinking how crazy this new project of mine is...I want to remind you (and you know who you are) that I surround myself with people who are just/if not more crazy than I.

My boys are cookie monsters. Last night at the carriage party they each politely (I know, I was shocked too!) asked for a cookie and then another...and then another...and then another. What was really funny was that Rhett would have one cookie in his hand and with the other hand he would reach up making the signal for "one"and say, "just one more?" It is up there with when he told me the other day after I asked him to do something, "one minute" and held up a finger. Yeah, he isn't even 2 yet...

I love that my third child is so self-sufficient that he puts himself into time-out. It is survival of the fittest around here and he is evolving toward being the fittest. If he is like this before his second birthday, what do I have to look forward to at age 3, 8, or when he is a teenager (shudder)?

Today I was planning on taking the boys to see the trains at Northpark Mall. Ryan was hounding me all morning to invite his friend, Lucy. After awhile I admitted to him I wasn't feeling to positive about handling 4 kids at the mall and without pause he said, "mom, it would be like you only had one kid." Intrigued, I asked, "how do you figure that?" and he replied, "Well, Lucy and I know the rules and we could make sure that Reid follows them so all you would have to worry about is the baby." If only it was that simple! Lucky for Ryan and the rest of us, when I called Lucy's mom she was within a minute of our house on her way to Northpark. So, a grand day of trains, food and shopping was had by all. I even got to try on a few party dresses at Neiman's which was fun with 5 kids--the eyerolls we received were priceless!

Northpark has the most interesting attraction for kids as seen on the right. It is a planter that is very slick and the kids use it as a slide. The kids absolutely love it and who are we to spoil the fun?

By the way, if you are looking for good mall Christmas decorations (as you know I am) Northpark would finish pretty high on the list.

Remember the drive-in TV Greg bought a week or so ago? Well, as he was leaving Costco, he was handed a coupon for the EXACT TV he was buying for $500 off. The lady at the door said, "Oh, just bring back the coupon and receipt during the coupon dates and we will refund the money". Today was the first date on the coupon so I headed to Costco for my $500. Let's just say that the lady at the door was very ill-informed. They do regularly refund coupons, but NOT for the weekend after Thanksgiving. So, I spent 1 hour of my afternoon today being the sweetest, most understanding, firm person at Costco. I talked to 1 employee and 2 supervisors. I played the "help me because I am sooo sweet" card, the "my minivan is full of kids" card, the "It takes two people to take that huge TV off the wall, put it in the box and lift it into my minivan which then can't hold ANY kids" card, "What would you do if you were me?" card, the "can I just return the empty box and rebuy it" card, the "What should I do?" card and any other card in the deck I create on the spot. In the end it was all worth it and I got my refund which was super fantastic because Greg has informed me that whatever refund I obtained would go toward a better anniversary gift--yeah for Costco and now yeah for Tiffany's!

One of the most anticipted event of the year is the annual "Ryan and Mommy get up in the middle of the night and go shopping" on black Friday. This year was no different (except this year the rest of the world joined us) and we were off at 4:30 am. Because Kohl's opened at 4 this morning, we missed our usual first stop because as a seasoned Kohl's black Friday shopper, I knew that 4:30 was WAY too late. We went to Belk's and stood in line for about 7 minutes to be one of the first 250 people in to get a gift card (ours was $5! There was at least one in TX that was $5000) and the shopping began. Ryan and I go for the entertainment so we don't take any shopping too seriously and if the line is too long, we leave. We got a few things at Belk's and then headed for the mall. Macy's opened at 6 and we were one of the first ones in. I did really well on several of their early bird specials. It wasn't too crowded or difficult to negotiate the aisles. We then went into the mall which was 80% open--yeah! This is the first year that mobs of people who want to spend money weren't just roaming aimlessly throughout the mall. So we hit the Disney store, Gymboree, Hallmark and a few other stops. When we got tired we went to IHOP for breakfast and were home by 7:30. Naps ensued and we were feeling much perkier at noon and went and got the other boys who had been rescued from black Friday by Mimi and Bampa. We had a great morning and look forward to next year. Greg and I had gotten online last night and picked up some of the early bird specials at Wal-Mart for Rhett's birthday which is coming up quickly. The online thing saved me from the hell that is Wal-Mart on black Friday. Other places I would never get within a parking lot's distance are Target, Toys R Us and Best Buy...remember, we are in this for the entertainment!

Yesterday we trekked down to Bampa's farm which is a magical place for kids. Adults may see a metal barn, a small camper, some equipment, a dirt pile and a whole lot of land. A kid seems to see it as endless entertainment. We rode tractors, trailers, 4 wheelers, riding toys and the bulldozer. We climbed trees and swung on vines. We dug in the sandy dirt and collected rocks. We chased cows and watched horses. We found grasshoppers that looked like yellow and orange butterflies when they hop/fly and caught daddy long leg spiders. We had a picnic. The kids think Bampa has the happiest place on earth. Who knew Alvarado was such a vacation spot?

Last week our local park had a delivery of mulch to be spread over the playground. To the boys delight the second part of this hadn't happened. They spent the majority of our visit running up and down the big mulch hill, hiding toys inside the mulch and "sliding" down to the play equipment. Who needs a playground when a big dirt mound is available?

About a year and 1/2 ago I took Ryan (then 5) with me to a TMAA event in Houston because his Mimi and Bampa were going to be there too and could help me watch him. We stayed at one of the large hotels downtown that connects to the convention center. It was Ryan's first airplane flight so we made a pretty big deal about the whole 2 day trip. We stayed the whole time in the hotel and convention center which seemed like it would be dull for a 5 year old, but I was not seeing the magic that Ryan saw. He got to spend the nights in Mimi and Bampa's suite on the conceirge floor, visit the all day food spread, go to the vendor fair in the convention center, pose for pictures after Mimi's speech, get mentioned in Bampa's speech, hang out with mommy without brothers, etc., etc. The most memorable item was the very large cookies in the conceirge floor cafe which he has mentioned at least weekly since the trip. In fact, the story of his trip to Houston gets bigger every time he tells it. On Friday, we were in the minivan heading home and the legend of Houston by Ryan started again, "Mommy, remember when we went to Houston?" (please insert the nodding and "uh-huhing" needed) "I have tried to tell you this, but you NEVER listen" (please insert "go ahead Ryan I am listening now") "When we were in Houston I saw the prettiest sunset, except it was in the morning" (please insert a lesson on what a sunrise is) "It was beautiful, it had so many colors, it was like a rainbow in the sky, Houston is so pretty, Reid, someday you will go to Houston with me someday...they have cookies the size of car tires..."(please insert, "Ryan, you may be exaggerating a little bit there") "OK, maybe the size of kid's bike tires." Let me clarify that the actual cookies were about 8 inches in diameter which brings me to the point if this boy ever does go back to Houston he may be a bit disappointed in the "tire size" cookies!

We traveled to the Frank Buck Zoo yesterday because last time we went my 6 y/o declared it "the best day I've had in 10 years". Not wanting to deprive him of another historic event, we returned. It is a great spot for kids under 8. The park in front of the zoo is large with a lot of different activities. There is a small train that circles the park that you can ride for $1. Zoo admission is amazingly reasonable ($5 for adults, $3 for kids). We fed giraffes. We fed goats. The kids ran their legs off. We investigated what all the animals eat. Our favorite was the armadillo that eats fire ants--yeah. We then went to eat at a local McDonalds pictured above. Overall, a pretty fun day!