sleeping pets

animals - check!

It suddenly got cooler (high 60s to high 20s in one day) so all the cats come in fairly easily in the evening. We've come to realize that the two kittens are probably ours to keep. We did get them shots and fixed about a week ago. They really are sweet kittens and BEAUTIFUL, too. Our adult female cat, Josey, is not happy about them - especially with Jasmine, the female kitten. Jasmine is insistent on taking over Josey's favorite spots with a lot of refereeing of hiss fights by Trey and I. All the animals are figuring out their favorite hang out areas which will, of course, have to change I'm sure when we move D to the bigger room and begin decorating a nursery. Someday we'll get around to that . . . still no names for the upcoming baby O2. We're thinking about expanding our requirement beyond the D names . . . Danielle is really rooting for "Chloe Diamond" or "Daniella Denicea."

movies

Saturday night we watched one of Trey's Netflix picks, War of the Worlds. It was really intense. It was good and scary and I was tense the entire time. In fact, my body ached at the end from being so tense. We did like it but next on the queue is definitely a light humored movie!

We also recently watched Superbad, which is definitely a male movie. It had some funny parts to it but I think guys enjoy this much more than females typically.

Friday

Today as soon as Trey dropped Danielle off at school she developed a rash similar to the one that indicated strep throat last time. So the school called and Trey took her to doctor (no strep this time) and then brought her home. When they arrived home, they found two guilty-looking dogs (in because of rain and cold) and the remains of the gingerbread house:

This afternoon, T + D they made these Pocket Pies (from Alton Brown's recipe) filled with jellies and froze for future quick breakfasts.

At 3pm I went with my coworker, whose father recently passed away, to pick up his ashes at the funeral home. We got to the funeral home and the workers weren't there even though they were "open" until 5pm and she had called them an hour previous to let them know she would be coming at 3:30 to get him! She called the after hours number and they said "oh, we're at the south location and will be there in about 30 minutes." I must say I was very proud of her because she stood up to the guy on the phone and they ended up delivering her father's ashes to her home. The funeral home was very close to my house and since the plans changed - and she needed to get home immediately then - my coworker dropped me off at my house. I called my boss, explained and requested that I work my last 2 hours from home. Thankfully, he was understanding.

Tonight Trey and I watched a travel show on Katmandu. It was beautiful. At commercial break time it asked "if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?" We thought about this for a while - if money, political climate and threat were not factors. Trey thinks Malaysia or Singapore. I think Jerusalem. But then again, I would love to see Venezuela - where my mom considers "home" and has told me so much about, Antarctica - a place I would never had thought of except for Trey's friend who spent a week there for work, Russia - after seeing all of Lucas' photos . . . the list goes on and on . . . So, think about - where would you go?

milkshakes before dinner

Boo bear had two cavities that had to be filled - on teeth that won't fall out until around 10 or 11 years old so at least we'll get our money's worth. She did pretty good - cried some - but enjoyed the bonus that she gets to eat milkshakes and pudding until the numbness wears off before dinner! I took advantage, too, and we grabbed a couple of milkshakes on the foggy ride home.

few recent pics update

D's cousin is over today and we finally got around to decorating our Christmas gingerbread house:

My mom taught D how to make these little yarn dolls on Saturday. Here is D's solo first attempt:

We had thought the reason the birds didn't visit the bird bath was because we put it too close to the house; now we know the real reason:

fun date

This afternoon my mom babysat Danielle while Trey and I tried to catch a movie that I've been wanting to see (The Kite Runner.) We got to the movie theatre only to find the place PACKED and NO PARKING. We were completely shocked as this is the "arty" theatre and usually not crowded at all. So instead we went over to Baby A's to split a late lunch (fajita nachos and fish tacos), to Babies R Us (this baby is SO HEAVY that I wanted to check out those baby support belts) and the library so Trey could pick up some study books for an exam in February. Boy are these exciting books - 1) Introductory Statistics with Applications in General Insurance 2) Probability, Statistics and Queueing Theory and 3) Dictionary of Statistics. The librarian said "you can recheck these out at the end of your three weeks unless someone has a hold on them" to which we replied "you REALLY think someone will want these books in three weeks?" He laughed and said "no, I doubt it." So don't all rush to the Austin library; the books are ours for the next three exciting weeks. lol!

ultrasound results

So we found out we are expecting a healthy . . .

. . . little . . .
. . . sweet . . .

GIRL.

:-)

Money - God's way

A few weeks ago a group of coworkers sent an announcement that they were forming a lunch study group on "Managing Our Finances God's Way." I was very excited about this as there's never been anything remotely like this brought up at work. So today was an informational meeting to find out about it and it is really exciting. It is a study designed by five different authors - one being Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life. A generous, anonymous donor is donating the workbooks. We start meeting in 2 weeks and I can hardly wait! You can find out about it at http://www.purposedriven.com/

Cheer photos from first game

pre cheer stretch

pre cheer practice

on the sidelines

through the tunnel halftime performance

our little chicken

(Sarah - I think you'll love this.) We think this is all just hystical.

Late this fall Danielle started "bach, bach"-ing at us. She just randomly acts like a chicken but she's a kid so I don't really care too much (the bach, bach-ing gets a little old sometimes.) The last day before Christmas break I got to leave work early but when I went to pick Danielle up she wanted to see the end of the movie they were watching. I sat down with her and noticed that a couple of the kids in the class would say "bach, bach" to her then she would "bach, bach" back. On the ride home I was asking D about her day and the conversation went like this:

"So what did you play on the playground?"
"Oh we played the chicken game."
"What's the chicken game?"
"It's where I act like a chicken and chase the kids around to catch them and eat them."
"How did that game get started?"
"Oh well . . . you know, one day I was just standing there, flapping my arms like a chicken going 'bach, bach' and Remington said 'ahhhh, don't eat me!' so I went 'chomp, gulp' and ate him."

And the chicken game was born. Pretty much every day D and friends play the chicken game at recess and greet each other with "bach, bach."

On Thursday I had a hard time getting going so we got to school very late (around 9:30.) The kids were coming off the elevator so D's teacher motioned for them all to move to the side of the hallway while I logged her in. Danielle walks off to join the kids when Remington grabs her hand (and says "bach, bach.") As I'm about to walk off I hear another little boy mention something to Remington to which Remington replied "someday I'm going to marry this chicken." Now THAT'S a statement I bet you don't hear everyday . . .

Girls Night Out . . .

. . . or as Hannah Montana would sing "GNO." Last night I had a well deserved night out in honor of friend Mandi with Sarah and Kathy. It was very fun getting to chit chat with gals I rarely get to see but consider some of my very good friends.

Gimme a U!

Danielle started Upwards Cheerleading right before Christmas break. Tonight was the first night after break back at practice. Her uniform, pom-poms and megaphone came in and she is THRILLED. Trey took her to practice since I was hostess of my UMW circle meeting tonight. First cheering on is this Saturday.

side fence up

Our side fence blew down a few days before Christmas. When Trey went to pick up lumber supplies our "new" used Suburban completely died at the HD (fuel pump + a small hole in the small gas tank.) So Christmas Eve day, Doug (my FIL,) Andrew (my brother) and Trey tried to fix the suburban, gave up, and (sort of) fixed the Tahoe brakes. (They couldn't figure out how to get the auto adjust back on the brakes.) So the day after Christmas Doug and Trey built most of the side fence while I got the Tahoe inspected and licensed. On the 27th Trey and I did another section of the fence before heading off to Padre in the mostly fixed Tahoe. When we got home from Padre Trey went to the library to check Chilton's and fixed the auto adjust on the Tahoe brakes. Then there has been work and the strep incident before the weekend. Yesterday Trey drove to SA to pick up a used but holeless gas tank.

So with all that, there has been a small (but the most difficult) part of the fence that had not been completed. TODAY we finished the fence. It is very pretty. Trey still has to assemble the gate and switch it out with a few pickets but that's it. The dogs are free to move about the backyard.

D was an angel while we fixed the fence - she hauled all the extra scrap lumber pieces around and drafted her plans for building her own church. Trey and I are allowed to help with the music but she is determined that she is the Pastor. D is a little upset that I didn't stop to buy Goldfish crackers for her church nursery this evening. Guess I won't make the nursery committee.

solving the itchiness

Turns out that Danielle's itchy rash was a symptom of STREP throat! IIIIEEEEEK. So until 24 hrs of antibiotics, Danielle is contagious and staying put at home.

itchy

Our little Boo Bear complained of being "itchy" when she got into the car this evening and we discovered that her torso is covered with a little rash. I sprayed on some anti-itch stuff, gave her a small amount of Benadryl and a baking soda bath. She seems a little better and the rash is less active now.

The animals all want to be inside more because of the chilly weather.

I think I've got a touch of cedar allergy today so my nose is itchy and my head a little stuffy. Going off to bed early tonight.

Trey seems to be the only one that is just fine, though he is sleepy after a very long day at work. Just relaxing on the couch watching football -- which is a rare thing for Trey unless it's the Longhorns.

2007's New Year's resolution

I really love to read but don't get to often. So for New Year's resolution 2007 I resolved to read a book a month for pleasure. I didn't quite get there but these are the books I did get to read for pleasure this year:

1) Until I Find You by John Irving - I'm tempted to count this as 2 books since it was SOOO long. While there was some interesting history on tatooing, I enjoyed this the least of the JI books I've read. For the record, I'm a HUGE JI fan but this was a rough book for me.

2) The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber - needed something a little lighter after the first book choice. It served its purpose.

3) Colony Girl by Thomas Rayfiel - parts were interesting and funny but it wrapped up too neatly.

4) Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho - interesting, insightful in places but not really my usual fare. I've heard others by PC are great so I'll probably give him another chance.

5) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - fantastic. This book has been made into a movie that I hope to see soon. The trailer can be viewed at http://www.kiterunnermovie.com/ (Enter the site, go to Media, official trailer)

6) The Widow's Club by Joyce Livingston - ugh. Did not like the book at all. I found the main character to be an awful, self righteous woman who claimed to be doing all these things as a good Christian.

7) The Glass Castle - by Jeannette Walls. Wow. If you think you are having a bad day, read this. Two of the most selfish parents in the world...I am impressed that the author survived and succeeded so well.

So I didn't do great on last year's resolution but it was a start. Can't think of many resolutions this year yet. I'm just glad we made it through the holidays. Did you make any resolutions? Happy New Years!