Meet Miss Mia

This is my newest niece Mia Ramielle. She was born yesterday, which just happened to be my anniversary. She seems to be very patient, which is always an admirable trait in a newborn, especially when you are you're Mommy's first baby. She's just as bitty as she can be, born 5.3 pounds and 19.5 inches long.
I'm pretty sure I'm her favorite aunt (shhh... don't tell Aunt Kelly). I'm also almost positive that she wants big Texas sized headbands adorned with froufrou bows. I have a sixth sense about these kind of things ;o) I guess I'll have to hook her up!

Koo Koon

There's never any shortage of fun around here, no siree.

Check out the little critter that visited us yesterday. It's a baby raccoon. He was wandering around our front yard, obviously scavenging for food so I took it a plate of cat food. Apparently baby raccoons are big entertainment because all of my kids came outside and just sat there and watched it eat.



He wasn't very fast and he didn't seem bothered by us at all. There was a time (long, LONG ago) when I would have taken in that bundle of potentially rabid furry cuteness and raised it as a domesticated pet, bought it little coon sweaters for the holidays, and so on. But not anymore. Five kids is apparently the cure for a chronic case of taking in stray animals. Although, if it had been a bird (particularly a Hawk) I probably would be writing this with a new friend perched on my shoulder. The coon however, was a bit easier to resist, even if he did have sad beady eyes.


I was pretty sure he was harmless, but a part of me was ready for him to realize he'd been lured in to a trap by the yummy goodness of Hills Science Diet and go crazy trying to claw all of our eyes out. I informed the kids that if it made any sudden moves they were to run for their lives. I even told them that coons can carry rabies and if they got bit they would have to get 20 shots in the belly or they would die. Extreme? Maybe. Untrue? Probably. But I couldn't remember all the facts about rabies and Google was not an option, so I had to punt. I'm sure I gave Jonah something good to talk about in therapy. Every time he moved in the raccoons direction I shouted "20 shots!!" in an effort to scare him straight.



After Koo Koon (ya, I named him/her) finished eating he headed for the nearest tree and started climbing. He got about 10 feet high and fell, yes FELL off of it and crashed on to the ground with a THUD! I might have freaked out a teeny tiny bit, and shouted "Get the baby! Get the baby!" because for some reason I felt like Jaden needed to be protected from a two pound dazed and confused orphaned raccoon baby.

Koo Koon finally made it safely to a nook in the tree and we all went inside. Today I wondered what the heck I was thinking sending a defenseless baby lump of love out in to the wild on his own. I passed no less then a dozen dead raccoons on the roads today. I couldn't help but wonder if that is how Koo Koon will end up. I put some more food out in the yard today in case he came back. Tonight I was driving home in the dark and I spotted some glistening spots in a neighbors drive way. "Koo Koon?" I thought.... no, just a soccer ball. Sigh. I guess I'm not as cured from my obsession with strays as I thought I was. Good luck tiny Koo Koon, live long and prosper!

A Homecoming Bri Ha Ha

This past weekend was homecoming weekend for Hannah and Noah's high school. I had this plan to get pictures of everyone before they left but it didn't pan out. It took a lot longer for Hannah to get ready then I thought it was going to (imagine that). And while I was helping Hannah do her hair, Noah got dressed and left to go meet up with his friends.
So here's what I managed to capture....

Bri and "Ha Ha" (that's how Jaden says Hannah, so stinkin' cute) doing their hair.

Then they left, about 45 minutes later then they should have so you know what that means? Yep. No before photos.

Fast forward several hours and they came home and asked me to take some pictures. They were so goofy. They are ALWAYS goofy.

Walking like an Egyptian.

Posers.

Uhhh... I have no idea.
Don't make the face if you don't want me to take a picture of it. That's all i'm sayin'.
Like I said, just plain goofy.

A hole lotta love...

Donut holes that is.

I heard Jonah laughing and calling my name from down the hall this morning. He walked in to the room declaring "You have to see this!" Then he held up two donut holes that were being held together by thier sticky sugary goodness and said "They are getting a hug!" and he laughed and I laughed. I snapped a picture. Then suddenly, without warning, he shoved the snuggling couple in to his mouth and there was screaming and gnashing of teeth... Ok, not really.

Donuts don't scream.

I have bloggers block. Isn't that silly? Silly but true.

So, um... uhhh... well, Jonah just had a birthday. He is four! Saturday is Lee's birthday and that is the end of our 2008 birthday run. You know what that means.... it's time for the holidays. It's enough to bring on a little panic attack, isn't it? Let's take a deep breath together.

For several years now, I've tried to use the Organized Christmas website to help me stay on top of the holiday madness. I always start late, but this year it looks like I'm going to be right on time! I'm going to count that as a victory, albeit a small victory, but these days every tiny triumph counts.

Summer is over and I didn't really keep my blog updated over the last few months. Let's catch up....

Jaden turned 2


My nephew Kendall visited


Hannah turned 17


We went to the circus


Emma started 4th grade (Noah started 10th and Hannah is a SENIOR)


Lee and Danny surprised me with a trip to California to surprise Christine


Hurricane Ike dropped by




Jaden narrowly escaped being consumed by his hair.

  

Jonah finally got to have his party after having it postponed for several weeks due to Ike




So, that's about all for now. Hopefully it won't be two months before you hear from me again...

The Mother of Invention

Thomas Edison said, "To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Apparently Emma and Edison are kindred spirits. She recently made a curious little contraption for Jonah. It's made from things you might find laying around your house. Paint brushes, a lid from a jar and tape. Tape is essential to Em's existence. She uses it for any and every thing. It got so bad that I had to forbid her from using tape for a time. I think the condition is communicable because recently Jonah started asking me for tape. I refused to give him any the first few times he asked so he came up with a new strategy. He now quantifies exactly how much tape he needs (3 pieces, 6 pieces, etc.), he presents it as a need not a desire, and he's always willing to negotiate. It seems to be working for him so far because I always give him tape.

If you had to guess, what would you say this is used for?

I bet you want a hint don't you? Well too bad. Hints are for people who don't know the answer and don't want to guess and be wrong.

Oh gawsh... stop whining. Fine, I'll give you a hint. It's used to reach something.

Ok, click here to see a picture of Jonah using it.
Isn't that cool? He always has to ask for help to turn on lights so Emma had the ingenious idea to make him a special tool so he can be more independent. It's a classic case of necessity being the mother of invention. He loves it AND it actually works! It's not very sturdy, but it's just a prototype. I think these gadgets are going to be huge, huge I tell ya.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. I welcome it, and yet I don't. I love not having to be on a strict schedule. I am however dreading the first "Mom I'm boooooored." Ugh. Not only do I have to cook and clean for the little monsters, now they are going to expect me to entertain them day and night for the next three months. I'm thinking about buying one of those big inflatable water slides to keep the kids busy, i'm just not convinced they won't get tired of it. I'm also a little afraid of how hard it will be to take care of and store. So i'm undecided.... Imagine that.

Great kid quote of the week:

Jonah: "I'm so happy Mommy."

Mom: "You are?"

Jonah: "Yes, you make me so happy."

Awww... So i'm currently looking for this in toddler sizes. JUST KIDDING.... You don't think I'd actually admit to having a favorite do you?