AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

No, that's not the stress of Christmas Eve-Eve getting to me. It's the stress that I hit "delete" when I didn't really mean to hit delete. I have deleted everyone's blog from my blog list.

For a heart-warming Christmas gift from you to me, would you please let send me your blog name again so I can fill up another list? You can post it as message, send it to me by email, snail mail or even send me a Facebook message. It's pretty hard to not reach me these days. Gees, you could even call of my phone numbers or come visit me!

Merry Christmas everyone! May you be healthy, happy and not delete your blog lists in the coming year (but if you do I'll remind you of my blog address).

Happy birthday Heids

The baby is three - and she's still the baby! (Whew!)

When Heidi came into my room in the morning I asked her how old she was. Surprisingly, she said, "Tuna haf." Heidi's been counting down for her birthday and was very excited that today was the day. Maybe she didn't get it after all. I said, "No Heidi. You're three today!" To which she responded, "No. First my party, THEN I be three." (She is apparently fluent in Ebonics.)

I kept asking her all day how old she was and she just wouldn't say three. Maybe, I thought, she was like those ladies who are perpetually 29, except Heidi's lie would be a little more obvious.

Then we had the party - with chicken pinata included. As soon as she blew out the candles she said, "Now I three!" and then she tried to eat the candles. I guess three isn't all that grown up after all. But come on, look at her. That's a big girl!

Happy birthday Heids. We love you!

So the flu shot DIDN'T make us sick?

On Tuesday morning Heidi and Molly had their H1N1 doses. Molly got a shot. Heidi got the mist. On Tuesday afternoon Molly started throwing up like crazy. I'd always thought that the people who said the flu shots made them sick were full of beans. I changed my mind after this. She was FINE before the shot. Darn flu shot. I thought Heidi was just lucky to have had the mist.

On Friday night Emily and Molly had their dance recital. It was fantastic! They were both so cute and really excited to be in the performance.

On Saturday morning Emily had another performance, this time with Heidi. We were so excited to go that we got there an HOUR early by mistake. I think that should make up for the times I've been 5 minutes late. I was planning to take a cute photo of the Heidi and Emily like the one of Em and Molly above but SOMETHING happened.

News flash!

The flu shot did not make Molly sick. She had the flu.

Everything was fine during the first performance. Just before the second performance of the morning started I was called from my seat because, as they put it, "We have some tears." Well, of course it was Heidi. She'd been freaked out about the clown outfit she was supposed to wear. I thought we'd worked through that, but I guess not.

I was so surprised to see it was Emily crying. When I got backstage they told me she was so sad because she didn't make it to the garbage can in time. WHAT?! After everything was cleaned up and Emily calmed down she said she still wanted to dance. She was first and Heidi was third so we said we'd just sneak out and get the girls after Heidi's dance.

Emily danced. I could tell she wasn't feeling well and decided maybe seeing her dance would have been more fun at our house when she was feeling much, much, much better. At least we'd get to see cute Heidi. Oh wait. She never came out. She was now sick in the back too!

Poor girls! Poor teachers who had to clean things up!

Emily's Saturday performance photo

Heidi's Saturday performance photo.

And here's Heidi's Dora cake. Saturday afternoon was supposed to be her birthday party but we had to postpone it. She was so sad but still insisted in wearing her "party dress" that you can see in the previous photo.

So to recap, the flu shot did not make us sick. Molly made us sick, and by us I mean EVERYONE in our family. Scott and I got it Saturday night. Fun.

Wishing you a happy, healthy mid-December!

I looked out the window and what did I see?

SNOW!

In the 7 1/2 years we've lived here, this is the first time we've had snow in our yard!

When Emily told me there was frost all over the roof my first thought was, nuts. I forgot to cover up the plants. Then I looked outside and saw heavy, thick frost. WAIT A MINUTE! I remember that stuff from 17 years in Minnesota!

We had to commemorate this special event with an early-morning photo of the girls in flip flops and shorts. They were not jazzed about going outside in it but I said I needed the photo because they might not see snow in their backyard again until they're married. To which, Heidi immediately replied, "I'M NOT GETTING MARRIED!" (I don't see the 3-year-old boys knocking down the door, so I guess she's right - for now.)

Here's another photo of the yard without the girls. Yep - that last photo wasn't photoshop trickery. It snowed!

And everyone knows that no snowfall is complete until a snowman is created. Can you see ours? Look carefully - this is California.

Ho ho yourself!

Can you find someone who was not having fun at the ward wear-your jammies-to-breakfast breakfast this morning?

Here's a hint. It's not Molly or Scott.

Hey, I just realized Molly is wearing the same jammies as last year's breakfast party. Luckily this year she's wearing a fancy bow on her forehead so we can tell the photos apart. Gees, I think I'm wearing the same thing too. 2008 breakfast party attire is soooo in this year.

It's also not Laurie or Heidi.

Poor Emily. Perhaps she just didn't like the Sunny D and was hoping for freshly squeezed OJ instead. I know I'm always hoping for that.

Luckily things quickly turned around when the big man come to town (after the fourth Wise Man who was a real disappointment for anyone looking for a portly guy in red).

If I send this one to Ellen will I win a prize?

Heidi! I think the elves are going to give her a black mark for that one.

Happy December!

Turkies

Happy post-Thanksgiving hangover (the turkey-induced kind, not the alcohol variety, of course)! It's only noon and I've already finished off most of the leftovers.

To get the day kick-started, we ran around the ville for a good cause. Scott ran the 10K, I walked the 5K while pushing the pre-schooler and the pre-pre-schooler and Emily RAN the 5K! Really! My fast walking is as fast as her running so we were a perfect team.

We had a great time and are going to make it an annual tradition. Next year I think Emily's going to go for an age-group win. Look out Dawson!

I think Scott is dreaming of the turkey. It was goooood.

Now onto Christmas!

We just can't stop our(s)elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Two days early, but who's counting?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Santa's Little Helper

Emily took it upon herself to help Santa with the naughty list.

It looks like the younger sisters aren't getting presents this year.

Not to brag, but . . .

I know some girls who ALL wore underpants to bed last night.

I guess having giant tonsils that make you wake up three times a night are good for something. You get the chance to use the bathroom a few extra times. (13 days until we see the ENT. I'm making a chain.)

As Buddy the Elf once said, um, slightly differently,

"You did it. Congratulations! World's best underpants wearer. Great job, Heidi! It's great to be here."

Heidi's first day of preschool!

Heidi missed the preschool cutoff by a just over a week. I didn't mind. She was still in diapers and wasn't ready for school anyway.

Three months later that all changed! Suddenly she was excited about her fancy underpants and was really tired of hanging out with me all the time while her sisters got to go to school. I was also tired of having her be tired of hanging out with me.

On Monday I happened to find a once-a-week preschool for kids Heidi's age. Today was her first day. HOORAY FOR US ALL!

For my far away friends - come visit. We have oranges and wear short sleeves.

Molly and I dropped her off, checking out the classroom and, most importantly, the bathroom. Apparently, they're always fascinating. Her school stores some their hula hoops in on a hook in the bathroom. Molly got really excited and deemed it THE BEST BATHROOM IN THE WORLD. Wow. Beat that, Vegas.

Heidi loved school! Her class made what she called "gobblers" and what I call the cutest handprint turkey crafts I've ever seen. She wants to go back tomorrow. I want her to also.

Just when you thought Scott couldn't get more manly . . .

Scott's New Year's resolution was to run. He didn't say how far or how often, but just to do it - at least once. We're big fans of very attainable goals in this family.

It was August when Scott decided it was time to cross that goal off his list. A few months ago, after jogging twice he decided to sign up for a race. Not a normal race, like a kids fun run or a 5K , but a half-marathon!

So he's been training in the heat of Hawaii and the freezing cold that is suddenly Northern California. He even bought shoes that he hasn't already owned for several years and that he hasn't already used to mow the lawn.

Last weekend Scott and a friend even drove THREE HOURS to a race. Scott entered the eight mile trail run and his friend James ran the 50K. That's right, 5-0-K. These two may run different races, but they have the same ideas about how to save money. The night before the race they CAMPED in the race parking lot. James slept in his awesome van and Scott slept on the Aerobed on the grass.

I think we need a van so Scott can start training for the Ironman.

Happy Halloween!

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Spoooooky recycling!

OK, so we're not really spooky at our house. I like cute Halloween, which, thanks to cute girls, is pretty easy to have. It's also easy when you have a dress-up box full of old costumes that the girls go through to pick their costumes!

Here's spooky Molls in her witch costume - the scariest of the bunch - about to get hit with a spider cookie. (Witch was recycled from Emily's 2005 costume.)

Disney wishes their princesses were this cute!

Heidi had been planning to be a dog for MONTHS before Halloween (Dog costume was also Emily's, recycled from 2004) , so imagine my surprise when the morning of trunk-or-treat she decided she wanted to be Cinderella.

Last year Molly and Heidi both wanted to be Cinderella. Amazingly enough, we HAD two Cinderella costumes already! Molly's was purchased as a dress-up outfit and Heidi's was a dress-up outfit for Emily's 4th birthday. Funny story - it was supposed to be a 4T. Um, no. Heidi was not jazzed about wearing the one Molly wore last year because, as she explained, "Molly's Cinderella, not mine." So she wore the faux-4T. She looks like she's ready for the DCC. Good thing she's wearing that undershirt.

Last March, Emily and her favorite friend Emma decided they wanted to be princess M&Ms for Halloween. Thanks to JoAnn and her fabulous 50% off all felt sale, their wish came true! I have a feeling I can't pass this costume to any sisters. Maybe Em & Em want to recycle this one next year? It's pretty cute.

I'm sorry to say I actually spent money on this one, well only for the hair so I'm not too sorry. Maybe if I had shelled out a little extra people might have guessed who we were. Here's a hint - TV.

Can you guess? Do you give up?

ALOOOOOOO-HA!

Luaus

and sand angels

and volcanoes

and triathletes

(That's Chrissie Wellington, 2009's Ironman World Champion!)

and kayaks

and hula girls, OH MY!

DCC!

Maybe this was a mistake.

I was folding clothes yesterday and watching a very entertaining show on CMT - Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team 4. Emily wanted to watch too so she sat down and started asking questions.

Why aren't they wearing ponytails?

Are they moms?

Why are they dancing like that?

Do their moms know they want to be cheerleaders?

Why is that one crying?

Finally, after watching the girls trying out in their skimpy skimpies, she looked at me and said,

"Mom, you wouldn't be very good at this job.

Your underwear is lots longer."

My dreams have been crushed by my giant underpants!

Don't be surprised

When you have six kids at your house for the weekend

(#6 is behind Heidi's golf club/sword)

and you take all of them miniature golfing

in 100 degree weather,

don't be surprised if this is the best photo you can get.

Oh, and don't be surprised when at least one kid gets stuck in a hole.

Up!

We spent Friday and Saturday in the biggest little city in the world, not to be show-offs or to try to double our yearly income but for . . .

the annual hot air balloon race!

It was amazing and even though we got up at 4:30 (yes, am, and yes, on a vacation) We could stand in the balloon area and watch the balloons fill up and launch.

I was so surprised the organizers let us just walk around. I hate to say this, but this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I'm just glad we were there before the lawsuits started.

Oh, also, the girls are wearing the pajamas on purpose. The local Reno paper sponsored something they called the world's largest pajama party. Um, not really. To attend you sign up and they give you a bag filled with low-grade swag and advertisements. Oh well. It's always fun to wear jams in public with your mom's permission.

Haven't you always wanted to see inside a hot air balloon?

This one was called "Heated Passion."

The girls were pretty tired on the drive home.

Just like they were the weekend before when we hit the Scottish festival.

Any ideas for next weekend's car nap?

Problem Solved

Two girls earned a movie after school today.

Two girls were excited to watch Barbie Nutcracker.

One girl wanted to jump on and pull the hair of the girls who had earned a movie today and who were excited to watch Barbie Nutcracker.

One girl is now watching Barbie Nutcracker from her car seat.

Problem solved.

When is Oprah giving me my own talk show?

Great Scott!

We always knew that Scott's family was Scottish. I was surprised to discover that we had relatives living in the same county in Scotland in the 1600s. I hadn't even realized I had Scottish relatives, so I was very excited. I also wondered if this was why we look so much alike.

I guess it's OK if you marry a relative if there's a 400 year gap.

This weekend we decided to show our girls (well, and us) our heritage at one of the biggest Scottish festivals in the US. (FYI, and yes, I am showing off here, we didn't bring a diaper bag or even a stroller! YEEEES!)

We weren't quite sure to expect.

Would we see people all dress up like this?

Not quite. They were mostly like this.

Notice the guys on the right and left in their Utilikilts. They're "modern" kilts with cargo pockets. I tried to talk Scott into one but he denied his heritage. Don't you think they'd be pretty handy for church? Pens in one pocket, scriptures in another, coloring books and crayons on the front . . .

Unfortunately we did see some of this.

Again, notice the Utilikilt. All the cool guys have them.

Big mistake Scott.

The girls thought the boys in skirts were funny and enjoyed walking around looking for the most interesting outfits.

When not looking for the men's "purses",

Heidi enjoyed tossing the haggis into the pot.

Molly exacted some revenge and even boasted about it.

Emily found this really cool hideout under the soccer bleachers.

When Scott does decide to start wearing his kilt to church, we found some tartan options for him.

This one is his family's tartan. It's a little Christmassy for my taste.

And this one's mine! I'll let him borrow this one.

First day for a first grader

Oh, yes. She looked confident.

(and cute too, if you ask me)

Feeling confident was another story. All-day school seemed pretty scary. Emily has been kind of nervous all week, but she knew there was no getting out of it.

Luckily this morning she felt a little better and was even a tiny bit excited, but that was mostly about buying milk in the cafeteria.

"Should I get chocolate or white?

If I get chocolate today can I also get chocolate tomorrow or not?

What happens if I get chocolate every day?

Can I do that?"

I poked my head into the classroom to make sure she was OK. Look! She's OK! She smiled without even being asked to smile!

She is probably thinking about that chocolate milk.

UPDATE:

Emily had chocolate milk for lunch today.