Glasses, Genes & Jeans

After having Lasik 11 years ago, Leer finally had to break down and get glasses again. I can't stop looking at him because I think he looks so good in them. It reminds me of what he looked like the first time I saw him. My stares are starting to bug him, but I don't care.

For Christmas, I am asking for a new camera. Mine sucks, as you can see. This was the best picture I could get of him out of about 30 that I took. He was thoroughly annoyed. But that problem could be easily solved if he would kindly buy me a new camera. Hint. Hint.

One more thing, Leer getting glasses prompted this funny conversation between Chloe & Myah:

Myah: How do you know if you are going to need glasses?

Chloe: It depends on your genes.

Myah: Oh...what if your jeans are light blue?

Myah The 6 Year Old

Happy Birthday, cute Myah! I hope you know how special you are to us. You bring so much happiness to our lives and also a lot of entertainment with your funny personality. I hope this is your best year yet.

Thanksgiving

Here is what Thanksgiving looked like at our house this year. We all had the Swine Flu. Not fun. We even had to cancel our plans to spend the long weekend in Las Vegas with family. Instead we stayed home, watched movies, and coughed on each other. We'll probably never forget this one.

Frosty

One of Myah's favorite songs this time of year is "Frosty The Snowman". But, she doesn't quite have the lyrics exactly right. Oh, and she pronounces the "th" sound with an "f". Her version goes like this:

Frosty The Snowman was a jolly happy soul,

wiff a corn buck toof and a button nose...

She Feels So Free & So Graceful

This is a picture of Chloe running. Bless her heart.

Her running style is actually one of the things I love most about her. So carefree...

Does it remind you of anything?

My Name Is Becky and I'm a D-I-Yer

I have a disease. It's the "I-can-make-that-myself-for-so-much-cheaper" disease. I have a really hard time paying full price for furnishings for my home when I know with a little bit of elbow grease I can turn trash into treasure. Almost everything in my house is used. It's either hand-me-downs from family members or stuff I find at garage sales or thrift stores. I actually quite like refinishing furniture. It has been a very satisfying hobby for me. Here is my latest project:

It's a coffee table that I bought at D.I. for $40

I look for furniture pieces that have "good bones" and are in good condition structurally.

When refinishing furniture, you must wear your ugliest clothes, don't take a shower or wear make-up, make sure you are way overdue for a hair color and let your 5 year old play with your camera.

I used 5 cans of this for this project.

I love my horses, my sawhorses, that is.

I used a walnut stain to rub into the crevices of the table. I'm usually not a fan of distressed or antiqued furniture, but the design of this table called for it.

The stain really highlights the unique lines of the table.

And here she is in her new home in my basement. This picture says a lot about my taste. When it comes to design, I'm a fan of the mismatched. Just look at my pillows for example. On my green sofa I have 5 pillows, all different, none of which are green. And look at my tables; I have a rattan bombe chest, a black metal end table with bamboo shaped legs, a natural maple plant stand (that my dad made), and behind my sofa I have a dark cherry wood sofa table. Plus my new antique white beauty. Somehow all these different things work together. At least they work for me.

Ding-Dong, Trick-or-Treat!

Myah the Witch. I think she really thought she could fly on that broom. We were excited to find that at DI. It had a lovely mauve and country blue floral arrangement attached to it that we promptly removed. Sweet ride, Myah!

With all the commotion of helping our neighbors pack up for their big move and with Jason being out of town so much this month, we never did get our pumpkins carved. Oh well.

Chloe's friend Brielle the Vampire and Chloe as Raggedy Ann. Chloe's costume was actually mine when I was her age. My mom made that costume for a play I was in at church. She even made the wig out of bright red yarn and pantyhose. Don't ask. And don't tell Chloe...

We were lucky this year to spend Halloween with our dear friends and next door neighbors the Tammens. They stayed with us for a couple days before moving to Nashville on Sunday morning. So sad to see them go and terribly hard to say good-bye. Boo-hoo, sniff, sniff, waaaaaaaahhhh, whimper, whimper...okay, I'm hyperventilating again. Moving on... Layla and Addi were black cats.

Tammy & Brad as Vampires

63, 64, 65.... "Mom, you're making me lose count!"

88, 89, 90...Taking inventory

It was a great night. I just love Halloween. Nothing too scary this year except for the Lawrence Welk marathon airing on PBS that my in-laws insisted on watching. :) Just kidding...well, not really but I did enjoy their company while everyone else was out trick-or-treating. Happy Halloween!

He's Alive! He's Alive!

Last night the girls and I tried our hands at making some Frankenstein pops. If you want to make some, here are the ingredients that you'll need.

I added some peppermint extract to the green candy melts, but you could also use green mint chips.

Note: You might also want to borrow Myah. She will sing her rendition of "I Want To Rock & Roll All Night" the entire time you are making these.

So, you dip the marshmallow into the melted green candy and use a small spatula or knife to wipe off the excess coating. Then dip the top into the chocolate jimmies.

Then use a small paring knife to make some holes in the sides for your tootsie roll bolts (or earrings, as Myah calls them). Also, you'll want to add your licorice lips at this point while the candy coating is still wet.

Then stand them up in something, like a mug (or hot tub as Chloe calls them).

Once they have hardened, you can lay them on a piece of wax paper. Pipe some eyes on. We used melted white chocolate chips for this. Then use some melted chocolate chips to pipe some pupils on.

Some of them turn out pretty darn cute.

Others...well, not so much.

We ran out of jimmies for their hair, so I decided to let Myah decorate the bald ones all by herself. They look AMAZING!

If you have a daughter as talented as Myah, you may even end up with one that resembles Sloth from The Goonies.

Anyhoo, we had lots of fun and they taste pretty good!

The Writing On The Wall...And The Table

The other day, Leer mentioned to me how great he thought it was that our kids never really were the type to write on the walls. But recently, while painting the walls, we found this:

It says "Chloe and Myah's hideout"

Well, you know how one home improvement project leads to another...I decided to try my coffee table from downstairs in the family room upstairs. That's when I discovered this:

Artwork on the underside of the coffee table

And it's even signed by the artist

There are 3 drawings of houses

And of course she wrote "I love my dad"

Then in big green letters "You are the Best"

I tell myself she wrote that for me, but it's probably meant for her dad. Again.

And then she wrote "I am the best in my flamle" which I think means "family". Best at what, Chloe? Graffiti?

Myah's So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

Leer was away on business all last week. We miss him terribly when he's gone. He called once he left the airport to let us know he was on his way home. Myah parked herself in the middle of the driveway and waited 45 minutes for him to get here.

When she saw him round the corner, she did a celebratory cartwheel.

Then she giggled with glee and wiggled her feet in the air.

And greeted her Dad at the car.

Summer Was A Total Flop

One of the highlights of this summer has been swimming with Myah. She has mastered the belly flop and does them over and over again. She feels no pain.

The Belly Flop...

She's got other skills, too.

Like the Cannonball...

The Back Flop...

The Walk-Right-In...

The Sit-Right-Down...

Leer + Zip Line = Scared Horse & Worried Wife

First Day of School & One Lonely Mom

Today, my baby started Kindergarten.

I always take a picture of Chloe on the first day of school in the front yard. I thought I'd do the same with Myah. She's cute!

Then we got in the car and I let her sit in the front seat. She feels special when she gets to sit in the front seat. She looks big.

Then we got to school and she got in line with her friends. They're cute too.

Then I took about 65 pictures of her standing in line, because she's so cute.

Then she was like, "MOM, seriously..."

Then she just ignored me and my camera.

Then she walked away.

And I cried. It was ugly.

Then I got in the car and thought it would be a good idea to call Leer. It wasn't. Crying, I told him that I had just dropped Myah off at school and that I was on my way to Target. Trying to help, he said, "just think, you get to go there all by yourself!"

Therein lies the problem. Now I have to go to Target by myself. Alone. Without my baby.

In other news, Chloe started 5th grade last week. This is the first year I didn't cry when I dropped her off. Don't get me wrong, I like her just as much as I like Myah. I guess by now I'm just used to her being at school. It's going to be a great year for her.

I always take a picture of her in the front yard on the first day of school. She's something pretty.