A Collection of Orange Food...

It is Christmas Eve and time to lay out the spread for the Big Guy...


What you see pictured here is Egg Nog (Santa's favorite,) pumpkin pie and Cheetos. Yes, Cheetos. Lucy insisted. I stopped her short of putting the them IN the pie "like birthday Cheetos." We also have carrots for the reindeer and the biggest carrot saved in a special, separate bowl for Rudolph who is now Nathan's favorite reindeer as referenced in the letter pictured.



Let's take a closer look at that letter....


Whaaaat? This is news to ME! And when Mommy-I mean Santa-looks up wooden sleds online, (s)he finds they cost about $100 which is a little steep when we go to the snow for exactly 4 hours each year. Boy Santa is going to be bumming out one 5 year old this year. Geez, Santa.

Merry Christmas Nathan.


Merry Christmas, Lucy.

Merry Christmas to all of you from the Zablet Three!!

All About Math!

It's a very simple formula.
Take this....

and this...


And you will be declared to be the BEST MOM EVER!

I got small-ish Christmas Trees for the kids' rooms. The girls' tree is pink, of course. And the boys' got classic green with colored lights since they told me they like colored lights better than my beloved all white lights.

If I had only known the end result...we might have done this a whole lot sooner.
Like in July.


Bonus Image titled "Fun with F-Stop"

Hobbes Is Always a Little Loopy When He Comes Out of the Dryer

Goose got a bath today.

"It takes a reaallly loooong time, Mommy."

This Blog Features the King of the Key Change

I am back from vacation!

It was a memorable trip filled with high temperatures, different food choices, looooots of sleep and I think my skin may even look a teeny bit different.



Let me tell you, dear readers, if breaking out in hives and fever ranging from 101-103 degrees is your idea of a vacation then may I recommend: This Year's Flu! And this isn't just any flu! This is the flu that LAUGHS at your silly Flu Shot! It curses at your Airborne! It spits in the face of all you handwashers which then only makes you want to wash your hands even MORE! MWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!



This flu got David out of work to take care of his wife who was possibly going to melt into a puddle of Bethany right there on his 10+ year old couch. This flu got Ella a Mama that barely moved when she cried. This flu got Nathan a mom that let him watch TV and play video games as long as he was quiet. And this flu got Lucy.....well, her own version of the flu.

It seems this flu only benefited Nathan, really.



My vacation didn't leave me wanting for a souvenir, either! While I do have the hives-or double set since I broke out last night and then again tonight-I also have the awesome souvenir of ringing in the ears! If you have never had ringing in your ears, I will describe it to you as this... Take a million angelic soprano voices hitting their highest possible notes and then spread a few more of them out over octaves just for dramatic fullness of sound. Then imagine the intensity at which they sing matching only that one moment that every mother has when her kids are yelling for juice and she's curled up in the fetal position on the kitchen floor and then stuff that entire effect in both ears.

Oh, and it never stops.

It's awesome! You must get the flu!



Tonight, as my first night if feeling even slightly human and finding my body at a normal temperature, I am also finding myself not asleep. I was lying in bed trying to figure out if the tones I was hearing are actual harmonies, or if there was any modulation depending on if I moved or not and curious if my piano player on Sunday could help me because I might just be hitting a perfect middle C with my ears. I got the totally awesome idea of popping my iPod on and at least falling asleep to something and then once I was asleep, I wouldn't care how many angels were screaming at me-I'd be asleep!



After giving this brilliant idea a try, I am here to offer only a few suggestions....and only a few because I am still not asleep and I am, instead, writing to all of you.



BEFORE putting your ear buds in, decide if you will be sleeping on your back or your tummy. If you are a tummy sleeper, don't attempt to sleep on your back all of a sudden when you know you've been sleeping on your tummy forever. You have to pick one because if you flip over to the other side, guess what's going to "flip" with you? And then might "flip" on your husband's head who then might "flip" out because he was just beaned on the head with an iPod at 2:30 in the morning?

Then, once you are laying in the correct position, you may now place your ear buds in your ears. Here is the part where you might feel cocky and brilliant and think you are a genius for thinking this up and-ouch. An ear bud fell out of your ear and is now impressing some sort of cave into the side of your skull. This can't be good. Maybe it will have fixed the ear ringing?

Nope.

Finally, when you decide that maybe only one ear bud is a good idea, be sure to pick the right music. For this time of year, I could see some light Christmas carols being appropriate. Of course classical always works. I am a big fan of Prokofiev's Peter & the Wolf. I will suggest that a musical such as "Hairspray" is a poor selection since the music will get you moving, the social awareness will make you too aware to sleep and, well, if you did manage to fall asleep, you might dream of Zac Efron. Wait, that last part might not be so bad.

After you do all 3 of these things, you may or may not have found a great way to fall asleep. Or maybe you too will end up with bags under your eyes to match the 2 layers of hives and great blog material.

(This is good blog material?!)

This is How We Do Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving at my mom's with my step sister and her adorable kids included a photo shoot of awesome proportions. Mom made flame outfits for the kids and Grandpa Tim put his blue flame shirt on-isn't that how everyone dresses for Thanksgiving Dinner?

Please to enjoy....

(L-R) Nathan, Lucy, Grandpa Tim, Ella, Cameron, Felicia and Bethany
Also pictured: Grandpa Tim's totally awesome Harley

Cameron and Lucy make good cousins....but he doesn't know what to do with her half the time. None of us do, really.

The boys have to stick together.

Felicia, Bethy and Ella

Grandpa Tim at the bottom of the grandkid dog pile!

Morning By Morning New Mercies I See

"I want to make God smile
and I want to live before others
so when they see me, they will smile at God."
-Amba Mputela

I am not a collector of quotes. However, there are one or two I turn to often as guides for my life or reminders to me. The quote above could be summed up as my life's mission. And, unfortunately for this world, the woman who said this once at my church passed away a few days ago. She was a strong presence in my life and although I have only spoken with her 4 or 5 times, she was in my mind often.

Dr. Amba Mputela was a missionary to the Ivory Coast and was-as someone perfectly phrased it today-a "spiritually charged" woman. She was living her life and giving her gifts and talents to the work of the Lord and for the people of Abidjan whom she loved so very much.

I don't recall all of her story but I know that her journey from young girl to doctor to missionary was one full of trials and difficulty. Her story was amazing and she would captivate a room when she came to speak.

When I first met her, she was visiting Vista Grande and I had just begun dating David. When she met him, she pulled me close to her and told me that "he is a very special man" and she told me that I would marry him.

It was 5 or 6 years later that I saw her again. David and I were married and had been trying to get pregnant with no success. We were frustrated and unsure if we had "a problem" or not. I was at a women's conference and was excited to see Amba again. She remembered me and was happy to hear I had, indeed, married that very special man. She asked if we had kids and I told her some of our troubles. She was quiet for a moment, placed her hand on my stomach and told me I would have a baby soon. It was only a few weeks later that we got pregnant with Nathan.

The last few years of Amba's life was a battle between her strong desire to continue her ministry and care for her body who kept repeatedly failing her. She spent time here in the States and had only just gotten the okay to go home to the Ivory Coast when she fell ill and passed away.

I praise God that He gets to spend time with Amba now. I an thankful that she is pain free and can sing hymns in her strong and beautiful French-African accent directly to her Savior. And I look forward to singing with her again one day.




This is my last post for NaBloPoMo...it is not how I expected to end this month of blogging, blogging, going to bed and almost forgetting to blog, and more blogging. I am thankful for you all who have been reading faithfully and I will not be falling off the face of the earth now that I am not obligated by the potential of winning prizes.

Be well friends...I hope that today you will have a reason to smile at God.

Knock, Knock...You're on in 5, Christmas

The good news is that I didn't poison David's family.
The even better news is that I think everyone had a really nice time.

We are 3 for 3 in Thanksgivings this year and I am officially declaring the season closed.

Enjoy your leftovers. And don't let anyone steal your sandwich....with the Moist Maker.

Give Turkey the Bird

Today was Thanksgiving Number Two. (We have Three of them this year which is less than last year and since I am not nearly as pregnant or stressed, it is all 100% better.)

Today's Thanksgiving was the traditional, jeans and t-shirts and turkey and mashed potatoes and lots of loud kids in a small space kind of Thanksgiving. Last night was the refined, beautiful and lovely Thanksgiving at a gorgeous restaurant with only my kids acting like maniacs. And tomorrow holds the Why Isn't My House Clean Enough to Have Guests Over and Please Dear God Don't Let Me Ruin Both Turkeys or the Mashed Potatoes and Is It Bedtime Yet Thanksgiving. In other words, I am hosting. Pray for my in-laws.

When we haven't been eating or parenting or kind of cleaning, we have been enjoying this:



I love this show.

Holidays Make Us Do Weird Things...Happy Day of Thanks!

I hope your day was so amazing that it caused you to dress up like a pilgrim with your sister and childhood friend and then stand in the living room and take pictures.

They Meet in the Back Room of a Dentist's Office

Nathan informed me yesterday that he is going to form a "Lost Tooth Club."

You can join if you have a tooth you have lost, a tooth that is loose and that you can wiggle with your tongue or a grown up tooth coming in.

I commented that the requirements of membership sounded really strict, what would he say to the people who didn't meet any of those standards?

"Too bad, those are the rules!"

I didn't have the heart to tell him that he doesn't fall into ANY of the parameters.





But his mother does.
Maybe I will show him the club's secret handshake just to be nice.

I Think I'd Just Choke on the Bones

Nathan is spending the night at my mom's house so it's Daddy and The Girl's night tonight. We were eating dinner at the table that we also shared with Lucy's class pets that have come home with us this week: Bert and Flapper, the parakeets. (Pair a what?)

David was asking Lucy some of the specifics of caring for Bert and Flapper, including, "Do we cook them and eat them?"

Lucy replied with a giggle, "No Daddy!"

"Are you sure?"

And with a very serious face, Lucy communicated, "On the instruction sheet it says:

Step One: Give them water every day.
Step Two: Give them food every day.
Step Three: Do not eat them."

David thanked her for being specific.
I thanked God that I didn't have bean burrito come out my nose.

Love at First Squish

So one of my sweet friends had a baby on Tuesday the 11th and due to a series of illnesses and pink eye (yuck!) I had to wait to meet her today. She is so lovely and wonderful and squishy. I love the squish of a newborn baby.

Her head is full of black hair and she made that "ooo" shape with her lips as she looked up at me. I think she knew who I was.

Here is the part where you would look at the picture to the left of this text except there isn't any picture. When I got home from squishing the squishy baby, I found David running a full scan of the computer. Poor computer won't have any secrets after this scan is through. And Miss Squishy's beautiful pictures are on that computer. I promise to add them to this post tomorrow.

Now, this squishy baby has a special story to go along with her already wonderful addition to this world. Her mother told me tonight, "I have become 'That Mom' who all my friends tell their friends about." And it is true.

Miss Squishy was measuring kinda on the big side and she was hanging out in the wrong direction so a c-section was scheduled. We all waited by our phones for the text and picture to deliver the details. We expected 10 pounds.

We got 11.
11.2, actually.
That, as my husband put it, is a LOT of baby.
You are totally thinking of someone to tell about this, aren't you?

When I held her tonight, she felt familiar to me. She smelled just right. Because when babies are born to people you love, that love is immediately attached to those children. And there was definitely enough love for this sweet wonderful baby girl.

She was worth the wait.

The tiny bundle by her side stirred a little, and though it was scarcely more than the ruffling of a feather, she awoke; for the mother-ear is so close to the heart that it can hear the faintest whisper of a child.
Kate Douglas Wiggin

Ring, Ring

If you talked to me on the phone today, here are the things I'd tell you...

I got to hold a piglet today! I real live baby pig! It has a bum leg and is being nursed back to health by Nick's sister Victorria. He was wiggly, loud and preferred wrestling with Coco, the Chihuahua.

Ella didn't see me for a good chunk of the day today. She was with Daddy in the morning while I got some extra sleep. Then we went to church and Daddy had her for band rehearsal. Then I fed her a jar of food and she was off with Gwen, her Sunday Morning Buddy and then back with Daddy to head home. By the time I got home after church, she was standing up in David's lap hollering and looking around frantically for me. While it was distressing to hear, it kind of felt good. We had a nice long snuggle in The Big Red Chair.

The hubby is on the couch watching his Sunday night show-Storm Chasers on Discovery Channel. He watches it weekly with great interest even though its on late.....and it almost always makes him run late on Monday mornings. But man, it is exciting. Although the guy who just cleaned himself with the squeegee was, um, not so exciting.

You can tell it's a week of vacation when the kids don't get dinner till nine and in bed till 9:30. Please please thank me by sleeping in!!

Reality TV Shows I am currently obsessed with (excluding the best of all shows, The Amazing Race): Real Housewives of Atlanta, Top Chef, Run's House and Rob and Big. Am I alone here??

The High and Low of picking up my prescriptions at CVS today.....

Low: One of my prescriptions was $86 instead of $16! Uhhhhh, CVS? if I give you that money, I won't be able to buy necessities for my family or $86 worth of crap that I don't need at the Target Dollar Spot.

High: The 2 twelve year old boys each holding giant packs of toilet paper trying to make it look completely natural that they had 24 rolls of 1-ply and were paying in crumpled up singles and quarters. (Note to boys: 2 ply really is worth the extra money. Especially when you toss a roll up into a tree.)

Finally...
Pulled the Uggs out today. Actually, I had to hunt them down. Because when I am not wearing them, my son is! Do you think Uggs makes them in a boy's size 1?

Good Night.

PS: I can't take credit for this find-that honor belings to Cyndi and The Hutch. But man, this is one of the coolest things I have ever seen....

Go Around, April!

The following pictures represent about a week's worth of work in my life.

This is my dog April. She was so much fun growing up. We got her when I was in 5th grade and it took forever to pick a name. We finally settled on April...even though she was born in February. We just GOT her in April.

My dad got the great idea to teach April how to "go around" and walk the tiles that divided our jacuzzi from the pool. About a week of me in the jacuzzi and my dad on the outside making the sign we'd decided on for "go around" and WA-LAA (how do you spell that?) we had a trick to show people who came over to our house!

I bet even a bunch of you readers saw it once or twice too!

Slippery When Wet

Dear St. Louis, Missouri; Derry, New Hampshire and Toronto, Ontario:

If you find yourself sweating so profusely that you then have to Google a phrase like "kids who sweat a lot" or "what can i do if i sweat a lot" or "sweating a lot when sick" which then lands you on this post about a potentially unfortunate visit to my OB/GYN, then I might suggest an anti perspirant or a visit to your physician?

Also, Derry, New Hampshire, you know that you should capatalize "I" when speaking of yourself, right? It could be you tried to but your fingers were too slick from the concerning amount of sweat you are experiencing.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Who Wonders if You Are Sweating All Over your Keyboard When You Read This Blog

Attacked!

"Miss, do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Yes, I do. I was walking along, minding my own business when suddenly the Sidewalk jumped out and GRABBED me! There was nothing I could do!"

"Sounds terrible."

"It was! And THEN, Gravity all of a sudden comes and pushes me to the ground! I was traumatized!"

"Miss, might I offer you 1 rainbow bandage and 1 Hello Kitty bandage?"

*Sniff* "I'm all better now. Thank you."

"Rest assured Miss, we have captured the culprits and put them on time out. They won't be harming you again."

Zuh, Zuh, Zuh

I am a day behind with my Thankfulness list but if you really know me then you know that late is how I roll.

I am lucky to have no problem coming up with my list of Z's. In fact, consider this post a small introduction to the people I know and love...since many of them are the letter Z!

(in no particular order...really Well, maybe a teeeeny bit but only the first part. )

10. Zabrosky, David-He's the whole reason I get to write a Z in my name. He is my sweet hubby who loves me no matter what and who is so so so hot! (Really.) He says hilarious things and has such an intense love for his children that it blows my mind. He is a man of God and the leader of our household and I can't imagine trusting anyone more. Plus, he's hot!

9. Zabrosky, Nathan-He wrote his own book yesterday and it had great pictures and funny jokes. He is growing about an inch a week and I love it when he tries to convince me of things like how his mouth hurts and it is okay for me to take him out of school so he can go to the dentist. Because school doesn't really matter.

8. Zabrosky, Nicholas-I didn't know I could love a child so much who I didn't carry around for 9 months. He taught me so much at his young age and I pray that he will always feel like he has a place in our home-no matter where he lives. Plus he is possibly the funniest kid I know. That's right, I said it. And for bonus points: He will hug anyone who asks for it. And it will possibly be the best hug you ever receive.

7. Zabrosky, Lucy Joy-You wear dresses. You play tea parties. You give hugs and hand kisses when we cross the street together. You play dress up with your friend Lindsay and you watch musicals with me over and over and over. You really are the best. Even when you aren't.

6. Zabrosky, Ella Anne-My baby who started patting me and calling me "mama, mama" this week. She has brought hope to people she barely knows but when they look at her they can't help themselves-they are glimpsing the beautiful work of God the Father. Even the kind Scottish priest at the doctor's office couldn't stop himself from reaching out and giving her a blessing. And she is so hilarious when she plays with that kid in the number 9 spot.

5. Zabrosky, Elizabeth-My niece. I haven't met her yet but I love her so much! She is so smiley in the pictures we receive and I know that she is going to be a wonderful woman since she is being raised by two of the most wonderful people ever. Which leads me to....

4. Zabrosky, Susannah-...one half of that awesome parent duo! Aunt Zunah! She was over at our house the day I found out I was pregnant with Lucy and it was so cool to have her share that with us. And when Nick first came to us, she was there almost every day helping me adjust to the suddenness of having 3 kids under the age of 4 in my home. She loves God. She loves her Man. And she loves her family. And I love her.

3. Zabrosky, Jonathan, Gabriel-The older of the younger brothers. I hear the most hilarious stories and escapades from David that these 3 used to get into. Stories like starting up big bulldozers on jobsites near their home, taking bamboo and making slides out of them, and general sneaking around and getting in trouble games. Best way for boys to grow up.

2. Zabrosky, Klaus-The youngest brother who, for awhile, was such a mini David, I glimpsed what it might be like if we had a son. We had him spend the night sometimes, took him to Sea World and other places. He was a funny kid who wanted to be just like David. Now he is a young man and when David and I think about his actual age, we wonder what happened to the last 10 years?

1. Zabrosky, Mom and Dad-they built a family together and raised the young man who is now my amazing husband. They didn't shoot down the 23 and 19 year olds who came to them with the "great idea" of getting married at such a young age and instead offered guidance and advice to them. And they love their grandkids. Which is apparent after spending time with either of them. I love you guys.

I am lucky to get to have the letter "Z" in my name. But I am even more blessed to that these last 10 as a part of my family.


The Thankfulness ABC's is starting back up again! Join my friends every Tuesday and remind yourself-and the world-that there is much to be thankful for! Head over to Beyond Black and White to see the other Z lists!

Inappropriate Exfoliation

I got this really cool pre-shower loofah (or loofa?) thing for my birthday a few years ago from a very dear friend of mine. I think of her every time I use it.






Which, if you think about it, is kinda creepy.

Like Comparing Apples to...Well, Apples

I just went to Wal-Mart and bought generic brand diapers and beer.





Now I am having trouble figuring out if that makes me White Trash or a Redneck......

A Little Pink in the Eyes

Pink has always been her favorite color.......until today.

We have pink eye. Every girl in my house has it in both eyes. And while it is a major inconvenience for Ella and me, it was more upsetting to Lucy when she found out that it meant she couldn't go to her friend's birthday party today. We have been talking about the party all week, the present Lucy picked out herself has been sitting in our hallway and one night after bedtime, Lucy actually snuck out of her room so she could just look at it.

So now, instead of going to church and a birthday party, my day will be cheering up my daughter by watching (those weird and oddly animated and creepy) Barbie Movies.

Have you seen them? There is a sweetness to them and they always are promoting the whole "look inside yourself for your true beauty and goodness" message but include some sort of a villain who has an extra creepy animal sidekick. And....Kelsey Grammer! (Why is he in all of these?)

Before I go, I don't want to leave you with only a sad story of pink eyes and children's entertainment gone weird. Instead, I give you:

Puppies!!

Or I.A.W.t.B.W.B.a.O.M.G.I.a.s.T.a.I.i.t.E.o.N.Y. For Short

I think I have one every year.

The "I Almost Went to Bed Without Blogging and Oh My Gosh I am so Tired and Is it the End of November Yet?" Blog.

That's what today is.
Good Night.

No Need to Cross Check This One

Nathan is sitting on the couch, pondering the choices he thinks he has for dinner.

"Mommy, can I have a quesadilla again for dinner? Just for special?"*

"We don't have any more tortillas, Nathan."**

"Hmmmm, what else is made with cheese that I can have for dinner?"

Definitely my kid.




* = "Just for special" is a phrase I used one time. Once. ONCE. And now I hear it ALL. THE. TIME. This leads me to the hypothesis that when buying ice cream for the kids out of the blue, I could insert any phrase like "Mommy, you are beautiful and I shall always obey you" as the reason we are purchasing said ice cream and it would then stick as a magical phrase they always remember.

** = Sometimes I will still discuss the perceived dinner options to simply further the nightly delusion he has that he gets to make all the choices in his life. It's how I get my kicks.

I'll Keep My Legs Crossed While You Take a Nap

He is my firstborn-the one I "practiced" on.

The one who made all other babies look like a waste of time--after all, no other baby was as wonderful as him!

He had elfin shaped ears the first few months of his life and the top of his hair grew into one tall swirl that could be pulled up to look like a giant Shirley Temple ringlet. He would get fussy in the evenings but a bath cheered him right up. And he loved his Daddy so deeply from the very start.

And when it was time for him to be with us, Daddy is the one who wanted to go back to sleep!!

When I was pregnant with Nate the Great, we were coming up on our due date and I wasn't working. Read that: I was bored out of my mind. I had folded every onesie. I had washed every blanket. I had arranged and rearranged the baby's room. Two days before my due date, I picked my sister up from work so we could have lunch with our mom. While at Taco Bell, I found a piece of plastic of some kind in my taco and got a card worth 10 free tacos! Later that evening, we went to our friends' house for movie night. It was during the movie that we thought we had some contractions. Wrote down a few things but ultimately didn't have much to report.

I did discover something worthy of reporting when I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I'd peed my bed. Wait. that's not what that was.

"David, my water broke, call the hospital and ask them what we should do."

The reply: "Groooooooannn."

I went to the bathroom for a little while and then came back in my bedroom to a sleeping husband.

"David" I shook him harder than before, "my water broke, call the hospital."

"Grooooooannnn. Zzzz."

Back to the bathroom. And then back to a sleeping husband...again.

I went and got the phone. I placed it next to his snoring body and said, "DAVID. My. Water. Broke. Call. The Hospital. And Ask. What We. Are Su-ppos-ed. To. Do."

I returned to the bathroom.

My husband walked in and leaned on the frame of the door.

"They said take a shower, eat something and then come on in." His head hung low.

"Well, what did you think they were going to say?"

"I was hoping they'd say 'Go back to sleep and come in first thing in the morning.'"

I Might Be the Only One Who Watches This Show

Tomorrow, I am planning to meet some girlfriends for breakfast.
We will be consuming delicious bacon. I am looking forward to it terribly.

I am exhausted and ready for bed-but fulfilling my blogging obligations-save the fact that i just finished watching "Fringe" on DVR and now I find that my mind is filled with the idea of parasites that might wrap themselves around my beating heart.

Ohh that's icky.

Know what's not icky?
Joshua Jackson being witty and charming and doing something heroic to save my life.
Oh Pacey, I've got it bad for your sarcasm and wry smile.


Of course, with my luck, I will just dream about bacon. No, not Bacon. The breakfast kind.
Might not be so bad either way.

Spooning

After careful consideration and extensive examination, I have decided that my favorite of all the utensils is....


The spoon.


The big spoon is my favorite. Especially for cereal. Second is the set of tea spoons I got for my wedding. They are long and they are perfect for reaching into a container of Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch.

The small spoon kinda makes me feel like a giant when I am eating. I generally avoid it all together.




Just like I should have suggested you avoid this blog today all together.

It's No Baby Ruth

You know, you have to be pretty desperate for Halloween Candy when you stoop to eating those Act II Popcorn Balls as a snack.






Gotta go, kernal stuck in my teeth.

How Do I Write This Post Without Making it Sound Like a Poorly Made Adult Film?

While I was taking a shower the other day, I realized that I have been taking a shower the same way since high school. Start with washing and always start with the left arm. Let's break it down...

1. You have to start with washing because your hair is up so it doesn't get body soap in it.

2. Once you have rinsed, you can wash your hair.

3. After washing your hair, you condition your hair.

4. While the conditioner is soaking in and making your hair sleek and shiny so you can look like a Garnier Fructisse commercial (who has super long hair and ties it around things?) then it is time to wash your face.

5 and 6. Rinse, rinse hair and face.

7. And now you can choose from a myriad of shower bonus activities. (No, not that kind. Well, that kind if you wanna. And if you are married.) You could shave, you could apply a form of extra conditioner, the possibilities are endless!

Showers are wonderful.

While doing Step 4 the other day, I accidentally got a little bit of face wash in my nose. Not a terrible thing except my face wash is this stuff with a cooling sensation on it so the rest of the day, it felt like I was walking around with a Halls Cough Drop shoved up my nostril. Quite unpleasant.

The lesson today, kids?
Be careful with your face wash and don't date boys who will tie your hair to a metal railing. it's just weird.

Complete Awesomeness

Got this from Maggie...





In other news....there's lots of updating going on over at the site with all the pretty pictures. And if any locals were hoping to squeeze into this weekend's mini sessions, we still have spots on Sunday.

Exer-Saucing

Three Years Ago...

Lucy Joy
9 months old
2005






Three Minutes Ago....

Ella Anne
(almost) 9 months old
2008

Mama's Note: Ella looks happier becuase she just discovered all the leftover Puffs and pieces of "cookie" she was just eating. She cleaned up!

What a good baby.

Query...

When you have a baby girl and she wears dresses, you get cute little covers-called "fanny pants" in our house-that cover her diaper when she's crawling around or kicking her brother in the head just because he exists.

However, as your baby girl becomes a big girl and she continues kicking her brother in the head just because he exists, her dresses don't come with diaper covers any longer. So you put on shorts and hope that no one can tell that they are from said brother's 3 piece pajama set.

Here's my question: Now that the winter months are upon us and we are sliding on our pairs of totally adorable striped tights under dresses and skirts, do we still need the shorts? They seem redundant since the striped tights cover the fanny in question.

We do like the tights-they show off the great calf muscles we've built up from repeatedly kicking our brother just because he exists.

Top Science Was Used to Come to This Conclusion...Pay Attention

People don't always like to share their age. I am noticing this as I get older myself. But there really is a surefire way to see what end of the spectrum people fall on and David and I are clear examples of the difference when we answer the following question:


Who is Uncle Jesse?


His answer....



My answer...


Mine is clearly the better one no matter how much David begs to differ.

And here is my proof:

My Punkins

I am so behind in my picture postings that NaBloPoMo will serve as catch up time.
Here are my punkins...Nick, Lucy, Nate and Ella. We got 1 picture out of 30 with everyone looking in the same direction. And 1 picture of Nathan shoiwng us how he can hold Ella with no hands. (I think the kid likes to see me freak out.)




Also coming in November, The pictorial Adventures of the Class Turtles!

You Read Me Like a Book

I read.
I will read everything printed.
I will read and re-read my favorite books.
I am a re-reader.

It is my experience that you either ARE or you are NOT a re-reader. I would rather buy a book than get it from the library because I also choose books carefully and most everything I buy I am going to like and therefore re-read. I have been that way since I was a child and even wore through my first copy of "Charlotte's Web."

I love fiction especially. Not necessarily a love story but something that will be a journey. I love Maeve Binchy's beautiful intricate storylines and stunning descriptions of her homeland, Ireland. (I will go there someday!) Being a lover of snark, I enjoy almost everything by Jennifer Weiner. If you want to see amazing things done with the English Language in an accessible manner, pick up Annie Dillard. And start with my personal favorite, "An American Childhood." And if you want someone to look directly into your soul and then describe them it paper, read Anne Tyler. And then if you want a scientific adventure and hold what could very well be a movie right in your hands, Michael Crichton is for you.

All of this is to show you that while I AM a reader, I am terribly unread when it comes to the classics. I have never picked up Jane Austen...but I did read "The Jane Austen Book Club," does that count? I picked up "Little Women" once and just never actually read it. Although I know part of my motivation is knowing that it doesn't end the way I think it should and that I won't get to see Christian Bale while I am reading the book. The list could continue....

I think this coming year-beginning with our annual trip to Reno in which I get a total of almost 20 driving hours in which to read (yes, Sooz, we are coming!) I will pick up some of these classics. I want to be the well rounded reader I know I can be.

So, Internet, what am I missing??

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

Lest you think I am NaBloPoMo-ing alone, I thought I'd encourage you to visit my fellow bloggers-and good friends-who are also NaBloPoMo-ing. (It kinda makes me giggle every time I type it.)

So visit my blogging friends...leave a comment...become a regular reader! Because I love my friends and I think you will too.

In no particular order...

Carol

Michelle

Susie

Angela

Sooz

Deanne

Lori

Amy

Cyndi and The Hutch

Heather

(did I miss you? let me know!)

The Candy Round Up

Well, we canvased the neighborhood and the facts are as follows...

-We hit more houses this year than ever before. Longer legs and the high fructose corn syrup siren's song seemed to motivate the walking despite the lack of naps.

-Storm Troopers do NOT wear tennis shoes. They prefer brown flip flops.

-The Baby Ruth is completely absent from the candy haul this year. I am severely disappointed.

-A black cat missing her headband ears is still cute with eyeliner drawn whiskers.

-When you are cute and have curly hair and are wearing an Alice in Wonderland costume, people will give you more candy than your Storm Trooper escort. Honest. I saw it happen at almost every house. (World, Lucy DOES NOT need more candy. I know she's cute. I know she has freckles abundant and that she smiles at you in a way that makes life worth living but if you keep giving her sugar, I will send her to live with YOU.)

-But somehow the Storm Trooper pulled in a full sized candy bar and Alice only had, well, twice as much candy.

-Following the lead of some lawmakers, the child with the most candy will be more heavily taxed than the one with the least.

Happy *Yawn* Halloween

After a long day that included trick or treating our sweet Gwen (of "Gwen Papers" fame for those of you who know Lucy's name for Post-it Notes) and lunching with Aunt Kristy and Grandma Sisi, we came home and collapsed.

Well, Ella and I collapsed. Apparently the other children have not napped.

This will be a VERY interesting evening.





Do under eye bags match an Alice in Wonderland costume?

NaBloPoMo-ing!

Okay, so I haven't been around much the last few days. But I will be now...At least for this month-ha!

Know what? YOU SHOULD TOO!!

It's a whole lot of fun and if you blog, it is a great challenge to write something every day for 30 days!

Please join me? Go here: http://www.nablopomo.com/

And you could win something! I did 2 years ago.

Yeah, it was something I never knew the world had a need for.

But it was a major award!

Don't simply enjoy my witty snark for 30 days, dish out some of your own!

PS: Want to do something fun tonight? You have till 10pm tonight to enter....check out Mae's Monster Challenge. It's fun! Look for our entries tonight!

It's Almost the Weekend!

So laugh yourself to Friday....

What's Pink and White and Frosted and, Gulp, GONE?!

Rest assured, dear friends, The Goose lives. It only took me about a day to get over the Motherly Wrath we spoke of earlier. It melted one night when she was in bed and all of a sudden started crying. David went in to check on her. She'd been playing with an elastic headband and it had snapped her in the face. More specifically, on the eye. David was concerned it might have hurt her badly.

"How many fingers am I holding up, sweetie?" He showed her 2 fingers.

"But I only have THIS MANY!!!" She sobbed back, holding up one finger.

It was this plus her sitting in my lap trying to count all her freckles today that made everything okay.

The feeling of everything being okay was shattered when Michelle had this conversation with a checker at her local Vons.

Did you click the link? Did your read how THERE WILL BE NO MORE PINK AND WHITE COOKIES? No more Iced Oatmeal? No more English Tea with their hint of lemon? No more Taffy with the slightly odd flavor you just can't pinpoint? And no more Sugar Wafers where you eat all the pink ones first, the white ones next and give away the chocolate ones? NO MORE!

Mother's Cookies is bankrupt and while my sis-in-law and I discussed buying it (I have about $12, who is in?) or asking for it for Christmas, it looks like no one is going to bail them out. All that was left to do was join a Facebook group and then do my part this afternoon by buying, well, a lot of cookies. 3 stores just for the Circus Animal ones, actually.

So join me in the mourning as we raise a frosted cookie together and salute the 92 year old institution that defined our childhoods. I am sad to know Ella will live in a world with no frosted Circus Animal cookies. Well, that world will start after we run out of our ever growing stash.

I leave you with the following. A commercial for Mother's Cookies Ice Cream....and Joey Tribbianni. (Matt LeBlanc)
Enjoy.

Mad.

This is not the post I had planned to write.

But I am MAD.

Ohhhh you don't want to be a freckle faced 3 1/2 year old right now.

Of course if you WERE a freckle faced 3 1/2 year old, you wouldn't have broken your baby doll bed and then taken the broken pieces and colored all over them.

And your Mommy wouldn't be livid and telling the internet how livid she really is over a baby doll bed on her blog. A blog she usually likes to use to uplift, entertain and add just a little bit of the occasional scandal to your life.

I am alternating between the worlds called "My Wit's End" and "Overflowing With Neverending Loving Kindness and Heart Shaped Bunnies" with her. I can't keep up with the changing moods. And don't tell me it will be worse when she's 12. I worked with Junior Highers for 7 years, I know it will get worse and that worse will also involve boys and mean girls and hormones. I don't want to hear all that.

Instead, I want to hear that it won't always be like this (lie if you have to.) I want to hear that those of you who know and love my daughter can still find redeeming qualities in her. I want those of you who don't know my daughter to say that you have always wanted to get to know her because she is so cute. And so freckle faced. And dressed like a farmer.

Even though right now all I want to do is call her a Poo Poo Diaper Baby.

That's All I Need

Ever read something so simple and hilarious and all you can think is how you wish you'd written it?

Yeah me too: Happy Meals and Happy Hour-The Jerk Goes Shopping

What do you think I am? A Jerk or something?

Ten on Tuesday-Tuh, Tuh, Tuh

Time for Ten on Tuesday including things I am thankful for that begin with the letter"T" in no particular order.

10. Taco Shops, because in my world, the fifth food group is "Mexican Food"

9. Tablets of Paper, my friend Deanne was recently introduced to my love of all things office supplies. If she saw how many notebooks, folders and tablets of paper I had, she'd simply die.

8. Tea, hot and cold. All of it. My Starbucks order is an Iced Venti Green Tea Latte with Soy. Yum. My favorite loose tea is anything from the Republic of Tea. (A friend's blog reminded me just how close Christmas is so I thought I'd drop just a few hints in case anyone is paying attention.)

7. Tiffany's. The magic of that little blue box. I have 1 bracelet that my dad and stepmom got me for Christmas a few years ago. I remember thinking I could never pull it off-that it would look out of place on my wrist. But now it is one of my post precious possessions and while I don't wear it every day, I try to. After my wedding rings, it's my favorite thing to wear. It somehow has the magic to make me feel beautiful. And I feel so loved by the givers as well. (I hope to someday expand my collection!!)

6. Television, oh how I love thee. I know it's wrong but I really do.

5. The Twilight Series of books. I can't stop reading them! I am halfway through the series and while I promised David that I wouldn't ever stay up till 4am to finish the books again, I never promised that I wouldn't let the laundry pile up higher than me to catch up. I will miss the Cullen family when they are out of my life.

4. Tombstone, the movie. This is one of the most quoted movies in our library. Plus it is the favorite of Neighbor Jeff which means I get to say things like, "I'm your huckleberry" and "You tell 'em I'm comin' and hell's comin' with me, ya hear? Hell's comin' with me!" a lot. I also get to see Val Kilmer. And I love Val Kilmer.

3. Tetris, it is addicting. And now that I found it on Facebook and can't seem to beat Deanne or my sister-in-law Jamie, it has become even more addicting. (It's driving me crazy too-I used to be super good!)

2. Tuesdays and Thursdays: pre school days! You probably think I am going to say it's because Lucy is gone and I am down to only 1 kid. But it's more because my sweet Goose's world has been opened to so many possibilities that it is overwhelming! she talks and talks the whole way home and all the rest of the day about everything she did at school. It's amazing. I hope she never stops talking to me like that.

1. Texting. I looooooooove texting. I can ask a quick question, tell a joke or beg for prayer all while preventing my friends from hearing the cacophony going on in the background. Text me. Always text.

This blog has been brought to you by the Tee-Double E- Double R-Double R-Double I-Double F-Double I-Double C C C C letter T! Check out more of them over at Crayl's little spot: Beyond Black and White and then go type up your own list of thankful things that start with T!!

Do You Forgive Me?

Internet! Hi!
How have you been?

I know, it's been-like-forever! What have you been up to?

Me?
I was just a little sick. (Read that: Thought I just might die.)
We've been taking some pictures.
I took the kids to Disneyland all by myself and returned with all 3 of them.

Ella waves now and says hi. But it sounds like "Hhhhhhaaaaaaaa" and it is possibly the cutest thing you have ever seen. It's as if she's the only baby to ever wave and say hi. And while I know she's not, I do know she is the cutest baby to ever do it. Don't argue with me. She's cutest.

My shows are back! I have been watching a lot of TV. The DVR is on overdrive and I think I broke the record button on the remote.

School is going well. Nate has a lot of friends and one girl specifically who, according to Nathan, calls him "Ethan" but "that's ok, Mommy, I like it." He and this young lady also like to figure out sign language that, when demonstrated after school, his mother has a very hard time not laughing at the aerobatic ways her son perceives the deaf to communicate.

And in the other romantic news in the lives of my children... (Everything in that sentence is wrong.)

....Lucy has made a friend in a young man at school who she says is her best friend and that they are going to get married. "And when we play on the playground we kiss like this." Then she makes kissy noises. When talking to Lucy about how there are OTHER ways to show our friends affection, (like hugging, or standing all the way across a room and smiling, but NOT kissing,) I was told, "But Mommy, I like kissing him." After I told David about it, he got the guns out for cleaning.

Oh! I have also been reading. I am engrossed. The laundry is neglected, the dishes are piling up, I threw mac and cheese at the family for dinner and there are rumors that a couple of kids were possibly put down for a nap early so I could finish the last few pages of "Twilight." But you know how those rumors are.

Know what else I have been doing? Neglecting YOU, Internet.
I'm sorry. I will be back soon.
And that's a promise.

Do you forgive me??

It's a Beautiful Day for a Ballgame, For a Ballgame Today!

Last weekend David got 4 Padre Tickets from a friend at work. These were nice seats that David and I had enjoyed in seasons past. Our normal thought would be to pawn the kids off on some unsuspecting kind hearted people to take other grown up friends with us to the game. But, for some reason, we got the wild hair to just take the whole family. The WHOLE family. This includes the 3 year old who can't sit though any length of movie and the 7 month old who screams when she's ready for a nap.

Let's all go to the ballpark!

We had fun.
Strike that.

We had SO MUCH fun! I wish I could write the paes and pages of great stuff but I will spare you the details. Because I have pictures!

There was an Adrian Gonzalez Toothbrush Holder Giveaway...I think Adrian is saying "Brush your teeth, punk!"

Ella and I snuggled in the wrap for most of the game. She loved looking at the scoreboard.

The rest of the time she snuggled with Daddy.

Nate loves baseball!

Ella does too!

Lucy really loved the Padre's Friar Mascot and he came out and danced but then he went away. We talked about where he was and Lucy decided that he was taking a nap. But later, when he didn't come back up she told me, "Mommy, I want to snuggle the Friar."

Oh look! It's naptime!

When the game went into extra innings (you read that right!) David took the kids for a short walk and got a big pretzel for both of them. You can also see the key to us lasting at the game so long: go to a game played by a struggling baseball team the same day your not struggling football team has a game. All the seats around us were open with a few people who were very kind to our kids.

At the end of the game, we wandered down to the field level seats to grab a picture but we were too late. However, one of the ushers called Nathan down and had a game ball for him! The security guard on the field saw Lucy was with him and grabbed a brand new ball for her. The kids were elated.

Here's the wind up! (See Lucy's sassy shoes?)

All in all, this day will go down in my memory with our family memories of Colorado and Reno. We totally took a chance and had an outing as a family of 5.
And we all survived.

Shameless Self Promotion

While it will be “officially” fall in a few days, you can be sure our weather probably won’t be reflecting that anytime soon. But that won’t stop us So-Cals from pretending it’s crisp back to school weather! In that spirit, we are going to have a Fall Mini Session available on Saturday, September 27. We will have appointments available from 4:00pm to 6:45pm. Each session is $45 including the standard website hosting and CD with 3-5 images of your choosing. (Additional images available at $6 each.) Our location this time is still being determined but will be at either Old Poway Park or Miramar Lake.

A mini session is a 15 minute “guerilla style” photo session. Perfect for grabbing a family shot or one or 2 poses of your kids.

A few things to note:
- This session is a perfect way to show off a cute back-to-school outfit or think ahead and get some cute shots of your child in their Halloween Costume.
- We will still be having mini-sessions in November for Christmas cards.

Contact us right away to book your time or with any questions you may have.
And please pass this on to anyone who may be interested!

http://zabphoto.blogspot.com

"It's MY School Now, Mommy!"

Tuesday was Lucy's first day of (pre) school and we knew things could go one of two ways:
She'd be completely confident

or

She'd become a sudden new growth attatched to my leg.


Thankfully it was the first one.
She knew the drill: you get your bucket and go out on the front lawn for photos with Mommy.

She would NOT put the bucket down for a full outfit shot.

And why would you put down a bucket that has Sleeping Beauty on it?!

"Take a picture of me by this tree, Mommy!"

David met us at school and Lucy was SO ready. When we pulled into the parking lot Lucy reminded me that this was HER school now. NOT Nathan's anymore! LUCY's school.

Lucy has grabbed Goose to take along with her to school. I told her that today only she could bring him with her and he had to stay in her bucket. This is Goose. Not to be confused with THE Goose-that is the one in the brown shirt and curly hair. Goose is Lucy's "lovey" and he has never left her side. The moment he was first handed to her, she's been carrying him around the same way. When she was smaller, she figured out how to hook his beak on her shoulder and carry him around while still having full use of both hands.

Once we got to the school front doors, Lucy said she didn't need goose anymore. She said Ella could watch him for her. She had a PLAN when she got to her class. She'd been telling me about it since she'd visited last week. She was going to put on the purple princess dress as soon as she got there.

Success! The dress was not taken yet! Lucy had her teacher button her up and she went about setting up a tea party. I had to take Ella to a doctor appointment (she has an ear infection!) so I came over to be sure Lucy was ok.
"Mommy, when are you leaving?"
Yeah, she was fine.

After I picked her up, I got a full report of the full day in the first 3 minutes of our drive home. Completely opposite of Nathan's first day. We were invited over to a friends house for lunch afterward which quickly became the icing on a very good day.

Which one of you gave her permission to grow up?