Skye Jr.

This is the doll my mom gave Skye for Christmas. She looks exactly like Skye did at about 2 years old. She came fully clothed, but of course Skye stripped her naked within minutes. Why? Because that's what 5 year olds do, I guess. Then she pretty much abandoned her. I'm hoping those maternal instincts kick in before she has one of her own!

Sean has adopted Skye Jr. He says that she's a great replacement for when Skye is at school or asleep or just busy doing other things. And he has been taking care of her ever since. He has referred to her as his little sister on more than one occasion.

He is a very loving and proud big brother, and takes his job seriously.

Yep, just hangin' out watchin' The View.

How Many Clicks Does It Take?

It took about a half hour. Thank heavens for digital cameras!! I can take a thousand pictures and instantly know if it turned out or didn't. How did our parents ever get a decent picture???

I figured it was best to get the sillies out right away!

I would like to point out right here and now that Jason and Tad actually argued over who got to lay across the front of the picture! My boys who absolutely HATE to have any photographic evidence of their existence. Jockeying for prime up-front-and-in-your-face position.
I tell you, it made my heart well up just a bit!

Skye got a little too serious! Look at that attitude!
I think she and Tad have a little Zoolander going on.

And the sillies are baaaack!!
I used the candlelight setting and it's not very forgiving.

Lots of blurries.
You have to hold REALLY still for candlelight setting to capture.

But when it does, you get a really great picture!

I will also note that I was so desperate to get a family Christmas picture, I told the kids to just wear "WHATEVER!! JUST GET IN FRONT OF THE DAMN TREE!!"

They took me seriously.
Jason is wearing a Halloween shirt with a cartoon ghost on it that says "be afraid. be very afraid."
Tad shirt has "I got out of bed for this?" as his Christmas sentiment.
And Sean is wearing his Lu Sutton school shirt. At least it's green!

We call this one Mom's Big Butt!

Setting the timer, running and then posing super still is harder than you think!

But I am a MASTER!
I am stealthy like ninja!!

I love this one.
Sean adores Skye.

Look at those faces!!
It's that level of cuteness that has kept them alive so long!!

Happy Holidays!!

Holiday Blahs

So with all the decorating and creating and crafting and Elfing - you'd think that I'm excreting glitter and good tidings.

And the truth is - I'm not.

I'm trying. Oh how I'm trying. I so want to be full of holiday mirth and merriment. Feeling the fullness of the holidays, reveling in the romance of the... blah blah blah...

Instead, I feel sadness. And aloneness. And wanting to sleep all the timeness.

If I had my druthers (not that I know what druthers are, but if I did AND I had them) I would set my alarm clock for sometime around noon on March 21st, when spring is officially sprung. I'd curl up under the quilts and hibernate until then. Of course, I'd stock the freezer with lots of waffles and pizzas for the kids. Cause my nurturing never sleeps.

Since that isn't an option, I'll try to avoid walking zombie-like through the next three months.

I'm going to make an extra effort to find the joy in this holiday. I have my kids and my health and my family and a job and home... I have more of my life in front of me than behind me. I have so much going for me. Life is good. It really is.

Why can't that be enough?

Buddy the Elf could totally live here!

I've been shopping, planning and building to today.
I have my crafts ready.
It's decoratin' time!!

The kids spent hours the other night making a million paper snowflakes.
The older kids even had a contest to see who could make the smallest - I believe Jason won.

We're doing a Nightmare Before Christmas/Addams family/Gothic theme.
In that spirit, this snowflake is totally my favorite!

Inspired by the movie Elf (and another blog, which I totally can't remember! Sorry whoever else did this - it was genius! I owe you one!!)


I've also made at least a dozen wreaths to hang on all the doors in the house.
And a few other places too.


Our baby grand is the perfect place for these wreath holding gargoyles!
And yes, that's Bon Jovi's Anthology - my Jersey boys!


The kitchen table centerpiece - a pirate bowl filled with cinnamon scented pinecones.


I love these silver jingle bell ornaments.
No enhancements needed whatsoever!


I found these at Michaels - $.59 each and they were 50% off!!
They just needed some metallic paints in black, purple and silver glitter!

'Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas
All thru our house!

The Princess and The Beastly

Today was a rare and blessed day off work. I spent the first part SLEEPING IN! Oh yeah. It was awesome! I didn't get up until 7:45 a.m. - I KNOW, right? Totally like a teenager, all that was missing was a mega can of Aquanet and a trip to the mall! Oh sorry, just flashing back to my teenage years.

Then I went to Target ALONE (it's almost like a dream, isn't it!) and did a bit of shopping. It was totally not crowded at all. Even for a Saturday. Weird. Hopefully it's cause they were all over at Dollhouses, Trains & More!

At noon, I took Sean and Skye to see The Princess and the Frog. The kids LOVED it (and so did I!) It's a wonderful addition to the Princess collection. Fantastic! Sweet, charming, appropriately scary (remember Ursula the seawitch, the Witch from Snow White, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, etc...) catchy soundtrack. And it was nice to see a real, hand-drawn animated movie again. I'm so old-school!

Then home to do some more decorating. And now I'm curled up in bed, blogging away, and waiting for It's A Wonderful Life to come on in a few minutes. Followed by Saturday Night Live, musical guest Bon Jovi... where's that Aquanet?!

The Elves Are Working Overtime

Guess what I get to do all day at work?
Can you believe I get paid for this!

Skye McKenna's getting a dollhouse for Chriiiiiissssstttmmmaaaaassss!!
Shhhhh!

Oh Baby Baby

A family friend's daughter is due TODAY! She's having a little boy (awwww!!) and I'm crocheting like MAD! I was off on the due date, by about a month. Oops! Or I would have started on this... oh, ok. Who am I kidding?! I still wouldn't have started on it til last week! Procrastination = middle name (srsly, it's on my birth certificate!) She better keep it in there for at least two more days!

My morning in pictures

What a great way to start the day!