Bouncing Baby Birthday Boy!!

For atleast a week before his birthday, Payton begged me to let him open just one present. It would always end in "No" and him being fairly upset. (It didn't help that Reily would open his birthday cards as they came in the mail and leave the gift cards lying around) I would just note that those are the rules in Birthdaytown....take it up with the mayor. He never let up. Quite tenacious.


So, I gave in. I told him he could open ONE present the day before his birthday. It was the ol' box-within-a-box gift. Hee...Hee...Hee. Sometimes, I LOVE being the Mayor of Birthdaytown.

He unwrapped, untaped, untied. Until it ended with...

A lump of coal...

for trying to celebrate your birthday a day early.

Sincerely,

The Mayor of Birthdaytown

I guess the power is going to my head. I may not get re-elected. But, it was fun while it lasted.

He did turn 11 the next day and he got to open all of his presents. He even got to play his new wii game ALL NIGHT LONG! That was a happy birthday to him!

We love you Peej. Thanks for tolerating us for 11 years. You're a great kid!

Fa La La

Taylor sang with the Elementary District choir at the Irmo tree lighting. It was a quaint little affair complete with hot chocolate, cookies and Santa on a fire engine. And, I totally dig the master of ceremonies in his festive red & green garb.

They all did a great job.

That's our girl...the ONLY on without a coat. Hmmm...I guess we didn't get that memo. Is it winter?

Macy's favorite part was Ms. Irmo.

Blaman, Cuzer, Cleanup, Blixen?

Can you name Santa's reindeer? It's a lot easier than the 7 dwarves. But, that may just be because of the song.

Rudolph goes Hollywood. Name them? Why when there's an ENTIRE song about them! But, do you recall?...



The 3 year old...shouting out to Santa's non-existent reindeer and the rest of the fam.

The difficult pre-pubescent brother...refusing to give them names that are anything but rubbish.

And...the show off!! Of course. She knows them ALL. (She must have practiced. She was throwing in some pretty creative compound reindeer names last week.)

Gobble, Gobble...

Funny...I never made the connection...Gobble, Gobble is all we've done for the past few days. We have about 2 more days of turkey left. But, the stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and cranberries are gone. So, what's the point?

We had a wonderful (and delicious) Thanksgiving. Grandma and Grandpa Griffen came into town for the week. What amazing guests they are!! Grandma even brought her own rubber gloves.

(She also left them behind. I DO hope they are enchanted and will continue the work she started) She worked pretty hard during her vacation. She was my "clean-up fairy". Doesn't everyone need one of those? She just scooted around behind me washing my pots and pans, re-organizing drawers, entertaining children, and even walking the dog (Now, that's LOVE!).

So, after all her clorox-toting love, I had no choice when they stong-armed me into letting them eat the apple pie on Thanksgiving Eve. It was mafia style. They scared me. I turned over the pie...or it was concrete around my ankles and into the river.... I let them have the pie. They look sweet, but when dessert is involved they turn into the Corleones.

We had a lot of fun bowling with Grandpa on the wii. The kids have taken a liking to Wii Music. I'm not so sure I love it. It's a lot of noise and not a lot of game.

We had a GREAT week! It's always nice to have guests. Especially during the holidays.

One more...

One more post and then I HAVE to clean my house. My in-laws will be here in just a couple of hours and this place needs more work than that.

This is Reils in our beautiful fall leaves. With Oreo and eyeliner on her face. Two musts in a woman's life!


This is her cleaned up.

Okay, I'll keep her.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

What has Reily been up to? Everything. She had a hard time coming off of vacation. She was an only child for 2 weeks and didn't adjust well to her previous life. That girl has been a source of anguish ever since we came back.

How she did this, I still don't know. But, it involved her "stepstool to trouble" and perfect timing. In case you can't tell, her belt loop is stuck on the cabinet knob. Mwahh hah hah! Now, I must admit, I was tempted to leave her there...just for a bit. But, my good side came out and I released her (after the photo-op, of course).

She's Craftay...!

Every fall, I get a crafting/sewing bug. This is what I produced (Thanks to my crafting guru friend, Traci). I'm pretty proud. It seems to be a staple of every good Mormon wife's house. And, now that I have a mantle of my own, I feel like I needed it.




I am thankful I only did "Thanks" instead of the entire "Thanksgiving". It was just right...enough to knock out in one evening.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Surprise!! She's SIX!!

Okay, it really came as NO SURPRISE to any of us that Macy turned 6 on Sunday. As a matter of fact, the reminders were frequent. The party and gifts were perfectly-planned by Macy herself. She even made a list of who was getting her what; and in what order she was opening her presents. There was no room for surprises.

But, she could definitely act it for the camera!! (Of course!)

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

BOO!

Okay, I'm a bit behind. I'm not sure I will ever catch-up with my 2 weeks (and 2 days) off.

While in Utah, Reily and I headed down to Provo to trick-or-treat with cousins: Mikey, Jakey, and Robby. (NO, they are not all "Batman". I believe they are "Batman", "Batboy", and "Batbaby".... There's a difference!)

She is definitiely the most stunning female pirate I have ever seen!! While scavenging the wasatch front for a costume the day before, she refused to give in to the obvious choice...a princess. She insisted on piracy. She just wanted to say, "Aargh, Matey!". But, it worked. She still thinks she in charge of her scallywag of a mother! I'm thinking...mutiny. If I could only muster the courage!

As of today, she is still on a sugar high.

John & Kate = IRRITATE

Oy! I have been watching them for a long time. I have marvelled at their "normalcy".

But, I CANNOT watch them in Hawaii!! It may be the jealousy speaking as I sit in my furniture-less home, hashing over my family budget one more time, and still not finding any $$$ for a couch or a new mattress; let alone a trip to Hawaii. A trip to Target is stretching it right now. My skin is crawling! I'm so bugged.

How about "Blaine & Mo with Fo". We could be good candidates for "normal". We're not challenged in many ways (some may debate this). We could just be normal. After all, isn't the average American family...average? Maybe the media should stop focusing on the outliers and head for the middle.

Hmmm...Would that be interesting? I don't know. But, I'd take the paychecks, free stuff, and trips until we vaulted to the other side.

Just a thought...vent...whatever.

TLC: You can contact me through my blog. : )

Free to Breathe 5K

We did it! After a couple of weeks of traveling to and fro. We opted for a hometown 5k...our neighborhood.

Reily chose the sweet life in the stroller. Macy whined for the sweet life in the stroller. Taylors feet hurt and she was starving by the end. (It was only 3.1 miles). Payton took off quick and stayed just far enough ahead of us. Blaine and I just juggled little ones from stroller to shoulders to street. But, we did have fun. It was all for a great cause.

Thanks for walking...let's do it again next year!!

Goodbye.

My dad is gone. He surrendered his last sweet breaths Wednesday night.

I was able to spend his last few days with him. He wasn't strong, but he was filled with love...lots of air kisses, whispered "love you's", and winks. Good memories of tough days.

Words escape me.

I love you, Dad. I'm just not sure I said it enough.

A day at the zoo

We have a great little zoo here in Columbia. Reily and I met a couple of friends on Monday for a morning with the critters. It was so much fun. The monkeys were loud and leaping around. The baby lions were actively playing. We saw so many creatures. It was great. The highlight of the day was scavenging lettuce to feed the giraffes. They are definitely her favorite animals.

(FYI: She dresses herself : )

What does the future hold?

This is Macy...unplugged...and unprovoked. She wanted me to take pictures of her Halloween costume. She turned on the charm and worked the camera. I guess these will be the first pictures in her portfolio?...

A lesson in entomology

The picture does not do her justice.

Tuesday, Reily stepped right into a mound of fire ants. If you are not familiar with these awful creatures, count your lucky stars.
They are residents of the South and their bite packs a bit of heat...earning them the "fire" title. They are actually relatives of wasps and sting rather than bite. They swarm onto you without you knowing and then...ZOWY! And the bites stick around and itch miserably for a week or more!
The poor girl got about 50 bites on each foot. But, she's been a trooper. Benadryl, Aveeno and Neosporin have been our close friends. She's well on the road to recovery.


I posioned the ants real good! ; )

Sweater Saboteur...

Last week the big kids had picture day. Macy was in the greatest of all her Hollywood turmoil trying to put together an outfit that please her glitzy side and her mother. Mom trumped it all with a plain white shirt with a cute little collar...totally yuck to someone sooo...diva-esque.

So, I bribed her. I said she could wear Reily's new birthday sweater. Reily did not like this idea. But, I figured the kids would be out the door before she even woke up. It would work out just fine.

When we woke in the morning, we found this:


It seems as thought jealousy got the best of our little Reily. While we thought she was sleeping, she was tartar-controlling the sweater. lovely.

Happy Birthday..Baby!

Reily celebrated big #3 two weeks ago.

I love this girl!! She is such a bright, amazing, sweet little girl. She is her own person and has carved out her little niche in our family and hearts.

Reily's list of loves:

• chocolate milk


• her new baby doll that really coos


• armpits (yeah, gross!)


• Noggin


• Cinderella


• going to the store (Target)

Charleston...

Dad calls it "research". Whatever!! It's a DAY AT THE BEACH!! We headed to Charleston a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful day...not a cloud in the sky. We had sooo much fun. It's been a while since we've been to the coast.

Payton and Taylor have no fear...they are at home in the surf.

Rei chasing a sandpiper. She chased this poor little bird forever...up and down the shore.

Marco?!.......

POLO!!!

Has anyone seen my camera/USB cord?

I'm a very visual person and CANNOT POSSIBLY update my blog without pictures!!

If you find it, please let me know. Hurry, life is passing us by. : (

Red Sox & Ruby Slippers

There's no place like home...

Baseball season doesn't make it any easier. I want to go to Fenway. I want to wear a thick coat and see my breath in the air. I want to smell fall, jump in the leaves, and hate the Yankees with pride. I want to trick or treat a day early, eat a buffalo wrap with waffle fries at Friendly's, and smell the oil as we turn on the heat in our little house.

Humph!

Anyway,

GO SOX!!

You're WICKED cool!

A mom of a boy

Well, Payton pretty much sealed his glory with the squid eating experience. But, I have to say being his mom is fun too.
If it weren't for him...
I wouldn't be well-informed about artifact finding on Lego Indiana Jones; and that it is wicked cool to have a character named after you that has both a whip and a gun.

I likely wouldn't fully recognize the need for more pokemons (pokemen?)...especially those made out of Legos.
I wouldn't have anyone to console when the house smells like the aforementioned fruity-sugary products; and tell him that someday, he will actually like the smell of girls and recognize the smell of "Stinky Recess Boy" (and want to do something about it).

He does pretty good hanging in there with a house of sisters!

The sweet indulgences of a mother of girls

I love being the mother of girls because...

I can go to Target and buy the Jonas Brothers album (the one that is $2 more and has an extra DVD) and blame it on them. There is something about those boys that brings back everything adolescent and giddy in me. I'm not sure they're cute. But, I really like their music.


I can let them stay up late to watch Camp Rock. But, really, I just want to see it all the way through. It seems I missed out on a lot of Disney Channel while I was working nights. Yes, there are even SOME Hannah Montana episodes that are new to me...although, most have been seen close to 9,875, 367 times...but I can't get enough of Jackson.

I can buy little notepads and any body products that smell like fruit or sugar (i.e. Gigantic Bonne Belle Lip Smackers).

I can buy cute jeans in a small size an marvel at how well each daughter can fill them out...then look up convents and boarding schools on the Internet.

I can paint nails...a blessing and a curse. It was fun with one. But when there's a gaggle of 3 and the smallest insists on painting her own...OY! But, they DO look cute when they're cleaned up.

And tonight, I'm holding conversations with them while they talk (and sing) in their sleep.

Thank heavens for little girls!

Do...Re...Mi...Oh...My!!

Taylor tried out for the District Elementary choir. It is comprised of 100 or so 4th and 5th grade virtuosos. They've performed around the South, at Governor's functions, even at Disneyworld.
Well, on Saturday she sang her sweet little vibrato until glasses shattered; and yesterday, we got the good news...SHE MADE IT!!

Woo Hoo! Go Taylor!
It hasn't gone to her head one bit!

Save the drama for your Mama....Pleeeeease?!

It appeared as though our pediatrician in Georgia FORGOT one of Macy's vaccinations for Kindergarten. So, Macy had to get one more shot before she could continue.
HOLY MOLY! You would've thought it was a anesthesia-free amputation! She was over-the-top. The nurse was afraid to "shoot" her because her arms were so tight around my neck, she risked making my cheek "Polio-free".
Finally, she stuck her; and in a few seconds time, we were on our way. She was anxious to get back for recess. I'm sure she had quite the war story to tell her buddies. As, I drove away from the school, I could see her sprinting around the playground...flailing her arms. Poor baby!



I'm sure there's a scar there somewhere.

When your mom is your only friend...

Alright, being new to this place isn't doing us a lot of good in the friendship department. The big kids have left us for the greener pastures of camaraderie at school. This leaves me and Reily with A LOT of quality time. We'll branch out. We're on the verge of making friends. But, until our social lives are full tilt, it's just us.

This results in desperation on both sides. Reily is constantly trying to entice me to play with her. I am trying to tempt her to have some alone time. This is how far it went on Friday... blocks, dress-up, ballet and a monkey on her back.

Poor girls, let's hope we come through this dry spell unscathed.

Just Peachy!

Wow...a photo documentary of why I can run a million miles (which I don't) and still look the way I do. My blog is harsh reality.

So, here we are making more food. This time it's PEACH PIE. It was absolutely delicious. I'll admit, some of that is due to the fact that most of the kids do not fully appreciate PEACH PIE; therefore, leaving much more for us. We're good parents.

This is "Mommy's Little Helpah". She started with the crust and said, "Wait! I have to get my hat!" She ran upstairs in a panic and came down with this...Looove her!!

Sprinkles

My mom sent me some "Sprinkles" cupcake mix for my birthday. RED VELVET...Yum! Yum!
Truly delightful.

Cupcakes

Cupcakes+Reily (and a little bit of eyeliner, apparently)


Cupcakes + Reily +Nicely painted walls = too sad to photograph...trust me.