I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by my pal Beth!

1. Name: Princess Consuela Bananahammock. Just kiddin'--Lauren :)

2. Birthday: May 27, 1979

3. Birthplace: Houston, Texas

4. Eye Color: green

5. Hair Color: light brown

6. Height: 5'7"

7. Ethnicity: Anglo

8. Weakness: purses, shoes, jewelry...the normal girly things

9. Most missed memory: childhood!

10. Thoughts first waking up: "Noooooooo!"

11. Last time you cried: I can't remember, but I'm sure it was ridiculous.

12. Song title that currently says how you feel: "I Can't Fight this Feeling Anymore"...I'm tired!

13. What is the perfect day for you: Spending the day with my family...either just relaxing or doing something fun and adventurous

14. Ever been asked for an autograph? Not that I can recall

15. How do you vent anger? I like to be alone with my anger.

16. Who do you talk to most on the phone? I'm not really a phone-talker, but my mom and friend Harmony both are, so they are really the only ones I talk to

17. As a kid, were you a lego builder? Oh yes, I loved the Legos. However I think they really belonged to Kendall.

18. Do you chew on your straws? Yep. It annoys Scott, too.

19. Do you sing in the shower? Depends on how awake I am and what's on the radio.

20. Who's the last person you stayed up late talking to on the phone to? My mom...she's the only one who calls me at night.

21. The last place you went to in a plane? Houston

22. Do you cry at weddings? Sometimes, if there is a super-sweet moment that really grabs me.

23. Are you afraid of the dark? Nah.

24. What are you addicted to? Lots of things...Diet Coke, my TV shows (Chuck, Heroes, The Office, 30 Rock), hugging and kissing my kiddos, Nestle Drumsticks

25. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? creamy

26. Who do you fight with the most? I guess I would have to say Scott, just because he's the one person who is always around and knows me the best. Sometimes life just gets stressful and we take it out on each other because we are the people closest to one another. We don't really fight a lot, but when I do "fight," it's with him.

27. Who can you tell anything to? Scott; and pretty much all my best girlfriends--Jen, Chelsey, Harmony, Abby, Beth, Kara, and Carrie

28. Do you recycle? No, but I want to. I just recently found out that the Big Spring State Hospital has a recycling center. So, I need to find out more about that. And I bought one of those permanent Wal-Mart shopping bags.

29. Who makes you laugh the most? Hard to say, because I know so many funny people. But again, since Scott is the person I see the most, I'd have to say him. We have a lot of inside jokes. Also, Will. The kid is hilarious.

30. What is the worst feeling ever? Seeing your kids sick and knowing there's really nothing you can do about it. Also, worrying that you might come home to dog-sicles.

31. How many pillows do you sleep with? just one

32. How many rings before you answer your phone? I try to answer it as soon as I can, because it usually only rings when my kids are asleep.

33. How many times do you press the "snooze" button? As many times as I can get away with.

34. How do you sleep? Sporadically...ha! If this is referring to position, I try to start out on my back or sides but I wake up on my stomach a lot.

35. Last time you laughed: probably sometime today, but I just have a really bad memory.

36. Ever looked at someone ugly and said "EWWW"? No, I think my reaction is usually sympathetic in nature.3

7. What is your favorite color? Red, but I really love green, purple, brown and pink, too.

38. What is your favorite state? I'd have to say Texas for the people, but Colorado and Florida for vacations!

Now I get to tag...Chelsey, Terri (Mom), and Tracey!

Thanksgiving Holiday

We are home! We returned from our Thanksgiving trip on Monday, a day later than anticipated because of snowy & icy weather. We had left the previous Tuesday, so we were gone for almost a week...we haven't been gone for that long in quite some time. We missed all the weather here, but our poor dogs didn't! I was sort of afraid that we would come home to dog-sicles, but they were alive and well and more than happy to see us when we rolled in. (We did have friends looking in on them and if they had thought they needed to go home with them, they would have taken them.)

Anyway, we had a great trip! We had a couple of hurdles here and there, but all in all it was really wonderful. My dad's mom and mom's parents all got to meet Claire for the first time, so that was quite special. We spent a night with my dad's mom in San Antonio both going down and coming back. Thanksgiving Day was spent with my mom's family. We were blessed to just have a fun and relaxing time with my parents too. Mom and I had lots of fun shopping the after Thanksgiving sales, and Will had a blast playing on my parents' pool table and even got to spend some time at Chuck E. Cheese. And of course, we had to make a couple of Starbucks stops for peppermint mochas! Here are a few pictures from the week. (Oh, Merry Christmas to me! Mom and Dad gave me my present early so I would have it all through the holiday season--a new digital camera!)

My Grandma Thelma and Claire

Will, Grandma Thelma and Claire

Will and my dad playing "balls." I think Will is telling my dad what color and number are on the the ball.

I love this picture of Scott and Will. We are on our way to my grandparents' house.

Claire and Me

My Grandma Glenda and Claire (notice Claire's cowgirl boots!)

My Grandpa Roy and Claire

Four Generations

My mom brought a project for us to work on on Thanksgiving Day. Her church makes stockings for less fortunate children and fills them. So we had six stockings to make! It was great fun. In the picture you can see me, my grandma, my cousin Emily, and my aunt Gail.

Finished products. Mine is the one with the gingerbread boy and girl.

My great-aunt Ruth and Claire

Mom and Claire

Mom and Dad with Will at Chuck E. Cheese

Will and Scott racing

Dad and Claire

Will being silly at Cracker Barrel on the way home

Friends and Fun

We were so excited to be able to visit our dear friends the Malletts this past weekend. We arrived late Friday night and stayed up much too late talking. On Saturday, Harmony, Scott, the kids, and I trekked out to the Fort Worth Zoo (Leland had a UIL meet). It was awesome! That is a really great zoo. It was a great time to go because most of the animals were out and about and not just snoozing in the shadiest spot they could find like they were in San Antonio when Will and I went this summer. We got to see lots of primates, big cats, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, kangroos, birds, fish, and snakes. A fun time was had by all! I made the comment that it will be nice when our kids are older and we can actually stop and read all about the animals. Right now they just have such short attention spans and get tired so quickly. There was a whole section of the zoo that we didn't get to see because we needed to get the kids home to nap.

Sunday was a big "extra events" day at the Malletts' church. So, Harmony and I went to a "Ladies' Tea" that afternoon. It was really fun and gave me some good ideas for women's ministry that I'd like to share with my sisters here. Sunday about wore us out, so we had pizza for dinner and conked out early. On Monday, Scott went on to Abilene for school and my kids and I stayed with Harmony and her girls. We got out early and went shopping. Harmony's having Christmas/Thanksgiving all at the same time with her family next week, so she got several gifts and I also picked up a couple for my kids. It was a good day. Later, after naps, we loaded up and headed down I-20 to meet Scott and go home. Thanks, Malletts for having us...we can't wait to see you again!!

On the way into the zoo
The huge silverback gorilla...king of the mountain!
Giraffes
Elephant
Smiley Will at the zoo
Claire, Will, Raylee and Reese in their Mickey & Minnie matching outfits!
Will turned two in May and Raylee will be two on Friday!
Reese was born on May 30 & Claire on July 8.
The four of them :)

Four Months

Claire is four months old today! Wow! She is growing so much and is such a good baby. Here are some new happenings with Claire:

1. She loves to smile and talk. She is so loud! It seems we'll have yet another loudmouth kid who won't be quiet in church!

2. She has started laughing more. I missed it yesterday at work, but evidently my co-workers had her cracking up for a while.

3. She's a sweetie and loves kisses.

4. She loves her brother and he can always make her smile and laugh. She likes it when he "zlerberts" her belly.

5. She is teething and slobbering all over the place! Her favorite thing to chew on is her finger.

6. She is noticing things a lot...like her hands. She love to look at her hands and watch herself touch things. She loves to try to grab my nose.

7. She is big enough to enjoy the ExerSaucer and really does well in it.

8. She is well into her 3-6 month clothes.

9. She never wants to be lying down..."Sit me up, please!!"

10. She also loves to "stand" in our laps. She also loves to stand up and look at herself in the mirror after I change her clothes. She has to admire all her cute outfits!

A Rite of Passage

Last night when the kids and I got home from church, I was getting Will ready for his bath. Imagine the scene: the shower is running, Claire is in her carseat in the hall, looking into the bathroom and screaming to get out, Frank (the dog) is trying to stick his nose in every one's business, Will is naked and has just gotten an M&M candy for going pee in the potty. Then, somehow, he manages to trip over my foot and smacks his face on the bathroom floor. Yep, we've got a busted lip, and it isn't pretty! The above picture does not do it justice. I need to try to get him to take another one today.

Anyway, the poo really hit the fan. It was a scream-fest for several minutes. Since he was eating an M&M, I couldn't tell if the little white pieces in his mouth were un-coated candy or tooth. I wasn't sure how big the cut was or if he'd gotten both his top and bottom lip or just the bottom. I called Scott, who was at an elders' meeting in the melee and asked him to please come home and help with damage control. Thankfully, we live pretty near the the church building! What an adventure. Also, we are glad that Will just got his bottom lip and he's fine today...acting as if everything is normal.

Crazy Halloween!

It is just my opinion that Halloween should never be held on Wednesdays. I know that can't be helped, but really, Wednesdays are just the worst for Halloween. That said, it was a good one despite being on a Wednesday!


Will went to "school" and Scott and I attended his little "party" at 2:15. I then went back to work while the boys went home. Then we headed out to trick-or-treat at 5:15. We hit three church friends' houses before church started at 7:00. I ate my dinner on the go from a ziplock baggie since I work til 5:00 on Wednesdays. Claire didn't nap hardly at all at work yesterday so she crashed and completely slept through the first two houses. We didn't even get her out of her carseat. At the third house she woke up, so she wore her costume for about 25 minutes and we got a few pictures of her in it then.


Will got so much candy...he'll never be able to eat it all himself! When we got home he was so exhausted, but still so excited. He didn't want to take his "costune" off. Finally we got him bathed and in bed and he slept late this morning (yea!). Here are a few pictures from our evening:

My two kiddos together

Scott and Claire

Will, the Astronaut

Claire, the pea-pod

Just for fun, here's a pic of Will in the same pea-pod costume when he was a baby! He's five months old in this picture (on the same couch, by the way!)