Hi Santa Claus

Can you believe it? Santa Claus took time out of his busy schedule on Christmas Eve and called Matt.

We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope all of you did too. This week I will be posting pictures and stories about all of our Christmas adventures. Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday

Merry Christmas from my family to your's.

Also, happy birthday to the world's sexiest man, my hubby! We love you daddy!! Yes, his birthday is on Christmas day.

Parents of the Year

I think many of you already know this, but in case you do not, we are an Office fanatic family. We, as in all three, love The Office. We own the first two seasons on DVD and are hoping for number 3 for Christmas.

Something funny Matt started doing very early was The Office laugh. When you watch the show, it will open up with a dialogue scene and right before it cuts to the opening music, something funny will happen to make you laugh. He figured out that we always laughed when the music came on. So then, every time the music came on, he would bust out laughing. He still does this but not as enthusiastically.

Matt has watched The Office so much that around his two year birthday, he could identify Michael, Jim, Pam, and Dwight. He has even named some of his toys after the characters:

In order from left to right: Dwight, Michael, and Jim. If you look closely, the Dwight guy has glasses. I think he chose the middle guy for Michael because he looks like he is wearing a suit. We did not prompt Matt to do this, he named these on his own.

If you asked Matt what his favorite episode was, he would say "firefighter office". This is the episode where Ryan starts the fire with his pita. Matt loves the part where the fire truck shows up and acts just about as goofy as Dwight. ( If you are curious, my favorite episode is the one when Michael goes to school with Ryan and there is a bat in the office)

Now with the writers' strike, the show is airing reruns. These are funny but we are ready for some new episodes. At this point, I think Matt could entertain us with his own episode and we would be happy.

It's Party Time

Well, today was a big day in the Lewis house; we had our first Christmas party! I hosted a party for the mom's bible study group that I participate in. We got started at 9 with fun in the backyard. Kristen, one of the moms, was so sweet and let us use her bounce house. Thanks girl!! The kids had a blast on it, ran around the yard, and played on the swing set. The really great thing about this morning was the fog and dew. By the time we were done outside, everyone had a wet bottom and grassy feet. I wish I would have taken a picture of all the grassy/muddy feet.

After playing outside, we took the kids in, washed up, and had a snack. In the middle of snack, guess who crashed our party...Santa Claus!! The kids were too cute. When Matt opened the door, he stood there a little dazed and then got behind the door and giggled.

Santa was such a good sport. He took pictures and read to the kids.

Santa even let our littlest ones attack him with a crocodile.

The whole experience was pretty funny because after about 5 minutes the kids were like great, Santa is here, so lets go play with toys. They would take turns disappearing in Matt's room and returning with a toy for Santa. Finally, by the end, most of the kids had drifted into his room and Santa was left sitting by himself.

Things got interesting when Santa had to leave because the children wanted to follow him out and look at his sleigh. We pretty much had to block the door.

Overall it was a great morning. I had so much fun and was glad I could share my home with everyone today.

To all my "momfriends": I love you guys and treasure each of your friendships. I love spending time with you and your crazy kids; it is a blast watching them play! I am so thankful that God has blessed me with such a beautiful group of friends. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and can't wait to start back in January!

Take it easy....

Sorry I haven't posted in so long; I did not feel too swell last week.

Actually, I felt so bad that I finally went to the doctor at the prompting of my husband and mom. The week started with me having this weird episode, what I think was an anxiety attack, in the shower. Then, it seemed like I had a headache every time I turned around and all I wanted to do was sleep. All of this was topped off with a healthy dose of nausea.

So, I went to the doctor on Friday. I got checked out and my Dr. had 4 different blood test run. Yes, one of them was to see if I was pregnant. The others were to check my thyroid, liver, blood count, and for anemia. We also had a discussion about me possibly being over committed and stressed out.

Today I called the office to check on my results and first of all, I am NOT pregnant. Actually, there was nothing wrong with me. It seems that I am stressed out and my body is screaming at me to slow down and chill out. The nurse instructed me to call and set up an appointment with my doctor to discuss my stress level.

Hmm..I wonder if this has anything to do with being a wife and mom at Christmas time.

Charlie Brown Christmas

This is Matt's favorite Christmas movie this holiday season. It is one of mine as well.

In case you are feeling yourself getting caught up in all of the commercialism, take a minute to listen to the wisdom of Linus.

By the way, if my child calls your child a stupid blockhead, I'm sorry. But please, don't blam me, blame Lucy.

My Little Angel

Today Matt had his preschool Christmas program; it was very cute. I love watching these programs because the children are so unpredictable. They're waving from the stage, picking noses, poking each other, or just crying. My favorite are the kids who know their parts really well and are hamming it up and yelling their lines.

Matt's class dressed up as angels and performed toward the end. I can't tell you what they did because it was so fast and I was too concerned with taking a picture. As they performed, you could see the kids figuring out that their parents were in the audience by the look on their faces. Once they were finished and sat back down, you could hear a crying chorus of I want my mommy or I want my daddy. That was pretty funny.

From what I could see of Matt, he just stood there and looked around all big-eyed. He did really well until the end, when his class walked by our row and he saw Grandma. He wanted to come sit with us and when I said no, the tears began to flow.

Afterwards, everyone went back to their kid's class and had cookies and punch. Imagine being in a room with around 15 two year olds and their parents. It was quite entertaining. The boy sitting next to Matt would randomly shout no and finally Matt had to join in. It was like they were having a no war. I was so proud.

It was a great morning. I'm still wrestling with the thought of my child being old enough to be in a program. You all would have been very proud of me because I did not cry. I thought I was going to get all teary eyed, but I held it together.

Computer Literacy

Some of you become very concerned when my mom does not comment for a few days. I just wanted to let all of you know that she is here spoiling Matt. This means that she will not be posting her usual comments.

For some reason, she thinks she can only do this from her own computer. Today, she asked if she could use my computer to read my blog. I think my mom believes the universe will implode if she gets on another computer to look at her usual sites. To make things even more exciting, she used our laptop and I think it rocked her world.

McDonald's Happy Meal Ad Cha Cha Slide (long version)

This commercial cracks us up. I am sure you all have seen this, but I still had to post it.

There is so much that I love : the expression of the kid and his dad, the shiny gold suit, the stereo from the 80's, he's eating apples, the music that reminds me of a junior high dance, and the fact that my child laughs every time he watches the commercial.

I am hoping that it will inspire Matt to take his Happy Meal eating to a whole new level.

Love

Last night I watched this movie called The Christmas Card. Obviously, it was a Christmas movie. It was a love story about a soldier in Afghanistan who received a Christmas card from a random girl back home. After he was discharged, he set out to find her and fell in love. The problem was that she was engaged.

The other problem was that it was a made-for-TV movie and the acting was horrible. Once I got past that, I enjoyed the movie. I am a sucker for a love story.

Richard was not home when I started it. By the time he got home, the movie was almost over. The 20 minutes he watched was spent passing gas and withering in agony on the couch while making his usual love story comments:

"Oh Come On!!"

"Get Real"

and my personal favorite

"Don't you get any ideas!"

One more day

Did you see Oprah yesterday? Her show was about having one more day with someone you have lost. I find it ironic that her show was about that because today is the eleventh anniversary of when my dad passed.

For those of you who do not know, my dad died of cancer when I was nineteen. He fought it for almost two years but he eventually died. When I look back at that time now, I truly see God's hand in our lives.

I had a unique relationship with my dad. During my early childhood, I loved my dad and thought he was great. He pestered me a lot, but he was my dad and my hero. As I matured, I realized that my dad was an alcoholic and saw the effects it was having on my family. From about the 6th to 12th grade I began to distance myself from him and did not respect him very much.

For some reason, I don't know if it was maturity or divine intervention, I began to mend things with my dad my senior year. It was shortly after that decision that he was diagnosed. I spent the next two years trying to understand, love, and be with my dad. Thankfully, my dad did quit drinking and became a believer. By the time he died, he and I had created a father/daughter relationship full of memories that I am content with.

After watching the show yesterday and of course because of today, he has been on my mind. Yesterday, I thought if I had one more day, I would spend it with dad, Richard, and Matt. I would love to have a day where we all hang out, maybe fish together, and of course make a pecan pie (family joke). We would talk about his childhood, funny stories, and what's been going on the past 11 years. I know that he would love Richard and Matt; they all have the same zany humor. Actually, the three of them would probably drive me nuts! I would love that.

While sifting through old photographs this afternoon, I began to think of other questions and conversations for my dad. As I was looking at photos from the darkest parts of my family's life, I wondered what my dad would have to say about that time. The past 11 years I have always thought about things from my side and have never wondered what my dad was feeling. Did he realize how we felt? Did he feel the same? That time seemed so bleak and hopeless. Thankfully, God is merciful and kept us all in his hand.

Well, I don't want to end today on a sad note. I have chosen two photos that pretty much sum up my dad. Basically, he was a big kid. He loved having fun, telling jokes, and his kids.

This was taken five months before he passed. We took a trip to Galveston and made a lifetime of memories. The picture is hard to see, but of course he is making a silly face.

That's my brother Earnie in his baby bed. Like I said, my dad was a big kid. I have always loved this picture.

Watch Out Martha Stewart

I sent many of you an email from Kids Craft Weekly about creating an advent calendar a couple of weeks ago. Well, I decided to try my hand at crafting and made the origami cups. They turned out rather cute and I wanted to share with all of you.

As you can see, Matt loves them. We went to a Christmas parade the other night, and being the cheap mom that I am, I put that candy in the cups. The problem now is that Matt drags a chair over to the cups and tries to get the candy.

not too sure

As you can see, I added this obnoxiously large thing on the side of my page. I am not sure if I like it or not. It is suppose to be my virtual bookshelf. It looks kind of garish to me. What do you think? Should I keep it or does it look awkward?

The Baby Einstein Effect

Smart huh?? After viewing two years of Baby Einstein, this too can be your child.

I am just kidding! Before anyone leaves me nasty comments, I think that Matt is a genius.

Matt calls his eye patch his "pirate". When he walked into the living room, I just about fell over from laughing. I don't think we have ever laughed so hard at Matt. Of course, Matt hammed it up.

Have you ever seen the movie Goonies? This picture reminds me of that guy Sloth.

Random

I have made a discovery today!!

Have you ever wondered where Disney's Baby Einstein series came from? Today we watched the old classic Fantasia and it is like a older and more tolerable version of Baby Einstein's: Baby Mozart.

I have had this VHS tape since I was a kid and have probably watched it twice. The only thing I remember was that Mickey was on it somewhere. Since we do not have any other Mickey movies, I decided this would be our movie today. After watching the first five minutes, I was thinking, this is Baby Einstein (BE) for the 1940's.

I was surprised that Matt watched as much as he did. It is probably because he is a product of BE ,which according to recent studies, means he is retarded and will have serious language delays. Please, have you heard my kid talk? He might speak his own language but he does talk and has since around a year old.

.

Anyways, I just thought the similarities were interesting and if you are bored and want to read up on Fantasia check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_(film)

The Santa Experience

Today, Matt took his picture with Santa. All of you parents know what that means: drama. He was very excited about meeting Santa when we left the house and I had been prepping him with what to expect. It was me, however, that didn't know what to expect.

The pictures are taken at the front of a store in downtown that has these huge glass windows. Everyone outside can see and hear the kids as they have their picture taken. I pulled into a spot right in front of the store and as I opened my door, all I could hear was a child screaming. I looked into the store window and there was Santa with this child screaming and crying in his lap. It was a beautiful Christmas moment. You would have thought that Santa was performing brain surgery on the child.

So now I am thinking this will be fun because Matt, like most small kids, feeds on other children's emotions. I take Matt into the store and swiftly walk past Dr. Santa. My thinking is that maybe Matt will not notice the child recoiling and screaming in Santa's lap. There were four children in front of Matt and I kid you not, the first three all cried. By this point, Matt was getting very nervous and asking questions. Then he spotted the camera equipment and almost had a melt down.

Now, it is our turn. We walk over to the set and Matt is bear hugging my leg and saying "I can't yike pictures! No pictures mommy!" One of the workers manages to peel him off of my leg and Santa coaxes him over. Matt climbs up in his lap and begins to tell Santa he wants a basketball and bowling. Then I made a fatal mistake; I walked away. Matt bolted off his lap, attached himself to me, and began crying. By this point the helper, photographer, and Santa we all trying to lure Matt back. At one point, the photographer tried to tickle Matt with this fuzzy stick thing and Matt started screaming; that was pretty funny.

Finally, I can't remember how, but we got Matt back into Santa's lap and took the picture. I am not sure how the pictures are going to turn out but it was a very memorable morning. I finally remembered to take my own camera and here is what I snapped.

Quest

I am on a quest this month; I want to bake European cookies.

I watched Rick Steve's European Christmas the other night on PBS and now I am obsessed with European Christmas food, especially cookies. I think I am stuck on cookies because they seem easier than figgy pudding or some kind of roasted duck with truffle sauce.

I found a recipe for these Swedish cookies called Pepparkakor, which means pepper cookie. No, there is not real pepper in the cookies, just a lot of baking spices. I am not that adventurous! If you want to try your hand at baking these hot little Swedes, here is the link: http://www.christmasiscoming.co.uk/Pepparkakor_recipe.html When I bake them I will let you know how they turn out. I also have a friend who is going to hook me up with an anise cookie source. I'm not sure if these are European but they were really good and seem like they would be.

If you have any good cookie recipes, especially ethnic ones (is that the correct way to say that?) please send them my way. I would love to try them!

Catch Up

Happy Wednesday to all! In case you were wondering, I am alive and am not sick. Things have been crazy since we returned home. It seems like I have had a zillion things to do. Yesterday, I was so pressed for time that I was literally running through my house to get things done before I picked up Matt.

Well we made it back from my mom's and had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I hope all of you did too. I believe that Matthew thinks Thanksgiving is the greatest thing ever. Everyday he stayed up until about 11 p.m., walked around with a bottomless cup of M&Ms, a movie was constantly playing in our room, and both sets of grandparents were around to fulfill every wish and desire. I will say, he was very good.

We had a great time. The usual Thanksgiving fare was cooked: turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberries and desserts. We also tossed in some healthier sides like steamed carrots and brussel sprouts . Yummy! Oh, and how could I forget, mom's squash casserole. Anyways, all of the food was delicious and we had a ton left over.

We played Phase 10, Skip-Bo, May I, and dominoes. I had forgotten how much I love games and how competitive I am. My mom had never played Phase 10 and managed to cream all of us. She had this great routine of acting all confused and then miraculously winning the round. Just wait until next time Mom.

Also, to clear up any confusion about the previous entry's comments: my mom did dance on American Idol with her cane and yes, she is insane.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is one of my favorite holidays; I can't decide between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think I prefer Thanksgiving because there is not so much "hoopla" and commercialism like there is with Christmas.

This Thanksgiving is extra special for me and my family. This is the third anniversary of my mom's heart surgery. For those of you who do not know, my mom has had heart problems her whole life. She had open heart surgery when I was six months old, later had a pace-maker, and then had a heart attack when I was 17. She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and other things and was told to expect a heart and lung transplant. Actually, my mom was told to abort me because she wouldn't make it, and when she did survive, they said that she wouldn't live to see me graduate. My mom has tremendous faith and trusted that the Lord would take care of her and sure enough, he did.

Well, 3 years ago she was very very sick and almost died twice. Her organs were starting to fail and her heart was worn out. To help you understand how bad her heart was, a normal heart is the size of a fist, my mom's was about 4 times the size! The doctors were running out of options because she refused to get a transplant (and at her age, I don't blame her). Her doctor got in touch with a phenomenal cardiologist at Baylor and they decided to replace her heart valves and repair the hole in her heart. She didn't really want to have the surgery, but I was 5 months pregnant at the time and showed her an ultrasound picture of her grandson named Matt. She says that is what helped her to make up her mind to undergo the surgery.

On this day three years ago, my brother and I followed her into the pre-op room and said our goodbyes for the moment. Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was goodbye for the next few hours or the rest of my life. It was one of the most difficult moments of my life. However, my mom had an amazing attitude and said she would win either way: either the surgery would be a success or she was going home with the Lord.

All I can say about those next couple of hours is that I have never prayed and talked to the Lord so much in my life. I literally felt like he was holding me in his hand. Thinking back now, it was one of the most peaceful feelings I have ever had.

The surgery was a success, in case you hadn't figured that out. I am so thankful that my mom had the faith to listen to the Lord and obey him. I am thankful that she is here, that she was able to be with me during Matt's birth, she is here to spoil Matt, and that we are celebrating this wonderful day with her.

Happy Heart Anniversary mom and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I love you and am thankful for everyone of you!!

A Matter of Perspective

Matt's newest obsession is taking pictures. During the past couple of days he has become quite the photographer. He has a couple of play cameras that he uses but my favorite is his cell phone. It doesn't have any kind of camera function, but do you think that would stop my child's imagination.

Today we were getting out of the car and he found one of his cameras while crawling out. Of course, I had to strike a few poses for him and say "CHEEEEESE!!!" Then, I gave him the keys to open the front door. For those of you who do not know, this is a BIG deal to my son. We have had many melt-downs over this.

Matt takes off running to the door, but suddenly runs back handing me the keys. He tells me he has to take some pictures of a squirrel. I'm thinking sure buddy, knock yourself out.

Well, he was not taking pictures of a squirrel. He was bent over a dead mouse on the driveway and taking pretend pictures of it. The cats had brought us an early Thanksgiving present; thanks Max and Rascal.

Aren't you glad that I did not attach a picture today.

Conversation

Matt: What's that?

Me: That's Charlie Brown music.

Matt: No, that's Charlie Black.

Me: No baby, Charlie Brown.

Matt: Noo, that's Charlie White.

Me: (Thinking I understand the game) Ooh! It's Charlie Purple.

Matt: No Mommy. That's Charlie Brown.

Friday Fun

Translation

Those of you with kids know the joy in translating our child's language to people. Matt, like all 2 year olds, has his own language; we affectionately call it Mattanese. Most of the time, especially if you are around him enough, he is understandable. However, when he is excited, he needs a translator.

This morning was one of those occasions. There was one problem: he was talking to me, the translator.

We were driving to school and he was jabbering in the backseat about the day and what he was going to do. He kept repeating the same word and I have no idea what it was. I guessed about five different words and they were all incorrect. As you can imagine, he was getting irritated and I was getting desperate.

Deciding it was time for a distraction, I pulled the mom trick of using fancy words. Finally, I said "Matt, we are having a miscommunication." Very matter of fact like, Matthew responds "Yeah, I know!"

To Clear Up Any Confusion

In case you are confused....

It's a good thing there were instructions because I would still be there scratching my head.

Thanksgiving

Lately, Matt has been into using timers. We set the timer for cleaning up, playing with toys, waiting for a bath and so on. On Monday afternoon he woke up from his nap and asked me to set the timer. This was the first thing out of his mouth after being asleep for two hours. I found it amusing and asked him what for. Matt's response: for Thanksgiving.

He is sooo excited about Thanksgiving; we talk about it at least once a day. He knows that we are going to Grandma's house, we will eat lots of good food, and his other grandparents will be there as well. Almost everyday he asks if it is Thanksgiving or can we go to Thanksgiving. Every morning we will look at his calendar, find today, then find the turkey, and count how many days until we leave.

All of this excitement over a turkey. I can't wait to see what he will do for Christmas.

Lesson Learned

Today, we attempted the unimaginable: Christmas shopping during nap time.

It took us about 50 minutes to get to the nearest mall and Matt slept 20 minutes. Matthew usually takes about a two hour nap.

We arrived at the mall and tried to do some Christmas shopping; Matt was most uncooperative. Duh! and yet, we acted so surprised. Then we went to Target, and let me say, it was the fastest trip I have ever made. During the ride home, Matt kept asking to get out and demanded everything. He literally told me he wanted everything.

When we got home, I had to lay outside in our swing for about 5 minutes in order to defrazzle myself.

Where's Unlce Earnie??

This video was taken from our trip to visit Unlce Earnie in Austin. Once we left the park, we drove to the airport to drop Earnie off. Matt fell asleep during the drive and did not wake up unitl we were almost home. This is Matt waking up and discovering Uncle Earnie is gone.

Who Will It Be?

Sorry the writing has been scarce this week. It has been a busy week and I have had a bit of blogger's block.

I do want to give a big thanks to all of you who read my ramblings and post comments. I have to say, I LOVE comments. I went back and changed some things, so I think you can now post a comment without having an account. Just to let you know how lame I am, I become all giddy when I see that someone posted a comment. I know, it sounds dumb and you can laugh ( or better yet comment), but it is true.

Speaking of posting comments, I am having a give-away today. This was Richard's idea. The first person to post a comment today will receive a one-of-a-kind prize. Original artwork and a picture of the world's most handsome, spunky, and brightest two year old. Matthew! We just got his school pics and they are cute.

If I was a betting woman, I would say that Grandma will win.

First Movie

Well, we did it! We took Matt to his first movie.

Yesterday was our first free Saturday in three weeks so we decided to take Matt to see Bee Movie. It was kind of funny because he didn't understand what we were doing and why he couldn't watch his movie on our TV. When we arrived at the theater, he could see the go-karts at another attraction next door and started crying to ride them. We finally made it inside and went to buy popcorn and drinks. He spied the arcade and took off for that. Once we made it to our seats he was intrigued. Then, when the previews started, his eyes were as big as saucers. He sat in Richard's lap and did not move for about 20 minutes.

When the movie started, Matt was hooked. We were lucky because there was a lot of action and transportation vehicles. However, once the movie did slow down, he started in with going to play games and needing to tee-tee. At one point, he even asked Richard to tell him a story.

Overall, the trip was a huge success. Matt only had to go the the RR twice and stayed in daddy's lap the entire time. I would recommend the movie as well. It was very clean, witty, and had enough humor for both adults and children. We had a great time.

Birthday Boy

This handsome little guy is my big brother Earnie. I think this picture was taken during his glory days (before I came along) when he was about 3 or 4. Today is his 35 birthday, so:

Happy Birthday!!!

In honor of your birthday, I have decided to list 35 of my favorite big bro memories.

1. watching Frugal Gourmet in the summer
2. making that weird homemade pizza that tasted like scrambled eggs
3. letting me camp in your room as a kid
4. going to White Rock Lake and walking through the woods
5. letting me hang out with you and Jeremy
6. letting me hang out with you in the stands when you were in band
7. going kayaking with you and Chrissy
8. seeing your face when Chrissy jumped off that dock
9. the starter gun incident/Shower Me With Your Love
10. taking me to get my navel pierced
11. farting on pillows and sticking them in my face
12. trampoline games
13. playing Barbies and Transformers together
14. building me book houses for my Barbies
15. helping me arrange my room back when I stayed home from school with my sprained ankle
16. watching you put Matt's motorcycle together last year. I am not sure who was more excited, you or Matt
17. the trip to Mauriceville for Thanksgiving
18. practicing our saxophones together
19. Laurie Alert Book
20. hiding from Cosimo
21. adopting Charlie
22. seeing you buy your first house
23. thinking how cool you were when you lived in La Prada
24. telling mom to spank you when I got in trouble
25. remember how I use to curse you out by the fence when I was like 2 or 3 and then say you did it
26. watching scary movies with dad, then walking through the house together because we knew he was hiding
27. walking me down the aisle and giving me away
28. telling me to drink the water from the "waterfall" at the river and then seeing where it came from. I am surprised I didn't grow a second head.
29. agitating Uncle Bobby with Black Cat firecrackers
30. being crammed in the back of the RX-7 during trips to the river
31. playing Catch Phrase with you, Chrissy, and Richard at mom's
32. almost killing us while driving because there was a spider in the car
33. always sticking up for me and taking care of me
34. watching you play with Matt
35. surprising all of us at Matt's birth

I hope you have a great one! I miss getting to see you and love you!

Giddy-Up

Isn't this the most intimidating cowboy you have ever seen? Obviously, Matt was a cowboy for Halloween. The vest and chaps were Richard's. We have a great picture of Richard around three or four wearing this. I will try to upload that one day.

On Sunday, we had a "Harvest Party" for the kids in my mom's bible study group. We had all of these activities planned like face painting, storytelling, and so on, but the only thing we wound up doing was the bounce house. They loved it! Matt was the first in, but as soon as it got crowded he bolted.

Here is Mr. Big Shot walking up for a trick-or-treat. Let me tell you, he thought he was all that and then some.

Matt was able to do some trick-or-treating with his friends Hannah Montana and Miss Kitty Cat. I made the mistake of calling her a tiger and was immediately hissed at.

Finally, it was chow time or so Matt thought. I was mean and only let him choose one piece. That went over well.

Taking a cue from Oprah

Did you see yesterday's Oprah? It had to do with famous women who are "style makers" and what they cannot live without. Well since I am a famous "style maker", I decided to do my own list.
Here are a few of my favorite things in random order. Keep in mind these are superficial things.

1. My Rao's coffee mug (thanks Karen). I love this mug. I love the way it feels in the morning and if you try to use it, the fight is on. Just ask Richard.
2. Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops. These are a recent find and they taste awesome. They come in cool flavors like pomegranate and mango and use only natural ingredients. Have you ever read the ingredients in a DumDum?
3. Hand sanitizer. Need I say more.
4. My body pillow. Richard hates it and says it takes up the whole bed.
5. Coffee. There are some days when I pretend to be my Mawmaw and brew a cup at two o'clock in the afternoon.
6. Blue Bell ice cream
7. Any Paula Deen cookbook. It's like cooking with your grandmother's recipes.
8. Mary Kay Visibly Fit body lotion. It is a great moisturizer and kept the stretch marks away.
9. Gap curvy jeans. The only jeans I can find that don't gap, no pun intended, at the waist.
10. i-shuffle. This is a great music gizmo and does just what I need without all the bells and whistles. I also love the built in clip.
For the more serious
11. My Bible. Any question I have, the answer can be found inside. (That sounds very Angela from the Office)
12. My camera, photographs, albums, and scrapbooks. I am a picture freak. If I could, every wall in our house would be covered with pictures.

"When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad" - The Sound of Music

I hope this gets stuck in your head like it is in mine.

Update

In case anyone was wondering, I did not fall off the planet. I have just been puking my brains out from under cooked salmon and dealing with Matt's pinkeye at the same time. We are on the road to recovery.

This is another case of needing a little fiction.

My boys

Here is a video of Matt playing with Uncle Earnie and Daddy. As you can see, Matt had a great time.

If you are an Office fan, you will notice Richard running in the background like Mose, Dwight's cousin. I can always count on Richard for a good laugh; that's one of the many reasons why I love him.

We love Uncle Earnie

Today, we met my bother in Austin for the afternoon. We had not seen him since March (he lives in Minnesota) so, it was a "special treat" as Matt would say.

Thanks for the great day Uncle Earnie!

Adventures in food

Last night I made a beef stew that would make you slap yo mama. Richard liked it so much that he said, dare I say, it was better than his mother's. I did not do anything fancy or use any exotic ingredients. The one thing I did differently was to cook and season in layers.

Typically I brown the meat, pour in the liquid, dump in all of the veggies, and season. This time I browned my meat with the onions and garlic, salt and peppered, poured in the liquid and brought to a boil, added more spice, and finally added the veggies with more spices. I do have to give Rachael Ray props because I stole the "season in layers" from a show the other day. What a difference that made! Richard did not even add salt; he never does that.

Another great thing about last night was leftover cornbread. Do you know what the greatest thing in the world to do with leftover cornbread is? Have cornbread covered in milk! Before you gag at the thought, you must try it. If you consider yourself to be a true southerner, then this is a requirement.

Flashback Friday

Pumpkins 1 year ago.

Sigh

I just have to say that I love my hubby. He surprised me earlier this week by suggesting that we go on a date. I did not have to ask, hint, beg, or subliminally implant messages. So last night, we went out to dinner all by our little selves.

We went to a grown up Italian restaurant that did not serve french fries or have a play land. We had grown up conversation, only cut the food on our plates, and went to the restroom by our self. It was glorious.

Thanks Richie for such a nice evening.

Repeat

Last night, to bribe Matt to go to bed, I reminded him that a firetruck and "Sparky" were coming to his school in the morning. All at once, 30 thousand words came spilling out of his mouth as fast as he could manage, his eyes almost popped out of his head, and his lips curved into this crazy smile. Can you say excited?? Just as cute, Richard asked "Really? When? Can I go too?" I had to remind Richard that it is not a good idea to show up at a 2 1/2 year old's school and leave without him.

So we get Matt in bed and he was still talking up a storm about firetrucks, firehouses, Sparky, and firefighters. Do we know what he was saying? Not completely, but we got the gist. We said our goodnights and then went on to bed ourselves. Typically, after we put him to bed, he is quiet. Tonight was a whole different story. We could hear him through the monitor having a conversation about firetrucks for about 5 minutes.

He woke up this morning and the first words out of his mouth had to do with school and firetruck. When I dropped him off in car line he was still talking about firetrucks. When I picked him up this afternoon, I asked him if he saw a firetruck today. He said "Yeaaah! I get in and push b'tons. I kie (cry)." I asked him if he cried and he said (very big eyed) "Oooh yeaah. I kied."

I was a little worried about this part, the crying. If you haven't figured out by now, he LOVES firetrucks. I was wondering how bad he would cry when it was time to say bye to the firetruck. So, curiosity got the best of me and I called his teacher. I told her what Matt had said and she agreed. It sounded like he was pretty devastated. She finally got him to quit when she told him that they had to go back to the fire station to prepare for a fire.

Hmmm.
After recalling all of this, three thoughts come to mind: obsessive, persistent, and pit bull.
I can't wait for adolescence.

Pumpkin Time

On Friday, we went to a local produce stand and bought some pumpkins. Matt was very excited about the trip because we have been reading books about pumpkins and Halloween. After we brought our pumpkins home, he began yelling "don't hurt my pumpkin!!" That is what a character said in his Little Critter Halloween book when her dad started carving the pumpkin. Now Matt yells it every time we walk past them on the porch. It is pretty amusing. Here is a photo essay of our adventure. I love the last picture!!

Dinner Last Night

Who says dinner has to be a serious affair?

Flashback Friday

Halloween at 7 months.

Please wash your hands

I was at the gym this afternoon changing my shoes in the bathroom. There was a lady in one of the stalls and between the smell and all of the flushing it was pretty obvious what was going on. I felt sorry for her until she came out of the stall, smiled at me, and walked out. SHE DID NOT WASH HER HANDS!!! Can you say gross?!? No wonder a stomach virus is running rampant through our town. Let me say I was not thrilled about walking out there and touching the equipment

Lesson for today: PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER YOU USE THE BATHROOM
(or at least use antibacterial gel)

Sweet

I bought these sunflowers on sale at HEB yesterday for $4.50. I think it was money well spent. I love this picture!

Weekend

Matt has finally recovered from his virus; he ran fever Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Now he is left with this horrible scratchy sounding cough.

Our original plans for the weekend was to go camping, but we had to scrap that. Ironically, the couple we were to camp with also had a sick child this weekend. He got a stomach virus Friday and is still recovering. What a pair our kids would have been.

Today Matt enjoyed getting to make a table fort. He thought that was pretty cool or in his words " Oooh WOOWW mommy!!! Thas funee"

Flashback Friday

Fishing off the dock at Grandma and Gruncle's this summer. In case you are wondering, he did catch a fish.

Round Two

Guess what? Matt is sick again. The poor little guy had to be picked up early from school because of fever. I called the clinic and they said it is a virus and he could run fever for 2 or 3 days! All he did yesterday was watch videos and sleep. In the evening he watched The Office with us and laid around on his pallet. He seems about the same this morning. As I type he is watching his buddy Elmo and eating a banana. Please pray that he recovers from this quickly.

I took this yesterday (yes, a new picture!) while he watched Elmo and the Goo Goo Dolls on You Tube. He never puts his head down at the table, so you know he feels bad.

On a brighter note, I forgot to mention that when my camera came back to life, all of the pictures I had taken were still on there. The coffee did not ruin the disk. Thank you Lord!

Uncontainable Joy

I just had the most amazing thing happen!! As you all know, my digital camera has been broke since July. We were at my moms and I accidentally spilled coffee on it. We took the camera apart and let it dry out, we changed batteries about 4 different times, and left it alone for awhile and it has never come back on. I had finally resigned myself to the fact that I would be without a camera for awhile. When you have a child, that is very hard to deal with.

Today, I returned home from my mom's bible study and was thinking about things that we had talked about today and also our past study, Believing God by Beth Moore (I highly recommend this bible study or book. It will revolutionize your faith). I thought you know, I haven't asked God to help me with this problem. It has always seemed so unimportant and trivial to bother Him with. However, that is one of the things I have learned, he wants to be involved in everything I do and He wants me to ask Him for help with all things, not just the "big stuff". So I took my camera back out, got out another set of new batteries, put them in, and prayed for God to fix my camera. Yes, that is correct, I prayed for a camera. I also asked him to forgive me for not taking care of it and appreciating what he had provided. I believe that right there was key because I have to confess, when the camera broke I thought "oh good, I'll buy a better camera." Well after I prayed and confessed my sins, guess what happened when I turned it on? My little camera sang a song. And guess what I did? Got all teary eyed (are you shocked??) and sang my own song to the Lord.

I am so thankful that my God is a loving and merciful God. I am ashamed of my thoughts but am grateful that he forgives me. I have also learned that no request is too small for the Lord.

I love you guys and cannot wait to share some new picture of Matt.

For Grandma

Matt and I were running our errands this morning and playing the "what's that game?" At one point we came to a Sonic Drive-In and I said "what's that?" Matt responded with a very quick and boisterous"SONIC!!" and I was very impressed. Then he went on to add "Grandma's most special special place!" All I could do was bust out laughing and keep from having a wreck.

For those of you who do not know my mom, she has had a love affair with Sonic for the past 10 years and can usually be found drinking a refreshing beverage from a Sonic cup. She just spent the last week with us and harassed me daily for a trip to Sonic or to bring her back a Coke. Unfortunately for grandma, I only took her once, but what an impact it made on Matt.

Flashback Friday

Two years ago in the "pumpkin patch".

Bribe

On Thursday evening we met Nana and Papaw for dinner and they took Matt home with them for the weekend. To describe how sad Matt was about leaving us, here are his own words "Bye bye mommy!! See you later!! GET BACK !!(I wouldn't step away from his car seat fast enough). Was he sad? No. Were we sad? YES. I did not turn into a blubbering fool but I came close.

So with that, on the way to pick him up we were preparing for a battle. We were sure he would resist coming home to the land of rules and regulations. Richard and I decided we needed a plan: how could we make mom and dad look exciting and attractive? So we decided to use bribes: a movie for the trip home, going to Mc Donalds, playing with his friends... As we were talking we both started laughing at the absurdity of the situation - we were going to bribe our child to come home.

Well, needless to say, the exchange went well and he wasn't too sad about coming home. However, I do think he was thrown for a loop because we did not tell him no the rest of the day.

Flashback Friday

Remember this little guy. This is one of my favorite pictures of Matthew; he looks so peaceful.

I hope it is as beautiful at your house as it is at mine. The sky is a perfect autumn blue, the air is somewhat dry, and it is around 85 degrees!

So far Matt and I have went for a walk, been to the donut shop, visited Daddy at work, and played at the park with friends (this pic is about 6 months old). Next on the agenda is a PB&J lunch followed by a nap.

I love days like this and praise God for taking care of us so that I can stay home with my little man.

Flashback Friday

For the meantime, Fridays here at the As a "Matt"er of Fact will be known as Flashback Fridays. I have decided to do this for two reasons:

1. I am a total sap and love looking at old pics and videos.

2. My digital camera is broke and I am relying on 2 sets of box prints. That's why the pics have been fuzzy so far.

This is a great video of Daddy playing with Matt. I love the spastic arm movements and squeals. The funny thing is that he was around 6 months at the time and today at 2 1/2, he was laughing while watching the video of Daddy.

Really Wishing for Some Fiction

Warning: If you do not like to read about vomit, then look away.



We had a rare and wonderful evening last night where everything ran smoothly; those of you with kids know the kind. We got home from church and played outside, happily came in and happily took a bath, then happily read 3, 4, 5 (who's counting) stories, and happily got in bed for "prayers and Jesus songs" by 8:30. Did you note all the "happilys"? To top is off, we were asleep by 9:30!! I should have known something was up.

Then the the bomb dropped, at 12:45 a.m. to be exact. We were awakened by a very distinctive screaming noise that could only mean one thing- Matt threw up. This is one of the parenting things that Rich and I hate the most. Not because it is gross but because you feel so helpless and sorry for your child. There was a point in the night when Matt was just looking at me confused, as if asking "why can't you make this stop?" I felt like the world's worst parent at that moment.

The ordeal lasted until about 2:15 and then we finally fell asleep. Well, at least until around 3:30 because Matt woke up and decided he needed to get up and wander around his room. I got him back asleep but was awakened at 5, not by Matt but the phone.

With all this said, it was a long and rough night but Matt is much better. By 10 a.m., you wouldn't have guessed he was sick. Superman was back!

Like Father Like Son

I wasn't sure if you guys had noticed the similarity between Richard and Matt. Most people seem to think that Matt looks exactly like me but I am not so sure. I'm kidding.

They even seem to share the same talents. I wish I had audio to go with this picture; Matt's plastic trumpet sounds like a sea gull. It is a great sound in the car.