nothing says happy new year like...

seriously, i don't think i can remember when i last got this excited! tonight we had the pattisons over.

big h gets along with their kid so well. they play together, only not together. if that make sense. so i fixed tostadas (i am so incredibly fancy) and homemade guacamole and a black eyed pea salsa that my buddy davis gave me the recipe for. the taste of mine doesn't even come close to hers. but then again, she fixes hors d'oerves for me just when i come by to pick up some hand-me-downs. (you just have to know davis.) buz got champagne. i mean, it was the whole nine yards. this was no half-a__ party. i bathed, nursed, and put the goo to bed. and then, it was time.

time to break out the hickory farms beef stick (which buz calls the meat log), smoky bar, and sweet hot mustard. i look forward to the ceremonial opening of these products all. year. long.

and to my surprise, the pattisons were equally excited. poor buz. he could've cared less. a disgrace, i tell you. his loss.

and it was everything i hoped it would be.

so now before we sit in front of dick clark's new year's rockin' eve, buz and i are getting ready to go over our yearly personal "goals" and how we can love each other more and perhaps differently over the upcoming year. over some sparkly.

and, of course, some more meat log.

happy new year.

(and for some reason, blogger will not let me skip lines. hmmm...oh well)

do not, i repeat, DO NOT go...

to the mall.

without a double stroller at least (if you have kids under the age of say...12).

madness.

apparently, kids of all shapes and sizes AND their parents do not have school or work the week between christmas and new years. this is new to me?

we have had 2 days of being couped up in the house in our jammies without baths and showers. (yes, some of you are remembering me saying before i had children that i would never have a day without a shower. that was just so gross. bless my heart.) so i was determined to get out of the house with a shower and have all children bathed and smelling sweet. my buddy sarah (the one that just had a baby TWO WEEKS ago) decided she would join me. she is nuts. though, i had to get out of the house when i had a 2-week-old as well. life with more than one is a lot harder. (you people out there with more than 2 children...my hats off to you.)

getting lunch at the food court may have taken at least 6 hours, complete with lots of crying kids and lots of 9 and 10-year-olds using a lot of "i wants." it was craziness.

but, there was justice.

getting home, the lift and lay was accomplished with BOTH children. the lift and lay is a very technical procedure not to be attempted by just anyone. it is the art and science of taking your sleeping child out of his/her carseat and getting him/her into his/her bed without waking them up. and yes, it was accomplished. henry. done. the goo. done.

happiness in my life is now equivalent to a nap on a rainy day. ahhh...

and now after a fine dinner, buz and i are together, ready to face the weekend head on. (i say "face it head on" because the new years blues are upon us. that feeling you get when the holidays and festivities are over, and you're left with normal life again.)

liberation, freedom, c'mon thesaurus, bring me some more...

well, it has been WAY TOO LONG since i last posted. and for those 4 of you who are interested in what we are up to, i apologize. freedom is in the air. what's that, you say? something big has happened around the wisner house.

dying of suspense?

this is what has happened in the wisner house...



all of you who have been praying about our feeding situation, we thank you. the goo is still nursing, morning and night. but during the day, playtex ventaire. to the people of playtex, our hearts are with you this new year.

and to aunt emily and uncle bob, we thank you a thousand times over.

(yes, that's the goo being fed by a bottle)

you might be thinking this post would be all about christmas. well, it is. the playtex ventaire and my brother and his wife are the reason for the season this year. :)

i have been having SO MUCH TROUBLE nursing the goo that it was stressing me out and i was simply NOT enjoying my sweet goo. so i decided i had to do something about it. my niece (who is by far the cutest little girl i've seen) takes a bottle, and in my opinion my brother and his wife are experts in this field. so i told them that they had 3 days to get my "anti-bottle" baby on a bottle. and first try...I KID YOU NOT! aunt emily tried a couple of positions and different bottles. and then i heard that sound. that sucking sound. that drinking sound. that sound of nourishment. and i am serious when i say this. i was crying. ask bob or emily. real tears.

and my hats off to the goo. sweetheart, you did it. we are going to make it, you and me. and we are going to have some fun. we are going to go places. in public. god bless you!

that's our big news. christmas went absolutely flawless. scored myself a pedicure with my mom and sister-in-law. felt guilty that i wasn't doing much talking. but ONE WHOLE HOUR without anyone under the age of 31 was complete bliss. i shut my eyes and imagined myself on a beach somewhere...

buz helped me enter the age of technology. (i used to see myself as pretty technologically savvy, but due to children entering my life, i couldn't tell you one top 40 song on the radio or #1 selling item at best buy. that pains me.) but again, thanks to buz, i drove back home with one of these in my purse...



now, of course, i have no idea how to use it, and i have been feverishly calling my brother asking question after question. but don't think i'm not going to be the hippest mom in town. hmmm...what's the first song i will download?? any suggestions? perhaps something by air supply or lionel richie? :)

my other christmas gift was something i have been REALLY hoping for for a long time.



and i have no idea how to use this either. but i will definitely use one of my dork out nights to read through the instruction manual. you're saying, "i thought you didn't like flash pictures," and you're right. but in my house (aka the cave), i have no light, and all of my pictures are either grainy or dark, neither of which i like. so we'll give the 'ole sb-600 a go.

big h did really well this weekend with his cousins that he sees a whopping once a year. (we must fix that.) he has a 4-year-old boy cousin, a 3-year-old girl cousin, and a 7-month-old girl cousin. he was fixated on his 7-month-old cousin. maybe it's because of the goo. i don't know. but if you didn't know where he was, look for her. he was lovin' on her all over the place.

speaking of addie kate, the goo loved her too. they are going to be the best of friends. i just know it.


and as always, uncle brad right in the midst of all the fun.


have i mentioned how beautiful my niece is?


and weentrab, have some news for you. pretty bad PR on our photographer's part. we had it scheduled for noon on christmas eve at our church. not great lighting, if you ask me, but you didn't. after MANY bribes, henry had pitched one his grand mal fits and was a sheer delight to be around. greta had already spit up on her christmas dress. and i'm pretty sure i had lipstick on my teeth. mind you, i think the last time i wore lipstick was...my wedding? back to the photographer. SHE FORGOT! she had an opportunity to go out of town at the last minute and DID! so we have a couple of shots from mom's point and shoot that happened to be in her purse. but of course, the battery was almost dead, so the flash didn't work on the last couple. and every picture has big h crying. lovely. so weentrab, please do NOT even ask about our family picture. want to have some work when you get home? want to take some of us? :) (as though you don't have anything ELSE to do?)

spending time with my brother and his family was definitely the highlight of this christmas. it was so fun for henry to be around his cousins and aunt and uncle. and they all got along so well. my sister-in-law continues to get more and more beautiful (perhaps because she got my daughter on a bottle), even after having 3 children. and my brother and i STILL have a great time being with each other.

so whew! there you have it. our latest.

big week for the goo...

it's like she has changed over night. last week, i saw something white in her mouth. the girl spits up all day every day. spit up. white. that's what it was. i knew it. surely. wait...

a tooth? she's FOUR months old!

a tooth?

yes, a tooth! sheer craziness! reason behind her constant crankiness these days, i guess. and then today, big girl decided she was old enough to join us at the table. thanks, goo! we loved having you!

(i'm not sure i have EVER seen a more unflattering picture of myself.)

and winter janet? where, oh where, is she? i mean, we saw her poke her head for the one-day "arctic blast." (translation: one day of below-60 weather.) and now our trusty friends at the weather channel are telling us it's going to be EIGHTY on wednesday? i'm sorry...what? pack your bags, winter janet. maybe we'll see you next year.

we, meaning all THREE of us, went back to presby to visit my buddy sarah, who just had her 2nd baby. gosh, i was dreading this visit due to my little man possibly having one or more meltdowns of an unknown nature. the guy never ceases to amaze me. he went into her hospital room where she, her husband, and the baby were. he proceeded to sit on the chair, open his "cheesy crackers" and eat and play with buzz lightyear. and then every time the baby would sneeze, he was SO concerned and would say, "oh God bless you, baby. what a sneeze! you ok?" i'm sorry -- whose child is this? and then he whipped out his memory of steel. (i love when he does this.) presby is the same place we had both of our children. when greta was born, my parents would bring him up one time during the day, he and buz would go to the vending machine and get animal crackers and he would watch something on our little portable DVD player, so we could visit with my parents and ooh and ahh over the baby. so today, i told him we were going to the hospital to see sarah's baby, and he said, "oh! the hopissal! we get aminal crackers and watch sum-ping together?" literally, the kid kept it together the entire time.

until.

we got to the car. and i asked the dreaded question. "henry, what would you like for lunch?" not sure exactly why he interpreted it as "henry, would you like a spanking or time out for lunch?" the kid went nuts. i was on the phone with my buddy marino (marino, i love the heck out of you. hope your christmas shopping was successful.), and she got to hear the lovely sound of whiny 3-year-old noise.

tomorrow is mothers' day out. hmmm...goo, what should we do? perhaps wrap at least ONE christmas present? i have not wrapped a SINGLE present! for those of you who know me, you should find this quite surprising. my OCD comes out at christmas and birthdays. i love wrapping. much like i love laundry and vacuuming. the instant gratification.

and just some life lessons we've recently learned from big h.

1. make friends with inanimate objects. yesterday we were on our way home from picking him up from school. he walks up to the door to go inside and says, "hey home, wassup? can we come inside? um...ok, said the home."
2. always include your siblings. "hey, baby. this is my buz. he has wings and a belt. he flies and he is friends with my friend called woody. you wanna watch cars with me?"
3. positive self-image. we go to pick him from school, and as we're walking to the car, he says, "mama, baby sure is happy to see me."
4. admit defeat. he was trying to zip up a CD case and proceeds to tell me, "you know, mama, this is really much harder than it looks."
5. learn a foreign language. i picked him up from school. "gazuntite, mommy." (i don't know how to spell that.) where does he get this stuff?
6. look out for those younger than you. when buz and i sing, he quickly says, "hey you guys. no more singing. that is too loud for little baby." (we think he just doesn't like our singing.)

don't take it personally, don't take it personally...

big h and i were in the guest room, and i was feeding the goo. typically, i tell him not to come in while i'm feeding her because she is SO easily distracted (she comes by that naturally). and he only has two volumes -- loud and a LOT louder. so he was in there trying so hard to be really quiet. he went to take off my shoes. i assured him he did NOT want to take off my shoes because i didn't wear socks today, and these are the infamous smelly shoes. don't get me wrong -- they are cute shoes, but they are some stinky ones, if i must admit online. so he doesn't listen to me, shocker, and he takes them off. and proceeds to say, "oh mama, what's that awful smell? did a skunk spray you?" nice. be blunt next time, why don't you henry? (for the reference of that comment, see "Curious George goes camping.")

today began with little goo getting up before she is "supposed to." always throws a kink in the day. but we bounced back. dropped big h off at school, and we headed down to my former place of employment. reminds of the days when i used to accomplish things. :) met with the lactation nurse. yes, i am STILL at it. greta doesn't like the bottle but isn't that great of a nurser either. rock and a hard place, you might say. of course, greta was a total champ in front of her. stinker. then, we went to see my old co-worker and now friend, lowra. good to see her and catch up, as well as give her the pictures i took of her baby, who is 5 days younger than the goo. also, got to see our labor and delivery nurse who happens to know the Lord and has become a little part of our family. we love you, meredith! had lunch with lowra (just like old times). and the best part was that today the job i went back to was henry and greta. uneventful afternoon. made $25 doing a survey on cashews. random. but can never go wrong making $$ eating, right?

and now, the day is over. and tomorrow is friday. praise the Lord! daddy home for 2 days! oh, and to report -- dad LOVES his new job, and mom and the kiddos LOVE his new "commute."

and some recent pictures.

greta the day after our "arctic blast" (i PROMISE she's a happy little baby. i PROMISE!)

dad and his munchkins

greta, the tomboy

my little man and his "yite-ning ah-keen" (lightning mcqueen)

the goo trying out the jumper

and enamored with her brother

h lovin on his sister

meredith, our amazing labor and delivery nurse

i think he's really got something...

tonight, henry expressed an interest in photography. i was so touched. so, of course, i taught him all of my secrets and gave him only the finest pointers from my buddy weentrab. and i really think he's got the eye and pure talent. i am so impressed. his photos are so creative and so abstract and artistic. who knew we would have a budding photographer in the house? what are your thoughts?









yesterday was one of those days. you know. where your kid just plain gets on your nerves? by the end of the day, i was so ready for a bubble bath. mind you, i am NOT a bubble bath gal, so the desire for one is something that came from sheer exhaustion, not to mention frustration.

big sigh.

so this morning, i was determined to have a better day with big h. luckily, we are back in school. praise jesus. the goo and i just hung out at home and piddled for most of the day, getting lame stuff done around the house.

picked up big h, who was thrilled to see us. i won't lie -- there is a narcissistic part of me that LOVES picking him up from school or from church nursery. i LOVE that he gets so excited to see me. sometimes it is just a fleeting moment, but i enjoy it while it lasts. :)

on the way home, we discussed the real meaning of christmas...gifts. (see big mama's entry on this subject -- hysterical!) he tells me that he would like to get a new car for me. so thoughtful. "hey mama...can we go to the store today and get a new car?" hmmm...how exactly do you explain to a VERY temperamental 3-year-old that you don't just go get a new car? so i proceed to teach him the value of money and that cars are expensive and you have to save your money. (meanwhile, henry is yawning.) i then said "henry, do you know who gave us our black car? nana and papa did." "well, mama, that is SOOO very nice, huh?" i mean, having conversations with this kid kills me. henry is finally at an age that i LOVE. (i'm sure some of you...bff...are saying, "you love this phase? you didn't yesterday. didn't you want to take him to the neighbors yesterday?" notice i didn't post yesterday.) well, today, i love this phase. i love his curiosity. i love his simplicity. i LOVE the things that come out of his mouth.

not sure how many times i can respond and how many variations of a response i can give to the age-old remark around our house "suddenly _____'s driver applied his brakes, but it was too late. luckily, no one was hurt." "really, henry? who's driver? what happened? who will help him? i hope it doesn't happen again." and when i KNOW he's not listening to me, my mean, sarcastic streak comes out, and my responses become, "you're kidding! his driver applied his brakes? but he NEVER applies the brakes. did thomas get voted off the island of sodor?" that's my dark side.
rumor has it that the temperature is going to drop around these parts. can you actually hear the hallelujah chorus playing in our house? beautiful!!! and ms. wiz, don't think i won't put greta in her pink pompom hat! (and will send a picture.)

and to report from the buz front -- today was new job day #2, and things seem to be going really well. i do have to admit, i can't get enough of him getting home in less than an hour and a half. pure bliss.

the goo had a good day. only went through 3 outfits today (due to spit up and constant drool) and didn't cry herself to sleep tonight. those are considered successes in the wisner house.

and to end the night...i'd like to give a big shout out to my big brother, who is and always will be the golden child of the family. happy birthday, dude. i love you and can't wait to see you in a month! you are my hero! enjoy your show tonight.

caution: CHEESE alert

on a day like today, one which is set aside for everyone to actually give thanks, i thought i would do just that and rattle off the top of my head the things i'm thankful for tonight.

1. dr. pepper. cut me some slack. it's the first thing that came to my mind. (is that sad?)


2. my brother and his family. i love that i have ALWAYS gotten along with my brother and that now we have become friends. i LOVE his wife and my nephew and nieces. and i love that even though we only see them once a year, my kid still thanks Jesus for them every other night. yay...we get to see them in a month! (

(wow, what a cool aunt i appear to be!) :)


3. brad's brother's family, who we got to spend today with. i'm thankful that i get along SO well with my sister-in-law, and that henry knows who his cousins are.
   
   
4. my in-laws. i absolutely love my father-in-law. he is so fun and always makes me feel so special. and my mother-in-law is the most excited person in my life. meaning, i don't know a soul who gets more excited about the good things going on in my life or the lives of my spouse or children.



5. my mom and dad. my mom lets me call her every morning (sometimes more often) to talk about nothing or everything. we talk so often that when henry picks up any phone, he says in a very serious voice, "i better call nana." and then there's my dad. gosh, he is wrapped around my little finger. he would go to the ends of the earth and back for me, and i love him for his quiet spirit. sweet ace.



6. my friends. some that i have spent time with recently: kelly, who i miss on a daily basis and wish that we could go grab a burger together right this very minute; weentrab, who i have my girl crush on; bff, who is on vacation and i miss terribly; biscuit, who i have a tendency to cross the line with; kerri, who endures a LOT with me and my child and who loves me anyway; and my sweet marino, who makes me smile just thinking about her. if you are not listed, forgive me. i am sleep deprived and just want to get this posted.


7. thomas the tank engine empire. it is the very reason that my non-speaking child began to communicate.



8. my car. that it's seen me through almost every life change. college, grad school, st. louis, kamp, my move to dallas, marriage, 1st child, 2nd child. and it continues to be SO reliable. again, i'm sure it seems so trivial, but these are things i think about on a regular basis.


9. the pharmacist at kroger. gosh, she makes my day. we get a lot of medicine there. (sad that she knows us.) but she makes my experience there so wonderful. thanks, meg.


10. my camera. with it, i can capture and save memories that i wouldn't be able to do otherwise. i have been able to watch henry grow up on my computer and can now see greta do the same thing. (thanks to buz and my parents for the gift and for weentrab for constantly teaching me.)


11. the hospital in ft. worth. because of them, my husband recovered from something very scary this summer.


12. my ob, dr. brough. the dearest man, who successfully and safely delivered both of my children. i am forever grateful to him for keeping me calm.


13. our pediatrician. "doble boble" is the best. for henry to run the entire length of the hallway into his arms and kiss him and tell him that he loves him. i mean, are you serious? trust me, we used to visit the office quite frequently. scary to think what we've spent in copays. :)


14. our ENT. he did the best job on henry's tubes, and because of those tubes, henry started talking almost instantly. hasn't had an ear infection since last october.



15. my big h. he is the reason for all my gray hair. and he is the reason for the joy in my heart as i write this. he is the reason behind most of my smiles during the day. he thanked Jesus tonight for lightning mcqueen. i love this kid. we drove home last night from an attempted family dinner, and he said, "mama, i am really, really sleepy. i prolly just need to go night night, ok?" and if you haven't heard this kid's voice before, oh how it melts my heart.



16. big h's communication, thanks in part to our buddies over at ECI. because of henry's communication, he is a much happier (and more independent) little boy. and we are happier knowing exactly what he's saying.


17. goo. period. she makes my life bright. her smiles are so few and far between because of her chubby little face. but wow, when you get one or two at a time, i can't help but cry at her. i am sure she thinks i'm the most emotional person around, but i just get so overwhelmed with her. i LOVE buying girl clothes. (buz doesn't like that i love buying girl clothes.) :)





18. buz. oh my sweet, sweet buz. i'm sure by now you all are sick of hearing about him. but i can't help myself. i love the socks of this catch. i mean, i am sitting at this computer with tears in my eyes because i realize EVERY DAY how blessed i am to have him in my life. not only to have him in my life, but to have 100% of him every day. he gives everything to me, big h, and the goo. i can say with all the confidence in the world that there is no place he would rather be than with the 3 of us. who knew that when i started at Presby Dallas and oriented with the ONE MALE social worker (and thinking that he was gay), i would fall so madly in love with him.

(seriously, who is that fox???)


19. finally...my Savior. without Him, i would NOT be where i am today. i wouldn't have the peace that passes all understanding. everyday, i know that whatever happens, i am resting in the palm of the hand of the almighty God. i'm sorry...are you kidding me? technically that could be the only thing on my list and i would be ok with that. thank you, Jesus, for giving me life eternal.

happy thanksgiving to all of you!

gasp

what is that in the mirror? gray?! surely not! no wait...not just ONE gray hair but MULTIPLE ones. what in the free world are gray hairs doing all over my young, little 31-year-old head?



hmmm...perhaps it's because i am the mother of not two children, but THREE! see most recent family picture...




do you see something on henry's left side? yes, folks, henry has his own baby. his name is "baby boy." clever, henry.


today, we began our day by having bff (amy) and wes over to play. amazingly, henry shared *almost* everything with wes, with the exception of his play vacuum. i think i just need to put the vacuum away when people come over because that's typically the one BIG tantrum he throws after having to share. i woke the goo up to feed her, and then we headed to the car. typically, the trip to the car is a struggle for henry and me. NOT TODAY! i got to inform henry that we were going to visit daddy at work. i mean, the excitement coming from this little 34-pound guy was over the top! sad to say, greta didn't seem to care one way or the other, though she wasn't that pumped about getting in her carseat. we drove ALL THE WAY to ft. worth (buz, thanks for sacrificing for us everyday). his department was having a goodbye luncheon for him. we walked into the conference room, and henry was so elated to see his daddy from across the room. and buz's eyes lit up when he saw all of us walk through the doorway. it was so fun to see everyone watch him interact with us. henry did great, and greta was quite a star. then, i found a lactation resource center there at the hospital, and so i got to feed greta someplace other than a handicapped bathroom stall. she was appreciative. so appreciative that i can say with confidence that she ate really well. (for everyone keeping up with greta, you know that her having good feedings is a huge accomplishment.) we got ready to leave, and henry decided he wanted to stay at work with daddy for a while. apparently, per dad's report, henry had his a-game on today. he was a perfect little kiddo. again, a major accomplishment. he colored and played with play dough.



and now for how and when we adopted little "baby boy." i came back to brad's office when i was finished feeding greta, and henry was playing in his office. he had found said baby in a drawer of dad's desk. (don't even ask me how the baby doll got there in the first place.) henry was playing with the baby. taking it out of the drawer and holding it and saying, "it's ok, baby, it's ok." then he would tell me that he was putting baby back to sleep. he would open the drawer, lay the baby in the drawer (ever so gently, i might add), and cover it with one of greta's burp cloths. then, he would get the baby back out and begin the whole process over again. well, brad was doing something on the computer, and i was playing with greta, when i look over and see something that i wasn't sure how to respond to. henry had his shirt pulled up and had the doll up by his tummy. i thought, "surely not." but oh yes. i inquired as to what he was doing, and he responded with "mommy i'm feeding baby." the more i thought about it, i thought it was sweet. he doesn't know any different. every time i say i'm going to feed baby, that is what i do. he has never seen a baby bottle before, so why wouldn't he be able to feed "his" baby this way?



i left for plano around 2, and buz called at about 3:45 or 4 saying that he and henry were on their way home. and when they walked in the door, not 2 but 3 boys came through the door. yes, people, baby came home with us. baby boy has been on his own since they came home, but is currently tucked in right next to henry in his bed. should i be concerned that he thanked Jesus first for baby boy and then "oh yeah, and baby gree-ya?" and should greta be concerned too? is this a sibling for her too? she doesn't seem too pleased.


greta and i made a run to hobby lobby tonight because we're finding out that no-nap greta isn't near as fun as greta with a normal amount of sleep. so mommy decided she needed some drive time tonight.

one more story about big h. proof that i know he's listening even when he doesn't appear to be. i was giving him his bath the other night while dad was getting some goo time. we were just talking about pooh and how much honey he eats. we talked about what pooh's friends eat. pooh eats honey. and he's pretty sure his friend *pigget* eats honey too. we go on to talk about what mommy and daddy eat. daddy eats pasta, and mommy eats chips and cheese. (what is it with people these days commenting on me eating nachos?) baby eats me, which again, i thought was very observant. walt (cousin) eats yellow crackers. maggie (cousin) eats blue sticks (graham cracker sticks). aggie kay (cousin) eats lots of noh-nee (milk). and finally, owl, pooh's friend, eats docka-pepper. LOVE THIS KID! he's really onto something. :)

janet got to do something way fun last night. janet fed the goo and headed down to the angelika for some grey's anatomy on the big screen. SO MUCH FUN! shocker, weentrab was the one to coordinate such an event. weentrab, secretly, janet wants to be just like you! and janet got to sit next to her new friend amy and fill her in on anything she might have missed while munching on some delicious junior mints. and as weentrab pointed out, janet thoroughly enjoyed some fabulous nachos. most of you know that they are janet's weakness. YUMMY!

as for greta, i think she's really getting the hang of this 2nd born thing. i mean, she just takes naps when and where it's convenient for everyone else. for example, she was sitting next to big h yesterday, doing puzzles, and henry decided she wasn't very good at puzzles, so he left to go do something different. and this is what happened...



and the easy-going personality i've been talking about...God love her! :)


(if you look really closely, you might be able to see the amazing amount of spit up on her chin. i mean, the girl can spit.)


greta, i love you!

i curse you, 10:00 second wind...

gosh, does anyone get a second wind when they truly should NOT be awake? my husband is 6 feet away under the covers sawing logs (i mean, really snoring), clearly enjoying his slumber, and i am at this stupid computer unable to sleep. and yet, the entire day i have been talking about how i can't wait to get into bed and fall fast, fast asleep. no such luck. this happens almost nightly.

so i will inform you of some exciting events in our lives. (ok, probably only exciting to me.) first and foremost, for those of you out there praying, i got through yesterday and today without my husband. it wasn't easy, but i did it. the 3 of us met my buddy kathy for lunch yesterday, and she clearly passed the "henry approval test," which is HUGE! there wasn't much uninterrupted conversation, but i didn't really expect there to be. i was just excited to be out letting henry play and spending time with a buddy. nothing much for the afternoon. we then headed to my sister-in-law's for some pizza for dinner. big h was ecstatic, and greta took 2 ounces from a bottle. ???? way to go, aunt tanna. she actually wanted more, but i didn't bring more because she hasn't eaten from a bottle since brad was in the hospital. but that settled her out of her nighttime craziness. whew! headed home to put the goo to sleep and big h munched on some pizza and watched the heffalump movie with weentrab. bathed him and read him stories in record time. and amazingly, he fell asleep before all of his slumber concerts ceased, including baby tad and TWO fisher price aquariums. yes, he's THREE years old, but he still loves this stuff. weentrab had finished her work before i finished bathing, so the next 3 hours were devoted to some serious girl talk. ahhh...what a wonderful way to end the night. thanks, weentrab.

i am sad to report that we did NOT make it to church. i hate that. we had breakfast, played, napped (well, greta did), and before we knew it, our knight in shining armor came walking through the door with light shining from behind. he was a beacon of hope to our home. hope that says, "daddy's here. everything is better." we missed you, daddy. he had a great, much needed "mental vacation."

this afternoon, we took big h and the goo to their first hoedown, complete with hayrides, campfires, and pony rides. who knew big h would be so "equine inclined?" he absolutely LOVED it! he got on the pony with not a fear in the world! he loved warming his hands by the fire. (brad and i are secretly nervous that he may have a fascination with fire, but we are hoping that it's just a phase that every toddler goes through.) and the hayride was terrific!!! who would have thought? fun was had by all. happy birthday to the davis' twins!

and now it's 10:30, and everyone is asleep but me. curse that second wind. i will at least get in bed and maybe play some pocket solitaire and attempt to knock on that door.

but some pictures from the day...

i mean, the kid LOVES cake! get after it, big h!

have i mentioned that the late afternoon/early evening is NOT the goo's best time of the day? and poor greta. she doesn't even have her own winter hat, so she had to borrow her brother's that apparently was a little too big. (and shocker, you'll notice that it has a train on it.)

the stars must be aligned or something. as of 7:42pm, the goo is nighty night in her room, and big h is in his room (with the light off, i might add) singing, "how to be a tigger, how to be a tigger..." doesn't get much better than that. (now before you go getting jealous, my time will come tomorrow morning at some ungodly hour when BOTH of my children are awake and yours are still snoozing.) but for now, i have a smile on my face.

actually, it DOES get better than that. buz got home from work early today.

actually, it just continues to get better and better. the temperature is 59 degrees right now, and it is only supposed to get up to 60 tomorrow. YIPPEE!!! this is big. (i know all of you who live north of texas, namely kelly, are laughing at my excitement, but cut me some slack, ok? anything below 70 is like winter around here.) tonight people all over dallas are looking for their down-filled coats and fleece-lined khakis. i am simply searching for something without short sleeves. ahhh...i can already feel the crisp air. bliss, folks. pure bliss.

now, there IS a downside to this evening. buz is leaving town tomorrow and won't be back until sunday. i am so sad. before everyone goes running for their brown paper sack, let me explain. ever since his heart attack, i don't like to be away from him for that long. i know we're disgustingly mushy, but he's my best friend.

however, the reason for his absence is AWESOME. he is taking his best friend from high school to the OU/Tech game tomorrow in Norman. my parents have season tickets to the OU games, but they are in birmingham this weekend for my niece's christening. so buz gets to go have a guy weekend, which i'm sure will include your basic beer consumption and checking out the local sorority co-eds. :) go get 'em, buz. i am so excited for him. they will fly up for the game tomorrow and stay the night and then come back sunday. i pray they have a blast! he really needs it.

AND i am incredibly blessed. my sweet buddy weentrab (yes, you all know her by now) is coming over to help. help, you ask? yes, i said help. i won't even try to defend myself. my sweet greta goo has a REALLY hard time at night. she is just really fussy and has a hard time settling down. so weentrab is going to tag team it with me tomorrow night. what a trooper. (in exchange for me helping her put some work stuff together and perhaps a snack or two.) and then, all fingers crossed, we will be attempting church on sunday without dad, which will be a HUGE task. i will consider it an accomplishment if we can pull it off.

i have NO IDEA how tight big h will squeeze buz when he gets home on sunday. gosh, that kid is madly in love with his daddy. i have to admit -- i don't think greta will notice he's gone. don't tell brad.

today, greta and i played with my camera for a little while. (big h was playing...well, trains, of course.) the sun was so incredibly bright, so ignore the fact that a lot of these are blown out, but how cute is my little sweetheart in her hat? we're working on smiles with her. clearly, she hasn't perfected the art. it's the cheeks. she really is a happy little girl, i promise. she's just serious about life. plus, she always has to have her a-game on, being big h's sister and all. :)








and my personal favorite...i mean, can you already tell she is going to have a little sneaky side?


oh yeah, and amy, i will not be winning any of the november blogging prizes. course, i'm guessing you won't be either. sad for us.


hmmm...funny things about henry. he thanked Jesus tonight for his family in birmingham, which included "unca bah (uncle bob), ant ee-yee (aunt emily), walt, maggie, maggie, maggie (FYI: there is only one maggie), and aggie kay (addie kate)." and then he said, "oh yeah, and bob the tomato." ??? i asked what the best part of his day was, and he said "moo-mee," which is a smoothie that he got at the mall tonight. priorities, people. priorities. and we've been reading a lot of winnie the pooh lately. so today i asked one of my routine curiosity questions of "where would you like to go today?" remember, rarely do we ever go where he asks because there are pretty far fetched (i.e. grand canyon). today he responds with, "hey mommy, hey mommy, i go to hundred acre wood, ok?" love this kid. big h, that's one place i will probably NOT be able to take you.


off to knock at the door of the special place (that we call nighty night land).