The writing is on the wall

Mallory continues to hone her writing skills. She did this Friday night on her hand-dandy magnetic travel thingy (yes, that is a technical term).


Her name ... she did it all by herself. For Truett's name I did have to assist in the spelling. But she wrote it all on her own. She's going to be enrolling in college soon.

PSA: watch what you eat

I am a junk food junkie. Always have been and probably always will be. But, the issue we discovered when cleaning out our cabinets yesterday did give me second thoughts about what I eat.

So you see, it all started like this ... I made some macaroni and cheese last night. But, when I put in the cheese it looked a little funny. Upon further inspection of the box it seems as if I was a little late to the party because it had expired in January 2008. That made me think .... what else in the pantry might be expired?

A lot. Really. I was shocked at the waste. But then appalled when I found this:

That my friends is a hunk of Velveeta that expired in January 2008. When I opened the box I gasped because all the holes looked like we had a friend in the pantry. But, upon further inspection ... we figured out that the cheese is trying to eat it's way out of the wrapper! Oh my oh my. It's almost enough to make me swear off Velveeta forever. Notice I said almost.

Genius (again)

If you look back over my blog entries you will find a few entries about how my girl is a genius (here, here, and here). Well, it's true and you will never convince me otherwise. I'm guessing that every parent feels this way about his/her child at some point in their kidlet's childhood. But in our case, it's true. Really.

Here's the most recent evidence:


Okay, figured it out yet?! No? The picture is a little fuzzy so I'll give you a hint. ABCs and a pencil. Still no guess? Come on! Mallory wrote her name. All by herself. She did this Friday night before we went to the grocery store and was bursting at the seams with pride at her accomplishment. Now she's a writing fool. Let's hope that exuberance doesn't spread to the walls ... or furniture ... or Truett.

A new day

A new day has come to the United States of America. Barak Obama has been sworn in to the presidency. It's a bittersweet moment for me as I have been a GWB supporter since the beginning. Of course, he made decisions that I disagreed with, but I have always believed (and still do) that he had our nation's safety at heart. As citizens, we critique and criticize, but it's hard to walk in someone else's shoes when they are not in the same room.

I wanted to be a witness to history - and of course was not going to let work get in my way today. So, I hurriedly sent an email off this AM saying I would be at home. I even kept the kids at home hoping they would be able to understand how this day has made history. Mallory even decided to dress up for the occasion ... in her bathing suit.


They didn't. Mallory is on the couch writhing, "I don't feel good." Truett is happily having a little quiet time. Me, I need to go get some work done. But I think I may fall into the stats all the news outlets are reporting - very little work will be done today.

Sit still already

On Saturday morning, I packed up myself, Mallory and Truett and headed off into the wild blue yonder where no one from work could ever find me again. Okay, that was my dream. Instead, we headed to East Texas to see some family. We also went to attend my niece's baby shower. I was looking forward to it ... and it didn't disappoint. We had a great time but I was ready to come home. The kids were technically being good but I was exhausted from chasing Truett around at the shower. He must have ran around the house 50 times (really, not exaggerating this!).

Anyway ... one of Mallory's favorite things about East Texas (besides Mimi, Papa, Aunt Chele, Uncle Stoney and Pebbles (my father's dog) -- and I cannot commit to order of preference) is Winnie, my sister's sweet little old man dog. She was playing with him and kept asking me to take a picture. I tried to oblige, but I think we've all heard that many photographers avoid animals and kids. Well, there's a reason folks. Combine the two together and you get this:

So, no more kids and animals mixed photos for me! Just kidding. No more eating lunch while we're trying to take pictures!

What I did on vacation

Do you remember writing one of those "what I did on vacation" essays? I don't. But I do think they are a staple of elementary schools everywhere. So, I thought I'd write a little about my Christmas break and pretend that I'm not an adult.

What I Did on Vacation

We stayed at home. We played with our toys. We slept and ate.

LOL ... okay, well, back to real life. Really, we were very busy on our vacation this year. What did we do? Home renovation. Fun, right?! I have always focused my efforts on decorating the house and truly enjoy doing it. And let me tell you, this house NEEDED it. It's taken us two years, but we're finally starting to get somewhere. Our latest victim, I mean room, was the kids' playroom. This room required a little more than decorating ... I think we have moved into a pseduo-renovation mode.

Bye, bye cedar siding. Hello Wedgewood blue. (I can't find my before pictures, darn it!)


Of course, it wasn't easy getting here. Shawn did ALL of the work so he gets all the credit. He took off the cedar, painted the room, put up the track lighting, replaced the outlets and replaced the back door. We hired a friend to tape and bed the sheetrock that was under the cedar.


Then, came my turn. I knew all that old storage stuff just wasn't going to work in my new play room (yes, it technically is mine and not the kids'!). Off to IKEA, several times actually, to get this lovely Expedit shelving unit and baskets. I also picked up a new slipcover for the chair, a rug and some wall lights to go on either side of the TV. We pulled out all of the foam squares from the attic. Now Mallory has her own "gymnastics" mat. I still need some pics for the walls and Shawn still needs to finish the case work, too. All in time though.


Anyway ... a little money and a little time and we have a whole new room. I'm a happy girl. Oh, and the kids like it too.

Go to sleep, little one

Why can't my kidlets just go to sleep already? We've had sleeping issues off and on with Mallory for the last year. I've tried lots of tricks -- wearing her out, playing music, laying in bed with her. To no avail. We have good days and bad days, but for some reason the bad days are outnumbering the good lately.

It's 9:30p Central time and my sweet little girl is still in there roaming around her room. It seems as though Mallory has inherited my night owl gene. Which is fine, but she's four years old and needs her beauty rest. Because honestly, tomorrow morning she's not going to be so sweet when she's whining about how tired she is and using the "I don't feel good" line to try to get out of going to school (which by the way, she learned that trick a little too early for my comfort; can you imagine the kidlet when it comes to her teenage years? oy vey!). And I get to remind her that is why she should have gone to sleep earlier.

So, why am I writing about something that in the general scheme of things is inconsequnetial? Well, first, I need to get my beauty sleep. In fact, I can use all the help I can get. Of course, I guess you could consider getting in and out of bed to the tune of "momma, I need you" or "momma, i have something to show you" or "momma, I'm thirsty/hungry" to be an exercise routine. Lucky Shawn usually snores through the whole routine. But, second and most important is that my little angels are sleeping in the same room and this extended bedtime is wreaking havoc on Truett. We unbunked the beds a few days before Christmas and ever since then they have been happy roommates. The first few days were bliss ... both in bed at reasonable times. But slowly, Mallie has been managing to push bedtime later and later. Even when we put her in at a normal time she stays in there and plays, which leads to waking up my sweet angel True. So how to break the cycle? I don't know, but I'm thinking that a straight jacket might get me in trouble.

I surprise myself

We made some gifts for Christmas (trivets, keepsakes, dust collectors?) and they turned out so good that I was surprised. Even better than I expected. Of course, the kids still have blue hands and feet, but it's a small price to pay for such cuteness.

Truett says "woof, woof"

He loves the doggies. But he might love the kitty even more.

Joyful, Joyful

So it's been a while since I blogged. Sue me. I took vacation. I have been paying for it at work. Anyway, Christmas was nice. The kids were so excited when Mimi and Papa showed up on Christmas Eve. Mimi and Mallie decorated cookies in preparation for Santa. They were delicious!



Then, it was time to open one gift. My family's tradition is to open one gift on Christmas Eve -- and it's ALWAYS pajamas. They were cute, don't you think?


After the kids went to bed, this is what the house looked like. I was anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival.


Christmas Day was great but I was I was exhausted and had a tough time keeping the house in any type of order. Of course, there is some joy in having bits and pieces of toys all over the house. Except for when you step on them barefooted. Can't remember how many times I've bitten my tongue over the last few weeks. But the kidlets are loving their new loot and were over the moon that Mimi and Papa were there to share it. That's what counts, right?

Oh, and one final thought. I have arrived ... my dad told me that my cornbread stuffing "wasn't bad." Call me Julia Childs please.

It's a Candyland Christmas

Mallie and True's daycare host a Christmas program every year. I will admit that I totally look forward to this spectacle. Maybe it's just the holiday spirit in me or maybe it's just because I'm mean and I LOVE collecting embarrassing pictures, etc. to use as bribery when the kids get older. Either way, I'm so excited that my kids get to participate in these types of "community" events.

This year's theme was:


Unfortunately, we got into the auditorium a little late so we had to sit behind Amazon-like people. I mean I'm short, but seriously every one in front of us was about 6 feet tall (they all decided to sit on the first two rows). See what I mean?


Anyway, the program was very fun. Each of the classes came out and either ran through the auditorium or sang a song. True's class dressed up like Christmas trees and paraded through. What more can we expect of toddlers? I'd post a picture, but they are all on the camera in the car. So will get one up at a later date.

But Mallory's class ... well, they were something else. Take a look at the video below. Oh, and please disregard Amazon-woman's dancing. I love me some Jackson 5 too ... but I don't do that in public (you'll see when you look at the vid). My munchkin is the one with the red/pink stripes on her sleeves. I think she inherited her rhythm from Daddy!



On another note, this video forced me to learn how to compress files. YEAH! I think I may have created a monster so lookout for more vids. The one bad thing about compression is that I've lost a little quality (which wasn't great anyway since I took it on a camera). But this is so worth the memories.

Sleeping arrangements

When Mallory was 18 months old she gave up the crib cold turkey. She took a nap in her "big girl bed" one day and forever after screamed when you tried to take her near the prison that was called crib. True on the other hand has well ... been a handful when it comes to transitioning to a big boy bed.

The first try at sleeping on the twin came at nap time a few months ago. Yeah, that lasted about 5 mins before I moved him to the crib. Then, I decided to try again one night that he was exhausted. Jackpot! He fell asleep on the bed. I was giddy (and proud too). But, about two hours later I checked on him only to find he was rolled into a little ball on the floor NEXT to the bed. Yeah ... bust on that one.

But, I have promised our crib to our nephew for their new baby, Lauren, who is due to arrive in Feb/March 2009. So you see my problem. I have started to feel the internal clock ticking in my head. So the last few nights we've made an effort to go to sleep in the big boy bed. It hasn't worked. But you know what has? Going to sleep in the big girl bed.


See those stripes? That's little man hugging the wall. I'm not complaining and neither is he. It works. However, I've lost a little free time in the evenings because loss of prison (aka crib) also means that bedtime is extended. You give and you take, right?! Poor Jill is the loser here ... she's lost prime sleep territory.

Add architect to my job description

It's been a VERY busy weekend. It started on Friday with a run to Costco (and an outlay of $400 for random stuff; how do I do that?). Then, I headed off to the regular grocery store. Stayed up late doing some projects for Christmas. I'm not sure why midnight is a standard weekend bedtime but something's gotta give soon or these bags under by eyes will have their own airplane.

Saturday we had planned to visit Santa. Mallory needed to tell him what she wanted you know. I had planned to get there when they opened (9a), but somehow I was just waking Shawn up at that time. We finally got there at 10:30a and waited in line for 45 mins. I got to do a little shopping while Shawn held our place. Good thing the Stride Rite store was right there cause True NEEDED a new pair of shoes. Mallory busied herself in the play area and then stood like a statue in front of a clown making balloon animals. Yeah ... he had a little sign up that said "$2 tips" but wouldn't give out any animals without cash in hand. Mallory suckered us into two greenbacks to buy a heart shaped balloon. Tip not included.

When it was finally our turn to see Santa Truett was having none of it. He yelled, cried (or screeched as Mallory says these days) and arched his back. Wouldn't even get close. Mallory on the other hand couldn't wait to jump on the big man's lap and tell him what she wanted. A dollhouse. I hope she gets it (LOL). After Santa, we walked around the mall to ride the kiddie train and then ran up to Borders to buy a book for Mallory's school exchange. Good times.


Sorry for the fuzzy pic ... I took a picture of a picture! We came home and I started wrapping gifts for those friends and family who must be mailed away. Got almost all of them done. Maybe we will actually get them in the mail/overnight mail tomorrow (Monday). But, if I were a betting girl, I wouldn't bet on it. After that, it was time to get ready for the annual Buck holiday party. I really wanted to take a nap instead, but it had been two years since I made an appearance so it was a required event for me. We had an okay time. That's all I can say about it. I'm not sure it was worth the $20 we paid for babysitting.

This morning we slept in until 8:30a. What a treat. I even stayed in bed until 10a. An even better treat. That was where the fun stuff ended. I spent the next 9 hours picking up the house, making food for our work holiday lunch on Monday, making dinner, folding 4 loads of laundry and putting it up, etc. But, the best part of the afternoon was the art project I did with Mallory. Behold my newest talent (LOL), gingerbread architect:

While it doesn't look perfect, we had a fantastic time putting it together and deciding how to decorate it. I defnitely think this will be an annual tradition from now on. And I can only thank the powers-that-be who designed and marketed the ready-made gingerbread house!

So, off to have a bath and bed. And then we get to start another week all over again. I really need vacation.

In the presence of celebrity

On Thursday night, we went to Serendipity. Oh the deliciousness (in more ways that one!). On our way in, I looked up and saw this man coming out of the door. I instantly recoginzed him but couldn't place him. All of the girls thought I was crazy because they didn't get a good look at him. And of course, I was too chicken to pull out the iPhone and start snapping away to show them. I was content to know that I had run into a famous actor ... but would never be able to place him.

So ... Mello showed me a pic she had taken of the famous restaurant and lo and behold, she unknowingly got my "celebrity" in the frame!

It's Nestor Carbondell. He was in Suddenly Susan, Lost and was even in The Dark Knight. Yes, we were in the presence of greatness!

New York (city) state of mind

Ahhh ... as I write this I can still feel the chill of air rushing through the corridors of buildings and worming its way down my double tucked scarf. The double socks on my feet that kept me warm and toasty. And the sore muscles that come only after one walks about 60 blocks in one day. Oh the thrill of NYC!

We left on Thursday and jetted off for a four day Girls' Getaway. No husbands, no kids. Just myself, Tracy, Melody and her sister Treena. A gaggle of crazy women out for a good time. Here were are at the beginning of the trip (at about 6:30a no less):


There are so many details about the trip that I could write about ... and show you, but all of the good pictures are on Tracy and Melody's camera. Until I get all the good pics, here are a few highlights.

1. Rockefeller Center on Thursday night. Wow is all I can say.


2. Treena and Melody waiting for our table at Serendipity (yummy frozen hot chocolate). We had a celebrity sighting here ... but I can't think of his name! Tall, skinny Latino actor. I'll think of him.


3. Our hotel room and series of capers that ensued (how many rooms could we move to in one weekend?!). Damn smoke.


4. How close we sat at Wicked, my most favorite musical in the world.


5. Ice skating in Bryant Park. I only fell once (haha to Reggie!).


6. Being silly in Central Park. I can't wait to see the Charlie's Angel-inspired pic from Melody's camera.


7. Crazy Russian lady's hair at the NYC library (how did she do that Jetson do?).


I'll post more when I get pics from Mello and Tracy. Until then, I'll be dreaming I'm still in NYC with my girls.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving and what I did this weekend

Another Gobble, Gobble! day has come and gone. I managed to sufficiently stuff myself to the gills. My pants won't hardly button anymore. I think it's time to go back on Weight Watchers (really, no joke here). While our vacay to Gilmer got off to a rocky start (Shawn was sick on Tuesday) we managed to get up on Weds and hit the road.

Came home on Saturday afternoon and did five (yes, let me repeat, five) loads of laundry. My parents are smokers so we have to wash EVERYTHING when we come back home or risk smelling like an ashtray for weeks.

I got an itch on Saturday evening to start decorating for the holidays. So, my dutiful husband climbed into the attic and dropped about 20 boxes into the garage for me to peruse. It was actually fun this year because Mallory oohhhed and ahhheeedd over each and everything that came out of a box.

We started with the Christmas tree. We put on a PBS special about Glenn Miller and danced around while we put it all together. Mallory and True loved it. Shawn stayed in the other room because he's not so crazy about Glenn Miller (or Christmas, except the present part!). I wish we had a real tree ... but the fake version is just so much easier these days. To tell you how lazy I am ... it's even pre-lit. Just add ornaments and voila, you have a tree.

Still have much left to do inside the house. See that mantle with no garland? It looks so naked.

Yesterday, I didn't get motivated until around 4p. At that point, I decided it would be a good idea to put the outdoor lights up. Yes ... crazy, but it's the life I lead. Shawn had already put up the icicle lights on the eaves. He was motivated much earlier in the day than I was.

I meant to take a picture for the blog ... but I was too tired. Another day.

Slow ride

The Barbie Jeep is still a big hit in our house. Thankfully. You always spend big bucks on toys and then they end up being neglected and lonely. Not a good return on investment. Luckily, the BJ is still new enough that we haven't encountered that problem.

Jeeps seem to be on the mind lately. Shawn's been doing some work on his Jeep in the garage. I think he's pulled every socket, wrench, tire (there are 9 of them ladies and gentlemen), drill press, oil can, tire rim, whatchamacalit out. I'm not exagerating. But, because of the chaos that is JEEP there's been no room to keep Mallie's ride out there. So, he put it in the office until he's sufficiently reorganized the outdoor storage area back to its usual clutter. The kids love having it in the house ... they just sit in it and listen to the radio ... taking a slow ride to nowhere.

They'll play with it for hours. Getting in. Getting out. Crawling over the hood. Hanging on to the back pretending the wind is going through their hair (maybe that's a mommy dream!). I think this love affair with Jeeps is a Tinkham trait. All the men in the family seem to eat, drink and sleep Jeep at some point in their lives. Now that I think about it ... I was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee when Shawn and I first met. Actually, it's the one that he's been working on. Maybe it wasn't my charming personality that brought him over to the dark side ... it was the Jeep! It all makes perfect sense!

Anyway ... as you can see in the pic, True is a great chauffer for Mallie and the baby (whose name changes daily so I am not sure what to call her right now). Of course, I hope he can sit down and keep his eyes on the road when it's really time to drive. I may have to revoke his license otherwise.

P.S. Please forgive my issues with formatting. Blogger is not cooperating and refuses to let me put spaces before the picture and before the paragraphs. Someone should send her to time out.

Me, in the eyes of a child

Mallory has started drawing pics of people. With real eyes and arms and everything. This is a big improvement over the blobs she used to draw. So imagine my joy when she told me she had drawn a picture of me. That's me on the chalkboard.



She gave me a HUGE head. But on the plus side, she also gave me small hips. What mommy wouldn't want that?

Oompa Loompa

I love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Who wouldn't want to go through the ceiling in a glass elevator?! It's just a classic childhood movie (the old version, not so keen on the new Johnny Depp version ... and don't get me started on the book vs. the movie discussion ... yes, I should like the book, but no, I'd rather watch the movie).

Anyway, imagine my surprise when I looked over to see my own personal Oompa Loompa at the dining table. Isn't he a lovely shade of orange?! Sorry for the fuzziness ... he just couldn't sit still you see.


Yes folks, somoeone was taking his taco soup dinner very seriously. That soup must have tasted really good to be wearing it like this. Or, maybe he knows something about a new-fangled skin care regimine that I haven't read in the latest Cosmo (really, Better Homes & Gardens is probably more my speed these days)?

Anyway, I did learn one thing from last night's dinner. Don't get taco soup in your eyes or you'll look like this:

Kissy,kissy Night, night

We were playing around with True tonight and he was just so darn cute I had to take a couple of vids. I will abstain from sharing the nakey versions and just post the clothing not-optional movie. Too bad you can't see his cute little cheeks though!