CHRISTMAS VIDEO

Here is some video from our night when Santa came to visit the kids. The quality is not great because Duane said the settings must have been wrong when he uploaded it. Clearer pictures are posted in the entry that follows. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

CHRISTMAS AT GRANNY AND PAW PAW'S

Sophie and Santa
Sophie, Gracie, and Kaitlyn
Gracie and Santa
Gracie
Karlie
We all had a great time at our family Christmas evening. We opened presents and had great food and played TONS of games. We all got WAY too much stuff. I was very happy that I received Cuisinart pots and pans, a gorgeous turkey roaster, a lovely watch, gift card to Quiznos (yes! my favorite!) and some other things I can't think of at the moment. Our van was stuffed full of all the gifts for the kids. My Mom overdoes it every year but she really enjoys it so we don't mind (hee hee). The kids got a visit from Santa and everyone was excited except the three smallest girls. Only Karlie was brave enough to sit on Santa's lap as she wiped away tears and opened her present. Lillianne and Estelle screamed like banshees. Little Aiden was sick with RSV and could not attend. After we opened presents the kids went upstairs with babysitters and the games began. My sister, Kari, and her husband won the Karaoke contest and the steakhouse gift card but Duane and I were able to trade them a Walmart card and a Home Depot card for the Doe's Eat Place card so we are going to have a great steak dinner sometime in the near future (because we are not getting fat fast enough). We also won 2 Grand Theatre gift cards and a Barnes and Noble gift card. We had a lucky streak this year! So much fun and we will get together for my mother's incredible cooking on Christmas Day as well. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!

PS No pics of Andrew as he was playing upstairs with his Christmas toys.

more Christmas pics...

Estelle
Kaitlyn and Karlie
Lillianne

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

ok...tomorrow night we have Christmas at my parents' house and I am really excited this year because I don't know what presents I am getting. That NEVER happens! I always say I hate surprises but I really don't...I really LOVE them! The kids are getting way too much and there will be a surprise visit from Santa so I hope to have some pictures to post. We are also playing tons of fun games with fabulous prizes and this year my Mom has added Karaoke to the playlist. The prize for winning the Karaoke contest is a $50 giftcard to Doe's Steakhouse so I will be singing my heart out cause heaven knows I could use some more meat on my bones!

ANDREW LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!

Andrew lost his first tooth today!! He was kind of upset about it at first and then he got over it. We couldn't find the tooth because he kind of cried about it and I thought he bit his finger or something and then later I noticed his tooth was gone and gasped and pointed to his mouth and that upset him all over again. He does a good job dealing with his Mom being a drama queen. I mean, it was just a lost tooth but it happened with no warning. And it also made me sad to think that my little baby is getting so big. Sophie says that since we can't find the tooth we have to email the Tooth Fairy and tell her that he lost one so he can get his money. Anyone know her email address??

WwW.SparkleTags.Com

THE AMAZING RACE -- LAFAYETTE

My parents' 40th Wedding Anniversary was this weekend and my Dad decided to surprise my mother with the most unexpected thing he could think of. My Mom is a HUGE fan of The Amazing Race. She NEVER misses it. She even Tivo's it and watches the episodes over and over again. She is constantly saying that she wishes that she and my Aunt Joyce (her sister) could go on that show because she knows they could win. Well, after listening to that every week for the last 4 years my Dad decided to give her that wish for their anniversary. It took 3 weeks of planning and tons of people but he pulled it off. He staged an Amazing Race Lafayette and we played it today!! My Mom was so surprised that she was beside herself. It was my Mom and her sister, Jill and JB, Charles and Lauren, Eric and Kari, and me and Jenny Bates (Duane was not feeling up to the challenge). We had a blast!! The grand prize was $1000. Jenny and I came in third place. Mom and Joyce won (although I am convinced they received a little extra help). There were clues for 10 tasks that we had to complete and each team had a cameraman with them and we also had to carry a chicken with us wherever we went (more on that with details of the tasks below). Each team was given $100 to use to complete some of the tasks. We almost got the cops called on us at Home Depot (more of that below). It was truly a huge production and all the footage will be edited into a video for each of us to keep. I am so glad that I was able to participate in doing something that made my Mom so happy. My Dad loves my Mom so much. He did a great thing!! Now more on those tasks we had to complete below. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures at this time because there just wasn't time to take any. I will post them when we get copies from the production crew. We had to figure out what tasks were required of us by deciphering clever clues. I can't remember the clues anymore so I will just give the tasks.

Task #1-Go to Home Depot and find a toilet item number that was assigned to your group and call in with that correct number and get the next clue. Do you know how many toilets Home Depot carries?? Do you know that if you go into a Home Depot with a camera crew they will call the cops?? Well, we know now.

Task #2-Go to Hobby Lobby and find a wicker basket with the item number that was assigned to your team and purchase it. The lines were 15 people deep and 8 registers long but Jenny was clever and showed people our clue with The Amazing Race logo on it and people let her cut in line but we were still delayed because they had the get change for her $100 bill.

Task #3-Go out to a large church in Broussard. When we got there Jenny had to go inside a huge fun jump and gather what was inside while I held the basket we got at Hobby Lobby. What was inside the fun jump?? Chickens!! Jenny grabbed the smallest and meekest of the bunch and I held it down in the basket while we ran back to the car.

Task #4-Go to the Natural History Museum and find out what served as Lafayette's first port and what year the reigning beheaded king died. I actually stole this answer from Kari and Eric as I overheard them trying to call the answer in. I was able to call it in first!! Kari was not amused.

Task #5-Buy a fish. We went down Johnston to Albertson's and Jenny got out and bought a catfish for 96 cents. We probably could have saved time by staying downtown but we didn't know where to get one downtown. Two other groups went to Tsunami, one to Cedar Grocery, and one to pinhook Walmart. The fish was smelly...but so was the chicken.

Task #6-Go to a fish pond in Broussard and fish for 12 inches of fish. We were the next to last to get there and all the poles were taken so we had to wait. The fish weren't biting very well so they moved us on to the next task by staggering us every three minutes according to when we arrived.

Task #7-Take a picture with Santa. Well, we were in Broussard and we knew we couldn't make it to the Acadiana Mall and wait in line for Santa in the time allowed so we went to the Broussard Albertson's and took a picture with a popcorn can that had Santa on the front. We used my cell phone. It's my screensaver now.

Task #8-Go to the Rokhaus and climb the rock wall. Ok...this is where it gets hairy for our team. So far Jenny had done most of the challenges that required just one person so she promptly handed me the release form to climb the rock wall. I was not happy but I had said earlier that I was not going to be high maintenence. When we got there, the first thing I asked the guy was if my weight was going to have to be disclosed at any point. He said no but I was still skeptical about the whole thing. When he handed Jenny and me our harnesses, I knew then and there that it wasn't going to work. He had let them out all the way and they were still TINY! We tried to get them on and gave up around mid-thigh. It wasn't going to happen. Why? Simple. Because fat people don't climb rocks so why should the harnesses fit them. Since we couldn't complete the task we had to wait until the team that came in after us was done. Bummer.

Task #9-Leave your car at Rokhaus and lock it. Find alternative transportation to Vermillionville (reproduction Acadian village) with chicken and cameraman in tow. Jenny lives two blocks from Rokhaus so we called her husband and told him to throw the kids in the van. We started down Johnston street to meet him half way. I never thought I'd be walking on Johnston with a chicken and a cameraman. Her husband picked us up and we made our way to Vermillionville.
I paid the $24 admission fee for the three of us and Jenny sneaked the chicken in. We had to go all the way to back of Vermillionville to the chapel. Once there, we were given an envelope with tiny words cut up in it. We had to put together The Lord's Prayer. Of course, we knew it but it was tedious finding all the words and putting them in order.

Task #10-Go to the Town Square at River Ranch to end the race. When we got there we were in 4th place but Jill and JB were having trouble putting symbols of our completed tasks in order so we finished before they did and took 3rd place. We didn't win $1000 but we had a blast! I can't wait to see the edited tape!

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

THANKSGIVING 2007

LILLIANNE
SOPHIE, GRACIE, KAITLYN, and KARLIE
GRACIE and KAITLYN
AIDEN and SOPHIE
SOPHIE and KAITLYN

We had a great Thanksgiving! It was weird having dinner at 5pm instead of noon but you get to enjoy the day so much more and I wasn't rushed for baking since everything didn't need to be ready until 4pm. The kids played all day and we watched the Macy's Parade. Duane cooked a turkey by himself and he carved it up and brought it to an elderly lady who goes to our church. I have to say that he was matched in good deeds by my Dad who went and served Thanksgiving dinner to the poor. Those two guys are setting a great example for our families. The food was unbelievable but anyone who knows my Mom knows the gal can cook!! I am getting to bed early tonight because I have a babysitter for Black Friday and I will be shopping all day. Very excited about that. I can't believe it's almost time for Christmas!! The pics are of all of my parent's grandchildren except Estelle and Andrew who were not in the mood to pose for the paparazzi. Happy Thanksgiving!!

CUPCAKES AT GYMBOREE

The new line of clothes at Gymboree is called Cupcake Cutie. OH NO!!! MUST...NOT...BUY!!!!!!! Click here to view
http://www.gymboree.com/shop/dept_category.jsp?productSizeSelected=0&pageClicked=0&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374306234507&bmUID=1195544340718

AIDEN'S 2ND BIRTHDAY

We celebrated my nephew's birthday on Saturday. He belongs to my sister Kari and her husband Eric. It was held at SCOOPS Ice Cream Shop and the kids had a great time. Sophie helped serve ice cream and cake and Lillianne helped eat the ice cream and cake!

BRYCE"S COMMERCIAL WITH JENNIFER ANISTON!!!

Go to www.stjude.org and click on Jennifer Aniston's picture to see the commercial Bryce filmed with her last spring!! He is a doll!

THANKSGIVING IS NEXT WEEK!!

I am very excited that Thanksgiving is next week! We are starting a new tradition this year as my great aunt (90 years of age!) has decided that she just wants to have quiet holidays from now on and who could blame her??? My mother will be taking over as hostess for our branch of the family which is just so much easier on Duane and me because it will make wrangling Andrew so much simpler than driving an hour and a half for Thanksgiving. I am in charge of the Praline Yams and Coconut Cake. I have never cooked a turkey but Martha Stewart has gotten me very interested in the challenge. I have requested her Turkey Roaster from Macy's as part of my Christmas list this year. I figure I can also roast chickens in it as well--- Duane is always hounding me for roast chicken and vegetables.

My sister, Jill, is headed to Memphis this weekend with a group of girls involved with raising money for St. Jude Hospital. They get to present a check to the hospital from their Skeet Shoot fundraiser and they have made 70 or so fleece quilts to give all the kids. The best part is she gets to visit our cousin's child who is there getting cancer treatment. His name is Bryce and he will be 6 in January. As you can see from the photo he is a beautiful child but he also has a sweet and loving spirit as well and he will undergo a stem cell transplant the week after Thanksgiving. Please remember Bryce and his family in your prayers as we give thanks this season for the health of our children. Their family would welcome your prayers!!

STOMACH VIRUS!!!!!

Well, I THOUGHT we were done with the virus on Monday but Sophie got it and then I got it on Tuesday night and things have been HAIRY around here. We are all on the upswing and I have to drive to Baton Rouge tonight for a meeting so I have been drinking Pedialyte and I am feeling so much better. Andrew is still whiny but he has recovered from his 3 day sleep marathon ( I would have never gotten through this without him feeling so bad that he stayed in the bed for three days --I hate to say it, but it was a blessing!). So far, Duane and Lillie have not shown any signs of being sick and I don't think they will get sick. Can't wait for this week to be over so we can start fresh and wait for yet another set of problems to endure! Ain't life grand??

NEW PIANO

Well, it's new to us anyway. Our church got all new pianos and gave us the one that was used in the children's classes. The kids are having a ball on it and I am already sick of hearing it (just kidding). Duane is practicing the 4 church hymns he knows and I am trying to be very tolerant of the bum notes. I played "Heart and Soul" (the only song I know on the piano) for Sophie twice and she has already picked up on it. We can't wait to get her a piano teacher. She is still playing the violin and we finally found a replacement teacher for violin and she starts back with her lessons in two weeks. We are so blessed to have this piano in our home and so grateful. Andrew is very excited about it and he sat at it for about 20 minutes making noise. We plan to use it in his therapy to give him motivation to talk. If he wants to play it bad enough he has to use his words and ask to play it. We will also use it as a reward when he is doing intensive learning at the table. Lillianne pitched a fit when I took her off of it to go to bed so I guess we will have to deal with the tantrums until the newness wears off.

HALLOWEEN IS COMING!

I love Halloween! Tomorrow we are going to a Halloween Birthday Party and then in the evening there is a church activity and the kids will wear their costumes. On Halloween night we are going to a party at my sister's house and then Trick or Treating in the neighborhood. Andrew is going as a cowboy, Lillianne is a fairy (she is still a little scared of the costume so I hope she will wear it), and Sophie is going to be Hannah Montana. I hope to have some good pictures!

REPORT CARD!!

Yesterday was Report Card day and Sophie brought home a shining one! She got 100%A+ in Math and all 5's (scale of 1-5) in Language Arts. It was topped off with an E for excellent in behavior and conduct. We are going to Baton Rouge today so I can go to the Temple and we can get Andrew some food at Whole Foods so she will get to choose a small treat at the Mall. Keep up the good work, Sophie!!

SICK DAD

My Dad is really sick with a serious heart condition. He has Atrial Fibrillation. It is a condition where the heart beats abnormally and there is a chance that blood could pool around the heart and cause a stroke or heart failure if left untreated. He is in the process of taking tests to determine the best treatment route. Please remember him in your prayers as he is not used to being sick and this experience is taking an emotional toll as well. Please also remember my Mother as she is quite stressed out about the whole thing as well. Thanks!

PARTY GIRLS!!

Today was Sophie's party for her 7th birthday. It was at Lafayette Lanes and everyone had a great time. The pizza was really good and the cake was, well cake, and what can be bad about that (except if it has that whipped icing which is completely gross but I made sure it had the buttercream because I do not get enough fat in my diet as it is). The girls played arcade games and bowled and I didn't have to cook, bake, or clean so it was just perfect! I highly recommend a bowling party because kids just love it and it is very economical. Sophie got some really great gifts. Here are some pics from the party and a bonus of Lillianne.

Blog Stalkers

OK...I got fussed at today by two of my fellow bloggers for not blogging as often as I should. I won't mention any names but their initials are HD and JB. They have awesome blogs and I just can't keep up! I will, however, dedicate myself to trying a little harder to blog. So you want to know what I did today?? Well, my FABULOUS friend Jenny watched Lillianne for most of the day while I took a two hour nap, went to Quiznos (my favoritest place to eat EVER) and had a sandwich combo, went to my sister's new house and just about licked her gorgeous new oak and pine floors and gave a few decorating tips, bought a birthday present at Target, surfed the web for sales on children's clothing and scouted for celebrity gossip, took Andrew to therapy at the hospital and then had therapy at home for 2 1/2 hours. Well, isn't that sooo exciting?? I have to admit that I am getting very spoiled having my children looked after so often. Pretty soon I'm not going to be able to handle them all together. Oh well, too bad! Hope you enjoy the Dracula cupcake. I am SO ready for Halloween!!

PRAYER REQUESTS

I have several prayer requests this evening. I would like to ask that you keep the following people in your prayers. My cousin's son, Bryce, is 5 years old and suffering from cancer. He is currently a patient at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis and he is receiving intensive treatment there but it is so hard on his body and this has been going on for over a year. Please pray for full recovery and strength for his family as they are living in two different cities. My friend, Jen , is recovering from major surgery and needs our prayers for a full recovery as she is the mother of three young children that need her to make a full and quick recovery. Please keep her husband in mind as well as he "fills in" for her until she is 100 percent again. My cousin, Jhonna, is continuing her treatment for breast cancer and needs prayers for full recovery. Thanks so much!

WEEKEND

On Friday I went with Jenny Bates to Tinsel and Treasures and we loved it! Jenny brought her baby and she was a perfect angel but I can't say I wasn't tempted to ditch that kid and fill her Baby Bjorn up with treats and goodies and smocked dresses. We were drooling over EVERYTHING!! Afterwards we went to La Pizzeria and had good food and a great time just sitting at a table with no kids (except the baby but she was still being good). Today we went to Baton Rouge to get Andrew's hair cut and make a stop at Whole Foods. I LOVE Whole Foods!! You think it's like a health store but it's got so many delicious bakery items and deli items and I always have to get a slice of their Chocolate Decadence Cake (it's flourless so it is rich and dense like cheesecake and it will put you in the hospital!). I also indulged in a Cannolli. We also took the kids to The Mall of Louisiana because when we are in Baton Rouge Andrew has started saying "ride the carousel" so we want to reinforce it and he loves to ride in the glass elevator as well. It was a fun weekend!

GO, JENNY!!!

I hope you all had a chance to watch Jenny McCarthy on Oprah. She was great!! I was in tears as she showed pictures of her son and we could see how he transformed in them from an alert baby and toddler to a vacant little boy. I have posted a picture of Andrew right before his first birthday. Look at the joy and light in his eyes! By the time he was 15 months old he was a different boy. I have read alot of Jenny's book and it is so wonderful. I think every parent (especially mother) can relate to it. If you get a chance to buy it, borrow it, or check it out of the library, do it! We had a 6 hour training session for Andrew's ABA program yesterday (we do that about every 4-6 weeks) and I am so exhausted! I am tired of learning new components of the program. I am tired of managing 4 therapists. I am tired of juggling Andrew's therapy from 9am to 7 pm every day of the week along with Sophie's schoolwork and violin and I am tired of AUTISM!! But I am not tired of my sweet little boy so I will continue to do this every day until he is recovered. Please keep us in your prayers!

School Picture

Sophie's school picture came in today and it was just as I had feared. When I sent her to school that morning her hair was in lovely curls. Apparently, the teacher handed out combs to the students before the pictures were taken and Sophie decided to comb out her hair. Everyone knows that if you brush out curls they turn to frizz--everyone except Sophie. Even though she has a frizzy halo she is quite impressed with this picture. Her Dad asked her why she tilted her head in the picture and she replied, "So it would be cute!" Silly girl....I guess I have to buy them now.

I Can't Hear Anything!!

So remember when Duane installed the Webcam a few days ago? Well, it messed up the sound on my computer and now I can't hear anything on it. It is sooo frustrating. How am I supposed to watch funny YouTube clips?? What about catching up with all my favorite network shows on the internet because I'm too busy at night to watch them on TV?? He is too busy to fix it right now and I am going nuts. I watch my favorite comedy clip "Nail Salon" at least 3 times a week and now I can't watch that either but I will post it so you can enjoy it. It seriously brightens my day whenever I see it. I hope everyone is enjoying their computers with sound!! Boo Hoo!

WEIRD KID

So Sophie comes home from school today and she is very excited about checking out a new book from the library. I am thinking that it is something really fun and cool like a new Nancy Drew or American Girl novel and she hands it to me and it is a biography of Theodore Roosevelt. Who is this kid and where did she come from? What first grader reads presidential biographies??? When she was 4 she used to ask her Dad to print off double helix DNA strands from the internet so she could color in all the different parts but I thought that was just a phase. She was bored last weekend so i told her to go play with her Barbies and instead she memorized her times tables up to 8. I am really worried that this kid is weird and headed for nerdville but at least this afternoon she said she wanted to be Hannah Montana for Halloween so maybe there is some hope for her! Weird kid!!

WEBCAM

We got a Webcam this week so I can watch Andrew's therapists while I am in the other room and we are using it so the kids and Duane can visit with his parents in New Zealand. It's really neat because the picture is really clear and it's like you are talking to them on the cell phone (I guess you can tell that I don't keep up with fancy gadgets very much as I am very impressed with this). The last time they saw the kids was when we went for a month last December. I have posted a couple of pics of the kids with their New Zealand family.

CUPCAKES

ok..so I have been completely obsessed with cupcakes lately (and Archer Farms Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream). I think anyone who doesn't like cupcakes has a serious problem. Cupcakes are sweet and cute and you can eat them in two bites and they make you feel fantastic. You can also eat five of them and they equal the same amount of calories as one slice of cake (of, course, that is math according to Vicki). I have made a hobby of finding the best cupcake recipes and websites. I will share some with you but you have to make me some cupcakes in return!!

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/

http://www.babycakesnyc.com/

http://www.cupcakerecipes.com/

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.e28a2ad6d3341f8836eb9e2bd373a0a0?vgnextoid=42cacf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=search_home&autonomy_kw=cupcakes

BLOGGING!

I can't believe I'm blogging. I SWORE I'd never blog. I guess it was just a matter of time as everyone I know is doing it. My friend Jenny has been doing it for well over a year and my friend Heidi just started doing it so I can't be the only one NOT doing it. My husband is constantly telling me that I should get my own blog because he is tired of hearing the ranting, complaining, pontificating, and just plain old running at the mouth that I do all the time. I hope to keep our friends and family aware of the things we are up to. Get ready for lots of bragging about my kids. I hope to post lots of pictures as well so maybe that will be an incentive to actually take more pictures of the kids for their memory books. Please feel free to leave comments and let me know if YOU have a blog. Don't forget to bookmark this address in your favorites so you can check on us from time to time!