The Candy's always sweeter in the toe of another's stocking.

I have so much food thanks to Christmas - Jr. Mints (my fave), nerds, gum, candy canes(the old fashioned soft kind), ring pops...oh so much. And then I have stacked on my counter goodies - Chocolate covered peanut butter on ritz sandwiches, candied pecans, glass candy. And then there's leftover Christmas dinner - brown sugar ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole...

And all I can think about, All I want, All my mouth is drooling for is the gigantic box of Milk Dud's Santa brought for Troy.
Troy's at Basketball practice....
Maybe he's forgotten he got milk duds...
Maybe he doesn't like them anyway...
MAYBE I should spare him the potential cavities.

Sigh. I'll be strong. And maybe I'll be extra sweet when he gets home and he'll have to share! :)

King Kong.

For Christmas, Grant got a Little People Garage. It took him very little time to discover that it could also be a climbing apparatus. Even after being dragged down multiple times and even falling over once, he pulls his chubby little self on top of his garage and just sits there happy as can be... Silly little monkey....
PS - I realize his eyes look TERRIBLE here, but he has some terrible headcold/pinkeye. Poor guy. He just can't seem to stay healthy! But I had to post this picture of his leg sticking out of his car elevator.
PPS. And yes, that's a Wii box behind him...Santa was very good to Mason this year! :) Now I gotta go play some Mario Kart!

When life gives you praline soup...

make candied pecans!

That's what I did! So take that Ebeneezer! You're not hanging out here this Christmas.

And a true Christmas miracle occurred this afternoon because Mason and I delivered goodies in Christmas tins to five of our neighbors. I finally did it. Not in perfectly wrapped goodies with ribbons and bows and handwritten handmade notes, but they were delivered just the same. And it made mason and i both feel very merry and bright.

:)

It's official.

I'm not betty crocker.

I know. You're terribly shocked.

See, every year since I became a wife, I've had this vision of making Christmas goodies for all my friends and some neighbors and we'd go about delivering them with smiley faces and carols in the car. It's never, not once, been done. The closest I ever got was the time I made dozens of batches of hard cinnamon candy for the golfers at Bentwood when I worked there.

So, today, I went to HEB armed with a list of supplies. My first sign of impending doom should have been the absence of three items that I needed. I should have considered it a sign.

Not so. I persisted in my shopping in the craziness with all the other crazies at HEB who had also waited till this late hour to do their baking.

When I got home, the first item on my list of goodies to tackle was pralines. I LOVE them. My grandmother always made them. My mom, however, never was successful at making them. They always became what we jokingly called Praline soup. They never hardened, try as she might.

You might ask why I would choose to begin with an item that has proven to be a failure in my genetic past. I don't know. I really don't. I could say something about wanting the hardest treat to be done while kids are asleep. whatever. I shouldn't have started there.

I now have about 50 lovely blobs of praline soup on my countertop.

I measured precisely. I boiled to the exact temperature. I beat vigorously. And beat some more. And called troy to beat some more. And beat them again. Thinking they were getting thicker, I began spooning them out.

Nope.
Soup.

Now, the blow to my ego, as I really did think I was Betty Crocker up until this point(haha), was bad enough but the fact that FOUR CUPS of pecans are ruined is beyond devastating. That's like throwing money in the trash.

Sigh. It's only a matter of time until I begin to inhabit my mom's body as I am mere steps from the complete metamorphosis into her. I hate the vacuum cleaner. I can't find my "safe places" and I almost bought a jumbo sized container of bungee cords the other day. If only the things like excellent gardener, genius on all subjects and diligent vitamin taker would find its way into my system...

I'd like to say that the tragedies stopped there. No. While waiting for the pralines to boil to whatever degree it was, I melted chocolate for another recipe. I haven't a clue how, but somehow that chocolate didn't get all melty...

I don't even have the energy to explain. I have a whole kitchen to clean and no food to show for it.

Next year. There's always next year, right?

ouch.

maybe it's just my eyes but if you read meem's bright white backgrounded blog and then go straight to A's jet black background blog, your eyes will totally freak out.

Don't try it.

You are, aren't you?

Powdered Donuts

While I was searching for my cell phone this morning, inside and out, Grant found himself a little treat. He pulled them off the table and had himself quite the powdered sugar feast. Little stinker. He's just so cute while being a little stinker...

(oh, and if you're curious...my phone was in Mason's lunchbox. I-i don't know. When I called it five times to find it, his whole class heard it vibrating in his lunch box. His teacher must really think i'm a nut...)

Not fair.

Why do I get this with other people's kids? And this....

And THIS! with my own. I declare.
It was perhaps the worst shoot of my life. You'd have thought mason was being tortured. And Grant, well, Grant wasn't awful except for the fact that he threw a fit everytime his brother tried to hug him. Which made mason cry because "bubba doesn't like me!!!" which was so fake. So fake. It started off cute enough. But then it was a downward spiral. I got a few good shots. But Mason somehow managed to turn an adorable candycane eating shot into him looking as though he is playing the piccolo.

I'm a photographer. I MUST send out christmas photo cards. They must look amazing because they're going to customers too.

I need children to cooperate.

Geez.

Back to editing I go.

(I must admit the crying picture of grant is pretty stinkin' cute...)

it's all about perspective...

You might think, "aw, that's cute" when you see the above.
But wait.
This is what was really going down...

Look Ma, No Training Wheels!

On Saturday, Mason and Troy worked on teaching Mason how to ride his bike without training wheels. Then, on, Tuesday, Mason just went out there and did it. I was watching from the window - he fell a few times trying to start, but then he just did it. That same day he lost his second tooth...he's just so big now!

I always knew I loved Australia.

Bekah took me on a date tonight to see the movie Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. So very good, my friends. You must go see it. I laughed. I cried. I hated. I loved(and by loved I am referring to Hugh Jackman who was a most dashing, rugged cowboy with an added perk - an australian accent). I cried some more. I cringed. I laughed. I loved.

"I sing you to me."

To know what that means, you gotta go see the movie. Oh, so good.

PS - if for some reason, unknown to mankind, you didn't like the movie, please refrain from telling me so, because I would be forced to immediately not be your friend anymore.

Aunt Bekah to the Rescue and a Christmas Tragedy.

Aunt Bekah has taken on Grant for the day so I'm covered for Wednesday. yay! Thank you all those who offered! I appreciate it oh so much!

On a completely unrelated note, we had a Christmas tragedy. Due to a faulty electric cord (that,yes, mom,has been disposed of), ALL the lights on our Christmas tree burned out. Yeah. So, I have a tree, with at least 10 strands of lights on it that don't work. So, do I:

a)leave it and have the unmerriest tree in the whole wide World!
b)Buy a pre-lit tree now before they go on post Christmas sales...
c)take off all the ornaments. Take off the perfectly placed draped ribbons. Take off every single strand of lights and redo the whole thing.
d) lay hands on the strings of light and pray that Christmas Angels will resurrect them.

I'm thinking b or d. C is totally out. Totally.

Dang electric cord. Stealing whatever Christmas spirit I had....

Any Takers?

I have a shoot in Midland on Wednesday. I kind of agreed to doing it without really meaning to. It was an odd conversation. Anyway, I have Mason covered. He can go to work with Dad, but Grant can't. Would any of you dear sweet souls be willing to watch Grant for me from about 1pm to 7:30 or so? I'll pay of course. I'm slightly desperate....Any takers?

thoughts about our life, not pictures. Are you surprised?

I am. I can't think of anything but pictures. I edit until the wee hours of the morning. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about me, my boys, and my flowing thoughts.

• I don't have the Christmas spirit yet. The tree is up. The lights are on. The music is playing but that feeling just hasn't hit me yet. I think presents would help. Yes, that is a cynical thing to say, but hey, it's true. I love buying presents for my family and I haven't yet. Also, perhaps some holiday baking? Yes, that's the cure for sure. And maybe reading a few christmas stories.
• I got a new phone. Mine was stupid. Died even when fully charged. Terrible interference. Buttons wouldn't work. So I just went out and bought me a new phone.It's needed for Sprinkle of Grace. And I look at my new phone with great love and adoration quite often.
  
• I have to cut about 10 yards of fabric into 1" x8" strips for Mason's class. with Pinking sheers that I don't have. By Monday. Yeah. So, uh, I should probably stop blogging.
  
• I got to teach a lesson when I tutored on Thursday. The teacher was using some ideas I gave her and she just kind of stopped and said, "could you take over so I could see you do this?" Uh...sure? So I did. I taught a guided writing lesson to 4th graders. I loved it. Teaching really is pretty fun, it's just all that other stuff (parents, meetings, grades, paperwork, discipline, being away from your own children for days) that just ruins it.
  
• Mason wants a trampoline for Christmas. And a trash can. He literally asked for a trash can. He saw one in target and goes, "I'm gonna ask Santa for a trash can for Christmas. Because then I won't have to walk all the way to the kitchen to throw stuff away." To this I wanted to reply, "since when do you throw anything away?". Poor deprived child asking for a trash can for Christmas.
  
• I need to run. For days and days and days. Things are getting tighter. And I just keep eating. But while I do miss running, I abhor the cold. I hate it. I HATE it. I can't stand being cold. But I gotta run. I just gotta!
  
• I really gotta go. My to do list is glaring at me with - Oh wait, Pandora. I couldn't leave without telling you how amazing Pandora.com is. Most of you know what it is, but I have re-fallen in love with it. It's always on. What would we do without music?
  
• Okay, now I'm going. The to do list is horrifically long.
  

one of those gut pictures.

it might have been the song that was playing on pandora. Or maybe it's because I know the story about how especially special these girls are to kim and David. Or maybe it's because I am delirious. But this picture made my gut react. Thanks Kim for letting me capture your family being real... : )

well, that's annoying.

aargh.
I posted that last post to the wrong blog.
that happens when you have SIX blogs.
good grief.
It's midnight.
I'll fix it later. Can I copy and paste it?
I need sleep...or more coffee....no, sleep.

(on a side note -when I look at these pictures my heart almost bursts with joy at the fact that this, making pictures like those, is what I am now getting PAID to do...bursting with joy, i tell you. Bursting with indescribable-how'd-i-get-so-lucky joy....)

For Kimmie D.....

I promise i'm editing them! I promise. But there are lots! : ) And I had lots before yours...but I haven't forgotten you! I promise. I can't wait for you to see them. I have a feeling there will be a few tears. : )