Rainy days and Sundays

. . .. always get me down? Is that how that song goes?


I am not sure. But what I am sure of is that this rainy day AND Sunday doesn't have me too down, although I've been back a little under the weather. Maybe it's a new sick, and maybe it's a lingering sick, but it's crappy sick nonetheless. And it has been raining since Thursday.


Mind you, many people are glad. The grass loves nothing more than real rain from the sky, rather than what I pay the City of Houston to use through my watering system. Hmmm - the grass loves the free stuff, and thinks what I pay for is just OK. Where's the irony in that?


My neighborhood will be the home of the Shell Houston Open golf tournament in a week or two. The planners, I'm sure, are thrilled that this rain happened right now, so the grass on the course will be perfect.



Maybe Governor Perry will be glad, as he petitioned for federal aid for counties north and west of me as they experience the worst drought in recent history. Or, maybe he just wanted the $$ and is a little disappointed. You just never know these days.


But our rainy day was spent inside. All day. Those of you who either have small kids, or did have them once upon a time, know what this was like. We start out the day happy - everyone shares and smiles. By now (6:18PM), everyone wants the same toy. No one likes the meals or the snacks provided. And everyone is just crabby. Including one sick-but-on-the-mend Mom.


We have a busy few weeks ahead of us - and lots to post about soon. But for today, I will limit the blog to one picture - one of Flat Stanley. For those of you who don't know who Flat Stanley is, let's let Wikipedia help us out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley Anyway, a coworker was in town from Chicago, and had his daughter's Flat Stanley with him. Coincidentally, Dewey and I were going to the rodeo that night, so I jumped at the chance to bring Flat Stanley along. We took his picture all over the rodeo grounds, and had lots of people recognize him. We got a lot of laughs.


Dewey and I went by ourselves to this event (yay for babysitters) because it was in the evening, and the kids aren't really old enough yet to (1) appreciate it or (2) handle the crowds and the noise. BTW - the musical performer was Alan Jackson - mmmmm. Very good. Stay tuned for a rodeo day that Christopher and I have planned this week with some friends.

OK - that's all the free time I get before I get to play referee, all the while looking at the clock, thinking, "Is it bedtime yet???"

Chutes and Ladders

Yes - the board game. Chutes and Ladders. Here's a quick visual for your memory pleasure:

Gram got one for Christopher for his birthday, and we pulled it out today. While Mallory napped, we spun the spinner, counted the squares, and climbed ladders and slid down chutes. It's funny because he doesn't really get the whole winning-losing thing - he didn't mind sliding backwards because for whatever reason, he didn't associate that with losing. Or being behind. Or any of the other things that would freak out my most competitive friends (you know who you are). He just wanted to climb every ladder and slide every chute - which is tough to explain to the 4 year old -- that you only climb at the bottom of a ladder and only slide at the top of a chute. Who knew the thing could be so much fun? But I was so proud of how he waited his turn and let me help him count squares, etc. It was a very fun adventure.

Happy Birthday Christopher!

Christopher turned 4 on 01/21 (the birthday he shares with his twin, my beautiful friend Tondi - Happy Birthday Tondi!). His requests were for toys, balloons, and cake. He brought cupcakes to school, then come home for the celebration.

One of his favorite toys was the Fisher Price Digital camera. It's picture quality is pretty low, but he can take pictures over and over and enjoy seeing them in the display, just like Mom does with her camera. This was a big hit.

He also enjoyed a new Nerf gun, a Chutes and Ladders game, and a Cars racetrack.

Sister had a good time too sharing the day with her special pink balloon, and luckily, brother was willing to share, well, most of his new toys.

His regular question now is how long until Christmas again. Poor thing -- the year that will go so quickly for us as adults will be an eternity for this 4 year old.

Mallory Marie

I love this picture. To tell you the truth, in the heat of the holiday chaos, I have no idea why I was taking this picture, or what she was doing, or what compelled me to press the shutter button at this moment. I didn't even really look at it until I uploaded it.

And now, I am in love with it. The tousled hair, the unassuming and unposed look, the arm resting on the Christmas box, the black laptop bag strap - all just part of this moment, and my little girl.

I love it.

Merry Christmas to all . . .

. . . . and to all, it's over for another year!

We had a great time here at the Crosslands. Mom and Michael were here, and we enjoyed spending the holiday together. This is us before mass on Christmas Eve.

It was a great year because Christopher really understood the Santa part of the holiday this year for the first time. He was so excited all week long and wanted Christmas to come so badly.

His favorite gift was a Nerf gun (that he calls a "gum") from Santa. Funny thing, Santa also brought Dad a Nerf gum too. He loves that thing so much - he reminds me of Ralphie from A Christmas Story, as you see him here sleeping with the thing. So far, he has not shot his or anyone else's eye out.

For Mallory, it was a Fisher Price Dvd player. She is a maniac about that thing, and if you try to touch it, say, to help her with it? She swats at you like a pesky mosquito. Nice. So far, we have all experienced that wrath.

I hope you all enjoyed the holidays with your families, and here is to a wonderful 2009!

Snow? For real?

So this week, we have enjoyed true unpredictable Texas weather. As if Hurricane Ike wasn't enough . . . . .

Warm front Monday and Tuesday - high on Tuesday is over 70.

Big thunderstorm rolls in.

Temperatures drop.

Wednesday morning - in the 30's. High of 46.

Temps drop again Wednesday afternoon. It starts to snow.

Snow accumulates to at least 1/4 inch (enough to go play in).

Tomorrow? In the 60's. 76 by Sunday. God Bless Texas.

Fuzzy Santa Pic

If you can find it in your heart to forgive the horrible resolution on this scanned photo, this is our Santa picture from this year, as mentioned below. I didn't order the electronic file of it, so this is scanned and cropped. If you click on the photo, it will get bigger. Their faces are a little fuzzy, but you can sense the fright in Mallory's face, which is really the priceless part.

I can't help it - I don't want a Christmas to go by without a Santa pic, if I have anything to say about it.

Hope everyone's holiday preparations are bringing them lots of joy and little stress!