And that afternoon Mr. Traci was receiving an award for all the amazing things he and his squad have done over the past year.  We took the kids and the Nintendo DS systems to babysit and we clapped for big daddy as he received his pin and certificate from his Chief (Buddy was SHOCKED his boss was a GIRL!).  Then we had some cake, I shmoozed like a good wife who used to work with police officers (this does help a bit) and promptly went where I wasn’t supposed to go to harass my hungover friend Desiree in her secret lair.  We got close to busted by a cranky boss but I think the cute kids threw cranky off.

OH, back to Monday night.  I don’t have a Wii.  But Desiree does and we decided (I demanded, whatever) that we wanted to play the new dance game.  Well, after doing all of this drinking, getting on a mat, following arrows to jump around and shake the Wii things to the beat…you look like (I look like) you’re having a seizure.  It’s not cute in the slightest, it’s funny when you’re drunk, but sober, the next day, watching yourself on Desiree’s iPhone?  Not so cute.  It was fun, and you know it’s fun when I’m laughing so much I snort.  It’s really pretty too.

So, we’re moving Bubba to a different school.  His special teacher is leaving and we’ve decided to move him over to the school where the older two go as they now have a special teacher there for Bubba.  I’m really excited because they also have a therapy dog in there!  Bubba is going to go bonkers over her and I can’t wait to see it.  Counting the days until next Wednesday!

Here are my 365 pics from yesterday and today.  I promise I took one on Monday night!  As we were finished with dinner and I was half in the tank, I said “Oh SH!T!  I gotta take a picture!”  So I took a pic of Desiree and Missy – will post it soon as I get it off of my phone.

I leave my blog tonight with the Gooberifics…

Yeah…what more needs to be said?

So this may put me in the dork category forevermore, but I like to crochet.  I have to have busy hands all the time, can’t even sit and watch t.v. without doing something else while watching.  I wonder if there are lots of other people like that?  I wonder if becoming a mom just got me used to having my attention split in so many places that I can no longer JUST do one thing at a time? Whatever it is I’ll be a dork for crocheting.

And I made this cute hat.  It’s the first one I made that my man actually likes on me so it’s now my favorite hat.  My little head doesn’t usually favor them, so this will become a permanent part of my wardrobe while Tampa is getting snow at night.  Yes, snow.  It was actually snowing (the weatherman said tiny bits of sleet, but to me, that’s snow, thank you) while hero guy was on his way home from work at the wee hours.  So this hat is the bomb diggity and I’m just that much cooler for wearing it.  Even if I am a dork for making it.

1:9:09 {party}

So today we celebrated Bubba’s 5th birthday with a little party which he decided to attend up until cake time.  At that point he jumped into his bed, pulled the covers up and pretended to be sick.  Daddy had to carry him into the dining room to blow out his candles after which he ran back into his bed and hid under the blankets.  Until I said presents and he was back in the game.

He got the very prized Nintendo DS (a used one, thanks to my girl Michelle) and a Nintendogs game.  He picked out a little white Chihuahua and named him Rocky.  I have no clue where he got that, it’s not a name we have ever used for anything.  He even thanked his Pop for coming to his party.  Damn I love that kid.

It’s funny that the big man and I remember this differently, but I swear we were at a point where we wanted #3 (in discussions) and we decided that if it happened it happened.   Little did we know your little peanut head was already settling in – I wouldn’t even know for about another month!

You are most certainly my surprise and blessing and I can’t wait to see what this year holds for you!

When we got home from school yesterday Daddy was already out busting out my new super fab patio.  Normally my hero man will go work extra and let me hire someone to do these things, but it’s something we’ve talked about for so so long.  A front porch, so we can sit in my adirondack chairs by the chimnea, watch the kids play and climb our trees and wave at the neighbors (or yell at the teenagers driving too fast) as they drive by.

I think Bubba helped the most by staying out of the way and just using the bed of Daddy’s truck as a trampoline.

I absolutely adore my new patio and my old husband who never stops thinking of ways to improve our lives and make us happy.

1:6:10

I finally got around to taking a picture of G’s Christmas gift.

{jumping back in time} While waiting for clients to arrive for their photo shoot, I decided I’d get my Christmas card photo done and out of the way.  Through lots of tears (mostly Bubba’s) we got the shot we wanted – one where Bubba wasn’t screaming “NO! No pitter!” and jumping around, and after that I let the kids play.  Well as they played I got this super fab idea to take close ups of them for a gallery for one of our blank walls in the new computer room/office/t.v. room.

I ordered 20×24 gallery standouts on metallic paper from WHCC.   They are the bomb-diggity!  I could not be happier with how they came out and couldn’t be happier that HIS gift is hanging right next to my desk, hehehe…

Then there’s the Day Parade on the 30th – I’ll be on (walking..not on since I’m a newbie) the Grace O’Malley float with the gigantic seahorse on it, tossin’ beads like a fool!  And then again more bead throwing at the Sant’Yago Knight Parade on February 6th (don’t bring your kids to this one, or the day one for that matter).

So wanna see what I’m wearing?  Yeah you do!  Well you can’t see the whole thing – haha! – but here’s the detail of my underskirt…

I know it’s hard to see with my crappy cell phone – but I don’t want to give TOO much away!  That’s the bottom of the underskirt – trimmed in gold, and handbeaded at the point of all the diamonds on the embossed fabric.  I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!

Now maybe if you’re good and really want to see the rest I’ll put it on before Children’s Parade and take a picture.

You KNOW you want some!  Lulu is even taking some to school tomorrow in her Hello Kitty thermos.  That’s a big deal, because at her age Hello Kitty is about the farthest thing from cool – it’s all about Vera Bradley.  She’s only 9.  And I had no idea what a Vera Bradley was until my 9 year old showed me one.  I know Louis, I know Gucci, but I just don’t know Vera, and now that I do I see why 9 year olds like them.

I’m so geeky old-lady excited.  I clipped all my coupons for the alcohol fund and put them in all the little dividers (alphabetically).  Now here’s to hoping I don’t leave it sitting on my desk when I go to do the shopping, yes, it’s likely to happen.

So my photo for the day is my pretty little PINK calendar, my coupon organizer and Bubba’s hand trying to kype it, because for some reason this calendar is better than any of the Christmas toys they got.

And I also stumbled onto this blog while losing track of time surfing the net to discover new ways to organize and structure my time, I’m An Organizing Junkie.  Which led me to this really AWESOME site that helps you plan out your menus and grocery lists.  Yeah, old lady again, right? No, wait!  If you know me at all you know that I have no clue what’s for dinner until just before I say “Oh SH!T it’s time to feed the kids!” and then it’s Oatmeal for dinner.  So this is a really cool thing.  They have a free trial (see, another $4.95 saved toward some Captain Morgan) so check it out, sign up and get me some more money for referring you, Plan to Eat.

On a not so pleasant note, one of the kids lifted an mp3 player from a friend’s house.  This child is 7 so he understands right from wrong, but he is still only 7.  Well this incident occured a few days ago, he denied taking it – even by accident.  Lo and behold it turned up today, mysteriously, in the middle of my bedroom floor.  So here was the lowdown on the convo:

I hold up the mp3 player, “What’s this?”

*blank stare* “Um….it’s um…the mp3 player?”

“Did you take it?”

Shakes head with eyes at floor

“How did it get on my floor?”

“I think it fell out of my backpack on accident when I put the backpack in your room the other day” (Lips are ghost white at this point and I know he’s feeling that prickly heat of impending doom)

“Do you want one?”

Look of sheer surprise “Yes” as a smile curls his lip.

“Is that why you TOOK THIS ONE?”

Surprise turns to terror, looks down and nods.

After that I made him call my friend’s daughter, apologize for stealing it and then I apologized to her father.  We had a long talk about how if it were reversed they wouldn’t want the thief coming back to their house (I see it start to sink in) and if this had happened in a store I could actually get arrested for being in possession of stolen property and have to go to JAIL (message sent).  It was 6:30pm when I sent his little azz to bed and screwing in the final bit of sadness by banning him from PBSKIDS on my computer, his new DS, TV, playing with his sister, and anything else I could think of.  Little booger was asleep in 20 minutes.  I have no idea how to punish my kids, HA!

Here’s to a better tomorrow and to hoping I don’t find the crown jewels under his bed.  Maybe I need some Captain Morgan right now…

All the while Bubba is happily playing pretend with his brother’s star war figurines in his u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r. and his sister’s sneakers.  Gotta be a bit jealous of that kind of fashion brevity.

So to chase away and little bits of the negative energy today I took some pictures with my little Bubba, who just makes my heart smile, and made this to document his day…

I used: Funky Fall collab by myself and Leah, a yet unreleased pencil by me, my Black and White action, Redju’s crayon bits, Nancy Comelab’s frames (I’m bringin’ these back in ‘10) and a piece of notebook paper I’ve had in my scrap stash forevah from a stock site.  Oh and a long retired Marcie Reckinger alpha.

And next year’s words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.” ~T.S. Eliot