Been Lookin' For Me?

The holiday season is upon us...

In addition to the "normal" hustle and bustle, at our house we are consumed with..."DoriGrace, No!", "Sissy, that's not yours!", "DoriGrace, get out of the dog food!", "Sissy, leave the presents alone!" (seriously, that is just the tip of the iceberg!) and that ultimately hasn't left much time for surfing the internet, blogging, or playing on facebook.

Besides being the most important time of the year, what with the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the presents, the vacation, the food, the presents, the parties, and the presents and all, we are celebrating the first anniversary of being a complete family. I'm working on a blog to memorialize that, but I'm still having trouble wrapping my brain around it. One.Whole.Year...WOW!

If we did a Christmas card this year, which we didn't because I am far too overwhelmed, I don't know how I could possibly pick a photo. Actually, I think the above photo of WB sums us up nicely...so, here's the Christmas card you've been waiting for!

Merry Christmas!

Blessings to all!

The Booths

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Lately, I've been obsessed with looking at old photos. I have been laughing myself silly. Especially with old Christmas pictures. Do you ever go through your old Christmas pictures? Cause, if you haven't, you need to! Oh my...don't they just "take you back?" And, aren't those pictures of your family opening Christmas presents such a reflection of the time? The outfits...the hair...the expressions...oh, and the gifts.

It is not uncommon for our family presents to follow themes. Themes can be individual, or they can encompass everyone. For instance, here's my niece Erin. She's got a theme going here...can you guess what it was?





Give up? The "Christmas of Pocahontas". (Man, she's gonna thank me for these...think I'll post them on Facebook and tag her...LOL!)

Anyway, sometimes themes are for everyone. For instance, we've had the "Christmas of the small appliance", the "Christmas of the Espresso machine", the "Christmas of the ski gear", the "Christmas of the sweater"...and on and on and on...

My mom is generally the driving force behind family themes. And one of my big questions going into every present-opening operation is: I wonder what this year's "theme" will be?

Let's just hope...

and pray...

for my sake...

that it isn't...





The "Christmas of the Cow" AGAIN!

Strep Throat, Santa and Senior Pictures

I am home from work today with WB. He has strep throat for the 100th time. It always seems to happen on weekends and holidays so we are going to have to move the pediatrician toward getting the tonsils taken out, hopefully over the Christmas holiday.

Why is it, every time a doctor says my kid has strep throat, MY throat starts to feel like it is closing and I start having trouble swallowing. I'm such a sympathetic mother, that's it, right?

We are really struggling with "Santa" this year. When I shared Dianna's concept on Christmas with JB, we immediately decided we'd adopt this philosophy for our family gifts:

"Something you want,
Something you need,
Something to play with, and
Something to read"

I am excited about scaling back. WB hasn't exactly been "on the good list" this year, so we are still torn about what to do with the jolly fat man in red. I sometime wonder if I disciple too much. We seriously remove big privileges for misbehavior...like his birthday party last month. WB is a great boy at home, but is less than model at school. I can't see with-holding Santa on what may be his last year to "believe." There will; however, be dinosaur poop in his stocking. (Our interpretation of "coal".)

Finally, even though I didn't want to, even though I fought the grip...I have been captured by FaceBook. I've "found" friends that I lost 20 years ago. Last night, I did some digging in the one box of old photos that has survived all my moves. So...for your viewing pleasure...my senior picture:



True vintage 80's photography...why do I look drunk?

More International Than We Knew...

So, the other morning, I was getting ready and Little Sister was sitting in her high chair. (Yes, she must be contained in her high chair in my bathroom...it is the only way I can get ready in the morning..a model of fine parenting, that's me.) Anyway, in comes big brother:

"Hey, Irish Girl. I said, Hey, Irish Girl"

"WB, why are you calling Sister, "Irish Girl?"

"Because Miss Magee (music teacher)went to Ireland over summer vacation to take pictures and she showed me a picture of a girl that looks just like Sister. She looks like an Irish girl, she's OUR little Irish girl."

Uh...yeah...well, honey, she's Vietnamese.

I suppose there are some things we don't know about Sisssy's family tree; however, some how I think it is safe to say she's not a member of that ever growing ethic group...the Vietnamese Irish.

But, maybe....



Toora Loora Loora is her favorite lullaby!