Merry Christmas

from Rudolph, the chunky monkey

Ms. Claus, my diva

and my two cute girls!

is this a run-on sentence?

the new doctor with the TV who doesn't give shots told me to brush my teeth every morning and every night.

still, it's good advice, as M reports.

what a difference a year makes!

these were my cute holiday girls a year ago!

by the way

he aced the final!!!!

smarty pants

he's makin' a list, checkin' it twice..

...gonna find out

who's naughty

or nice!

Yeah, I think he's gonna have a clue just by virtue of the fact that she's trying to eat him!

Man, this girl!

Reviews: You know you've been wondering what I've been reading! :)

I saw a movie last night that made my jaw drop.

I saw in a friend's facebook status that they had watched "Grey Gardens" and wanted to do some home improvements. I thought, hmmm. Wonder what that is. So I googled it, got even more intrigued and proceeded to wait three months for my request at the library to come in.

You need to see this movie. It was absolutely fascinating! It's a riches to rags story and it will make you truly wonder how people can live in certain conditions and yes, it will make you want to clean your house!

Another facebook treasure, a friend mentioned this book so I got it from the library, read it, loved it and proceeded to share it with my brothers and sister in law and then wait ever so impatiently for...
...the sequel which is just as wonderful and now we have to wait a year for the third book! Augh!! I had just finished the Uglies series so I wasn't sure I would be that interested in another story about a futuristic society but these books don't disappoint and will make you think!

Read them!!
And just for fun, I will tell you that I love these two movies.

I was raised by a trekkie and love any movie that swells up a guys' hands to Mickey Mouse size.

And despite the fact that I don't think they needed to add a scene that isn't in the books, I liked the movie better the second time and loved it the first.
My Mom loaned me this book recently. I have loved other books by this author like "Where the Heart Is" and this was another wonderful story. I love books with good southern flavor but that don't poke fun that we talk slow. Just gets me proud of enough to want me some catfish 'n okra!
and yes, you can get me any of these for Christmas :)

just kidding, just sharing my recent reads!

Meet the Parents

Lots of kids have imaginary friends.

I always wanted one and pretended I had one. But I didn't really.

I think M is in that same group. It's not a real imaginary friend...yet. But for now, it's convincing, perpetual pretend play.

Except her friend isn't a gal pal to play dress up with.

Meet Derek.

Her husband.

She waits on him hand and foot. She tucks him in (they have more of a parent-child relationship than a romantic one but that's probably good at her age!) and tucks in their five, yes, five children.

She instructs me where to walk so I don't step on him or their kids and she talks to him about his day.

It makes me laugh. It's also a little awkward sometimes. Hopefully he treats her like a princess!

Finals!

W has his final tonight.

Wish him luck and pray for him. He has worked so hard and I am so proud of him! ...and yes, excited for a month free of reading, quizzes, and computer hogging fights! :)

Last night, as he was explaining his pen twirling hypothesis (did you take debate? let me know!)

I asked him if he felt confident about his test.

His response:

Yeah, I did pretty well on the midterm and I got my participation points. We went over the final in my review and so I don't need to ace it and I don't think I'll bomb it.

in my head:

What?!?!? What do you mean you don't need to ace it?!?!?

My response:

Do you know how hard it is going to be for me when one of our kids inherits your school genes and laissez faire attitude toward grades and not my type-A anal attitude?

Heaven help us!

Christmas Love: Kiddos!

I love being a Mom at Christmas.

I love getting excited for them.

I love sharing the wondrous spirit that is Christmas with them.

I love the look in their eyes as they discover everything around them!

I love little girls in Christmas jammies and hats with ear flaps!

I love puffy coats and bundling my girls up so they look like big marshmallows!

I love love love our Have a Beary Christmas and I love that my Mom gave it to me and I love that my girls love it as much as I do!

I also love the cheapo Christmas leggings and gear for my girls to sport around! (and hand-me-downs from big sister that make it all possible!)

I love that my husband convinced me to keep the goofy snowman who plays the piano that one of my patients gave me, knowing how much my children would love it one day!

I love Christmas projects and preparing gifts that we hope someone they love will love!

Have I said "love" enough yet?

Quote of the Morning

M stole candy from the advent calendar.

I was trying to explain to her that we do this as a family and when she asked why, I told her that she needed to be obedient to her parents....

M: I'm not a kid anymore.

Seriously?

For all you folks out there that haven't seen M in a while, let me remind you

she's 3 years old!

Spaghetti Deluxe Casserole

So, I was going to make a post of my next December or rather, winter love. I was going to take snazzy pictures and post a long description of how to make one of my favorite winter foods that would make the Pioneer Woman hungry.

First, my camera was in my car.

Then after dinner, my older daughter bit me and my younger daughter peed on my bed getting dressed after her bath.

Then my husband's most positive comment about dinner was, "You usually make great dinners!"

I liked it. It appeased my nostalgic self.

Apparently it wasn't a crowd pleaser.

Christmas Love: Eve!

I am in need of some serious holiday cheer.

So, I'm going to share with you my favorite things about the holidays!

Ready?

First stop, Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year!

We spend the day usually preparing for the excitement. It is the pinnacle of suspenseful days and I love it! I usually spend time wrapping presents last minute for my parents, relaxing or cooking. My family has a special program after dinner where we share the Nativity story, we get to open one special present early (usually jammies!), and my Mom has always cooked a spectacular feast for us!

One thing I love is that my hubby and sister in law have incorporated some of their family traditions into our "Tobler-ness". We have started making and decorating cookies for Santa. M has already started reminding us that we need to do this! It's something the Holmans and Martins do and now the Toblers. Love it!

Of course, it wouldn't be holiday goodness without yummy tasty food goodness!

When we lived in California as kids, we would have fresh Pacific coast crab. So yummy! We stopped doing it because you couldn't get good crab in Arkansas or Utah. Now, thanks to modern freezing technology, we can have it again along with our wonderful shrimp, artichokes, rolls, salad, and jello. And don't forget the chocolate and pumpkin trifles!
Last year, LG was our baby Jesus. We finally have enough grandkids to have almost a whole Nativity successfully. I love that part. Singing, reading from the scriptures, and teaching our kids what Christmas is about.
Christmas is so different with kids. I'm loving the excitement that comes with preparing Christmas for my girls!

Is it any wonder that Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year?

a funny video my cousin showed me

This is funny! Enjoy!

Planning a Second Baby - The New Baby Hilarious Loves Video - watch more funny videos

thankful for

this pretty, silly, moody, humming, sing-song girl

and the princess inside of her
this snotty, gimpy, grunty, dancy, happy happy girl
and the demon inside of her
my sweet hubby who puts up with his girls and takes good care of us

family and friends

near and far

renters who help pay our mortgage so we can pay our rent

cheesecake

cute speech kids who say funny things

crunchy leaves

boston creams

potato refrigerator rolls

flowers

the Temple

beautiful music

kit kat bars

apples

frito chili pies and friday night football games

movies

the Atonement

books to get lost in

squishy baby cheeks and tummies to kiss

belly laughs

clean laundry

my many many blessings

Oh Dear!

This one might just sum it up. I think this is how my Dad has felt about my sweet hubby for going on six years now and is summed up by one of my hubby's own favorite phrases, "Oh dear!" Now Dad has two of them to deal with!

And this one is just funny. Enjoy it for the shot of her beautiful veil I made! :)

Jason comes from good stock. They do goofy things.

I'm a little teapot, maybe?

Grace's bridesmaids were wonderful and fun to be with!
my favorite part of this picture is my brother Sam. He's the boy to the left of Grace. Everyone else is having a blast...and Sam is well, Sam. Love it!

The Ten Most Annoying Things About Being A Vampire's Girlfriend

I loved New Moon

I'll admit it

I liked it better than Twilight

I want to see it again.

Until then, however, you can laugh with me at this list. It's funny.

Beautiful Day!

We had a wonderful day.
I'll expand more later!!
This whole day was a dream come true for M!

thankful

my feet hurt but my heart is full

She's married!

I'm exhausted!

See you next week! :)

How's that list coming?

Well, I've made time to blog. That's one thing!

And I made the nail reservations!

But I still have to hem those darn dresses!

And find black heels! I searched high and low Friday to no avail.... but I did find a pink tie! You're excited to see it on W, arencha? :)

But we're getting there.

And to reward your patience. Here's some cute randomness from miss LG.

She LOVES loves loves Sam! She lights up when he enters the room. She clamors for him to hold her. Last Sunday, she was just sacked out relaxing on him. so cute.
And she also spent some quality time watching football with Daddy. She stood up and peeked over the back of the couch while I worked in the kitchen, loving that she could peek at me!
Learning, Touchdown!

Weather woman

Ask me what the weather's like tomorrow and I haven't a clue.

Ask me about Saturday however and I can tell you that I'm watching it like a hawk!

I'm hoping and praying that it doesn't rain. The last two weekends have been gorgeous and we're hoping for one more!!!!

wishin' and thinkin' and hopin' and prayin',

plannin' and dreamin'

Wish us luck! Marathon week begins now!

**Weather update! It's dropped from 30% chance of rain to 20% and back to partly cloudy rather than showers! Phew!!

Another wedding sneak peek!

That's my head and part of my sister's veil.

The groom can see the veil before the wedding, right? It's not the whole veil anyway. My sister asked me to make her veil. I hope she likes it. I"m proud of how it turned out. It looks a lot like the model she wanted me to copy so I am hoping she's happy with it.

My latest creations

First, I fell in love with the red, pink and orange floral fabric.

Then I went gaga over the black and white brocade.

So, I found two more fabrics to go with them and copied my friend's idea to turn my twirly skirt into a twirly jumper!

I was thrilled with how cute they turned out! They still need a bit of tweaking and I wish I'd made the tops a bit more like a normal jumper bib but they're still bright and fun and cute!
fun tidbit: LG's shoes were MINE when I was little! M wore them too and I love it! Except that M was walking when they fit her. LG is still crawling and I must admit, the rubber sole isn't very rubbery anymore so they won't be reappearing until she's walking and not kicking me with her thirty year old stiff shoes anymore! :)
LOVE these cute girls!

So Cute I Could Eat Him Up!

This is my new nephew.

Isn't he beautiful? I'm quite smitten with him. I brought home his sisters this afternoon. It was their first time meeting him with all the strict hospital guidelines right now. It was a treat to hold Hazie and watch her just grin at her baby bwudder with absolute adoration!
I could hold and stare at newborn babies all day long!
And this is my brother, very happy with his newest little one.

Happy wishes on their first night at home as a family of five with five extra family members in town visiting!!

All For One Halloween!

Halloween afternoon, W took M shopping.

LG NEEDED a nap and M was so excited for the day that she kept waking little sister up. So they left to run errands and I stayed to keep the house quiet!!

They picked up a pumpkin and brought it home to carve!

M was a trooper and so into everything we did!
She drew the face she wanted us to cut out on the pumpkin and had fun coloring ALL over the pumpkin! In the end, she picked out shapes and I cut it out.
Tada!

For Halloween this year,

M wanted to be a Musketeer.

That is, a Barbie Musketeer.

Her name was Corinne.

She wore pink and had a pink cape and a pink mask.

If you don't believe me, watch the movie. It's cute actually.

I took the easy way out! I told her that she could wear her sleeping beauty dress from last year, made her a cape and a mask and she got a sword from her uncle!
LG was our angel.

She didn't need to dress up. But I put her in a tutu and she wore her onesie that says Angel on the front and has wings on the back.
This is M and her friend Emily at the church trunk-or-treat. Her dress was so fun!
And of course Halloween night we gathered with the cousins to trick-or-treat. It was so fun for them all to be so excited!!
Duke, Barbie musketeer, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, bride, flamenco dancer and angel. We were quite the diverse group!