I informed Beebs that she wasn't allowed to have any more birthdays. No more growing. No more getting older. The day before her birthday this year I said "Guess what...you aren't allowed to turn four. Sorry. I need you to stay three." Her response? "Too late. You already got me presents."
Well, look who's a smarty pants already.
Do you see this mound of presents? It was, admittedly, ridiculous to look at but the reality was this entire pile cost much less than my boys' measly piles which included DSis and DSi games, etc. Most of those presents were $5 or less bought on clearance. That is the beauty of girl stuff. Super cheap (I may amend my opinion here in about 10 years when she's demanding $150 jeans and things of that nature).
But, as of now, she is ecstatic about each and every present, no matter how cheap.
(PS All these pictures were taken on the same day. You might be asking why three different dresses? Believe me, I'm asking the same thing.)
She was also lucky enough to get a fabulous quilt made by Grandpa & Grammy...ballerinas!
And one from Aunt Kimi!
It has been dubbed the "Fluffily Duffily" and was a source of contention for a while (the boys kept trying to steal it and use it). Thank goodness Aunt Kim took pity on them and sent two more FDs. Can you believe her? Such a good little homemaker/blanketmaker. The boys were beyond excited and now peace has once again returned to the house.
So that takes care of all the Landerson January birthdays! ::phew:: Now I can sit back and relax. I'm actually working on a little project that I'll tell you about next time that I'm enjoying immensely & intensely. I'll focus on that in February (my fave month). Other things coming up? Gty's parents are coming into town for Tbone's baptism on February 6th. Then Gty & I are flying out to Chicago for a 2.5 day getaway. Aren't we so adventurous and spontaneous? Plus, Gty is trying to keep his status on Southwest so....yeah.
If you have any questions regarding his personality, please see his self-posed cake shots below:
I work in his classroom every Wednesday morning for an hour for reading so I talk to the kids in his class quite a bit. The general consensus among several of the girls in his classroom is "he's crazy ::looking shy suddenly::....but cute." That's what they tell me, unsolicited.
He was excited about his presents. The DSi has come in handy turning everything he says into sounding like one of the chipmunks. I hadn't realized that was a dream of his. His having long hair dream is also coming along nicely, don't you think?
Funny TBone Story (you knew there'd be a new one): Usually after church I come out of YWs and my kids are in the hall waiting for me. This past Sunday, JBird & Beebs were there but no TBone. I took Beebs out to the car & sent JBird off to find TBone. When they finally got back to the car I asked T where he had been. His reply, "Oh, mom, from now on I might be a little late getting out of my class. I need to stay after class every week to tell my teachers everything that I wanted to say during their lesson."
His Primary teachers are genius. He has no idea this is a way to get him to shutty during the lesson. He thinks they wanna spend some one-on-one time with him. He is giddy about it.
So I was looking through some old files on my external hard drive today in search of some pictures I've already scanned in of Mr. Doughterty (the owner of the sweatshirt in the previous post). I have various folders brought over from various computers. Some of these folders have dramatic titles such as "Landee's Entire Life" and "NEVER DELETE" while other have the usual "Old Photos" and "Scans." I happened across one called "American Idol" which was in a folder called "Old Dell Desktop." I was intrigued (with myself) so I clicked on it. There was one Word document in this folder called "AI Musings" dated March 2005. Were there even computers in 2005?? Seems as if there were but that was a looooong time ago.
I then remembered how, back in the day before blogs were the go-to mode of information, people used to email things to each other. Like, all the time. Weird, I know, but it really happened.
This then made me remember how I used to type up all my thoughts on American Idol and email them to my MIL and SILs. Did they ask me to do this? I don't know. Did they like it when I did this? No clue. The point is, I did it. Unfortunately I only saved one of these "musings."
Here it is for your viewing pleasure.... I especially enjoy my thoughts on Carrie Underwood. I can spot talent a mile away. ::ahem::
Here is the rundown as I saw it:
Jessica- nothing special here. She did, however, receive one vote from me due to the fact that she didn’t hold up her number at the end which could have been very easy to do since she was number one.
Anwar- I totally agree with Simon. While his other similar performances have been amazing this one seemed a little “been-there-done-that” and I really hate that saying as much as I hate “talk to the hand.”
Mikalah- Oy vey. She sucks. Her outfit was atrocious. She did the air phone at the end and mouthed “Call me!” I hate her.
Constantine- My, my, wasn’t he something tonight? I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. He will be receiving the bulk of my votes tonight plus a bonus one for not holding up his number.
Lindsey- It’s like she was trying too hard to be perky and it just wasn’t working. How can someone be so smiley and animated and I’m still so bored I vacuumed during her performance? But, she got one from me since she resisted the urge to hold up 5 fingers at the end as per my policy of rewarding good behavior.
Anthony- He was way pitchy tonight but I hardly noticed because I just kept staring at his tracheotomy scar/hole. It freaks me out and I get distracted. It’s unfortunate that mock turtlenecks are no longer socially acceptable because they could do him a world of good.
Nadia- She could seriously kick my butt so made sure she got her vote for not holding up her number at the end. Didn’t her face seem a little angry for a love song like that? But I thought she did a great job.
Bo Bice (I can’t just put his first name)- Loved it. Very entertaining. I was worried at the end though that his hand signal was a phone but it turned out it was the “hang loose” sign and he was mouthing “much love.” For that, one vote from me.
Vonzelle- I thought she sounded great, performed great and looked great. Did you see her dad in the audience dressed head to toe in white? He looked like Colonel Sanders of KFC. No wonder he brought her those ridiculous boots and hat last time. Unfortunately she mouthed “NINE” which is the same diff in my book so no bonus votes for her.
Scott- Sounded alright. It was more tolerable for me than his past performances. Looks like he got himself a stylist too which is always a good move. He, however, actually SAID, not mouthed, “TEN” so he’s out.
Carrie- I really can’t take every week being country week. I was not impressed with her tonight.
Nikko- He was ok. I threw him a vote for the emotional roller coaster he has been on lately. It was the least I could do. Then, I had a dilemma at the end because he said “VOTE” but he didn’t specify himself as the one to vote for. Then I realized that he was just like those celebrities that get out there and “Rock the Vote” at election time and pretend that they just want people to vote regardless of who for when we all know who they want you to vote for. So Nikko didn’t receive the all important bonus vote from me.
Just as a side note, after handing out all my aforementioned votes, I then went back and voted twice for everyone, regardless of talent, hand gestures, etc except Mikalah. I figured this was the next best thing I could do since I am unable to go in and vote NO for someone.
In the words of Bo Bice . . . much love.
Landee
Yes. I've been a professional AI run-downer for at least 5 years. Probably more. And yes I loved Constantine. Bonus: Here's a photoshopped pic Flem put together back then for my birthday that year (Ah-hah! So there WERE computers!!!).
PS There will be more "memory"posts coming at a later date. I found a folder called "EmailingMemz." Yes I did.
PSS My current AI Musings will start up again when the folks at home get to start voting. That way I can use my powerful blog & opinions to sway the voters. Right now it does me no good to comment on Pants On The Ground guy or the fact that there is a cute MORMON boy who had cancer on there! Love him already.
So JBird turned 10. Don't talk to me about it because it's depressing. That double digits thing really hit home. I'm mostly over it but still. Don't bring it up in casual conversation or I might spiral again.
The point is he was spoiled rotten by everyone but most especially by my parents. They sent him an amazing gift this year. It came a week early or so (I could tell from the large unheavy box that it was probably a quilt) so I emailed my Dad to say it had arrived. He wrote back "Good because we insured it for $100." I was thinking he thought very highly of his handiwork....until JBird opened it on January 13th.
WHAAAAAAA????? This picture does not do the awesomeness justice. You can't see how each of those pieces of the cougar's face is individually sewn on and the details of the quilting. He had to download the cougar face from BYU's website and then do a bunch of stuff to it to make the pattern to create the face. The back is made from that fuzzy BYU fabric and the rest is the softest flannel you've ever had the privilege of putting your hand on. And the radiating beams from the cougar's face?? (my Mom's idea, btw).... amazing. JBird has slept with it every night. I foresee it being in shreds by the time he gets to college.
I think they should have insured it for, like, a bajillion dollars. At least.
Anyway, to get to the title of my post, my parents also put something else in the box with the quilt. It is an old sweatshirt of mine from high school.
I got it out of the box and was like, "Is this mine?" I looked at the sleeve... "93, yup that's mine. Why do they still have this?" Then I set it down & proceeded to watch JBird open his quilt. Oooohed and aaaaahed for a while. Then after the kids were in bed I went to pick up the sweatshirt to put it somewhere.
I looked at it again more closely.
There's a soccer ball on it. I didn't play soccer. Uuuuhhhh.....
I turned the sweatshirt over....
Yeah.
Um, that would be my HS boyfriend's sweatshirt.
Should I just start wearing it around? It's in mint condition as you can imagine. No point in wasting a good sweatshirt.
Since I spent a goodly part of my waking hours yesterday (I'd say around 89%) re-doing my book club's website, I figured I'd mention it to you. What's so hard about redoing a website? Well, nothing, but that didn't stop Jenny & I from trying to make it as difficult and pain-staking as possible. After much photoshopping & game-planning this was the end result:
You can click here to see what the header used to look like and more details of the renovation. Do it. You'll appreciate the above masterpiece more. And you can click here to see it in all its glory and be directed to the club's actual site.
I also mention this so you know I'm in a book club (yes, I know how to read). Founded by Jenny in June 2008, it's completely non-exclusive & anyone can participate. We "meet" online, once a month (usually the 4th Sunday evening) and have a discussion of that month's book in the comments after we have all posted our own reviews. It's quite fun and, as most clubs go, the more the merrier!
Why haven't I mentioned this before?
Well, at times our book choices have been "interesting." We tend to gravitate toward teenage vampire books and the like. And our discussions are usually less about the book and more about Edward & Jacob (regardless of what book we read) but, guess what? We are changing! Evolving, if you will. And I think our new header reflects that...symbolically. <-- also a great literary device.
I am particularly enjoying this month's selection & wanted to share it with you in case you want to join in.
Set in post-WWII England. Told entirely though letters and other forms of correspondence. So original & funny & touching. What more could one want out of a book?
If you'd like to participate let me know & we'll add you as a contributor so you can post your review. Anyone can join in on the discussion or read the discussion afterward if you wanna be a whimp about it too. Whatever you choose, go read this book! Thanks Michelle for picking a goody this month.
Beebs loves her some binki. I mean reeeeally loves it. All of my kids have been binki babies but she has been the worst, by far. It is like her own personal brand of heroine or something.
JBird loved the bink but gave it up at 2 years old all on his own. I think once he saw TBone (a newborn) using one he figured it was for babies only. He put it in his little side table drawer one day and never got it out again.
TBone produced a bit more of a challenge. He was nearing 3 years old and I was getting sick of it. His front teeth didn't touch when his jaw was clamped down and he sounded ridiculous talking with it in his mouth all the time. Gty came up with a plan (he thought it brilliant at the time & thought it was a sure failure). He started to saying to TBone everyday "So, you're birthday is coming and you're going to be THREE! Three year olds can't have binkis. So when you turn three... no more binkis!" or some variation thereof. And every time I'd give Gty the "there is no way that is gonna work with this kid" look. But then Jan 25, 2005 rolled around and Gty's plan worked brilliantly! TBone gave us his binkis and never looked back. (I wonder if that would work with Pokemon...."Hey TBone, you know Pokemon is not for 8 year olds..." Yeah no.)
Anyway, now we have the Beebs. Not stubborn in many other ways but crazy attached to her binkis. As you can see by these pictures (which took me mere minutes to find) it has been ever present in our lives since her birth.
Nice for when she's a baby but when she's almost FOUR? No. It might not have bothered me so much but she was the type that had to have it in her mouth ALL DAY. It wasn't just for sleeping. It was for driving around in the car, for watching TV, for playing with her dolls, for when she was sad, for when she was happy.... I became sooooo sick of trying to translate what she was saying around that thing. Not to mention that the older the got the more her attachment seemed to be growing stronger & stronger.
This brings us now to the beginning of December. I was the one to come up with the brilliant idea this time. Truth be told I had heard of this somewhere before but I remembered it at the perfect time. ::ahem:: I decided that we were going to get a visit from The Binki Faerie. One day I mentioned TBF to Beebs to gauge her reaction. I told her how, if we went around the house & put all her binkis in a box then left the box out in her room at night, then TBF would come & take her binkis and leave her a special surprise. Beebs listened to my story (with a binki in her mouth) and seemed less than interested. Kind of a thanks-but-no-thanks reaction.
I was shocked when she came to me the next day and said she wanted to leave all her binkis for The Binki Faerie. I re-explained how it worked (i.e. you'll have no more binkis...they will be gone... forever) just to make sure she knew what she was getting into and she still wanted to do it. We eventually gathered about 15 binkis (ridiculous!), left them out and TBF actually came! She left Beebee a cute Snow White Polly Pocket set. Beebee was excited. For about an hour. Then she wanted her binkis back (a common reaction of detox, I hear). After I told her the binkis were gone forever and we couldn't get them back, she had some choice words:
"The Binki Faerie is meeeeeean!"
"I don't like The Binki Faerie."
"I want to trade back."
"Let's call her." ME: "I don't know her phone number." BB: " I do..it's 7,8,9,10."
"Let's go to her house" ME: "I don't know where she lives." BB: "I do...she lives in Merica."
"I don't like this Snow White anymore. I want my binki back."
"Let's go to the store & buy more binkis!!" (said very excitedly, btw)
These types of things were said for a good two or three days. Over and over and over. And over. I stuck to my guns though, you gize. Never wavering. And then around day three, she stopped asking about The Binki Faerie. She stopped thinking about her binkis in general.
BeeBee Landerson has been binki-free since December 12, 2009
::said like at the end of Intervention::
It's crazy to me how these things work. But I'm so glad they do. Kids just need a little motivation sometimes. What's weird is this has made her less attached to her blankie as well. It's like they were a package deal or something. She used to carry around her blanket and have her binki all day. Now, sans binki, she only wants her blanket at night. It stays in her bed all day. She also isn't that interested in her TV shows anymore. She used to watch Pink Panther, the Smurfs, Max & Ruby, Maggie & the Ferocious Beast all day. Now she rarely asks me to turn on shows for her. The TV is off all day. She plays with her babies & little princesses all day now (even that pesky Snow White one!). Very interesting, if you ask me.
So that's the story of now The Binki Faerie came & saved the day at our house. Now if we could just get the Pokemon Faerie to come.....
This is just in case you didn't get my card in the mail this year. I swear I sent it!! I would suggest hunting down your mail carrier and asking him/her what happened to it. Cuz I sent it. I really did.
I will say this is my easiest card I've done in a looooong time. It helps to start with a gorgeous picture and work from there (thanks to my SIL, Chrissi!). Oh how I love having a professional photographer in the family.
As for the cards I received.... here was my mirror about 9 days into December....
And here it is now....
What in the feelin' the love is going on around here??? LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas cards! I ignore the mailman all year until Christmas card time and then he's my BFF. We are now back to the ignoring stage. I hope he doesn't care/notice.
I'm also going to do a little project this year. Since I don't scrapbook anymore (haven't done anything for the past 3+ years...poor Beebs has no baby book), I've decided I need to do SOMETHING to keep track of the family's comings and goings and tidbits. Here is what I've decided.... I'm going to take at least ONE picture every day. Some days I'll take tons just because something is going on (but only pick one photo each day) and other days I'll take only one picture specifically for this project. I have a folder called "A YEAR IN PHOTOS" and then, within that folder, I have a folder for each month. Then, the file name I save the pictures under will be the date were taken. For example "1_3_10." Finally, I have a Word document open on my desktop at all times called "A YEAR IN PHOTOS" where I will write a little blurb about each photo under the date it was taken. HOPEFULLY at the end of the year I can upload all the pictures to Snapfish (or whatever) easily, cut & paste the text I already have written and make a fun photo book for each year.
::deep breath::
I can do this.
I'm hoping to get some funny random pics I would never take otherwise in there along with some posed ones to document how the kids have grown. I guarantee I'll have a few of the kids sleeping because I will have forgotten to take a picture until after they go to bed but that's all part of the fun, right?
I promise I won't bore you with lame "Photo of the Day!" posts but here are a couple I've taken thus far as examples...
January 3rd: Beebs' s First Day of Primary!!
I can hardly stand how big she is. It's physically hurting me that she is a Sunbeam. I. Am. In. Denial. Oh, and she insisted on the lip gloss. That is not my doing.
January 5th: The Poopy Dog Looks Cute So I Got the Camera
See? I don't have a ton of pictures of Maggie but I needed one today for my project. And there you go. (Plz note the necklace Beebs had put on her. Poor dog. She tolerates so much.)
I also wanna recommit to Blogspot. I've been accused of not doing so well as I've tried two-timing Blogger and FaceBook. I don't want to break up with either of them so I'm going to try to make each one feel special. Because I'm in love with them both. They both complete me.
