Invitation

(2010) I was telling Dylan tonight about Skeet and my anniversary today... he was extremely annoyed when he asked me WHY he wasn't invited to the wedding!?

Scale

(2013) Lily Claire just stepped on the bathroom scale and asked, "Mama, how much do I cost?"

Mom?

"What a nice surprise," I thought when my cell phone rang and the caller ID showed it was Brandon Taylor, who is in Orlando at a baseball tournament.
"Hey Bran!! So glad you called! 😄" I gushed.
"Hello?  Hello?  Mom?  Is this Mom?  Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to call you."
Nice.

Slip

So I am cracking up while watching a whole bunch of DVR'd holiday romance movies I didn't get to before Christmas (though I don't know HOW that is possible since I watched Hallmark 24/7 this month!).  Anyway, there is always a moment in the movie where the guy and girl (who don't like each other at first) end up liking each other and then, by chance, the girl happens to fall or slip or something during a walk and the guy falls down on top of her for this long awkward moment.  I feel like I'm missing out because in 25 years, this has NEVER happened to me and Skeet! HOW can that be??! I thought about orchestrating a "faux slip" magical moment when we go out on our next date, but I'm pretty sure at this point we'd break a hip or not be able to get back up!!!!  Hahahahaaa!  :)

Trapped

Is there some unwritten rule that every time I step into a grocery store they have to be playing a Dan Fogleberg song?!  I HATE Dan Fogleberg songs and I'm always trapped listening to them at Kroger!!!! AAHHHHH!!!!

Baby Pinkie

(2013) Lily and I were driving by a church in our neighborhood that had a live nativity outside. I pointed it out to Lily and said, "Look at the animals!" Lily asked, "Are there lions?" I replied, "No, they are acting out when baby Jesus was born." Lily answered,"Oooo, I just LOVE baby Jesus, ... but I think I'm going to call him Pinkie." For some reason, 'Joy to the World, Baby Pinkie has come' doesn't sound quite as Christmasy to me!

Scratch and Sniff

(2013) Tonight I was reading several stories to Dylan and Lily, one of which was a book about the nativity.  Dylan was super disappointed that it wasn't a "scratch and sniff" book ... WHY we would want to scratch and sniff a donkey, I just don't know!!!!

Handrails

I told Robert Skeet Taylor that I want some pretty handrails for the front steps as my Christmas gift this year, so it's easier for my parents and his parents and other family to get up and down the stairs into our house.  He told me he had a "better idea" ... a knotted rope slung up the stairs that everyone could use to just pull themselves up and down the stairs.   He of course was joking, but I told him I just want HANDRAILS, not a "Tough Grand-Mudder" event to get into the house!

Best Dad Ever

Thank you to the BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WORLD (Jim Klaas) who went with me on a long, crazy errand today that took forever and was wrought with mix-ups and errors and a lot of weird people!!  It took WAY longer than it should have, but I actually had so much fun just laughing and spending time together during the whole crazy ordeal.  I am SO THANKFUL to have my sweet, funny Dad - he lights up our lives!

Blue Christmas

Looks like I'll be having a blue Christmas since Skeet accidentally washed a new pair of jeans with my whites.  Nice.

Barb-e-goat??

Skeet is watching some show where a guy is making a "Mexican Barb-e-goat" with cactus leaves garnish. Seriously?!  I'm guessing this guy ain't from around these parts!!

Fluff

I don't want to watch any Christmas movie that is described as "a searing holiday drama."  All I want is fluff and happiness and folks dancing around and singing in a town where it snows on the night they light the town tree and everyone is friends and someone falls in love and gets married on Christmas Eve after they go Christmas carolling and stop by the town bakery for homemade gingerbread and hot chocolate.  Is that too much to ask?

Star Wars

Lily and I were watching a Christmas movie tonight and a TON of Star Wars commercials kept coming on.  Finally Lily groaned and said disgustedly,"Why does everything have to be about Star Wars??? Why can't it be about Peppa Pig?!  Star Wars is OLD ... It's been around since I was three!"

Burned Out

There is no tired like the tired of an elementary school teacher at the end of the week before Christmas break! As we were dragging home late tonight from school, we passed by our neighbor's nativity scene out in their yard.  I noticed that Mary wasn't lit up as usual, and I turned to Lily and said, "Uh oh. Mary is burned out."  After considering that for a minute, I yelled out the window at plastic Mary, "GIRL, I CAN RELATE!!"  I was cracking myself up, but Lily was looking at me like I'd truly gone off my rocker!  Actually, I think I have!!!  Hahahaaaaa!!!

Good Grief.

Last night I decide I was looking old and tired so I decide to do one of those charcoal masks. Skeet, Dyl, and Lily were all asleep so while I’m waiting on it the thick, black goop to harden, I go downstairs to straighten up the kitchen. I’m in the pantry sweeping when I hear Bran come home. As I come out of the kitchen to say “Hi Bran!” there stands his best friend Justin with him!  I’m in old pink pjs with kitty cats all over them, a broom in my hand, a black charcoal mask all over my face, my hair pinned back off my face, and my glasses!!!! They both stared for a second in shock, then started cracking up!! As I’m scolding Bran about not letting me know he was bringing someone home with him, Justin says, “Don’t worry, Ms. Jen. I don’t judge.” 😂😂😂. Good grief.

Gingerale

(2015) Brandon Taylor is ALWAYS drinking MY special green tea ginger ale that I can only find in North Carolina, and I am always fussing at him about it! Sooooo when he opened the downstairs fridge door tonight, there was a special message waiting for him!!

Favorite

(2010) I was helping Dylan with his homework tonight and it was a questionaire about himself. He had to tell me his favorite subject in school. Quickly he screamed "Recess." I said, "No, it has to be a subject." He thought and shouted, "Lunch!" Again I said "No." Then he said, "PE!" After explaining once again that it had to be a SUBJECT he said "Social Studies." Encouraged I said, "Why?" He answered, "Because we go to recess right afterwards!" Such is the mind of a third grade boy!!!

Poinsettias

(2013) Skeet and Bran left a few minutes ago to pick up all the poinsettias they sold for Bran's baseball team.  Lily asked me where Daddy was and I told her he had gone to pick up some poinsettias.  Lily said, "Oh.  Is that what we're having for supper?"  Guess she thought that was like picking up Chinese!

Squirrel Breath

(2014) Only Dylan!  He told us this evening that he wants to quit his basketball team.  Of course we said NO and gave him a big speech about making commitments and keeping them and not letting your team down, etc.  We finally asked WHY he wanted to quit, thinking it was because he thought his team wasn't good or because he wanted to stay home and play video games or something.  His exact words for wanting to quit were ... "Because the coach’s breath smells like a squirrel."  What?!!!  How does he even know what a squirrel smellls like?!!!  Dylan definitely keeps life interesting around here!!!

All I Want For Christmas...

A direct quote from my 14-year-old son tonight: "Mom ... all I want for Christmas is a mini-fridge for my room ... full of sweet tea."  Yep, he's a Southern boy.

Slurp

There is no denying the Lily is my child! I bought her a drink at QT on the way to get groceries and heard all this loud slurping in the back seat. I turned around and asked her what in the world she was doing!  She said,"I'm just slurping along with the music."  Sure enough, when I listened, she was perfectly slurping along on beat with The First Noel! Oh dear.