Jet lag

A very long story, short:

Our flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours so we hung out in the Admiral's Club where the kids had a playroom:













We got to fly first class. I told Jimmy that this Clampett girl forgot to bring her tiara.

Limo ride from airport to Disney World:










One of Jimmy's students, Baylor, met us with gifts when we arrived. He works for Disney so he set us up with personalized Mickey Mouse hats, personalized badges, and individual lanyards filled with Disney pins:










Inside of The Grande Floridian where we are staying:














Inside our rooms:











View from our balcony:


We got to bed at 1:30am...and we were back up at 6:30 this morning. Ugh.

Headin' to Disney World

Our flight leaves this afternoon to Orlando. Because of the nasty weather we had here last night, there are delays at the airport. Jimmy's flight from Canada will be 2 1/2 hours late; just enough time for us to meet him at the airport and all of us jump on our flight to Florida. Keep your fingers crossed that we make our flight.

Hayden has been up since 4:45 this morning with Keaton right behind. Needless to say, they aren't quiet enough to allow the rest of us any sleep. As an old friend used to say, these kids are "journey proud," anticipating feverishly our upcoming travels.

Landon slept in but is insisting on wearing his bathing suit to the airport. I've held my ground and he's in overalls now, much to his dismay. Now he's worried that he will fall out of the plane, remembering his last flight in Daddy's small plane where every turn made him anxious. He's been told that we will be on a big plane this time, but without his bathing suit to wear, he's not into listening to me at the moment.

The rest of the kids are following their usual patterns. Reagan is a little mommy, helping every person get their things together and placating the boys. Sutton, with her high-strung personality, is fretting about every little thing and is getting meaner by the minute. While Keaton waits until no one is looking to sneak away to the TV.

I will blog as much as possible to keep everyone informed of the events taking place (waving to grandparents!) Anyone else can just skip the next few days as I'm sure it'll be boring to you.

I'll write again from Disney World!

Good deed for the day!

Kelly at Pass the Torch has a corporate sponsor who has agreed to donate $1 (up to $500) to the St. Jude's Children's Hospital for every comment she receives on this post. So go, leave a comment! At the time I'm writing this she has 510 comments but I'm hoping the sponsor will go higher once they see the great response. Spread the the word!

Forgotten Hayden-ism

I mistakenly forgot to post the comment that gave us the most giggle time:

Christmas morning after Hayden had received his guitar from Santa, he was walking through the house singing, dancing, and "playing" his new guitar.

I was ironing as he serenaded me and I made the comment that he was doing really well.

Hayden: "I know, I'm waaaay better than that other guy."

Mom: "What other guy?"

Hayden: "You know, El Fenix."

Mom: "El Fenix?"

Hayden: "Yes ma'am, El Fenix. I'm way better than him."

Mom: "Hayden, who is El Fenix?"

Hayden: "You know that guy with the big hair that dances funny and plays the guitar."

Mom: "Do you mean Elvis?"

Hayden: "Oh yeah, Elvis. I'm waaaaaaay better than him."

I guess he confused the King of Rock and Roll with one of his favorite Mexican food restaurants.

Ulterior motives?

The last two days...

Number of unsolicited hugs from my children: 46

Number of times my kids have told me they love me: 58 (at least 30 from Hayden and 20 from Landon alone.)

Number of sticky kisses: Too many to count and they were delicious!

Number of misspelled love notes from Hayden declaring his never-ending love for me: 8

Number of times I have been told, "Just sit Mom, we'll take care of it.": 15

Number of "Yes ma'am! Right away!" responses: 429

Having tomorrow's Disney World trip to remind them of: PRICELESS!

Hayden-isms

Sunday school teacher: "Good people go to church on Sundays."

Hayden: "Yeah, we even let my little brother come even though he makes messes."

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Christmas morning waiting with Mom and Landon in the bedroom while Dad checked to see if Santa came.

Hayden: "I really hope Santa brought me a guitar!"

Mom: "Well, have you been good?"

Hayden: "Yes ma'am! I was really good while I was sleeping!"

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Helping mom pack today to come home.

Hayden: "I want to be an astronaut and a dad."

Mom: "That sounds great, Hayden."

Hayden: "Yeah, I'm going to stay at home with my family and work."

Mom: "Is that what astronauts do?"

Hayden: "Well, I will stay home most days, but every once in a while I'll go to the moon for a few hours and to Mars."

Mom: "Wow, sounds exciting."

Hayden: "Yeah, it'll be cool."

Holiday evacuees

We are still visiting my parents in central Texas and having a great time. The kids are getting their fill of Poppie's fine cooking while Naunie and Poppie are getting more than their fill of grandkids.

One of the down-falls of being the grandparents visited after you open your Christmas presents is that the grandchildren play with the toys incessantly and loudly. As all parents know, the "honeymoon period" on new toys is about three days...just enough time for Naunie and Poppie to get quite the overdose of my family, plenty to hold them until next year.

Granna and Pawpaw had us Christmas morning, and as you can see from the gifts received, they had every right to scoot us (and our new toys) out the door to Naunie and Poppie's soon after Christmas lunch.



The Little Drummer Boy is a sweet Christmas song. Our drummer boy was sweetest when he put his drumsticks down.

















Guitar playing isn't nearly as hard on the ears until the guitar player decided he needed to try and play louder than his drumming brother.

















Landon: "Come on Bubba! Let's hit it!"

















TMX Elmo is a laughing fool. He laughs and laughs and giggles and rolls around and laughs some more. (He has also been hidden away in a bag until we get back home.)













Reagan and Keaton got some nice, soft, quiet stuffed animals they seem to love.












There's nothing better than dress-up clothes for a boy who likes to streak.

















The girls were really hoping Santa would come later in the morning.

Christmas Eve

It's not very often that my family gets together throughout the year. We have families and jobs and live spread out over Texas. Christmas Eve is such a treat for us, we can all to be together and enjoy every minute. This year we met at my parent's home in Central Texas. The food was delicious and the company couldn't have been a neater bunch of folks.

Hayden, Landon and their cousin, Cade, goofing around on a train table.












The boys hovering, as usual, over Baby Dayden and my sister, Gina.













Landon and Mommy as we were all opening gifts. Amazingly, he stopped long enough to smile with me.

















Sutton, Reagan, and my mom, Naunie.













Best buds, Hayden and Cade.












Cade's mommy and my sister, Krista.

















My brother, Ryan, and Sutton.













Naunie and Keaton.

















The boys were so excited to get to hold Dayden. She, however, did not share their enthusiasm .

Bovine banquet

The internet didn't cooperate the past few days as we visited Jimmy's parents for Christmas. The rural Texas area left us cold, wet, and blog-less for too long.

During a slight reprieve in the weather, the kids got to feed Pawpaw's cows, a treasured activity each time we go to the country.














Hayden is very hesitant around the animals and needs Dad's constant reassurance that all will be well.













Fortunately, some of the cows would even eat if the "drop and hide" approach was used.













Pretty girls in the country:













The weather dictated a few changes in apparel...even Granna's beanie became necessary when the cold Texas winds blew on little boy ears.

If we could all teach our children this...

"The great secret...is not having bad manners or good manners...but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another."
George Bernard Shaw


...imagine how our world might change.

Christmas partying

Daddy took Landon with him to school today for Keaton and Hayden's Christmas parties.

Hayden was a little excited about opening his gift from a classmate.













The excitement grew to ecstasy once the gift was actually opened and the contents revealed.

















It must have even sounded good.

















Keaton partied it up in her classroom too.













What a candy cane!

















I wonder if I can sneak a third cookie without Daddy seeing me?

Brave little patient

Landon had his three year check-up today. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the whole idea, but he did what he was told without question. Dr. Knapp found Spider Man in Landon's left ear, Thomas the Train in his right ear, and pizza in his tummy. That was all cute and funny until it was time for the shots.

He is home now, sitting stone-faced with tear-streaked cheeks on a blanket in a chair watching Barney with both legs elevated, feeling thoroughly sorry for himself. He is displaying proudly for his siblings the bright yellow bandages that hide the offending shot wounds, willing to describe the whole ugly incident, complete with an analysis of the horrendous medical procedure and an account of when, how long, and how hard he cried.

The pain is so great our little drama king is unable to walk anywhere, yelling for assistance from anyone within earshot as he must be carried and placed ever so gently on a cushioned surface.

It's going to be a long night.

Devin's letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned, cuddled, and breastfed my children on demand. I have wiped dirty bottoms, cleaned up tinkle spots and scooped up vomit in every room of this house. I have visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and have lovingly accepted snotty, crust-covered kisses for years.

I'm not bragging or asking for sympathy, but I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years with my sixth baby now on the way.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache or swell (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store or the toy aisle at Target while still pushing my cart.

I'd like x-ray vision to see through locked bedroom doors and the ability to replicate myself so I could ride, unnoticed, in the back of my teenage daughter's car.

I'd like my own bath tub void of rockets and boats, and toothpaste that doesn't taste like bubble gum.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the fourth month of this pregnancy. (Oh, but could I keep these breasts? Surely I deserve that.)

If you're hauling big ticket items this year, I'd like a car that automatically places and buckles my children safely and efficiently into their car seats and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals or animated vegetables; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide while I eat my contraband chocolate and talk, uninterrupted, on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with five kids who don't fight, pick their noses or tinkle on the toilet seat.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room or take your sippy cup in there" and "Take your hands off your brother (or sister, as the situation requires)," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to go to the bathroom (ALONE!), brush my teeth and brush my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature and be able to sit as I eat it.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable or Pop Tarts a good protein source? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house a little as the sound of my own whining is getting to us all.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my youngest son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.

Have a safe trip. Help yourself to the cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on my carpet.

Yours Always,
Devin

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all of my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa (and require they give me plenty of kisses on demand...I'll even take the snotty, crust-covered ones.)

Christmas view from the sky

Jimmy had a great weekend doing what he loves...flying. He took our family along with Miranda and Dave up Friday night to look at Christmas lights over Fort Worth, and Mike and Melissa last night over Dallas.

Landon was pleased to have Miranda holding him in the front seat as he was sure he was going to fall out of the plane when Daddy tipped it to one side or the other for a better view. Keaton and Hayden were ready to go back up right away, hoping for another aerial glimpse of Six Flags.

These are pictures of the Fort Worth skyline:














Mike, pilot in training, actually flying the plane.

Sisterly love

Sutton is taking an advanced English class at school. Every week they have a vocabulary test over words that are not usually a part of our family's everyday vernacular. Actually, unless it involves the words "tinkle," "poop" or "Mom, what's for dinner?" the discussions we have here will not contain the fancy words Sutton has to memorize.

So, to exert her superiority, and to let us know how "uneducated" the rest of us really are, Sutton likes to throw these various words around in casual conversations. Oftentimes we are impressed, while at other times her use of these words leaves Jimmy and me (with three master's degrees between us) scratching our often aching heads, as she forces vocabulary words we happen to know into statements that just don't make any sense.

Tuesday night, as we were coming home from the Christmas program, Sutton made one of her famous comments involving a weekly English word. Jimmy and I knew she had used the word incorrectly and just knowingly glanced at each other, not saying a word. Evidently, she saw the "knowing glance" and became quite defensive. She continued to use this $5 word in the same sentence and then gave us the whole Webster's definition, complete with other examples of the word used in a sentence.

We didn't argue with her which made the attempts to safeguard her intellectual authority over us even more fervent.

I finally turned around in my seat and told her that while we were proud of her knowledge of the word as well as her ability to define and give examples, she was, plain and simply, using the word incorrectly. She just sighed and plopped against the seat, only temporarily accepting defeat.

As usual Keaton was ready with her own words of support as she spoke dryly from the back seat, "Such a big word...such a little brain."

We had an ultrasound today...

Can you guess what we're having?








(There's only one baby, but I wanted to make the gender clear.)