Christmas 2006

Well, all, Christmas went off without a hitch. Wade was able to take massive amounts of time off the few days before Christmas which was such an immense help. I was able to wrap gifts, cook and get several much needed breaks throughout the days. Ahhh, it was nice. Christmas was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. The day was rather long especially since Sydney likes to take only about an hour nap, BOO!!!!!!!!! She's at that age where she wants EVERYTHING especially if Grace is holding it and then proceeds to throw a fit if she doesn't get right that very second. It gets a bit tedious...

The gifts were flowing at our house as usual. Santa decided that Grace had been a very good girl this year and proceeded to makeover the backhouse into her very own playroom (thanks, Brian!). This pic really doesn't do it justice, but it looks so darling. There is a blackboard wall, table and chairs, easel, and tons of art supplies. Anyway, Grace was stunned and thrilled. It was fun.

She also got roller skates and a new robe (just like Mama's!).

Even Sydney got into the holiday spirit and opened a couple presents. Whenever she saw the gift, she would get really excited and say, "AHHHHHH". It was highly entertaining.

This last picture I just had to put up here because it was the first time she ever wore a skirt. It looks slightly awkward because she so boyish in her appearance.
Hey, we don't call her crusher for nothing.

random pics

Not a lot going on over here minus our small bout with the stomach virus...just found some cute pics and wanted to share.
The first pic is an obvious one and Sydney's first time on Santa's lap (she was asleep in her stroller last year). Excited aren't they?

the next pic is the little chubby ball in the bathtub

splits!!!!!!!!!

Grace was one of five little ducks during her kindergarten play...doesn't she look soooo cute (and young!)

trimming the tree with the girlies! In reality the tree had been decorated for weeks but don't they look cute!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What amazing ladies!

Remember this post. Well, Camille and Ashli took it upon themselves to make me pot roast and dessert. I was so pleasantly surprised to come home after a hairy basketball practice and find a crock pot of delectable pot roast simmering in my kitchen. I'll tell you what it was dellllicious! And so thoughtful! Thank you ladies. Everybody lapped up the food and ate the pudding/chocolate/graham cracker dessert straight from the fridge...mmmmmm, goodness. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

(...I was just fondly remembering my mother's homemade monkey bread...just kidding, Camille!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

woe is me...

So, lately I have had the pleasure of assisting in the representation of juveniles that have the shittiest parents on earth. I simply do not understand the reasoning behind bringing into the world a child or children and deciding to do everything in your power to make sure that have no chance in hell of growing up to be a decent person. Wow. Now that was a run on sentence. There are two twin boys in particular that I have developed a bond with. They are locked up for an assault and battery(unrelated to said shitty dad) and I firmly believe that their actions were the result of self-defense. Oh I know all you naysayers out there (cough,bubby, cough, Wade, cough) think I am a naive bleeding heart that would believe anything told to me. Not true I say. I did my homework. I read the police reports, spoke with the kids, spoke with the dad! etc etc. Now I am not going to get into particulars here for various reasons but while speaking with the kids (age 14) they discussed with me the fact that there dad is a raging alcoholic (he really doesn't drink that much just EVERY DAY ALL DAY) and that yea, he used to beat them to a bloody pulp around the age of 5 on (no but really he loves us and is SUCH a good dad). This is the kind of deluded thinking I am dealing with here. After I lifted my chin off of the table I attempted to discuss ways in which they could begin to turn there life around. Mind you I do believe this can happen but I can't help but worry (and worry I will!) that these darling boys are eternally screwed. This is there only role model. Mom relinquished parental rights at their very unimportant age of 3 because she was/is addicted to meth (but it's just a "small drug problem"). I want to cry, I want to open my home and wallet to help. I know I cannot and will not do this but REALLY is anyone surprised that these boys have selected this path of self-destruction and poor choices.

So fast forward to this afternoon in the car with Grace. She was asking me if I ever dream about her and I replied, "Oh yes all the time." She says, "well what do I do in your dream" to which I reply, "Oh, your a good girl..." She says, "wouldn't that be funny if in your dream I was being a bad girl," and I say, "well, if you were being a bad girl I guess I would have to spank your bottom in my dream," to which she throws her head back and laughs uncontrollably for a good 2 minutes, "you are the funniest mom in the whole world!" Funny because this child has never been spanked in her entire life for anything. For me, spanking simply takes care of the parents immediate anger and I don't see how the child can learn the consequence from the mistake, instead, I believe, they then fear the spank and lose sight of the original or subsequent problem. Make sense? Anywho, this is not a debate or discussion about spanking, it is about an important and heartbreaking fact that these boys would never, will never, find what my darling daughter thought was so funny about that dream.

Sigh.....

sad, sad, loathing, loathing

Once again I am apologizing for the tardiness of my newest post. Okay, the title isn't allll true. We're pretty crazy in the Starr family. Wade is working an ungodly amount this month and I feel so sorry for him because he comes home and literally lays on the couch without uttering a word. I think his mouth hurts from talking so damn much and his legs hurt from running around that damn gigantic restaurant. Anyway. The holiday season is shaping up as expected with me continuing to run across things that my mom gave me last Christmas and me seeing things that she would have loved. Arggggg, it sucks. I found several pictures of myself with Sydney when she was about 3 months old that my mom had taken. I can remember exactly what we were doing. I was laying on her bed laughing while she took some darling shots of us. I look at myself in those pictures and I can't help but think I look so different. I hadn't yet been subjected to the fact that I would never see her again or hear her voice or eat her pot roast. It's just a really strange feeling that's hard to describe.

I have hesitated to write about this, but those of you who know me well already know this and that is the fact that my dad has a girlfriend. It's just soooo strange. Part of me thinks it helps him get through this time but another part of me thinks he is a selfish asshole that can't even give my mom the decency of one year to wait to fill up his social calendar with another hussy women. And the last part is definitely true. He goes out with her in some capacity every night. I simply cannot wrap my brain around this. And, yes, I know, men can't do anything without a woman taking care of him, or so everyone has told me. I find it absolutely asinine that we women can excuse and justify men's behavior on a daily basis. Blah! Anywho...all I really care about is not hearing anything about wedding bells, I think that would kill me. Dead. Dunzo. Gone. My brother assures me that this will not happen so I guess I'll hold him to that! If he's wrong he can help Wade lift my lifeless body from the couch...

There's no I in Team

Grace had her first basketball game on Saturday after 2 practices about 2 weeks ago. Oh yea, we were in for a comedy of errors! In kindergarten basketball they don't have to dribble just take turns "guarding" and "shooting". Unfortunately, she didn't make a goal, but boy did she certainly act in typical Grace fashion. This first two pictures are of her "guarding". Notice how she's really into the game at this point. Atta girl!

The next picture you can tell she's getting a little more aggressive, actually lunging for the ball. If you notice, none of the other kids are even moving a body part, but, hell who cares! she got the ball! WooHoo!

And typically, here is what Sydney did during the big game:



Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm , two fisted, no less!

Things I hate about snow

Let me start off by saying that I am really not that negative (I'm sure the hubby would disagree) but there are certain things that just piss me off during this kind of weather.
1.) No school. Ok, this is a no brainer here. Our kids get serious cabin fever and if you have a 5 year old like mine (which no one does) this gives her unlimited time for "let's pretend" type games. I absolutely loathe these kind of games. Here is an example of this type of fun.
"Mom, I'm gonna be this really pretty barbie and you can be the really ugly one."
"Grace! She's not really ugly (as far as I know they haven't made the pig-face looking barbie yet)."
"OK! let's pretend that your barbie won't clean her room and the daddy gets really mad at her and she gets in a lot of trouble and then my barbie cleans her room spic-and-span (actual words here) and the daddy lets her have ice cream."
So, you see where this is going, my barbie is the stupid, shitty one and hers is the angel. Weird, I know. No, but really, private schools should NEVER be closed in my opinion. We pay enough GD money to make our own informed decision as to when it is safe to drive our adorable tots (2 freaking blocks) to school. You're not comfortable driving, good, you choose not to send your kids. Period.
2.) The fucking weathermen. Ok, seriously, do we have to watch the same shit over and over and over and over and NOT broadcast the Today Show. Really. We know. It's cold, it's icy and no one should drive. And just in case we don't get it, the wonderful ticker on the top telling us that EVERYLIVINGTHINGINTHESTATEOFOKLAHOMAISCLOSED!!!!!!!! No shit. It's the first storm of the season, everything is closed at least one day.
3.) Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Here's to cabin fever, people!