It's Good to be Jack

this kid literally has girls all over him, fighting for his hugs, and wanting to marry him. he's practically engaged to gwen already. today the two of them promenaded around the living room, as a prince and sleeping beauty. when i asked what they were doing, they said, "we're walking very slowly." why? i asked. "because that's what princes and princesses do." okay then. asked and answered. i keep trying to tell mia she can't marry him b/c that's wrong (even in the south) but she just doesn't find that answer acceptable. ah well. today i watched sunny's girls a little so she could shop (apparently this is a little harder with 3 kids) and she paid me in peppermint mocha. SCORE!

why, bachelor, why???

why do you never choose the girl i like? the girl who would be right for you? why do i still watch this show only to be disappointed EVERY SINGLE TIME? i only know one other person who still watches, and i am protecting his anonymity, though i think he probably agrees with your decision. grrrrr. and the 2 hour finale! come on. i am so glad i have DVR and can fast forward through all of your hemming and hawing to see the results. i will admit that this time, you at least brought two sweet girls to the finals. it wasn't the usual hussie & good girl battle where you inevitably pick the hussie. am not giving you full credit, though, b/c you didn't pick the virgin. and i loved her! how dare you make me fall in love with her and then betray us both like that. i liked you, though. you seemed sort of nice. today i'm swearing off the show forever, but i'm sure i'll come crawling back in the spring when there's nothing else on monday nights. will somebody cancel this show, please? i fear it's the only way i'll stop watching.

dude. we are so ready for christmas.

well, our tree is up, decorations out, gingerbread house made, and my new favorite holiday tradition is sippin' on my starbucks' peppermint mocha. HOLLA!!

working girl

yesterday was my first day as a sub in mia's class while her teacher's out of town. i didn't know what to expect from a class of seven 2 year-olds but i ended up really liking it. the kids are sweet (not mouthy like my old fourth-graders) and they have their routines down pat, so things went pretty smoothly. the biggest surprise was that mia was good. i thought she was going to demand a lot of extra attention and flip out on me, but she only cried once when i wouldn't hold her. and the hardest part was definitely keeping track of who pottied when, who was in diapers, and who was about to have an accident. i might be taking over the younger two year-old class in january (with only 5 kids), so this week is a good test run. i enjoyed being out of the house with the kids but not really with the kids, if that makes any sense. and i still have one more day to sub this week, so we'll see if it's as pleasant as the first...

thanksgiving is not for sissies!

the mcarthurs had me laughing the whole day this thanksgiving. it was a good thing, too, b/c all that time in the kitchen can be stressful! totally cheated on the turkey and bought turkey-in-a-bag from HEB cause ain't no way this momma was going to clean out a bird. but crissy made homemade green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and i couldn't be prouder of my pumpkin pie. rolled out my own crust and everything. it was all delicious, which made up for the turkey leaking juice through the table onto the carpet and potatoes clogging the drain so i had to wash dishes outside. made the poor kids sit outside for thanksgiving, too, but they didn't seem to mind. dave about had an anurism (sp?) with the kids running in and out of the house every 5 seconds, leaving the door open and letting the flies in. good thing beer was on hand. and i loved this sweet moment with dustin reading the grinch to the kids.

Burn Boy

jack ran smack dab into my frying pan this morning. i was moving it from the stove to the sink when he entered like a whirlwind and BAM. a few tears, some ice and neosporin (thank you, kirby!) later, it's looking a lot better. hopefully it doesn't leave his perfect little face scarred for life. oh, the guilt! so here is a pic of the burn, and the other is one puppy made us take. such a picture hog, that puppy.

God goes to Motley Crue concerts, too

we drove up to san antonio friday for the motley crue/aerosmith concert. i like aerosmith, but i was really in it for a fun night out with dave, crissy & dustin. left all 4 extremely hyper kids with a sitter (poor, poor girl!) and by the time we got to the outdoor venue, motley crue was playing, and i had already had a couple of drinks. what i saw was a little bit shocking. on the screen above the band were disturbing images of jesus, upside down on the cross, streaming down over and over again. and i felt sick to my stomach. what was i doing here? didn't this good christian girl know better than to come to a motley crue concert drunk? how could i be here when these people obviously hate my jesus, my lord? how could i have done this to him? i was so sorry i dropped to my knees. well, it was really more of a squat. and then the most beautiful thing happened. i dropped my head back and took a look at the huge expanse of sky above the concert and heard his voice saying, "i am so much bigger than this concert. my grace is so much bigger than any mistake you could make. i am so much mightier than any evil on earth." immediately i felt the peace of god with me, and i knew i didn't have to be scared of what i was seeing or of my sins. my god was bigger than all that. he loves and forgives me. and i am so thankful that he still chooses to hang out with sinners (even ones who should know better) at motley crue concerts, b/c his grace is just that amazing. god can show up anywhere, anytime, and i really love that about him. as for aerosmith, well, i hear they were good. i was passed out on the lawn during their show. some girls just can't hold their liquor.

Details, Details...

if you want to see my pics & times go to www.samarathon.org and click on results and/or sports pics. my bib # is 3829.

Q: Why can't Mariah cook?

A: she is too freaking impatient! see exhibit a: red velvet cake. this was what i promised jack i would make after my race. it's also what he calls red violet cake. got the recipe from my mom and tried it out for the first time today. i think i was doing a swell job, but then we just couldn't wait for the cake to cool. i mean, come ON! why does everything take so long??? so i iced the warm cake, only to see the icing slide off the sides in a horrifying, cartoonish sort of way. i tried to put it back on top, but then decided it wasn't worth it. i just cut the thing up and served it, and it was pretty fantastic. jack said it was the best cake in the whole world, and i can't help but agree. i'm just going to go ahead and not serve it to anyone outside my immediate family.

"It's Not a Party, Crissy!"

this was my very favorite quote of the weekend,

spoken by pat, crissy's mom, when crissy and i couldn't stop giggling and she was trying to help us get it together the night before the race. it was probably at the height of our anxiety. we had had a day of rylin's soccer game, sitting in traffic for HOURS trying to get our race packets, being intimidated by other racers, carbo loading chips in the car b/c we didn't have time to eat, finally making time to eat only to miss picking up jill (crissy's sister) at the airport, and feeling overwhelmed by all the marathon dos and don'ts. we all headed to bed early sat. night, anxious about the 5am alarm and the race ahead. we got to the alamo on time (thank you, dustin!) and stood out in the COLD for 30 minutes. the gun went off, and off we went. pat was our pacer (she's a machine!), and we all kept up for about 7 miles, but then i started to lag behind a bit. in the end, though, we ran through all 13 miles! it was about the best feeling ever. the weather was absolutely perfect, too. the finish line was in the alamodome, so we got to run in like superstars with fans cheering on either side of us. it ended up being a surprisingly emotional moment. now crissy and i walk like little old ladies b/c our legs don't seem to work right anymore, but it was totally worth it! would do it again in a heartbeat. i think i finished in a little under 3 hours (yes, am pokey) but official times & pics will be on the sa marathon site later this week. will get you that link later... and if i can get mushy, i am humbled by everyone's encouragement, so thank you for your words & prayers. they meant a lot. here's me, pat & crissy with our medals and post-marathon glow, and a couple of pics of crissy's kids for ya...oh yeah, and rylin's head smells like cheese, too.

Toddler Tresses

mia's hair was getting pretty wild there. she was a perfect little rugrat in my eyes, but someone in our family thought it looked a little too unkempt, so today she got her first professional haircut. she was brave in the chair and is v. proud of herself.
she looks super cute as usual, but for a day her hair looks real purdy, it's laying flat on her head and it doesn't even smell like old cheese.

so take a good look! doubt very much that it will stay this way for long!

You know you live in Corpus Christi when...

november brings you perfect beach weather. nice breeze, warm sun. the water was a little cold, but it didn't seem to bother jack in his wetsuit. and mia actually spent most of the time sitting in the car (just like on the 4th of july!!), happily snacking on pretzels and enjoying her time to herself. she peeked her head out every once in a while to check on us. nehoo, here are the two sets of hams...

Product Placement

here's my new favorite cereal: kashi honey puffs. it's like honey smacks for grown-ups. as i write this i'm reminded of our friend, brian, who loves cereal more than anyone i've ever met. i think he must have had at least 8 boxes of different sugary cereals the last time we were at his house. watcha got in the pantry these days, bri?

Donuts with Dad

awww. sweetness. i love the kids' school and the fact that they have donuts with dad day once a semester. it was a treat to see dave get some special time with jack & mia. i just snapped the picture and left them alone, i swear!