Merry Christmas to all!

Fare Thee Well, Dear Civ...

Paris and I have known for months that we have to do something about our car situation. It's time to get some more room. Poor Atticus was crammed between 2 carseats in the Civic's backseat...Roomy! Plus, when we have the kids in the car there's no room for groceries.

(And they INSIST on eating...So inconvenient.)

So we procrastinated. And pondered.

How do you get rid of part of the family?

How do you sell the only car you've bought brand new? The one you got after you graduated college and had a real job where they actually paid you to take vacation? The first car you didn't buy from a relative or out of the paper for $800 or less?

How do you sell the car that you cruised California in as newlyweds?

That you took every weekend on fun getaways?

How do you get rid of the car that brought each of your babies home from the hospital?

The one that each of those babies subsequently locked themselves into at some point? ("Just push that little silver button for Mommy. I know you can do it!")

The car that took you to the opposite corner of the country on a 5-year adventure and then back again?

And then, more practically, how DO you sell a car that looks perfect to you but has 185,000 miles and lots of "love marks?"

Then it came to me in an instant...

You go out with a bang!

You give your glorious Civic the appropriately dramatic conclusion to 10 years of faithful service. You take a clue from Thelma and Louise and late Friday night you rear-end the heck out of an SUV in the rain. Problem solved.

(Disclaimer: No children, Mommies, or SUV owners were harmed in the making of this blog post.)

Finally, you hold a candlelight vigil the following Monday night and then bid a grateful adieu to an inatimate object you've loved like one of your own. Civic, we'll miss you.

Well, maybe not Atticus.

Life's Simple Pleasures...

This time of year we're all pondering what we're grateful for.

Isn't it fantastic?

This morning it hit me...

By about 5:00 each morning each of our kids has

independently slipped into bed with us.

6:30, then, greets us with higher pitched snores

and tiny hands draped across our bodies.

Occasionally we get a whiff of junior morning breath

(which is surprisingly cute when it's your own kid.)

I'm grateful for family snuggles and

warm little bodies to dogpile each morning.

(Oh, and our King-sized bed.)

Pumpkin Patch, 2009 A.K.A. Return of the Prodigal Bloggers

Okay, so I admit it. I'm a pumpkin patch elitist.I'm sure the "patch" at Blackstone and Shaw avenues suffice for some families (said with a slight hint of disdain/pity.)
But we were so glad we took a little road trip to Kerman to find this gem.

The patch provided a fun tractor-powered hay ride...

but it was no match for the Daddy-powered wheelbarrow ride!

Crumbs and Nate's Wedding

One of the reasons I haven't blogged much is because Kathryn and I have been busy getting our wedding cake business, Crumbs, up and running.

We had a blast making this cake for Nate Adams and his bride, Emelie.
We've both agreed this is our favorite cake yet.
Consequently, this is now the official Crumbs Signature Cake! :)

Easter 2009

J

Pressing Questions of Life...

Where did I come from?

Where am I going?

WHY has the song Eternal Flame (The Bangles, Circa late 80's) 

been stuck in my head for 4 STRAIGHT DAYS?! 

Forget the waterboarding debate, I've found what most 

would consider a humane form of torture.  Or is it?

Cowboy Wyatt Turns Three...

Wyatt has turned three.  Happy birthday, sweet boy.

To honor his obsession with bounce houses and anything cowboy we had a bouncin' cowboy party!

Our motley crew...Grandma and Grandpa, Ryans, Poduskas and Boones.

Wyatt was in heaven!  I could hardly get any pictures of him because playing as hard as he did is hard business for a recently-turned-three-year-old!  

We lucked out and had both rooms almost completely to ourselves.

(Which, as it turns out, allowed us to do all sorts of forbidden but really fun things!)

I like to call this next clip, "Spare my life!"

Ryan was somewhat unimpressed.

Cousin Mitchell, on the other hand...

Back to Grandma and Grandpa's for cake and gifts.

This picture cracks me up.  Look closely and you'll see Wyatt, Paris and I in slack-jawed awe over Finn's gift from the dollar store.  Captivating!

What's a birthday party without a birthday suit?

 Toward the end we noticed Wyatt wearing (as Grandpa put it) nothin' but a hat and a grin.  

Uh, Honey...Could you sanitize the new sit-n-bounce?

Wyatt, we love you.  You bring nothing but joy, love, and FUN to our home.

'Til it's Gone...

You never know what you've got until it's gone.

I never realized how much I use the computer until recently.  Shortly after moving here our laptop's video card had something-or-other-computer-messed-up-thingy happen to it.  (Yes, that's the technical term.)

So if I have any friends in Florida or elsewhere who still read this blog I'm truly sorry I haven't been emailing, blogging or reading blogs lately.  I just don't have access to a computer like I'd like to.

How spoiled are we, anyway?!  I did my taxes in about 95 minutes last night.  It wasn't all that long ago you had to go to the library and get booklet after booklet of instructions.  And then you had to READ them!  I love technology.

Anyway, the laptop is off to HP and should be returning in the next week or two.  Yay!  Then family history via blog shall return.