Bear #2

Just like Arden has her Sweet Blankie, Jack has Bear.  Well on “Nextdoor” a lady was getting rid of a stuffed bear her son received as a gift.  It was the exact same bear!!!! I had to get it because we’ve looked for replacements and never found the exact one.  You can see the difference in Jack’s old bear and new one.  His old bear has had neck surgery, been re-stuffed, has had his eye glued back on, and as you can tell, is dinghy and matted.  He is well loved!  Jack was so excited to get another one.  Halle asked which one he was taking to college and he said both. 🐻 🐻 He says they are brothers.  Arden was a little jealous and wanted the new fluffy bear for herself.  

Sweet Blankie Post #2

Tonight, out of the blue, Arden said she was ready to get rid of her “Sweet Blankie.”

Arden’s most prized possession her entire life (almost 10 years) has been her beloved “Sweet Blankie.” She has had it since she was born.  The backing has been redone, the insides have been re-stuffed, it has been stitched, liquid-stitched, and  washed at least a THOUSAND times.  But yet again, it’s falling apart, this time beyond repair.  I was in total shock when she said it was time for it to go.  I expected her to take that thing to college!  She said it was so messed up now and she was too big for it anyway. So I’m like, “okaaaaaay, if that’s what you really want to do.” I felt like a piece of my heart would be thrown away with that blanket, but if she had her big girl britches on then I could put mine on too.  Halle and Jack couldn’t deal, though. They both shouted, “Nooooo! You can’t get rid of “Sweet Blankie!” So I suggested she cut a rose from it, to keep and remember forever.  That’s what she did; she cut off a keepsake rose.  She then went to the trash, and threw the blanket away.  I was dying inside!  I felt her grow up just a little bit more and felt so sad. 

A few minutes later she was all teary-eyed.  I told her, “How about you NOT throw it away, but put it in the attic?” Before I can even finish my statement Jack is running to the trash to retrieve “Sweet Blankie” for her. (He’s got a bear he is attached to so I think he was feeling a bit anxious about the idea of one day giving up Bear.  He’s already made the claim he’s sleeping with it even after he’s married.)

Blanket is taken from the trash and I put it in the attic.  A few hours go by and Arden is fine.  However, a few minutes ago Jack runs in to tell me that Arden is upset and crying.  She’s wanting her blanket.  She just isn’t ready to let go. 

I went to her room and had a long chat with her, and I told her she could sleep with “Sweet Blankie” until she’s 90 years old if she wants; it’s up to her.  So up to the attic I go (again) to get the blanket.  Now she has smiles and my heart is full.  The blanket is atrocious, but my baby girl is still my baby.

Original blog post about this blanket, from 2012

http://hargravehomies.blogspot.com/2012/09/sweet-blankie.html?m=1

Work from Phone Dad

It turns out that blogging from my phone is not an option after all.  The program has glitches, so this post has been in limbo for a while. Oh well.....

Brian changed jobs back in June.  He now works for a construction company called Empower.  Empower works directly with Chick-fil-a, handling building maintenance for many stores across the nation.  Brian's territory has been North Carolina.  He travels to NC every two weeks, but when he is at home, he gets to work from his phone!  That means that we get to take advantage of him not being tied to an office, and do things during the week together.  Here are a few of the things that we've had a chance to do now that he is home more:

When we are being extra good, we get up, drop off the kids, hit the gym, and then hit Smoothie King. (This has happened only twice)

Brian joined the watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students) program at Jack and Arden’s school.   It’s a program designed to put more male role models in the school and to enhance security. Here Brian is helping with the Halloween festival at Metzler.

We get to sneak away while the kids are in school to the movie theater. We can catch a new movie at a Friday matinee.

Jack wants us to eat lunch with him every single day!  We settle for once a week

Blog test

So my family has been begging me to start blogging again. The hard part is I no longer have a computer because I just work from my phone. The last time I checked, Blogger had an awful blogging app. So now that it’s been a few months I am trying it out again to see if I like it and if I can do it from my phone. It looks like I can now insert photos directly from my photo library on my iPhone. I can also use voice to text which is making this so much easier! Yay!

OK I have added pictures of what Melvin did. Melvin is our elf-on-th-shelf who comes at the beginning of December. Last night he decided to paint Brian’s toenails. He wrote a note for the kids, telling them to go check out their dad’s feet. Brian was not happy at all that Melvin did that to him in the middle of the night!

New Year's Eve 2017

I'm not going to write anything about New Year's Eve basically because, um, I don't remember much of it.  But here's a photo dump! 

Christmas 2017

Christmas Eve
We had another great year of Christmas time with our families.  Brian's family came over on Christmas Eve and we enjoyed Brian's yummy brisket along with the traditional corn casserole, sausage balls, little smokies, and Ashley/Kellie's deviled eggs.

The family gathered.



our family Christmas photo

sporting the Hargrave heirlooms, the Santa slippers

always hanging with Uncle Adam



Papa Mike helping Jack figure out a new gift.



yummy desserts that I have to hide from Brian and Uncle Adam AND Jack until dinnertime.  Boys, I tell ya.

Sarah mastered a spinach dip and crescent roll Christmas tree.

 

The kids were surprised with their big Christmas gift, a piano.  This is a player piano from the 1960's so its pretty fun.  Funny story:  I bought this piano from someone in the neighborhood who was moving.  Since the piano is way too heavy to load on Brian's truck, he and three teenage boys from the swim team pulled it down the street on furniture dollies, towed behind the truck.  I'm sure they looked real classy.
The kids have done a really good job teaching themselves new tunes.  Halle and Arden have learned "Fur Elise" and "Beauty and the Beast."  I've also heard them play "Heart and Soul" about 2 million times.  Jack learned "Hot Cross Buns." 

 

Christmas Morning

The chaos that is Christmas morning.  Lots and lots and lots of presents for the kids!  This is the time that the kids get to open presents from Santa, Mom and Dad, and Aunt Sarah and Uncle Adam.  Papa Mike and Gigi always come over to see the present opening and to have breakfast with us.  Christmas Vacation is always played in the background.
This year all the kids seemed to have gotten music related.  Halle got guitar picks, guitar strap, and a guitar stand.  Arden got a floor keyboard mat and some music books.  Jack got a ukulele.  Not to mention the piano mentioned above. 

Melvin said goodbye until next year

Christmas Evening

We headed to Rodney's house to have Christmas with my side of the family.  Sometime during Christmas Eve night I started feeling really bad.  I almost didn't go to my family's that evening, but I got up anyway.   I was able to compete in our annual family Christmas game. 

This is our family picture that my Pauline made us take.  She makes everybody take pictures.  I look awful.  However, Hope, my sister-in-law, gave me some BC powder.  I'd never taken it, and it was a life saver.  It made me feel well enough to compete in our annual family game of Pictionary.  As usual, it was rowdy.

Pauline and Rodney, probably arguing about something during Pictionary. 

 



 

 

 

 

December 2017

Melvin came back on December 1st.  He kept a good eye on the kids, but also managed to get into some mischief.

Mevin's letter to us on his first day back.

Melvin borrowed Halle's camera to take selfies with a snowman

Melvin had a good time getting into the toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Y'all we HAD SNOW!!!!  Like real snow.  In Houston!  As in Houston, Texas!  It started snowing about 10 pm and at 4 am the ground was covered in about 3-4 inches.  I woke up the kids super early just in case it melted before the sun came up.  Surprise, it didn't!  That meant from about 5 am until 7:30 am (they had to get eventually get to school) the kids played outside, made snow angels, had snowball fights with the neighbor kids, and made snow men.  It was awesome! 

Arden eating the snow.

The drive to work was amazing!  It looked like a winter wonderland.  Definitely my favorite commute ever.

We picked out our Christmas tree.  Actually, Brian picked it out, we just posed for pictures.

Here's all the fun things we did during December.  

Made gingerbread houses.

Read the Christmas Story

Got into character

 Baked

 Saw Santa

 Played Bingo

 Christmas Shopped

and strung garland