Messes that are Allowed!

There are times I allow Benjamin to get away with things when I need to get some things done. For instance, when I need a few minutes to get ready and the only thing to keep him occupied is to allow him to find every ball of yarn that I own (yes, I actually do have yarn and I actually do crochet at times....), allow him to unravel it and string it all over our bedroom furniture. Does it create a dreadful mess? Most definitely. But to steal 20 minutes to take a shower, it's most definitely worth it.

The picture below doesn't do justice to what all he did. The yarn was wrapped all around our room. Wonder how long this is going to take me to put back together? Yikes.



















Benjamin wanted me to take his picture with a penny he found on the floor. Okay, kid. He makes me laugh.

Mommy McKinney Mornings

As you've probably noticed, I'm on a "rhyming, poem" kick phase....

Here's an example of what I wake up to most mornings:

I wake up to Ben saying "Mamma, it's wake up time"
and begrudgingly out of bed I slowly will climb.

Some mornings in bed he'll greet me so sweet
he'll say "hey mamma guess what? I love you" as our eyes meet

As I start his breakfast, faint babblings I start to hear
of my precious daughter trying to talk in her room very near

I'm not a morning person, I really like to sleep
I'm not grouchy though, in the mornings i'm actually pretty sweet

But if it were up to me, everyone would sleep until 10 o'clock
then we'd hop in the car and head for iced coffee right up the block

Around 7:30 is when our mornings usually start
but i'm not complaining because these kids have my heart.

Frozen Smiles

I'm actually not sure what has happened to me. My entire life I've loved the summer heat and the summer sun. However, as of this winter, I have a new favorite season. Winter. Yes, I'm diggin' the winter. I keep hearing everyone say how tired they are of all the cold and I would be lying if I were to agree with them. I love the warm fires in the fireplace, cozy flannel pj's, and a tasty cup of sleepytime tea. I love snuggling in the bed with our warm comforter. And most of all, I love my favorite blanket that I've had for over 20 years - it's really warm so it only comes out at winter time. If it were up to me I'd say stay as long as you'd like Mr. Winter. Just one of the many small things in life that makes me happy.

A Tale of Two....Tongues

For the last several days Savannah has started sticking her tongue out of the right side of her mouth. It seems to stay in that position most of the day. It's really cute. Had to take a picture of it. Also, this is what her hair looks like when it's wet.... REALLY curly! When it's dry, it's straight as a board!

















Benjamin is now into making me take his picture while doing silly things. Here's his latest. "Mamma, take my picture of my tongue". And here it is......

Happy Birthday Nancy!

Last Thursday night we celebrated one of our dear friend's 45th birthday at Wine Cat Bistro. Love that place. This bistro displays a lot of Richard's art (our artist friend) and plays Frank Sinatra music. Can't get better than that. You know it's a good party if I grab the microphone and start belting out Sinatra tunes! Seemed like a great idea at the time, but now that I found out David has it on video, not so much. Sorry customers....couldn't help myself. Good times! Happy birthday my sweet friend.

All the girls












David and the birthday girl












Nancy and Richard

Valentine's 2010

We had a great time on Valentine's day. The kids woke up to their Valentine's surprises and then Savannah and I headed off to church. Since Benjamin has had a pretty bad runny nose we decided to keep him home that day. Later that evening David and I got out and had dinner with some of our favorite people at our favorite restaurant. Very nice day indeed!

Valentine's presents!














Nancy, Richard, David, Kelly at Cafe Italia.

Savannah's Bath Poem

I have a favorite bath toy that I see every night,
it shows up in my bath tub, much to my delight!

The moment I see it my grasp is it's fate,
it stays in my grip and is my little playmate.

Through washings, teeth brushings, and drying off galore,
I will hold on to you until mommy says no more.

You are my favorite bath toy, for I know that's right,
until tomorrow my beloved shovel, good night.

Playing in the Snow Part II

On day 2 of the snow we decided to build a snowman. Okay, so don't laugh. The snowman is kind of puny, I know. It had to be done quickly because Miss Savannah wasn't haven't anything to do with being outside. Have you ever tried to do anything with a screaming baby? Yeah, it'll make you want to pull your hair out! Anyway, we did get to try several different looks with our wimpy little snowman. Here's some shots of him.

Mr. Cowboy





















Mr. Pimp














Baylor Bear Hat





















Mr. Dignified





















Mr. Crazy Cheetah














This last picture is from later in the day. Benjamin wanted me to take a picture of him drinking his juice. Alright buddy, here you go!

It's BIG Pretty! Part I of Playing in the Snow

We woke up Thursday morning to a beautiful blanket of snow. Benjamin was super excited and couldn't wait to go outside to play in it. Since he had school that morning we had to make it quick. So we got all bundled up and journeyed outside. Benjamin made a couple of snowballs and threw them, then about 4 or 5 minutes later he said "it's chilly I want to go inside". No exaggeration, we were only out there for 5 minutes tops! Silly kid. As we were in the car that morning on the way to school the flakes were coming down hard and were HUGE! Benjamin's response to the big flakes? "Mamma, it's BIG PRETTY!" I couldn't agree with you more kiddo.