Our Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends. We missed you all so much! Since I know Carson's Grandparents are wanting to see pictures of Carson, I decided to share with everyone.

First is our snowman. Carson wasn't much help making it, but he made a great supervisor.

Here is Carson opening his "fire boy" transformer. For those who don't know, our neighbors call Carson "fire boy" because he runs so fast. Carson just loves the his alter ego.

Of course the 'Christmas sweater".

His newest infatuation is with little tiny lego's

The never ending infatuation with all things involving space.

At least it doesn't need batteries, or make annoying sounds

Carson just loves his new space shuttle and helmet. He has discovered that it is a great seat to watch movies from, and even asked if he could sleep on it.

Dont Complain!!!

It has come to my attention that some of my blog fans are sick of hearing about our "little" water problem. So I have moved on to the next problem.....
MOLD

Can you say "Oh gross dude!! What is growing on your wall"

However. My favorite was the fuzzy white stuff. It looked like snow. Ah... beautiful snow.
Like a white wonderland just in time for Christmas .

But don't worry its all under control.... and we are high on bleach fumes :)
latr' alligator
(see don't complain about my lack of interesting posts because this is what I do!)

The rain came down...and the flood came up

I had a hard time deciding if I would name this post "The rain came down and the flood came up" or "Home Owner@#$%!". Since I never, never swear (until today)...I decided on the former.
SOoooo. It has been raining a lot here in Massachusetts. That is really not anything new, it always rains here. But, I guess it doesn't usually rain in the winter.
Long story short- I came home on Friday afternoon to find this in my basement.

WATER....

2-3 inches of water... Throughout the entire basement

ICE COLD WATER!!!!!

Can you guess what I said???
Can you guess what Curtis said when I called him at work to tell him we were now proud owners of an indoor pool???
No?

Oh @#^&%$#@@~!!!!

sPelLinG pRoBlemS?

Well....
I cant spell. You know it... I know it. There is really no need to pretend like it doesn't exist, to get embarrassed, or hide it under the rug.
I have tried and tried and tried. So now I use spell check. You would think that a person who reads 2-3 book a week would know how to spell. But no.
Love me for who I am ;)

We recently played a loud game of "Cranium" with a few close friends. On one of our turns my team was told to spell 'typhoon'. I immediately look to my team members to answer the question. But they just cant take NO for an answer. So they start pestering me, saying "you can spell" or "come on!" or "you read a ton, certainly you can spell".
I spelled it wrong. Not enough O's.
So they tease and tease, until I am Forced to post this on the blog
I CANT SPELL. SO SHUT UP!!!!!

Then Carson comes up to me and says "Its ok Mom I cant spell either. Lets watch the 'ABC' movie every day, that might help us"
See. Carson doesn't like it when you tease me.

It's Christmas Time

Well here we go...It's Christmas season once again. However, this year we get to appreciate all that the season is about...including FREEZING temperatures. We went out to face the crowds today at the mall and came home with presents for Carson, a 7 foot tree, and a little star to go on top.
Since the tree was already lit, I decided to put up a few lights outside. What do you think? It's fun to decorate you own house!

Executive Decision

I have made a decision. It was not a difficult one to make as far as decisions go. I seem to struggle at making decisions... I think it is a commitment problem. The point is I have made an executive decision (meaning Curtis doesn't know yet).
After living in Las Vegas for several years I figured we would have to do some adjusting to the weather in New England. I certainly experienced cold weather while living in Utah. BUT!!! This cold is totally different. It is a new kind of cold. This is VERY COLD.
So one day (as soon as Curtis finishes residency) we will be moving... south. I don't care where...just south of here. Somewhere warmer... with fewer leaves... and turning lanes, I miss turning lanes.
Now that the VERY COLD weather has begun (because it is only November) and I have had a taste of winter in the northeast I will think different thoughts when I see the geese flying south.
Instead of "Oh, they are leaving" it will be "Wait! take me with you... don't leave me here!!
There is an old saying about rats and sinking ships... I think that should also apply to birds flying south for the winter :)

Ode to bum pants

since everyone thought the bum pants were so funny. Here is another laugh

"Hate" is such a strong word

I am starting to come to terms with Massachusetts, and all its leaves and rainy days. The rain hasn't been to bad yet. I am dealing with it in a healthy manner. BUT!! the leaves are another matter entirely. We (smart people that we are) bought a lovely home with a huge yard and 6 large maple trees. Since our previous home had absolutely nothing green we were excited to have such a "nice" yard.
Last week we bought a leaf blower... we should have bought a chain saw.
After 2 weeks of picking up leaves we have a grand total of 25 bags. 25!!! And there is still more in the trees.

Carson and neighbor standing by the bags

Carson.... your Mom is an idiot

There are times when we parents do... or say things that are bound to have LASTING negative effects on our children.
(no. I did not buy him "bum-hole" pants)

Today Carson was watching himself in the mirror when he asked me about the words on his shirt. He was seeing the letters in the mirror and noticed that they were mirror image, and thus not familiar to him.
Carson: Mom, what are these letters? are they backwards?
Me: Well ... no. Those are the letters on your shirt reflecting off the mirror. They look different because they are a mirror image.
Carson: what is mirror-image?
Me (thinking of a way to explain that does not involve refracting light and other non-3year old words) : Well... its um... inside out.
Carson: Oh. So mirror-image is like inside out. ok

I am so sorry Carson. I know that one is going to come back to bite me one day.

Halloween

Halloween was very calm for us this year. We only attended one party. :(
But the good news is that we carved pumpkins! yeah!

This is what Carson looked like when we actually went trick-or-treating. If you cant tell, he is a Clone (star wars) that also wears a "super-Carson" cape.

Oooooo spooky

Curious?

Just because I know you are curious about our Halloween costumes I have one quick picture to share. No, Curtis and I did not dress up this year. My "Captain Underpants" outfit was in the wash. :)

Trot Trot to Boston...

"Trot trot to Boston,
over the bridge to Lynn.
Just watch out cuz' you might fall in!"

We spent the day in Boston following the Freedom Trail. (that would be the red line :)) It was quite a long walk, but very cool. The trail walks you through some of the more important historical sites in Boston.
This is the beginning of the trail at Boston Commons. If you have some money you can even rent a man in "breaches and buckles" to walk you through the city.

This is how Carson experienced the day.

The Declaration of Independence was first read to the public on that little balcony of the red brick building.

This is me and Carson on the top of Bunker Hill. This is the Bunker Hill monument.
(did you notice the 3 midgets next to me. ha ha)

We also stopped by the original Cheers. Why? I really don't know, but it was kinda cool.

It was a very long day. By this time in the evening poor Carson had been asleep in the stroller for almost an hour... and my feet were killing me... and we were starving... need I go on?
OK, Thank you Curtis for taking us to Boston. I admit we did not die... or get stolen. I will seriously consider venturing a small trip to New York... maybe... when my children are grown. :)

Mount SugarLoaf

Why do they call it Mount Sugarloaf? I have no idea. It is a large "hill" by all other standards. In my previous experience with mountains the drive up is usually long and steep with twisty windy roads. The drive up Mount Sugarloaf takes a whole 3 minutes, during which the elevation rises 400 feet. So yes... it was a very tall um... mount. :)

This is Grandma and Carson demonstrating their ability to stand on one foot while balancing on a rock. Such talent.

While standing on this rock Carson announced that he was now very very tall. I think he expected to be taller than everyone else . Imagine his frustration upon realizing that he was still not as tall as Dad... especially when Dad is standing on the same rock. :)

It turns out that they are currently filming a "Mel Gibson" movie on Mount Sugarloaf. They have turned the visitors center into a movie set. So here is Carson, posing in front of the "new" building. I say "new" because all of the additions are Styrofoam or plywood. Just behind Carson is a cement wall made of plywood painted to look like cement.

The drive up the hill... I mean Mount.

And. A fun picture of Carson "mid-flight".

pUmPkin PatCh

It is true! The fall is beautiful here. I have never seen such bright colors on leaves. The best is really close to the trees where the colors are very cool. Like that orange tree in the middle... up close it is a bright yellow and bright red. If you are lucky I will take a picture the next time I find a tree like this. :)

Carson and "baby Zoe" sitting on their claimed pumpkins

Carson was looking for apples... I think he found one :)

Here is my boy.

Today on our way to church
The car was quiet then ...
Carson : "Mom did you know that Saturn is the largest planet in space"
Me: "um.. that's cool"
The car is quiet again.
I start thinking... Where in the world did he learn that? I didnt tell him... did you?

I QUIT!!

That right. I have never quit a job before, but there is always a first time.
I had to share this picture because Carson and I did the "hot dog" dance when were finally free of Kids Place.

First Day of Preschool

It was a hard day for Me, but Carson seemed to enjoy it.
I only regret that it is such a long day for both of us. Since I am working at the same preschool Carson has to stay the whole day also. I just think that 8:30-5:15 is a long day for a 3 year old. I guess we will see how things work out after a few weeks.
P.S.- being a mom is hard, but I only cried twice :(

Dont ya just love the wall-paper in our kitchen?

Big E

What??? You don't know what the "Big E" is?
Don't feel too bad... I didn't either. It turns out that the "Big E" is a fair. The "E" stands for New England..? Since the states around here are so small they have to join together for these kind of affairs.
As it turns out one of our new neighbors had a few extra tickets, and very kindly shared with us.

Thanks!

Ohh. Isnt he cute?

There was the traditional goat petting.

And.. Pony rides.

Carson had so much fun on the Pony... next year we are going to up grade.

Here is Curtis, trying to win money... if only!

I think Carson liked the "real rides" best. Who wouldnt want to drive a jeep?

latr dude!