I'm a Grammy!

It is official -- Agent 004 is Kayley Warillever's mommy for ever and ever and ever.

In a ceremony that mimicked Cousin P's adoption finalization to the "T," Agent 004 signed her Cabbage Patch Kid's adoption certificate yesterday in front of a judge (me). Then, just like we did for P, we had tea and cake to celebrate.

Updated 1/30/08 to include a picture of me holding my first precious grandchild.

I Always Considered Myself a Piglet

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First Blood

There have been a lot of milestones over the past week.

• P's adoption was finalized, and he also began to walk and got his first tooth.
• Agents 002 and 004 have started writing phonetic words to go along with their drawings -- "LD BG" for ladybug and "PgLeT" for Piglet.
• Cousin F has started writing "F"s spontaneously and recognizably every time she gets hold of a crayon.
• Agent 004 and Cousin F had their first knock-down, drag-out fight. Okay, not their first, but the first one in which one was covered in blood and the other needed an ice pack. Who said that boys are rough?
  

There once was a Mommy named B

I haven't shared any poetry in a while.

There once was a mommy named B
Home with baby and toddlers three.
Four kids and a cat,
Plus a man that's all that,
Who wouldn't want to be me?

more limericks at Rocks in My Dryer.

Grand Adventures

Not that this is anything new, but you may have noticed that I am behind on my blog posting. I have a good excuse this time, I swear. We have been out of the country on a grand adventure -- five days in the Canadian backwoods.

Okay, not really the backwoods, but we did spend five days playing outdoors in Canada. Grandma's Christmas present to the entire clan was a 5-day stay at a ski resort. Our home for the week was a luxurious log cabin ten-minutes from a large alpine ski resort and within a national park (or is that parc national?).

It was amazing, astonishing, extraordinary, incredible and lots of other initial-vowel adjectives. Did I mention that it was really nice?

The big kids (which includes Agent 002) spent three full days skiing on the mountain, while the little folks (including Agent 004) tried out the bunny hill and explored the village.

Aunt K, Uncle Ichabod and I got a chance to head out on cross-country skis for an afternoon while the dads took the kids snow-tubing.

A marvelous time.

Now to explain the dearth of blogging. Have you ever packed for an outdoor cold-weather vacation? On the day after Christmas? While trying to keep the rear window unobstructed for the six-hour drive?

Impossible, I tell you. Well, not if you have mr warillever around. He pulled out the van's back bench and built a ski rack along the floor. Then we piled our baggage on top of that. It was an act of sure genius. We managed to fit eight pairs of skis (we each have a pair for cross-country and downhill), as well as snowsuits, mittens, hats, clothing, and Christmas gifts.

And then there is all the work after a trip. Laundry (loads and loads of laundry), finding places for all of the new toys that generous aunts and uncles gifted, and dealing with young children on a post holiday, post-vacation let-down.

But the laundry is almost done, the toys are mostly away, and the children are falling back into a normal routine. And it really was a grand adventure.

Thank You, Santa!

A note from the Agents to Santa:Merry Christmas, everyone!

I Thought I was Worth More than This

Pholph's Scrabble Generator My Scrabble© Score is: 16. What is your score? Get it here.

What with a "W" and all.

The House of Seven Chimneys

I love living in an old house.

Character, as they say.
That, and drafts.But it looks pretty under the snow, doesn't it?

The Christmas Factory

The workers:









Our production line:










And the final product:

The Price of Living in Paradise

Winter hasn't even started, but I think that mr warillever is ready for spring already.
Notice that both of these pictures were taken from inside the house.....

Forget the Elves.....

I know that y'all have seen dancing elves, but how about them turkeys?

Made me laugh. Had to share.

HT: Happy Catholic

Doesn't That Just make You Feel Festive?

A Meal Fit for a Queen

The kids have decided that they are big, so they should cook for me.

Not that nutritious gruel that I cook for them, but good stuff like french fries and ice cream and donuts and candy canes.

As I jotted their proposed menu on an envelope, Agent 002 asked if he could use the list when he drives to the store to buy food to cook for me. Because, you know, he is big enough to drive to the store, buy groceries, and cook a meal, but hasn't quite gotten down that writing words thing.

Yes, I am one of Those People

....who gets very chipper as Christmas approaches.

Christmas Meme

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper.
   
2. Real tree or artificial? Real. The warillever men went out into the woods and killed it themselves.
   
3. When do you put up the tree? We put it up the day after Thanksgiving, but didn't decorate it for another week.
   
4. When do you take the tree down? Just after the Epiphany.
5. Do you like eggnog? I have one glass at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My husband and daughter LOVE the stuff and could drink it by the gallon.
   
6. Favourite gift received as a child? My first bike. My godfather got it for me when was three or so.
   
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes.
8. Hardest person to buy for? Curt Jester says Jesus, and I think he's right. But as for members of my family, it would have to be mr warillever. Not because he is picky, but because I always want it to be "just right."
   
9. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I honestly can't remember any notably bad presents.
   
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? The real thing, with very cute pictures of the agents as an insert.
    
11. Favourite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life.
    
12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Should I start soon?
    
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Absolutely.
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Bread pudding.
    
15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear lights on the tree, but colored lights on the bushes out front.
16. Favourite Christmas song? Silent Night.
    
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.
18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Ruben and Steve?
    
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Nothing. The tree is jammed right up into the ceiling.
    
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. And all day. At least the past two years, our kids have played with each gift as they opened it, so gift-opening literally takes all day.
    
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? That, despite my good intentions, it makes me frantic.
    
22. Best thing about this time of year? The good will and cheer. It is the one time of the year when it is acceptable to be outright giddy about your faith. That we light up our lawns, bring wildlife into our houses, bake cookies, sing songs, throw parties, give gifts, and drink hot wine, all to celebrate the birth of our Lord.
    

stolen from the Curt Jester

Fitting Motto for this Blog

Only the mediocre are always at their best.
Jean Giraudoux

HT: From Under the Clutter

It may be a G-rated blog, but it is an R-rated life.... Today's drama centers around mr warillever's car, which decided to stop working in the middle lane of the highway on a Friday evening of a three-day weekend in leaf-peeping season. With no help from the tourists unwilling to slow down from the five-miles-per hour they were moving in toll traffic, mr warillever managed to push his heap of junk off to the side. The momentum of pushing got it going again, and after a dozen such stops (with help from several of our neighbors), he managed to get home.

We'll miss you, Nelly.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer : On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday?

6. More than an average day.

Soup : What is one word you don’t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of?

Specific. I cannot pronounce it correctly. It comes out more like Pacific.

Salad : Do you wear sunglasses when you’re outside? If so, what does your current pair look like?

No. I don't wear them because they give me a headache unless they are wraparounds, and even un-fashion-conscious me knows that just doesn't look right. And I would lose them anyway.

Main Course : If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it?

My honey, my bunny, and my cat. You guess which one is which......

Dessert : Name a beverage that you enjoy.

The first cup of coffee in the morning.

The Family Bramble

Our Bible reading last week focused on Abraham and his family.

No fancy art projects or plastic boats, but we have been working on family trees. Which look more like family shrubs with all sorts of spiny burrs sticking out the side.....

The Agents are the ovals; parents, aunts and uncles each get a rectangle; cousins are represented by circles; and grandparents lord over the page in their roomy triangles.

Agent 002 had a great time cutting out pictures of relatives. Agent 004 loved gluing them into place. The activity was a little over F's level, but was a good experience for her nonetheless, if only to get them talking about what "family" is.

Internet Woes

This is all that I have seen online for the past five days. We are up and running for the time being, but have no faith that our internet service will work consistently.