Answer Me This - Volvos, The Letter Y and Christmas

Back to the ole blog because Edel is over… 

1. What’s your favorite thing on YouTube?

Can I pick two? Of course…

I've liked this one from way back when E would come to the store with me and want to watch Elmo on YouTube. 

And this one came about last Christmas which was awesome because I was SUPER post partum hormonal and needed a happy reason to cry. 

2. Who taught you to drive?

My Father Dearest did… I learned on a 1994 (correct me if I'm wrong) Chrysler Van. It was not a manuel and Lee did make one single attempt to teach me to drive stick and that did not last long (and I'm kinda okay with that). That van would have been my first car had the brakes not been SUPER sketchy but then this was my car:

until I crashed it
in a parking lot
that was empty 
at 11 in the morning

yeah… maybe Kendra will have to specifically ask if a question regarding car accidents to get the details on that one. 

3. What’s your favorite thing to cook?

Banana chocolate chip bread. Frequently we have nearly rotten bananas and then if gives me something chocolate in the house and since it has bananas in it, I feel slightly less bad about eating  several large pieces in one sitting. 

4. Are you a hugger or a non-hugger? Why? 

Non. So non. I have no idea. I promise I can cry at the drop of a dime but hugging is not my thing (except when Lee (and the kids) are involved and I can barely get a squeeze once a day). 

Oh and E thinks it is hilarious when at the end of the squeeze Lee and I 'kiss lips' (because only married people get to do that, right?) and if we don't for whatever reason we get quizzed 'how come y'all didn't kiss lips?'. 

5. Where do you pray best?

In the chapel, in our house, right before we rush out to school and work. Awhile back I instituted family prayer time before school. At first it was semi-sporadic but then on days we did not go pray I felt flustered and not centered. Now we pray before leaving for school at all costs - even if it causes us to be a few minutes late. 

Normally there is not gold chocolate coins strewn about and piles from St. Nicholas… Just once a year. Or to our hotel room. Or back in 2011.

6.  When is the last time you saw/spoke to your grandparents?

#catholicguilt #thanksKendra

Kidding. Kidding. 

Soooo… we took E to visit my maternal grandparents back in 2011. That was a good trip and my grandma gave E a toy that I used to play with and now it is at my parent's house. Kinda cool. But we have not been back. I would go if it weren't 8 degrees when we went. Seriously we left for church that Sunday morning and it was so so so cold my Southern bones did not cope well. 

We have taken the girls to my paternal grandparents spot at Arlington National Cemetery. We've been a few times and I think we'll actually use the parking pass next time instead of hoofing it on the Metro because it is a LONG walk and inevitably it rains. 

7 Quick Takes - Overheard… Dirty Diaps and Christmas Carols

I promise I have some meaty posts coming… maybe. For now, this is all…

--- 1 ---

{While getting ready for a bath}

E - Guh, guh, guh Gabriel.
Me - Yes
E - guh, guh, guh. Gabriel starts with the letter P just like Pocahontas

--- 2 ---

{After rest.. being an excellent little helper}

Me - R, let's go change M.
{upon noticing an overflowing diap}
Me - Ut oh, M has a stink...
R - Awww Maaan!

{true story… R, true story)

--- 3 ---

{While endlessly rehearsing Christmas carols}

E - What did the cow in the manger say to baby Jesus in the hay... Moo, moo... Baby Jesus we love you
R - Baby Jesus... I love you

{LOVE LOVE LOVE}

--- 4 ---

{Did I mention we are big on Christmas carols?}

E - Hark the herald angels sinngggggg
{something something we cannot understand}
to the newborn kinnggggggg
{more of the same}
God and Savior reconciled

Me - E it is SINNER not Savior

E - Oh…
{more words being strung together}
Joyful all yeeeeeee nations rise
{more stuff we cannot understand being put to the tune}
HAMSTERS
Christ is born in Bethelem

Lee - Did you just say hamsters?

E - Ummmmm….

--- 5 ---

{Discussions during post rest snuggles with E and R}

R - Noooo.. nuggle Papa
{crunched up nose and face}
R - Elmooooo, Yeessssss!
{huge smile}

--- 6 ---

{While going through E's school folder}

Lee - Another party?
Me - Who?
Lee - Is that all they do? Color, sing and have parties????

--- 7 ---

{Classy} 

Me - Does R have a stink?
Lee - I don't think so...
Me - Ummm... yes she does
{goes to room to change R, I follow}
Me - Whoa! You could not tell she had a stink from the way it smelled it here?
Lee - It smelled pretty normal to me?
Me - So it always smells like a dirty diaper to you????
Lee - Well you know Chicky...

                                                  

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

                               

My Past Meets My Present... On Sesame Street of course!!!

Probably the O-N-L-Y day I'll ever...

1. Care if Sesame Street DVRs correctly

2. Watch an episode the same day it airs

3. Be super excited to watch Sesame Street

4. Demand silence during an episode

Backstory - I was a huge DMB fan back before kids were in the pic. I could sing you the all songs to their first 5 or 6 albums. I sat front row at a concert. I used to be really hardcore. But then kids came and they kind filled up a good chunk of my time and music listening space. I thought about going to a DMB concert in Raleigh-world the last time they were here - which was NOT this year I believe - and it was an an indoor arena and that just seemed weird. Maybe Sesame Street {gasp} will inspiring my old self to download the new album for my .5 marathon training. 

Overheard... These will never get old

E - I had a yogurt popsicle
Jibbe - You did!
E - I did.
Jibbe - What flavor was it?
E - It was YOGURT!
Jibbe - No what flavor was it?
E - Ummm... it did not have a flavor

Jibbe - Where do you want to go for lunch tomorrow?
E - I want to go through the drive thru with R and you need to bring the van
Jibbe - Okay I'll drive the van
E - And I want a juice box and chicken nuggets and R wants a milkshake and I want chocolate milk

E - R keeps on ttacking me! She tacks me!
Me - Its okay. She loves you
E - But mama she always ttacks me

{at the spray park where everyone where a wrist band}
E - Mama take this off its killin me! Its killin me Papa!
Me - If you take it off you have to leave and its pretty loose
E - Its killin me!

{While working on her puzzle}

E - Where's Grandpa Joe live?
Me - In Raleigh
E - He eats ALL the figs {Fig Newtons - yeah I am one of those parents who counts Fig Newtons as cookies and uses them for dessert}
Me - He does?
E - YES HE EATS ALL THE FIGS
Me - Grammy can get more.
E - We have figs too. He can eat our figs because WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW PACKAGE! {bouncing up and down} A WHOLE NEW PACKAGE! A WHOLE NEW PACKAGE!!!!

{resumes and completes 100 piece puzzle; minus the border which I did but I did not put a single middle piece in the puzzle. There was direction given on twisting the pieces to fit but once she settled into her calmed, semi-focused puzzle state - she was good. Those last seven pieces were painful to watch... I just wanted to pick them up and put them in the right spot - yeah my OCD tried to rear its ugly head but I kept it at bay so E could say she did it!}

Me - Do you want to where Elmo to bed?
R - Elbow? Elbow! ELBOW!!!!

{She even commandeered E's Elmo for bedtime purposes. E is demanding Elmo be returned by the time her bedtime roll around}

Sleepy Elmo

E made Elmo a nice bed of building blocks

Fast Fact - Y - Y - Y, Why do I, do I LOVE Y!

Confession - Last night Lee and I watched one of E's favorite YouTube videos without her. Some of the Sesame Street videos she likes to watch are honestly pretty annoying but this one is definitely worth a watch but watch out the song will get stuck in your head and the Y guy is really cute!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qGHh0_6Xbc&feature=related