Christmas happened.

Here are my babies at Christmas. I seriously need to get off my dead-ass and get out my good camera. It's just so easy to grab the iPhone since it is permanently attached to my hand.

The big gifts from Santa included a vanity with makeup for Evie, a remote control helicopter that takes pictures and video for Luke (along with some night-vision goggles), and a bike for George. I can unequivocally state that the bike has been the biggest winner of all the presents and all the kids are riding it around the house at ever chance they get.




Chuck also got Luke a tool set, which was quite handy during Christmas for putting together toys and installing batteries in all the toys.




I think there was some initial joy, as you see above, but then there were also plenty of looks of confusion. I'm not sure why.

In fact, I'm not sure Luke was ever very overly joyed.

Chuck sat there and accepted all the random gifts I scrounged up for him. I swear, I am the world's worst gift-giver. He's come to accept his fate.


And Grandma enjoyed all her time watching the kids open their presents and express their excitement. There has been a lot of Grandma Love at the house these past two weeks. How blessed we are to have such a wonderful Grandma!



And then we plummeted into illness the day after Christmas. Evie had a sore throat, stuffed up nose, and a tummy ache. I took her to the doctor, convinced that she probably had strep throat. After seeing the doctor, getting a throat culture, and throwing up three times at the doctor's office, we were told that she did not have strep and we should go home and take it easy.

Two hours at the doctor's office did not put either of us in a good mood, and so I spent the rest of the day on the couch with sweet Evie.

She is fully recovered now. Yay for us.

Now we are gearing up for the New Year!
Bring on 2012!!!

I believe.

I believe.

Do you?

I hope to meet Ben someday.

He seems pretty amazing. I hope he inspired you too.

I suck.

Forgive me for being a total loser these days. I really need to get back to the grindstone!

Still Celebrating!

So, I'm back at work after a flurry of holiday activities. You know I love it, but I suffer from post-holiday blues now. I don't want to be here. I want to be at home with the kids. I want to be cleaning out closets and making dinner. I really do like my job, but it gets pretty slow during the holidays so I'm bored and it makes the day drag on.

On a bright note, I have kept up my running for three weeks and I'm starting my fourth week of running today. I ran five miles on Christmas Eve and then worked my tail off getting Christmas dinner cooked and tending to the children while Chuck sat on the couch because he pulled a muscle in his back. It was not ideal for either of us, but the holidays went on nonetheless.

The kids were thrilled with their presents from Santa. Luke got a helicopter that flies and takes pictures and video. He broke it within a matter of hours. Luke also got some night-vision goggles which are super cool. Evie was gifted with a beautiful dressing table stocked with lip-gloss, lotion, and perfume. She was content. And George received a red bike for Christmas. He was beyond overjoyed! He loves it. Chuck's mom taught him to ride his bike around the house so he makes circle after circle around our house (on the inside). He's already a pro!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'm still celebrating on the inside!

Kurzy Christmas

I seriously love the holidays. LOVE! Anyway, we were lucky to celebrate Christmas with my family last weekend and I managed to get some pictures to memorialize the event. All six siblings together always makes for a fun day - especially when everyone isn't rushing off right away. And so, here is our photographic journey through a Kurzy Christmas (eliminating the wine and food consumed).

My mom and my sister Joan

My sister Mary and my sister Joan

My sister Cathy, my mom, and my sister Joan
(Joan was feeling photogenic that day)

The whole family.
Mary, Mom, Thomas, Joan (back row);
Cathy, Mike, Theresa (front row).

Notice how we basically look like clones.
A little creepy, I'll admit it.

My dad who passed away 21 years ago is also in this
picture -- he's in the picture on the wall behind us.

My nephew Colt and niece Amy.

Controlled chaos -- or maybe not really that controlled.

It's a beautiful Christmas for me. Everyone together, kids having a blast, and plenty of fun for the adults also. Blessed beyond measure.

Mary, my pseudo twin.

Happy birthday to my sister Mary!

Friday.

It's FRIDAY! Whoo hoo!

Y'all have a great weekend!

Not just your ordinary Tuesday.

So Tuesday was a big day for the children at my house. We knew it was going to be big because it was (1) George's third birthday, and (2) the day of Luke's holiday presentation at school -- which couldn't come soon enough because he's been singing Oh Hannukah (in Yiddish) repeatedly for weeks! It wouldn't be so bad, but he was singing it in Yiddish most of the time, and the only other song in his repetiore is some spanish song about a bird in an apple tree singing "Chita-litta-lee" over and over again. It's been constant, and a huge surprise to his Sunday School teachers when he busted out the Yiddish song and bragged that he can sing in three languages: "English, Spanish, and Yiddish". Yeah, that's my kid. I digress.

The point is that we had a wonderful time celebrating both wonderful events.

We even started our morning out at Starbucks with a delicious chocolate doughnut, compliments of the Starbucks staff. Best. Starbucks. Ever!



Unfortunately, I got crappy pictures at Luke's event because I only had my iPhone. Oh well. The sweetest part was hearing the precious little voices singing Silent Night. It was one of those moments I'll always remember.


Afterward, we went to have pizza (George's choice) for dinner. Perrotti's is our family's personal favorite, so we went there. George consumed three regular-size pieces of pizza. No lie.


Obviously, he was not hungry for his birthday cake, but he did enjoy blowing out the candles.

(Again, remember this is all on my iPhone)

Then he tore into his presents, discovering a Mickey Mouse DVD, a paint with water book, a Thomas the Tank Engine Pillow, a Thomas the Tank Engine fuzzy blanket, and finally . . . George's favorite . . . a train.

We had to pry the train out of his hands to get him to go to bed. Luckily, he had his pillow and blanket to ease his separation anxiety.


Although George and Luke were the center of attention most of the day, Evie pulled out a spotlight moment at the end of the evening when her tooth fell out. Yes. Another freakin' tooth. The tooth fairy is losing money.


I insisted on taking a picture. It's a bottom tooth on the right side of the picture. On a related note, I really don't know how to stop these crazy eyes that she gets when she smiles. Seriously, I told her I had to take the picture again and that she needed to smile but not open her eyes so wide. The result is a picture that looks like my child just lost her tooth while she was toking up.

Suggestions on curing this problem are welcome.

Social Networking

Call me a dork if you want, but this made me cry. . .
in a good way!

Happy Third Birthday, George!

Three years ago today I was holding a newborn baby boy in my arms.

We named him George.

He has stolen the hearts of everyone he meets.

Happy birthday, George!

Maroon & White Ridiculousness

So Chuck got a new car over the weekend. It is a white Suburban.

A few weeks ago, Chuck's best friend, Tim, got a new maroon Suburban.

They now have a complementary pair of Maroon and White Suburbans.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum ride again.

Or as I like to call them, J.R. Ewing and Boss Hogg.

Birthday Baby

George's birthday is next week. He'll be the ripe old age of THREE! Holy crap, right? I asked him yesterday, "Whose birthday is coming up????" He answered, "Baby Jesus' birthday."

Precious little thing.

Dreams of the Pregnant Sort

I have a recurring dream very regularly that I feel compelled to share with you. I have this so often and I have no idea why. In fact, I dreamed it again last night. In the dream, I am typically at a party. I've had several glasses of wine and then I realize that I have forgotten that I am pregnant - like 3 or 4 months pregnant - and I look at everyone in horror when I remember that I'm pregnant and say (and each time this is the same), "Oh my God! Why didn't somebody say something?!"

To set the record straight, I am not pregnant, and I do not foresee becoming pregnant, although the chance is always there. So, somebody, freakin explain this to me because I'm not sure my blood pressure can handle the panic that ensues in each dream when I realize that I've boozed it up while I'm pregnant.

It's On!

I started training for a half marathon which I plan to run at the end of February. I ran 3 miles Tuesday, 2 miles Wednesday, and 3 miles today (Thursday). That's only 8 miles so far spread out over three days. FYI, a half marathon is 13.1 miles. I think I might be screwed. I've got a rest day tomorrow, but Saturday and Sunday are going to rock my world, and not in a good way. I have to run 4 miles on Sunday. That will be a personal record, as will anything over 3 miles. Yes, I'm a big fat wussie. I'll keep you posted.

Mother and Son

Luke and I are more similar that you might think.

When I was in third grade, I brought home my first report card and it reflected a very bad report in one aspect of my education --- handwriting. I had received a 'P' in handwriting. 'P' stands for "poor." There is only one step below a 'P' and that was a 'U' for "unacceptable." I have to admit that receiving a 'P' was devastating. I was crushed, embarrassed, and effectively belittled. It was not a surprise that my mom also found this report card unacceptable and my punishment was that I had to copy out of the bible until my handwriting improved. That's right, folks -- out of the Bible -- the very big, very intimidating Bible. I remember dejectedly sitting down at our formal dining room table and begrudgingly copying from the Book of Genesis. Let me assure you that my family, while churchgoers, did not study the bible. I don't think I knew we even had a copy. While I resentfully complained about my punishment, I remember my mom telling me to cheer up. She said, "Just think, when you're done with this you'll have your very own copy of the bible!" I perked up a bit thinking that I would be rewarded with a brand new bible if my handwriting improved. I said, "Really?!" She chucked and said, "Yes, you'll have written your own copy!" My heart fell along with my fleetingly good attitude, and I settled into copying the bible. In spite of my very bad mood, it worked. And thanks to my Mom's creative punishment, I continue to receive compliments about my handwriting to this day.

Well friends, history repeats itself. Luke received an 'N' in handwriting this last six weeks. 'N' stands for "Needs Improvement." There is only one classification below an 'N' and I think that is a 'U' for "Unacceptable" - just like my school days. So, effectively, Luke has earned his very own 'P' in handwriting, just like his mother. I told him this story and then went on to explain that his punishment would be the same as my own. His response to the fact that he would have to copy out of the bible was confusion as he asked incredulously, "We have a bible?!" I rolled my eyes, and wryly responded, "Of course we have a bible." I looked at him in exasperation. I'm not saying we study the bible like some families, but we talk about it, go to church, and say our prayers every evening. It's not like we're complete heathens. Geez. Anyway, he responded in awe and asked, "Mom? I didn't know you were a priest!" I rolled my eyes even more this time. Good heavens, his view on religion is massively skewed. I went on to explain that lots of people have bibles and anyone that wants one can have one. I went on to say that you don't have to be a priest to have a bible. (By the way, they have multiple copies of various children's bibles, so I'm not sure where this confusion arises. Plus, the first thing the kids do at a hotel is pull out the Gideon bible in the bedside table and look at it in awe.)

So, I pulled our bible off the shelf, dusted it off just a little, and sat Luke down at the dining room table to begin copying from Genesis. I mean, it makes sense to start at the beginning, right? I indicated that he would have to copy three paragraphs in his best handwriting. I instructed him that he only had to copy from the Bible like this every night until his handwriting improved. He huffed, he puffed, he groaned, he whimpered, he sighed, he stalled, he hated, he grumbled, and he cried (just a little) for the next thirty minutes as he worked at copying just the first paragraph of the bible. One paragraph. That's it, folks. One, darn, blessed, paragraph of the bible. For Pete's sake! I sat next to him through the entire episode. I encouraged, threatened, domineered, complimented, sighed, growled, corrected, and almost cried in frustration as Luke proceeded to copy only one paragraph of the bible in the slowest possible manner and with very poor handwriting. And so we will continue . . . every night . . . until his handwriting improves.

Oh, this wonderful, frustrating child! It sure is a good thing I love him so much!

It's a morning thing.

Slow on the draw this Monday. I really thought it was Saturday this morning so I snuggled in deep and listened to the cold rain hit the window. Then a deep, unforgiving voice reminded me that it was really Monday morning. It was rather depressing. On a brighter note, I'm thankful that I'm going home soon. Hope you all enjoyed your December Monday morning.

Christmas Lights

Chuck drags his feet every year when it comes to putting up Christmas lights. And even after he gets to it, he's still not very Clark W. Griswold, as you may recall from this post. However, I wonder if this might inspire him to to decorate for little baby Jesus' birthday.

(You'll need to make if full-screen to see the whole thing)

Unfortunately, I have concerns that a display like this might induce seizures with all the blinking lights.

TCU Santa Time

Our sweet nannies, Sarah and Meridith, asked to take the kids to the Christmas Tree lighting at TCU last night. I was more than willing to spend an evening with my sweet hubby, and I knew the kids would love it. I, however, did not realize how awesome it would be for them.

They had a great time! First, the girls took the kids to dinner. Then, they went to the event where they had hot chocolate, saw pretty Christmas lights, hugged on their very pretty nannies, saw Vixen, and got to talk to Santa. Lucky kids!

Doesn't Luke look naughty?!

We are so blessed to have Sarah and Meridith in our lives!
How cute are they?!