Oh the humanity!!!

Our computer has crashed. Yesterday I turn on my computer and I get an application error, then another, then another, and they go on and on until I get the blue screen of death. Time to call Dell Support. Prince Charming takes over and I hop in the shower thinking that as soon as I get out, all will be right in the world and I will have access to all of my computer stuff. Much to my dismay, Prince Charming pokes his head into the bathroom and says it can be fixed, but we will most likely lose everything. I start to cry as I think about the thousands of pictures that will disappear simply because I am too lazy to back everything up onto our external hard drive.

I think that someone (serendipity?) must have been looking out for those pictures because conveniently enough, the keyboard stopped working, so Prince Charming couldn't do what the tech guy wanted him to. So, Prince Charming said he would call back once the keyboard was up and running. After some chatting, we decided that we would take it to an actual person to help us salvage whatever we can.

The good news is, all the files are still on the computer. The bad news is, I have to wait to post about our Gingerbread House building party and the weekend we spent cutting down our Christmas tree because they simply wouldn't be the same without pictures. In the meantime, I write this from Prince Charming's laptop (with dubious wireless access) and wait for all of our precious files to be backed up onto our hard drive. The dude from the Geek Squad has promised that it should be returned in 2 to 3 days. I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow!

All of a sudden the Mac we want to get has moved to the top of our priority list. Prince Charming has plans to visit the Apple store this week.

A weekend in Pictures

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Prince Charming, the boys and I headed up to Pinetop to spend a long weekend with Prince Charming's brother (M), his wife (JJ) and our niece (CeeGee) at my parent's cabin. We went up a day early to have some family time and M and JJ joined us a day later. Unfortunately our guests had to leave a day early because JJ came down with a nasty cold that rendered her unable to have good cabin fun. As sad as we were to see our family go, we still managed to have a fantastic weekend! I think this should become a tradition!

While we were there, we played at the park:

We played with the ice that was remaining from a previous snow:

We played with the many toys we found inside:

We cuddled. Oh BOY did we cuddle!

We played Dancing with the Stars on the Wii. Which is hilariously fun, by the way!

We went fishing. Unfortunately, we didn't even get a nibble on our line:

We found some discs and went sledding on the rock solid ice:

We had a fantastic weekend topped off with a lovely Thanksgiving back in Phoenix at my Mom's house. I was in charge of the desserts this year and I took a Bourbon Pumpkin Cheesecake, two Pecan Pies, and some Mint Brownies. All were homemade and all were a hit!

I just love the Holiday season!

I feel like a kid in a candy store!

I get to play with this all weekend!

We are headed to the cabin tomorrow for a long weekend with my Brother and sister in law and my niece. My Dad was very kind and said that I could take his new camera with us! I am so giddy I can't stand it. While this isn't the particular camera that is on my wish list, I can get some great practice with it!

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a HUGE User's Manual to read up on!

Lovely Apron

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways...

You are oh so lovely

You make feel feel pretty when I wear you

I made you with my own hands

You keep my clothes clean when I make yummy things to eat

When I forget to take you off, you become part of my outfit

And best of all, the hubby thinks I look super sexy when I wear you

Thank you, dear apron, for being YOU!

Delish!

Thanks, Babe, for the MOST delicious pizza you made for us this evening! The combination of the ricotta, caramelized onions, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, and arugula just melted in my mouth! It was yummy in my tummy. Thank you for making it with LOVE!

Meet Sir Chatsalot

Sir Chatsalot is 2 and a half years old, has brown hair, brown eyes, weighs about 30 pounds and is about 3 feet tall. Ever since he found his voice he has used it. And used it. And used it. It really is a sweet voice. He seems to have inherited his mother's gift of gab, which is great because who better to talk to than someone who likes to talk to me! When in his company, silence should be a cause for concern. His location can be easily pinpointed, just listen for the constant chattering. Even alone, he finds comfort in his own voice. Then there are times when his silence is desired. Is there a sleeping baby nearby? Is there someone to sneak up on and surprise? Is there a game of hide-and-go-seek to be played? Are we in church surrounded by people who came to actually listen to and participate in the service? Such was the case this morning. Sir Chatsalot wanted to have conversations with us, ask us questions, play with B, argue with B, all in his normal speaking decibel. Which, if you have ever had the pleasure of being in Sir Chatsalot's company, you will know is louder than most people speak. Dad had to take him outside after a few dirty looks were cast in our direction. No, we were not the only family in there with young children. I heard crying and complaining and giggling. All of which never bother us, parents of noise producing children. After mass was complete, we gathered our belongings and munchkins, and began shuffling out into the aisle. A little tap on the shoulder got my attention and I hear, "You have quite an active bunch! Perhaps you should sit in the back next time." I did not respond to this woman, I only nodded politely and smiled. As we were walking out of the church, I did think about how blessed I am to have a 2 year old with such great language skills and his great need to talk won't keep us from the front of the church. Although, perhaps we could start practicing his church voice.

Close Call

While I didn't get any pictures of B riding his bike without his training wheels yesterday, I did get it on video. After tiring of video taping, I set the camcorder on top of my car in the garage because it was better than just setting it down on the concrete.

After a successful ride, B was rewarded with a trip to the bike shop to pick out a bell of his own to put on his bike. After they returned, I got to thinking about the camcorder. Where did Prince Charming put it? On a whim, I went out to look in the garage and there it was, sitting on top of the Volvo, right where I put it.

Prince Charming couldn't have possibly left it up there. He must have just put it back. So, when I asked him if he took the camcorder off of the roof of the car before he left for the bike shop, his face went blank. Our Sony went for a ride to the bike shop, patiently waited for them to shop, and then rode all the way back to our house. While it would have been nice to be forced to upgrade our camcorder, we would have lost the precious video.

Thank you Sony for holding on tight and coming safely back home to us!