Operation Happy Holidays!

This weekend, the babies and I are going to put together a care package to send to my cousin, Doug. Doug, who is just a few days older than I am, is currently serving with the US Army in a war zone (see how in tune I am with OPSEC – I'm not posting exactly where his unit is, just that it is in a war zone). Doug has spent his whole adult life serving our country, and now, at the ripe old age of 42 (I can say that, 'cause I'm 42 myself) he is still serving! So, we want him to know how much we love him and appreciate all the sacrifices he's had to make. OBaby is especially excited about making a care package. She's not 100% sure she remembers who Doug is (she's only seen him twice), but she knows that he is part of our "fambily" and that's all that really matters. I've been checking on line to see what kinds of things we should send. Personally, I haven't sent a care package overseas since the days of Desert Storm, the Original. Then, I was sending them to boys I'd been stationed with in England. So, we'll go out tomorrow and stock up on trail mix and gum, beef jerky and playing cards, and candy and magazines. Then, on Monday I'll be making a trip to the post office since Monday is the deadline for sending packages before Christmas. Did you know that you can get a flat-rate box and the post office that will allow you to ship anything that fits in the box, regardless of weight, for just $8.95 since military APO addresses are considered domestic mail? What a bargain! If any of you would like to send a care package to a service man or woman in a war zone but you don't know anyone who is currently serving, you can go to the web site called Soldier's Angels that will match you with a soldier who you can "adopt". Unfortunately, there are lots of men and women over there who don't have anyone at home to send them any mail. I know we plan to send plenty of stuff so that Doug can share with the others in his unit. It's a little thing we can do for those who do so much for us. Hey, if you don't want to adopt a soldier, email me and you can just send a package to Doug to share with his unit! Come on, I'm trying to make this easy for you!

Conversation at the Bus Stop

Ying’s babysitter (aka ABIGAIL’S Mama) lets the neighborhood kids wait for the bus on her front porch on rainy mornings (like today). As Ying and I were on our way in this morning, I had the following conversation with the kids:

Little girl: How old is that baby?

Me: She’s 2.

Little girl: (sounding surprised) 2?

Me: Yeah, I know, she’s little for 2.

Little boy: She looks the right size for 2.

Little girl: Unt-uh – she looks like she’s still in her zeros!

Older boy: Yeah, but she’s pretty.

Little girl: (still sounding like she doesn’t believe me) Yeah, she is pretty.

Baby goes Bowling

From the Mouth of OBaby

OBaby really likes to talk. A. Lot. As in, all the time. As in, I now have a running commentary on my daily life. It can be exhausting, but at times, very amusing. Take last night. We were on our way home, and OBaby commented on how see can’t see really well when it’s all black and the moon is out. She said, “I need some glasses so I can see things the way blind people do.”

Huh?

I was going to ask about that, but by the time I stopped silent-laughing, she had moved on to the next topic.

Trick or Treat (Tee-Tee-Tee)!

The girls had a ball trick or treating (tee-tee-tee, as YBaby said) last night. Olivia had been planning her costume –Hannah (“H-A-N-N-A-H”) Montana, since August. If you don’t know who Hannah Montana is 1) count yourself lucky and 2) O looked just like her. I decided that Ying-a-Bing, my little Autumn Flower, should be a flower, in Autumn. See how that worked out?

First we dazzled everyone one in our neighborhood. Ying wasn’t so sure about the whole process, but once the idea of candy in her bucket was introduced, she held on to that bucket with a two-handed death grip. Even Momma was not allowed to help carry it. Later, we moved on to Aunt M and Uncle J’s house so that they could “oohh” and “ahhh” over the babies. E and a friend took them out for even more trick or treating. I’m not sure who had more fun there, the babies or the big girls!

Remember the nice old couple who live on our street? The ones who stopped by to talk the night I was taking out the trash in my pajama pants and Ying had a blow out diaper? Yeah, sure you remember them. We stopped by their house. The best part of the night – when we were leaving there, OBaby gave them each one of her great arms-wrapped-around-your-knees hugs totally on her own initiative. They were both so happy to get a hug! What a sweetie she is, huh?

Just so you don’t think my kids are perfect, Ying did demand “MORE” from almost every person handing out candy and had to be forcibly removed from more than one candy bowl. What can I say? It was CANDY!