While the girls were staying with my parents for the week, their little Sissy Girl Baby died. It was very sad for all of us as she had been such a sweet addition to all of our lives. This picture was taken on Em's birthday...just 2 days before she passed away. We will miss her a lot!
On Emyley's birthday we got up very early and drove to Grandma and Grandpa's in Oklahoma. They were going to watch the girls for us that second week of Christmas break since both Bill and I had to work. After a little persuasion, I managed to talk Em into having her birthday at MY favorite restaurant, Ken's Pizza instead of McDonald's...I am so mean. It actually turned out great. My brother Larry brought his wife Tonja and daughter Ashley. My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Larry brought our cousin Claire. The girls all had a great time together. My dad took a lot of video, but I haven't had a chance to put it all together in a cute movie, yet...but I will, Dad!! But here are some pics to give you a good idea of the fun we had with our now 6 year old!!
By Guest Blogger: Maggie Mae Kitty
Christmas for me has always been a treat as it means a tree with lots of lights to lay under and boxes with lots of paper to play with. But this Christmas, I was finally rewarded for being the bestest, goodest kitty that I am.
First, there was the cat grass that my mommy brought home one day after work. It is so yummy, I just can't leave it alone!
Then, there was the feathery, red bird that my mommy brought home after a party at her friend's house. I just love to lick feathers!!
And, as if that wasn't enough, Santa brought me this cute, furry, very active MOUSE!! Oh, yeah that's what I'm talkin' about!! I watch it for hours and hours just waiting for it get out of that cage. I just love to eat mouses...I think...right?? Oh, well....with a little patience, I will find out very, very soon.....heh heh heh.
After getting up at a reasonable hour, the girls dove into opening their presents. They were very surprised with a keyboard for the whole family and a Gerbil (they almost immediately named her Carly)! We played around for a bit then headed to Nana and Joel's for more presents and a delicious dinner! We got to meet their new Yorkie puppy named Jacques who the girls would not leave alone. We took a new family picture and then headed home to bed so we could battle the day-after-Christmas crowds...except there were none. Anyway, we hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and has a good year to come. Enjoy the video...
I decided we needed some new pictures of the girls, so on Christmas Eve they donned black dresses, had their hair done and then posed for the camera. Even Chloe had to get in on the action...hey, she's one of our girls, too!
I don't see how it is possible that Bill and I have a 12 year old daughter, but it is true! I hope this year goes by slowly as I am not too ready for a teenager, yet! ;o)
I thought I would take a blog to share some of our funnier pet pics and a very special video of our "bad cat". 
Hayley was one of the 2nd grade Principal Award Winners for December. I couldn't make it to see her get her award, but my BFF, Steph Marchal took some pics for me!! Great job, Hayley! We are proud of you!!
Hayley's Brownie troop went to a facility in McKinney to spread some holiday cheer. They sang many carols, handed out cookies and candy canes. It was a great time for everyone!
Finally, after working for Alon for 5 years, we got to attend one of their Christmas parties! We took the girls up to Nana's for the weekend and were able to do some shopping and go party! What a treat!! The party was held at the Studios at Las Colinas and was Seuss themed. 
We enjoyed a great dinner of steak, chicken and salmon. For entertainment, there was a live band, card games and 4 Wiis set up to play...including a Wii Fit. We had a lot of fun and it was cool to get all dressed up. Oh, and there was a photographer that took our picture in front of a green screen and we were able to choose from a Christmas, Snowy Bridge or a cool Cat in the Hat Background. We had fun with that!
On Sunday, Emyley was feeling somewhat normal again, so we were able to attend the Santa Workshop with the Daisies. She got to make crafts, have Christmas snacks and meet with Santa. She had a lot of fun!! 
I have recently been to a couple of house parties sponsored by Uppercase Living. It is this really cool new product used to decorate your walls or any other surfaces you can dream of. I recently pucrhased this expression and was able to put it on the wall all by myself. I am nitpicking it now as it looks a little uneven. But until I get Tiffany here for my own party, I am not touching it!
So, another year, another PTA float, another win! Whoop, whoop!! I didn't get to help out this year because after work, I was bushed! But, they managed to pull it off without me. LOL!!!!! My friend Joni was the big organizer and kept lists to keep everyone organized. Everytime I got an update email, I thought she was nuts!! There seemed to be so much to do and so little time. The theme was a Hollywood Christmas, and they decided to do a float of Christmas Vacation with the Griswolds. Of course, it never is just one trailer, this year they did 4 trailers!! The first scene was the house doused in lights. The second scene was the living room with the burning tree and fried cat. The third scene was Cousin Eddie's Winnebago. The fourth scene was presents. The float was not only doused in lights, but included artwork from every student. It was truly a magical float and deserved the win it received (for the 5th year)!! This year, the committee managed to get some news coverage on NBC5 as well as a couple of news articles: http://mckinneynews.net/news.php?nid=10531&cat=4 and http://www.mesquitenews.com/articles/2008/12/12/mckinney_courier-gazette/news/9731.txt.
I have created another SHE production video as I was able to take pics and video this year. And just note that at the end of the parade video, walking behind the float, is Hayley's Brownie Troop and Emyley's Daisy Troop. Emyley and Sydney were both sick with the stomach bug, so they missed the parade. Hayley decided to hang with mom during the parade, so she didn't walk, either...which was a good thing as she got sick later that night.
Anyway, enjoy the video. Joni & Steph, if I forgot any pertinent details, please post them!!!
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to go watch Twilight (again) and figure out where in the heck the soundtrack songs are played so that you can stop obsessing about it everytime you listen to it (way too much) and just enjoy the songs (more than you already do).
Mission: Accepted
Of course, Sydney had to go with me. So, while Bill and the little ones went to see King Tut, we went to Twilight....again! I think I may have missed one or two scenes, but for the most part this is accurate. And the movie was still good. But, I am ready for the DVD, so I can stop shelling out the $$ at the theater!
Bill, Hayley and Emyley headed to the Dallas Museum of Art on Sunday to catch the King Tut Exhibit. They really enjoyed the exhibit and had fun trying to figure out what certain egyptian words meant. They finally figured out that Tut-Ankh-Amun = Living image of Amun. They also enjoyed the rest of the museum which is where they took these pictures that I liked. 
So, you've just started a new job and your kids now have a week off for Thanksgiving. What do you do??? You thank your lucky stars that your parents are retired, and that gas is super cheap again, and beg them to come stay with your children so you don't have to shell out $100s of dollars on daycare! Let me just say....I love my parents! ;o) They came down on Sunday before Thanksgiving to stay with the girls. They had lots of stuff planned and actually hardly spent any time at home. Bill ended up being sick, so he stayed home on Tues and Wed. My dad took on some "honey-do" items for me one of which included installing a new light fixture in our kitchen as the nasty flourescent light died on us.
One of the bribes for getting my parents to come stay with the girls, was the promise that I would provide Thanksgiving Dinner. I had never cooked T-Dinner before, so this was exciting...lol! My mom helped me shop and picked up the tab for some of the items. My MIL came with her hubby and my SIL with her two kids. And, I invited our dear friends the Marchal's over. So, we ended up with 16 people at our house. It actually turned out really well. The kids spent most of their time upstairs in the game room playing Sing Star and HSM Sing It on the PS2. I even got Marchal to do a duet with her oldest daughter. It was fun!
After everyone left, the girls and I settled in for a game of Uno Attack of which Sydney was the queen! Then we headed to bed so that Bill and I could be at Kohl's at 4am the next morning...whew! 
After much anticipation and reading all 4 books of the Twilight Saga, the day finally arrived that we had all been waiting for.....Twilight the Movie was released!!! My friend, Kristi, had arranged for about 9 of us to meet and watch the movie together on opening night. A group of them got together and made us all matching shirts (which now makes a great nightgown), and we had a great time!! The movie is not exactly like the book, and being that it was opening night, the audience leaned more towards the teens, so it really made the movie more comical than I am sure it was intended.
So, because Sydney is the reason I started reading the saga, I knew that I needed to take her to the movie. Hayley and Em wanted to come along, and I wanted Bill to see it from a fresh perspective. We headed out to the first showing that Sunday, and it was a totally different experience. I actually enjoyed it more, and it seemed a lot less corny. The girls loved it and want to see it again and again! Bill wasn't too impressed...too much romance for him. LOL!!
Our elementary school always holds a Culture Night that involves all of the students sharing what they have learned and created about different countries. This year the specials teachers decided to do an olympic themed event. While the kids learned their normal songs and made special artwork, they also learned olympic type games and activies in PE. Now, being that I had just started working, I totally forgot to charge my camera batteries. So, I only got little snippets of video of each girl and a couple of pictures. And, my wonderful friends the Marchal's created the really cool jeep in the video that was used for the Safari Bookfair that was taking place duirng Culture Night and all the next week. It was really cool!!! So, short as it is, enjoy the video!!
Emyley had to disguise a paper turkey using lots of different fabric...ya know so it wouldn't get eaten on Thanksgiving. After much debate, we decided to make Betsy Ross with her paper Turkey. I think it turned out pretty good....and again, this is another project that I am happy to never have to work on again! ;o)
Hayley had a birthday party in downtown McKinney, so the other four of us decided to stroll the square. It had been awhile since we really took the time to walk around and see the shops. And it was so pretty since they had finally finished redoing the roads and sidewalks. We discovered some great stores: Reigning Cats and Dogs, The Cook Collection (candle shop going out of business), Mom and Pop Corn Company and a cool toy store (the name has escaped me). Once Hayley got done, I took the family to Spoons Cafe and we had some yummy food. I really love our downtown!!! If only I could have gotten them to browse the antique shops with me, it would have been a perfect day! LOL!! **Bill took these pics with his iPhone. We have no idea why that one picture looks like a slide puzzle! It's pretty cool, though!
Hayley won the teacher raffle at the PTA Carnival and got to enjoy a movie with her teacher (whom she loves!!!), Miss Carter! They decided to see High School Musical 3, and since I knew that Syd and Em wanted to see it, too, we all went together. Of course, we did not sit with Hayley and Miss Carter, so she still felt very special. And despite the huge cheese factor of the movie, we had a great time!
Well, I did it. I talked about doing it. I needed to do it. And now I have. I got a job. A job outside of the home. A job that requires business casual attire not pjs. A job that requires actual shoes not my Keds flip flops. A job that requires me to fix my hair everyday with a straightener not just a ponytail. A job that requires make up! A job that requires interaction with adults not children. And most of all a job that requires me to leave my house.....eeeeekkkkk!!!!!! ;o)
Actually, it isn't so bad. And with the help of our good, dear, totally awesome, completely stupendous, really fabulous friends, the Marchal's, our adjustment hasn't been too hard. Add to the fact that I get off work in time to pick up the little ones from school, I can't complain too much...oh, and I get paid money now. That's good, too!
Now, I am reaping the benefits of not just a paycheck, but cake days, potluck lunches, gift exchanges....you know all the important stuff you forget about. I am also fortunate to work with some nice people. After relying on tv to see how people interact for nearly a decade, I was pretty worried that I'd get voted off or something. Luckily, I have joined up with a strong alliance and have a good relationship with the leader, so I think I am safe for now. ;o)
And as my good friend, Kristi has pointed out on more than one occasion, this work business is getting in the way of many things....hanging out with my girls, reading, walker pickup and blogging. I'll try to do better as we get a good routine down.
So, I have been busy, and we all know why. I am going to try to catch up on the blog today as I patiently do some laundry (you'll find out...).
To start us off, I have some more Halloween pictures to share that my dad took. Enjoy!!!
Last school year, my fourteen year old niece Ashley entered a drawing contest held by the Chadler Chapter of BACA. She won first place which meant her design is on the t-shirts that BACA sold this year. She did an amazing job, and we are so proud of her!!! The words say, "You can't just patch it up".
We had a pretty calm Halloween this year. My parents were in town to help out with my first day of work, so we all just walked the neighborhood for about an hour or less. No big thing. Emyley was a bat, Hayley a vampire, Sydney some kind of diva dressed in black and I put some silly make-up and false eyelashes on with my witch's hat. We didn't get a ton of candy, thank goodness, but the girls had a good time.
