Cookie Craze!

(and yeah these are so NOT my cookies!)

T'was 2 weeks before Christmas when the hubby declared
Christmas cookies would do very well here!
So I rose out of bed, with a yawn and a stretch
Off to the store quickly ingredients to fetch.

I blended and stirred, whipped and I mixed
I had dozens and dozens of cookies to fix!
Pinch of salt here, cup of sugar there
Soon we had flour EVERYWHERE!!

Exhausted I fell into the chair with a sigh
Wait mom, I don't see the Apple pie!!
What!? I shouted looking about
I have 10 dozen cookies, don't they count?!

The kids slunk from the room
And I grabbed up the broom
Grumbling under my breath I cleaned up the mess
Next year Betty can do my cooking
...While I buy a new DRESS!


Today we made peanut butter kiss cookies (4 dozen), Cashew Toffee and roll out sugar cookies (and frosted/decorated them) 6 dozen

Going to the Chapel and we're....Gonna get...

MARRIED!!!

I recently took a trip to the fridged north country (aka Fargo, ND) where the temps hit a sweltering 14 degrees (that was the HIGH folks!!!) To see my brother, Joe get married to his (now) wife Dana. Together on Saturday, December 5, 2009 with their kids in tow tied the knot! Below are some pictures from their special day (and rehearsal dinner)

Welcome to the family, Dana, Jordan and Evan!

L to R (top) Joe, Janelle (that's me), Emmalyn (Joe's daughter)
L to R (bottom row) Bob (That's my dad), Paula (that's my pretty momma) and Nathan (Joe's son)

Joe and nemmy!

Dana

Thanksgiving at the Miller house '09

Thanksgiving was a quite affair at our home this year.  It was just Jay and I with the kids---but we did the whole deal, turkey, corn, potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls...pies upon pies....pretty yummy, indeed...and might I add I can cook one heck of a turkey!!!  YUM!

Christian enjoyed his Thanksgiving playing his video games :)

Jillian's Thanksgiving outfit (I made the top)

Awe look how cute she looks---one of many pies!

Gettign Thanksgiving dinner ready...he's an awesome husband!

Decorating the Tree

2 days after Thanksgiving we drug out all the decorations---realized that 1 out of 6 strands of lights still worked (what actually happens during the spring/summer/fall to make them NOT work??) and here is the photo's to prove that it actually got done!

Bella wanted to help....

Here Jillian adjusts the ornaments just so and Christian's lending her a helpful boost. (She wanted all the ornaments up high this year...but was unable to reach that high...so someone had to lift her up)

Don't be fooled, it always ends with wrestling...no matter what we do it's gotta end in wrestling...today was no exception as Aiden and Jay start cleaning up--the wrestling match started up.

Finally all calmed down the tree is done, here's a quick snap shop of the family around the newly decorated tree.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MILLERS!!!

Dear Santa...

Thanks for all the gifts you've blessed us with in the past.  I ask this year that you don't shop at Best Buy or HP.  You see, Santa, I have this computer that won't stop dying.  We've had this little lap top for 2 years and it's been repaired 3 times and last night it craped out again!  I don't know what to do, Santa!  I can throw it out the window or place it on the floor and let the kids jump on it until it's smashed in a billion pieces...of couse knowing my luck it wouldn't "break" apart that easily...I would guess it only breaks when you actually use it the way it's intended to be used.  Thankfully my husband (who so deserves extra presents this year) was able to restore it, but at the cost of all my pictures.  Bye bye pictures of Halloween, Grandma's visit, the pumpkin patch, Christian's birthday....HP and Best Buy should be SHUT DOWN SANTA!!! Put them on your naughty list for selling lemons like this!  Maybe they should go into business selling Coal for all the naughty kids.  Maybe, just maybe they'd learn to sell products that work! (you could toss in a lesson in Customer Service if you've got time)

So Santa....this year I don't want something for my self. I'm asking for something for everyone...every consumer, every eager buyer who goes in with a wad of cash, a slim, cool credit card...I ask you give them PEACE this season.  Peace of knowning that when they fork over all that hard-earned money that they'll be buying a quality product that JUST WORKS, so they won't lose their precious memories with a flicker of a screen and 4 hours of reboots and reformats.

Thank you santa....the cookies are homemade by me--frosted by the kids...eat with caution!

Janelle

1) baseball is back 2) Tails from Black friday's past...

Aiden's back in baseball...they've had a few weeks of practicing but last night (Monday) was the first game of the season...they kicked butt....until the bottom of the final inning...where they totally blew it and ended up losing by one.  can you say..heart....breaker. :(

Tonight is game 2...and this time...we're gonna WIN! (hopefully)  I'll have to bring my camera and snap some pictures of the games, then share them with ya'll.

On another topic completely---who's going shopping on "Black Friday"?

This is something my mom and I always did together...well not always..but the past couple of years I've dragged her out at the crack of dawn (Ok I lie it's way before dawn) but we'd hit store after store and she'd be going bonkers cuz she hates crowds...and traffic.  Anyone who's been out on Black Friday KNOWS that's the day in a nutshell...traffic and crowds....awe but bless her heart she still went with me cuz I love the rush.  But this year---this year she up and left me all alone--so I'm not going.  and yeah I maybe pouting a little on the inside.

But this one time...on black Friday...(hee hee) My mom, me and my aunt Katy went shopping down here in the Valley. (trust me folks it's insane---no you don't know know, trust me...it's a whole OTHER world down here on Black Friday)  but we went out (It was my first year here)  we hit wal-mart before it was open and waited....split up and met back together.  I was in electronics waiting on a Nintendo DS lite or something--I went and found the worker to help me and asked for this specific item.  He said he'd go look.  I told him I'd wait in line, I had a few other purchases anyway.  He came and held up two, I chose one and the person in front of me chose one.  The lady checking out said "Oh I want one of those!" the guy looked at me and then her and said "sorry we only had two left"  well the gal checking out said "Well I was here first" so the employee took the DS out of my hands (literally!) and handed it to her.  I was like "What!?  I specifically asked for this, found and you brought it to me, you can't take it away!"  he was like "She was in line first" and walked away.  She finished checking out and I just stood there dumbfounded....put all my stuff back (hahahaha, I mean dumped it off on some random pile of wal-mart crap) and we walked out of there.  I was so upset I was near tears....which sucks cuz I wasn't sad or anything, I was upset as in TICKED OFF...but that emotion always comes out as tears for me....

We then head to Circuit City....finally we catch a break and pull in as someone's pulling out.  Until someone cuts in and steals out parking spot.  My mom and Katy jump out like the car is on fire and pound on her windows (after all we were waiting for the spot with our signal on--it was pretty obvious)   I thought for sure Katy and Mom were gonna be goners due to road rage.  I was yelling at them from the car "It's not worth it, there's lots of places to park!" (really there weren't any!!) but they were just hell-bent on chewing her out.

Parking-spot-thief says  "I'll just be a second, you can wait for it if you want" and walks in....oh did I mention she was like 80 years old, white hair and TOTALLY RUDE!! who does that?? what a jerk. My mom was furious---looking back now we can laugh that day of  "Black Friday" shopping here in the Valley it was pretty sucky...I decided then and there I wouldn't do it again here.  The next couple years that followed we'd do Thanksgiving at my mom's house and Christmas here.  That way we could go black Friday shopping with SANE people in Corpus Christi.  So to my friends out there in the Rio Grande Valley that are going shopping...GOOD FREAKIN' LUCK!! (You'll need it) it's crazy out there!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBIE!

My sweet nephew Robbie is turning 11 today!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROB!!

wish I could have a piece of cake with you tonight! :)

Going to go out tonight!

We've got the sitter booked (well in advance...yeah I have to reserve my own son to babysit), the tickets purchased, the car gassed up.  I'm ready to go!!!  Where are we going?  To a Killer Bee's Hockey game!!!  I'm so excited--it's a give-a-way night...1,000 adult jerseys to be given away tonight--I love me a freebie!!  Wondering though, how soon do I need to get there to ensure I get a free jersey?  (hey we planned this date for this very reason!!)

I found this while looking for a pic of the Killer Bee's Logo...this is NOT a jersey...boo *POUT*

This is a 3/4 sleeve shirt!!

Maybe going out will help me forget that the Senate is gonna doom my kids and my health---then tax me to death when I can't afford it anymore :*o(  Whaaaaaa!

Adventures on Craft Day

Yesterday was Thursday, and every month at MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) we have a craft...it just so happens I'm in charge (along with my fabulous friend Katy) of crafts for 40 women...who are EXPECTING an amazing craft! (what did I get myself into!!!)  however--my adventure begins a couple nights before...shall we rewind??

Tuesday:  Bible Study, which went well...then lunch with the princess at McAllisters Deli...we walk out of McAllisters and she starts coughing her precious little head off...(this has been going on for a month--comes and goes but never fully goes away) so I've had it, enough is enough, I call the doctor and get an appointment for that day.  After a bunch of mumbo-jumbo and BS he states she has asthma. (she's also got a low-grade fever) so he puts her on FOUR different medicines. My mommy instincts are screaming that this is wrong---but I trust him, cuz he's been wonderful in the past and I've never had reason to doubt him.  After paying 123 bucks for a doctor visit I'm not too pleased with, I leave.  Go to Walgreens who's backed up 2 hours!! I'm like never mind, go to Target...they're good to go..however--one of the medicines is 239.99 (with 11 refills cuz apparently we grow money down here!) long story short, I fill one of four scripts and leave.  Get home, and rush to get ready for my Pampered Chef Party (if you ordered, thank you-if you didn't--there's still time!!!)   Jay's home with her and she still can NOT stop coughing...we give her the breathing treatments and she throws up from coughing so hard. :( Poor baby...we did that twice in the next 24 hours and both times she threw up cuz she was coughing so hard...needless to say we're not doing that anymore.

She sleeps in our room that night---OK sleep is a bit of an exaggeration, she was up every 20 minutes coughing for 10 minutes, passed out before waking up again..it was horrible, Jay slept on the couch (don't feel sorry for him...at least he GOT SLEEP!) I slept with Jillian and have since been running on "E" the past 36 hours.

Wednesday we stay put..we don't move a muscle, we don't leave the house...the cough gets worse and now she's still running a low-grade fever.  Jay's out of town...

Thursday--MOPS...and it's craft day...Katy and I have been planning a MONSTER craft that I have to be there for....so the bad mommy that I am I have Christian stay home (Jay's still out of town) and I run to MOPS do the craft, thank goodness I did cuz Katy was super sick and couldn't stay either!   On the way to MOPS I put in a phone call to the doctor and give his nurse a piece of my mind...it's NOT asthma,  know you probably get mom's calling in and tell you they know more but I'm telling you IT'S NOT ASTHMA!  she asked me "Do you want to come back in?" I said "No! you saw her two days ago she's the same! oh wait now she's got diarrhea and vomits when I do the breathing treatment, she needs an antibiotic"  she tells me she'll talk to the doc and get back to me.  I hang up...I get rear-ended. (no damage, I'm fine...it's just a testament to how my day was going) I get to MOPS do the craft (went well woo hooo!!!) and still haven't heard from dear ole doc.  Now I call back...he's out to lunch.  I have a few words with the receptionist about when I can expect a call and 45 minutes later they call back...they'll call in an order for Zithromax.  PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Last night until about 3 am she was still up coughing every 20 minutes, but once 3am hit and that medicine too hold--she's been doing wonderfully...she's napping now for the past 3 hours and I've heard one cough! ONE!!!  Tonight I just may get some sleep after all.

Oh and Christian was more than happy to "Help me out" yesterday--but still THANK YOU, Baby...your a lifesaver!!  and Jay's back home...can I go to bed yet?

I swore I'd never be like this...

But when she comes in shivering what am I supposed to do?! I know she's just a dog, but when it's chilly here my heart breaks for any critter human or non that's shivering!! So we got her a little fleece jacket. LOL It's really cute...pathetic of me, yeah I know but she's warmer and doesn't come in shivering so much anymore!

This weekend I made my first ever from-scratch cheesecake!! here's the finished product. It was pretty good!!! but VERY RICH!!! and I forgot the topping (which was supposed to be a sour cream sweetened topping, but like I said I forgot.) :( But I MADE A CHEESECAKE!!! that's amazing for this culinary-challenged lady!

He Strikes again...

Aiden's up to his same adorable antics....here are two little stories/letters he wrote this weekend...just had to share!



I think the top one is a "story" Dan Makes a Krabby Patty
Dan goes to the store. He gets lettuce, cheeses, tomatoes, buns.

The next one is a letter to grandma...

Aiden Peter Miller

I love my grandma, she is fun becuase she takes me to Pizza Hut, McDonalds, movies, beach, Little Ceasars and she plays games like Sorry.


Isn't that sweet!? Awe!

Someone's not having a good day...

That someone is ME!  I'm so upset at life in general.

My day started out good, bible study, time with friends...then I got a phone call and Christian got his phone taken away at school (long story--but he didn't get caught---yet got it taken away---like a cop over hearing you tell your friend you sped and then he wrote you a ticket--that type of thing)

Christian's xbox is "hacked" and this morning XBOX locked out 600,000+ people who's xboxes are hacked (open to download games on line) but the whole point of having an XBox 360 is to play against your friends online...well now he can't! When Jay called to figure out what was going on they reply "there's nothing we can do"  REALLY!? aren't you MICROSOFT?  Didn't you DO this in the FIRST PLACE?!

I'm not excusing what Christian did to his XBox...but to ban them from the INTERNET, to allow them to play with their friends online---THAT JUST SUCKS!  He got a new game today and can't even play it to it's fullest.  I will NEVER buy another MICROSOFT item again--they could have tracked the stolen games (Which Christian has none anymore--we discarded them all after a chat about the morality of it) but once your xbox is hacked it's hacked....so that means if you buy one at GameStop that's hacked...tough cookies, sweetheart, YOUR BANNED!!)  To top it off...the "contract" you have to enter into to gain access was accepted by my then 13 year old..so really it's null and void...wonder if that would hold up in court! JERKS!

and finally--I made a dress to enter into a contest online and I used the wrong designs!!  2 days of work, tons of fabric and it's just not even something I can enter cuz you HAD to use those designs.  Today is a good day to sit down and cry....

But here's the dress I made.

CLOSE UPS OF THE DESIGNS...uh, the WRONG DESIGNS!!

Our Newest Family Member

Introducing our newest baby.... Tinkerbell "Bella"

Born August 14, 2009
Welcomed into our home on November 8, 2009

She's a blonde short hair (smooth) Mini Dauschund. She has Green eyes, white dipped paws and a white tummy. Jay would like to breed her with a black/brown mini that his friend has...so the possibilites for puppy combos are endless! :)

Don't Tip off the Waiter!

The date was a bust...the group of kids who were going must have changed their mind or something cuz the whole thing didn't happen.  But Christian and his friend Darren decided to still hit PF CHANGS and grab dinner.  one 15 year old and one 14 year old go in to PF CHANGS on a Friday night around 10:30 pm.  Oh it can only get better from here!!

After spending a small fortune on enough food to feed a small army they get the bill and experience a little "sticker shock"  they split the bill and leave a tip...

A TWO-DOLLAR TIP!!!  (oh I'm so glad I wasn't there--to have someone identify me as one of their parents would be mortifying!!!)  Jay picked them up and they shared their story with him and he laughed and said "You better hope that you don't see that waiter outside of PF Changs again--he'll probably give you a beat down" LOL.

Guess we neglected that lesson...so all you parents out there--be sure to tell your kids that they need to tip 15-20% ...apparently that's a "learned" lesson.

He would die if he knew I posted this...

Christian has his FIRST DATE tonight!!  I'm sooo excited for him!  It's Homecoming today at Sharyland High School and last night was his last football game (GO RATTLERS!) they won 28-7!  Ending the season on a great note!  While at the game Jay looked over at a cheerleader and saw Christian's number (14) on one of the cheerleaders cheeks.  Of course I could hardly wait for him to be done so I could ask about her.  He grinned, played dumb and got embarrassed....but fessed up her name was Raquel.  Then we got home and he timidly asked if he could have some money cuz a bunch of them wanted to go to BJ's (a restaurant here) after the game.  I was like "Well who's going" (diligent momma, good job!) and he turned another darker shade of read and said "Oh a bunch of us, but Raquel invited me to go"   my response? "THE cheerleader Raquel!?"

...oh yeah...THE CHEERLEADER RAQUEL!  hahahahaha...(unfortunately I couldn't get a good look at her so I don't know if she's a cutie or not...but whatever..my boy has his first "date!")  For those with younger kids, you don't get it yet..this is huge..this is like the first step...or sending them off to Kindergarten!  I feel like I should whip out his baby book and document it---but it would look weird to have it go from "First fruit: Peaches" to "well, he's 15 now and having his first date on 10-6-09"  So I had to blog it! My baby boy is getting so grown up--time for Jay to have THE talk with him, I guess...

And NO Grandpa you can't call him until tomorrow afternoon! He all ready got his phone taken away at school once and we had to go pick it up and pay 15 bucks...NO MORE TROUBLE!!  So you can call him tomorrow and give him a hard time :)

Grandma Helen's Visit

another trick or treating shot of Aiden and Jillian

At Bailey's Last game...Aiden loves tossing the football..he's kind of a natural :)

Bailey's Last game...WIN!! they ended the season 2-2

Jay and Jillian @ Bailey's game

Aiden and Grandma go Bowling!!

A Sad Farewell...

Today my parents have movers at their house, packing up their items, our memories and moving them miles and miles away to Florida.  It's a sad time for me...I will miss them terribly.  I know I can't be selfish and keep them here with me forever--but it was nice..it was fun...it was what families should be doing.  Thank goodness there are planes and cars and we're not traveling by horse and buggy anymore!!!  We'll be heading out to Florida to visit and see them in their new digs as soon as we can!!  Florida holds so many fun and exciting things for young and old alike.  My kids will not only love seeing Grandma and Grandpa, but Disney, Sea World, the Beach, mini golf (we have that but honestly...we never go---it's one of those vacation things we all love to do)

So this post is for my parents...HAPPY MOVE!! Safe travels and all our love going with you!!!

Grandma and Jillian practicing their "Gang Signs"

A Not-So-Spooky Halloween Night...

My Fairy and my "Dan" from Bakugan

Then neighborhood was packed as usual but a lot of houses were dark.  What happened to everyone handing out candy?? where is everyone going or why aren't they handing out candy?  Times-are-a-changing I guess...they did a lot of walking in between houses---but when Aiden tuckered out first we made our way back home with quite a haul still.  I think Jillian would have covered all of Sharlyand Plantation in her quest for candy!!

Here are pictures of my goblins from last night!!

School Dance!

Bailey is off to his first school dance of 5th grade!! and looking uh...cool ??? in this get up!! A shiny sports shirt with plaid shorts....the kid must have gotten Jay's fashion sense! LOL Actually he looks kinda cute---when he arrived the girls were all over him....ridiclous!!!


Tonight Aiden's off to go bowling with Grandma Helen and Jay and Christian are hitting the High School game and me and Jillian...we'll I guess we're staying home....because someone has to be here for when Bailey gets home :)