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24 DECEMBER 2005
I found a new hobby. I've been making bracelets and necklaces with picture beads on them. Since I have previous experience with polymer clay, it was an easy transition to learn how to make the picture beads. I already had a lot of the equipment, too. The idea came from my wish to do something different for grandmother gifts this year. Since we're so far away for this Christmas, I wanted to do be able to send something small enough. I came across a website with these, and I knew I had to look no more. There has been local interest for my product as wll, so I've decided to sell them. A bead store in Wilmington even asked if I would be interested in teaching a class once a month. I don't know if I want to take it that far. Literally, the drive is over an hour each way! I'm still working out all the bugs, but I hope to soon have a website up and running showcasing and selling my jewelry. I figure it ties in nicely with my interest in photography. Mike also wanted me to mention that he is still catching lots of fish. May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
12 DECEMBER 2005
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I
thought I would give a quick rundown on what's going on here before
Christmas comes and goes. We decided to spend Christmas with just
our own little family this year. The small tree from Wal-mart's
2003 Christmas clearance sale sits in the corner of our living room
bare from the waist down. Multiple shards of decorations have been
swallowed, I'm guessing. But come Christmas morning, it will be
such a treat to see the looks on the girls' faces with all the presents
under the tree. Annie has already opened a couple of presents without
permission, one of her's and one of mine. I noticed a Vera Bradley
cosmetic case that I'd never seen sitting on the coffee table full
of toy trinkets. At first it took me by surprise, but I quickly
discovered the culprit. It was really funny to see her open the
first present. I caught her in mid-rip. She was singing a song while
upwrapping. I soon realized it was "Happy Birthday". Apparently,
we've been watching too much of "America's Home Videos"
because she's made the connection to singing "HB" and
opening gifts from that show. 
Mimi
is almost a walker. She stands unsupported for several seconds all
the time. While at Mailboxes Etc. the other night (sending last
minute gifts) she took two steps toward Mike. That's one for the
baby book! It was discovered this morning at breakfast that she
has a tooth erupting. That explains her two sleepless nights last
night and the night before. Grr! I think she may get a dose of Tylenol
before bed tonight. New words come out of her mouth each day. O.K.,
they may not be actual words, but she is making the effort to make
different sounds. Mimi really loves her big sister. She follows
her around a lot waiting for Annie's next big trick. I really do
hope they will be good friends when they're older. Her belly is
the size of a soccer ball. She's our little cannonball, but we call
her Harvey after one of our former cats. For those who knew Harvey,
you should understand. Mimi is also starting to try out new foods.
She's been eating a little bit off the big people's plates such
as pancakes, eggs, mac'n'cheese, bread, even some broccoli and greenbean
casserole. Annie will, on occasion, feed her goldfish crackers.
And tonight, I caught Annie trying to nurse Mimi. Oh, my poor children!
Wow,
I can't keep up with these girls anymore! Mimi is climbing stairs,
walking along furniture, and will stand unsupported for seconds.
It's only a matter of time before she's officially walking. A very
scary thought...2 walking kids in this house. Annie was only about
10 and a half months old when she started walking, and Mimi just
turned 10 months. I keep forgetting to lock the downstairs gate
and will find Mimi halfway up the stairwell. Bad Mommy!! No falls
yet, thank goodness. I am now making a conscious effort to get back
into the habit of keeping the gates locked at all times. Mimi is
still holding out as long as possible for teeth to arrive. Her lack
of teeth don't stop her from eating crackers and such. However,
the eating habits of Mimi are nothing to brag about. She has a BAD
habit of flailing her arms around whenever a spoon is aimed toward
her mouth. It used to be cute; now it's just frustrating. She's
still a mama's girl though and loves to be carried around as much
as given the opportunity. 
Annie
is still, well, Annie. I can't keep her in just one outfit during
the day. It's amazing how I will put her down for a nap and return
later to find her in a new outfit. She's fallen under the spell
of the tantrum fairy again. The "naughty seat" seems to
temporarily help with those episodes. Mealtime is chock-full of
threats, bribes, and demands usually with Annie winning each round.
Today she thought she was "helping" when she brought me
two ornaments from the Christmas tree. Annie also likes to "help"
discipline Mimi and Lucy. I saw just this afternoon trying to put
Mimi on the naughty seat while saying, "No, Mimi!" At
the end of the day, however, I can longer be cross with Annie when
she snuggles up with me on the couch and looks up at me with those
huge, brown eyes. I've added a 
Mike
is back to his old ways. His obsession for hunting and fishing never
ends. Since he wasn't allowed to go fishing this past Saturday (he
went last Saturday though and several times during his lunch hour
last week), Mike decided to go fishing after work today. He found
a "good" spot that caught a bunch a fish at last Saturday.
He told someone about the spot, and that person had luck in the
same spot on a couple of occasions last. Apparently, it was too
much for him to wait over a week to try out his spot again. No luck.
Tonight he confessed to me that it's probably not safe for him to
go fishing alone in his boat after dark. Ya think!!! I shouldn't
complain though seeing as I'm allowed to have lots of (expensive)
hobbies, too. I guess the irritation is still fresh on my mind.
Anywho, check out the very few