Friday, December 28, 2012

Okay, it came to me!

It occurred to me that I have been able to post pictures from Elena's I-pod touch, so I thought, what is different with my I-Pad??
The difference is that I did not have the blogger app installed!
Yippie!
So here are some Christmas pictures:
Now I am not sure how they are going to put themselves into the post.
They are all situated down at the bottom right now. :)

We have had a wonderful break!
Right now Andy is making some bacon and pancakes and I am chilling with HGTV, my cold, and the I-Pad.

Here are the toys the kids wanted for Christmas:
Victor wanted and got a basketball goal.
Elena wanted, and got, a car for her Julie doll.
Eva wanted, and got, a bike that she could ride her baby on.
The bike has a baby seat!
She wanted a princess bike, but the one {Santa} brought was Lalaloopsy.
The Princess bikes do not come with baby seats.
So when she threw a little fit, I just let her know that Santa has a pick up
time--he comes back around and gets things that might have been
disappointing--he has pick up times on Christmas day at 12:30 and
2:30--I just have to call him, don't worry Eva!
Boy, did she change her mind once I announced this pick up time!
I also told her that Santa does not bring a replacement toy. ;).

Victor's favorite has been the remote controlled helicopter that Grandma
brought. He loves it!! I love the look of delight on his face!!
Andy also loves this one, so we have sent Grandma in search of another one!
Sharing can be hard.... even at 36! ;).

So this year is wrapping up, and I must say that it has passed en un rato!
What a blur!
This year we are looking forward to
1. Andy starting school to get his master's degree
2. Basketball season in the Winter
3. A birthday party for Elena in a very fun location!
4. Summer will bring swim team again--with the best coach ever!, Coach Spencer.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!









Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Sometimes

I just get so confused about technology etc.
I have my IPad out and I am composing this post, BUT Imcannot make any pictures put themselves up here.
There are cute ones from Christmas.  So cute.  We had a very Merry Christmas.  Victor and Eva have been sick.  They are recovering now.
They all got something that they wanted.
We have played and played!
Now I am feeling a teensy bit sick, but no worries!
Tomorrow I will do more of what I call light housework mixed with resting and watching HGTV.
So Fun!

I will post the pictures somehow or another.  It is just gonna take some more figuring.

Cheers!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Bienvenidos!

a la 21st century, Hill family!
You are going to love the use of cable t.v.!
You will wonder HOW IN THE WORLD have we lived without the
absolute wonder of over 70 channels???
You will so enjoy using the cell phone, oh yes, it is a handy, dandy
little tool...
At any moment you might be summoned by any ole
somebody who {needs} you right then!
Marvelous, truly Marvelous!

Lowdown:  The t.v. antenna stopped serving its purpose...
We go tired of all the little times when a cell phone would have
come in handy...
U.S. cellular's deal was a good one...

So in we went--two new bills to pay!
1.  cell phone
2.  cable.

Our children have been in a trance all afternoon!

Oh, and the cable guys came out to do the hook up
and Andy and I both agree that they are an interesting lot!
That would be an interesting anthropological study...
The subset of the population that is the Cable guy--
Oh, someone made a movie about that, right?
Very nice they were--and very interesting in their tales to tell,
and mannerisms...

So, now I will have to depart from the back porch and the joy of the computer screen
to go and watch cable t.v.!  {yippie}

Saturday, December 15, 2012

{winning}

When one has a child who is born competitive, one has to do a lot of explaining the topic in the
title of this post.
Only one of my children seems to have been bitten by the {winning} bug, and he is the male child.
Since he was able to "play" he has wanted to {win}.
The interesting thing about {winning} and development, is that children do not have ration, or
logic--it develops along the way.
18 month olds make up "games" that would really be impossible for anyone to {win}. (etc.)
Y'all are not reading this for a lesson in childhood development, I know, but there is a bit
of background that one has to know, in order to enjoy this story, and these are the words
and thoughts that have been writing themselves to me. :)
So, Victor is five now, and he has had many heartaches and some real {winning} moments.  I would say the average mix for any average child...you win some you lose some.
He also has a very {logical} personality with a VERY BIG dose of temper mixed in--I know EXACTLY where that came from.  I can see me in his fits..I know exactly how his frustration/desperation feels!!
So one day --maybe a month ago --I broke it down for Victor--after a bad luck BINGO night at
school at which some lucky child won an I-Pod, and another won a Nintendo DS...
I just started explaining...the types of winning.
There are three types of winning I said:
1.  The total luck kind--no need getting too upset--it was just luck! pure Luck!  No one did anything skillful at BINGO that night, nope--they just got lucky... And if you act sulky when someone else wins you are not being a good sport and you might detract from their good feelings...no need for that--just hold in your disappointment...
2.  The subjective kind of winning--say an art contest or an essay contest.  This kind of winning is based upon ones opinion of some thing you have done...
Around here you can't put much stock in that one either--our subjectivity around here is based on if your Mama will get mad and act like a fool when you do not "win"-or if your grandad ate lunch with George Washington and you have blue blood in your veins...those are the {best} essay writers and artists in our town--you better believe it!  (they sure do). ;)....I do not tell my children the second part, as I do not want them to be cynical too early--they have 13 years to figure that one out.
3.  The only kind I think has any real value is the indisputable kind...the kind where one wins a race, or
one makes the best grades...there is no arguing there.  I told V-man--this is the only one you need to worry about or really try at--and don't cry about it...just be the best! (when you can) Then I explained--the blue ribbons from swimming...?? that is the kind to take pride in, that is the kind that was based on pure time, and stroke correctness..nothing more and nothing less. 
So, I think he got it...
I do all of this when we are riding in the car and they are trapped!

So the VERY NEXT WEEK when we were at the beach for Thanksgiving--we were all at the pier playing arcade games when Victor had a GIANT STROKE OF LUCK!  He was playing some wheel spinning game for a quarter--and he hit the jackpot!! One THOUSAND TICKETS!!  I am not even kidding.
He stooped his little self down and just looked in wonder as ticket after ticket came out of the game machine.
I stooped down too, and soaked it all in..that beaming smiling face (eyes, cheeks, and mouth) all just grinning, as he reveled in the joy that comes with having a lucky streak--and {winning}.

Monday, December 10, 2012

On {today}

A few thoughts to sum up this spin...
An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure.
(oh what did we ever do before the Steel Magnolias quotables???)
Going to bed at 8:30 is going to be GREAT!
Count your blessings not your worries.
Check your kids' backpacks every day!
Happiness is sleeping in your own bed.
Mean people suck!
Good night ...

Saturday, December 8, 2012

FUN, FUN, FUN!!

So far this Christmas season we have just been having fun.
The older children get, the more fun parents can have! :)
This year, I got all the shopping completed the FIRST weekend of November.
I was by myself.
I had my new paycheck.
I had coupons, and lists.
So, since all of the {goods} are safely stuffed in their temporary
closet homes, I can just relax, and wrap them at my leisure. :)
So, this has left me to:
1.  Help with fotos con Santa-for Church fund raising
2.  Have a cookie party for the little girls--Elena and Eva's buddies (this was super-fun!)
3.  Go to see Disney on Ice with all three kids yesterday!! --Maybe the highlight of my Christmas??
That is left to be determined.
4.  Da la vuelta around the Southpoint Mall in Durham yesterday...which is one of my
favorite pass times of all --EVER!

Here is photographic evidence of all the fun--so far:





I am trying to instill in my children a love of the mall--this is all in my best self-interest, of course. ;).
We played in P. Barn, we rode the escalators (this is BIG TIME FUN if you are raised in
Beaufort county btw--more on that later), we ate fro yo, they played "house" in every store we went in,
they threw the bean bags that are used to hold down boots (this got me semi-promt service).
Since I really don't have more money to spend, and since all my shopping is essentially complete, we just enjoyed the aesthetics of the mall.
It even snowed there y'all!! --which my kids totally fell for--even though some lady who was walking just
ahead of us felt the need to point out that it was coming from the mall cop and his machine who were
perched overhead --OM... could you please put a stocking in it, oh dear one with an uncontrollable need
to torch the imaginations and gullibility of my completely delighted children???
I gave her the "shuT the h*l! up stank eye" look..
So, you might notice a lack of Andy in these pictures, that is b/c he has been working all the time!!
He did put the tree up with us last Saturday and he did watch "It's a Wonderful Life" with me
last Saturday night. :)

More fun is yet to happen!  We still have two big family get-togethers, and the actual Christmas festivities!!
Bring it on!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Deja vu all over again

Does this look familiar? This is the mantle that is my favorite spot to decorate b/c I have light up ball ornaments that go there. We put up the tree this past weekend and it was as fun as ever, and once again It's a Wonderful Life came on while we were decorating! So sweet!
Om, and more on the topic of skipping records...
Elena and I went to the orthodontist today THE SAME ONE I went to when I was little! The people there either knew me or remembered me. The office was the exact same --well, except for fresh interior- Thank God!
It was a strange feeling, I must say...

Spot on!

Spot is our family's chihuahua.  He is what we call, "an evil dictator/stuffed animal come to life".  Sometimes, after he has ...