GONNA PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999, OH WAIT...

I know I haven't really been blogging lately and some of you are asking for Joey Christmas pics.

I have a TON that I need to upload, but I'm just not up to the task right now.

Mark is off work for the week (YEAH!!!) and while he is busy in the garage with projects that have waited too long, I'm still in total VaCa mode.

We will probably be down in the Keys for New Years, as usual, but not sure yet.

So, in case I'm not on again for a while,

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(But try to remember it, m'kay?)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas!

May not be on the computer for the next few days. I believe Christmas is a time when you should unplug.

And if you are checking your messages or texting while you are with your family then you are a brat.

Give it a rest. You really don't need to know the next OMG moment, right when it happens.

Anyhow,

From my family to yours, have a very merry Christmas.

Hopefully you will enjoy your family and I won't see you on a special episode of cops slinging egg nog at each other on the front lawn while the neighbors watch.

SLIDE MY WAY

AUSTIN'S 3RD BIRTHDAY

There were so many kids in that bounce house at one time they were just falling out and off from all ends.

Here comes the birthday boy!

Joey really liked the slide and was in awe of the big kids climbing up the wall. But she couldn't do it yet, so she just watched and bounced and laughed.

And played with anyone who came near her, of course.

Wave hi to the "I'm too old for this shit." table.

Otherwise known as the grandma table.

HAPPY CHANUMAS

Getting upset when someone wishes you a "Happy Holiday" instead of wishing you a "Merry Christmas" is just as STUPID as getting upset if someone wishes you a "Merry Christmas" instead of a "Happy Holiday."

If someone is wishing that you be happy, don't complain about it being in the wrong format. It's the thought that counts.

Feliz Navidad.

AIRBOAT PICTURES

SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR

After watching this you will see that isn't just me.
Mark is crazy too.

After while Crocodile!

1ST AIRBOAT RIDE

This was Joey's & Madison's first airboat ride. Joey was a little squirmy until we got the engine started and got moving. Then she was perfect. She didn't squirm or play with her ears. She just took everything in, occasionally leaning so she could see over the side of the boat.

Madison drove twice! Once with "Shell's Dad" and once with Shell. She also sat on the tippity top seat. No fear. Good girl.

TWAS' THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS... CRAVEN STYLE

Twas the night before Christmas and caught at the light,
Was a domestic V8 and no cops in sight,
I will try, I will try, I will try with this small motor,
To beat this damn camaro, even with it's big blower,
As the light goes green and I pull like no joke,
The camaro erupts in clouds of tire smoke,
Now Smasher, now Rev-ver, now Stroker, now Blitzin,
These are the names of my four VTEC pistons,
Racing ahead I'm the Star of the action,
But I know I'm in trouble when that V8 gets traction,
Grabbing second, I hear the RPM sing,
My mirror is blocked by my Shopping Kart Wing,
I now hear the roar, of that big monster gaining,
All I can do is keep that four-banger straining,
In a second, the shockwave hits with a blast,
And my stickers go flying now a thing of the past,
Don't bother with third, cause now it's too late,
Just try to act cool, like you can relate,
Looking up at the taillights as they get smaller,
The driver backs off just to give me a holler,
"You can't win them all," he says in fling,
"You may not win any," in that silly thing,
I smiled and revved as he pulled out of sight,
With my new mods tomorrow...it will be a better night.


Credit goes to Chris, for e-mailing me this.
I'd love to give credit to the author, but alas, I don't know who it is.

MINI ME

Joey & I had fun playing with the doggies outside on the porch last week. (See, I'm catching up on my posts.)

But watching her run around in an ice cream shirt, playing with doggies and getting really dirty made me see so much of myself in her.

There is a running debate about how much she looks like Mark or Me.

This picture below, however, is pure Mark.

The look, the expression and the context. She was giving this look to Cassie.

What this look is saying is:

"Dude, you just licked my eyeball. Not my cheek, not my eyelid, my eyeball. Daddy was right. You're disgusting."

SAY CHEESE!

Someone was trying to teach somebody how to smile for the camera.

Not sure who was teaching who.

Or how succesful they were.

FORGIVE ME MOTHER EARTH, FOR I HAVE SINNED.

Yesterday, I bought a box of Pampers & a box of Huggies.

Mea Kulpa.

We have been using either Earth Best or 7th Generation, those are the 2 chlorine free and environmentally friendly brands. And they have fit her fine.

But I did buy a box of pampers and Huggies once before, because between the newspaper coupons and my Publix Baby Club coupons it was like, $2.00. I must say, that the Pampers really do fit the best, are the easiest to attach, and smell pleasantly of baby powder.

But I know those blue lines running through the bottom are filled with yucky chemicals that have no business next to a baby's sensitive skin, they treat it with chlorine to make it look white and they don't biodegrade well in landfills.

Here is the thing,

When Joey reached stage 4 of the diapers, the Earth's Best stopped fitting. No, she doesn't belong in a 3 and she certainly isn't ready for a 5. The diaper is just too much of a rectangle to fit around those hips and that butt that her father gave her. It doesn't fit well. They have actually come unattached a few times. We never had a problem before this with our environmentally friendly brands.

So yesterday I broke down and bought 1 Pampers, 1 Huggie & 1 7th Generation so that I have all 4 brands to test simultaneously.

I will post my results in a week or so.

**Note - I did not buy the Huggies Organic. I know, you would think I would. But they are just too expensive. My concern was that the diapers be environmentally friendly and not have chemicals that irritate Joey's skin. The brands that I was using did that without having to be organic. In fact, I think one was made from recycled materials.

O' TANNENBAUM, O' TANNENBAUM

Joey helped decorate the Christmas tree this year.

She didn't quite understand WHY we were putting all these fun toys up on a tree instead of playing with them on the ground.

It wasn't all work, we took some time out of decorating to play "catch the camera".


And one of her favorite games, "Head butt Daddy."


This is the ornament she really did put up ALL by herself. She was sitting a good 5 feet away, slung it around by the string and then let go. It flew into the Christmas tree and stayed. And we let it stay where it lay.

Hope you have fun decorating your tree too!

SURFIN' USA

JOEY & THE BOBCAT

I have to tell you a story.

So I spoke to Doyle a short time after taking this picture.

Michelle: "Just got finished taking pictures of Joey on a Bobcat."
Doyle: //pause// "Do you mean like the animal or the machine?"
Michelle: "I mean the machine, the piece of construction equipment they are using to build the new driveway!"
Doyle: "Okay, you're a CRAVEN. I didn't think it was obvious what you meant. I can see you going 'look, an Anaconda! Go grab the baby! And start taking pictures."

Though the Anaconda part was a stretch, he's right. It needed clarification.

A SPOONFULL

** For any followers who are also PETA members, I didn't "beat" C.J., but he did get his bark collar put on.

WE'RE NUMBER ONE!

At least, that is what Mike seems to think.

Sorry, this was the best pic of all of us, even though it included Michael's fine feathered friend.

I doubt anyone who knows us will be offended.

This was Thanksgiving weekend (yes, I'm that backlogged in entering pics). Ou-do & Dode were visiting with Haveen and Dee, Michael's girlfriend, was visiting from Orlando.

**Point of clarification for all non-Meyers- "Ou-Do" is Cheryl (Rick's sister) and "Dode" is her boyfriend Virgil.

Joey: So tell me about the Buffet concert. I haven't been yet but I'm a parrothead by birth and Daddy promised me soon.

Dude, you're tall. And what I want to play with is aaalllll the way down there.

SOMEONE LOVES THE CAMERA

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM MOLASSES REEF

My Aunt Aym and her friend, Yovanni, were visiting for Thanksgiving. We went snorkeling Thanksgiving morning, it was THAT hot out. Seriously, it isn't just that they are from Oregon, even I thought it was just refreshing, not cold.

DOC & DOYLE, PART 2

Doyle & Maddie came over to play during Thanksgiving weekend.

Joey is trying to tell Maddie she is a good girl.

What The...

Uh, Mom, do I really have to get this close to this Crazy guy?

THE BEST CHRISTMAS SONG PEFORMANCE... EVER.

Most of you have already seen this.

I finally bought one of their albums.

Click on this link to watch a great performance of a Christmas song/s. It is a medley.

Straight, No Chaser performs The 12 Days of Christmas.

By the way, the whole album is good. Especially their Carol of the Bells.

HMMM... I THINK I CAN REACH THAT...

Apparently, we put the crib a little too close to the dresser.

And apparently, Joey is a little too tall.

You see that blue green cushion on the floor? That's the changing pad.

You see the bag on the floor? And the brush? And all the stuffed animals in the bed with her?

What you can't see is the CD player on the floor on the other side of the crib.

She pulled down EVERYTHING, kept what she wanted in the crib, and then passed out in exhaustion atop her victory pile.

BABY TALK

I didn't realize how hard it would be to recognize Joey's first words.

She's been saying DaDa since before she knew what it meant. But when was the precise moment that we realized she knew what she was saying? 6 months?

When did she actually call out for me with MaMa? 8 months?

She's been saying Nite Nite for a while, but it only became obvious to me about a month ago that she was asking to go Nite Nite. And if you ask her, while she is rubbing her eyes and putting her head on your shoulder, if she wants to go Nite Nite she will repeat it Nite Nite Nite...

Mark things she is trying to say Milk.
My aunt Vesna in Ohio swears she said Doggie several times when we were there a month & 1/2 ago.

But it is so much harder to distinguish these words then you think. I just assumed that I would recognize Mil for Milk. Or whatever. But it isn't easy to distinguish between honest attempts at words and wishful thinking on your own part. The later is what keeps me from telling people what words she is saying. I'm just not sure sometimes.

THANKSGIVING IN MARGARITAVILLE

Chris, Yovanni, Mark, Joey, Me

Aunt Aym, Mom, Dad.

You know you need to take at least 1 stupid picture.