Where’s Brinky?

There he is!

Brinky kept playing his game of Where’s Brinky during dinner last night, and it was just so cute I had to take a couple pictures. I missed some of the funnier ones because he actually kind of grabs his face and drags down when he’s hiding his face, resulting in some very strange looking faces. You can kind of get an idea of it here:

Does it make you laugh? It makes me laugh.

Here’s Jenny ready to go to one of her potential middle schools to shadow another student today. In her cool new clothes my mom got her when the girls were in Hilton Head over the long weekend. Doesn’t she look grown up? And a little nervous? She was so nervous when I dropped her off. I can’t wait to pick her up this afternoon and hear how her day went and what her thoughts are. We told her it’s her responsibility to tell us what she likes and doesn’t like so we can make a decision together on where she should go to middle school.

Reagan just being herself, also enjoying new clothes. You can hardly tell she had a crying meltdown by herself in the bathroom this morning because she didn’t think the french braids I did last night still looked good, but she knew I wouldn’t re-do them this morning.

It snowed here this weekend. Like, real snow. Probably our one and only snow of the season. See it out the window behind Brinkley?

Here’s what it looked like the next day. It always cracks me up that there are parts of our yard never touched by the sun, so when you pass that line where the sun touches, the snow looks like it will never melt. But it did the next day.

Baby bath picture. Because those are always fun.

Do you want a kiss? A big open mouthed closed eyes kiss from a sweet baby boy? This was how Brinky kept attacking me with kisses this weekend. Also with a loud “Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh” as he came towards me. I let him because who doesn’t want big slobbery baby kisses.

Linking up with KLZ and Liz for #iPPP:

Brinky slept until almost 6:30 (I almost hate to type this because he’s been sleeping until around 6:00 most days and I’m probably jinxing it and sending him a subliminal message to wake up in the middle of the night tonight by writing it here). I took about an hour to be lazy and snuggle with him and watch Gossip Girl on Netflix because that’s how you should start a lazy Sunday, you know? Then I took a little time to stare at delicious breakfast pictures on Pinterest so I could decide what to make for breakfast. I settled on trying to make stuffed french toast and yummy maple and brown sugar sausage links. So Brinky and I headed to the grocery store to get the ingredients we needed, along with about a hundred other things I felt a need to buy just in case I didn’t get around to my afternoon grocery store trip for the week if it snowed (and it did snow).

I’m obviously no food photographer, but looking at these pictures is making me hungry, especially because I decided that I seriously need to try to do better about eating well this week (a decision made after the stuffed french toast and sausage for breakfast and Five Guys burger and fries for lunch).

It was delicious, and I’m hoping that remembering how much I enjoyed that meal with its melty cream cheese deliciousness will help me resist the fat splurges I tend to make throughout the week. We’ll see. We’re at the beginning of a weight loss competition at work, and the winner gets $250, which is some pretty serious motivation, so I’m trying to be good.

Happy Monday!

1. I’m excited our kids are in a school system where we have lots of choices for their schooling.

2. And I’m happy and proud that both girls have tested gifted.

3. But I can tell I’m getting a little obsessed about what to do about middle school for Jenny next year, so I think I need to take a break from all that this weekend.

4. Sometimes I think it would be nicer if we didn’t have such great choices. But I know that it’s great to have choices.

5. And Jenny should take a break, too, and just have fun.

6. So it’s convenient that my dad’s picking up the girls today to take them down to Hilton Head for a long weekend.

7. We’ll be a single child household this weekend!

8. We can relax a bit and have fun together.

9. Maybe watch a movie.

10. It’s going to be an awesome weekend. But I still have to go to work today.

Linking up with Rach:

Linking up with Alison and Galit for Memories Captured (and you should, too):

Last night at dinner was an example:

He was actually just taking food from Lee for the purpose of putting it straight into Zondro’s mouth.

Hey dog, do you want some hamburger?

Except that one time when he let Zondro lick all over a french fry and then pulled it back out of his mouth and ate it. It was pretty gross. But I swear that doesn’t happen very often.

Linking up with Liz and KLZ for #iPPP:

 

On the mailbox.

When I walked in the door.

Homemade streamers in all the downstairs doorways.

Paper balloons on the walls.

The gift table. Left side from Jenny, right side from Reagan (my D-ter).

A cool collage Jenny made me, featuring my favorite word “groovy” and some of the other things I love.

Painting by Jenny.

I guess they didn’t get paint all over Brinky and get his handprint to add to this one.

From Reagan. She had mentioned, several times, that it was my birthday.

A sweet note and gift from Reagan (strangely in the same wrapping paper Santa used). The gift box had a brush and hairbows and a description of how she was going to fix my hair.

A sweet card from Reagan.

It was a great birthday, thanks to these sweet girls, and all the other people who made me feel special.

My senior prom, previously featured on this blog. The rest won’t necessarily be in order, but I know this is the earliest.

Around the time of my high school graduation.

In my dorm’s kitchen my freshman year of college.

On the way to…somewhere. With Lee’s family.

Cheesy, right? I’m not sure what’s up with that watch, either. Lee gave me a gold watch for my high school graduation that I still wear, so I’m not sure why I wasn’t wearing it.

Just hanging out. With my giant legs.

With the best dog, Randy.

Nice face, right? I’m talking about mine, not Lee’s. I probably should have just left this one out and said nine pictures was good enough.

In the dark. But I think we look happy if you look really closely.

This was just last year, the only recent picture of us I can find without kids. I can tell that we’ve been talking about The Lion King a lot recently because when I look at this picture “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” starts playing in my head.

Linking up with Stasha for Monday Listicles:

See? It looks kind of boring, doesn’t it?

But, like I said, I can always find some fun things in the pages of each issue.

My favorite pregnant celebrity. I think she’s really pregnant.

And Emily Valentine? Looking like Emily Valentine always did on 90210. I didn’t know she was in some other show now. She’ll always be Emily Valentine to me. (Edit: My brother pointed out that I suck, and this is Clare, not Emily Valentine, but I totally thought Emily Valentine when I looked at her face. Maybe he’s watched too much 90210.) Not good enough for Brandon. (I don’t like you either, Katherine Heigl.)

That thing Jennifer Lopez is dating looks so gross.

I can only think of this when I look at Chris Evans now. So I just laugh.

I can’t resist including Leann Rimes whenever she’s in here because, look at her. And what about those pants she’s wearing with the weird blue stripe? And her man’s cardigan?

They turned on him quickly. Remember when they were all a big happy family? Including Bruce? I think Bruce and Demi should just get back together.

I think Kate will be fine. I’m just posting this page to say how cute Queenie looks in her pretty flowered dress, a foot shorter than Kate.

Jenny’s being such a teenage girl, obsessed with Twilight and watching Breaking Dawn this weekend. Though I had to complain to Amazon when the pre-ordered DVD didn’t arrive on release date. I’m not sure if she really appreciated my efforts. I can’t say I’ve been impressed with the few minutes of the movie I watched with her, but it’s mostly because Kristen Stewart has single-handedly ruined Twilight for me.

I don’t even have to say anything about this picture of Nick Nolte. What can be said?

I can’t believe it took me so long to realize that Liam Hemsworth and Thor are brothers. It’s so obvious. And I think this quote is funny.

That’s it for this week. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that Whitney may make the cover of the next US Weekly, but I’ll let you know for sure next week.

Here’s how our family looks on a Wednesday morning before school when we’ve all had colds, and when some of us have started out the day fighting.

Jenny, the almost middle-schooler, suspicious about why I want to take her picture. Explaining to me why it wasn’t her fault that she threw toilet paper at her sister. Isn’t she pretty?

Mad, sad Reagan because apparently she didn’t tell me the full story when she came and told on her sister for throwing toilet paper at her. She skipped the part where she was using Jenny’s toothbrush, and Jenny told her to use her own, and Reagan reacted by turning off the bathroom light on Jenny while she was using the toilet.

I’m sorry, but this makes me laugh. It was my first attempt at a Brinky picture this morning.

This is how you should watch TV, right?

Dora makes you happy. He’s feeling better. But still really snotty.

This is a crappy picture, but it’s just to show another thing that makes Brinky happy. Being fancy. Wearing the scarf Jenny gave him to wear.

Jenny said I had to be included if she was.

And then I asked Lee to participate in the Wednesday morning photos if all of the rest of us were. What a handsome face.

Exciting morning here, huh? Linking up with Liz and KLZ for #iPPP: