From Me To You Giveaway!!

Aren't I so festive with my copy of Handel's Messiah in the background? Anyway, for the holidays I am giving away two McDonald's Hot Chocolates! How fun! FYI, they are only valid at participating restaurants in Utah, and parts of Nevada and Wyoming. (Trust me, if I could use them here in California I already would have.) If you live in those areas or might be headed that way, leave a comment before midnight on New Year's Eve and you just might win. Yay! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Love, Dana

Things That Made Me Laugh Today

I laughed when I got a message from my mom that she was in Forks, WA, home of teenaged vampire romance, and that she just saw Jacob run across the road...whatever that means. I didn't even know she was out of town. I want pictures.


I laughed when I walked in the room and Katelyn announced "Look, mommy! I'm coloring with Zachy!" At first I didn't laugh. I said "Awww, that's nice!" I laughed when I noticed that she had only allowed him to color with the white crayon (because it wouldn't show up) and she was hoarding all the other colors away from him.


I laughed during "The Sing-Off" when Ben Folds played piano with his elbows and stepped on the keys. It was awesome!


I laughed when Jeff Bridges told this joke on Leno:


"What is invisible and smells like worms?"


While you ponder that question, here is a pic of Katelyn hoarding the coloring crayons.

Okay, back to the joke.

Q: What is invisible and smells like worms?

A: A bird fart!

Adam also laughed at that one, and then we called our friends to re-tell it.

Fun times!

KidArt

Katelyn's pictures have been getting more creative and recognizable lately. Here are some favorites I recently found on her drawing table:

Spongebob and Patrick

(this one made me laugh, of course)

Caterpillar and Snowman

Life With Lemons

Problem: Zach's timeouts are only supposed to last a minute or two, but I kept losing track of time. Sometimes he would even fall asleep before I remembered he was waiting.

Solution: I bought a kitchen timer. It happens to be shaped like a lemon. I set it for a minute and it rings loudly when the time is up. Zach doesn't fall asleep.

Problem: Kids love the lemon timer. All kids. One day we took it to the park and everyone ended up playing games with the lemon...ignoring the play equipment!

Here's when I knew we had a problem:

One day Katelyn came up to me with the lemon in hand asking, "Mom, can I pleeeeeeeease have a Time Out!?"

I smiled at her, surprised, and told her, "No. You only get time outs when you do something wrong."

"Oh," she said. Then she looked up at me sheepishly and half-heartedly hit me on the leg.

This time I laughed. "Okay, go have a time out."

"Thanks, mom. Don't forget the lemon timer!" she called, as she ran off to her bedroom.

Hmmm...I think my lemony solution has become an even bigger problem.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I didn't sit on your lap this year, but I hope you still got my Christmas wish. Every night and day I dream of playing Beatles Rock Band. I picture myself drumming along with Ringo to songs like Help!, Twist and Shout and Come Together. I dream of harmonizing with John and Paul to songs like In My Life, The Magical Mystery Tour, Hey Jude and I'll Follow the Sun. George, I don't really dream of being you, but I am looking forward to Something.

Santa, I hope you make my Christmas dreams come true. I've tried to be really good this year.

Love, Dana

P.S. Katelyn really wants a Mulan princess doll and I think Zach wants an Elmo, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Merry Christmas!