It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

Apparently, Arden didn't get the memo that Santa is one of the good guys. Maybe she's a little freaked out by the whole "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake" thing.

An Open Letter to the Person Who Stole My Credit Card

Dear Credit Card Thief, or more specifically, Credit Card NUMBER thief,

I'm glad I could help make your Christmas season a little merrier by paying for the gifts you ordered online last week. Whoever you had in mind for all those lovely presents will appreciate your thoughtfulness, although you might want to leave out the part about how you paid for them using a stolen credit card number. I'm just sayin'...
I'm sure the lucky recipient of the gourmet coffee will greatly appreciate it. Also, the wine. That was very thoughtful of you. However, I think you should have definitely reconsidered the leather portfolio. It looks a little, well, on the cheap side. Not that you asked, but the next time you go on a shopping spree with someone else's money, you might consider something from Coach.
And as for that "Profit Sharing" ebook you purchased... I hate to tell you this, but I'm pretty sure that's just a pyramid scheme. I'm sure Shaun Kasey is a real stand up guy, but I'm starting to resent all the emails I'm getting from him, on account of my, excuse me, YOUR, recent internet purchase. And seriously, who signs their emails "Yours in Success" anyway?
I hope you enjoy your upcoming trip to Vegas. At least, I'm assuming you're going there since you purchased a Las Vegas entertainment book full of coupons with GREAT DEALS ON DINING, SHOWS, HOTELS AND MORE!! It appears that I won't be paying for your trip, as my card was cancelled as soon as I started receiving emails thanking me for all my purchases, but if I may, I would recommend staying at the Bellagio. It's gorgeous.
Well, happy holidays and all that.
Yours in Successful Prosecution of Identity Thieves,
Meredith

p.s. I'm no expert, but the next time you steal someone's identity, you might want to change the email and shipping address on your internet orders. I'm just sayin'...

Catching Up: Or, I Finally Loaded the Pictures Off My Broken Camera

I mentioned several weeks ago that I broke my digital camera. I didn't want to bore you with the details, so I didn't share what specifically had broken. To excuse my recent lack of blogging, I feel like I should explain that while my camera will still take pictures, I can no longer upload them to my PC unless I load them directly through my photo printer. This. Takes. For. Ever.
But, I finally got them loaded, so brace yourself for another picture blitz.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Dallas. We spent a fun weekend with Grandad and Mimi and Aunt Ashley and Uncle Thad (Uncle Fad, as Claire would say). We had a great visit and Claire had a blast playing with Alex and swimming in the hot tub with Grandad.




The very next weekend, we were off to Memphis to run the St. Jude's Marathon. And by "we" I mean Jason. I officially downgraded to the 5K last month. I would like to say I had a good reason for this, but really it boils down to laziness. And lack of self-discipline. But, hey! A 5k! Just have fun with it! And I was, until I got passed by a nine year old girl and a man pushing another grown man in a wheelchair. Really, how slow do I run?
But Jason did great (he would tell you otherwise) and we got to spend some child-free time with our BFFs, Ryan and Cortney, so all in all, it was a great weekend.




Now we're just trying to enjoy the Christmas festivities. Our tree is up and decorated (Claire was a big help this year and my OCD self is learning to embrace the fact that 75% of the ornaments are on the bottom two branches of the tree).




The presents are wrapped and under the tree. And we've attempted several Christmas card photo shoots... Here's a little sample of what we've been experiencing when it comes to posing for a joyful holiday photo.


Tis the season!

You Are What You Eat?

If this is true, then Arden is Lysol Power Toilet Bowl Cleaner. Yeah, you read that right. My baby helped herself to a finger-swipe full of the stuff after I poured it into the potty this morning. Don't worry, though. I had a nice chat with Stephanie from Arkansas Poison Control and she assured me that I did all the right things by washing Arden's hands and making her drink water, then calling the poison control hotline. She told me to watch her for an hour or so, but that she should be fine.
Seriously. Toilet Bowl Cleaner. I think this reinforces my case for hiring a maid service.

No denying they're mine...

The Claire Show--Live!

Thankful

This morning at school, Claire's class did a craft titled "I'm Thankful For..." The kids did hand prints on paper plates and then their teacher wrote on the craft what the children told her they were thankful for. When I went inside to pick Claire up this afternoon, I saw all the crafts hung on hooks outside the classroom and enjoyed reading what everyone was thankful for.
Most of the them said things like "I'm thankful for...Nanny and Poppy" or "My dog Ginger" or even "My Thomas the Train track".
Claire's? "I'm thankful for...My coffee and going outside."

Given that coffee was at the top of her list, I'm a little worried that she's got too much of her mother in her.