Piercing (Ears)

For the past month, Claire had been talking about getting her ears pierced.  She even went so far as to ask for earrings for Christmas, but was quick to say that Santa couldn't pierce her ears while she's sleeping.

So...Saturday-- after lunch-- we took her to "Claire's" to get her ears pierced.  As we walked down Main Street, she was visibly nervous and wouldn't let go of my hand.  Once we got into the store, her grip got tighter.  When it was her turn, I sat her up on the chair... clenched to me, I had to say, "Claire, if you don't want to do this... you don't have to."  She was adamant that she wanted to have her ears pierced.  The girl cleaned her ear lobes... "Ugh... that's stinky."  Then held up the little earring guns to her ears... snap... and a shriek that pierced my ears...

"That's a new one." said the Claire's employee (as the others nodded in agreement).

Before she could even finish her words, Claire's tears started flowing.  She cried and she cried and she cried.... she wouldn't look in the mirror and then she wanted them out.  Her pleads almost convinced me that it would be easier to take them out than to listen to her in pain.  Moments later, she calmed down.  We went about our afternoon with little whining, but she didn't look at her ears until just before dinner.

Days have passed and she's so excited about her ears that she's started pulling her hair back from her face-- this my friends is a Christmas miracle ;)

She's happy with her pink daisies.

A Side of Lil Wayne??

After school today, the kids and I headed to Tidal Creek to pick up a few things that I needed for dinner.  We were in the middle of talking about what we were going to eat for dinner, when out of the blue... Claire asks, "What's Lil Wayne?

I responded, "Lil Wayne?  You know, Lil Wayne."

She stayed quiet... trying to figure it out.

I said, "Claire... are you serious?  Lil Wayne... you know Lil Wayne."

And she goes, "OH Yeah... Lil Wayne." Then she laughs (seemingly at herself) and says, "But how do you cook it??"

I paused.

"OH... Lo Mein."

Santa's Lap

Chase, Henri and Claire with Santa on Friday, December 11th.

A Weekend Unlike Any Other

This weekend started off like any other, but along the way... something happened.

Saturday morning, I had a manicure and pedicure scheduled.  So Friday night, I made my waffle batter so I could make a quick, but very good breakfast.  Saturday morning, the kids ate and were playing while Aaron was vacuuming when I left.  I got home 2 hours later to find a perfectly clean and quiet house.  After Aaron and the kids got home from running some errands, we all set off to find me some boots (no luck), find Chase and Claire new bikes and to see Santa.

The kids were so excited and SO nervous to see their yearly friend.  Henri was quick to say that he "didn't want to do this" and Claire couldn't help ease his nerves because she herself was "too nervous".  But when they got up to Santa and he asked their names, Henri blurted his out first.  And then when he said, "What would you like for Christmas... Henri began jumping up and down in excitement saying, "Bumble Bee and Ice Cream Transformers!!!"  Claire hesitantly told him that she wanted "earrings and a bike".  While Chase spouted off a list of Transformers.  The visit went well and all three are excited for what is sure to come in the next couple of weeks. After a quick picture with Santa, we left the mall and headed out to an early dinner.

I really wanted to go to one of my (old) favorite restaurants-- Eddie Romanelli's.  We hadn't been there in about a year... maybe longer... ever since they switched owners and the menu changed-- how do you take fettuccini alfredo and manicotti off an Italian restaurants menu???.  Anyway, we went in to find they had completely remodeled.  No biggie, right?  Wrong.  As I got comfortable, I looked at the menu...  I flipped, flipped and flipped.... where was the pasta??  I looked at the kids menu... no spaghetti and meatballs.  The waitress informed us that they were no longer Italian. HUH!!??  As Chase says when he doesn't like something "Boo!".  I'm left wondering why they didn't change the name of the restaurant. We promptly grabbed our coats and left to go to La Costa and traded the hope of Italian for Mexican.  Fried ice cream has the ability to make everyone happy ;)

Now... here's where the weekend changed.  We got home after dinner and I started getting the kids around to watch "Bolt" while Aaron put up the chickens.  The phone rang.  It's Aaron and he says, "Something attacked the chickens."  The yard was covered with feathers, 2 chickens were missing and one had a gash on its head (right by its comb).  After surveying the yard, he found one of our newest girls in the flower garden.  It wasn't good.  We went to bed wondering what happened to the other hen and assuming that it had to have been a fox.

This morning,  I told the kids what had happened (sans details).  Henri told me that next time, he will grab his tools and "hammer the fox".  We decided that in order to thwart any threat on our chickens that a dog needed to be outside with them.  Tyler was chosen because of his size and his bark ;)  Aaron was outside doing some things, when I got a call, "Do you want the good news or bad news first??"  He found the missing chicken (one of our black ones...Yay, good news!), but another one just got killed and he knew what it was.  It was a hawk.  Chase says that we need to get a tranquilizer gun (like in Madagascar) and put the hawk in a cage... to live forever.  (Somehow that just doesn't seem right, I told him.)  We've spent our Sunday morning hawk proofing the chickens' pen area.  We've taken netting and created a "roof" for the area and while they won't have free range of our entire acre property unless we're outside with them... I'm taking comfort in the fact that at least they have this new safe haven.  Hopefully, anyway.

Update:  We went out to lunch and left the chickens in their newly covered pen area.  When we got home they were squawking up a storm... we assumed they weren't happy about their confinement.  But on further inspection... there was a HAWK sitting on our fence just staring at the girls.  Our 2 youngest chickens (the only 2 left out of the original 5) were huddled together under the coop, while the older girls were making a ruckus.  After the hawk getting three of our chickens, we can only imagine how scared they must have been,.... but thankfully scared was all it was this time :)

And while I know that it's nature's way and that we can't protect them forever... we sure can try.

Words of Henri: Cocky

Having gone to get my nails done this morning, I didn't get Henri dressed.  When I saw him and Chase standing next to each other, I said, "Henri, you and Chase match.  Your pants."

He looked down and smiled, then... as he was walking away... he stopped and patted his pants and said, "These are called cockies."

Huh? Come again.

"Ohhhhh, you mean khakis."

Cent(s)??

When I was in college at UNCW, I had a roommate that was from Garner, NC.  A southern girl 100%.  She said "pee-can", was convinced that BBQ was and could only be pig amongst many other things.  She, my other roommate (from LA), and I would get into debates all the time over her "Southern" ways.  One of our biggest debates was about how to use "cent".... or "cents" for that matter.  Catherine and I would try to explain to her that it is one cent, but anything over that is cents... emphasis on the "S".

Today, I was reminded of my first Southern friend as I handed Chase some change and he goes, "Sweet, I have 46 cent."

OMG... he didn't just say that!  

I corrected him.... repeatedly.  And as I explained to him that it's 46 cents... he told me that's how they teach it in school and I was wrong.  

I suppose this is what happens when you're born and raised in the South.  My old friend would be proud of my 100% Southern boy :)