Aged to Perfection

So my mom is celebrating a birthday today. And since she is still busy "living it up" in the tropical paradise known as Tahiti, my only option is to send her a birthday greeting blog-style. So here are the Top Five Reasons Why I'm Wishing My Mom a Happy Birthday:

1. She put up with me as a teenager. I'm kind of dreading the fact that I will one day have two teenagers of my very own.

My only hope is that they will be nothing like I was during those angst filled teen age years...

2. My mom would put Martha Stewart to shame. And probably Miss Manners too. Growing up, I learned to write thank you notes and I don't believe that I wore pants to school until I was at least in the 4th grade. (My mother didn't start wearing pants until I had moved away to college.) I should point out that in her old age, she has kind of gone lax on her dress codes as she now has even been knows to wear...*gasp* jeans.

3. Adopt a Grandparent: I frequently have friends ask if my mom is interested in adopting THEIR kids as grandkids. I must admit that I am kind of spoiled when it comes to the babysitting department. My mom is always the first I call when I know I am going to need a sitter for the kids (and my hubby) when I'll be out of town for work. I'll just assume that (contrary to the pic) she is usually awake when she is watching the kids.

4. Grandma is just a fancy name for Travel Guide. Did I mention that Kobe and Tehani's favorite time of the year is summer break--aka travel time with Grandma. From Chicago to Tahiti to everywhere in between, the kids count down the days until school is out and their summer travel tour begins.

5. For making me...ME. I mean, she did birth me after all (and I've birthed kids--I know how much it hurts :)

But I do realize that much of who I am today (crazy OCD tendencies and all) comes from the great job she did as a mom.

So Happy Birthday Mommy. You deserve it!!

Only 54 days left until...

Did you know there are only 54 shopping days left until Christmas? I know because most years I usually try to have ALL of my Xmas gifts purchased and wrapped by now (OK, October 1st has always been my deadline in the past, but I'm blaming this year's total lack of Christmas readiness on my EMBA program :)

Anyway, when I realized earlier this week that not only had October 1st come and gone but that November 1st was going to blow right past me as well without a single wrapped Christmas present in sight, I started to panic...

And I decided that I would at least get my Christmas cards done.

Thanks to Simone for coming over to play photographer on Saturday. The pics came out great--with the exception of these pics posted here where someone always managed to have their eyes closed or their mouth open (which is sooo NOT the photographer's fault :)


But now I can officially cross "2009 Christmas Cards" off my list.

Next stop: Christmas Shopping!

Hope your Halloween was purrfect!!

Our was great. And before you think that I am a bad mom who is playing favorites since I only put up a pic of our "evil kitty" in costume, Kobe decided that he was too old to dress up this year. My little baby is all growed up! I think I was around his age when I decided that Halloween was for the "litte kids." So while Tehani and I spent the evening trick-o-treating with Simone & Eva at the University Mall with the rest of the crazies, Norm and Kobe enjoyed some fun at the nickle arcade.

A fun Halloween was had by all. I'm also looking forward to the fact that now that this holiday is oficially over, I can put our jack-o-lanterns out in the trash can. Yeah for me!)

Our favorite time of the year

And no, it's not Halloween. It's the time of year when I get to wish my little "baby" brother Raymond a Happy Birthday. I went through my pics to make sure I found one embarrassing enough to share...

And since I'm in the mood for sharing, here are a few other little known facts to help Raymond celebrate his special day:

• Raymond the Rebel--When Raymond went through his "rebellious stage," my sister and I used to get in trouble every time he came home with a new tattoo or pierced body part. Somehow this is our fault?!


• Show and tell--I believe Raymond was just in kindergarten when he got in trouble for bringing real bullets to school. Had we known that he would end up being a cop, we could have just told the principal that he was practicing for when he would carry bullets with him every day!


• Raymond the Roomie--One of my favorite years was when Cynthia, Raymond and I all lived together in Utah. (I'm pretty sure my parents sent him out here to "keep an eye on me" but it was fun none the less!)


• Get this kid some Ritalin--Raymond used to get a little "crazy" when my friends would come over when I was in high school. I recall him barking like a dog and several occasions of him snapping the bra straps of my friends (I believe he was about 8 at the time :)


• Little Ray--I know most people call him Ray but to me he is and always will be "Raymond." The only other name that I know him by is "Precious" which is the nickname my Dad likes to tease him with :)


• Raymond the Marine--It only makes sense that if it was mine and Cynthia's fault every time a new tattoo was inked, it would also be our fault when Raymond joined the Marines. I tried to explain to the P's that it was not my day to watch him (It was Cynthia's) when he went down the recruiter and enlisted. None the less, we a very proud of lil' veteran.

So here's to you baby brother--Hope you have a very Happy 30th Birthday!!

Love,
Your favorite big sister Laura
(PS--Don't worry, I promise not to tell Cynthia that I am your favorite!)

It's the HATE Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Can I just tell you that I HATE pumpkins? I'm not sure if it comes from the fact that I absolutely detest pumpkin pie or if I had a bad carving experience as a child, but the thought of cutting into a big orange gourd just makes my skin crawl! I should also mention that at some point during my childhood I was actually called "pumpkin head" by little bully at school so I'm assuming that some of my "pumpkin-hate" feelings may come from that event as well...


At any point, this anti-pumpkin mom was very excited to come home Tuesday night to find two expertly carved pumpkins waiting in the kitchen. So while I was at school enjoying a rousing evening of EMBA 504 (Corporate Financial Reporting), Norm must have broken down to Tehani's constant nagging of "WHEN are we going to carve the pumpkins?" I must admit that the kids have never had such nicely carved pumpkins in their life(and NO, I am not just saying that so Norm feels pressured into doing pumpkin duty each year :)

PS--If this tells you anything about how much I HATE pumpkins: Our nicely carved pumpkins are now sitting in my living room. This is where I study at night. I thought I was going to VOMIT from the pumpkin smell that is now permeating the room--so much so that I actually had to study in a different room last night. (If I get a bad grade on my assignment, it is all the pumpkin's fault!)