Whew . . . it's over! Bring on 2008.

We are drowning in toys. And toy packaging. For some reason this seems like the first Christmas where the kids got everything and then some. And I didn't do so bad myself!! But it was a good holiday, in spite of the fact that every one of us had a cold -- Laney topped us all with a triple-double: double ear infection, two trips to the doctor, and two - count them - two different antibiotics. That girl does not mess around!

Anyway, here's a little blast from the 80's past, and a great post Xmas message:

Though I believe, and please by all means comment if I'm wrong, the originals read Frankie SAY Relax. So, fine, they have corrected the grammar. Also, I had the codicil and more subversive social commentary shirt "Frankie Say Arm the Unemployed" -- because that, to a high school kid, is funny. I wore it to a dance where you had to match your date, and there is probably photo evidence somewhere on the property but I don't feel like digging it out. Anyway, hope YOU get to relax in the next few days. Then it's welcome to the new year, so all the best for the last bit of 2007!

Halloween Roundup & Dancin' Girl Bonus Clip

Well the cuteness is in . . . Roman and Delaney made Halloween so fun this year! Roman is still consuming his candy (Mom and Dad begrudgingly mete out pieces in exchange for vegetable eating and tooth brushing) and Laney made it for about 10 whole houses. At that age, it's really just about the costume.





















And the big finish: Laney shows her mad dancing skills (not to be missed):

ComingtoRockStreet.com

Ok, so this huge church behind our neighborhood had a grand opening yesterday. Advertised for weeks in advance as ComingtoGilbert.com -- softpedaling the church part and upselling the EVENT. Food, monster trucks, rock climbing, pedicures, Starbucks -- definitely all things to all people. We're still not sure how the God part fits in but I did read in the paper that the Sunday service will be a live tv feed of their pastor speaking from the North Mesa location. Now I don't know about you, but this seems oddly inefficient. Why should the congregators get dressed and go to church to watch someone on tv? Why don't they just webcast it and everyone can stay at home -- the technology is there to collect the offering via PayPal -- they could even make a little collection plate window that pops up at opportune times! They should hit up the parishioners for whatever they save in gas money! Anyway . . . traffic problems notwithstanding, we did enjoy the big finale from our 'hood -- a 30 minute fireworks show -- and the friends who were over for dinner all agreed that we'd be willing to kick in about $20 for that. We're just hoping they do another blowout for July 4th so we can sit in our driveway and watch and ooh-aah from home! Unless they decide to broadcast it from their other site . . . on tv.

September Already

As promised in my last post, here's a household cleaning secret PLUS the eagerly awaited All Hail the Swiffer write-up! The secret of the week, no, may I say the YEAR is . . . Fabuloso. This very affordable, effective, concentrated, deodorizing miracle alternative to 409 is nothing short of its name. Plus it's fun to say -- c'mon, try it! I think it's about $1.78 for a half-gallon at Target, and the smell alone makes your whole room feel cleaner. It's . . . fabuloso (and arranca la grasa). We like the Ocean Cool "flavor" but certainly, try the Lavender if you're adventurous!

And may I, once again, bow down to the marketing gurus at Swiffer, because those commercials WORK! Maybe it's subliminal visuals, maybe it's backmasking, but hats off to any company that can motivate a 4-year-old boy to actually dust! And think it's fun. Check it out . . . (and observe the TV in its rarely-used OFF position).

Delaney #1!

Wow -- what a year. Our daughter is walking, climbing, sippy cupping, and . . . what? Carrying a purse?!? She loves to put anything with a strap over her shoulder. So . . . out with the formula (here is our last and final can memorialized here and not to be missed!) and in with the whole milk -- YESSSSS!

Here Laney demonstrates her brilliant walking/drinking technique!

And brilliant carrying-things-like-a-purse technique.

Daddy went all out on her cake: and it showed! Those folks at Tammy Coe sure know how to make a cake!

Of course, Roman helped with candle blowing and wish making. He is a great big brother! Laney was a great sport and even tried the fondant . . .

Stay tuned for the next post with more on my secret house cleaning weapons . . . including The Swiffer! All hail the Swiffer!

Roman's Rockin' 4th Bday

Chandler June 30 2007 -- We had a blast at Way2Play Cafe in Chandler with a fun bunch of kids from Rock Street, Miss Jenny's, and more friends and fam we know and love. Roman scored like a rich kid at Christmas, and the one glitch -- 2 dozen cupcakes on the kitchen floor at Nana's just 20 minutes before party "Go Time" -- was quickly resolved thanks to Daddy's sweet talking and a nice bakery lady at Basha's. Though I didn't take a picture of "still life - cupcakes on floor," here's a few shots of the fun:

And one more of Roman on July 2, 2007 with Daddy:

Happy Birthday Roman . . . 4 years and growing!

Lay Loo Walks!

And we thought Roman was advanced!!! Laney is walking, I repeat, Laney is walking! She made it about five feet without support from Mom to Dad this evening, June 24 (also her Grammie Barb's birthday). In addition, she brought us a Trader Joe's ad on request. So, life will never be the same (like it was anyway). Next we'll work on "Laney, bring Daddy the remote . . ."And Mom was wrong -- thinking she would be later to walk than Roman -- they both made it under the 11 m0nth wire! Also, her nom du jour is "Lay Loo" which is short for Laney Loo, which her Daddy starting calling her and, well, it just stuck.

As for Roman, here's the promised update. Right now he's emulating the "Ice Road Truckers" show from History Channel and discussing life in Yellowknife. That's somewhere in the Canadian frozen tundra, eh? The following photo series depicts recent "Turtle Boogie" dance moments inspired by Teenage Mutants:

Sorry, I still need to learn the Flash animation slide show trick. "I'm workin' on it . . ." (in resentful tone).