I Want Cookies for Dinner

Not everyone is privileged enough to have Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz bake Halloween cookies with you, but Saturday was my lucky day. Okay, so it's actually Ella in her new Halloween costume. She informed us that she wanted to be Dorothy because she wanted to be a kitty. I'm not quite sure what that means, but who am I to question her reasoning? I was just happy that she was kind enough to model her costume for me, since I won't get to see her on Halloween. There are a few more pictures of Ella here if you so wish to view them.

We had a ton of fun visiting with little Miss Ella, along with my sister, mom and step-dad. Mom got to break in my new KitchenAid mixer that was recently given to me by my favorite mother-in-law, while I busied myself with cutting out the cookies. Ella had the most difficult task of all - licking the spatula and eating the broken cookies. She was determined to fulfill her duties to the best of her abilities - when asked what she wanted for dinner, she declared, "I want cookies for dinner!" Who doesn't?

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Jeff & Angela Are Reproducing!

This has been a great month for the Barr family - first Adam returns home from the war, and then we find out a new family member is on the way!

According to their blog, they're officially out of the closet with their big news, so I'm now free to declare our excitement: we just found out two weeks ago that Stephen's sister, Angela, and her husband, Jeff, are going to have their first baby! They are due at the end of April, so they're just over three months along. It was hilarious when they told us - I, of course, was ecstatically hugging poor Angela and squealing like a little girl, while Stephen pouted because they waited "so long" to tell us. You know, because it's all about us; how dare we not be the first to know! Seriously, though, I can't think of better people to be breeding: between Angela's creativity, fabulous sense of style and good looks, and Jeff's intelligence, wit and great sense of humor, this is going to be one practically perfect child. Oh yeah, and I suppose they'll do a "satisfactory" job of parenting, too!

Okay, back to it being all about us: we're going to get another niece or nephew! Really, the congratulations should be going to us. We are going to be an awesome aunt and uncle.

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Welcome Home, Adam!

Stephen's older brother, Adam, finally made it home after spending a year in Iraq. On Sunday afternoon, there was even a big parade in his honor! Well, it wasn't exactly big...The whole parade probably lasted a total of 15 minutes. Even though it was a cold, windy day, we were hoping for a little bit more to honor these great people, like, at the very least, a marching band! The turnout for the parade was really good, though, and it was pretty emotional hearing the crowd scream out of excitement and pride that their loved ones were "officially" home. In the picture below, Adam is on the outer row, the third one from the back. Click here to see a few more pictures from the day.

Stephen has been looking forward to his brother's return since the day he left last autumn. I have to admit, I've missed him a lot, too; he's the big brother I never had but always wanted. It may sound corny, but there was a definite void felt in the family while he was away. We couldn't be more proud of him for going overseas for his country, but we're thrilled that he's home safe - and just in time for the holidays!

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Why We Can't Get Anything Done

We have three cats, whom I absolutely adore. They're adorable, fluffy, soft, smell nice, and they keep me warm at night. But, my favorite thing about having cats is that they have this skill of knowing when you need to get something done, and then they somehow manage to ruin your plans. For example, this afternoon I was honestly going to do some MUCH needed cleaning in the office - the biggest task in this project being cleaning my hardly used work table. I walk in and what do I find curled up on TOP of the mess? Yes, it was Sophie. And she's so cute and content, I just couldn't move her; that would be cruel and heartless. And since I'm not a cruel and heartless person, I selflessly gave up my dreams of cleaning my desk just so Sophie could sleep peacefully. The things I sacrifice for those I love...

I wonder if she'd be willing to take a nap on top of the toilet, too??

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Neener Neener?!

A couple of years ago, I reverted back to my childhood vocabulary and started using the expression, "neener, neener!" I admit, it was annoying, pointless, and may confirm my fear that I have Tourette's, but believe it or not, some people liked it (or at least they humored me and pretended to like it) and so it stuck. Neener can be anything - a curse word (e.g., "oh, neenersticks!"), a pseudonym for a naughty word (e.g., "what a pile of neener!"), but we primarily use it as a term of endearment or as an exclamation when we're really excited. Below is a picture of my 3-year old niece, Ella, who is demonstrating her "neener, neener!" expression.

The truth of it is, I got stuck when trying to think of a name for this pointless, silly blog. I figured anything with neener was a very suitable title. Enough said.

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