12 Things I love

While shopping the other day, I heard "The 12 Days of Christmas" being played over the store's speakers. So, here are twelve random things I enjoy, not necessarily just about the holidays.

Seatwarmers in my car.

MAC "Oh baby" lipgloss.

Seeing a freshly cut Christmas tree on top of someone's car while passing them on the road.

Getting thank-you notes in the mail.

Seeing my boys hug each other tight.

Finding a pair of size 9 1/2 shoes.

Sitting under the dryer at the hair salon, reading a magazine without interruption.

Sea Salt Bagel Chips.

When my 3-year-old asks me to tickle his arm, just like I used to do as a child.

When my husband wears his hat backwards.

Surprising my son for lunch at school.

And finally, finding money I'd forgotten about in a coat pocket.

And there you have it.

Hi Dad, It's Me...

It's been three months since I've seen you.

Hard to believe, yet the world keeps on turning, sometimes unfairly. The changing of the seasons is bittersweet, because it's one more reminder that life continues without you.

Three months seems like an eternity.

That's three months since I've walked into your home and found you sitting with your feet up on a footrest, eating from a can of Pringles potato chips.

Three months since I've been able to run the palm of my hand over the "peach fuzz" you had left for hair.

Three months since I've been able to tease you about wearing your white socks pulled up to your calves. Yet you wore them anyway.

Three months since you have walked through the room while pulling up your pants that always seemed to be falling down.

Three months since you've sat next to me at one of Griffin's ballgames, sipping a cup of McDonald's coffee with cream and sweetener. By the way, I drink mine the same way.

Three months since I've hugged you, taking in the scent of your cigars and Head and Shoulders shampoo. You've used that shampoo since I was little. Somehow, I miss it.

Trying to focus on the positive, some good things have happened during the last three months that you have been gone.

Griffin got the game ball in basketball, Saturday. You would have been so proud.

The boys now know all of the words to "Daddy's Little Girl," and ask for "Papaw's song" in the car. That makes me smile.

Hayden now dresses himself, though his underwear is usually on backwards.

They now tease Mamaw that they will "put her in the trash can...and put the lid on it," just like you used to say to them. It makes them giggle.

Griffin wrote his Veteran's Day letter to you, then called me in Nashville to read it over the phone. He told me he saw your picture in your Army uniform at the funeral.

I recently overheard Hayden telling someone while pointing at a star in the sky, "Look, there's my Papaw Mike." The kids talk about you daily.

And finally, three months since I've been able to call and ask for advice. Didn't matter if it was how to fix something, or kid-related, you knew the answer.

We miss you.

I'll Watch It At Home

Speaking of the Colts game, how would you like your view to be THIS?

Seats? Who Needs 'Em

Took the boys to the Colts game today.

Always a fun time, yet a busy one as well. Mainly because we have a 3-year-old. Here's how our day went:

11:30 am...Leave home.

11:38 am...3-year-old asks, "Are we there yet?"

11:45 am...Same child asks, "How much LONGER?"

12 noon...Boys both ask when we will be able to park the car.

12:30 pm...We are officially stuck in traffic.

12:40 pm...Still stuck in traffic.

12:52 pm...Park, finally.

1:00 pm...Make our way inside the stadium and find our seats.

1:10 pm...3-year-old needs to use the "potty."

1:15 pm...3-year-old plays with the automatic towel dispenser in the bathroom

1:20 pm...7-year-old and I see our faces on the big screen!"

1:22 pm...My phone starts buzzing with texts from friends who say, "Hey, I just saw you on the big screen!

1:25 pm...Greg returns to seats with 4 hotdogs, 2 lemonades and 2 diet Pepsis.

1:45 pm...7-year-old says nature is callin.

1:58 pm...3-year-old announces he is tired and wants to sit in my lap.

2:30 pm...Greg returns to seats with popcorn.

2:45 pm...3-year-old needs to potty, RIGHT NOW!

2:50 pm...Return with cotton candy.

3:00 pm...Take 3-year-old to restroom to wash his sticky fingers (Thank goodness we sat on the aisle.)

3:15 pm...Get smacked in the head with a foam finger from the person behind me.

Oh...and did I mention we watched a football game?

What Did You Say?

Kids talk in code.

Skip me learning another language. Adults have a hard-enough time trying to figure out what their kids are saying.

Tonight, Hayden wasn't watching where he stepped, and landed ankle-deep in water. He later told his dad that he stepped in a "water pud." That would be water "puddle." Other code words used in our house, either currently or in the past:

Big Donalds...McDonalds

Cheffer...a chef

shaky...chocolate shake

plug-ears...(Hayden used this one today...wanting some earplugs at Griff's basketball game

steam..."seam"...the favorite part of Hayden's blanket

movie puter...movie theatre

And on and on and on. I love what they come up with.

So I'm Sentimental...

I have a confession.

Remember back in August when Greg and I had a garage sale? And I had trouble parting with some of the items the boys used when they were younger?

I told you that Greg put what didn't sell in my trunk and asked me to take them to Goodwill. "A trunk full of memories," I called it. I promised to do so, but knew I wouldn't go right away. I drove from home to work, to the mall, and in between, even resorted to putting my groceries in the boys' carseats. Needless to say...

Those memories are still in my trunk. And it's November. Maybe it's time to take them back into the house.

I obviously can't do it.

There Are Boys in My House

As one of three girls, it was rather quiet in my house growing up. Lots of tea parties, and playing school, where my older sister always insisted she was the teacher.

I'm now the mother of two boys, and I don't know quiet any longer. It's a whole new type of parenting. The energy level of boys has taken some getting used to, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I wrote this about living with Griffin and Hayden.

There are boys in my house

One big one, two small

Toys scattered in bedrooms and all down the hall

They swing their make-believe swords through the air

With dirt on their faces and tousled blonde hair

Footballs, big trucks, and gooey green slime

So full of energy, no concept of time

Then it's off to get bad guys and slide down the stairs

They make forts with a blanket thrown over two chairs

They live for video games and books about sports

They're obsessed with team jerseys and elastic-type shorts.

They will frown over showers, and avoid tucks in bed,

Remote-control airplanes will fly by my head,

They like to get dirty, and they're always too loud

Yet nothing could make me more happy or proud.

There are boys in my house

Listen close and you'll hear

"I love you, Momma" when one hugs me dear.

Then it's back to their capes, and the heroes they play

And I count my blessings because I can say...

There are boys in my house.

Keith and Nicole's Baby Photo Revealed!

"Keithette."

That's what actress Nicole Kidman says she sometimes calls her baby with Keith Urban. She says the nickname came about because Sunday Rose looks more like Keith, though she did inherit her momma's fair skin.

During an appearance on Oprah this week, Nicole surprisingly showed the talk-show host and the audience a photo of her and the baby sleeping. Apparently, Keith captured it on his iphone.

Adorable.