Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corns and Syrup

This was my favorite out-take from Christmas card photo attempts. I just noticed that they're holding hand here ... awwww! Anyway, if you didn't get a Christmas card from me (and you cared anything about getting one) I'm so sorry. My super duper organized way of handling Christmas mailings is to grab a box of cards from Target and just start sending them until they're gone. I don't think I'm going to be CEO of anything at any point. Ever.

This year's Christmastime for us was really sweet. We did our second annual trip to Thompson's Tree Farm and picked out this little guy, whom Elsbeth named "Sky." Isn't that awesome?! I have hope that deep down inside this girl who loves princesses, fancy dresses and sparkly shoes is a hippie chic just waiting to burst out. :-)

We got to enjoy all the extended Mobley family in Aiken the week before Christmas. Andrew's finger wasn't quite in his nose here, for which we can all be grateful. And don't miss my darling new nephew, baby Jay, nestled in Jessie's arms.

The cousins got some good play time in. Cute! I'm trying to get Jeff and Jessie to move closer so they can hang out more.


OK, so I realize that I'm not exactly a bastion of normalcy, but even I can't quite wrap my head around this one. Below is a photo of Papa. Laying in the middle of the floor. In the living room. In the middle of a big family Christmas gathering. A bunch of Mobleys just sitting around, chatting and hanging out and generally being merry and in strolls Papa. He proceeds to lay down on the rug, hands symetrically placed upon his chest, and is perfectly still with his eyes closed for quite some time. Nap? Deep meditation? Finding his happy place in the midst of the chaos? I have no idea, but it made me deeply happy. It also makes me happy that I was the only one in the group who even took notice of this bizarre event.

We got home from the Aiken festivities just in time for Phil to squeeze in a spot of surgery before the big day. He had been in severe back pain for weeks and really wasn't nearly as amusing on the narcotics as I had hoped, so finding this opening with a great surgeon was a wonderful Christmas present. Dr. Rhee told me the disc herniation was "massive," so I guess he wasn't just being a giant baby when he was crawling around on the floor yelling in the middle of the night trying to find a way to get back up in bed. That was all really super fun, by the way.


My mom, dad and brother all made the trek to see us for Christmas, bless 'em. Actually, my mom and Bradley came early (dad was working) to take care of my wee ones so I could be with Phil at this hospital. I cannot begin to express my gratitude!

Phil's recovery went (and has continued to go) very, very well, so we were all able to enjoy a wonderful Christmas together.

Andrew decided he was too busy to help me make sugar cookies on Christmas Eve, so Bradley stepped in to lend a hand. He's too sexy for my kitchen, too sexy for my kitchen ....

We could barely find the children under the wrapped boxes on Christmas morning, which delighted them.

I gave Bradley a box full of disguise material, which I'm pretty sure was a stroke of genius. I cannot wait to hear the stories of the ways in which he decides to use this stuff.


My parents brought Sofie a catnip cigar, which if you know Sofie at all, is one of the most hilarious things ever.


Huh. I'm out of pictures, so I guess that's it for this post. I hope all of you loved ones had a beautiful, meaningful Christmas and that 2012 is your best year yet! I also hope when I go to get Elsbeth up from rest time momentarily that I don't find a poop explosion that requires a special, middle-of-the-day bath like yesterday.

Sometimes We Just Have To Put Dick Scroggins In The Closet

Too many glorious adventures, too little time to write about them!

First off, surprising Andrew with a trip to Disney World was just the best thing ever. Poor guy was so confused when we dragged him out of bed at 4:45am and started throwing clothes on him. "Why are you dressing me in the middle of the night," he asked with half-open eyes and sincere bewilderment. Below is the video clip of me telling him where we were taking him. I'm not sure if it will play (Blogger video technology often eludes me), and even if it does play, the audio is really low.

Basically he just does this little crazy arm dance a few times, then gets serious trying to figure out all the logistics.

Disney World was more crowded than we were hoping for, but in the end it didn't matter. We had a blast.

Our Precious can be a timid soul, so we really didn't know what he was going to love and what he was going to shy away from. Right after entering the park, we saw a show going on in front of Cinderella's Castle. He dug it until the witch from Snow White made an appearance, then he was done with that, and actually had zero interest in shows from that point on. He didn't give a rat's behind about the parades. He enjoyed Small World, the Tea Cups, Peter Pan's Flight and Dumbo. But what he loved, what he couldn't get enough of, was Splash Mountain and Thunder Mt. Railroad. The faster and wilder the ride, the better. If he was tall enough, I'm certain he would have loved Space Mountain.

OK, so the quality of the photo below leaves a little to be desired, but I want the world at large* to see with their own eyeballs what my husband was doing ... on a ride in Disney World ... sitting next to his beloved son. Enjoying the wind in his face? Capturing the look of glee on Andrew's face in his mind?


Oh no. He'd be the guy checking Facebook.

I would like for you to all click over to your Facebook accounts right now and status update what you think of this. (But only if it's dripping with sarcasm and negativity.) (And then un-friend him so he won't have a reason to check it anymore.)

Anyway, back to Disney World. Not only was it full of amazing rides, but treats upon treats as well!


Seriously, that cinnamon roll was as big as my head. (Andrew saw Goofy take a picture holding one of his ears in the air, so he decided to try it for his "insanely unhealthy but fabulous breakfast" photo shoot.)



Is it any wonder that he spent hours on Nina's couch throwing up? Actually, that happened days after our trip, so I don't think we can blame the sugar. But it was crazy that it's been almost a year since we've been to Nina and Pa's house and we all caught a stomach bug last time! Thankfully, he kept his pitiful tummy situation to himself, but we all felt really sorry for him as we chucked crackers and Sprite in his direction from a crack in the kitchen door.


The healthy folk had a glorious time cooking ginger bread Mickeys with Nina. We also had some deep discussions about which end of Mickey you should start eating first if desiring the most humane end for the famous mouse.

The next day Andrew felt great, so we went to Wacatee Zoo, one of my favorite places, because you get to see a whole lot of this:


And now a quick catch up of some additional Preciousness I failed to post earlier.

Andrew had a Veteran's Day program at his school and had to dress in his "performance wear." I could just keel over from the astounding levels of adorableness here.

His class did a series of patriotic songs, and I tried to take some video with my phone, but shockingly it didn't turn out so well. So I talked Andrew into giving me a solo performance in the living room.

And finally, Andrew's class did a whole big thing for Thanksgiving, weeks of preparations making place mats and headdresses and costumes for their big feast with the first grade Pilgrims. For the month of November, Andrew was called by his Native American name "Hugging Bear." Here he is with his teacher, "Chief Faithful Friend." I swoon.

*All four of you currently following my blog I shall now and evermore refer to as "the world at large." I hope this makes you feel important.