A Confession...

Hollis is a pretty high maintenance kid when the bedtime hour arrives. She requires much prodding to get upstairs, get her PJ's on, teeth brushed, devotionals read and then it is story time. Jason usually reads 3-4 books and then I am usually recruited to read 2 more. After that comes the obligatory drink of water, angel song, prayers and "monster spray"(to discourage the monsters from bothering her at night-especially one named "Steve" who must really pester her). Finally, it is time to push "play" on her CD player and pray the music is to her liking.To be quite honest, I am spent around 9:15 at night and there is nothing I want more than to put her in her little bed, kiss her goodnight, and turn out the lights. So, needless to say, I am really, really lucky to have a spouse who helps carry 75% of the load at night.
One of Hollis' favorite books to read with Jason is "I Spy". I loathe this book and she knows that so she no longer asks me to read it. I am in no mood to look for little characters in a book for 25 minutes at that hour at night. Jason, on the other hand, endures it every night and didn't seem to mind, I assumed, until the truth came out last night. This is the conversation I had with him at 9:30 last night after the reading of "I Spy."
"Wow, Honey, you deserve a purple heart for reading that book."
"Yeah, I know," he says while brushing his teeth.
"Well, she knows better than ask me to read it, because it is not gonna happen," I assert.

"SHHHH," he says( his eyes as wide as saucers at this point), "I just KICKED it under her dresser."
Everyone has a breaking point, I guess.

The Simple Things..

AHH... brand new warm pjs, a cozy fire,hot chocolate with lots of marshmellows and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on tv. Does life get ANY better than this? Hope your evening is as blissfully simple!

Daddy's Girl

Hollis has become quite a Daddy's girl as of late. She constantly is asking when he is coming home, when his next day off is, if we can go visit him at work, etc etc. This is such a change from even last year when she needed/wanted me to do everything with her or for her. So, I am enjoying this "changing of the guard" a little bit; it is refreshing to witness that sweet Daddy/Daughter bond develop.

The other night, Hollis was watching TV and pops her head over the couch and says to the both of us sitting at the kitchen table, "I am going to ask the NICE ONE this question. DAD, can I have some ice cream?"

I almost wet my pants I was laughing so hard.Clearly, in her eyes, I am NOT the nice one. That is ok, I guess she'd better get used to it sooner than later.

She drove her point home even further on Friday night around 8:00. Jason was still at the club and she asked when he was coming home. I told her probably in the next 30 minutes. She looks and me and says,"Hey Mom, thanks for babysitting me all day while Daddy was at work."

Babysittter. That's what I've been reduced to. Good thing babysitters around Zionsville make a pretty penny. No more pro bono for me!! :)

Thankful

Our Zionsville Thanksgiving was pretty low key this year. A warm fire all day long,watching the entire Macy's parade, a bountiful Thanksgiving feast, a nice nap and the annual LePage tradition..construction of the gingerbread house. The only way it could have been better is if everyone we hold near and dear could have been here to enjoy the day with us. To sum up the way I feel right now:

"God is so good,

God is so good,

God is so good, He's so good to me."

Lazy 5 Ranch

Although this is a continuation of my previous NC post, this one DESERVES a post all it's own.

Lazy 5 Ranch is located in Mooresville, NC on a wildlife perserve. It's a very, let's say, interactive preserve. The animals actually dine from the inside of your vehicle. It was the most fun I've had in a long long time(despite the fact that Hollis was on the floorboard of the car crying at one point in game). So if you don't mind a little water buffalo slobber or a goat beating his head against your SUV door or a giraffe having a snack through your sunroof or scaring the bejesus out of your 4 year old, I highly recommend this place!

Birthdays, BBQ and Water Buffalo (Oh MY!)

I (heart) NC.

Too many of the things I love..too far from the people I love...

It is hard to believe we have been back from Winston a week now. Our visit was filled with all things familiar- BBQ, a trip to Mrs Hanes cookie factory, a stroll through Thruway, a yummy brunch at the Dessertery, a scrumptous birthday cake from Dewey's Bakery, a picnic at Tanglewood and the spotting of deer there, Bojangles fried chicken and sweet tea-just to name a few. There is nothing like coming home after I have been away for awhile, the familiar sights, sounds and food, the genuine friendliness and graciousness of the South, the sweet, soothing Southern accent that is music to my ears, the beauty of the piedmont which I took for granted while growing up there.Most imporantly, nothing compares to being surrounded by people who know all about you but love you anyway-Family. The older I get, the more I realize that kid from Kansas was right after all.

There is no place like home...

Halloween and a special visitor

The end of October not only brought one of our favorite holidays but one of our favorite people with it! Sissy flew up from NC and helped us celebrate in a grand way! Hollis was in heaven the entire weekend with Sissy here and Luke's birthday party/trick-or-treating/Hedenberg fall get together!

We will miss our Pepsi sharing, musical chairs playing, dog walking, kitchen dancing Aunt! We love you Sissy!