She always gets her way, one way or the other

Yesterday, Cort took Helen to the grocery store with him.

Upon arrival, she got down on her hands and knees on the floor of the grocery store. Cort told her to get up. This led to arguing, because of course she questioned why. He told her that the floor was dirty, and finally gave her an ultimatum requiring her to get up.

So she complied. Sort of. She crouched down with her hands poised about an inch from the floor. "Can I do this then?" she asked. Cort told her no. She asked why--again--and he told her because he said so.

So she stood up. But then she bent over and placed her hands on her knees. "Can I do this then?" she asked. Cort, exasperated, said sure.

And she proceeded to walk this way the entire time they were in the grocery store.

The good and the bad

One of the really cool things about having a big family is that you have enough people to do things like split up into teams and have a 3-on-3 soccer game.

One of the down sides is that as your kids get older, they become harder to defend are more likely to cause you injury.

This "small" bruise on my leg is a result of trying to block Charlie's shots.

Ch-ch-changes

Since this little blog is a chronicle (sort of) of what is going on with our family, I thought I should mention a couple of recent big changes.

First, last month, Cort took a new job as a partner at the law firm of Jones Walker. This wasn't something he was really looking to do, but a former colleague heads the Houston office and approached him. Ultimately, we decided it was a good career move for him and a good thing for our family.

The best things about his new job are (1) he is back downtown and therefore closer to home (we've even had a lunch date too!) and (2) he is back to receiving a regular income (his old income wasn't bad, it just wasn't consistent - and we aren't that great at budgeting without a clear picture of what is coming in every month).

The worst thing about his new job is that he is no longer near the grocery store we use for online orders and pickup. I tried going back to regular grocery shopping, but I am not a fan. I'll just find time myself to drive over to pick them up from now on. It's a small price to pay for having him back close by.

Second, possibly bigger news, is that as of this afternoon, we are the proud owners of a new house! Again, not something we were really planning on, and we certainly weren't planning on owning two houses ever again, but here we are.

When we found out we were having a second set of twins, we decided to build our current house. It is big, brand new, and very nice. It was supposed to be forever. But somehow, we are not in love. Several months ago, we started discussing the possibility of moving eventually.

As anyone in Houston knows, that's the first step to becoming addicted to har.com. One day on a whim, I suggested that we go look at a particular house that had been on the market for awhile (but the price had recently been lowered).

The house is a ranch style and needs some updating, but that was what we were looking for. We had decided that we really don't like new houses -- we would rather take an older house with some character, and remodel it to our liking.

So we went to look, and we really liked it. Original hardwood floors in most of the house. Lots of light. Over 3000 square feet and move-in ready if need be, but still with a lot of good "bones" to remodel and make it a really neat place. It's just west of the Heights, but still very close to downtown, which is one of our criteria. Best of all, it is on a 24,000 square foot lot--which is almost unheard of in inner city Houston.

But we decided it wasn't the right timing for us, and said no.

About a month later, the sellers came back to us with the proposition that they lease the house back. That opened up the door to us buying it as an investment property, with the idea that we would move in at a later date. So we did it. We closed today.

So now comes the fun part. We are planning what we can do. We know we will build on a new master suite. The original rooms can be divided to allow each of the kids their own room if they want it (currently, two of them do, two of them don't). We're going to put in a pool! We're searching online and learning more about the mid-century modern (doesn't that sound better than "ranch"?) style -- apparently, mid-century modern is the new bungalow, or so a friend told me.

We're still not moving for a little while, but it's fun planning the possibilities!


Here's the new house!

Wordless Wednesday

Kids can embarrass you in so many ways

Cort took my car to San Antonio last week and discovered that my car was making a bunch of noise while turning and was driving really rough. So we took it in to the dealership this morning. Cort drove it there and the service guy took it around the block to see what was going on, while I waited in the other car with Will and Helen.

I was so glad that it was Cort and not me dealing with the service department, because he was the one who got to be embarrassed when the guy returned and informed him that the only thing "wrong" with my car was that one of the kids had put it in four wheel drive while we weren't looking.

Christmas Day

We had a fabulous, wonderful, awesome Christmas Day. It's been a really terrific whole Christmas break, really. These kiddos are just getting older and more fun.

Waiting at the top of the stair Christmas morning, about to see what Santa brought.


Checking out their stockings.


Baseball and football cards - Santa seems to know that these are always a favorite.


Will showing off a new mask.


Helen (and Will) got a new, real t-ball glove from Daddy, since they will start t-ball for the first time this spring.


Hugs from Charlie after he opened his present from Will.


Opening a joint present.


Mr. Popper's Penguins - a gift from Gramma. Perfect for movie night. (We read the book together earlier this year.)


Will specifically asked for "green sponges." And he got them. And he was so happy.


Helen got Daddy his own Superman underwear. Yes, she picked them out all by herself. She has a mind of her own.

So, after we had opened quite a few presents, Cort comes down with a big box for all the kids. They open it up, and inside are four Jeep t-shirts and a note that led them through the house until they landed on a square he had drawn with tape in the foyer. They were to wait there until he "gave the sign" to Grandad (yes, my parents were in on this too). At this point, I realized that he had bought the kids their own toy Jeep to ride. They have one at Gransan and Grandad's house and love it. Especially Will. And remember, Cort had promised Will a Jeep for scoring a goal during soccer. So there was a little toot of a horn, and Grandad opened the door, and I braced myself to see one of these:

But that is not what I saw. Not at all. Nope, my husband had gone out and bought a real, live Jeep. "For the kids." Uh hmmm. Right.

So, we are now the proud owners of a third vehicle (for a two-driver family), and we can't put both of our cars under the carport or get out of the driveway without moving a vehicle, since the Jeep is taking up space. Of course, we live in inner-city Houston. But Cort says we can drive it to Mango Beach, the smoothie place a few blocks away. That we otherwise would walk to, but who needs exercise? Oh, and did I mention that it doesn't work with car seats? And that I can't drive it at all (I never learned how to drive a stick shift)?

But boy, is Cort happy and proud. The kids love it too.

So, later that day we took the Jeep over to the local high school football field for the second annual Christmas Day flag football game. The kids had a blast. So did Cort, at least until Helen had to go to the bathroom, and he had to take her . . . because I can't drive the Jeep.

Helen close on Charlie's tail.


Joe making a run.


Huddling up.


A touchdown for Will!


Teammates.


The boys' team, talking strategy.

A merry, merry Christmas indeed.

Christmas 2011

Joy Love Family Christmas

Don't send boring Christmas cards , personalize them at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Cathedral House Holiday Program #8

Last night we attended our eighth Cathedral House holiday program. Eight years of holiday cuteness.

2004 - Charlie and Joe were dressed as Little Bo Peep's lost sheep and pulled around the stage in wagons.

2005 and 2006 - How can I not remember these? This is why I need to write things down on this blog. I know the boys were adorable though.

2007 - This year Charlie danced to "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" and Joseph danced to "The Candy Man." I think Will and Helen, who were only 7 months old, were snowflakes.

2008 - This was Charlie and Joe's shining moment, since the 4-year-olds have speaking roles. Joe was a groom, dressed adorably in a tux. Charlie was a dad and sang a solo. Will and Helen stood around while their classmates danced to "Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath." How can that have been three years ago?

2009 - By this time, Charlie and Joe had graduated and taken their spot with the other Cathedral House alumni - sitting on the floor in front of the stage to watch. Will and Helen were adorable as Santa's elves.

2010 - How can it be possible that I don't remember this one either? Really?

2011 - And that brings us to last night. As 4-year-olds, Will and Helen now have speaking parts. They were both painters, who had lines about painting the town during the holidays. Their teacher was a little nervous that Helen wouldn't do it. And Will was pretty quiet at first during practice. But they were GREAT! They had the first lines of the night, and they were loud, clear, and perfect! And, pretty cute.

We sure are going to miss these next year.

Gingerbread traditions

When I was a little girl, my mom always ordered a gingerbread house at Christmas. I would be so excited when it arrived, and I would look at it for a long time, carefully eating only from the back side first so as to preserve it as a holiday decoration for as long as possible. (But I always ate it at the end.)

I went off to college, and she continued sending me one, where it sustained me through finals. I've gotten one every year, even as an adult. One year I was so busy at work that it never left the office (where she had sent it) but rather served as several meals because I didn't even have time to run downstairs and grab a sandwich.

Now, she sends it to the whole family. The kids love it. (I think they'd also love to make their own. Maybe we'll try that too this year.)

But somehow, it doesn't last nearly as long.


Before

During


After

I can't tell you how fast this happened.