tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34391669138492576802009-11-09T21:13:18.286-05:00SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-62957333149532407092009-10-25T23:52:00.002-04:002009-10-26T00:19:05.091-04:00

I waited eagerly for my baby girl to grow hair so I could do the most girly thing available to an infant female---add accessories!! But this little missy pulled every headband, bow, and barrett right off her head the moment it made contact. Finally, I gave up putting in the adorable fabric flowers my sister made and the cute little bows I had finally bought after more than a year of choosing not

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-17934341834037845452009-09-22T15:19:00.003-04:002009-09-22T15:25:22.843-04:00

Do you ever have nights when, if it weren't illegal, (I'm assuming), and morally reprehensible, you'd just shoot your kids with a tranquilizer dart and drop them in bed? I know my answer. What's yours? Steve Carell got interviewed on the red carpet at the premiere of "Get Smart" and was asked what super power he'd want if he could have one. He chose being able to put the kids to bed in under 5

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-18634550063589711652009-09-16T15:43:00.002-04:002009-09-16T15:53:10.959-04:00

My kids like Sesame Street. When we were on our school break, they saw it pretty much daily. Every single one of them can go, "Mwah Ha Ha!" just like the Count.Last night at dinner, Squeaky Bean started chucking food off her tray, which is my cue to get her out. As I picked her up, she either deliberately kicked or accidentally knocked her tray, so the whole thing went down, pasta, brussel

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-20918316821493527052009-09-01T12:36:00.009-04:002009-09-01T22:15:58.058-04:00

My sister and I went to a two day writer's conference conducted by Orson Scott Card in early August and it was sooo cool! Here are some pictures of things we did in Lexington, VA, for two days. Hurray for our supportive husbands who kept the kids! Me looking studious while reading writer's samples after lunch. Scary me! (I guess there are scary ghost tours in Lexington and non-scary ghost tours.)

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-26833574739421746122009-09-01T12:05:00.004-04:002009-09-01T12:35:51.687-04:00

Here's my good little girl! She wanted to wear an apron like Mommy!Crazy face. That kid loves to eat! Curly Fry put one of his ties on Squeaky Bean. (He LOVES them). She did not love it as much. At the beach...she stole Junior Mint's chair.

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-79482119390257722062009-09-01T11:05:00.006-04:002009-09-01T22:17:53.348-04:00

I can hardly believe Junior Mint will be 8 on Monday. He starts scouts tomorrow. I'll post pictures of that for sure. But til then, here are some of my favorite shots of Junior Mint from this summer. Independence Day Ice cream tradition at the Jersey Shore. Yum. Soooo happy! And freezing cold from boogie boarding. An Album Cover shot. He makes me take this kind of picture all the time. He's

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-18269011732080338992009-09-01T10:41:00.006-04:002009-09-01T22:18:15.803-04:00

Here are a few shots of Curly Fry. Love that face! And the hair! Don't even get me started... Happy guy with a snake puppet. Junior Mint and Curly Fry play box roller-coaster. A big hit! Daddy and Curly Fry on his first real roller coaster. Not such a big hit.

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-74932252477434993932009-09-01T10:21:00.005-04:002009-09-01T12:05:05.214-04:00

I've been offline so much of this summer there's no way I can really catch up with what's going on with our family and what we've done, so I'm just going to do a bunch of posts with lots of random pictures. Enjoy! Squeaky Bean is getting to be such a big girl! The pigtails still kill me! Love them! Curly Fry and his innertube. Happy Camper. This is Junior Mint's poker face. Seriously. He was

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-48120390933100885372009-05-18T23:17:00.006-04:002009-05-18T23:37:05.204-04:00

Have you ever had someone say something to you that seemed like a compliment, but then later wondered if that's what it really was? This happened to me a lot in high school. People told me often that I looked "comfortable." I'm pretty sure that wasn't actually a compliment. Has anyone ever told you that? I doubt it.Last week, I watched Squeaky Bean at a soccer game as she fell down, dropped her

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-78685549464331169382009-05-03T23:22:00.002-04:002009-05-03T23:31:41.713-04:00

the crime the culprit

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-78316577912741817762009-04-29T15:39:00.003-04:002009-04-29T15:46:12.332-04:00

Junior Mint and I are working on pronouns in English. We are also working on not yelling at each other when we do school. (It's tough for us not to argue a lot since our personalities are so similar). Today, I got so mad about his nasty attitude that I left the room. Junior Mint stayed and did more of his English. He was supposed to be writing sentences using the 8 pronouns he's learned.

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-76785268951052026052009-04-21T15:12:00.006-04:002009-04-21T15:33:49.094-04:00

You know that classic movie moment where a girl and a boy are running rapturously towards each other in a field of clover and wild flowers? (In slow-mo, of course). Well, I had a moment that's way better with my little Curly Fry last week.We were on a local high school track having some family time. The boys were running around and my HubbaHubba and I were enjoying a leisurely stroll with a

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-45503390357434422002009-04-03T18:06:00.005-04:002009-04-03T18:28:16.984-04:00

Several years ago, there was a major exodus of obstetricians out of the medical field because malpractice insurance had become so high. Now, more doctors will likely be forced out because President Obama is pursuing regulations (or the removal of regulations) that will force many conscientious medical professionals and hospitals to either perform abortions or quit practicing.It's interesting...I

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-16374048565100627282009-03-26T11:33:00.006-04:002009-03-26T12:37:06.020-04:00

My friend just brought up some hugely hot topics (gun control, abortion, and gay marriage) on her blog and I left such a long comment, I decided to just post it on here, too. I'd been planning about talking about some of these things in-depth, with links and such, but haven't gotten to it yet. Maybe I still will. But here are some of my thoughts on abortion and gay marriage based on my core

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-7619716735345183882009-03-18T14:41:00.008-04:002009-03-23T22:15:06.059-04:00

Picture from Squeaky Bean's 1st birthday party.We just got the best sort of mail from the Chesterfield County Circuit Court in Virginia. It's an envelope filled with formal copies of Squeaky Bean's Final Order of Adoption. Woohoo!! Her adoption is finally final! We can plan a sealing date now! And a blessing date! I am so excited!!!Of course, we still have the bureaucratic mess of applying for a

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-64326881397254641692009-03-10T22:54:00.003-04:002009-03-10T23:21:40.638-04:00

Several years ago, I was having a bad day. Normally, when things are going crummy, I don't feel any need to take it out on God. (That's ungrateful). But that day, for just a while, I was starting to think his plan for my life stunk.We had just experienced our fourth miscarriage. I was still a little ticked from the third one, which happened to manifest on the very anniversary of the day our

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-53707187695943422012009-03-03T17:34:00.005-05:002009-03-03T17:57:03.913-05:00

When I was a much younger girl, I would write essays. Essays about poems. Essays about stories I read. Essays about movies that affected me. I think I wrote 3 pages when I saw The Dead Poets Society. I wrote at least 7 pages about Dances With Wolves. I didn't ever show anyone my essays; it just made me feel better to talk through my feelings in that way. An essay is also a good place for a

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-69202735880236260842009-03-03T17:12:00.004-05:002009-03-03T17:17:05.338-05:00

This is a crafy little pass-along game. Here's how it works. Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and I will send you a handmade gift sometime in the next 6 months. I have no idea what yet...you can make suggestions if you like. Then you pay it forward as well by doing the same thing for 3 people on your blog. Once you leave a comment telling me that you want to

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-62898171393313541612009-02-18T15:25:00.002-05:002009-02-18T15:31:16.639-05:00

Last night, I caught the opening of the local Channel 9 news. The lead story was newsworthy, but the second? Not Obama signing the massive bailout into law...With a straight face, the newsman said, (and here I quote), "Is your man a sloppy kisser?" I changed the channel. I figure I can pick up Teen magazine next time I'm out if the kissing issue becomes urgent. (By the way, my man's a fabulous

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-65519455515882563082009-02-12T15:17:00.008-05:002009-02-12T16:37:23.622-05:00

Squeaky Bean will turn 1 later this month. I know. It's shocking. And lately, I've been able to sense a change in her vibe. She's much less like a baby and more like a GIRL every day. It is awesome. I feel a little badly about it, but I'm way more psyched for her birthday than I have been for the boys', because you just give them another ball and a truck and they're set. But girls come with

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-44716035575467998682009-02-05T14:51:00.006-05:002009-02-05T15:26:11.264-05:00

A few times since we adopted Curly Fry, people have compared his seemingly buff little stature to the long, lean frame of 7 year old Junior Mint and suggested that Curly Fry will end up as the bigger of the two when they're older. Maybe. It doesn't matter to me. But for those of you who didn't ever see Junior Mint as a baby, here he is... 10 lbs. by the time we left the hospital, 12 lbs. at his

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-73920881705558259362009-02-03T19:53:00.003-05:002009-02-03T20:12:30.220-05:00

Today I ground about 40 lbs. of wheat into flour with my awesome BlendTec wheat mill. Unfortunately, my filter was gone, so my enitre house is now coated in a fine white film. Junior Mint walked into the living room earlier and asked where all the smoke was coming from. I had to open a window and turn on the ceiling fan to clear the air. I guess it's a good thing I never got to mopping the floor

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-75423089762389787702009-01-30T18:35:00.013-05:002009-01-30T23:44:31.858-05:00

Geneva Kate, wearing her dad's wedding ring as a bracelet.The boys and I made a chocolate chip pound cake this afternoon. Yum! It's Geneva's birthday cake. Most of you didn't get a chance to meet Geneva because she only lived for 9 days, but she would have been 6 years old today. I say would have and not should have because I know she lived for exactly the amount of time God wanted her to. I

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-60515544406652048332009-01-28T22:29:00.006-05:002009-01-28T22:54:57.527-05:00

The Live With Regis and Kelly show is having a Beautiful Baby contest. Of course, we're entering our Curly Fry. Who can beat that hair?! (It's for kids 6 months to 4 years old. We're not entering Squeaky Bean because there would be legal issues since her adoption is not yet final.) Anyway, we can't decide what our favorite picture is and we could use your help! Would you please look at the

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439166913849257680.post-31914827091955989012009-01-26T17:45:00.005-05:002009-01-26T18:14:54.141-05:00

My cute friend, Millie makes the most delicious little bows and hats. She's doing a giveaway on her blog until Wednesday. Here's the link. http://busybutlersboutique.blogspot.com/ It's linked on the side, too, if that doesn't work for some reason.I'm doing the giveaway thing for two reasons. 1) Millie's about the most crafty, organized person I've ever met, and if you have little girls, you'll

SumGreaterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15663850963947080840noreply@blogger.com2