Crushed

Scene: Hughes living room, typical after dinner activities ensuing - kids running around, Scott channel flipping...he stops on a video of Pink Floyd playing Dark Side of the Moon

Eliza Grace: "Ah, come on, I don't want to see some music show."

Scott: "Hey, this is Pink Floyd. You might learn something."

Eliza Grace: " Can we listen to some culture...why don't you play "All the Single Ladies?" (A Beyonce Knowles song for those of you unaware - and no, my children have never seen the video)

Will (dancing around in circles): "All da single wadies, all da single wadies, all the single wadies, all da single wadies...."

Scott: "Sigh"

Ah, good times.....good times.

Snow Day!

Around six inches of snow fell overnight Monday and Tuesday morning.

For us here in NC, that is tantamount
to a blizzard.

They cancelled school of course.

Then, and this really cracks me up, our new Governor declared a state of emergency.

Can you imagine what the folks in New England, Indiana or Colorado are thinking?

Six inches of snow is a state of emergency. By 2pm most all city roads were completely clear and the sun was out.

Oh well, it sure was a lot of fun to play in. This is our first snow in a couple of years so it was the first Will has really seen.

A low key birthday celebration

We opted for the low key birthday celebration for Eliza Grace this year. She had a friend over for dinner and a sleep over. It was too cute listening to Will call out to the "girls" (and girls comes out as a sing-songy,two syllable word when he says it.)

"Hey girls, come play trains with me"

"Girls, can I push one of the baby strollers?"

"Girls, hurry, come eat pizza!"

"Girls, wake up!"

I fully expected to have to put on my big voice around midnight to get the girls to go to sleep. Boy was I surprised. After a movie,

these gals asked to get ready for bed, got in their sleeping bags and read books to each other. I know they were asleep before

10:30pm! Ah, a mother's dream sleepover.

The next morning I took the gals roller skating and proceeded to fall so hard on my rump that I think the building shook. Needless-to-say, I went to see the chiropractor a few days later.

No big to-do. No hundreds of dollars spent. And Eliza Grace said it was one of her best birthdays ever. Gotta love it.

I brought out the pewter goblets to toast the birthday girl with sparkling cider. Pewter goblets is what we always drink from when we have pizza and watermelon for supper -

don't you do the same??

Tink on fire

It was a group effort on the candles.

Not gonna quit my day job

Well, I started something now.

Since I made Will a Percy the Train cake
Eliza Grace decided she wanted me to make
a cake for her birthday too.

She didn't know what she wanted so I picked
Tinker Bell and she was thrilled.

I think I did ok...sorta...well...really she
looks a little freaky. And it looks like
she had a botched nose job and she smeared
her lipstick.

But the important part is that you can
tell that it is Tinker Bell. Right?

Next year it is back to Target for cakes.

I think she looks better as a brunette!

Seven!

Today our little girl turns seven. 7! Holy cow, how did she get to be seven already?

And surely I have not aged a day during the past seven years... right?... anyone... anyone...something "D O O" economics? (for those '80's kids in the crowd).

So happy birthday to our sweet Eliza Grace. You are a joy to have in our lives and we love and cherish you more than you will ever know!

Then.... she still yawns just like that :)

...and now

2008 picture collage

The Hughes Family's 2008 Christmas letter photo collage.

My first....

...post of 2009. What shall I write?

I could do the typical rehash of 2008. The
look what we did, survived, enjoyed review.

Or I could do the look forward to 2009 with
thoughts on resolutions, predictions and desires for the year to come.

I could wax poetically about life and all of its
challenges, rewards, expectations and realities.

But I think I will just say that it is another sunny day in North Carolina, all the Christmas stuff is put away,
Scott has a pork butt on the smoker, the kids are playing quietly together and I am still in my jammies.

All in all a really good start to the new year!