Just a Couple More

This was Bella's "Sunday before Christmas" get up. Not something we typically splurge on but the whole outfit was a hand-me-down and she was quite a sight. Someone said that she looked like a life-sized American Girl doll.

You'd never guess she was packing diapers in that patent leather trimmed purse which SHE chose to match her shoes. What ever will I do when she become a teenager?!

Guess I'll throw her in solitary confinement with her big sis. =)

Annual Photo Shoot

Our attempt at the notorious family picture was, well... let's just say that the girls showed up and rocked the scene. Mamoune's countless hours of ogling herself in the mirror as a vain 10 year old paid off BIG! I won't harp on her ever again. The boys? The boys were less impressive.

I'm afraid that the neurons traveling from the brain to the actual body parts are hitting a detour somewhere along the way. "Hey Diz, lean on this wall and look natural." Cue stiff awkwardness that cannot be measured in words. "Okay, I was hoping for 'natural' as in relaxed and cool. Not so much the combined look of a staggering drunk and someone bracing to be hit by a semi that you're giving me."

Still, despite our failure to capture the elusive "everyone look this way and smile" shot, we did salvage the day with a few sucessful pics. Enjoy and Merry Christmas from the Sexton Crew!

See the mischief behind those almond-shaped eyes?

Adorable little devil, isn't he?


He's not a fan of photo day.
(In case the forced expression didn't give it away.)

Might be my favorite shot ever.

If you can enlarge it, you will see the funniest little

smirks on their faces.

Despite what you might be thinking...

they were not lined up for the firing squad.

This may be the last you see of her until she's 30.

Thankful for this moment of unrigidness.

Did I mention putting her under lock and key. Yep.

The Brainiacs

Spotlight on Mamoune:

In home school yesterday, we began a grammar unit on nouns. Mamoune and Nathan needed to identify abstract and concrete nouns. I carefully and slowly explained the difference and gave the instructions for their workbook page. "Understand?" I asked. "Yep" they answered. "Okay, go ahead and write your name at the top of the page and get started." (Yes, I know who they are and it seems like a futile step in a home school setting but I make them do it anyway!)

--7.3 seconds later--

Mamoune: Mom, I need help.

Me: Help with what? You haven't started yet.

Mamoune: um, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.

Me: I just told you what to do!

Mamoune: I know, but I forgot 'cause I had to write my name.

Me: (Briefly staring in disbelief. Shifting to Tim for either a warning look to "let it go" or permission to mock my child mercilessly. Permission granted. Commenced to raucous laughter.)


And if that weren't enough to warrant spotlighting the superior intelligence of our eldest daughter, well, earlier the same day-

Tim and I were having a snuggly, slow morning and instead of getting up and releasing the kiddos from the nights sleep, we just took the lazy route and whistled for them. It took several shrill calls before Mamoune finally emerged. We knew she'd been awake for some time (she still lives on Haitian time and rises with the sun) and so we inquired:

Me: Where you been?

Mamoune: In my room.

Me: Whatcha doing?

Mamoune: Playing with my Barbies.

Me: Oh. You didn't hear us calling you?

Mamoune: (dead serious) No, 'cause they were all talking and stuff.


Cautious laughter on this one...

I think Mamoune knows it's all in fun but hey... I've seen Child's Play and frankly, I don't like the way Barbie looks at me.

Table Scraps

I made homemade chicken noodle soup last night and Tim was trying to guess a "secret" ingredient. Nathan was confident that he had it all figured out and began reciting his version of the recipe:

"It's got noodles, half-n-half, carrots, celery, chicken breath, lime juice..."

Yeah, he didn't get much farther than that. I'll be glad to share the full recipe but I gotta warn you; getting those chickens to breathe on the soup pot ain't as easy as it sounds.

=)

Maybe It's Just Me

Do you ever wish that Tylenol worked in the opposite way?

Instead of taking it when YOU have a headache, you simply administer it to the person(s) who are giving you a headache and voila!

"Good morning, my darling children. Line up for your daily dosing." ;-)

Maybe that's just me.

Chivalry is dead?

Last night, after the kiddos went down, I was curled up in a tight ball on the end of the couch watching a UNC/PBS special on our "closest evolutionary relatives" -the Chimpanzee. Tim plopped down beside me. I wrapped my arms around myself and eyed the throw blanket which was all the way across the room. (no, it's really not a very big room- not the point) "I'm freezing" I said with a shiver. Almost instantly, Tim started peeling off his long-sleeved outer shirt and I thought oh my goodness,he is so sweet.

He freed his arm from the cuff and then... threw the shirt to the other end of the couch. huh? I started laughing and shared my unmet expectation with him. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that" he offered as he grabbed the shirt and wrapped it around me. Then, he walked over and got the throw blanket but accidentally smacked me in the eye while trying to cover me up. "Oops. Sorry 'bout that."

We managed to get through the early news broadcast and then headed to bed. When I came out of the bathroom, Tim was tucked neatly in on MY side of the bed. Not sure where this gesture was going, I asked what he doing. "I'm warming up your side of the bed. I figured I owed you one after botching the shirt deal." Oh my goodness, he is so sweet.

So, is chivalry dead? Nah. Maybe a little slow...but not dead. =)

Digging Out of a Hole

A whole month since my last post. I'm pretty sure that's a new record in patheticness for me. I'll do my best to dig out of this hole I've been hiding in. I would, however, like to point out that I believe it is entirely Tim's fault. Something about him being here all the time has killed my creative flow. Feel free to forward your complaints directly to him. =)


Speaking of Tim --he decided we should take the "easy way out" with our nativity this year:

Not to worry. I took Isaiah's "action figures" out of the box and set them up as expected. We decided to harvest out turnip green crop before they got hit with a hard freeze. Here are the bundles we collected. They were lovingly transformed into six quart jars of greens ready for a winter meal.

Justus was quite taken by the Christmas tree that magically appeared when he woke up from his nap. He is not so taken by the "no touch" policy that is strictly enforced.

Testing, testing, testing.

And last but not least in our parade of photos. This is Tim after Bella gave him a makeover using her purple eyeshadow/lipstick/blush. Apparently, you can use this one product for any part you want to highlight.

I will do my best to update again sooner than later! Surely, I can't do any WORSE than this. (Let's hope.)