The Marshman Elves have Kicked It Up A Notch This Year (and I have never looked thinner!) We don't take ourselves very seriously, why should anyone else?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was telling Mike a few days ago, that in a way I am sad that Brian doesn't say, "Sanksgiving" the way he has in years past. It is the end of an era, because now our son now properly enunciates the, "th" sound. *sigh*

Okay, that was kind of random...sorry.

Anyway, we hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I asked each of my family members early this morning to tell me something that they are grateful for.

Evan said laughing, "My bum!" Boy, you are a riot. (Please, detect me in sarcasm there.) I shot him a warning glance and said, "Try again" to which he answered in a very distracted tone because he was searching for shoes so he could go to the Turkey Bowl (annual football game with church members), "Uh....I dunno, my family". That's right, son. I love forcing your gratitude...great answer!

Then I turned to Adam and asked, "What are you grateful for, Adam?" You will probably find this shocking, but he said, "My bum!" and burst into riotous laughter. I said, "Adaaaaaam" in my special "you are wounding Mommy's feelings" tone and he said, "Okay, okay, sorry...and then said, "uhhhh...My body." Okay, I was hoping for, "My wonderful Mother!" but, I'll take it.

Then, all manner of chaos ensued as people ran around trying to find proper sports gear to wear to "The Annual Football Game Where Someone Inevitably Gets Hurt on Thanksgiving Morn. but You Can Call it the 'Turkey Bowl' for Short". Amidst the chaos I asked my loving husband what he was thankful for. With audible congestion in his husky voice he said, "Not my sinuses." Wow, honey...I bet you say that to all the girls.

I encouraged everyone to get out the door before Brian woke up because he is still too little to play. I believe my encouraging words were something along the lines of, "If you people don' t get out of here before Brian wakes up...." as they rushed out the door.

Brian woke up dazed and came out wearing his long sleeved and legged Batman pajamas about fifteen minutes later and, Oh, Happy Day, let me snuggle with him on the couch! I told him, "Happy Thanksgiving!!" and when I asked him what he was grateful for he said, "Pretty Kitty." Pretty Kitty is the stray cat that has taken up residence here.

I know I write things in a sarcastic and joking tone, but I couldn't be more grateful for my great many blessings.

Oh, and cheap child labor over Thanksgiving break...heh, heh, heh...

Notice the special, *ahem* detailing Brian put on the bathroom mirror.

Thanks for priming my bathroom, boys!!! Momma loves you!

November 2008 Evan: 11 years and 4 months old, Adam: 8 years and 4 months old and Brian 5 years and 6 months old.

Wanna See Something Adorable? (And a boring blogging question)

Here is some footage of my adorable twin nephews Alex and Jack. In this clip we see Alex happily feeding Jack some gourmet food...you know, Goldfish Crackers. Jack has a very discerning palate. I posted it to make you smile. I strive to be service oriented. No need to thank me.

Also, I have a blogging question. Sometimes after I have published a post I noticed that you can't click on my pictures to get them to, "biggify" or enlarge, you know....um...blow up to high resolution. I, as many of you know, am totally nosy by nature. I love clicking to enlarge pictures. Does anyone know how I keep messing up my pictures so they won't enlarge? In a recent post I wanted everyone to be able to get a closer look at Adam's new glasses...or Aunt Amy's cute pregnant belly and I had somehow messed up the pictures so they wouldn't enlarge.

Thank you for your time.

The Marshman Family Blog Management

Can My Kindergartener Follow Directions, Or What?

Brian was doing his homework at the kitchen table the other night while I was making dinner. Because he doesn't read independently quite yet, I explained what each page of the booklet was asking him to do, and would then turn around to finish the dinner preparations.

I guess I should have specified that the booklet was asking for bees...of the "bumble" variety. He was working so eagerly and happily...I didn't have the heart to correct him. So, Mrs. Glass his kindergarten teacher, got to see how well Brian takes verbal direction. She didn't seem to mind, so I am hopeful that his following directions literally won't hurt his chances of being promoted to the 1st grade.

Well, It Looks Like No More Road Rage in the Mini-Van for Me...

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(our brand new bumper sticker)

...'cause I wouldn't want to soil Evan's reputation.

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Congratulations, Evan ☺

We Love You!

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October 2008 Evan (11 years and 3 months old)

So....What Did You Do For Halloween?

Did you embrace your inner nerd?

To make your costume more believable, did you hike up your church pants until you were completely uncomfortable by the end of the night?

Did you carry nasal spray and a pocket pack of tissues in your pocket protector and tell people repeatedly, "*Sniff*... Mother made sure I had my, *sniffle*, *snort* tissues."?

Did you practice the catch phrase, "I vant to bite your neck." until everyone within in a three mile radius practically begged you to stop?


While your parents were putting your vampire makeup on you, did they fear you looked a lot more like Eddie Munster than Count Dracula, until you put your plastic fangs in?

Uh, Mike honey...I am noticing a gap between the hairline and the widow's peak...

Or...did you take a trip to Middle Earth and put Orlando Bloom to shame because you make a much more dashing Legolas from Lord of the Rings than he does?

To complete your Legolas look, did your mother buy a Hannah Montana wig for six bucks and chop the bangs off of it and try, almost in vain, to get it to do that cool braid ponytail flip thing in the back? Did she make the leaf clasp to close your cape out of paper laminated with contact paper and hot glue gunned to a diaper pin, and did you stare at her skeptically as she approached you to pin it on?


Did your mother make your wear your Anakin Skywalker outfit from last year under your cape because she is a cheapskate promised nobody would notice that it wasn't an official Legolas costume?

Did your mother not even bother to dress up and when people asked why, did she reply dryly, "I am a Super Model...can't you tell?" even though she was wearing the same nondescript clothing she always does?

No?
Well, we had a fun Halloween and hope that you did, too.

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October 2008: Evan (11 years and 3 months old ) Adam (8 years and 3 months old) and Brian (5 years and 5 months old)