Christmas Cards? Check.

Early last month, we had our family pictures taken for the first time in seven years. I know. I can't believe it's been that long either.

It's just that I kept putting it off because, "Dang It, I'm still fat."

In the meantime gravity is also blessing me with her gifts and I have jowls as well.

For years I've been putting just the girls' pictures on our Christmas cards. Well not this year. With Zoe Bug going to turn twelve next summer, she'll be off to college next fall and that's it. She'll never come home again.

Therefore, I'm going to have a proper Christmas card this year, jowls be danged.

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Here it is. I just made it on Shutterfly, so it looks like I might actually get my Christmas cards out this year before Christmas. And not next August like that one time.

I usually design my own cards but this year I can't be bothered with that. I'm on vacation this week, and that would put a crimp in my sleeping in until 10:30 a.m. schedule.

No lie. I'm doing it.

My friend, GaeLyn, took these pictures. She has a real Big Girl Camera that I wouldn't have a clue how to use. She was so patient with us, and she took a lot of time getting oodles of poses.

Some of the poses were super uncomfortable too.

Like this one.

That's a pained smile you see there on my face.  My ample behind was perched on a pointy rock with a vertically tipped summit. I was holding my knees up while attempting to balance, all the while sliding down the summit.

It's not a good look.

Frankly, I'm just thankful I didn't fart. That's how tense I was.

Oh Stinkerbell. You know how when you're having a professional take pictures of your kids and you want them to cooperate and act like they really weren't raised by wolves, but all they can manage is their Constipation Face? Then you start whisper yelling through gritted teeth, "Relax and SMILE, or I will ground you when we get home."

And then they either don't believe you or they just don't care.

My kids just don't care.

Frankly, I'm just glad the whole ordeal is over with. Although I would have loved to have GaeLyn run some PhotoShop Magic on my frame, I didn't dare ask because I've learned the hard way that you have to be careful what you ask for.

When I had my picture taken for my ID Badge at school I jokingly asked the Badge Dude to clean up my extra chinnage before slapping it on my ID. He was a Mean Little Man, because I got my badge back and he clearly put my picture through the Fun House Mirror function and stretched my head out like a Gourd Gone Wild. Or Mrs. Peanut Head, take your pick.

2011 Christmas Card

I just finished our 2011 Christmas card, WHOO HOO! I've been pretty neglectful about sending out Christmas cards since I went back to work, and I am determined to get them out this year.

My goal today was to sit down and put together our Christmas card. My Creative Memories sbcStudio software for the Mac is STILL not working, and I decided that I am finished waiting for them to fix the stoooooooopid program. I bit the bullet and downloaded the newest version of Photoshop Elements, went through some tutorials, and bumbled around to come up with this card. It's pretty simple, but my PSE skills are limited, so I'm good with it.

I would love some tips about how to organize and access paper and embellishments from those of you who are PSE pros. School me, please.

I never got around to getting our family portraits taken (because I'm fat), so I went with pictures from this year. Of course our cruise portrait made it in there, and the highlight of the girls' year, Horse Camp. You know my Christmas letter is going to mention Stinkerbell's mule. I cannot wait for that.

How about you? Are you doing a photo Christmas card this year?

Roller Skating Old School

Zoe Bug turned nine when we were in Colorado last week. I can't believe my baby is 9! Yeah, yeah, I know, stop whining. I'm working on that. Well, not really, but I should be.

Zoe had her party at our local skating rink this year. Man, what a dive. It looks like it hasn't been maintained since its heyday sometime in the 80s. That was just fine with Zoe Bug though. She's discovered roller skating and now she thinks she is all that on wheels.

It kind of reminds me of when I was in junior high and roller skating was the thing to do on Friday and Saturday nights. I even had some of those shiny, black, skin tight, disco pants. I loved me some disco. Actually, I still do, and it drives Peanut Head crazy. I love the disco and he loves the show tunes. It's a party all the time around here.

Check it out. I used my newly acquired cake decorating skillz to make an appropriate cake for the event.

Chocolate, of course.

These are the treat bags. Somewhere in each of those is an envelope of Pop Rocks. Remember when those came out? Kids still love them. Crazy kids.

When I was stamping these bags, I was so tempted to put SK8R BOI, like Avril Lavigne does, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was afraid the other moms would thing I'm LitR8.

Get it? Ha, ha, ha! I kill myself.

Redundant

This post might be a leeeetle bit redundant for anyone who's seen these pictures before. I posted some of them the night I got the disk from the photographer. 

The first thing I did with the pictures was to put together the little 4x6 card above to send out with Stinkerbell's thank you notes.

After putting together the photo card, I didn't have a chance to play around with the pictures again until last night.

I hestitate to even call these layouts, because I really didn't do much of anything. The pictures are so nicely done that I didn't want to detract from them with a lot of embellishments. I just wanted to put them together in a collage of sorts that will go in my family album, once I have it printed.

I put the little photo card on this page because I want to have it printed in my album, and I don't want to dedicate an entire 12x12 page to it.

I love these pictures, and I can't wait to have them printed. I'm procrastinating because I know we're going to do the same thing when Zoe Bug turns eight (in two weeks!!!!) and I'll get them all printed at once.

Christmas Greetings 2008

I just finished my Christmas card for this year! Whoo Ha! And yes, I do realize that it's December 15th, and I haven't even ordered the darn cards yet, much less written my holiday letter, but can I just tell you, I don't care.

I'm not in a bad mood or anything like that. I just don't feel like getting all worked up about it. It will get done when it gets done and it's not going to matter to anyone else when it gets done. So why stress?

I don't stress about the baking, or the decorating, or the gifts.

Really, in my world, the only stress for the holidays is getting the packages that have to be shipped out bought and shipped out. Everything else can happen when it happens.

And I love this attitude. It helps me to just enjoy the season.

And I am. And I hope you are enjoying yours as well.

Birth Announcement

I feel like such a slacker because my friend, Mattie Cake, had her baby in April and I'm just now getting the birth announcement done. The positive is that Baby Mya is all chunked up and adorable now, at almost 4 months, and no longer a squishy red newborn. Isn't she just gorgeous? I love to squeeze her chubby little bread dough legs. I miss baby chub.

What do you think of the brown? It's not a color that I would have thought would be cute for a baby announcement, but Mya's little onesie inspired me, and it turns out that I love it with all the pink. And I love this baby.