Technical difficulties

Greetings, gentles, all,

Daniel dropped my laptop and destroyed my screen. This was slightly my fault for setting a bad example by leaving the laptop up on the arm of the couch. (Out of the reach of Sammy.) At the moment, I don't have access to any of my files. (Alas and woe!) (Yes, Jon tried to hook up an external monitor, and no, the initial try didn't work, and also, no, Jon can't devote any more time to the problem until the semester is over.)

Anyway, for the next month or so, I won't have access to my saved quotes or pictures. This saddens me, since I'd hoped to slog through some backlog over the holidays.

Nonetheless, I can post contemporary pictures, and I shall.

I am switching over from the old digital camera (purchased when Eric was born) to my new smart phone. (Samsung Vibrant, 3G, Android.) The picture quality if blurry at times; sorry about that, I'll get the hang of it.

Behold, cute kids:


Santa baby...hurry down the chimney tonight... November 27, 2010. It was nap time and Santa was slightly cranky. Ah well, I'd be cranky too if I missed out on sleep, filling stocking after stocking ad infinitum.













We were in Hobby Lobby, buying a new Christmas tree. I found this hat for Sammy and put it on him while we were waiting for the tree to be delivered up front. The lady behind me had been flirting and and offering to take him if I didn't want him (I was in the returns/customer service lane). When I flourished the Santa hat, she cried, "Oh, no, don't put it on him!!!--" I did anyway, and she continued, "Now I won't be able to resist kidnapping him!!" I started singing "Sammy baby..." and she melted. I could have made superlative gravy from her rich drippings.




Left: Sammy's shirt reads "Mom's Knight in Shining Armor," with a picture of a castle and helmet. (Best $5 sale I've ever found at Kohl's.) Right: Wearing the knight shirt, Sammy practices his sword skills. He waved it around by the hilt, grasped it by the blade (without injury!) and worked on his sword swallowing technique. Very impressive. I am confident he'll be able to slay all the wicked imaginary monsters in the house by the time he's three.
















Below: Jon, Eric, and Daniel work on building bridges out of toothpicks and marshmallows. A family activity extension of the technology expo we had attended a week prior, where Daniel tied the record for the strongest bridge that day. (His creation, made of triangles, supported nineteen dixie cups before it collapsed. In his defense, the marshmallows were wet. We noted great improved structural stability once the "concrete" had "set."