This morning I took the girls to have brunch with Barbie at the Winder Library---they LOVED it!!  They made bracelets and crowns and had their fingernails painted and ate cookies and drank punch.  BIG success!!

First of all, for the second year in a row we had SNOW for Dr Seuss' birthday.  I only remember this because Kaydee missed a big Dr Seuss party at school (or it was postponed) last year for snow.  Today she got to go to school for most of the day--the schools let out 2 hours early due to the terrible weather (insert picture of me rolling my eyes).

But we made the most of our extra time together and celebrated Dr Seuss' birthday by reading a stack of books and having green eggs and ham for supper.  I even made "cupcakes" (chocolate muffins) and let the girls blow out the candles.  FUN!

Today was story hour at the library.  There is a shelf containing books for sale.  Hardback books are $1.00.  Paperbacks are only $0.50.  I leave my wallet in the car each week to avoid this temptation.  Today I was sitting on the floor with Abby and a title caught my eye:  "How To Get Married Although A Woman, or The Art of Pleasing Men."  I flipped through it then looked inside the front cover.  Copyright 1892.  I HAD to have this book.  So I bummed 25 cents from Jaime and 25 cents from Jenn (THANKS, GIRLS!!)  and brought my little find home.  It is FULL of juicy little tidbits, and loads of advice that still stands today (or should, anyway).  Much of it is too good to keep to myself, so I am going to share some of my favorite excerpts here.  Enjoy!

If you wish men to admire you, you must first be a true woman with a noble character.  Look to your home-life. Men catch glimpses of that when you least think it.  They know well that an industrious, sweet-tempered, unselfish daughter makes an industrious, sweet-tempered, unselfish wife.

Men like bright girls.  Even the most sober prefer a jolly, laughing girl.  As I once heard a man say about a very merry one, "Think of having such a creature always in your home!  You wouldn't have much chance for the blues."  Jolly girls are never sentimental.  A man hates a sentimental girl.  Sentimental looks, long faces, teary expressions are only attractive in novels. Men, out of books, do not like to wipe away tears--they prefer to walk away from them.  Never forget that a man is a selfish being....Remember, you look your very worst when you cry.  The tears do  not "well up" and "overflow,"  "chasing each other down your alabaster cheeks like so many pearly drops." as they do in novels.  No: your face squints up, while your eyes and nose get red.

Make yourself worth having, and men will want to have you.  Strive to cultivate a true womanliness and to become an efficient person.  Be a girl who can help herself, who is not ignorant of work or too lazy to do it.

You must never run after a man.  Make yourself so attractive that he will seek you. 

Be tidy always.  Have your hair combed, your dress neat, even if it is old.  Patches are to be respected, while holes mark the sloven.  Always, even if you are scrubbing the floor, be ready to see any one who comes....Some men have a way of dropping in at such unexpected times.....Men like a nice appearance.

Never make an appointment with a young man of which you cannot tell your mother.  When a young man urges you to deceive your mother, he means to deceive you.  Your mother is your best friend; make her your confidante in all things, then you will never go astray.

Be careful not to call a man by his first name unless he is a relative.  A well-bred lady will not even address a man thus whom she has known in her childhood.  Do not allow a man to call you by your first name.  You can easily show by your manner that it is distasteful to you.  Check even the liberty of your Christian name with the prefix Miss. Although you may have an older sister, you have a right to your father's name.  If you cannot be Miss Jones, you can be Miss Mary Jones.

When you are out walking with a gentleman, do not allow him to grasp your elbow.  Some med do this instead of offering the arm.  He is ill-bred if he attempts it.  It is too familiar altogether, and is becoming too common. A polished gentlemen will not do it.  He will offer his arm.

In all your intercourse with men, do everything to ennoble and nothing to lower his character. Let him see that you are a true woman and a Christian: one whose life is beautiful in its maidenly dignity and attractive loveliness.

"Beauty Rules"
Rule One:  A woman's power in the world is measured by her power to please.
Rule Two:  Modesty is the ground on which all a woman's charms appear to the best advantage...modestly most not be forgotten
Rule Three:  So the woman's aim is to please, and modesty is the first principle
Rule Four:  Always dress up to your age or a little beyond it.  Let your face be the youngest thing about you, not the oldest.
Rule Five:  Remember that what women admire in themselves is seldom what men admire in them

Also included at the end of the book are the Ten Commandments for Women + the Ten Commandments for Men from the 47th Annual Report of the Legal Aid Society of NY 1922:

The Ten Commandments for Women
1.  Do not be extravagant.  Upon the proper and careful expenditure of your husband's income depends on his willingness to exert himself for the maintenance of your home. 
2.  Keep your home clean.  Nothing is more refreshing to the eyes of the tired nerve-racked worker than the sight of a well-tidied home.
3.  Do not permit your person to become un-attractive.  A slovenly wife makes a truant husband.
4.  Do not receive attentions from other men.  Husbands often are jealous, and some are suspicious without cause.  Do not supply the cause.
5.  Do not resent reasonable discipline of the children by their father.
6.  Do not spend too much time with your mother.  In such case you may easily spend too little at home for the proper administration of your own domestic affairs.
7.  Do not accept advice from neighbors or stress too greatly even that of your own family concerning the management of your domestic affairs. Think for yourself.  Have a plan of your own for the solution of home problems.  In all cases consult with your husband.
8.  Do not disparage your husband. 
9.  Smile.  Be attentive in little things.Consideration for your husband's feelings makes him respectful of yours.  An indifferent wife is often supplanted by an ardent mistress.
10.  Be tactful.  Be feminine.  Men, in the last analysis are but overgrown children.  They do not mind coaxing, but they resent coercion. 

The Ten Commandments for Men
1.  Be generous according to your means.
2.  Do not interfere with a woman in the management of purely domestic affairs. The average wife is far better qualified than her husband to plan for home comfort and to handle economically that portion of his income set aside for household expenses.
3.  Be cheerful, even though it sometimes may tax you to the utmost.  Nothing reacts mroe surely on the nerves of a tierd woman to engender suspicion and ill-temper than the homecoming of a gloomy husband.
4.  Be considerate.  The average woman is a bundle of highly strung nerves.  If she complains, it is rarely for insufficient reasons.  Her efforts to make your home clean, inviting, and comfortable merit appreciation and cooperation.
5.  Make love to your wife; continue to be her sweetheart.  Every true wife expects to be a sweetheart, and rightly.
6.  Do not scold. 
7.  Establish your own home, if possible remote from your wife's and your own families.  The frequent interference....and opinions....seldom does anything but complicate an already delicate situation.
8.  Do not keep a lodger.
9.  Cultivate neatness and personal cleanliness. A wife wishes to look up to her husband, to be proud of him and to admire and respect him.
10.  Be kind and just to your children.  A woman quickly looks with distrust and averson upon the man who is harsh and cruel to her children.

This morning on the way to school there was an abandoned recliner on the side of the road.  Our conversation:

Kaydee:  "How did THAT get there?"

Me: "Someone probably dumped it there.  That was rude, wasn't it?"

Kaydee: "I think somebody probably left it on their porch and some creepy animal came and carried it away."

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Turning on the street Kaydee's school is Abby said, "Where's Kaydee's school"?  I said, "Right there."  Abby:  "Well when did THAT happen?"

We had the neatest Primary Activity today!!!  Our ward combined with the Winder Ward and did a "Walk With Christ."  We asked special guest speakers to come talk to the kids about their experiences with Christ--Mary, a Shepherd who was there when the angels announced His birth, John the Baptist, and a disciple who witnessed the miracle of the loaves and fishes.  We also made a personalized picture of Christ that said, "I Know My Savior Lives" with their names on it.  And we gave them a copy of "The Living Christ" to take home--this fulfills one of the Athens, Georgia Stake goals: "Post 'The Living Christ' and a picture of Christ in the home."

A great BIG THANK YOU to Erin, Jamie, Lafae, Andrea, Jaime, Amy and Lora and especially to our special guest speakers!!!!!!  There are more pictures in the January 2010 gallery.

For more information about Jesus Christ and His life please go to JesusChrist.lds.org.

I've wanted to do Project 365 (a picture each day for a year) for the past few years but I never remember to start.  By some small miracle, on January first we were driving home from West Virginia and I remembered to take a picture....and, yes, I have taken one every day for the past 23 days.  I created a special file in the media gallery for these pictures---check them out and then come back throughout the year to see what our life is *really* like.  I will separate them by months to make it easier to navigate.  Enjoy!

So I'm only a week late posting a birthday shout out to my darling husband.  Better late than never, right?  That's what I say too.

Shane had a FABULOUS birthday (in my opinion ;-) ).  Saturday night we went to the Hibachi grill for supper--Abby LOVED it, Kaydee would be happy if we never set foot in a Japanese restaurant again.  (Don't blame ya, kid....not a big fan myself.)  Sunday morning at the Birthday Boy's request we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and he got his favorite dinner--Comforting Chicken--for supper.  (Lunch was tuna sandwiches....we get home from church at 2pm....we needed something QUICK.)  The girls and I got him 2 board games: Sorry! and Scrabble.   He also got to take a nap (ya, like that doesn't happen EVERY Sunday, right?) and be a lazy bum for the day. 

In honor of Shane's 33rd birthday, 33 things about the one man in our house:

1.  Shane is THE man of the house.  (Okay...it helps that he really is the ONLY male.....)
2.  He is an awesome dad
3.  He loves playing games with the family (hence the new board games)
4.  He is a big fan of Burn Notice, 24, and Star Trek
5.  His favorite food is Comforting Chicken
6.  He is handy with a computer (thank goodness, someone in this house needs to be!)
7.  He has been practicing his skills with the bow and arrow to help fill our freezer next fall
8.  He's been working hard to help keep our Ward building in order as the Ft Yargo Ward PFR (Physical Facilities Representative)...the flooding last week has kept him busy!
9.  Shane loves his job--especially the "set your own hours" part.
10.  Shane's favorite color is "I don't know"  (direct quote)
11.  Shane grew up in Ohio
12.  Shane is a "get it done" person
13.  He has a stellar testimony of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ
14. He is an AWESOME example for his girls
15.  Shane knows how to get what he wants.....no matter what it is, he finds a way.
16.  Shane wants to play the guitar like a rock star when he grows up.  Well, not like a rock star really, more like the dueling banjos...
17.  Shane also wants to play the violin and piano when he grows up
18.  His favorite sister is Chantele
19.  His only sister is Chantele...but he also has 2 favorite sisters-in-law
20.  Shane does not like the flannel sheets I put on the bed every winter.  But he deals with it because he knows that I L-O-V-E them.
21.  Shane is not fun to play Monopoly with
22.  Shane loves his family--not just me and the girls, but his parents, grandparents, sisters,  and in-laws.
23.  Shane loves to go to Utah and play farmer with my dad
24.  He secretly wishes he had been born in a different era where everyone farmed and we rode in horse & buggy (and didn't have running water or microwaves--I know, he's out of his mind)
25.  He has been working on his geneology to find long lost relatives
26.  His favorite movie is NOT Dora, but he will watch it with Abby because he loves her
27.  He taught Kaydee how to ride her bike with no training wheels
28.  He taught Abby how to peddle her trycicle so it actually MOVES
29.  Shane WILL teach a Primary class when his wife is desperate (and by desperate I mean in tears because no one else will do it)
30.  He doesn't think he's a good teacher, but he definitley is
31.  Shane likes gadgets.  Especially gadgets with lots of shiny buttons.
32.  Shane likes reloading bullets and shooting guns
33.  Shane also enjoys riding his motorcycle

I didn't think I could come up with 33 things....and now I find that there is so much more to say.....good thing I have next year!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY!! 

I can't believe it's been six years since this sweet little girl came into the world.  They say time flies when you're having fun, and when you're with Kaydee, you are having FUN.  In our house birthdays are a big deal.  Kaydee got to choose what we did all day, what we ate and where we ate it.  So after she opened her gifts this morning--she got money and more supplies for her doctor kit---we ate "white cereal" for breakfast.  ("White Cereal" is Frosted Mini Wheats :-) ).   Once we were all dressed we went to the Mall of Georgia and went shopping.  Kaydee bought herself a new shirt with a giraffe on it. Then we went to Jump for Joy (a "jumpy place" with the big inflatables)....we got there right at 11:00am and there was NO ONE there.  I was worried that they weren't going to open today.  We killed some time at Bed Bath & Beyond and when we went back at 11:15 J for J was open--hurray!!  The girls had a blast jumping and going down the big slide.

We ate lunch at "Noodle Cutty" (Stevie B's Pizza) and they gave Kaydee 6 free tokens for the arcade games.  She "won" enough tickets to get foam dice for both herself and Abby.  We stopped at Publix on the way home to pick up her cake and the few things we needed for her birthday dinner.  While Abby took her nap we played Hungry Hungry Hippos and Kaydee patched up several "Boo-boo"s with her doctor kit. We had a gourmet dinner of Taquitos, salad, corn bread, and strawberries.  Hey, the what the birthday girl wants the birthday girl gets.  We had cake, then a bubble bath, and Kaydee gets to sleep with Mommy and Daddy tonight.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAYDEE ROSE!!!!!

6 Things About Kaydee:

1.  Kaydee wants to be a doctor when she grows up.  Lately that's all she talks about.  At least until soccer season starts again....

2.  Kaydee's favorite clothing is pajamas.  She has more pajamas than anyone I know.  Mostly fancy princess gowns. And she would wear them all the time if I would let her.

3.  Kaydee's second favorite clothing is soccer shorts/t-shirts.  The number of soccer shorts she owns comes just under the number of nightgowns.  She settles for soccer clothes when I won't let her wear her pajamas.

4.  Kaydee is a GREAT big sister.  However, she sometimes gets the role of "sister" and "mother" confused and ends up crossing the line of sisterly advice/bossiness.  But she LOVES her little sister and has vowed to teach her "everything she knows." 

5.  Shane says that Kaydee is silly.  This is true.  She tells silly stories, makes up silly dances, and acts silly all the time.

6.  Kaydee loves her family.  She counts down to every visit to Greema and PopPop and Meema and Pap.  She asks about her extended family all the time.  She was SO excited when she got to see Jacob and Caleb at Grandma Sara's funeral.  She adores her sister and her cousins--and the feeling is mutual:  Addie and Isaac can't get enough of Kaydee.  And we can't either---WE LOVE YOU, KAYDEEBUGG!!!!!

Check out all of the pictures from Kaydee's birthday in the January 2010 Gallery. :)

Just when you think things can't get any more crazy around here.....

We had a fun Christmas.  We spent Christmas Eve playing games and watching movies.  Kaydee and Abby sprinkled Reindeer Food on the lawn and left cookies for Santa.  On Christmas morning Abby dove into her chocolate (and Mommy's and Daddy's and Kaydee's....) the second her little feet hit the living room carpet.  Santa brought Kaydee the doctor kit she's been asking for, and Abby got her cash register.  They also got stick ponies and new games and a few other things.    As we were preparing our Christmas breakfast (bacon and eggs per Kaydee's request) we got the telephone call that Shane's Grandma Sara had passed away the night before.  It was sad news, but we had been expecting the call.  Grandma's health had been declining rapidly over the past few weeks.

After breakfast the girls played with their new toys and Shane and I packed up and prepared to drive to West Virginia.  In case you are wondering, NOTHING is open on Christmas Day except for a few gas stations.  Therefore our Christmas Dinner consisted of soggy (ICK) ham sandwiches and chips.  HOWEVER--thanks to our drive north we had a WHITE CHRISTMAS.   The girls even built a snowman and had a snow ball fight.

Chantele and Jeff drove up Sunday night and the girls had a great time playing with their cousins Addie and Isaac.  We stayed at Gammie's house on Monday night and had a great visit before the funeral on Tuesday.  It was a nice service and it was good to see all of Shane's cousins.  We had a family dinner before heading back to Meema and Pap's house.  When we got into the truck at the restaurant we realized that we had a crisis---both Bumbies had been left at Gammie's house.  For those who don't know what a Bumby is, it's a Bunny/blanket lovey.  Kaydee couldn't say " Bunny" --she called it a " Bumby".  And now Kaydee, Abby, and Addie all have " Bumbies".   In the Artman and Mack house Bumbies (Or Dogbies--Isaac's is a dog ;-) ) are required for sleep.  Luckily, Meema and Pap (aka Bumby Search and Rescue) went to Gammie's house for us and retrieved the lost Bumbies. HURRAY!  Crisis averted.

We helped Meema and Pap prepare for the arrival of new bedroom furniture on Thursday (New Year's Eve) and then Chantele and Jeff left and the house became much more quiet---Kaydee and Abby missed their playmates!  Shane and I played games with Meema and Pap until midnight--HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  We drove home on Friday so we could be home for Kaydee's birthday.

What a week!  There are LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of pictures from Christmas and our trip in the December 2009 Gallery.