My True Calling

I'll give you three guesses as to what my true calling in life is...

Pharmacist? Nope.

Caterer? Nope. Wrong again.

Quilter? YES! How'd you know? Oh, you didn't. It occurred to me around 4:30 am one morning as I was feeding Haley that quilting was what I was born to do. Granted, I don't own a sewing machine. I don't know the difference between a fussy cut and a fat quarter (terms I've heard from my cousin's wife). And, I sure don't have the room in my house to store any fabric.

Nevertheless, I think this is about the most adorable thing I've ever seen:

Now, I do know you have to be somewhat of a perfectionist. Check! It also appears to involve Geometry. Another check! And, there's nothing I like more than a trip to the fabric store. There is something about all of those colors and patterns that puts me in a good mood. Plus, can you imagine the fun of a modern-day quilting bee? It would involve friends, wine, and lots of gossip. Who wouldn't love that??

There's just something about a handmade quilt that is so comforting. Bryon's mom's mom, Helen Barrington, was famous among the quilters in the south. The quilt in the background of this photo won a prize at a state fair. (I should really try to remember more of what people tell me!)

On the back of this quilt is a patch that reads "Heart Shaped Wreath. Appliqued by Helen Barrington. Quilted by Bunny Clark. 1994" Now, I barely knew Helen, and I sure didn't know Bunny. But, they must have been the best of friends for Bunny to let Helen have the quilt. Can you imagine what conversations took place will these good friends quilted?

My cousin-in-law, Wendy Poling, made the adorable quilt in the picture of Haley. She also made me an "I-Spy" quilt that you can read about here. How much fun will that be? Anyway, she has been my inspiration. Maybe in 20 years, I'll start my first quilt!

Christmas Round Three

Whew! Are you still with me? Do you need a caffeine jolt yet? I'd been snoozing too...Here's a picture of Haley with Grandpa Norman just to pull at your heart strings:

Christmas Round Three was celebrated in Rio Rancho, New Mexico with Bryon's family, Norman, Janice, Aaron, Juanita, and baby Ashlee. After a torturous TWELVE hour drive from Irving to Rio Rancho, all I could think about was a real adult night away from the girls. Bryon's parents kept Shelby and Haley for us while we stayed in a real, live hotel, with gambling and champagne and the longest, hottest bath I have had in months. Did I mention there was NO Nick Jr. or dirty diapers?? Sorry girls, but I really didn't miss you all that much. Momma needed some adult time!

The view from our room was magical. As we sat drinking our champagne, staring off into the Rockies, and being real adults, we swear we saw the first snowflakes of the day. I told Bryon it was like being inside a snowglobe. The flakes were huge and falling so slowly that I felt drunk after two sips of my real, live adult drink. It's a moment I hope I never forget! Here's a picture from our room:

We also ventured to Santa Fe the next day to have lunch at Tomasita's. All in all, it felt good to be normal again!

After returning to the in-law's, Bryon took Shelby out to see the snow. Adorable!

The "Best Gift" award went to the little tricycle Shelby got from her grandparents. Here she is with the world's biggest grin:

Bryon's parents have several dogs. Needless to say, Oscar and Daisy got lots of attention from Shelby, whether they wanted it or not.

Poor dogs! We would have tried to sneak Daisy home in our luggage if we weren't in fear of our dog Lily having her for lunch.

After hearing horror stories about the snow-packed roads in Texas, we decided to stay an extra day in New Mexico. It was great getting to spend some extra time letting the grandparents take care of my girls while I got some needed sleep. Again, we had a great time and pigged out on some yummy food. I have the best in-laws that spoiled me way too much this trip!

Christmas Round Two

After covering my living room floor in wrapping paper, boxes, and all kinds itty-bitty pieces of plastic packaging, we moved on to my mom's house in Benbrook. Christmas Round Two was celebrated with Linda and Jeff, Molly and Marc and kids, and of course, mom's dog Chuck. Carson, Julianne, and new baby Charlie also stopped by to say hello.

We had a great time chasing all five Zhu Zhu pets around and watching Shelby and Conrad both try to lay claim to Conrad's new car racer. If you'll notice in the background, Conrad is VERY suspicious of Shelby playing with his new toy.

Mom got me Adobe Photoshop for Christmas. I've played with it for a little while and have decided I am brain dead from lack of sleep the past 3 months. If you are a Photoshop expert, feel free to stop by my house and walk me through it! I'm sure in a couple of months, I'll figure it all out...

Christmas Round One

The Pfaff household had three rounds of Christmas this year, so I'll be posting about each one. You might want to down a Red Bull before reading, as it will be getting a little boring!

Round One was celebrated with my dad and his wife, Christy, her kids, Loren and Vikki, Molly, Marc, Carly, and Conrad. I had the brilliant idea of dragging everyone to see the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel. I had been the past two years and loved it. In fact, the Gaylord probably owes me money for all of the people I have encouraged to go.

All of that came to a screeching halt this year, my friends. The Gaylord is now on my "Do Not Patronize" list, as we had to stand in line with about 3,000 other people for well over an hour, even though we had tickets for a specific time. As we like to say in my family, "Things just got out of hand." By the time we actually got inside to see the Grinch in ice, we were all sweating and itching from the big blue parkas we were wearing.

Here's Bryon trying his best to keep a toddler entertained:

And here's the infamous parkas:

After bonding with all of the rest of DFW, we came home to open gifts. Round one's winner of "Most Favorite Gift" went to the stroller Shelby got from Dad and Christy.

She hasn't stopped pushing that thing around yet!

All in all, we had a great time and ate like pigs. Stay tuned for rounds two and three!

The Girls Met Santa!

Today was quite an adventure! I took Haley and Shelby to the local rec center for "Breakfast with Santa". Whew! An elf by the name of Jolly put on a LONG program involving lots of bells, puppets, and magic tricks. Why Haley will sleep through all of that noise but not in a quiet room is beyond me. Shelby loved the production but wanted to run around the whole time. My biceps got a workout trying to keep her corralled!

After Jolly the Elf, we got to go meet Santa. Shelby, ever the flirt, hopped right up in his lap and poked at his beard. She was one of the few kids that didn't cry. She is going to be a handful once she hits her teenage years!

At the end of the day, I think Shelby had the most fun keeping the rec center clean with her new BFF, Arden. Arden's mom captured them sweeping. It was TOO cute.

Go Ahead and JUMP!

I finally caught Shelby on video "jumping". It cracks me up every time! She is getting such a cute personality and is constantly making us laugh. She's really trying to start talking and can say a few words--duck, dog, up, bubble, mama, dada, hot, yum, yes, and Jeff. Of course, I'm the only one that understands her!

Haley is getting bigger, weighing in at 12 pounds at her two month doctor's visit. She still only sleeps while being held most of the day and will flash us an occasional smile if we are really good.

I posted a short recap of our Thanksgiving celebration on our Poling family blog. Fun times!!

Trick or Treat?

Our little chef and cupcake weren't too impressed with the concept of Halloween just yet. We got Shelby all dressed up in her chef's apron and hat, only to ask her to leave the hat on about 58 billion times. She finally cooperated...on November 4th! And, poor Haley just wanted the darn cherry on top of head off, ASAP. Wendy Poling made her adorable costume that I hope she will appreciate some day. Both of their attitudes made it hard to get a cute photo.

October 31st, 2009 at our house started off with some old fashioned pumpkin carving. I left Bryon to the task this year, as mine in the past have been a dismal failure. His engineering skills and Shelby's digging-out-the-innards skills made for an impressive Jack-O-Lantern at the Pfaff house. See for yourself!

As dusk approached, we decided to test the waters and take the girls trick-or-treating at the neighbors' houses. The last time I checked the Official Halloween Book O' Rules, leaving one's light one indicates that the little munchkins should come knock on your door. Am I right? Apparently, our neighbors decided to leave their lights on but not answer the door. What is that about?? Shelby was so confused as to why she was running around the neighborhood with an empty bag...and why we wouldn't shut up about the hat!

After giving up on any candy, we settled in for the night to pass out our own. Shelby and Daddy had a BLAST! Everytime the doorbell rang, she would run point to the candy bowl and squeal at the door. She loved seeing all the kids and helping her dad. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next year!