Please follow us to our new blog address at MeetTheMcFamily.blogspot.com. We're still the same McFamily, with all the familiar surroundings, just a new address.

Oh, and while I was able to transfer virtually every element of this blog to the new address, I still need your help. I'm asking that you please become one our "followers", whether you were or were not before. After you get to the new address, just look for the box "McFamily Fans" on the sidebar, and click "Follow this Blog". We really appreciate it!

All of the "old" posts will be at the new address...except for this one. Please take the time to change us in your "Blog List" from darrenandjennifer.blogspot.com to meetthemcfamily.blogspot.com. I'll keep this address up and running until everyone has a chance to see that we've moved, but there won't be any updates on here.

Have a great Monday (if that's possible)! And as always...drop us a comment or two!

...to get hosed.

Against our better judgement, we took Caroline to see Santa Claus (I added the "Claus" like there's another Santa) at the mall tonight. We got there around 5:30 and managed to beat most of the crowd. We only had to wait in line behind a few other kids, and their parents, of course.

When I got home from work today, Caroline was wearing her cute farmgirl overalls, but I quickly got her outfitted in her festive Christmas attire. Grammy bought her this cute little green corduroy A-line dress at War Eagle this fall, but since we have a future WNBA-er on our hands here, it fits more like a shirt! I gave up on trying to find red, cable-knit tights to go under it and went with some (too-short) red pants, with a sweet little ruffle on the hem. Overall, she was pretty stylish!

Waiting in line with Mommy...
"Whoa! You mean I gotta sit on HIS lap?"

This is the picture they took...of course, doctored by Picnik...

And here's the one I took...with a little Picnik help...

Here's the part about getting hosed...they had a sign there that said we should "refrain" from personal photography unless we made a "minimum purchase". They wouldn't really tell us what that "minimum" was, so I just said I'd buy a picture so they'd let me take a picture with my camera. I didn't realize that I was going to be completely robbed! I ended up paying $12 for eight wallets and $19.99 for two 5x7s!! But really, can you put a price on a rite of passage like this? Then I proceeded to walk over to a little cart selling "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments for $12, with "free personalization". I didn't realize that all they were going to do was use a fine-tip Sharpie to write her name and the year on it. Seriously! I could have just gone to Wal-Mart...or better yet, Target, and done the same my crafty self!

'Tis the season...

***p.s. I miscounted the other day when I said it was my 200th post. Oops! This one really is my 200th post! Yay me! :)

Go here to see them!

Yay! It's "Talkative Thursday" again...my favorite blog-day of the week! Not that I won't talk as much as I want to any other day of the week. In fact, I'm thinking of making an executive decision and changing it up...I think "Talkative Tuesday" sounds better...and perhaps making it "Thankful Thursday" instead. Only downfall about that is there is much more to say on a Thursday than on a Tuesday. Anyway, we'll just have to see what happens. One thing I know for sure...I don't think I'll be featuring "Wordless Wednesday" on a regular basis. Too much going on in this girl's mind...gotta get it out when the mood strikes...and the mood just might strike on a Wednesday. Enough said. (Ha!)

Found a neat meme (new vocab!) on another blog today. Don't really remember where, but I liked it so I copied it. Here it goes...if I tag you, I apologize in advance if you don't like this sort of thing...but PLEASE just play along! :)

SEVEN THINGS I DID BEFORE:
1. Took a shower in the morning instead of at night
2. Shopped for myself too much
3. Wore size 6s and 8s (on my body)
4. Wore size 9.5s (on my feet)
5. Drank more beer
6. Took too many pictures of my dog
7. Got to work early and stayed late

SEVEN THINGS I DO NOW:
1. Baby-talk
2. Wipe another person's butt (yes, the baby's)
3. Take full responsibility for the health and well-being of somebody other than myself
4. Wake up before the sun (well, I always have)
5. Blog
6. Talk about body fluids and excretions without batting an eye or losing my lunch
7. Give eskimo kisses freely (not to everyone, just the baby)

SEVEN THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO DO:
1. Have more babies
2. Learn HTML code so I can pimp my blog without paying somebody else to do it
3. Stop using the word "pimp"
4. Take more pictures
5. Go to Europe
6. Lose (a lot of) weight
7. Have grandkids

SEVEN THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY HUSBAND
1. He loves me
2. He puts his family first
3. He puts up with me
4. He is extremely loyal
5. He doesn't care what other people think about him
6. He finishes what he starts (eventually)
7. He's a great daddy!

SEVEN THINGS I SAY MOST OFTEN
1. "Heey Leetle Girl"...(see this to understand what this means)
2. HEY!
3. Put your feet down.
4. Are you paying attention?!
5. How many time have I told you...
6. Are you kidding me?
7. Stop talking! (yes, I know, that's great coming from ME!)

SEVEN PEOPLE I'M TAGGING
1. Mary Kate
2. Krysta
3. Sarah E.
4. Ami
5. Sarah T.
6. Christine
7. Phoebe

I'm trying to see if I can post from my email...Well, off to see if it worked! :)

a few seconds later...
***Woo hoo! Apparently it did!***

No, I do NOT want this man for Christmas! I just want (and need) some patience!!! Apparently, the picture above illustrates the ASL (American Sign Language) symbol for the word "patient". One of my co-teachers and I have been going around giving eachother this sign for the better part of the day...since we learned it. I desperately need a little patience! (yea-ahh...)(I hope y'all got that lame attempt at a GnR reference!)


Here's part of the reason~~~Today in class I gave them a question to answer (in writing) and specifically told them "Your answer must be in COMPLETE SENTENCES!" It was written out exactly like that. A hand pops up..."Yes?"..."Can I answer it with a t-chart?"...and that is why I am in need of PATIENCE!!! There are countless other reasons, but it wouldn't be productive to think about them. Come to think of it, this isn't very productive either.

Just for kicks...a trip down memory lane. May the song "Patience" get stuck in your head, too!

I've been seeing this pop up on many of the blogs I follow, and I finally decided to give in and give it a go...Now, let me think up what I haven't done in the recent past:

...to avoid the paparazzi! Ugh!

It seems like just yesterday that we were in Barnes & Noble in Tulsa, waiting for a phone call that would change our lives forever. Then it came...I made him answer it. I walked a few aisles over. Then I heard the best sound ever (up to that point in my life)..."Yes!!!!" he shouted as he pumped his fist in the air...in the middle of the bookstore. I was pregnant! That was a year ago, Wednesday...December 3, 2007. Fast forward to this...

She and George a becoming quite good pals these days!

As promised...here's the latest on Caroline. She's been "talking" to her friend George...and anyone else who'll listen...okay, actually she'd do it even if nobody was listening! Enjoy!

I swear, she's not in pain, even though it sounds like it...

I'm stealing this from Sarah...just like I stole "Wordless Wednesday" from her yesterday. Except I like this MUCH more!! :)

~~~
I realized I probably sounded pretty desperate in my last post from last night. Oops! I just would like to hear from all the interesting people who check us out, so I can check them out, too. Don't get me wrong, I lurk on others' blogs, too...but I'm making a concerted effort to "meet" them by leaving a comment. Anyway, enough of sounding like a loser...

~~~
I have absolutely NO patience today! I feel bad because I have been very short and sarcastic with my kids lately. My school kids, that is. I even had a girl tell me the other day "you always be so sarcastic". Ooh, that hurts! (see, there I go!) I need to try to focus and just be kind, right? Well, that's easier said than done. Pray for me.

~~~
The title of this post could also apply to Caroline! She has found her voice, as Darren likes to say. She "talks" (read screams) all the time these days. It's hilarious! I'm planning to post a video of it on here, if I can figure out how to do that!

~~~
I don't have a good picture to go with my "Talkative Thursday" title, so I'll just post some random stuff I found in some folders...

~~~

I did not take this picture. I don't know these people. I got this in an e-mail...the photo is titled "Genius" and I think it's hilarious...

This is me in 2006...before fertility drugs and pregnancy. I used to be (relatively) skinny and very tan. This will never be again...and it makes me very sad :(

***Just had to add this*** This morning when I was commenting on a friend's blog, the "random" letters that came up on the little "word recognition" thing were BLESS!!!!! Somehow, that didn't feel very random to me! :)