Yep. That's Elvis. I grew up in Memphis, would you expect any less?!? 
Apparently Chuckie the Elf is fascinated. And he seems to be fond of pickles. 
A pickle ornament. I'll leave you all to your keen senses of deduction to determine who belongs to that one.


Admittedly, I have been lax in my Chuckie postings. Actually, we have been lame in our Chuckie adventures. That changes tonight; he'll soon be holding court with some Squinkies. It's ok if you have no clue what those are. I didn't either until Eileen got some for her birthday. I'm still not certain of their purpose or appeal, though I can say with confidence Aunt Sissy would have l.o.v.e.d. them when she was five. 

We seriously have so much going on I have to keep remembering to breathe. No doubt most people feel that way at this time of year. 


Closing out the year at work. Holiday activities at work. Holiday activities at Eileen's school. A good deal of December bday parties for Eileen's buddies. Shannon's graduation. Family in town. Baby Edith on the way. A lot to coordinate.. and everytime I start to hyperventilate and wonder how I will get it all done.. I actually remember to remind myself that we  will get it all done.. and of how very thankful and blessed I (we) are to have so very many friends and family in our lives to create such fun chaos. 

So our five year old is morphing into a tween. At Mach Speed.


Justin Bieber. I rest my case. OMG she loves loves loves him. Actually -  until this morning she was referring to him as Justin BEAVER.  Bill spent a good ten minutes convincing her that his last name is not that of an prickly rodent.


Chuckie brought her the Bieber Christmas album. That was Friday morning. Which brought a preview of the teenage years. Door shut. Music blaring. Child singing. And. Dancing.

The girl knows all the words to all the songs. And. She has little routines to some of them (choreography by friend from across the street). So fun. So cute. 


E: Mommy. how old is Justin Bieber? Is he a colleger? 
Me/Bill: He's 16. Maybe 17. I think 16. He's like Miss Courtney.
E: does he live with his parents? where does he live? 
Me/Bill: well, he probably does live with his parents. He's Canadian (why why why do bill and I know all of these facts??).
E: Oh. (pensive...) Um, What's Canada? 
Me/Bill: well, it's another country right on top of America. It's cold there!

E: What language do they speak there? 
Me/Bill: Well. Most people in Canada speak English like us, but some speak French too. 
E: oh. 


Fast Forward two days....
E: Mommy, Justin Bieber says some words funny. He says "sleh" instead of "slay" and "reindeeah" instead of "reindeer."
Me, thinking fast:.... "Welllll.. um. You know how Nana says "cah" instead of "car?"  but it is still the same word and we know what it means? "
E: yep. 
Me: well, its the same. sometimes people speak the same language but say some words differently. Its called an accent.
E: Oh. OK. 
(resume dancing and singing...)

OMG. OMG. OMG. I think I just used Justin Bieber as a teaching tool.


on that note, i have nothing left to say. 


(well. for now anyway).