This is Eric's Christmas gift. I did this before he and I decided we would be foregoing gifts to/from each other this year. So, the kids and I gave it to him the other night. You can't really tell very well in the picture, but there's a braid of hair on the top and bottom. Horse hair is shockingly hard to work with. The vet gave us some of Cody's mane and tail and I knew we'd want to do something with it. The rest will go to the barn and hang in tribute.

I found it very hard to put this project together, for obvious reasons. I'm a little surprised how emotional I still get after over 3 months. Eric really enjoyed the collage and it will hang proudly in the Schreiber home.

ARGH!!!! I'm tired of sweeping up glass! Two nights ago, while I was trying to get dinner ready, Max, who is in constant motion, tossed an orange up and hit the light fixture. It popped and basically, it rained glass. He helped me get the dogs and baby to safe places, but I spent the next hour or so tracking down itty bitty pieces of glass.
The very next night, I was cooking a pork loin and went to add a little more water to the dish. BOOM! This time it wasn't a pop, it was an explosion. I screamed and ALL the kids came running. I had a piece of meat searing on the oven rack, spaghetti squash next to it garnished with glass and chunks of sharp pieces all over the inside and outside of the oven. WTF?!?! Eric walks in the door only minutes/seconds? later, as I'm still standing in front of the oven, thinking, "I don't even know where to start." We were able to salvage the meat and squash. At least no one began bleeding from the mouth as we sat at the dinner table. I opted out of this clean-up fiasco and offered to muck stalls and feed the horses. I definitely got the better bargain.


This was the biggest piece.

Most were of this size or smaller.

I knew Eric would be better at this sort of thing, because he is so anal (ahem), thorough. He took apart the oven and cleaned it out very well. However, how well can you REALLY clean up minuscule pieces of glass? I will be sweeping up glass for months.

Eric's company held a special celebration at the Columbus Zoo this past Saturday. The boys had a birthday party/overnight, so it was Dad, Mom, and the girls. Al got to decorate her own cookie after visiting Santa.

Columbus Zoo's "Wildlights" is awesome. New LED lights this year provided a beautiful scene. I think I heard over 2 million people visit Wildlights each year. Seeing how busy it was last Saturday, I don't doubt those numbers one bit.

Eric admits failing to read his email regarding what special shows the company had planned for Saturday. They rented a room for the employees and families. Zoo staff brought in animals for the kids to see and they had their own Santa. Cool, right? Yes. Very cool. Would have been even cooler if we had known about the Santa and didn't stand in line for 45 minutes waiting for the zoo Santa. But, whatever. We ended up getting the "Good Santa Photo" and the "Bad Santa Photo".

I sat Viv on Santa's lap and held my breath. She was mesmerized. She would have stared at him the whole time if it weren't for the photographer shaking a very loud bell.

Then, we went to the company Santa. Viv was getting tired and hungry. This Santa got the raw end of the deal.
Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

TIME FOR A POLL!!!


Viv has these long wisps of hair on either side of her head and a rat-tail in the back. I'm starting to think I should just cut these pieces.

As you can see, they are really long! Maybe a more clean-cut look? I already cut her bangs because they were getting in her eyes. So, obviously we won't be waiting until her 1st birthday for the hair-cutting to begin.

On the side of the blog, there is a poll. Vote!!!

CHRISTMAS FUN!


This was a gift from my sister to Eric last year. Our annual tradition is to watch "A Christmas Story" on Thanksgiving Day. Last year we went to the Christmas Story house in Cleveland. Great movie. Now, we have our own Frajeelay leg lamp!

Uh oh. Look who found the Christmas tree!

Sure, this could be an old man with a long nose and googly eyes. OR...........

Yeah, the cookie making got out of control. Dad, if you're reading this, don't be mad. The kids didn't know cookie dough would make grease stains on the ceiling.

More Viv pictures. It seems there's an uneven amount of photos of the baby, but she's a baby, right? :)



Look who found the dog's water dish! See the water splashed on the wall, her clothes, the floor.....

I could have stopped her, but 1. Why ruin the fun? 2. I was too busy taking pictures 3. Natural consequences, baby. She'll feel wet, not like it, then decide not to do it again......Wow, that was just as funny typed as it was in my head.

Meleah, Crissy, notice the babylegs? Love 'em. She thinks she's such a big deal.