That Santa Is One Cool Dude

I'm telling you, he has basically run the roost in our house for the last 3 weeks. There's really no need for me or Terry to even be here. He single handedly keeps Ava and Grace in line. Simply speaking his name out loud in front of them alters their entire attitude. If their hands are wrapped around each others necks, saying his name frees their grip. If they are pinching and poking each other, saying his name suddenly has them hugging it out. If they are chasing cats or running around like miniature lunatics, saying his name turns them into angel's. Santa is AWESOME.

We found out he can be even more awesome when along with his name, we throw in "I will pick up that phone and call the North Pole if you girls keep acting up." That one works really well. And since Ava thinks he uses a telescope to see children inside their homes, I sometimes use the "I will call Santa and have him point his telescope toward our house, if you don't stop doing that." That one works like a charm.

Santa's my new BFF.

The Velvet Devil Gave Me Hives

I swear the weirdest shit happens to me. There was The Innocent Run On The Beach that turned into a nearly deadly asthma attack, The Spoonful Of Honey I Swallowed In New Mexico that nearly killed me, and as of last night... The Glasses Of Red Wine that resulted in hives (is it always plural??) across my entire back and chest. And wait a minute.... when is ever singular? Can it ever be just a hive? Why is it always plural? How come I can't get a single hive? Why are they always grouped together to form hives? That shit isn't fair! Because those bitches itch! And burn! And look SO DAMN GROSS!

I remembered to remain calm and ran to the kitchen to find the Benadryl, because I'm always a complete fucking spazz as cool as a cucumber in emergency situations. I dug thru the medicine cabinet and found Ava's Children's Benadryl. Hmpf. Well, clearly, I'm not a child. Even though that might actually be up for debate, I at least I weigh more than a child. I contemplated taking the 2 yrs. - 6 yrs. old dose, and decided I fit more comfortably into the 6 yrs. - 11 yrs. old category. Totally. And since I'm a talented Math Whiz, I quickly calculated a formula to ensure the exact dosing measurement recommended for my weight/age combination. I poured a whole bunch into one of Grace's princess cups and guzzled. This was NO TIME FOR LOLLY GAGGING PEOPLE! At any moment I could have swelled up into One Giant Hive! OMG! Then it would have been singular! I answered my own question! Neat!

I don't get why they recommend you Do Not Drink Alcohol While Taking Their Medication...because...ummm...I totally recommend it!!! I woke up this morning, my hives were gone and I barely remember having them!

My Biggest Little Girl

I've decided Ava's pretty much ready to move out of the house and begin her life on her own. She woke me up this morning, already dressed, handing me a brush and a rubber band for her hair. She does that every morning, but this particular morning I heard her rummaging in the kitchen, opening the pantry door, jingling silverware, talking to herself. I got out of bed and walked into the kitchen to find her gesturing "ta-da!" with her hands, showing me four bowls and spoons, the cereal Grace eats, the cereal she eats, and muffins for me. I was concerned with her counting abilities since there are only three of us here, and then saw the can of tuna and a can opener she'd gotten out for Joey. She said he was pawing on the pantry door and figured he needed Tuna for breakfast.

I cherish the mornings that it's just me and Ava, when little Grace is still snoozing in her bed and she and I can have alone time together. It brings me back to when she was a baby and she had 100% of my attention. She was a year and a half old when her sister was born and sometimes I feel like that wasn't enough time to spend with just her. I love these mornings and when she comes into my room to wake me up, hearing her say "Mom, it's just you and me!" melts my heart.

We Don't Speak To The Un-Famous. Contact Our Agents If You Need Us.

Two years ago Terry and his team from work volunteered to answer the phones during a pledge drive on KLRU. Watching him on camera cracked me up, and it cracked my dad up to watch live as he called in a dozen times and and hung up on everyone until he reached Terry. It was hilarious to watch! His team was kind of nervous, never having done it before and everyone giggled each time the camera panned over to the lucky person's who's phone rang.

This year Terry mentioned KLRU contacted him inquiring about the possibility of volunteering once again, and anyone who knows Terry knows he said HELL YES before they even finished the question. He would never turn down an opportunity to stick his face in front of a live television camera volunteer within the community.

He asked me if I wanted to participate this year, along with a bunch of his friends from work. And to everyone that knows me, knows that I have a huge fear of public speaking and OMG this is live television people! "Places Please!" and "5-4-3-2-ON" and all of that livetelevisionstuffthathappens. There's no running off stage or throwing up or fainting without all of the 100 old people watching KLRU world witnessing it.

I said yes. And totally acted like I was fine with it. But Terry knows me better than that and very quickly realized he might have a problem on his hands when after the producer gave us our printed instructions on how to correctly dialogue with callers, his wife was the only one of 10 people who took their paperwork off to the side to study while everyone else ate sandwiches in the green room. It was actually a hallway, but green room sounds fancy and we're all stars-like.

Terry laughed at me which only made me more nervous. I actually though about switching to an off-camera role, answering roll-over calls. But the last minute, I decided I was fine. Having a friend sitting next to me cracking me up, helped talk me off the bridge.

Terry and I decided to sit apart to maximize the opportunity for face-time. It turned out the spot I chose had the camera on it basically every moment and his seat hid him from view for 70% of the show. Ouch!


A producer secretly plotting to block Terry from any possible camera shot.


A pre-production huddle as Denise tries to light Terry's head on fire with her eyes.


No one can stop laughing! Except Terry. Who's not visible.


Finally! One of the TWO phone calls I had all night!


Here we have Ben actually WINKING at the camera on the bottom left and Toby who's laughing so hard she needs to get her water from the floor. Hilar.


Look at you guys! Working hard on those 3 phone calls you each took! Way to go!

The kind peeps at KLRU opened up the Austin City Limits set, which was next door, and it was gorgeous! The lighting is far from ideal for my camera flash, but I'm just happy I was able to get a tour!

Pictures from behind the scenes....Enjoy! Toodles!

KLRU

Food + Family + The Farm = THANKSGIVING!

Somebody needs to refil their Retin-A prescription.

Thanksgiving 2009 from Kara on Vimeo.