Uno, Dos, TRES

Crit
Moe
Bert
L___ Belle
Angel Baby
Lulu
Q
T (get it? Cutie)
And many more . .

Those are just a few of the nicknames being used around here. It's Nickname Central at this house, and it always has been.

In fact, Christian rarely goes by his full name anymore. Even his teachers call him Crit. And Aunt Jill has called me L___ Belle since I was two. I can remember trying to decide which I preferred - L___ Belle or L____ May, which my other aunt called me. Either way, having a little nickname was nice.

I was left alone in the house with Crit this morning. He watched "Ellen" while I worked on my computer, jumping up to do the "Crank That" dance with Soulja Boy. "Stoooop dancing!" Crit moaned. "That's just horrible!" But when I offered to teach him, he didn't object. When the show was over, he came over to ask "What should I do now?", expecting me to have some brilliant idea for how he could keep himself entertained. He ended up with a 10am bowl of peppermint ice cream and frosted animal crackers.

Late that afternoon, Austin had an interview scheduled with a WWII veteran at Camp Mabry for a school project. I was able to tag along, and it was so interesting to hear what the man had to say. He took us on a tour of the museum, telling stories and showing us a picture of himself as a teenager. He had lied about his age to get into the military, said he was eighteen when he was sixteen. He offered to be in the Reconaissance branch without realizing it was the most dangerous (eleven percent survival rate). All he knew was that they rode, not walked. He told of his experiences during the four years, eight months, three weeks, four days, and three hours he had fought in the war. His proudest accomplisment? Making it out alive. So many cool stories that I wish I could write about, but that would take all night. I also learned today that Uncle Rich's father was the General of the Texas Army for thirteen years! I knew he was a big deal, but I had no idea!

Tonight, Lynden and I spent a couple of hours baking pumpkin cookies, making cranberry sauce, and peeling sweet potatoes. I nearly made myself sick eating the dough and the thought of any food almost made me nauseous . . BUT we still went to dinner at la Madeleine and ended the night watching "Hairspray" on the couch while eating the bags of Jelly Belly's we'd picked up at the supermarket.

Tomorrow we leave for Houston to spend Thanksgiving with my cousin JP and his family.