Celebrity Mugshots

Nick Nolte, DUI
McCauley Culkin, possession of marijuana
The Godfather of Soul, domestic violence
I know what you're thinking right now - this post is ludicrous... I mean, James Brown and the kid from Home Alone? Where could this possibly be going?? And so I say to my readers - read on.

Kidd Rock, assault at a Waffle House restaurant (I mean, you talk about white trash) ((at first I thought this was Jesus's mugshot but then I remembered the Big J was quite committed to the Ten Commandments so it probably wasn't him))
Chicagoan and bigtime Blackhawks fan Vince Vaughn, barfight (looks in this photo like he spent a weekend up at Marquette)
Finley Ames Skertich, arrested for fighting at daycare... with a bookcase. Ran through the room, tripped, and just hit that sucker head on. (bookcase won the fight)
It's been quite the past thirty days - let's review:
-Fin, double ear infection
-Mom, chest cold
-Dad, stomach flu
-Finley, after double ear infection goes away, right ear infection returns
-Dad, 2- week chest cold
-Finley, 2-week chest cold
-Finley, stomach flu
-Mom & Fin, slipped down 4-5 stairs, I landed on my head (I'm fine), Mom landed on her tailbone and had to visit Triage to check on the baby (everyone's fine, just a little sore)
-Fin, smashed head off of bookcase at daycare

Apparently things don't come in threes in this house, they come in nines.

Banana Bread

So the other night Mom and I decided to make some banana bread to quell our sweet tooth craving. In case you've never made banana bread, here is the recipe:

A teaspoon of whatever this is
Then a teaspoon of something else that was white
Then... wait... an entire stick of butter?
And then it was time to mix
Oh man, mixing is really a good time
And then you have to wait
And then, unfortunately, you have to wait some more
And then it's like you have to wait so long you might as well just go take a bath because when you come back down, not only do your armpits smell better but check this out - Banana Bread!
I know, banana bread is funny, isn't it?

Down and Out

I've been down and out for a while with an ear infection, a cough and the stomach flu (Aidan barfed all over the lunch table at school so I think I know where I got the yuks).

On the mend, though, so you can expect a post soon.

Also, I keep hearing something about a baby that's coming to live with us. I have no idea who this cat is but I hope he/she realizes I am not the welcoming committee.

Mom and Dad and I have things to do - reading books, doing puzzles, learning songs, coloring, so not sure where this guy/gal thinks they're fitting in.

I've already posted a sign on the door to my room that says, "STAY OWT!"

Singin' For Simon

So the other night when I was at Blue Frog (a karaoke bar up in River North) I saw a flyer calling for tapes for American Idol tryouts so when I got home that night I woke up Dad and told him we better get on it.

So here's my two-and-a-half-minute tryout tape consisting of a medley of my best songs - Pinkle, Pinkle / B-I-N-G-O / Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes / ABC's / Working on the Railroad. I think the end should really leave a lasting impression on Simon.

P.S. I can't wait to meet Ryan Seacrest.

Christmas Review

Okay, let's take a look back at what was an outstanding Christmas. On Christmas Eve we went over to Nana's and had Mom's annual spaghetti and meatballs and then opened up some gifts.

Plenty of pics here but since this blog is about me, let's start with me in my Christmas dress.
And since my Dad types up my blog posts while I dictate them to him, here's a good one of the two of us.
Okay, now that we have that straightened out let's move on to some other exciting pics.

I got a Bitty Baby from Nana and Papa and here I am feeding and taking care of her.
This is quite the opposite of what I'll be doing when the real baby comes home with Mom and Dad a few weeks from now. I already have the eBay and CraigsList posts filled out and once I have some photos of this little varmant that I can upload to the posts he/she/it will be up for sale immediately upon returning home. I can tell you right now I want no part of this little disaster.

Okay, now that I've disclosed that, here's a shot of Finley Claus and Yaya.
And since Christmas is the season of giving, I will give up some blog post space to some of my favorite people. Without further ado, I give you Nana and the kids
Aunt Suzy and Yaya
Hannah and Yaya
Luke and Yaya (do you see a theme here? I borrowed some of Uncle Brian's photos for this post so there is an awful lot of Yaya)
Eli Claus
Then on Christmas night, Grandma and Grandpa Lammel showed up and stayed with us for a couple days.
And they brought me this awesome car that I drive around all over the house. And we went to the Shedd Aquarium and read books and went out to dinner and had a lot of fun!
But before I exit this post I want to take you back to Christmas Eve. When we got home from Nana's Mom told me we should leave Santa some cookies and milk so when he comes to drop off my presents he will have something to eat. We didn't have any cookies so we left him a piece of coffee cake and a big glass of milk (see it right over my shoulder there?)
And when I woke up the next morning it was all gone! And Yaya and Hannah told me that he ate everything at their house, too. Seriously?

And To All A Goodnight

Goose Is Getting Fat

Christmas is coming. I mean, it's really getting close. I am so ready for Santa Claus (or Sanka Sauce, as I call him) to come to my house with presents. But first, I went over to my boyfriend's and he gave me a Christmas gift.

The gentleman that he is, he helped me open it.
Check it out - "Snow Wonder We're Friends."
This is how I know Jake is a sly fox. After I opened this book, he gave me a little wink. Basically, he used that book to keep our Dads off the trail. See, they both thought it was so cute that Jake got me a book about our friendship. Then he invited me back to his playroom, if you know what I mean. Jake = Genius.

On another note we went over to Nana's last week and the whole gang got together. Mom got some new boots for her birthday from Nana so naturally I tried them on.
And then I hung out with my buddies the rest of the night... which leads me to this next set of photos. If you'll remember my post from back about a year ago we took the following picture and compared Eli to Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, thee of lead singer status.
Well, look in the background of this next photo... it's like he's wondering where this all went wrong. I warned him when he started dating that Olsen twin, hanging out with the guys from Third Eye Blind and getting a little too intimate with the nose candy that this would happen. It's not Isaiah and Luke's fault that they stayed focused on the music.