{Go see beautiful Lotus at iamlot.us for more Winner!}

This blog has afforded me a number of things.  One of those things?  Friendship.

And for it I am so thankful.

I don’t have very many friends that I see on a daily basis.   On a daily basis, though, I see and feel the love of so many that I call my friends.  Love when they come here and tell me something sweet.  Love when they leave me a comment on an old picture on Flickr or Facebook.  Love on Twitter when I am asked a very random question that I just totally get.  Love when I get an email inviting me to a gathering of friends, old and new.

The friends that live in my laptop are so great.

And for them I am so thankful.

@alimartell

@thecaffeinatrix

@motherbumper {on left, in purpley bokeh splendidness}

@aprylsantics

@aiminglow

@secretagentmama {in selfy-pee}

THE LANE FAMILY HAS TV.  {I repeat} THE LANE FAMILY HAS TV.

Now, don’t go thinking that we’ve back-tracked on our ideals.  No, that is not the case.  Fact of the matter is: WHO DAT!? The New Orleans Saints are playing in the Superbowl.

That being said, we spent some of our Christmas money on a new TV.   Our old one was a hand-me-down cathode ray tube* with a very old DVD player that we got for like $99.00 at a Blockbuster nine years ago.    The new TV is a pretty nice plasma, and it’s really, really big.

Then we were faced with a dilemma:   What kind of service would we get?

We decided that satellite wasn’t the way to go just yet.

An old-fashioned antennae, however, was.

Michael scaled our two story home, braved high winds, balanced, used his brute force, and got that bad-boy up there.

So far I’ve enjoyed an episode of General Hospital, and last night we watched the American Idol try-outs in Dallas.  Oh yeah, and the President’s State of the Union.   Oh yeah, and Conan.

This morning, however, while Benjamin lay on the couch nursing a head cold, the two other bigs joined their brother to watch an old favorite (do you hear the sarcasm?) as they took a break from their school day.

Davey asked them to turn it off!

*cathode ray tube – That’s totally Michael talking!

David loves Dinosaurs.  He loves to watch shows like Dinosaur Train.  He likes to play with the dinosaur figures that we’ve amassed over the years.   He loves to pretend he’s a dinosaur with his big brother Benny.  He loves his dino PJ’s.   Yes, he’s a true dino-lover!

On Christmas morning, decked in his fleece dino pajamas, David opened one of his gifts.  A Sprig Dino Rig, part of the Adventure Series of toys!

What are Sprig Toys*?

Only the coolest, battery-less, imagination-inspiring, non-noise making, eco-friendly toys ever made, that’s what!

I found out about Sprig Toys at Type-A Mom conference and I was so impressed by them.  I instantly knew that David would LOVE them.

So, on Christmas morning I was further impressed when, upon opening the box, I discovered that nothing was secured in place.  No metal twisty-tied torture in this box!   That, right there, is big.  HUGE.  GINORMOUS.

It’s been over a month since Davey got his Dino Adventure Rig and Dolphin Explorer Boat.    He plays with them a lot and the boat and dolphin have become a constant at bath time.  That’s especially awesome because Sprig Toys are hollow, so no water collects inside the bath toy(s), which means no icky mold.

Here’s what David has to say: