Because we all want to be politically correct, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO_vbadvmCc
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
A shout out to Mrs. Clause...
I was thinking the other day (yes, I know that can be scary) about this whole Santa thing. And while I love Santa and realize that without his financial backing, well there wouldn't be a workshop around here. I do however have an observation or two to make. Like, the fact that Mrs. Clause rarely receives the credit she deserves and seemingly plays a supporting roll next to his leading one.
Observations:
1-Santa, checks his list TWICE.
Mrs. Clause, no less that 27 times.
2-Mrs. Clause makes the list. Without her, he wouldn't have a list to check once, much less
twice.
3-Mr. Clause doesn't actually read the list, it is read to him...by Mrs. Clause.
4-Mrs. Clause, not Santa hires the elves. (That would be the babysitter that turns into wrapper
elf when the Mrs. realizes that she can't possibly wrap all the gifts herself and that Mr. Clause
would be content to slap a bow on the plastic Target bag that Mrs. Clause's gift came in).
5-Santa does not realize the delicate balance of the equal amount of presents to equal value of
present ratio that his children understand and are quick to point out.
6-Mr. Clause doesn't know whose been naughty or nice unless he gets his evening report...from
the Mrs.
7-Mrs. Clause also oversees the decorating, the catering, and the mandatory appearances.
Santa, merely nods in approval (if he notices), passes out a compliment on the tastiness, and
shows up.
8-Santa really doesn't have a clue as to what an age appropriate gift is, which girl is into Hannah
Montana and which is into High School Musical.
Now, the positives... Santa is definitely trainable...he is now quite adept at stuffing Mrs. Clause's stocking, buying her gifts before Christmas Eve and funding the Christmas Workshop that is ran by the Mrs.
Observations:
1-Santa, checks his list TWICE.
Mrs. Clause, no less that 27 times.
2-Mrs. Clause makes the list. Without her, he wouldn't have a list to check once, much less
twice.
3-Mr. Clause doesn't actually read the list, it is read to him...by Mrs. Clause.
4-Mrs. Clause, not Santa hires the elves. (That would be the babysitter that turns into wrapper
elf when the Mrs. realizes that she can't possibly wrap all the gifts herself and that Mr. Clause
would be content to slap a bow on the plastic Target bag that Mrs. Clause's gift came in).
5-Santa does not realize the delicate balance of the equal amount of presents to equal value of
present ratio that his children understand and are quick to point out.
6-Mr. Clause doesn't know whose been naughty or nice unless he gets his evening report...from
the Mrs.
7-Mrs. Clause also oversees the decorating, the catering, and the mandatory appearances.
Santa, merely nods in approval (if he notices), passes out a compliment on the tastiness, and
shows up.
8-Santa really doesn't have a clue as to what an age appropriate gift is, which girl is into Hannah
Montana and which is into High School Musical.
Now, the positives... Santa is definitely trainable...he is now quite adept at stuffing Mrs. Clause's stocking, buying her gifts before Christmas Eve and funding the Christmas Workshop that is ran by the Mrs.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Keep it to yourself...
Cammie and I were at Joanns buying a last minute addition to my sister's Christmas gift. There were two 60ish women standing in the middle of the aisle, talking. Blocking our passage through the aisle.
We wait for 30 seconds or so. Cammie, gets tired of waiting on the conversing-not-shopping ladies and says politely "excuse me please". (I was impressed with her manners).
The ladies give me a look like Cammie had said "move it Grannies, we're in a hurry and you're hogging the aisle".
As we pass, I say loud enough for them to hear, "I like the way you used your manners, that was so polite".
At Joanns, you wait in line for the next available cashier. Of course they end up in line directly behind us.
Cammie is sucking her thumb, it's been a long day, she's tired, when she's tired, she sucks her thumb.
The following scene happened:
Lady1: "Get that thumb out of your mouth, you're too big for that."
Lady2: "Ewww, it's disgusting to put you're thumb in you're mouth."
Cammie: Looks them straight in the eye and keeps sucking her thumb.
Me: "Well, she thinks it's very tasty."
Lady1:"I'm sure, and it'll give her very pretty teeth too."
Right at that moment, it was my turn to head to a cashier.
Let me say this. They are very lucky that I:
(1) am a Christian and no longer cuss.
(2) respect my elders.
(3) have great self control when it comes to ignorant, negative, busy bodies.
My pediatrician doesn't mind that she sucks her thumb.
Our pediatric dentist says that 9 of 10 kids have braces anyways.
The kid was sucking her thumb in utero, on the ultrasound. Not an easy habit to break.
It's noones business if she sucks her thumb, but mine and my husbands. We can afford braces.
Future reference for little ladies that feel it's their right and duty to comment on my child and her thumb:
KEEP YOUR UNSOLICITED OPINIONS AND NEGATIVITY TO YOURSELF, I'M NOT INTERESTED.
As we headed out of the store, Cammie stared them down, thumb in mouth. That's my girl.
We wait for 30 seconds or so. Cammie, gets tired of waiting on the conversing-not-shopping ladies and says politely "excuse me please". (I was impressed with her manners).
The ladies give me a look like Cammie had said "move it Grannies, we're in a hurry and you're hogging the aisle".
As we pass, I say loud enough for them to hear, "I like the way you used your manners, that was so polite".
At Joanns, you wait in line for the next available cashier. Of course they end up in line directly behind us.
Cammie is sucking her thumb, it's been a long day, she's tired, when she's tired, she sucks her thumb.
The following scene happened:
Lady1: "Get that thumb out of your mouth, you're too big for that."
Lady2: "Ewww, it's disgusting to put you're thumb in you're mouth."
Cammie: Looks them straight in the eye and keeps sucking her thumb.
Me: "Well, she thinks it's very tasty."
Lady1:"I'm sure, and it'll give her very pretty teeth too."
Right at that moment, it was my turn to head to a cashier.
Let me say this. They are very lucky that I:
(1) am a Christian and no longer cuss.
(2) respect my elders.
(3) have great self control when it comes to ignorant, negative, busy bodies.
My pediatrician doesn't mind that she sucks her thumb.
Our pediatric dentist says that 9 of 10 kids have braces anyways.
The kid was sucking her thumb in utero, on the ultrasound. Not an easy habit to break.
It's noones business if she sucks her thumb, but mine and my husbands. We can afford braces.
Future reference for little ladies that feel it's their right and duty to comment on my child and her thumb:
KEEP YOUR UNSOLICITED OPINIONS AND NEGATIVITY TO YOURSELF, I'M NOT INTERESTED.
As we headed out of the store, Cammie stared them down, thumb in mouth. That's my girl.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Shady Acres- Home For The Infirm
Bet ya didn't know we were going into the convalescent business, did ya? That's okay, neither did we.
Our new adventure started on Saturday December 1st.
Mark's mom is building a house down the street from us. She had sold her old house and had to be out by the 1st. The new house is supposed to be finished the first week of January. The plan was for her to stay with us until her house was available.
We spent all day on the 1st moving her into a POD and our house. That evening, she fell asleep on our couch. She has back trouble and we were worried that sleeping on our very attractive but not so comfortable sectional would aggravate the problem...so, we woke her up to go to bed.
Half way up the stairs...she fell. Hard. She hit her head on the hardwood floors and was knocked unconscious. There was a lot of blood, her eyes were open and she wasn't responding.
We called 911 and rushed her to the hospital. A neighbor came to stay with Cammie, Chloe and Forrest...who all saw it happen, (thank God for good neighbors).
After several hours, it was determined that she had a concussion and that she had shattered her heel. The doctors were not too concerned with her concussion, but very concerned with her heel.
Evidently, your heel is one of the worst possible bones to break in your body. Who knew?
We brought her home and spent Sunday and Monday renting a wheel chair, buying crutches, building a wheelchair ramp and making appointments with the Orthopedic Specialist.
Her appointment with the specialist was set for Tuesday.
Tuesday morning, Cammie woke up with her eyes matted shut. Chloe had one eye semi-matted. Lovely.
Instead of the Orthopedic doctor, I was on my way to the pediatrician. One case of pink eye (Cammie), one case of an eye cold (Chloe) and some serious fluid behind ears (Chloe again), we were on our way home.
Chloe has been nearly deaf for almost a week. She collects fluid behind her ears due to some weird thing with her adenoids. She is having her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears the day after Christmas. Hopefully that will help with her hearing problems...that, or we are going to have to get the poor kid a hearing aid. The volume that we have to talk in order for her to understand us, plus the level of volume on the TV required for her to hear it, are creating some serious noise pollution around here.
Okay, so while I am getting all of the good EYE news, Mark is hearing from the Ortho doctor that his moms foot is too swollen to do surgery on. That she has to come back the following Tuesday (tomorrow) for a recheck. That after the surgery, she won't be able to walk or drive for 3 months.
Over the weekend, Hannah had a migraine and a stomach ache.
This morning, I went to wake Chloe up for school...and she was covered in a red rash. I called the doctor's office. The lady on the phone said that it was probably Fifths Disease, but I could bring her in if I wanted to.
Is it Fifths Disease? Where she can go back to school tomorrow because once the rash appears, you're not contagious? No. Of course not. She has Scarlet Fever (basically strep with a rash). Where she has to stay home at least through Wednesday. Where I can't finish my Christmas shopping by my deadline of December 11th. Where we have to miss THE most important Girl Scout meeting of the year (the one where I explain to all the parents the ins and outs of selling Girl Scout Cookies).
I'm not sure here, but I think that caring for people with pink eye, an eye cold, migraines, stomach viruses, wheelchair bound heel injuries, strep throat, scary skin rashes, tonsil/adenoidectomy, tubes in their ears, and a little "snip snip" procedure (that would be Mark) in less than a one month span qualifies us as a convalescent center.
One thing I can say for sure... life is interesting.
Our new adventure started on Saturday December 1st.
Mark's mom is building a house down the street from us. She had sold her old house and had to be out by the 1st. The new house is supposed to be finished the first week of January. The plan was for her to stay with us until her house was available.
We spent all day on the 1st moving her into a POD and our house. That evening, she fell asleep on our couch. She has back trouble and we were worried that sleeping on our very attractive but not so comfortable sectional would aggravate the problem...so, we woke her up to go to bed.
Half way up the stairs...she fell. Hard. She hit her head on the hardwood floors and was knocked unconscious. There was a lot of blood, her eyes were open and she wasn't responding.
We called 911 and rushed her to the hospital. A neighbor came to stay with Cammie, Chloe and Forrest...who all saw it happen, (thank God for good neighbors).
After several hours, it was determined that she had a concussion and that she had shattered her heel. The doctors were not too concerned with her concussion, but very concerned with her heel.
Evidently, your heel is one of the worst possible bones to break in your body. Who knew?
We brought her home and spent Sunday and Monday renting a wheel chair, buying crutches, building a wheelchair ramp and making appointments with the Orthopedic Specialist.
Her appointment with the specialist was set for Tuesday.
Tuesday morning, Cammie woke up with her eyes matted shut. Chloe had one eye semi-matted. Lovely.
Instead of the Orthopedic doctor, I was on my way to the pediatrician. One case of pink eye (Cammie), one case of an eye cold (Chloe) and some serious fluid behind ears (Chloe again), we were on our way home.
Chloe has been nearly deaf for almost a week. She collects fluid behind her ears due to some weird thing with her adenoids. She is having her tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears the day after Christmas. Hopefully that will help with her hearing problems...that, or we are going to have to get the poor kid a hearing aid. The volume that we have to talk in order for her to understand us, plus the level of volume on the TV required for her to hear it, are creating some serious noise pollution around here.
Okay, so while I am getting all of the good EYE news, Mark is hearing from the Ortho doctor that his moms foot is too swollen to do surgery on. That she has to come back the following Tuesday (tomorrow) for a recheck. That after the surgery, she won't be able to walk or drive for 3 months.
Over the weekend, Hannah had a migraine and a stomach ache.
This morning, I went to wake Chloe up for school...and she was covered in a red rash. I called the doctor's office. The lady on the phone said that it was probably Fifths Disease, but I could bring her in if I wanted to.
Is it Fifths Disease? Where she can go back to school tomorrow because once the rash appears, you're not contagious? No. Of course not. She has Scarlet Fever (basically strep with a rash). Where she has to stay home at least through Wednesday. Where I can't finish my Christmas shopping by my deadline of December 11th. Where we have to miss THE most important Girl Scout meeting of the year (the one where I explain to all the parents the ins and outs of selling Girl Scout Cookies).
I'm not sure here, but I think that caring for people with pink eye, an eye cold, migraines, stomach viruses, wheelchair bound heel injuries, strep throat, scary skin rashes, tonsil/adenoidectomy, tubes in their ears, and a little "snip snip" procedure (that would be Mark) in less than a one month span qualifies us as a convalescent center.
One thing I can say for sure... life is interesting.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Chicago...warning: a few too many pictures
Here is a rundown of Chicago + Kids...something new for us. All of the kids want to go to Chicago with us. For years, we have promised "when you're older" (translation...when we don't need car seats, strollers, or sippy cups, when you learn not to whine, complain or gripe and can walk for blocks and blocks and blocks impervious to the cold).
Six and a half years later, Forrest and Hannah reached the point where they fit most of the criteria..if we held out for all of the criteria, I doubt any of five would ever make the cut.
It was snowing heavily when we landed, which excited the kids to no end. Unfortunately, it hadn't been cold enough, long enough and it melted as soon as it hit the ground.
After checking in, we decided to go see this: http://www.beemovie.com/
The theatre is HUGE and along the halls are really cool murals. Here's the fam...saying cheese...
We ended up canceling our reservations at Fulton's when Mark found out that their had been a cancellation at one of our favorite Chicago restaraunts. Still, this is as close as we came to a turkey:
We had pasta instead...magnifico pasta. We'll have turkey at Christmas.
Friday morning, we started off by checking out the Lego store. The dinosaur, buildings and camera are made completely out of Legos.
And then, we headed here:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/eurptg/index.php
I couldn't believe that photography was allowed inside the museum. You could also walk right up to the paintings...they were not enclosed in glass. Yes, we had to stop Forrest from touching this Monet and Hannah tried to touch a 500 year old bronze statue...hey, nobody's perfect, right?
I have this print hanging in my breakfast room. The original is breathtaking and makes my "reproduction" look, well, like a flea-market knock off. I tried to talk Mark into aquiring the original for my Christmas present. Unfortunately Cezanne originals... are a bit pricey.
After the Art Institute, we walked to Marshall Fields on State (it's actually Macy's now, but it had been Fields since 1907 and there was a public backlash when Macy's bought the store and promptly changed the name. The granite cornerstones of the building are still engraved with their original name, so haha to Macy's...not that I have anything against Macy's. Anyhoo, the windows are decorated with a different them each year. This year the theme is The Nutcraker. Afterwards, we had lunch here:
...we had to go through a shrinking process. Here we are...being shrunk (Hannah and I didn't take very long):
This is one of the things we found Underground:
The kids loved the Egyptian exhibit...
And what would a trip to the Field be without visiting Sue? This is Sue's head:
Hannah's favorite was the Dolphin show.
My favorite was the Sea Dragons...I tried to add them to my Christmas list too, but was told to erase them along with the Cezanne.
Six and a half years later, Forrest and Hannah reached the point where they fit most of the criteria..if we held out for all of the criteria, I doubt any of five would ever make the cut.
It was snowing heavily when we landed, which excited the kids to no end. Unfortunately, it hadn't been cold enough, long enough and it melted as soon as it hit the ground.
After checking in, we decided to go see this: http://www.beemovie.com/
The theatre is HUGE and along the halls are really cool murals. Here's the fam...saying cheese...
We ended up canceling our reservations at Fulton's when Mark found out that their had been a cancellation at one of our favorite Chicago restaraunts. Still, this is as close as we came to a turkey:
We had pasta instead...magnifico pasta. We'll have turkey at Christmas.
Friday morning, we started off by checking out the Lego store. The dinosaur, buildings and camera are made completely out of Legos.
And then, we headed here:http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/eurptg/index.php
I couldn't believe that photography was allowed inside the museum. You could also walk right up to the paintings...they were not enclosed in glass. Yes, we had to stop Forrest from touching this Monet and Hannah tried to touch a 500 year old bronze statue...hey, nobody's perfect, right?
I have this print hanging in my breakfast room. The original is breathtaking and makes my "reproduction" look, well, like a flea-market knock off. I tried to talk Mark into aquiring the original for my Christmas present. Unfortunately Cezanne originals... are a bit pricey.
After the Art Institute, we walked to Marshall Fields on State (it's actually Macy's now, but it had been Fields since 1907 and there was a public backlash when Macy's bought the store and promptly changed the name. The granite cornerstones of the building are still engraved with their original name, so haha to Macy's...not that I have anything against Macy's. Anyhoo, the windows are decorated with a different them each year. This year the theme is The Nutcraker. Afterwards, we had lunch here:
Hannah refused to order this because she didn't want to say the name. Forrest wanted to order just so he could say the name.
After Lunch, Mark had to head to the convention center to oversee the booth set up. The kids and I headed back to the hotel for a nap. Hannah and I had reservations for dinner here:
http://www.americangirl.com/stores/experience_bistro.php
and tickets to see this:
http://www.americangirl.com/stores/experience_theater.php#holiday
We had planned on dropping her doll off here:
http://www.americangirl.com/stores/experience_salon.php
while we had dinner. Hannah had also been saving up to buy "Jamie" (that's her doll) a new outfit.
Due to a slight unforeseen wardrobe malfunction, Hannah needed a new outfit too. We ended up buying her this:
And Jamie got the matching outfit. Man, do I hate wardrobe malfunctions (that was for my husband who is suspicious that new girl/doll matching outfits were being plotted months ago...seriously, would I plot...no, don't answer that).
Unfortunately, due to the very real outfit crisis we experienced just before walking out of the hotel room, I forgot my camera. Oh. My. Good. Lord. I cannot believe I did that. Fortunately the very nice people at the store gave me a disposable camera to capture the big night. Love those people. Hopefully, they will turn out, I can save them to a disk and then upload...hopefully.
While we were having our girls night, Mark and Forrest went out for seafood...Forrest's favorite.
Saturday morning, we headed to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast. Here's what Fodor's has to say about Lou's... http://www.fodors.com/world/north%20america/usa/illinois/chicago/entity_134252.html
And then, we went to Union Station. This is where the part of The Untouhables was filmed. Remember the scene where Elliot Ness is at the bottom of the stairs and Al Capone is at the top and the baby carriage goes bouncing down the steps?
Next up was the Field Museum. Oh, how I love the Field Museum. First, we did the audio tour of MAPS. Sorry, no pics inside the exhibit which was very interesting. Instead, here's one from the entrance to the exhibit, and a link to the info on it... http://www.fieldmuseum.org/maps/
In order to go through the next exhibit...http://www.fieldmuseum.org/undergroundadventure/flash/VirtualTour.swf
...we had to go through a shrinking process. Here we are...being shrunk (Hannah and I didn't take very long):
This is one of the things we found Underground:The kids loved the Egyptian exhibit...
And what would a trip to the Field be without visiting Sue? This is Sue's head:
The rest of sue is on display in the lobby. She is the most complete Tyrannasaurus Rex fossil. You can read more about her and find out why her head is not with the rest of her body, by looking here:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/index.html
After saying farewell to Sue, we walked to the Adler Planetarium. This is the one museum that Mark and I have never visited.
After the Planetarium, we had dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory. Hannah wanted to bring this tag home with her:
Yes, we are still on Saturday...and we have one more stop before bed.
We went up to the SkyDeck on the Hancock Building. It was the tallest building in Chicago until the Sears tower was built. Here's a pic of the night sky...the tallest building in the pic is the Sears tower.
Sunday morning, Mark had to work the show, so the kids and I went to the Shedd Aquarium before our flight.
We all loved the lizards.
Hannah's favorite was the Dolphin show.
My favorite was the Sea Dragons...I tried to add them to my Christmas list too, but was told to erase them along with the Cezanne.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Oh Christmas Tree...
The matchy-matchy tree has been trimmed. Yes, I know the suspense has been killing you. Believe me, it was killing me to have to wait to put it up.
I am happy to report that I am almost over my faux-tree phobia. If I close my eyes and inhale, the bonus room almost smells like pine. Okay, no it doesn't. I'm thinking about buying a pine-scented candle...or hiding a bough from our "big" tree under the bonus room tree skirt to help trick my senses into believing that a faux (doesn't faux sound so much classier than fake) tree is indeed as good as a real tree.
Also, I am proud of the fact that I assembled the tree all by myself. (That just sounds weird... up until now, I thought that God was the only one who assembled trees). After fluffing each branch, after standing back one hundred and ten times to make sure that there were no "holes", after asking Forrest (who is a 13 year old boy and could really care less) if he noticed any holes, or if he thought it was leaning a little to the left, and after making sure that it was secure enough that no one would yell "TIM-berrr" out of fear that they were about to be felled by a faux tree...I was happy.
Here are the pics in all their frou-frou glory:
I love, love, love the black glittery star and the red frou-frou fringe...yum!
The little guy above makes me smile every time I see him. Lovin' the curvy hat.
I am happy to report that I am almost over my faux-tree phobia. If I close my eyes and inhale, the bonus room almost smells like pine. Okay, no it doesn't. I'm thinking about buying a pine-scented candle...or hiding a bough from our "big" tree under the bonus room tree skirt to help trick my senses into believing that a faux (doesn't faux sound so much classier than fake) tree is indeed as good as a real tree.
Also, I am proud of the fact that I assembled the tree all by myself. (That just sounds weird... up until now, I thought that God was the only one who assembled trees). After fluffing each branch, after standing back one hundred and ten times to make sure that there were no "holes", after asking Forrest (who is a 13 year old boy and could really care less) if he noticed any holes, or if he thought it was leaning a little to the left, and after making sure that it was secure enough that no one would yell "TIM-berrr" out of fear that they were about to be felled by a faux tree...I was happy.
Here are the pics in all their frou-frou glory:
I love, love, love the black glittery star and the red frou-frou fringe...yum!
The little guy above makes me smile every time I see him. Lovin' the curvy hat.
And there you have it. A snowman themed, matchy-matchy, frou-frou tree.
Now, I am off to bed. We have to be at the airport at early o'clock in the morning. We are headed to Chicago. Forrest and Hannah are making their first trip to Chi-town with us. Unfortunately there was not a turkey to be found in all of the Windy City, so we will be having dinner at Fulton's...a seafood restraunt. I am looking on the bright side and focusing on the fact that while we won't be dining on traditional Thanksgiving fare, we will be eating something other than $4 M&M's and $7 peanuts out of the mini-bar.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Christmas Tree talk...
This morning, Cammie's teacher was running a few minutes late. Another mom and I were waiting with the kids and of course, I initiated small talk. (I can and will talk to anyone...something that baffles my husband. He's more of the "small talk is a waste of breath and energy why would I strike up a conversation with someone I don't know speak to strangers only when necessary" sort).
Where was I? Small talk, yes...so we began talking about Christmas Trees. I said that I was in the market for a fake tree for the bonus room. She said that her family has always put up a fake tree. I have always had a real tree. My mom always bought a real tree (a tiny scraggly real tree, but real nonetheless). Her parents put up a fake one. Hmmm. Interesting.
This led to the compromises we made with our husbands when merging our Christmas traditions.
Mark thought that a fake tree with mismatched ornaments and colored lights were required. (EEEK).
He thought that my "matchy-matchy" ornaments were too frou-frou, the white lights were too boring and that going out in the cold/haggling over the price/tying to the top of the vehicle/wrestling down from the top of the vehicle/sawing off the bottom of the trunk when it was invariably too tall/getting slathered with sap and looking like he'd been in a cat fight due to all of the pine needle scratches... was entirely too much effort to put into a Christmas tree.
So, we compromised. He agreed to a real tree and white lights...I gave into mismatched ornaments. (Honestly, I think I came out with the better end of the deal).
The first year, I had serious difficulty buying ornaments. My OCD driven brain could not comprehend it. I went to the store several times to buy ornaments and left empty handed. Until, a friend of mine (who understood my compulsion for ornaments that "made sense") suggested that each member of our family get a different kind of ornament. Ah ha. A theme for each person, genius. This gave my OCD brain not one theme, but seven. Seriously, could it get any better?
Mark has Santa ornaments, I have Nutcrackers, Forrest gets Gingerbread people, Hannah has Angel ornaments, Sophie has Snowmen, Chloe gets the Reindeer and Cammie, Bears.
We have co-existed in Christmas Tree merriment ever since. Mostly. Although I have conquered my ornament-buying-block, I still get googly eyed over the sumptuous matchy-matchy trees at 'Tis The Season, and I still feel a sense of calm when wandering through the themed ornament sections of Target.
This year, my ever indulgent husband agreed to let me put up a second tree in the bonus room. A MATCHY-MATCHY tree. Yes, I know, he is too good to me.
I have poured over magazines, catalogues and websites, looking for inspiration. I don't think that there is a Christmas tree aisle within a 20 mile radius that I haven't walked down. Finally I fell in love with a collection at Target. Chocolate, bronze, burnished gold = elegant. Sigh. I bought a tub of each color and the copper sprays to match.
All of the ornaments that I bought were solid. Hmmm. Need some pattern, some texture. A trip to Hobby Lobby should solve the problem.
Many an ornament was placed into the buggy. I spent 20 minutes digging through bins of "spray picks" to find the 15 needed to tuck into the branches. After 2 and a half hours of amassing the "perfect" ornaments, sprays and tree topper, my cart was full. And then, I put it all back. Yes, I did. Because, I just wasn't "feeling" it.
You see, the tree is going in our bonus room. Which, don't get me wrong, is a nice bonus room. But, trying to pull off a tree of the type I was envisioning would be a bit like putting on a ballgown and then dining at Shoney's. I mean, it's not the formal living room after all... it's the room where the kids play XBox and restaurant, where puzzles are assembled and the girls take turns being "the teacher".
Feeling a bit let down, berating myself for all of the time I had wasted, thinking about how this whole OCD thing can be a pain in the you know what, an inch from deciding that this second tree was not such a great idea, heading towards the checkout with my two nutcrackers and three gingerbread people, I found it. The PERFECT theme for the bonus room tree. I refilled my cart... in 15 minutes. Isn't it amazing what happens when genuine inspiration hits.
I am so excited to get this tree UP!
Oh, what is theme you ask? Well, you'll have to wait until it's up.
Where was I? Small talk, yes...so we began talking about Christmas Trees. I said that I was in the market for a fake tree for the bonus room. She said that her family has always put up a fake tree. I have always had a real tree. My mom always bought a real tree (a tiny scraggly real tree, but real nonetheless). Her parents put up a fake one. Hmmm. Interesting.
This led to the compromises we made with our husbands when merging our Christmas traditions.
Mark thought that a fake tree with mismatched ornaments and colored lights were required. (EEEK).
He thought that my "matchy-matchy" ornaments were too frou-frou, the white lights were too boring and that going out in the cold/haggling over the price/tying to the top of the vehicle/wrestling down from the top of the vehicle/sawing off the bottom of the trunk when it was invariably too tall/getting slathered with sap and looking like he'd been in a cat fight due to all of the pine needle scratches... was entirely too much effort to put into a Christmas tree.
So, we compromised. He agreed to a real tree and white lights...I gave into mismatched ornaments. (Honestly, I think I came out with the better end of the deal).
The first year, I had serious difficulty buying ornaments. My OCD driven brain could not comprehend it. I went to the store several times to buy ornaments and left empty handed. Until, a friend of mine (who understood my compulsion for ornaments that "made sense") suggested that each member of our family get a different kind of ornament. Ah ha. A theme for each person, genius. This gave my OCD brain not one theme, but seven. Seriously, could it get any better?
Mark has Santa ornaments, I have Nutcrackers, Forrest gets Gingerbread people, Hannah has Angel ornaments, Sophie has Snowmen, Chloe gets the Reindeer and Cammie, Bears.
We have co-existed in Christmas Tree merriment ever since. Mostly. Although I have conquered my ornament-buying-block, I still get googly eyed over the sumptuous matchy-matchy trees at 'Tis The Season, and I still feel a sense of calm when wandering through the themed ornament sections of Target.
This year, my ever indulgent husband agreed to let me put up a second tree in the bonus room. A MATCHY-MATCHY tree. Yes, I know, he is too good to me.
I have poured over magazines, catalogues and websites, looking for inspiration. I don't think that there is a Christmas tree aisle within a 20 mile radius that I haven't walked down. Finally I fell in love with a collection at Target. Chocolate, bronze, burnished gold = elegant. Sigh. I bought a tub of each color and the copper sprays to match.
All of the ornaments that I bought were solid. Hmmm. Need some pattern, some texture. A trip to Hobby Lobby should solve the problem.
Many an ornament was placed into the buggy. I spent 20 minutes digging through bins of "spray picks" to find the 15 needed to tuck into the branches. After 2 and a half hours of amassing the "perfect" ornaments, sprays and tree topper, my cart was full. And then, I put it all back. Yes, I did. Because, I just wasn't "feeling" it.
You see, the tree is going in our bonus room. Which, don't get me wrong, is a nice bonus room. But, trying to pull off a tree of the type I was envisioning would be a bit like putting on a ballgown and then dining at Shoney's. I mean, it's not the formal living room after all... it's the room where the kids play XBox and restaurant, where puzzles are assembled and the girls take turns being "the teacher".
Feeling a bit let down, berating myself for all of the time I had wasted, thinking about how this whole OCD thing can be a pain in the you know what, an inch from deciding that this second tree was not such a great idea, heading towards the checkout with my two nutcrackers and three gingerbread people, I found it. The PERFECT theme for the bonus room tree. I refilled my cart... in 15 minutes. Isn't it amazing what happens when genuine inspiration hits.
I am so excited to get this tree UP!
Oh, what is theme you ask? Well, you'll have to wait until it's up.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Confessions of a non-culinary sort...
I have come to realize something about myself. Something I have been in denial about for quite awhile. A thing that I have tried to convince myself could and should be changed... I do not like to cook.
I don't like the prep work, I don't like the clean up. I don't like trying new culinary trends, and I don't like wondering whether or not my "delish" dish is going to be as "delish" as Rachel Ray (who means well, I'm sure) promises.
Now, I am ready to admit, that it's not worth it to me to try out things that may or may not taste as good as I hope. That my family may or may not eat.
It's okay for me to admit that I am fresh out of ideas when it comes to creating a healthy meal in the limited amount of time I have before karate, church or scouts in the evening.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes cooking is pleasurable. I actually enjoy laboring over lasagna...and I do find pleasure in mixing up a hearty pot of chili (maybe that's because those are two things that I have actually mastered). Unfortunately, man cannot live by chili and lasagna alone.
Luckily for me, I am now saved from the anguish and frustration that I have been tormenting myself with. No more guilt over entirely too many dinners out. No more wondering what all of the preservatives we have been inhaling are going to do to our bodies. No more sacrificing half of the food pyramid in favor of speed and ease. Most of all, no more beating myself up over not being enough like Rachel, Paula, Martha or Sandra.
I have found something to soothe not only my poor spatula beaten ego, but also my nutritional guilt. I have found: http://www.supperthymeusa.com/index.jsp
(Cue the choir of heavenly voices singing "hallelujah, hallelujah, hal-le-lu-jahhhh").
The lovely people at SupperThyme will prepare my entrees for me. Family friendly fare made with fresh ingredients, in a variety of tastes and all I have to do is call in my choices, swing by and pick them up, thaw, heat, and serve. Oh yes, now we're cookin'.
I don't like the prep work, I don't like the clean up. I don't like trying new culinary trends, and I don't like wondering whether or not my "delish" dish is going to be as "delish" as Rachel Ray (who means well, I'm sure) promises.
Now, I am ready to admit, that it's not worth it to me to try out things that may or may not taste as good as I hope. That my family may or may not eat.
It's okay for me to admit that I am fresh out of ideas when it comes to creating a healthy meal in the limited amount of time I have before karate, church or scouts in the evening.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes cooking is pleasurable. I actually enjoy laboring over lasagna...and I do find pleasure in mixing up a hearty pot of chili (maybe that's because those are two things that I have actually mastered). Unfortunately, man cannot live by chili and lasagna alone.
Luckily for me, I am now saved from the anguish and frustration that I have been tormenting myself with. No more guilt over entirely too many dinners out. No more wondering what all of the preservatives we have been inhaling are going to do to our bodies. No more sacrificing half of the food pyramid in favor of speed and ease. Most of all, no more beating myself up over not being enough like Rachel, Paula, Martha or Sandra.
I have found something to soothe not only my poor spatula beaten ego, but also my nutritional guilt. I have found: http://www.supperthymeusa.com/index.jsp
(Cue the choir of heavenly voices singing "hallelujah, hallelujah, hal-le-lu-jahhhh").
The lovely people at SupperThyme will prepare my entrees for me. Family friendly fare made with fresh ingredients, in a variety of tastes and all I have to do is call in my choices, swing by and pick them up, thaw, heat, and serve. Oh yes, now we're cookin'.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur... Isn't it funny how we are constantly looking to some milestone that marks when "things will slow down", only to pass the marker at 100mph and tell ourselves that surely, things will quiet down after the next marker?
I just knew that life would slow down when school started back, after we got through September, after the Fall festivities on October...and now, I am resigned to the fact that it will be January before I can savor a taste of boredom.
So, what has been keeping us so busy you ask (or maybe you don't)?
After the dual Pumpkin Patch visits and the Social Security office fun, there was the tour of JP2. We are almost through the application process, we have toured the building, met the headmaster (umm...glorified term for principal, but it does have a nice ring to it, no?), researched electives and began the rough draft of the required "Why I Want To Go To JP2" essay. Forrest tests on the 17th. Wish him and us luck (I've threatened to homeschool him if he doesn't get in...not sure who is more traumatized by that thought...him or me).
Mark and I went on a staff retreat with the leadership of our church. Wow. It was AMAZING. The seminars that were presented, the teaching by Bro. Black from Memphis, planning for next year, updates on the progress of our building program and hearing the vision of our church set forth, all led up to the revealing of our "theme" for next year...Living Beyond Yourself.
One of the cool things that happened was a secret contest. Everyone was given a badge on a lanyard to wear at the beginning of retreat. Four women had stars that they would place on the badges seemingly at random. Mark and I had a bit of a friendly competion going to see which of us would get the most stars. Right before we were dismissed, the ladies revealed what the starts were for...they gave you one when they "caught" you living beyond yourself by being, kind, selfless or thoughtful. The winner received a $50.00 gift card to Outback. Mark came in 3rd, I came in 2nd and a truly deserving guy came in 1st.
Next came Autumn Adventure at church. I headed up the decorating comittee. Lots of work...lots of fun. The theme this year was "At The Circus". Mark, Chloe and I dressed up like clowns, Cammie was our leopard and Forrest decorated a trunk with two of his friends. It was a blast. The best part...seeing my 6'4 husband in an inflatable clown costume. Can you say hillarious?
Forrest and his friends did an awesome job on their trunk. They went with a "Revenge of the Nerds" theme. They were so incredibly funny. People would stand in front of their trunk for 10 or 15 minutes just watching them interact with everyone. I wish I would have taped them. Everytime someone would touch them, they would wash their hands with hand-sanitizer, one of them would get so excited, he'd have to use his inhaler...too funny.
The biggest news...
Chloe, turned six. Unbelievable. Impossible. Unreal. I can't believe that my little Ladybug is big enough to earn her gold belt, to be a Brownie, to have a report card (all E's, shameless bragging, I know), to read, to have sight words, to have a life outside of me, to grow up and begin to pull away. I'm so proud of the big girl she is, but so sad to have lost the little girl she has been for so long. Sigh. Sniff.
She did say however, that she will not "get bigger than 7, and won't ever get married and leave our house". When I asked "You don't want a husband or a baby one day", she replied "Well, I could grow up, get married, have a baby and we could all live here with you and daddy". Um...no.
Since it was her birthday, she got bring home Harry the bear. Harry gets to spend the weekend with a different classmate each week. Chloe loved having Harry at her party (even though he was scared by all of the excitement and hid under the present table) and Harry loved hanging out with her. Other than finding him with an open bag of marshamallows and a guilty look on his snout, he was a good bear.
And all of that (plus other non-noteworthy things) my friends, is why I have neglected the blog for almost three weeks.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Identity check...
Interesting story...I have been married for almost 7 years, but according to the US Government, I am still Destry Long...well, I was until yesterday.
I have a distinct aversion to governmental agency offices...like, say the Social Security Administration Office...and I tend to avoid said offices at all costs.
When Mark and I were first married, I had my drivers license changed the week after our honeymoon. I had to. In order to have a joint checking account, etc, I had to have a photo ID with my correct last name.
I had intended on having my Social Security card changed as well. There was no way that I could change my drivers license and Social Security card on the same day because (1) the driver testing center claimed over four hours of my life and by the time I left, the Social Security office had closed (2) even if it had been open, I wouldn't have gone because I had reached my government office attendance limit for the month.
Well, one month turned into nine. When Mark filed our taxes the following January, TurboTax denied our filing. Why...because there was no such person as Mrs. Mark Suffridge. Oops.
Mark filed as Mark Suffridge and Destry Long. After being called Mrs. Long for the next two weeks, I swore that I would brave the SS office and correct the problem. 12 months later, while filing our taxes, Mark asks if I have had my card changed. Oops again.
Ditto for years three, four, and five. Sad, I know. I have been living in last name limbo for almost seven years. In my defense, other than the tax thing, it hasn't been an issue. My drivers license, voter's registration, gym photo ID...they all say Suffridge.
So, why the sudden courage to face my irrational avoidance of the afore mentioned office? Did I finally get tired of being called Mrs. Long by Mr. Suffridge, was I afraid that we would be audited, did Mark's look of annoyance mingled with a touch of hurt spur me into action? No. I needed a passport. And, to get a passport, all of my identities needed to be merged into one legal, government wide, recognized name.
Yesterday, I merged. Yes, I am officially Mrs. Mark Suffridge (now if I win the Publisher's Clearing House, there will be no confusion over who to make the check out to).
For the record, I still do not like government offices. After psyching myself up for the experience..."it's not that bad"..." it can't take that long"..."if I don't get the stinkin' passport, there will be no mission trip to Guatemala, so get over your issues and go get the card changed already"... I headed to the office with Cammie in tow. I had 2 hours before time to pick up Chloe.
I scored a front parking space...I'm thinking that's a good sign. I open the door to the office and there aren't any seats available...bad sign. The heavily armed security guard (very bad sign) hands me a number and points me towards the counter to fill out forms. All of the forms were in Spanish...I, do not speak Spanish.
The nice guard fetches a form that I can actually read. I listen to the chatter in the waiting room as I fill out the paperwork. Evidently, there are a few people that have been waiting for over 4 hours (bad sign) and think that by heckling the nice ladies working behind the bulletproof glass (bad sign) they might speed up the process. (Note to hecklers...(1) if you are old enough to be a grandmother, you are old enough to know better, (2) the nice ladies can and will keep pushing your number to the bottom of the pile and (3) the security guard is heavily armed).
I finish with my forms and turn to see that two seats have opened up (good sign). Sigh of relief. I coax Cammie out from under the counter that she has been hiding under (better to survey the new and interesting specimen of humanity) and head to the chairs that were conveniently placed between the trench coated man with his baseball cap pulled low over his eyes (who was at the moment showing his lack of vocabulary by swearing in a semi-raised tone as he read the newspaper) (bad sign) and a tattooed and pierced individual that was examining the crowded room with as much disdain as I.
I scooted our chairs a little further from Mr. Vocabulary and a little closer to Mr. Body Art. Cammie, sat quietly, swinging her feet...kicking Mr. Body Art repeatedly in the process. He was good sport about it (good sign, I don't think Mr. Vocabulary would have been as kind).
Mr. Vocabulary kept up his diatribe in conversational tones to the room at large. When Mr. Security pointed a newcomer towards the form table, Mr. Vocab swiveled in his chair and barked "YOU didn't tell me I needed to fill anything out". (Thus confirming his lack of intelligence by (1) raising his voice at someone wearing a firearm and (2) thinking that it is possible to interact with the government without a mass of paperwork involved). Mr. Guard simply pointed at the counter and raised his eyebrows.
Mr. Vocab picks up a form and says in an outside voice "This s$@# is written in Spanish... I thought we were in America". This outburst causes all of the Mexican-Americans in attendance to glare across the room at Mr. Vocab, the bullet-proof workers to stop mid-sentence and raise their brows, Mr. Body Art to snicker, me to wonder how quickly I can get out the door with Cammie in the event of an emergency and Mr. Guard to say "Hey, buddy, don't even go there" and then head to the back to bring out a batch of English forms (why he didn't bring them out when he brought mine, I don't know).
Mr. Vocab fills out the form at the counter and brings it back to read. Mr. Security goes back into the inner sanctum of the office only to reappear a few minutes later. He tells Mr. Body Art that he had to call the police. Why? Someone was on the phone with a caller who was threatening to commit suicide. (Why would you call the SS office and tell them you were going to kill yourself)?
At this point. Mr. Vocab says a few very bad words in a very loud voice. Evidently, he didn't think that he should have to show proof of citizenship and identity in order to get a new SS card.
He storms out. Whew.
Cammie, sits watching the strangers (and trust me, they were strange...think Wal-Mart at midnight...you can see some strange folks). She decides that she needs to go potty. To which she gets a stern "No, you can wait". A few seconds go by and she decides that she would like a drink from the water fountain followed by another "NO". Of course she wants to know why not and I explain that we don't want to get any germs. This seems to suffice and we continue singing the songs from the Christmas Program that the kids have been practicing for and that I have been using to distract Cammie from all of the colorful and disrespectful language that has been flying around us for the last hour.
She notices a woman come out of the restroom and a man drinking from the fountain and says in a loud voice "They don't care if they catch germs, do they mamma"? A few people laugh, the woman gives us a not-so-nice look and I start humming Christmas songs a little bit louder. Ahh... children.
After 1 hour and 5o minutes...just as I am working myself into hives because it almost time for me to leave to get Chloe and I still haven't had my turn with the bulletproof ladies which means that I am going to have to come back again and do this all over...my number is called.
I am nice and pleasant to the bulletproof lady helping me. She is genuinely surprised. As I turn to leave, I say to Cammie "that wasn't too bad, was it" I see three of the hecklers still sitting in their seats...glaring at me. Hey, it's not my fault their number was pushed to the bottom.
I just don't get it. Why, does Government Office = Strange People. Where were all the "normal" or even "semi-normal" people...you know...the people that had just gotten married, or needed a card for their child...just plain old, regular, normal people? It was like the Twilight Zone.
When we got back into the car, I was so thankful that it was taken care of...I might have skipped the mission trip if it meant a return visit to the SS office.
Now, I can't wait to see what interesting things happen in the passport application process.
I have a distinct aversion to governmental agency offices...like, say the Social Security Administration Office...and I tend to avoid said offices at all costs.
When Mark and I were first married, I had my drivers license changed the week after our honeymoon. I had to. In order to have a joint checking account, etc, I had to have a photo ID with my correct last name.
I had intended on having my Social Security card changed as well. There was no way that I could change my drivers license and Social Security card on the same day because (1) the driver testing center claimed over four hours of my life and by the time I left, the Social Security office had closed (2) even if it had been open, I wouldn't have gone because I had reached my government office attendance limit for the month.
Well, one month turned into nine. When Mark filed our taxes the following January, TurboTax denied our filing. Why...because there was no such person as Mrs. Mark Suffridge. Oops.
Mark filed as Mark Suffridge and Destry Long. After being called Mrs. Long for the next two weeks, I swore that I would brave the SS office and correct the problem. 12 months later, while filing our taxes, Mark asks if I have had my card changed. Oops again.
Ditto for years three, four, and five. Sad, I know. I have been living in last name limbo for almost seven years. In my defense, other than the tax thing, it hasn't been an issue. My drivers license, voter's registration, gym photo ID...they all say Suffridge.
So, why the sudden courage to face my irrational avoidance of the afore mentioned office? Did I finally get tired of being called Mrs. Long by Mr. Suffridge, was I afraid that we would be audited, did Mark's look of annoyance mingled with a touch of hurt spur me into action? No. I needed a passport. And, to get a passport, all of my identities needed to be merged into one legal, government wide, recognized name.
Yesterday, I merged. Yes, I am officially Mrs. Mark Suffridge (now if I win the Publisher's Clearing House, there will be no confusion over who to make the check out to).
For the record, I still do not like government offices. After psyching myself up for the experience..."it's not that bad"..." it can't take that long"..."if I don't get the stinkin' passport, there will be no mission trip to Guatemala, so get over your issues and go get the card changed already"... I headed to the office with Cammie in tow. I had 2 hours before time to pick up Chloe.
I scored a front parking space...I'm thinking that's a good sign. I open the door to the office and there aren't any seats available...bad sign. The heavily armed security guard (very bad sign) hands me a number and points me towards the counter to fill out forms. All of the forms were in Spanish...I, do not speak Spanish.
The nice guard fetches a form that I can actually read. I listen to the chatter in the waiting room as I fill out the paperwork. Evidently, there are a few people that have been waiting for over 4 hours (bad sign) and think that by heckling the nice ladies working behind the bulletproof glass (bad sign) they might speed up the process. (Note to hecklers...(1) if you are old enough to be a grandmother, you are old enough to know better, (2) the nice ladies can and will keep pushing your number to the bottom of the pile and (3) the security guard is heavily armed).
I finish with my forms and turn to see that two seats have opened up (good sign). Sigh of relief. I coax Cammie out from under the counter that she has been hiding under (better to survey the new and interesting specimen of humanity) and head to the chairs that were conveniently placed between the trench coated man with his baseball cap pulled low over his eyes (who was at the moment showing his lack of vocabulary by swearing in a semi-raised tone as he read the newspaper) (bad sign) and a tattooed and pierced individual that was examining the crowded room with as much disdain as I.
I scooted our chairs a little further from Mr. Vocabulary and a little closer to Mr. Body Art. Cammie, sat quietly, swinging her feet...kicking Mr. Body Art repeatedly in the process. He was good sport about it (good sign, I don't think Mr. Vocabulary would have been as kind).
Mr. Vocabulary kept up his diatribe in conversational tones to the room at large. When Mr. Security pointed a newcomer towards the form table, Mr. Vocab swiveled in his chair and barked "YOU didn't tell me I needed to fill anything out". (Thus confirming his lack of intelligence by (1) raising his voice at someone wearing a firearm and (2) thinking that it is possible to interact with the government without a mass of paperwork involved). Mr. Guard simply pointed at the counter and raised his eyebrows.
Mr. Vocab picks up a form and says in an outside voice "This s$@# is written in Spanish... I thought we were in America". This outburst causes all of the Mexican-Americans in attendance to glare across the room at Mr. Vocab, the bullet-proof workers to stop mid-sentence and raise their brows, Mr. Body Art to snicker, me to wonder how quickly I can get out the door with Cammie in the event of an emergency and Mr. Guard to say "Hey, buddy, don't even go there" and then head to the back to bring out a batch of English forms (why he didn't bring them out when he brought mine, I don't know).
Mr. Vocab fills out the form at the counter and brings it back to read. Mr. Security goes back into the inner sanctum of the office only to reappear a few minutes later. He tells Mr. Body Art that he had to call the police. Why? Someone was on the phone with a caller who was threatening to commit suicide. (Why would you call the SS office and tell them you were going to kill yourself)?
At this point. Mr. Vocab says a few very bad words in a very loud voice. Evidently, he didn't think that he should have to show proof of citizenship and identity in order to get a new SS card.
He storms out. Whew.
Cammie, sits watching the strangers (and trust me, they were strange...think Wal-Mart at midnight...you can see some strange folks). She decides that she needs to go potty. To which she gets a stern "No, you can wait". A few seconds go by and she decides that she would like a drink from the water fountain followed by another "NO". Of course she wants to know why not and I explain that we don't want to get any germs. This seems to suffice and we continue singing the songs from the Christmas Program that the kids have been practicing for and that I have been using to distract Cammie from all of the colorful and disrespectful language that has been flying around us for the last hour.
She notices a woman come out of the restroom and a man drinking from the fountain and says in a loud voice "They don't care if they catch germs, do they mamma"? A few people laugh, the woman gives us a not-so-nice look and I start humming Christmas songs a little bit louder. Ahh... children.
After 1 hour and 5o minutes...just as I am working myself into hives because it almost time for me to leave to get Chloe and I still haven't had my turn with the bulletproof ladies which means that I am going to have to come back again and do this all over...my number is called.
I am nice and pleasant to the bulletproof lady helping me. She is genuinely surprised. As I turn to leave, I say to Cammie "that wasn't too bad, was it" I see three of the hecklers still sitting in their seats...glaring at me. Hey, it's not my fault their number was pushed to the bottom.
I just don't get it. Why, does Government Office = Strange People. Where were all the "normal" or even "semi-normal" people...you know...the people that had just gotten married, or needed a card for their child...just plain old, regular, normal people? It was like the Twilight Zone.
When we got back into the car, I was so thankful that it was taken care of...I might have skipped the mission trip if it meant a return visit to the SS office.
Now, I can't wait to see what interesting things happen in the passport application process.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Finally...Fall
Ahh...Fall...my favorite season. I love sleeping with the windows open and feeling chilled. I adore little girls in knee-hi socks and cable knit cardigans and there is nothing like the sight of trees aflame with Autumn color. Fall...love it.
Of course, Fall also means Pumpkin Patch time. We go every year. This year, we are actually going twice. Saturday we went to Gentry Farms as a family and this weekend we are going to Honeysuckle Hill with our Sunday School department. There's no such thing as "too much pumpkin patch" right?
Forrest thinks that there is definitely such a thing...he's "too old" which I think translates loosely into "he's too cool" for the pumpkin patch. Unfortunately for him, our household is not run as a Democracy...it's more like a Dictatorship. A very loving Dictatorship, one with lots of perks and privileges, but at 13, no vote is, well, no vote. Anyhoo...next week, he'll be playing big brother to a kid without a parental chaperon...at the Pumpkin Patch...and I think that is cool.
Speaking of the pumpkin patch...you know it's been a scorching, bone dry summer when you get to the patch, wander to the corn maze and find a sign like this:
Munchkin Maze indeed. Normally, the stalks would tower over Mark (who is 6'4), this year, they reached to Cammie's shoulders.
In other news...
-I am officially on a self-imposed book hiatus. My laundry is happy about this(subsequently, so is my husband)
-Chloe earned her full orange belt and is reading (very,very cool). (This pic is from a competition a few weeks ago).
-Forrest is working on his entrance essay for JPII. He's excited, so are we. I just can't bring myself to tell him that he'll have to wear a tie to school everyday...don't want to dampen his enthusiasm or remind him that this is yet another issue in which he doesn't get a vote.
-Cammie is well on her way to the Olympics. She is killing me with her gymnastics prowess. (She is also killing the foot board to my bed by doing flips off of it, ditto the ottoman in the family room).
-Hannah is learning to play the trumpet. I thought my days of hearing that obnoxious sound were over when Forrest switched to the guitar. Nope, another child has succumbed to the allure of the brass honker.
-Sophie is revelling in the fact that as a first grader, she can impart wisdom to her sister who is but a mere kindergartner. Let's just say she is taking her role as mentor very seriously.
Here's a pic of Cammie and her friend Vovie. They are the bestest of friends and this is how they get from point A to point B when together...holding hands and skipping...
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Random things...
-The fish in our pond had babies. Two wittle tiny goldfish babies...cute.
-I am bothered that it was 91 degrees today...the 6th of October should be 20 degrees cooler than that.
-I have noticed a sharp increase in toy commercials...must be approaching the Holiday's. Hmmm...hard to get in the Christmas spirit when we haven't even reached Trunk or Treat and it's 91 degrees outside.
-We have decided that it would be irresponsible of us to put Cammie in karate lessons. She would definitely be lethal.
-Speaking of karate, Chloe came in 3rd place at the karate Olympics last weekend. (Granted there were only 4 kids in her bracket and the 4th place kid forgot everything after his initial bow to enter the mat). We (and she) are very proud (she really did do well...she was the only girl to compete).
-What we name our children has a direct impact on their personality...Forrest = tree hugger. He is interested in saving all things environmental. Me, I don't believe in global warming and feel zero guilt in driving a gas guzzling SUV. He wants a hybrid car when he turns 16. (We are leery of letting him drive, so I am thinking we should get him an electric car and make him responsible for plugging it in to charge...that would insure that he wouldn't drive, as I know that there is no way under the sun he would remember to plug it in every night).
-It used to make Mark grumpy and he would whine when we ran out of milk. It still does, and now, Forrest gets grumpy and whines when we run out of milk. Hrrrmmm...maybe we should put a dairy cow in the backyard...less whining, more milk.
-I wonder who thought it would be a good idea to put a show called "The Naked Brothers" on Nickelodean?
-I have been immersed in 18th Century Scotland for the last month and my husband (and my laundry) would like me to come back to the here and now. Ahhhh...perhaps next week, if I read verra quick like and finish my wee little book).
-Sometimes, it really irks me that there are no "bag boys" (I am not opposed to "bag girls" mind you) at the Super-Walmart.
Completely random.
-I am bothered that it was 91 degrees today...the 6th of October should be 20 degrees cooler than that.
-I have noticed a sharp increase in toy commercials...must be approaching the Holiday's. Hmmm...hard to get in the Christmas spirit when we haven't even reached Trunk or Treat and it's 91 degrees outside.
-We have decided that it would be irresponsible of us to put Cammie in karate lessons. She would definitely be lethal.
-Speaking of karate, Chloe came in 3rd place at the karate Olympics last weekend. (Granted there were only 4 kids in her bracket and the 4th place kid forgot everything after his initial bow to enter the mat). We (and she) are very proud (she really did do well...she was the only girl to compete).
-What we name our children has a direct impact on their personality...Forrest = tree hugger. He is interested in saving all things environmental. Me, I don't believe in global warming and feel zero guilt in driving a gas guzzling SUV. He wants a hybrid car when he turns 16. (We are leery of letting him drive, so I am thinking we should get him an electric car and make him responsible for plugging it in to charge...that would insure that he wouldn't drive, as I know that there is no way under the sun he would remember to plug it in every night).
-It used to make Mark grumpy and he would whine when we ran out of milk. It still does, and now, Forrest gets grumpy and whines when we run out of milk. Hrrrmmm...maybe we should put a dairy cow in the backyard...less whining, more milk.
-I wonder who thought it would be a good idea to put a show called "The Naked Brothers" on Nickelodean?
-I have been immersed in 18th Century Scotland for the last month and my husband (and my laundry) would like me to come back to the here and now. Ahhhh...perhaps next week, if I read verra quick like and finish my wee little book).
-Sometimes, it really irks me that there are no "bag boys" (I am not opposed to "bag girls" mind you) at the Super-Walmart.
Completely random.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Thirty
Thirty.
It's weird turning thirty. I guess it's because I never pictured myself at 30.
Growing up, I always had a clear picture of 16...me, driving down the open road.
18 was clear too...me, freedom, independence, "grown up".
21...that requires no help in painting a picture (I was a heathen at that point).
I always envisioned me at 25...securely planted in "grown up-ness", etc.
But, somehow that's where the mental image stopped. And, now, here I am...30.
It has been looming over me for the last few months. The realization that my twenties would soon be a thing of the past. The slippery slide towards 40...all that silly non-sense.
I thought that today would be difficult. I thought I would be bothered, sad, melancholy (another one of those underused words that I love).
Instead, I am happy, thankful, blessed, optimistic, content. Because you know what? Life is good.
30 things/reasons that make 30 WONDERFUL!
1. Salvation! I am so thankful that I know Jesus and that he saved my soul! (That scripture about "He pulled me out of the miry pit", that was written especially for me, lol).
2. The most wonderful, loving, supportive, kind, handsome husband on the Earth.
3. Five healthy, intelligent, beautiful unique children.
4. Spray tanning. (Seriously, a healthy glow without the threat of skin cancer, what a great invention.
5. A church where the pastor, assistant pastor, and half the youth group call to tell me Happy Birthday (the youth actually sang Happy Birthday, our pastor doesn't really sing, lol).
6. Tickets to see this:
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/chicago/synopsis.htm
7. Waking up with the softest kneecap in the world shoved into my back (that would be Cammie's) and hearing "I love you mommy" mumbled sleepily as I gently remove it.
8. Loud dinners at nice restaurants while watching other diners count our kids.
9. The bestfriend in the world reminding me that instead of viewing my birthday as a "get out of body pump class free card", I should give myself the gift of health.
10. McDonald's $1.00 Sweet Tea (the body pump class counteracts the calories, ha).
11. Having a husband that spends hours researching technology to get the best one of these:
http://www.sonystyle.ca/html/multimedia/DSC/T200_microsite_html/index.html
to replace the one that fell off the kayak and into the ocean.
12. Hearing little voices sing along at church and then "preach" to their dolls when we get home.
13. Flyfriends.
14. Books, and the time to read them.
15. The $1.99 dry cleaner. Love those people. Love them.
16. Starbucks green-tea lemonade...refreshing.
17. This helps to keep me looking younger than my years (at least that's what they say):
http://www.puurspa.com/Antiaging.html
18. Naps...love naps. Oh yes, naps are good.
19. The funniest 13 year old on the planet. Seriously, who new that I would have a kid that cool?
20. A sunroof...always wanted a car with a sunroof and right before I turned 30, I got one.
21. New shoes. 2 pair. Yesterday.
22. The blessing of being able to give our kids a Christian education. So very thankful.
23. Dental insurance. Love dental insurance. (This seriously adds to "quality of life").
24. Keurig. (See post regarding new coffee maker).
25. Scrapbooking. So incredibly thankful that I was introduced to this wonderful hobby.
26. Outreach opportunities. Talk about keeping things in perspective...so thankful to be involved in outreach.
27. Flowers...growing or cut...reminders of the Lord's artistry.
28. My health...other than needing to lose a few pounds (okay, more than a few), I am healthy and that is truly a great blessing.
29. Peace...about who I am and where I'm going.
30. Another year...of love, laughter, fun, silliness, learning, growing, challenges, etc.
Life, is indeed GOOD.
It's weird turning thirty. I guess it's because I never pictured myself at 30.
Growing up, I always had a clear picture of 16...me, driving down the open road.
18 was clear too...me, freedom, independence, "grown up".
21...that requires no help in painting a picture (I was a heathen at that point).
I always envisioned me at 25...securely planted in "grown up-ness", etc.
But, somehow that's where the mental image stopped. And, now, here I am...30.
It has been looming over me for the last few months. The realization that my twenties would soon be a thing of the past. The slippery slide towards 40...all that silly non-sense.
I thought that today would be difficult. I thought I would be bothered, sad, melancholy (another one of those underused words that I love).
Instead, I am happy, thankful, blessed, optimistic, content. Because you know what? Life is good.
30 things/reasons that make 30 WONDERFUL!
1. Salvation! I am so thankful that I know Jesus and that he saved my soul! (That scripture about "He pulled me out of the miry pit", that was written especially for me, lol).
2. The most wonderful, loving, supportive, kind, handsome husband on the Earth.
3. Five healthy, intelligent, beautiful unique children.
4. Spray tanning. (Seriously, a healthy glow without the threat of skin cancer, what a great invention.
5. A church where the pastor, assistant pastor, and half the youth group call to tell me Happy Birthday (the youth actually sang Happy Birthday, our pastor doesn't really sing, lol).
6. Tickets to see this:
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/chicago/synopsis.htm
7. Waking up with the softest kneecap in the world shoved into my back (that would be Cammie's) and hearing "I love you mommy" mumbled sleepily as I gently remove it.
8. Loud dinners at nice restaurants while watching other diners count our kids.
9. The bestfriend in the world reminding me that instead of viewing my birthday as a "get out of body pump class free card", I should give myself the gift of health.
10. McDonald's $1.00 Sweet Tea (the body pump class counteracts the calories, ha).
11. Having a husband that spends hours researching technology to get the best one of these:
http://www.sonystyle.ca/html/multimedia/DSC/T200_microsite_html/index.html
to replace the one that fell off the kayak and into the ocean.
12. Hearing little voices sing along at church and then "preach" to their dolls when we get home.
13. Flyfriends.
14. Books, and the time to read them.
15. The $1.99 dry cleaner. Love those people. Love them.
16. Starbucks green-tea lemonade...refreshing.
17. This helps to keep me looking younger than my years (at least that's what they say):
http://www.puurspa.com/Antiaging.html
18. Naps...love naps. Oh yes, naps are good.
19. The funniest 13 year old on the planet. Seriously, who new that I would have a kid that cool?
20. A sunroof...always wanted a car with a sunroof and right before I turned 30, I got one.
21. New shoes. 2 pair. Yesterday.
22. The blessing of being able to give our kids a Christian education. So very thankful.
23. Dental insurance. Love dental insurance. (This seriously adds to "quality of life").
24. Keurig. (See post regarding new coffee maker).
25. Scrapbooking. So incredibly thankful that I was introduced to this wonderful hobby.
26. Outreach opportunities. Talk about keeping things in perspective...so thankful to be involved in outreach.
27. Flowers...growing or cut...reminders of the Lord's artistry.
28. My health...other than needing to lose a few pounds (okay, more than a few), I am healthy and that is truly a great blessing.
29. Peace...about who I am and where I'm going.
30. Another year...of love, laughter, fun, silliness, learning, growing, challenges, etc.
Life, is indeed GOOD.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Two places that make me happy...
First up... Forrest's room. Lovin' how it turned out...
Here is the view from his door (sorry the picture is a little dark):
The wall to the left of the door:
And this is to the right of the door. Forrest loves the hanging guitars and having his Bionicles on display (this pic is a little light, the above pic is the most accurate color):
The second place that makes me a happy girl... my scrap room:
And, here is a pic of Chloe and Cammie's lovely little $90.00 chandelier that I picked up on clearance for $10.00.
So, there you have it... my current favorite spots in the house.
And, here is a pic of Chloe and Cammie's lovely little $90.00 chandelier that I picked up on clearance for $10.00.
So, there you have it... my current favorite spots in the house.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Long time, no blog...
I have been procrastinating (imagine that) updating for a few weeks now. I was busy, I needed to upload pictures, I need to take pictures of things to post on here, I've been reading, I've been working on projects...blah, blah, blah...procrastinating.
So, here is a quick rundown of recent goings on...some with pictures, some without.
Reading:
I read this last week:
It has to be one of, if not THE, best books I have ever read. Fantastic. If you enjoy reading, you should definitely read it. It stuck with me for days, and I now find myself reading about old circus' on the internet.
(Funny thing, Mark's grandfather was in the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus in the 20's. There was a picture of a Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train car from that time period in the book. Kind of cool.)
After reading Water For Elephants, I began reading:
I am on the second in the series now. It is a bit graphic and definitely not for the squeamish or those with...delicate sensibilities. If I had known the extent of the...questionable parts...I probably wouldn't have began reading the series. But, alas, (love that word...so underused the word "alas) I am now sucked into the plot and MUST know what. happens. next. If you choose to begin reading the Outlander books, don't say I didn't warn ye. Oh, another thing to be aware of...halfway through the first one, you will find yourself calling your kids "lads" and "lassies", replacing "you" with "ye" and speaking with a hearty lilt.
Moving on.
Since this adorable kindergartner :
is busy at school 5 days a week, doing things like learning to read (she is a whiz at phonics already), being the caboose (she prefers being the flag person or the bible person) and memorizing scripture (their first "memory verse" was actually several verses...the Lord's Prayer...the first week of school), I am spending lots of time with this wee little lassie (forgive me, I know it's dorky, I. just. can't. resist.) :
We go to the bakery for breakfast...mmm...banana muffins a few times a week. We go to gymnastics one morning a week (look for her at the summer Olympics 2018). And, we read. She has a stack of books that she goes through while I read mine.
So, here is a quick rundown of recent goings on...some with pictures, some without.
Reading:
I read this last week:
It has to be one of, if not THE, best books I have ever read. Fantastic. If you enjoy reading, you should definitely read it. It stuck with me for days, and I now find myself reading about old circus' on the internet.(Funny thing, Mark's grandfather was in the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus in the 20's. There was a picture of a Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train car from that time period in the book. Kind of cool.)
After reading Water For Elephants, I began reading:
I am on the second in the series now. It is a bit graphic and definitely not for the squeamish or those with...delicate sensibilities. If I had known the extent of the...questionable parts...I probably wouldn't have began reading the series. But, alas, (love that word...so underused the word "alas) I am now sucked into the plot and MUST know what. happens. next. If you choose to begin reading the Outlander books, don't say I didn't warn ye. Oh, another thing to be aware of...halfway through the first one, you will find yourself calling your kids "lads" and "lassies", replacing "you" with "ye" and speaking with a hearty lilt.Moving on.
Since this adorable kindergartner :
is busy at school 5 days a week, doing things like learning to read (she is a whiz at phonics already), being the caboose (she prefers being the flag person or the bible person) and memorizing scripture (their first "memory verse" was actually several verses...the Lord's Prayer...the first week of school), I am spending lots of time with this wee little lassie (forgive me, I know it's dorky, I. just. can't. resist.) :
We go to the bakery for breakfast...mmm...banana muffins a few times a week. We go to gymnastics one morning a week (look for her at the summer Olympics 2018). And, we read. She has a stack of books that she goes through while I read mine.
As for projects, I have spent the last few weeks redoing Forrest's room. It turned out awesome. It is actually my favorite room in the house right now. Pictures to come. I am waiting on my ever busy husband to hang a few shelves and then it will be complete and photo ready.
Working on the oh-so daunting task of switching the girls' warm weather clothes to cool weather clothes and taking inventory. Bleh.
Planning a scavenger hunt for the youth group at church. Mark and I won't be here the weekend of the hunt...we'll be celebrating my...birthday. (Don't ask which one, I'm not dealing with it very well at the moment, even though I have been told repeatedly that it's not "old", "bad", etc...I am not convinced). ...
...Where was I...scavenger hunt...yes...the kids will be split up into teams with an adult chaperon/driver and a video camera. They will get points for things like...getting fire safety info from the fire hall-10 points, having their picture take with a fireman-10 bonus points, picture taken with fireman IN firetruck-30 bonus points. Silly things like that. Fortunately, Forrest is staying with some friends of ours from church while we are out of town, so he will get to participate.
Speaking of Forrest. He is totally pumped right now. He's in a Christian rock band at church and they will be playing at the youth revival the weekend of the scavenger hunt. The band is also playing for the youth choir. He was asked last week to begin practicing with the musicians so that he can play the bass during praise and worship on Sundays. Very cool.
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. I think that about covers things for now.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Contentment Disorder
Things have been on the busy side around here. I'm sure it's the same for everyone though... dental appointments, check-ups, orthodontic appointments, clothing shopping, school supply shopping...all mixed in with the "normal" things we have to do.
I know this happens every year, but it seems so much more hectic this time. Well, actually, it hasn't ever happened quite like this because...(1) Forrest didn't have his braces this time last year and (2) I could schedule Chloe's appointments at any time I wished...I didn't have to think about taking her out of school to do her regular "Healthy Child Maintenance". Hmmm...it makes much more sense now.
Next year, I will schedule all of these appointments in July, not in the 3 days before school starts.
I remember way back in May thinking "I can't wait until school is out. I won't have to get up early, we can hang out at the pool, the kids and I will have so much fun" etc.
And, other than our vacation last week, and a few other relatively calm moments (that I can't seem to recall now, but am sure happened) in the last two and a half months...I have spent many, many moments thinking "I can't wait until school starts back. We'll get into a routine, there will be quiet moments in my day again, I'll be able to get a few projects accomplished, and things will be normal".
I think I may need to meditate on that scripture that says to be content in whatever state I'm in. Yep, need some work in the ole' "content department". I definitely think that I fall into the "restless, looking forward to the next state" category.
I wonder if there is an actual term for that, like, Contentment Disorder. Hmmm.
Officially rambling now... so, I leave you with a few more pictures from vacation....
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Life is good.
Vacations have to be one of the best things ever invented. I mean, seriously, vacations are a good thing. The Europeans are definitely on to something with their month long "Holidays".
Our house is great. It's really big (which is a must when traveling with 5 kids, a mother-in-law, a sitter and her sister). The kids love hanging out on the second floor, which, makes the third floor very quiet...which, again, is cool considering the number of kids in the house.
Mark and I rented kayaks for the week. We took them out for the first time yesterday. This being our first time kayaking and all...well, let's just say we had to learn a few things the hard way.
Lesson 1...It may sound like a good idea to push said kayaks out to the sandbar and then climb into them. In fact, it is not. It is actually very difficult for a 6foot 4inch, 200+ pound man to climb aboard a small floating water craft that is being rocked by waves. (It was, however, fairly easy for me... we chalked that up to the fact that I am half the size of the kayak as opposed to the same size as the kayak).
Lesson 2...The appearance of HUNDREDS of cantaloupe sized jelly fish surrounding you on the sandbar as you try to mount said kayaks will do one of two things:
1. Get your adrenaline pumping and cause you to board kayak in record time.
2. Get your adrenaline pumping and cause you to lose all sense of coordination
thus causing you to flip off of the kayak every time you try to board it.
I was up and onto that puppy in a shot. Such grace and skill...I tell you, I looked like an old pro.
My poor husband on the other hand...well, it took him 3 or 4 tries, tries that included flipping off the other side of the kayak, and breaking his middle toe. Yes, he broke his toe. He hit it on the side on one of his vaults over the kayak and back into the ocean. (He is healing now, and was only in severe pain for a few hours).
In his defense, the jelly fish were HUGE and they were EVERYWHERE. We both prayed that we wouldn't tip over amidst them. And, we didn't. Thank you Jesus.
So, today, we went back to the kayak place and registered for a guided tour in the "Blackwater". We should see various wildlife, and learn a few things about kayaking. Hopefully we won't get too close to the alligators.
While at the kayak place, we mentioned the mass amounts of jellyfish. The guy says that the jellyfish that we encountered were Cannonball Jellyfish... and not dangerous. Nope, NOT dangerous at all. He said we could have picked them up and thrown them at each other. Mark, poor guy, broke his toe trying to escape HARMLESS jellyfish.
Ahh, the joy of learning something new.
Oh, we took them out again tonight... we boarded on the beach and rowed out. See, we were paying attention.
In other news...
We celebrated Sophie's 7th birthday on Sunday night. We found a cake at the local IGA grocery store and asked the nice ladies in the bakery to write HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE on it. Let's just say that the friendly people at the IGA were not the sharpest crayons in the box. Mark handed them the cake back, picked up a blank one and bought icing so that we could personalize it ourselves...it was too funny.
We have been having a great time...watching the dolphins, playing on the beach, swimming in the pool, working puzzles, catching sandcrabs, staying up late watching Shark Week and then sleeping in late the next morning, and, the best part, watching our kids enjoy it all just as much as we are.
Life is good.
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