Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Partying like it's 1949

We had plans tonight to go and sit with some friends and play some cards and watch the new year come in and the ball drop and all that stuff. Unfortunately my stomach has not been happy today and I don't want to be a share friend with something like that. So we are sitting in our pajamas, have been since 6:30pm, and are watching the Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy. The dog, after a lively romp at the dog park, has made herself comfortable on the kids' gaming chair because she has decided it is hers. Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters are playing pool on the TV.

I wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year. I plan to take better care of myself so I can take better care of those I love. It is way past time for me to do that.


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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Bargain hunting...but kind of sad

I was never a super clothes girl growing up...or now...but I did have one store that I loved. I've talked about it before. The Limited. Their clothes are much different now, but their Outback Red brand with their gorgeous redheaded safari-clothed model was all I ever wanted to wear. Tonight, the hub texted on his way home(he used the voice thing so he was safe and hands free)and told me that two store that the girls enjoy were going out of business at the mall closest to us. I agreed to take them looking after dinner and, if the prices were right, purchase some. The first place we went was obviously not going out of business until the middle of next month. Sure 50% off was tacked on some clothes, but 50% off a gajillion is still half a gajillion. After the low lights and overpowering cologne smell proved more than we could take, we went to the other store which clearly was on the verge of closing as the back of the store looked like a mannequin massacre...and they were for sale.Dressmakers forms are crazy expensive, but the muslin covered bust of a man or woman that once had some cropped shirt on it was only $50. Not bad. After adding up prices and savings, it looks as thought we had a pretty good night. No more clothes will be brought into this house until a good third are taken out. I think that is fair.

I shall now go worry about how soon it will be before the house busts at the seams. 2015 will be the year of pitching and tossing for sure.


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Monday, December 29, 2014

Lazy rainy day

Today was not totally, but almost completely, a day of sloth. I did laundry, shopped for groceries and swept the floors. The rest of the day consisted of watching episodes of Survivor Season 1 that Santa brought S. It is one of the few seasons I have watched completely. My oldest is such a Survivor fan, but she's only watched the last maybe 4 seasons. Luckily the jolly old elf felt the girl needed to see where it all started. She was completely blown away by how much the game has changed. She was annoyed at the winner, but thorougly enjoyed it. Rainy days make you feel not so bad about binge watching something. The kids also decided that they wanted to cook dinner tonight. Who am I to tell them no? It was quite tasty:



Flatbread pizzas, tossed salad, cherry limeade and cake and ice cream for dessert. Not too shabby.

Honestly, that is about all I have to report today. I did get gas and use my Kroger gas points. My gas ended up being $1.13/gallon. This was the result:


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Sunday, December 28, 2014

First Sunday off in, um, forever

I took my first Sunday off from work in over a year and, I'm not going to lie, it felt great. I enjoy what I do, but I miss out on lots of things not being there on Sunday mornings. I got to sleep in a bit and make breakfast for the children that required more effort than pouring milk over cereal or opening up a Cliff Bar. I won't deny it, I felt very guilty about not being in church. Like brushing my teeth or making the bed everyday, church is part of my routine and I feel a void when I am not there. But I needed this time with my family. If we could have found a place for Copper to go, we would have been out of town on this day. I am ashamed to say that I slept in until 8:50. The last time that happened was probably in college...and I was pushing it even then. I don't like to sleep my day away. Too much to do, fun and otherwise.

My friend Sarah, who has been my sister from another mister since the seventh grade, came to visit us today along with her little dog Fritz. The kids had not seen her in a long time and it was so nice to have her here. I wish she lived closer, but she is doing good work in the ATL.

The boy is hankering to play a spirited game of Candyland and the girls are wanting to play Phase 10. Looks like my plans have been set for the evening. Night all.


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Saturday, December 27, 2014

Nice uneventful day

I had to take S to a birthday party at the mall this morning. It was a scavenger hunt that proved to be quite fun and entertaining for all involved. I was able to find some after Christmas deals, so everyone was happy. Afterwards, the kids and I played Phase 10 and watched old Survivior episodes while the hub was the only true fan and watched the Hokies with in their bowl game. We then worked the community meal at church which included dishwashing and feating on Mr. Richard's meatloaf.



Afterwards, the hub and I went and played Cards Against Humanity with my brother and sister in law. I feel like I should go straight to hell, but I laughed harder than I have in a long time. I needed it. Badly. I need to go to bed now and wash the funk of the day off of me. Night all.

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Friday, December 26, 2014

Beginning the holiday ho-hums

Today was the small start of the cleaning up of the Christmas aftermath. It is always kind of a depressing time for me. I chose not to make the kids labor all day since yesterday was busy and they didn't get to play with their things very much. I will admit that I took a nap at a horrible time of day and will probably be up all night, but oh well. Tis the season. The boy worked on artwork with his new light board. He wants to be an artist:



The dog had a trip to the dog park and a run and a romp with Sparkles who was also there. She got roughed up a bit, but she sure slept well this afternoon.

As we approach the new year, I am making my 2015 list. Among the things I need to work on are being happy with myself and my gifts and talents...whatever those might be. I am developing quite the list, so the new year is shaping up to be very busy. I covet your prayers as I try to improve myself and my life so I can be around for my children and husband and can make them proud.

Now I shall go watch an epsiode of the first season of survivor with my oldest. Santa wanted her to see how the show was from the start. We're a raging party over here.
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Thursday, December 25, 2014

To all a good night...

We were awakened by three angelic voices singing "We wish you a merry Christmas" at 6am. Honestly, I can't complain about the time. This is the first year that we have ever had the kids wake us up on Christmas morning...and we have a 13 year old. The sat on the steps for their traditional "Waiting for Dad to clear out the Elves" pose:



They were very excited and very grateful for the gifts they received. We spent time with family and were grateful for the gift of technology so we could talk to family far away. We filled our bellies with good food and our hearts with good company. So very thankful for our blessings of family, friends, warm homes and happy hearts. God bless each one of you this day and in those to come.

Leaving you with this rare picture...an elf playing xbox:




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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Noisy Christmas Story

Tonight is Christmas Eve and all is merry and bright at our house, well, for the most part. Four out of the five of us are pajama'ed and lounging on the couch watching "A Christmas Story". Earlier, we feasted on our usual holiday meatloaf after discovering all the mischievious things the visiting elves did while we were at church. They brought us each a new pair of pajamas, ran toilet paper throughout the downstairs, mixed up horrible concoctions in the kitchen and googled ways to make dogs sleep and how to settle elves stomachs. We then sat and read the story of the first Christmas. G read the first rendition and, not unlike the first Christmas, the listening audience was noisy. Not rudely so, but they couldn't help it. The dog had to be included in the listening audience since she is part of our family. Before the Angel of the Lord had appeared to the shepherds in the field, the hub had the dog snarling in a headlock while the boy giggled and his big sister gasped in shock. Not sure if there were snarling dogs in the Christmas story, but the were lowing cattle at least.

We are heading to bed soon. NORAD said Santa may be here as early as 9:30 and we can't risk being up and causing him to pass us by this year. Sleep well, all my Christmas friends. I hope you all wake up to a blessed Christmas morning.


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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

If I ever see another cookie...

Every Christmas Eve, our church delivers plates of cookies to people in our community who have to work. Unfortunately, each year the numbers have gone down in terms of how many people make cookies to be delivered. New life has been injected into this year's cookie project and a new challenge to Sunday School classes has been issued. 20 dozen per class. That brought forth a giant sucking sound from many people, but it really is not unreasonable. My sugar cookie recipe makes about 6-7 doezen just from one batch. So three to four people baking cookies is about all it takes to fulfill the goal. I have made two batches of my sugar cookies in the last few days. My aunt gave me three family size rolls of peppermint sugar cookie dough that she was unable to make(she and my uncle both got the FLU bless their hearts). So I baked all of that dough also. My sinuses ar certainly clear from all of that mint. I wrapped up about 11 plates of 1.5-2 dozen cookies each, saving some back for Santa and deciding not to use the gingerbread cookie we made that kind of flopped. Then I made two batches of pie crust and made two pecan pies. Get me the heck out of the kitchen.

I will now sit down with the children to watch Elf. Their laughter is infectious. I gotta go.


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Monday, December 22, 2014

Shopping, Santa and Singing

G and I had quite the day of shopping. Witih her big old boot on her foot, she was a trooper as we went to several stores so she could buy gifts for the people on her list. Everyone we encountered was pleasant, for the most part, and it made the shopping so much easier. We did see Santa during our travels, but decided to wait until all of the siblings were together to pay him a visit. We knew he'd still be there. And he was at 6:45pm on the other side of town. The kids waited and saw him. The boy was very serious and had his permagrin on his face. Honestly, I'm not sure if it was excitement or terror:



Santa was a patient guy. I hope he gets good cookies this year.

After seeing Santa, G and I went to her oldest and dearest friend's(really her other sister)house to practice a song. She and her friend, CR, are singing during a portion of one of our Christmas Eve services. They sounded great...we were able to hear a couple serious takes. ANd then the giggling began and then I saw my child laying on the floor in convulsive laughter. It was a lovely sound to hear, those two. They will definitely be making a joyful noise to welcome the baby Jesus on Wednesday. I am proud of them both.

Now tis the time for bed. I am tuckered for sure. Night all.
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Sunday, December 21, 2014

Count down to nerves

In t-minus 9 minutes, Homeland will have its season finale. This season has been about to cause me to be on nerve medication the whole time. It is wearing me out, but honestly one of the best seasons of television I have ever watched, like, ever. I have rushed through everything, washing dishes, cleaning clothes, heck, I probably still have shampoo in my hair when I rushed through rinsing it a few minutes ago. But in now three minutes I will be a side of my finger chewing mess.

The kids made sugar cookies and hot artichoke dip today. They are getting to be quite the masters in the kitchen and I love it! Tasty delights abound. Come visit and try some out!






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Saturday, December 20, 2014

The house that ginger built

Today was a productive one. We got presents wrapped while the grandparents made sure the kids stayed upstairs and out of the workshop. We successfully wore the dog out multiple times and made several strange looking gingerbread cookies. I love to bake and would like to think I am fairly good at it. BUT, there are few things that make me more frustrated than rolling out dough...whether that be for a pie crust or a cookies to cut out with cutters. The sticky dough to flour ratio makes my temper rise. Our first few attempts looked okay, but then the dough got stickier(even though it was kept good and cold) and so the nice brown gingerbread turned into to white dusty gingerbread. We will save some of the cute ones for Santa and let Rudolph and company eat the square ones we did towards the end. They looked like reindeer treats anyway.



Now is the time for relaxation and the cleaning off of flour from every visible surface in the kitchen. Yikes. Night all.
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Friday, December 19, 2014

We're free!!!

It is officially Winter Break as the school system calls it and I feel like quite a weight has been lifted off the shoulders of the whole family. And as a bonus, no assignments were given to complete over Chirstmas break. Woo hoo!! This afternoon I prepared the house for the arrival of the in laws and make two batches of cookie dought to be made tomorrow and distributed to the elderly neighbors on our street. That way we can get a hit of cookie dough and spread a little holiday cheer to our seasoned citizens. Tomorrow hopefully brings present wrapping and cookie baking and possible last minute shopping. We'll see. Tonight we showed the grandparents the video of the choir concerts an d band concert. I still am amazed at the caliber of performance by the Off Broadway Kids...especially CR who literally transformed in front of our eyes with a fantastic performance. That girl...just amazing and what talent!

I am about to collapse and head to bed. I think I got molasses in my hair from making gingerbread cookie dough, so a hair washing is a must. Hope the cookies are worth it. Night all.

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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Bah humbug

We have grumps in our house and it is catching and I REFUSE to catch it...ot much of it. For people who are almost free of school for a couple of weeks, we have the longest faces around here. One now has a booted foot for two weeks, one has the makings of bronchitis and one has the makings of a sinus infection. I am currently making sausage balls for a bunch of second graders to eat while watching "The Polar Express" tomorrow in their pajamas. Then I shall retire to the dungeon with a beverage, probably water, and a roll of tape and scissor to start wrapping. I am determined to enjoy my Christmas Eve this year and not be stressed by unfinished business. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go mash pork, Bisquick and cheese together to make puffy balls of holiday breakfast goodness. Night all.


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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Another check on the list

It was party time excellent with the second graders today. The teacher was playing nurse to his recovering from surgery wife, so the subs and the moms(and one dad)pressed on and did our best. We made some crafts, played several hardcore games of Bingo with holiday M&M's as markers and of course ate various and sundry Christmas delights. I found myself quite amazed at the eating habits of some of the little people. One child wanted a doughnut, about 37 grapes and the green m&m's only. Another child wanted everything but the doughnut and wanted to mix strawberries with his string cheese...blurg. They had a good time. Here is the boy with one of his ornaments:



A paint sample Christmas tree. Pretty cute. Tomorrow is G's party. We'll see how 5th graders like to party. I imagine most of it will involve eating...and more eating. Whatever floats their boats.

One last thing. G had to make a Christmas craft for a 4H project. She made several different ones, but this was my favorite:



The snowman holy family. They are socks filled with rice. She said, "The holy family can also be a healing family...just pop them in the microwave for a couple of minutes and they will soothe aches and pains." That kid is a mess.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

What is a holiday without germs?

So the boy woke up this morning with a sore throat. A super sore throat. He usually pops right out of bed and is the cheeriest of the cheery in the morning. Not so much today. He got up as usual, but immediately said that his throat was not feeling good. Well, why should it? We drugged him up with lots of good stuff and sent him on his way. No fever meant he could enjoy whatever holiday fun was going on today. Fast forward to 2:45. The boy climbs in the car and says, "I feel so awful." Crap. Once we got the girls from their various activities(and had to deal with G's hurt foot from some tag/chase mishap), the boy and I started on a journey to find someone to look at his throat and get him help so he wouldn't miss his field trip on Thursday. We went to Walgreens and saw that they were so booked that no walk ins were allowed. A poor mom sat in the waiting area with two boys who were draped over their chairs like wet rags. Bless her heart. There looked to be like 8 people in the queue waiting to be seen. NEXT! We started to another Walgreens and I called our pediatrician's office. Double booked for the foreseeable future. NEXT! THe hub sent me the wait time for Little Clinics in nearby Kroger stores. We found one that was not completely overrun and stayed there. Our wait was a good two hours, but thank the good Lord for the ipad and people watching. One frown father and son pairing left after being seen and came back to the receptionist to buy ground lamb, sausage and some amoxicillin. Okay. That was a little weird. A girl and her father left after she was diagnosed with the flu. She had rocked back and forth in the waiting room, coughing and aching and suffering. Every time my boy got a hand even near his face, I batted it away. "Put those paws in your pockets!". I don't consider myself to be a germaphobe, but I do not want to have flu in this house. Another family came with their two children. THey settled in for the long wait by letting their two boys lay ON THE FLOOR OF THE CLINIC RIGHT WHERE THE FLU GIRL HAD BEEN COUGHING ALL OVER THE FLOOR. It bothered me a little, if you can't tell. The boy was finally seen and I asked for his prescriptions to be sent to our usual pharmacy because, honestly, I couldn't bear to watch kids on the floor of a sick clinic any longer. I dropped the boy off at home and went to get the meds. Of course there was a wait and, oh my goodness, the poor woman with the two dishrag children was still there and they were still draped. She looked defeated. After I wondered around the store for 30 minutes and had not heard my name, I went back. The girl forgot to call me and got the boy's meds. As I was leaving, I saw a couple sitting across from the poor mom. They were sloppily and loudly making out in the waiting area in front of this poor woman and her kids. The boys, still so very sick and weak, stared with wide, fascinated eyes. Mom looked like the camel who just had that last straw placed on her back. She looked murderous at this grossly misplaced PDA. She started to rise and walk ove to them and I got the heck out of there. It was about to get ugly.

The boy is sleeping as is the rest of the family. I am sitting and still marveling at the weirdness of people in public. Making out in front of flu patients. What the what?!?


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Monday, December 15, 2014

Check another thing off the list

The Christmas concerts are now in the books as they say. While I can mark another thing off the list, the aforementioned list is not getting any shorter. What up with that? Oh well. It was beautiful and meaningful as always and fun to play in, but I am glad it is over.

On a completely different note, let me tell you a little story. I went to The Guitar Center today. I really probably shouldn't mention their name, because I don't really want them to think I am endorsing their store. So whilst at the store, I was looking for implements of percussion for my oldest. I won't say what, because she looks at this mess of a blog from time to time to see what her crazy mother is up to during the day. Anyway, I was looking at some things and not being helped or acknowledged in any way and a woman came in to the area. She was purchasing an acoustic bass guitar, drumsticks and a new drum for a drum set, so naturally the employees flocked to her like moths to a flame. I get that it is the holiday season and fa la la la laa and all that, but I was a wee bit annoyed. It had been a good 20 minutes I had been waiting with cash in hand looking at the exact item I had reseached with not one bite from an employee. So I watched the transaction take place. An offer of an $8 extended warranty of some sort was offered. For an instrument, $8 dollars is a steal I felt. The lady asked, "Well. How good is this warranty? I mean like if my son throws it against the wall and it breaks, will it cover the damage?". Throw what I thought, but the employee asked my very question. "Well he might throw the drum or the sticks against the wall...will it cover that damage?". I stood, mouth open, in the djembe section wondering who on earth would ever feel comfortable admitting their child would throw a $300 drum against the wall. Whatever he said satisfied her question and she made her purchase and left. My hopes were up that I was going to get help, but my hopes were in vain. The employees chatted it up over the counter while I waved my hand and said, "Excuse me? Excuse me?". I finally left, stopped by a manager who asked if I had been helped to my satisfaction. I kindly said no, nicely refused his offer to make it right and left the store. I found what I was looking for an hour later from the people at Lane Music who wanted my business and gave me a great deal.

All is well. Night is upon us and my bed feels very comfy. I must go and prepare for slumber. Night all.

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Sunday, December 14, 2014

Cold campers are home

The campers are home and thawing. The girls had to get cleaned up, thawed out and back out the door to church for the Christmas concert. The hub was absolutely amazing and had them all scrubbed and ready in plenty of time for their practice times before the big show. I think it is a fair statement that we will all sleep well tonight...at least I hope we will. The concert was nice. I got to be a youth for the evening as one of our friends fell prey to "the strep" as it is called here in East Tennessee. It is kind of akin to "the Kroger" or someone is going to "the Target". I played next to my oldest which was interesting. I consider myself a pretty good sightreader, but she got tickled and got the choir director tickled. I screwed up a faor amount, but fortunately they couldn't hear it in the back of the sanctuary. Thank goodness.

I'm going to snuggle with some children and get warmed up before our quickly approaching bedtime. Night all.


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Saturday, December 13, 2014

I miss my heartbeats

I know I speak of how I am burnt out and need a break, but I really do thrive on their energy be it negative or positive. The house seems so quiet without them. I had our early childhood ministries Christmas party this morning while the hub took the kids to camp. While we didn't have a huge turn out, I feel that the little ones we did have enjoyed themselves. After the party was over and cleaned up, I went home and waited for the hub to arrive. We went all over town trying to find the perfect last few Christmas gifts without having any luck. As we discussed, the great thing about our kids is that they have never been ones to run through a store saying, "Gimme this! I want that and that and that!". I appreciate it very much, but sometimes you sure wish they would throw you a bit of a bone. Anyway, we looked and looked for something perfect for our oldest. We called and talked to percussionist friends of ours to see if we could find something in that vein. We got several "You need more cowbell!!" jokes. I answered with a "She'll come practice it over at your house!". She occasionally reads the crazed rantings of her mother, so I will say no more other than today we had no luck. We did find teacher gifts, so there's a plus. There was a conversation at one point about what kind of beer would pair well with silver dollar pancakes. We had gotten to the punchy stage by that point.

Tomorrow brings with it day one of our church choir Christmas concert and the whilwind of a week begins. I just am anxious to have all three of our heartbeats back i the house. The quiet is deafening and driving us crazy.


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Friday, December 12, 2014

Let it go....

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I love it...the excitement...the anticipation...the wonder of a baby king...the beauty of the music...being so in awe as to "Fall on your knees...oh hear the angel voices"...all of it. But right now I am filled with anger...filled with just plain old rage. Selfishness and cruelty that zap that wonder and awe right out of me...and I hate that I have allowed it to happen. I am so tired, as a mother, of having to say to my children that it'll get better, that these things will only serve to make you stronger. Then I go in my own room and have a meltdown away from their ears. I have to tell myself that like a mantra, praying that it will be true and that their souls will survive it. We are sending them to Christmas Camp tomorrow at their normal summer camp location. I think they welcome the break from normal life to go to a true retreat from the cruel world.

I am going to finish packing them and pray that they can come back refreshed and strengthened by positive love and Christian friendship. Otherwise I think we are going off the grid and will never be heard from again. Both sound great right now.


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Thursday, December 11, 2014

Music of the season

Tonight was S's Christmas concert for band. I was a band kid myself and I loved it, so I enjoy every second of the concerts. Sure there are a lot of squeaks and missed accidentals, but it is all part of the learning process. The new director was very kind and humble in his praise for the kids. S certainly enjoys him and appreciates his teaching and leadership. I still laugh that at my very first band concert we played the theme to "Dallas". Yes, I totally just dated myself right there. My brother's 8th grade band played Toto's "Africa". Again, dating us.

I love to watch my girl play the marimba, the snare, the cowbell if she has to. I love that she beats stereotypes and is not a little blonde girl who plays the flute. I love that she gets to hit things and work her anger and frustrations and pain and love and sorrow in a beautiful, loud and musical way. She's a great girl...and I am so proud of who she is.




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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

They did it

As I predicted, the children got me in the Advent/Christmas spirit with their beautiful worshipful singing. They all sounded great. My son's group started the tears and they never stopped after that. I was just so moved by how transforming not only the message of the season is, but also humbled by the healing power of music. They were all equals up on there signing. G and her friends who are made to feel different or less than by peers because of their differences were transformed by the the power and message in that music. The love and light of Advent was bright and shining and beautiful on each of their faces. It broke my heart to see...just a gift. And I was so very grateful to Ms. K, their director. She expects nothing but the best from these children and she gets it. I think it was their best musical yet. Hands down.

I am worn out and going to bed. Tomorrow is my oldest's band concert and I am so excited to hear what they have prepared for this year so far. Wonderful children and husband and family. My cup overflows.


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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Almost here

Even though the season of Advent has begun, it really kicks off in earnest for me tomorrow. The children of our church will present their musical performances for each of their choirs/singing groups. The boy will be singing with his buddies. As always, I imagine he will have his hands in his pockets and a completely serious look on his face as he perfectly annuciates every word in every song. He enjoys the songs, but he is all business. I love it. Then G's singing/performing group, Off Broadway Kids, will be presenting their Christmas musical "An Out of the Box Christmas". Every year these choirs with their squirmy, wiggly kids and somewhat unpredictable arm movements, set the season off right. They are what the season of Advent is all about. They excitedly await the birth of the baby, the coming of Christ. Their anticipation and excitement is pure and beautiful. They get it, the whole experience, especially when some of us old people have become jaded and forget how exciting this coming is. I cry every year at their sweet little faces and the beauty in the simple but poignant words in their songs.

So if you see me tomorrow night at Kroger picking up Kleenex and a gallon of milk and my eyes are a bit red, just know that the Spirit took hold and showed me the true light of Christmas.


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Monday, December 8, 2014

Drop bubble wrap here

This afternoon I was slumbering blissfully in my vehicle when, all of a sudden, I was awakened by knocking on my window. I must admit I'm glad my bladder was empty, because the startle really could have made me wet myself a bit. "Um, your son hurt himself...why don't you pull into the gravel lot and they'll let you come inside." Of course I freaked out, almost back into and then rear ended the cars around me to get out of my space and into the school. They let me in and I hurried to the clinic in the office. I found a pitiful little guy sitting with the principal, holding an ice pack to his head and trying really hard not to cry. When he took off the ice, I had to bite my tongue a bit. It looked knotty for sure. I know everyone says that it is a good thing when a bump pops out after a whomp, but as a mother it is just a shiny, bulbous beacon showing that I was unable to protect him at all times. Reality is an ugly reminder, but it makes people like me know that other people can care for him when I am away and accidents happen. Let's get to how it happened. "Well, we were playing kickball...". There you go. His ripped up finger last week and scraped up knee the week before all had stories that started with, "We were playing kickball...". So they were playing kickball and he was having a good run, they threw the ball to get him out, he tripped over it and landed head first into a wooden post. I asked him if it knocked him out or what. "Well, I walked around in circles for a couple minutes to try and figure out what was going on and work on standing up and then I walked over to my teacher." His teacher said he kind of staggered over and, upon seeing his head and demeanor, had him go straight to the office(with a helper). We waited for G to get done with her safety duty, had a talk with the hub about our options and then called our nurse friend who works a our pediatrician's office. He got home, got his soccer ball ice pack and some Motrin and settled down to take it easy for a minute. I immediately realized he was on his way to fall asleep, so we started asking lots of questions to keep him up. By the time bed rolled around, he was feeling better but still had a massive headache. His head is going to look absolutely excellent for Christmas pictures. He did not appreciate me singing a song about him similar to Rudolph containing the line, "The pump knotted 2nd grader...". No humor at this point. Maybe tomorrow.

Look for his poor, shiny little head tomorrow. The pictures don't do it justice. Tomorrow's will be a lot more purple I imagine. Yuck.


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Sunday, December 7, 2014

Will I ever learn?

It has been quite a busy day, as most Sundays are. Work this morning, a luncheon this afternoon and then shopping for craft supplies with G for her 4H project. By the time dinner rolled around, I had just about hit my limit of patience and stamina. My resistance was low...my will was weak...I just wanted some food and rest. So I agreed, against my better judgement, to go to Pizza Inn. Now for my precious three readers who have been with me from the beginning, they know that when my family goes to the Inn, strange things ensue. Things started out innocently enough. We got some food and started to eat. The booth that was diagonally set from our table was quite lively. It was stuffed full with nine people plus a baby in a carrier in a chair at the end. The children were hopped up on coke and were getting quite rambunctious, so the adults started using the "threat" of the upcoming holiday on the 25th as a reason for them to calm down. "Santa's watching. Calm down." We hear another scream and then a giggle. "Okay, Santa knows what you are doing. Stop it." I hear some silverware fall on the floor and a heavy sigh. "Okay, kids. Do you want Frosty Willard to go away? I'll make him go away." "NOT FROSTY WILLARD!!! NOOOOO!". As I was trying to figure out who in the world that was, they answered it for me: their Elf on a Shelf. Is that the greatest Elf name or what? This news got their attention and a somewht calm was returned, so much so that the baby was nodding off which was not what the parents wanted. Someone stuck a piece of pizza crust in the baby's mouth saying, "You have to eat so you won't go to sleep." Well karma suck when you decide to shove dough in a sleeping baby's mouth. He knocked over a full glass of coke....unfortunately for baby, the bulk went right into the carrier like a little sugary pool of further torture for the poor little thing. After three employees mopped and sopped for a good ten minutes, the family reset their base of pizza operations in their stuffed booth. Talk went to that of Elf of the Shelf antics involving baby powder and chocolate. Once chocolate was mentioned, another conversation started. Apparently the alpha female of the group had recently made a long awaited and much anticipated trip to the Golden Corral for a chance to partake of their much lauded fountain of chocolate. One of children under Frosty Willard's watch decided to stick their whole hand in the fountain not unlike Augustus Gloop in Wonka's chocolate river. Mayhem ensued and Def Con 5 chocolate fountain contamination emergency management began. The fountain had to be shut down, emptied of all contaminated chocolate, sanitized and refilled. This process took a total of two hours to complete. How did they know this? Because they stayed the whole two hours waiting. "That's the only reason I come in there...I had to have me some of that fountain." The hub said, "I'm paying, let's go." Never a dull moment. Just keep that in mind the next time you see one of those fountains....


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Saturday, December 6, 2014

Treed up

The rain came down for a good part of the day today. We took advantage of a quiet morning and decorated our tree. The kids stayed in their pj's, drank hot chocolate and listened to Christmas music while I got out each ornament. We have amassed quite a few over the years and it is always such fun to look at them and remember who they came from and their special meaning to our family. It was the boy's year to place the most coveted(not sure why)ornament on the tree:






I swear he looks like the boy on The Goldbergs with that smile. We had a few moments of melancholy. The special stocking we had for our beloved dog, Cosby, who died a year ago this past June. We had several ornaments in her likeness as well. We found some made by Great Granny and Uncle Jim and many other much loved family members. Sweet times reminiscing with the hub and the brood while warm, dry and safe from the elements. it was a busy day all the way around, but I was so grateful for the quiet special time with the family. That is the best Christmas present I could ever hope to have.
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Friday, December 5, 2014

Pre rain on our parade

So tomorrow's plans to be involved in the local Christmas parade have been cancelled. The parade itself has not been cancelled, but our church and the high school band have opted not to get kids in costumes and uniforms out in a monsoon. I can't imagine why. So the hub and I are now at futsal with the girls. The boy is partying with his friends at a birthday party tonight. He needed that...rough week being him. Hopefully a little time with his buds will fix that. The girls will get to have dinner at the diner of their choosing tonight. Knowing their preferences, I will be having cereal.

I don't know about you, but I am ready for the Christmas holiday. A friend once told me that you should never wish any of your time away...that you can never get that time back. I totally agree. BUT, the kids are to that mentally fried state and Thanksgiving wasn't really any kind of a break for them. I cannot tell you how heavenly the thought of snuggling up with my children all day...in the pajamas...with good stuff on TV...good games to play...good food to eat. Absolutely blissful. I know the time will come in the next few weeks. And I can't wait. If anyone asks you what I want for Christmas, tell them uninterrupted time with my children. That's it.


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Thursday, December 4, 2014

My momma said...

My mom told me what most moms told their children, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Today is one of those days. I have rewritten this post three times and each version gets worse. I'll just say this...moms get really ticked off when someone hurts their child, We take it quite personally.

I need to go sew up a sock monkey bunny for a friend's child's Christmas present. I will try to adjust my attitude.


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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Bored pooch

I had to go to handbells tonight, well, I do every Wednesday, and I turned into one of those people. Our veterinarian plays bells next to me and I had to get her opinion as to why our dog is a psycho. She chewed up more of the trim today when I was down in the dungeon doing laundry. I hate being one of those people who bothers someone with work questions during their relaxation time. But I did it and was told that our precious little furry demon child is bored to tears. Insert a hanging head here. So now I am on the search for boredom reducing activities for her to do when I cannot play with her. Laundry has to be done and she'll have to get over it, but not by going full beaver on our woodwork. I need to come up with something...or my husband will be giving her a new permanent home outside. Wish me luck.


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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Rainy day yuckness

Today was a yucky, rainy day. I had a child come home with horrible allergies and one who got her braces tightened. Yuck on both fronts. But, friends, I'll take that yuck any day over what happened in our community today. Two school buses from two different schools in the eastern part of our county carrying elementary schoolers were involved in an accident with each other. This crash resulted, as best as we can tell from the news, in the death of two children and one adult. As the parent of three children, two who are in elementary school, I am sick at the thought of such a tragedy. My day was hectic and stressful, but I still have my babies to hold tonight. Someone doesn't...and doesn't have their grown up to return home to anymore. Such sadness in this world. Hold your loved ones tight tonight and say a prayer for those whose arms are aching for their lost loved ones. Good night.


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Monday, December 1, 2014

Tic Tac Oh NO!

I worked childcare tonight at church. The holidays are here nad we were down a few people on staff, so I went in to play with some little friends and maybe get a few laughs. Well laughs I got indeed. Our little friends are at church twice a week, so they have the process down. They came prepared with two of their games: Bingo and Tic Tac Toe. I think they were playing some sort of El Paso rules or something, because there were Bingo marker switchups and X and O exchanges. I was told multiple times that I was going to have the "underpants beaten off" off me. I believe from 5:45-8:15 I played maybe 200 games of Tic Tac Toe. A formidable opponent I did have in this 6 year old, but when I beat him the look on his face was absolutely priceless. It was like he was so shocked and amused all at the same time. I may dream of life as it is contained in this pattern:



Either way, it was a fun time. He was awfully cute...but next time I hope he'll bring his box of Candyland.
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