Lillian Funny

Lillian (3) got a goodie bag from her Sunday school teacher on Easter Sunday. When we opened the goodie bag, there was an egg inside that contained lots of little Christian themed stuff and a little strip of paper with a note from her teacher.

Lillian handed me the note and said, "Mommy! Read this!"

I said, "It says, 'Jesus loves me!'"

Lillian's face dropped and her chin quivered.

She said,

"Just you?"

I assured her that I was not the only one under that umbrella.

Here's my funny girl in her Easter dress on Sunday:

That's My King

Yesterday's Easter service started with this video, which contains the words of S. M. Lockridge's sermon "That's My King". When it was over, I wanted to stand and shout.

Huh... What goes around comes around

Tonight we went to our favorite "round the corner" restaurant (it's less than 5 minutes from our house). Everyone was in a rare good mood; usually there is at least one child that goes along reluctantly, with arms crossed, to the chosen restaurant, but tonight, everyone agreed on Little Rebel. Cool.

So we ordered. We chatted with the kids. We laughed with them as they recounted their experiences from today. We enjoyed the pre-meal interaction.

The food came, and everyone ate well. Cool again. Usually someone leaves too much food on the plate, but everyone was hungry tonight.

We had a friendly, upbeat, on her toes waitress. None of us ever grew thirsty or had an empty cup. That's usually the case at Little Rebel, though. Good food, good service, friendly people and it's family owned (which, according to Aiden, is the sign of a great restaurant!)

Time came for us to leave. Our waitress stopped at the table to tell us that someone had paid for our meal. It was a gentleman who had dined alone in the booth beside ours. I noticed him looking at us while we ate, but we get looks like that a lot because of the number of children we have. I never thought anything more of it.

Needless to say, I was stunned. Not stunned in a bad way, but shocked that someone else had paid for us. I have been on the giving end, but never on the receiving end of such kindness. It was awesome to know how that felt, and I was surprised at how humbling it was. I wanted to thank the man, but he'd already left the restaurant. I am so grateful for his gift, and for the impression it left on my family. I know we'll always remember tonight.

Good and Bad

This week's blog challenge from my favorite message board:

When we are lucky enough to gather around the table and have everyone home for our evening meal, there are always two questions we ask everyone seated at the table....What was your favorite part of your day today? and What was your least favorite part of your day today?

So pick a day this week and sit down and just blog those two questions.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way.

The worst part of my day:

Lillian wet her pants three times today. Sheesh. What is up with her lately? She can't seem to make it to the bathroom on time, whether she's inside or outside. Quinn did the same thing! She's not wet the bed (yet), but is having unnecessary accidents during the day.


My favorite thing about today:

Today was a pretty normal day: laundry, dishes, picking up things here and there, doing my normal weekday chores. Nothin' special.

Today Quinn and Lillian and I decided to straighten up the playroom. I just cleaned and culled stuff from it two weeks ago, but Hurricane Lillian blew through and it was soon a mess again. I threw everything into laundry baskets, set out the buckets that toys go into, and asked the kids to sort with me. They worked well together, in harmony, doing as I asked when I asked. I was impressed.... impressed enough to promise them a trip to Bruster's ice cream when we were done, if they worked quickly.

We finished tidying, I vacuumed the playroom, we all put our shoes on, and then we headed out for our treats. Quinn chose a single scoop of chocolate chip and Lillian got a single scoop of chocolate. I chose a thin mint milkshake (made with thin mint Girl Scout cookies! Yummy!)

As I was waiting on my milkshake, an elderly couple got out of their car and walked up to the front order window. I was sitting at the drive thru window. When I saw them, I was immediately struck by the urge to pay for their ice cream. The cashier brought me my shake, and I told her I wanted to pay for the couple's order. She had to ask what they wanted so I could pay. They were resistant at first. They both came around to my car window to insist on paying for our order. I told them I'd already done that, and asked if I could please treat them. There were tears in the man's eyes as he told me no one had ever done that for him before in all his years of living.

I pulled ahead so the person behind me could pay for her order, and as I waited to pay for the couple's ice cream, I got the chance to talk to them. She told me she'd been housebound for awhile, having fallen down the stairs a few months ago and broken her hip. She was just getting around well again and had asked her husband to take her for ice cream, even though she wasn't supposed to eat it. They were so sweet in their interactions with one another, still behaving like two people very much in love. I could tell the man adored his wife, and she him. The conversation with those sweet people was a true blessing.

But it didn't stop there.

I pulled back around to the drive thru window after the cashier finished with the customer behind me. As the cashier approached the window, I could see she had tears in her eyes. She told me that what I had done had made her day, that she needed to see that today. I don't know what had happened to cause her to need a lift, but I was happy to have helped cheer her. I chatted with her for a bit, then realized it was later than I thought (I had to pick up my other kids from school) and I drove away with a smile.

That was the best $5 I ever spent. I was blessed, the cashier was blessed, and the couple was blessed.

I can't ask for anything better than that.

March 5, 2008: A Good Day

Today, so far, has been good.

My older daughter was awake, dressed and actually eating breakfast when I got to the kitchen. Knock me over with the proverbial feather. She's almost always dressed, but usually takes her waffle on the run, which means a dirty plate rattling around in the car for a day or two until I remember to take it inside.

I took an alternate route to the kids' school this morning. It was much more scenic and was a little quicker. Nice.

The kids made it to school early. Nice.

I took Lillian to Chick Fil A for Chicken Minis (Um, she *made* me go. Yeah. That's it.). I had a coupon for a free box of those little morsels. Score.

I did a load of laundry. I folded three loads. Good use of my time.

I emptied the dishwasher (which wasn't overly full... a sweet surprise!)

I made a few phone calls I'd been putting off. Cross those off my list.

I talked to both of my parents. That's always a treat. I like talking to them. We always laugh about something.

I spent some quality time with Lillian this morning. That's food for the soul.

The mister brought home Taco Bell for lunch for me and Lillo. Nachos Bellgrande and a large Mountain Dew. The man knows me eerily well.

I got a huge hug from Quinn when he came home from school. He gives the kind of hug that lingers. I never break the hug first; I always let him stop. He gives great hugs, that kid.

Now Q & L are playing together, holding a sleepover for her babies and his Webkinz in the den. They're being so sweet. Wonder how long that will last?

I Got the Music in Me

Sittin' here listening to my iPod. Karen Carpenter is singing "Masquerade". Anything by the Carpenters takes me back to road trips in the '78 (I think?) Caprice Classic station wagon we owned when I was a kid. Yes, it had an 8-track player in it, and we owned just a handful of 8-tracks to play in it. One was "Now and Then" by the Carpenters. We logged many a mile listening to that album. I didn't know much about Richard and Karen Carpenter back in those days; I just knew I liked their music. I remember being really sad when I heard that she died. Funny all the stuff that gets stirred up when you hear a song. That one tune brought forth all of that from my memory bank.

Now it's "You Can't Hurry Love" by Phil Collins. That takes me back to playing 45s at Lauren Porter's sleepover birthday party in the 4th grade. We stayed awake until dawn and got really silly in the wee hours. Remember that "Stop! Drop! Roll!" commercial that Dick Van Dyke did as part of a fire safety campaign? That came on TV in the early hours of Saturday at Lauren's, and we just lost it. That phrase and that song takes me instantly back to those memories. Makes me smile. I wonder where Lauren is now? Last I heard she went to Florida State majoring in marine biology. I haven't seen her since my high school graduation, May 30, 1991. Maybe she'll Google herself one day and find this entry.

"Cold Hearted Snake" by Paula "I can't say anything bad about you 'cause it will hurt your feelings" Abdul makes me think of Josh T., another high school friend. He had a mad crush on the petite AI judge, and he loved the video for this song. I admit, I played the song one too many times in high school. I love the part where she talks; I had every word memorized. I wish Saturday Night Live would do a Paula parody using that song to describe Simon. I love Amy Poehler's Paula. Cracks me up.

"Jesse's Girl". Now there's a song. Standing in the basement with a hairbrush as a microphone, singing this song as the 33 spun on the turntable. That's back when Rick Springfield was on "General Hospital" and I watched with my grandmother (her "stories", she called them...) Ah, sweet 80s crushes. Dr. Noah Drake made a short reappearance on GH not too long ago. He was still cute in an older guy kind of way. (Yes, I still watch GH. It's the one soap I held onto all these years, and mostly because I did used to watch it with MaMa Dos. She'd cringe if she could see it today!)

Funny how I finish up a paragraph as each song ends.

Ah, Connie Francis. "Where the Boys Are" is one of those songs that sticks with you. I remember seeing the movie on TV when I was in high school. I decided that day that I wanted to have a daughter named Merritt. I loved that name so much. My husband didn't like it as much as I did, so alas, we have no children bearing that name.

Oh, man. Now it's Prince's "Diamonds And Pearls". How many times did I hear that in my headphones when my sister and I flew from Alabama to Madrid in 1992? Only about 10,000 times. Every time I hear that song I remember that flight. We got bumped up to first class because our names were left off the flight roster or something like that. If I ever find myself needing to be on a plane that long again, I will definitely splurge on larger seats. 'Twas niiiiiiiice. Caviar, lots of snacks, hot towels in the morning, sleep masks, free headsets, reclining seats.... too much luxury for one 19 year-old to deserve, really. The reality of coach hit us on the flight home. That sucked. ::Shiver::

Alright. I need to get back to Saturday chores. It was fun walking down musical memory lane, though.

Oh, wait. One more.

My friend Michelle P. introduced me to this song. "South's Gonna Do It Again" by Charlie Daniels Band. She had a black Honda Prelude with a sunroof when we were in high school (her parents owned a few gas stations, and Michelle was the youngest of three daughters by several years.... so she got pretty much anything she asked for... I loved the Prelude the most!) I remember coming back from the movies with her one night, blasting this song (from the CASSETTE TAPE...ha!) and loving it instantly. I went out and bought the tape not long after that. I replaced the tape with the CD when I was in college, and now the whole thing is on my iPod. Michelle also introduced me to the Steve Miller band. She has good musical taste.

Okay, now I'm done. Laundry calls.

Life is just funny...

I love funny. It's true that a day without laughter is a day wasted. I just love to laugh.

Yesterday was my birfday. I turned 35. I don't feel 35, but there it is.

As is custom in our house, the birthday person gets to choose the restaurant for the birthday meal. I just happened to get a coupon from Red Robin for a free birthday burger. I love freebies just about as much as I love funny, so Red Robin was my choice.

Earlier in the day the mister had picked up our children from school and taken them to Target to shop for my presents. They each had every bit of money they had earned in previous weeks, and they were determined to try to spend as little as possible on Mom so they could have some money left over to buy themselves something. Hey, it's the nature of the beast. I totally get that.

When we sat down in the booth, the kids were very eager for me to open my gifts. Judging from the packaging, I thought I was going to make out pretty well in the present department. Little did I know...

I opened the first gift.

Hmmmmmm.....a Mission to Mars Lego set. From Aiden. Curious.

I opened the second gift.

A Star Wars Transformer. From Quinn. I'm seeing a pattern here.

The boys had purchased things for me..... from the dollar spot. The Legos and Transformers were given to me as well, in hopes that I would return them to their purchasers if their behavior warranted such generosity.

Gotcha.

The girls gave me gifts that I did not have to return to them. From Lillian I received a magnetic notepad, and Camryn gave me some bath salts and a some Dove chocolate hearts attached to a stuffed bear (She ate half of the chocolates last night in the car, and I'll probably give her the bear...)

Here is where life gets funny, though. This is the part that made my night.

The gifts were sitting beside me on the booth. The waiter jokingly asked if those were my gifts. I joked back that I loved Legos, and Transformers were way cool.

After the Red Robin and staff sang the birthday song, the waiter brought out the ice cream that birthday celebrants receive. He sat it down in front of Quinn, my 5 year-old.

I started laughing, and I said, "It really is *my* birthday!"

Then I had to explain the Legos and Transformer.

Poor waiter. He was so embarrassed.

I am still smiling about it.

Life is funny.

I love funny.

Guest blogger

Today, I bring you a guest blogger, my very own daughter, Camryn. She will share the poem she wrote to enter in a poetry competition.

Ahem... maestro? (Erm, or is it maestra?)

Lilly
by Camryn

There is a girl I know.
Her name is Lilly,
and she is very willy nilly.

Now Lilly, you see,
is quite silly.
She'll put a worm in your sandwich
and name it Billy.
She also eats strange things,
like snail slime and noodles,
and even Presidents and poodles!

One day I went to see Lilly
and guess what she was doing?
She was skating on stairs
and fighting with bears!

She asked me to join her;
I said, "Yes!"
and you can guess...
Oh, yes! We got in a ginormous mess!

4 Things on My Mind Right Now...

Four things rattling around in my brain right now:

A lyric from Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"... Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose. Been pondering that one since early afternoon.

I hope everyone we invited comes to Aiden's party on Friday, because he only wanted to ask 5 people. I've had one RSVP.

Why does no one RSVP anymore?

I love today's quote from my "365 Ways to Wake Up Laughing" calendar. It says, "It's always better to say nothing and have people wonder about your intelligence than to say something stupid and leave them no doubt."

Farts are Funny!

This was the conversation going on in our van on the way home from school today:

Camryn (practicing spelling words for the upcoming bee for which she qualified): Mommy, spell "in fot u a shun".

Me: What? I've never heard that word. (It didn't sound like any word I'm familiar with!) Spell it.

C: INFATUATION.

M: Ohhhhh! Infatuation! Goodness! It sounded like you were saying "infahtuation" like you had a British accent. (Then I proceeded to attempt to speak like someone from Britain, and I accidentally said, "infaRtuation"...)

C: Bwahahahahaha! Mommy! You said INFARTUATION! What is that? Being in love with your poots?

Aiden (from the back of the van): I love MY poots! I don't like other people's poots, but mine smell goo-hoo-hood! Ahhhhhhhh... When I poot, I sniff, sniff, sniff so I can smell them!

C: If I poot when I'm under my covers, I lift the covers and fluff them so I can smell the poot.

A: Underwater poots are the best!


And the conversation went downhill from there until we were all coughing from laughing so hard.
Farts ARE funny!

Seven Up

Seven years ago today I was in a labor & delivery room, pumped full of Pitocin, awaiting the birth of my second child, Aiden. Seems like eons ago.

Today, Aiden turned 7. My sweet, cherubic son is now a big boy. What happened to this tiny little baby?



This boy has brought so much sunshine into my life over the past 7 years. He always seems to know when I need a hug or a kind word, and he makes me laugh.





Don't get me wrong. He has his grumpy moments, too.



But he always seems to redeem himself with that smile of his, a flutter of those eyelashes that seem to go on forever, a crinkle of that sweet nose dotted with freckles... It's hard to say no to him.



So smart, so cool, so left handed, so unique. He's just so..... Aiden.

He's seven.

And he's mine.



Happy Birthday, dude.

Love, Mommy

Double Up

Change always comes bearing gifts.

~Price Pritchett

Ah, change.

I found a quarter, a dime, a penny and a Chuck E Cheese token today. Know where?

My younger son's old room.

"Old room?" you say. "Why do you say, 'Old room'? Did he move out?"

Nope (he is only 4, after all...)

It's because we're changing.

We used to live in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house. Our boys shared a room there. All 4 kids shared the one bathroom that was designated as theirs.

We needed just one more bathroom, so we moved into a 6 bedroom, 4 bath home just under 2 years ago.

Every child now has his or her own bedroom. The girls share a bath; the boys share a bath.

That was the way it's been since April 2006.

Several months ago we started hearing rumblings, whispers, subtle remarks. Something was afoot. Change was coming.

The boys wanted to share a room again.

"Nonsense!" we said. "Why do that when you each have your own room now?"

The rumblings settled. Whispers were silenced. Peace reigned throughout the land.

The subject was recently raised again.

This time, I listened.

I thought. I planned. I fantasized. I began to see how this rearrangement, this change, this altering of the status quo could benefit ME.

After a month or so of shopping for a bargain, we bought a set of bunk beds and brought them home. The mister and I assembled them in our older son's bedroom, because his room is a wee bit bigger and his closet will hold all of the boys' clothes.

And now we have an empty room. And what do you do with an empty room?

You fill it with something! And I have plans. BIG plans.

The time has come to move my scrabooking stuff upstairs. I'm not getting anything done with it being downstairs. I have no motivation to go work in there at night, because my husband stays upstairs. It makes much more sense to have the room upstairs where the kids are.... where the laundry is... where dinner can be cooked and stirred without a trip up the stairs... where the kids can watch TV in my room while I work... where our LIFE is.

I'm not going to paint the room, because I suspect that this room sharing thing will only last 5 years or so. By that time I'm hoping that the playroom will no longer be needed and I can take over that room. Then I can paint. But for now, I'm going to move into a new room, set up a new configuration that fosters my creativity, and I'm going to LOVE it.

Change does come bearing gifts. And I can't wait to open this one!

Bed, Breakfast & Brilliance

This past weekend, my sweet hubby spirited me away to a local bed & breakfast to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. Our favorite B&B, The Red Horse Inn, is a short 20 minute drive from our house, but it honestly feels like we're a gazillion miles away from anywhere. It feels so isolated from life. We always try to use the weekend to rest and just be together, whether we're talking or reading or just enjoying the quietness. It's always a refreshing weekend. I love spending time alone with my better half, because it reminds me (again) why I said, "I do!"

The owners of the inn, who have yet to overlook an important detail in their attempts to make their guests as comfortable as possible, stock each room with a variety of reading materials. I love reading the magazines and books left in the rooms, because often what is provided is not something I'd normally look at. I devour everything, because I actually have time to just sit and read without interruption. It's heaven!

One of the books in our room this weekend was full of quotes about life and aging. I failed to write down the title or the authors of the book, but I did come away from the inn with 20- 3.5" square pieces of paper bearing scribbled quotes. I wrote down everything that left an imprint on me, because I love a good quote. I love to ponder the thoughts of others, ruminate on them, and then apply them to my own life.

Here is my favorite from the book:

"My idea of forgiveness is letting go of resentment that does not serve your better interest, ridding yourself of negative thoughts. All they do is make you miserable. Believe me, you can fret and fume all you want, but whoever it was that wronged you is not suffering from your anguish whatsoever."

That was said by the infinitely wise Della Reese. Kind of an eloquent way of saying, "Put up, or shut up," huh?

Just like riding a bike...

A couple of weeks before Christmas, my better half came home from work carrying a handful of paper "Mommy Dollars" (complete with my picture) and some homemade price tags. He said he'd had a brilliant idea that would keep him from having to drag the kids out shopping.

He explained that the kids could earn Mommy Dollars by doing things that help Mommy around the house. Emptying laundry, clearing dishes, emptying the dishwasher, putting away laundry, etc... All stuff they should be doing anyway, but now they'd be rewarded for doing it with a cheerful attitude. The Mommy dollars could be earned until the Friday before Christmas (the 21st).



On Friday, my beloved set up a Mommy Mall in the basement. Everything he purchased for me had a price tag on it, and the kids could "buy" gifts for me at the Mommy Mall. Then they got help wrapping their gifts in the gift wrap center Daddy set up in my scrapbooking room (it has a large work island for gift wrapping and other stuff...)



I just think he's so smart! I told him he had to take pictures and then hide the camera so I couldn't peek! The kids were so excited and were SUPER helpful that entire week. I love Mommy Dollars! I told my husband that the extra help is the best gift!

Mid-week my husband gave the kids a sneak peek so they'd know what they were working to buy. My oldest child worked extra hard to earn money, because there was something she had to "buy" me and it had to be from HER. I couldn't imagine what it was that had her working so hard, doing so much, asking so often what she could do to earn extra "money".

On Christmas day the kids handed out the presents, and when the gifts were all piled in front of their recipients, my husband told me to shut my eyes. I did, and I heard scuffling and clicking and then I smelled rubber. It was my long awaited bicycle! Yippee! I was thrilled, because I had hinted strongly for two years that I wanted a bike. Someone finally listened!

Well, today is January 13th, and I have yet to get on that bike and ride it. It sat inside until Tuesday the 8th, and my husband finally rolled it outside. He rode it to see if it was big enough for him (it wasn't). But I have yet to put my bootie on it. My dad even sent me a nice, comfy, soft furlike cover for the seat, and I haven't tested it out yet.

Why?

I'm scared that I won't remember how to ride it. I haven't been on a bike since the 90s. What if I fall?

I gotta' get on that bike. I gotta'.

Wish me luck.

Objects of My Affection

'Tis the end of the year and the blog well is a bit dry, so I'm turning back to Maggie Mason for inspiration. Her book, No One Cares What You Had for Lunch is where I go when I'm outta ideas.

Number 37 on Maggie's list of possible blog topics is "Find the objects of your affection."

At 3 a.m., the fire alarm wakes you. You realize that the house is aflame, and that you're sleeping naked. After grabbing a robe, and making sure that people and pets are out of the building, what would you search for next?

First, let me clear up some things:

(1) I do not sleep naked, so we could just skip the robe step (I might stop to put on a pair of Crocs)

(2) I think it's stupid to go back into a burning building once everyone is safe (but, hey, we're pretending, right?)

So, let me think...

(Putting on my thinking cap, drumming fingers and contemplating...)

What would I save, what would I save, what would I save?

I'm trying to visualize each room in my home, and I honestly can't think of much that I would need to grab that couldn't be replaced. There are some things that I can't buy anymore, but substitutions would be okay.

I guess I'd grab my camera. I don't go a day without documenting my family and our lives on film (well, not real film, but you get the picture... pardon the pun!)

I'd take my grandmother's measuring spoons out of the kitchen drawer and the tatting of our name that my aunt had made for me as a wedding gift (the lady who made it died awhile back...)

I'd grab the crocheted ornaments and Christmas tree skirt that my grandmother made, because those couldn't be recreated.

I'd take the cross stitch pieces I've created over the years... the stacked teacups, the "Welcome Friends" on Irish Linen that was a pain in the patoot to make, the one I did as a wedding gift to my husband, the ones I've done for the kids over the years, and the "Amazing Grace" lyrics I made for my grandmother, because that is her favorite hymn.

I'd have to take the drawer of my jewelry chest that contains all of my grandmother's costume jewelry. My sister and cousins and I always accessorized ourselves with it when we played dress up at Ma Ma Dos' house, and I took it all because I wanted it. No one but my sister asked about it, so I figured nobody else had the attachment to it that I do. I still wear pieces of it from time to time, and I always get compliments. The earrings are the "clip-on" style and hurt like heck to wear, but it just makes me feel so beautiful to wear those things of hers.

What else, what else....

I'd have to load up all those scrapbooks I've been making for the kids over the years. I really should get my rear in gear and scan all the pages and put them on disks, but life happens and leaves very little extra time to take on such a task.

Oh, I forgot about the baby blanket that my grandmother crocheted for my firstborn. She was already suffering from Alzheimer's by the time Camryn came into the world, so that blanket is so very precious to me. I don't let Camryn use it (and I need to have it framed and hung in her room...) My mom crocheted blankets for Camryn and my other three children, and those are just as special. They're all in Lillian's closet, so I wouldn't have to go far to find them if the house was burning down.

And I couldn't forget the Wii, because they're hard to come by lately, and the kids would need something to occupy their time in the shelter.

I'm really having to reach into the recesses of my brain to recall things that are special to me. I'm not a person who's really attached to possessions, 'cause I can't load up a U-Haul and hook it to the hearse when I'm gone, so this is a hard assignment. I guess there is stuff I would miss if it was gone, but right now I can't think of what those things might be.

Let's hope I never find out.

2007: A Year in Review

I just got People magazine's "Best & Worst" year in review issue, and after reading it from cover to cover, I decided to dig through my notes from 2007 and come up with my own list of highs and lows for the past year.

I can't guarantee it will make for fascinating reading, but pop some popcorn anyway. That way, when you reach the end of this entry, at least you can say you had a snack. Time spent eating is never wasted, right?

Hmmmm.... Should I hit the lows first and end with the highs, or celebrate the highs and leave you depressed at the end by recounting the lows?

Choices, choices.

Hey! I think I'll alternate!

And thus, I present to you, in no particular order, highs and lows of 2007!

LOW: In February my best friend moved to Atlanta with her family. My daughter and I both lost a friend, because Camryn was best friends with my friend's daughter, Madison.

HIGH: I celebrate every day the friendships, both real and "cyber", that I have built through my favorite internet site, ScrapShare. I made new friends there and strengthened old relationships, and I renewed some real life friendships as well. I attended a ScrapShare retreat in Helen, Georgia and had a BLAST. Love those ladies!

LOW: My daughter lost another good friend (her first crush!) in January when he moved with his family back to Fort Worth, TX. The friend's dad had a serious accident that left him comatose from October 2006 until he passed away in May of 2007.

HIGH: I turned 34 in February. I've never been more confident in who I am and what I'm on earth to do than I am right now. Life is good. It's very, very good.

LOW: My mother-in-law moved closer to us in May. She's put us through some trying times with some of the choices she's made since moving.

HIGH: My mother-in-law no longer lives with us, and she has her own place to stay, so she will never, ever have to spend the night with us again. She's also regained her mobility and health after her bypass last year, and she is local so she can babysit in a pinch.

LOW: Our beloved kitty child, Harry, passed away very suddenly on February 11. That was some hard, hard stuff. Not as awful as losing one of my human children, but definitely not something I want to experience again anytime soon.

HIGH: We adopted sweet, vivacious, energetic Annabelle in May. She's got lots of spunk, and keeps 12 year-old Beeson (our other cat) on his toes!



LOW(s): Every time Quinn & Lillian got into mischief. There was the famous shampoo and body wash all over the bathroom incident, and the nail polish all over Lillian and the carpet incident, and the pouring my Chloe perfume all over Beeson incident, and the two times I had to call poison control because the kids ingested something they shouldn't have (once it was Correctol, and the other time it was zinc lozenges...) Ah, the joys of parenthood.

HIGH: My sweet hubby took me to see Billy Joel in concert in February, and I got to have a whole day at the spa with my sister in July. I guess that makes up for all the stuff I deal with on a daily basis. Love me some hubby!

LOW: Dry, hot, arid (did I mention HOT?) summer!

HIGH: We got a pool in June. I don't think we could've survived the summer without it. And, 3 of the kids can now swim confidently without floaties! Lillian is working on it. If she can conquer her fear, she'll be swimming unassisted next summer.



LOW: My maternal grandmother's health is steadily declining. We thought we were close to losing her in October, but she rallied. She can't speak, though, and with Alzheimer's, she can't remember much, either. It just seems like an unusually cruel way to exist. I don't think she'll hang on much longer, because since early December she's been getting steadily worse.

HIGH: I took my daughter to her first Auburn game in November. I may not always remember it when I'm old, but I know she will. It was an awesome day and a fabulous memory that makes me smile.



LOW: Our cats continued to poop on the carpet in the basement. They're healthy and have no reason to keep pooping (per the vet's assessment), but they did it anyway.

HIGH: My hubby ripped up the carpet himself and installed linoleum. We moved a desk and reorganized the entire basement. I really love the new layout and functionality of the basement, and without the cats' pooping, we would never have rearranged anything. Silver lining and all that, I guess.

LOW: I realized that our 2004 Chrysler Pacifica just wasn't working for our family, and I mourned having to give up my sporty SUV for yet another minivan.

HIGH: I love my new 2004 Toyota Sienna. It has storage space EVERYWHERE (no stuff rattling around in the van!), the kids and adults alike have lots of elbow and leg room, and the real bonus is that it smells just like the Monorail at Disney World. Cool beans!

I can't think of anymore Lows, but I do have a few more Highs left, so I'll wrap up with those!

HIGH: This was the year for milestones in our family. Not only did the kids learn to swim, but I officially changed my last diaper in 2007. My youngest, Lillian, is fully potty trained. Wahoo!



My older son lost his first tooth this year, too. The Tooth Fairy was more generous than I would've been, but hey, it was the first one! He lost another one on the bottom, and the top two are getting looser by the day. Won't be long 'til he loses his two front teeth!



HIGH: Being fortunate enough to get involved with helping produce the first ever ScrapShare cookbook. I got to know my friend Joanie a lot better, and she has become dear to my heart. Then there are all the great recipes that went into that book, and getting to pack them with love and send them all over the country and to Australia and Canada... it was a blast. Lots of hard work for me and the sacrifice of time with my family, but it was worth it to make so many people happy with a little ole cookbook. That book has become one of my earthly treasures, and it means so much more to me than recipes on paper. Part of my heart is in that book, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I got to help with it.



HIGH: Going to Disney World with the family this month. What a wonderful vacation we had. So many smiles and laughs and memories. I just love that place; it truly is the happiest place on earth, and now we own a piece of it through the Disney Vacation Club!



Looking back over 2007 makes me realize just how much living I've done. The time has flown, but I enjoyed just about every single minute of it. Everything I've done this year has changed me in some small way, and I am so happy with the person I am now. There's some stuff I could fix (I'd like to lose a lot more weight...) but I'm content. I can't imagine 2008 being much better, but I look forward to the highs and lows that the new year brings!

Hear that?

That's the huge sigh of relief I breathed this morning after helping my older kids deliver all of their teacher gifts and food goodies to their classrooms. Ahhhhhh...

I pick them up at 12:15 pm. Then we'll head to Pizza Hut to eat lunch, and then...

THEN....

We will come home and just be.

NOwhere else to go. NOthing else to make. NO more gifts to buy...

We'll just BE.

Two weeks of sleeping late, staying in our PJs if we so desire...

Two weeks of bliss. And the occasional whine.

Oh, gosh. The kids are all going to be with me 24/7 over the next two weeks.

I think I'm starting to sweat.

Who's the idiot that invented Christmas break? I'd like to give him a piece of my mind.

Rolling up my sleeves...

....because today is baking day! Can you feel the excitement?

Not.

My 4th grader's class is having breakfast at their party tomorrow, and my daughter requested that I make sausage balls and pigs in blankets for the soiree. No problem. Those require very little effort. Can do.

The 1st grader came home on Monday with a slip of paper from his teacher. The room mom for his class must be crazy nuts, because she thought it would be fun to have a cookie exchange for the little ones (she only has one child, so I guess she doesn't realize what she's asking of the rest of us who have multiple school parties to work on...) So, now I gotta make some cookies.

I cleaned out the pantry on Monday afternoon and found one package of sugar cookie mix (yes!), and then my darling son told me he hates sugar cookies. He wants chocolate chip instead. Ahem. I have no chocolate chip cookie mix, and I do not want to venture to the grocery store to get chocolate chip cookie mix. Thus, the cookies will be made from scratch.

Wa-hoo.

Dear husband's family has decided at the last minute to exchange gifts. It will be "Dirty Santa" style and I can buy 2 generic, gender neutral gifts, but still.... that's 2 more gifts I have to buy. I was just at Target YESTERDAY, fer cryin' out loud. Some notice, please? Christmas comes on the 25th of each December. It ain't like this snuck up on y'all.

This is what makes me cringe about Christmas: all of this last minute, annoying, have to get it done stuff. I get all of the shopping and the wrapping over with before November even starts. I like to be done with the busy work so I can enjoy the season. But, every year stuff like this pops up and makes me crazy. CRAZY, I tell you.

So, if you see a news report tonight about a woman pelting her family with chocolate chips and sausage balls, know that it is me and I have finally snapped. I'll be the one huddled in the corner singing "Silver Bells" and carving little reindeers out of cocktail weiners.

This time last week....

.....I was enjoying being at Disney World's Animal Kingdom. What a difference a week makes.

Since arriving back home last Sunday, I've:

• endured an awful head cold accompanied by a deep, mucousy (lovely!) chest cough
• done untold loads of laundry (sweaty clothes stuffed in a bag for a week smell oh, so good! And if I could smell it through my stuffed up nose, it must have been strong!)
• edited 600+ photos from our Disney trip
• uploaded those 600+ photos to Snapfish for printing TWICE, because the first time they failed to upload
• wrapped way too many presents
• tried to remember & find everything I'd purchased for the kids' teachers, aides, principals, directors, etc.
• been told that the party I'd planned for my 4th grader's class (I'm the room mom) was scrapped in favor of joining the 5th graders in their party (hmph!) while I was on vacation. Nice.
• not slept through the night once due to the aforementioned cold & cough
• gone to bed around 9 or 9:30 each night to try & catch up on my sleep
• accompanied 2 children to 2 separate appointments: 1 dentist, 1 doctor
• seen my gyno for my annual appointment (a Christmas gift itself!)
• been to the dentist myself and told that a previously fixed chipped tooth had lost part of its filling. The old filling will have to be drilled out (yea!) and replaced (yippy!)
• made my MIL mad (what's new?) Unbeknownst to me, my husband had invited her to the older kids' school Christmas program. I had to have the kids there at 5 pm, so my husband stayed with the younger kids and brought them and MIL to the event closer to its start time of 6:30. I had only saved 4 seats, and the place was packed. Our row was full. MIL ended up sitting on a different aisle, and she thought I did that on purpose (not saving her a seat & making her sit somewhere else). I truly didn't know she was coming. Someone on our row ended up moving, so we scooted over and invited her to our row. I stayed on the end for a better picture-taking view (and told her that's what I was doing when she tried to sit beside me) so she went to the middle of the row and sat next to her son. She thought I didn't want her to sit by me, but that wasn't true, either. Aisle seats were better for pictures, because no one's head got in my way. Anyhow, now she's mad, and I'm to blame, of course. Merry Christmas to me.

I love Christmas, but this year has just seemed to wear me down. I am so ready for it to be over. I hope I never have another Christmas season like this. I swear, I will never, ever, ever go on vacation in December again. It makes things too hard.

Borrowed Blog

I borrowed this from my friend Stacy's blog. Too tired to do anything creative on my own.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Wrapping paper. Always. I detest gift bags. They spoil the fun of opening up the gift. I like the ripping of paper and all that jazz, so gift bags are just not fun for me.

2. Real tree or Artificial?

Artificial, and this year we have 3 of them. We have the one that was given to us when we were given a Christmas shower the December before our January wedding, and last year I bought 2-4' trees to spread the ornaments around. One of the smaller trees is decorated with the kids' ornaments they've made over the years, and the other is just for Hallmark and other keepsake ornaments.

3. When do you put up the tree?

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, if not on Thanksgiving day. I don't think I've ever waited until December to put it up. I love Christmas.

4. When do you take the tree down?

Usually the day after Christmas or the 27th. I never leave it up past New Year's Day. I get tired of looking at it after a month of having it around!

5. Do you like egg nog?

Blech. No. My husband loves it, though. It's too sweet for me.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

The year my sister and I got the homemade table and benches for our room, along with Big Wheels for each of us and a Play Doh fuzzy pumper barber shop.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

I have a wooden one and a resin one, but neither are collectible. I might start collecting a nicer one after the kids get a little older. I'd love the Willow Tree set.

8. Hardest person to buy for?

My husband. He buys whatever he wants, so there's nothing left to get him for Christmas.

9. Easiest person to buy for?

The children.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Mailed. I usually have them addressed and ready to be mailed on the first day of December, but I haven't even thought about doing them this year. I don't think I'll get around to it, either. I haven't been able to put my hands on my address book since we moved last year, so that has a lot to do with it.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

Every year I get a big, clunky piece of jewelry from my mother-in-law. What she hasn't realized yet is that I don't wear a lot of jewelry. She usually gives me a charm for a charm bracelet I don't own, too (SIL has one, but I don't...)

12 . Favorite Christmas movie?

The only Christmas movie I can watch every year is "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". The Jell-O mold with the cat food cracks me up every year...

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

October

14 . Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Yes. See #11. If I don't wear it, I hate wasting it.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Queen Anne chocolate covered cherries. I just bought a box of them at Walgreen's!

16 . Clear lights or colored on the tree?

Clear. They're my favorite, but the kids like the colored ones. The big tree has colored lights and the 2 little ones have white lights. I insist on white lights on the outside of the house. I don't want colored lights on my home.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

"Blue Christmas" by Elvis and "Christmas in Dixie" by Alabama.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

Home. I hate traveling during the Christmas holidays.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen and Rudolph.

Impressed?

Don't be. I had to Google it.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

There's an angel on top of the big tree, and red velvet bows on the little ones.

21 . Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

The kids get to open new PJs on Christmas Eve, but everything else is saved for Christmas morning.

22 . Most annoying thing about this time of year?

That song about the Christmas shoes.

23. Favorite christmas ornament?

The crocheted wreaths and stockings that my grandmother made. She used to make them and give them away every Christmas. When we cleaned out her house after my granddaddy died (and we had to move her to an assisted living facility because of her Alzheimer's) I found a bunch of those ornaments. I hogged them all and now they hang on my tree. I also found a gorgeous crocheted tree skirt she'd made, and I use it every year.

24. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner?

Anything I don't have to cook.