We are well into Christmas vacation and everyone is still alive. As a matter of fact it is day 7 and I still have all my hair, nails, and nerves, but barely. So far there have been multiple fights, a lot of pouting, and an extraordinary amount of tattling, a knot on the head, a busted lip, a jammed thumb and a black eye. I know all that sounds bad, but actually, for our house, it has been a tranquil holiday.
Our festivities began on Christmas Eve when we made the annual pilgrimage to my sister-in-law’s house (Mark’s sister). We had a good meal and even better conversation (only because no one resorted to name calling or hair pulling). Let’s just say that the “conversations” that Mark and his brother-in-law have are legendary, but this year, everyone was on there best behavior. Too bad, I was looking for a little excitement.
In my head I had planned out the perfect Christmas Eve. We would leave our family outing and go straight home. After a little regrouping we would go to candle light service at church. After the service, we would come home and open one gift each, which was matching Christmas pajamas for one and all (you can imagine Mark’s excitement about that one). When the gift opening was complete we would gather around the fireplace and read the story of Jesus’ birth. Finally, we would all get tucked into bed and await Santa’s arrival.
In the real world, our Christmas Eve went a little something like this. We left the nut house...I mean family outing and came straight home. Kate went to sleep in the car and Carter was barely hanging onto consciousness. We got home and before 15 minutes went by Carter had passed out and it was only 7:00pm. I tried for 45 minutes to get him awake for candle light service, but no response, at least nothing more than a grunt. Kate decided to wake up at 8:45pm (bad thing). We put Carter to bed for the night. Kate and I opened our pj’s by ourselves. It took me until 10:00pm to get Kate back to bed. Where was Mark during all of this commotion? He was in the garage putting together Kate’s kitchen. (Took him 5 hours by the way.) Carter did not get his pj’s until Christmas morning and to this day I’ve never seen Mark even wear his. Oh well, some things just were not meant to be.
Christmas morning was a blast! The kids were so happy. Carter strummed his new guitar while Kate cooked them breakfast in her new kitchen. We had wrapping paper, broken bows, tape, and that awful plastic toy packaging everywhere! By the way, since when is it a good thing to make toy packaging child proof? Mark and I both almost lost a finger trying to open some of those toys!
Christmas afternoon was enjoyable. We went to my mom’s house for my family Christmas. The kids partied hard and entertained one and all. At the end of the day, we had a wonderful Christmas and we are so very thankful for all God has blessed us with.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and will have a very blessed New Year!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Last night was our annual children’s Christmas play at church and it was a big hit. This year marks Carter’s third year in the play and Kate’s first. In my humble opinion, they stole the show. They both participated in the preschool program which is for kids 3 years old through Kindergarten. Sadly, this was Carter’s last year in the preschoolers play, but he went out with a bang. Next year he moves up to play in the “big leagues”.
Carter sang the solo this year and he did a wonderful job. He sang a beautiful little song called “Behold that Star”, in which he sang of an angel all “hoofed” in white instead of the tradition angel which is “robed” in white. Who knew? Kate was a different story all together. She seemed fascinated with a piece of scenery on the stage. That scenery just happened to be a bale of hay. She stood on the stage and pulled straws out of the bale one at a time. Later that night as I was singing Carter’s praises, Kate spoke up and said “Well, mummy I wuz tuying to moove duh hay so I could zit dare and zing.” Makes perfect sense to me, don’t you think?
Only 3 more days until Christmas, and the kids are about to bust at the seams! I may require some type of medication before these two weeks are over. I have scheduled our annual toy purge for tomorrow afternoon 4:00pm sharp. The process is rather simple…
1. I make a pick up announcement
(All toys must be picked up and put up)
(Any toy left on the floor will be the first to go)
2. I get a large box and/or bag
3. Let the purge begin!
(This is when the screaming, crying and whaling usually begins. Then the kids start in a little later.)
The purge is necessary, but it does traumatize the kids. There is usually a lot of begging, pleading and promise breaking before it all gets done. Sooner or later the purge will be complete and Santa’s toys will have a place in the toy box. All is well that ends well!
Carter sang the solo this year and he did a wonderful job. He sang a beautiful little song called “Behold that Star”, in which he sang of an angel all “hoofed” in white instead of the tradition angel which is “robed” in white. Who knew? Kate was a different story all together. She seemed fascinated with a piece of scenery on the stage. That scenery just happened to be a bale of hay. She stood on the stage and pulled straws out of the bale one at a time. Later that night as I was singing Carter’s praises, Kate spoke up and said “Well, mummy I wuz tuying to moove duh hay so I could zit dare and zing.” Makes perfect sense to me, don’t you think?
Only 3 more days until Christmas, and the kids are about to bust at the seams! I may require some type of medication before these two weeks are over. I have scheduled our annual toy purge for tomorrow afternoon 4:00pm sharp. The process is rather simple…
1. I make a pick up announcement
(All toys must be picked up and put up)
(Any toy left on the floor will be the first to go)
2. I get a large box and/or bag
3. Let the purge begin!
(This is when the screaming, crying and whaling usually begins. Then the kids start in a little later.)
The purge is necessary, but it does traumatize the kids. There is usually a lot of begging, pleading and promise breaking before it all gets done. Sooner or later the purge will be complete and Santa’s toys will have a place in the toy box. All is well that ends well!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Let Them Eat Cake
I woke up this morning feeling pretty good about myself. The kids were cooperative and we actually left on time. My hair had a little extra bounce and my jeans were not too tight. It was a great way to begin what is my 35th birthday. Soon however, I began to get the wind knocked out of my sails one blow at a time.
We were in the car on the way to school when Carter hit me with birthday blow #1. The conversation went a little something like this:
Carter: “Mom are we having cake?”
Me: “Cake?”
Carter: “ Birthday cake!”
Me: “ Well, Daddy has not mentioned it to me, so I would say no.”
Carter: “Mommy, I think that we need to have cake.”
Me: “Well, Carter we probably won’t be having cake.”
(By this time I am beginning to feel sorry for myself.)
Carter: “But mommy, EVERYONE should have a cake for there birthday.”
(Now I am really having a pity party!)
I dropped Carter off at school and I called Mark to tell him what Carter said. I will confess I might have possibly been seeking a little sympathy. I should have known I called the wrong person for that. Mark’s response was for me to go out and find myself a nice cake for my birthday and he would pick up the tab! So what did I do you might ask? Did I tell him to take his cake and shove it? No, I went and bought myself a birthday cake. (I know it’s a sad story.) That’s blow #2.
I must say that the 3rd blow came from a very unlikely source. I had to stop by my mother-in-law’s house to pick up something and she wished me a happy birthday. I thanked her and started to my car when Carter announced to her that I was 15 today and I responded with a laugh and told him he needed to add 20 years to that number. Suddenly, Mark’s mother looked at me like someone had just asked her the square root of 127 and she said “Well, Stefnee I didn’t know you were that old”. Ouch!
Today has been a good day so far even considering the earlier incidences. It is still hard to believe that I am 35 years old. It seems like only yesterday that I was 25. I am beginning to really believe the quote that says “Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what in the world happened.”
In honor of my birthday, I want to take a trip down memory lane.
I know I am a child of the 80’s because….
I know who shot J.R.
I know the meaning of wax on/wax off
I wore bright red Reebok hightops
I watched Star Search
I had an entire wardrobe of Esprit clothes
I know all the words to the Oscar Mayer theme song
My bangs were teased 8 inches above the rest of my hair (aka mall hair)
I used Aqua Net hairspray
I know all the words to School House Rock
I had multiple colors of leg warmers
I had the Dorothy Hammill haircut
I watched Magnum P.I.
I owed a Members Only jacket
I could wear five pair of socks at one time
I remember Michael Jackson when he was still black
I had a Swatch Watch and it had a guard on it
My room was covered in posters of Kirk Cameron
I remember exactly where I was when the space shuttle exploded
My Trapper Keeper kept me organized
I watched Mary Lou Retton win the gold metal
Happy Birthday to me!
We were in the car on the way to school when Carter hit me with birthday blow #1. The conversation went a little something like this:
Carter: “Mom are we having cake?”
Me: “Cake?”
Carter: “ Birthday cake!”
Me: “ Well, Daddy has not mentioned it to me, so I would say no.”
Carter: “Mommy, I think that we need to have cake.”
Me: “Well, Carter we probably won’t be having cake.”
(By this time I am beginning to feel sorry for myself.)
Carter: “But mommy, EVERYONE should have a cake for there birthday.”
(Now I am really having a pity party!)
I dropped Carter off at school and I called Mark to tell him what Carter said. I will confess I might have possibly been seeking a little sympathy. I should have known I called the wrong person for that. Mark’s response was for me to go out and find myself a nice cake for my birthday and he would pick up the tab! So what did I do you might ask? Did I tell him to take his cake and shove it? No, I went and bought myself a birthday cake. (I know it’s a sad story.) That’s blow #2.
I must say that the 3rd blow came from a very unlikely source. I had to stop by my mother-in-law’s house to pick up something and she wished me a happy birthday. I thanked her and started to my car when Carter announced to her that I was 15 today and I responded with a laugh and told him he needed to add 20 years to that number. Suddenly, Mark’s mother looked at me like someone had just asked her the square root of 127 and she said “Well, Stefnee I didn’t know you were that old”. Ouch!
Today has been a good day so far even considering the earlier incidences. It is still hard to believe that I am 35 years old. It seems like only yesterday that I was 25. I am beginning to really believe the quote that says “Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what in the world happened.”
In honor of my birthday, I want to take a trip down memory lane.
I know I am a child of the 80’s because….
I know who shot J.R.
I know the meaning of wax on/wax off
I wore bright red Reebok hightops
I watched Star Search
I had an entire wardrobe of Esprit clothes
I know all the words to the Oscar Mayer theme song
My bangs were teased 8 inches above the rest of my hair (aka mall hair)
I used Aqua Net hairspray
I know all the words to School House Rock
I had multiple colors of leg warmers
I had the Dorothy Hammill haircut
I watched Magnum P.I.
I owed a Members Only jacket
I could wear five pair of socks at one time
I remember Michael Jackson when he was still black
I had a Swatch Watch and it had a guard on it
My room was covered in posters of Kirk Cameron
I remember exactly where I was when the space shuttle exploded
My Trapper Keeper kept me organized
I watched Mary Lou Retton win the gold metal
Happy Birthday to me!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Singin' For My Supper
In my own humble opinion, I can be quite entertaining when I put forth a little effort. Whenever I read a book to the kids or sing a song I try to spice it up a little bit and just add a little FLARE. This morning I had to add some FLARE that I had not anticipated.
As usual I went to wake Kate up this morning with dread in my heart. I know that I have mentioned before that Kate is NOT a morning person. I went into the bedroom flipped the light on and began my rendition of “Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory children of the Lord”. There was no movement. Next I tried a spicy version of “Feliz Navidad” Again, not a creature was stirring, not even Kate!
Alas, I knew that I was going to have to pull out the big guns or we were going to be late. So with my flannel pajamas still on and my hair still in full curling iron curls I came up with my best song yet. It went a little something like this:
Katie bell, Katie bell, Katie bell rock
Katie bells swing and Katie bells ring
Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun
Now the Katie hop has begun.
Suddenly, I saw a ripple under the blanket….
Katie bell, Katie bell, Katie bell rock
Katie bells chime in Katie bell time
Dancing and prancing in Katie bell square
In the frosty air
Kate’s fuzzy blonde head popped out from under the cover and she peered at me with only one eye open….
Katie bell time is a swell time
To go riding in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up Katie horse, pick up your feet
Katie around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jingling beat
That’s the Katie bell,
That’s the Katie bell,
That’s the Katie bell rock!
Suddenly, she began to clap for me and she actually smiled. Yes, it was only 7:15 in the morning and Kate smiled! I had begun to think highly of my ability to entertain while serving a purpose when I heard Kate say “Mummy you sooo funny!” I graciously thanked her and began to get her out of bed. She stopped me abruptly and said “Wait, wait you sing it again mummy, but wait, wait you need to sing it and shake you booty too mummy!”
All in a days work my dear readers, all in a days work!
As usual I went to wake Kate up this morning with dread in my heart. I know that I have mentioned before that Kate is NOT a morning person. I went into the bedroom flipped the light on and began my rendition of “Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory children of the Lord”. There was no movement. Next I tried a spicy version of “Feliz Navidad” Again, not a creature was stirring, not even Kate!
Alas, I knew that I was going to have to pull out the big guns or we were going to be late. So with my flannel pajamas still on and my hair still in full curling iron curls I came up with my best song yet. It went a little something like this:
Katie bell, Katie bell, Katie bell rock
Katie bells swing and Katie bells ring
Snowing and blowing up bushels of fun
Now the Katie hop has begun.
Suddenly, I saw a ripple under the blanket….
Katie bell, Katie bell, Katie bell rock
Katie bells chime in Katie bell time
Dancing and prancing in Katie bell square
In the frosty air
Kate’s fuzzy blonde head popped out from under the cover and she peered at me with only one eye open….
Katie bell time is a swell time
To go riding in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up Katie horse, pick up your feet
Katie around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jingling beat
That’s the Katie bell,
That’s the Katie bell,
That’s the Katie bell rock!
Suddenly, she began to clap for me and she actually smiled. Yes, it was only 7:15 in the morning and Kate smiled! I had begun to think highly of my ability to entertain while serving a purpose when I heard Kate say “Mummy you sooo funny!” I graciously thanked her and began to get her out of bed. She stopped me abruptly and said “Wait, wait you sing it again mummy, but wait, wait you need to sing it and shake you booty too mummy!”
All in a days work my dear readers, all in a days work!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
40 Is The New 30...I Think?
It is a landmark day for casa de crazy. Today is my husband’s 40th birthday. Oh yes, I said 40th birthday. Honestly, I’m not sure that he is taking it that well. Personally, I do not see what the big deal is really. I thought that 40 was the new 30. Of course that is easy for me to say, I am not turning 40 today. I have SEVERAL years until I hit the big 4-0 bump in the road or should I say “mid-life“ crisis. Did you hear that Mark…I have SEVERAL years to go! As far as I can tell, Mark turning 40 has turned me into some what of a “trophy wife”.
In honor of my dear husband’s big day, let’s take a trip down memory lane to 1968.….
In 1968:
Richard Nixon was elected president
Yearly inflation: 4.27%
Average Income per year: $7,850
Average price of a car: $2,450
Gas: $.34 per gallon
Movie ticket: $1.50
Gallon of milk: $1.21
Loaf of bread: $.22
Postage stamp: $.06
Average price of a home: $14,950
Popular T.V. shows: Laugh In and Bonanza
Record of the year: “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968
Robert Kennedy was assassinated
Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy got married
Boeing 747 made it maiden flight
NASA launched Apollo 7
Philadelphia Bank installs the first automated teller machine
The first Big Mac goes on sell for $.49
I love you Mark! Happy Birthday!
In honor of my dear husband’s big day, let’s take a trip down memory lane to 1968.….
In 1968:
Richard Nixon was elected president
Yearly inflation: 4.27%
Average Income per year: $7,850
Average price of a car: $2,450
Gas: $.34 per gallon
Movie ticket: $1.50
Gallon of milk: $1.21
Loaf of bread: $.22
Postage stamp: $.06
Average price of a home: $14,950
Popular T.V. shows: Laugh In and Bonanza
Record of the year: “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated
President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968
Robert Kennedy was assassinated
Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy got married
Boeing 747 made it maiden flight
NASA launched Apollo 7
Philadelphia Bank installs the first automated teller machine
The first Big Mac goes on sell for $.49
I love you Mark! Happy Birthday!
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