Last 5QF of 2011

Here we go!  Last one of 2011!  It's not to late to join in on the fun, friends.  It's quick and (relatively) painless.

1. What's the oldest piece of clothing in your closet?

Well, I have a piece of lingerie from our wedding night...stashed in a back dark corner somewhere in there.  Otherwise, the closet has had some good purges since moving into it a few years ago.  I don't know why I keep that article of clothing....my mind is a strange sort of pack rat.

2. How many random blog readers have you met?

Zero!  Most of my readers are already my friends.  There were a few acquaintances that I've met recently that have read the blog, and therefore know a lot about me....which meant we were fast friends, and I had a LOT to catch up on in order to get to know them better. 

Otherwise, there's a select few that I've grown close enough to to befriend on facebook.  And knowing them better makes me love them all the more!  And perhaps obtain a puppy.  (long story)

3. Do you let your kids stay up till midnight on New Years Eve? (Or, if you don't have kiddos yet, did you get to stay up until midnight as a child?)

We have plans to have family fun on NYE...but, no the kids won't be staying up until midnight.  Not only are we not fans of that at all, they'd NEVER make it.

I tried a few times as a child to stay up until midnight....never made it until I turned about 18.

4. What are the gas prices where you live?

Yesterday they were $3.32.

Ten days ago they were $2.99.

Sheesh.


5. What is one resolution that you know you should do but are too afraid to try?
 
I'm not too sure on that one.  I've never really let fear control my movements or decisions.  Wait...I have in the past....and perhaps I let fear subconsciously control some actions, but nothing like "I should do that, but I'm afraid....." 
 
Sky diving....that could fit under this category. 
 
Always wanted to try it.
 

The unwelcome guest

Something moved in on my little guy.

An unwelcome guest.

Just what we DIDN'T want for Christmas...

I'm heading into the trenches for the next few days....

...a regular post will be forthcoming when we resurface.

Catch you on the flip side.

(what movie?)

From our family to yours....

Oh so selfish

I'm shopping for Christmas presents.

Only, I'm done shopping for Christmas presents.

I've been done since before A's birthday (2 weeks ago).

And yet, I still go shopping.

And I bought myself a sweater.

And I bought myself some earrings.

And I bought myself a new (SMALLER!!!!) pair of jeans.

The only thing that redeemed me is that I also bought some cough drops for A who is fighting a bit of a head cold.

Whew....so glad for those cough drops....otherwise I'd think myself oh so selfish.  ;)

Tuesday Miscellany

It's the Tuesday before Christmas...

I have nothing on my mind, and I have everything on my mind (and to do list) at the same time.

Which means there's no room left in this brain of mine to compose a coordinating blog post.

Miscellany seems to fit the bill of my mind....so, we'll go with that.

1.  I have come to a point in my life that I'm realizing the friends I've let go of weren't really the greatest friends to begin with.  The friends I have in my life now are the ones I want there.  They support me, pray for me, give great hugs, and are a boatload of fun to hang out with.  I dig them.

2.  Wipeout is, by far, one of my favorite game shows.  They pull all these super annoying people on there....(you know, the kind of people you'd slap across the face if you met in real life?) and they hit them and make them run into large objects at full speed. 

3.  German web sites are hard to navigate when you don't sprekense duetsch.

4.  Friends are great for texting you phrases like "we're getting our BOOTIES on the treadmill next week!  Get ready!"  Again...see #1.

5.  Having a finite budget for Christmas....in a separate bank account....has worked wonders in keeping me withIN the budget.

6.  Finger Jello takes longer than I thought to set up.

7.  Kids getting sick right before the holidays clearly sucks.  Thank goodness for vitamins and expectorant!

8.  Gluten free chex mix rocks.  And puppy chow.  Mmmmm.

9.  My husband and I can throw a mean Christmas party.  And our pastor can mix a mean (and sneaky!) sangria.

10.  I'm so grateful for grandparents who are willing and able to take the boys.  I get a small break (to enjoy silence) and the boys make priceless memories.

5QF

1. What's the best Christmas present you've ever received?


Can I say my son?  He came a few weeks before Christmas...and his hospital bill was our Christmas present to each other....therefore, he's my Christmas present, right?

If I can't claim him as a gift....hhhmmmm, I'd have to go the the Cabbage Patch Kid.  I received mine the year they were all the rage.  I actually didn't think I'd be lucky enough to get one.  But my awesome mom came to the rescue....I wonder if she has a fun story to tell about nabbing my Leonora Cicily.

2. Worst/Funniest White Elephant gift ever received?

I'm usually the one that fights for the good gift.  And I usually get it.

We had a MOPS leadership Christmas party not long ago, and there were some pretty funny and AWFUL white elephant gifts.  One was a stuffed bear....it was HUGE with a floral jumper complete w/ sailor collar.  It had a crazy face....and was just about the ugliest thing I've ever seen.  It totally freaked me out, but the girl that opened it was such a good sport.  So, there I am....ripping on this bear the whole night...and when the end came, someone asked "WHO on earth brought this bear...." 

Yeah, totally the lady sitting next to me.

(Sorry Gretchen!)

3. Is your Christmas tree plain and simple (white lights and matching ornaments) or is it wild and crazy (colored lights with lots of ornaments collected over the years)?

I have kids.  I think there's a law that mandates that I have a hodge podge tree full on ornaments made with love.  I love it.  I'll appreciate the matchy-matchy trees in the stores.

4. "How" do you iron your clothes? The old fashioned iron/ironing board way, the shower, back in the dryer, etc.

Oh, come now....iron?!?!?!  me?  iron? 

IF I do have to iron, I pull out the board and iron....I'm an old-fashioned girl at heart.

5. How much baking do you do for Christmas and what are your "must make" items? (I'm looking for recipes here, peeps...)

I found a fantastic caramel corn recipe ....but since I leave out the molasses, it's more of a butter toffee popcorn recipe.  It's soooo yummy, and when I gave bags to my table mates in MOPS, they SQUEALED....it's that good!  Take my word for it.....LEAVE OUT THE MOLASSES!

Things you do when you mind is on strike

Somewhere between November and now...I've lost my ability to think clearly.  It's been the worst the past couple of days.  I can think of a few things that would cause this phenomenon...but still....the causes wouldn't be able to take away the fact that I've spent almost 1/2 of my days recuperating or recovering from the mistakes I made the first 1/2 of the day.

For instance...here's a list:

1.  I got gas on my way to pick A up from school.  Half way there, I heard a "thump, thump, thump."  Upon investigation (i.e. looking in my driver's side mirror), I realized I forgot to replace the gas cap, and shut the tank door.  It was flapping on the outside of the van.  Awesome.

2.  I not only cooked hamburgers on my pancake griddle (read:  was too lazy to go outside and grill in the middle of December in Michigan), but I also cooked them one degree short of industrial hockey pucks.  This is a tragedy in this carnivorous household.

3.  I forgot to make A do his homework.  I know better than this.  We've been working on homework every night for the past 3 months!  Really....they'll let just about anyone be a mom these days.  :)

4.  I forgot about our Bright Beginnings home visit at 8:30am.  I remembered as she was backing down my driveway.  And I was still in my pajamas. 

5.  I got dressed so quickly that I put my sweat pants on backward.  Backward.  And didn't realize it until I was in the company of my meeting friend.  Backward.  The whole time.  Backward.

6.  I went to make a bank deposit, and found myself in the drive thru of my credit union.  Luckily, I realized this BEFORE I sent the tube into the building.

7.  I made it to the BANK drive thru for the deposit, and realized that I had forgotten to check the checks.  Of course, one person had decided to forget to SIGN their check.

8.  The bank sends back the deposit slip for correction (really...they want ME to do the math in my head....aren't THEY the ones with calculators?), and I redo the math....and apparently mess THAT up to.

9.  I forgot to send my friends' thank you note in the mail.  For two months.  Is there a statute of limitations on this?

10.  I keep forgetting to ask D. what he wants for Christmas.  Lovely gift-givers are waiting patiently for ideas to give him....and I just keep forgetting.  Not on purpose....just forgetting. 

Too early to test me for Alzheimer's?  Just kidding.  Busy schedules abound.  I'm not a super-hero, and I'm perfectly ok with that.  :)

The world according to A: Eight is GRRRRREAT!

 Some special little boy is turning eight today.

I still remember the day he was born.

Like it was yesterday.

(Side note:  Does EVERY mom say that about the day her kids were born?)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

...he was worth every minute of that 22 1/2 hour labor.

And just because my ovaries are gluttons for punishment,

here's a blast from the distant-ish past.

(about 3 years ago)

And one from the other day:

I love watching him grow and change into a neat little boy.  His heart is so soft- even though he doesn't want people to know.  (Sounds just like my dad).  He loves routine and schedules (sounds like D).  But doesn't mind messy rooms (sounds like me).

And, just because he's a big boy now...here's eight things about him on his eighth birthday. (narrated by him)

1. I got 100% on my AR test today.  (accelerated reading)
2. My favorite college football team is University of Michigan.
3. My best friend is Nick and Ryan M.
4. I'm saving my money for Nintendo ds or legos.
5. We're having crabby patties for dinner tonight.  (translated: hamburgers- thank you, Sponge Bob)
6. My favorite holiday is Christmas.
7. My favorite color is green.
8. My favorite subject in school is math.

Intermittent blogging

While I'm not gonna start my blog post out by saying "oh, gosh...sorry I've neglected you! but I've been busy...."

Nope. 

I HATE blog posts that start like that.  Like you've been sitting at your computer refreshing every minute of every day just to read the drivel I post on here...hoping for an occasional laugh.

Yes, I've been busy...but haven't we all?  It's Christmas time.  We have parties, decorations, more parties, baked goods, cards, shopping, preparations, more parties, more things to coordinate...in addition to the regular livelihood.


  Oh, and a December birthday boy would be HEARTBROKEN if I didn't make an awesome cake for him. 


So, while I do miss the blog, and I miss entertaining myself with my posts (and hopefully you're entertained too), life outside the keyboard is scurrying along at an alarming pace.  So, it's not like I don't appreciate your bloggy friendship during this holiday season...I just need to priortize my time.  I'll be back intermittently...until the season is over...and then we can refresh the blog all the time.

And now.... there is gluten free chex mix baking in my oven at this very moment...permiating every inch of air in this house.  I love that smell!

Nom nom nom

Getting in the Christmas spirit

Ok....so Mama M. not so gently pointed out that I should have provided with y'all a link to show you how easy it is to make the personalized stockings that I highlighted in my last post.  Well, just in case you haven't slept since I failed you, and are just waiting for that link, here it is.  Really, it's a very easy craft and I loved the results!


And, because I've taken to listening to the Christmas station all the time in my car...I heard this on the way home from droppng the boys off at school.  And I was laughing.  (in the morning*, no less!).  Well, to get you smiling on this Monday...I thought I'd share the smiles.  :)

*not a morning person.

5QF

It's already Friday again...and time for some 5QF!  This is the most easy blog hoppy thingy out there.  Click on the Five Question Friday square below, and it will take you to Mama M's blog if you want to play along.

1. What is your favorite Christmas decoration in your house?

I'd have to say our stockings.  It's the first home decor project I tackled on my own after seeing the idea on the Martha Stewart show.  They were relatively easy, and took about 8-9 hours to complete all four stockings.  In addition, the felt fabric only ran about $13 for all of it, so I was on budget!

They're all personalized and everything!  The only thing I'd change about them is that they are very narrow, and I can't fit much in there....

wait....

on second thought, that's a great problem to have!  Small stockings are easy peasy on my Christmas budget!

2. Do you finish your Christmas shopping early or are you a last minute type?

I'm usually finished about a week or so before Christmas.  I start the day after Christmas, and gradually pick things up for people if I know it's 1) a good deal and 2) something that they'll enjoy (i.e. not a trendy thing). 

I'm pretty much on target for finishing next week sometime.  I just need to get through A's birthday celebrations first.  :)

3. When do you turn on your heat?

When it gets cold in the house.

How's that for a smart-alek answer?!?!?  hehe.  Apparently, I'm a little sassy today.


4. Do you ever wish your blog was private?

Not really.  My whole reason for starting the blog was to keep friends and family up-to-date on our house project.  Then, when updates came few and far between, I realized that I had more things to say, and I realized it was a lot of fun.  There are things I would post on here if my blog was private, but that's what journals are for...right?!?!?

5. Do you put your deodorant on before of after you put on your shirt?

Nope.  It's the first thing I do after drying off out of the shower.  It starts my "getting ready regime."  I don't do "change" well, so I won't be mixing it up anytime soon.  :)

Those darn cards

I'm in a tangle of Christmas cards.

I finally figured out how to download the pictures for the card, sent them to the printers...and now they are in a not-so-neatly-stacked pile in the middle of my kitchen table.  I have some addressed, filled, and licked (gross)...but there's an equally large pile.

One without updated addresses.

Guess how many people in my life have moved in the past two years, and I don't have updated addresses for them?!?!?

Go ahead...GUESS!

28.

I need to find 28 addresses.

I find this insane.

Stop moving, people.

At least, only if you would like to keep receiving our Christmas cards.