Spitting Prohibited

I failed you my friend...

At least this time it wasn't anything too horrendous.

Seriously though, I meant to post this Saturday night. (ah Saturday night, Saturday night...)

Happy Birthday Buddy! (Just pretend it's Sunday)  Happy Birthday!

He thinks he's Pa'a'Noid

I have something to show you.

Something awesome.

But in order to see it you have to promise not to judge me.

No, not for my terrible videography skills.

Or for my lack of posting videographiness skills.

You can't judge me for my lack of tidy family room.

You can judge me for all the rest.

Is it a deal?

OK.

                                                                                                           Here you go....awesomeness:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

 My favorite?  The marionette dance moves.  YES!

observations.

I'm not good at combining blogging and working 40 hours a week.  I know.  I keep thinking my family deserves that extra time in the day.

Also, making lunches for my kids to take to school.  Shah!  I can't get that together more than twice a week.  I ought to have a routine developed by now to factor that in.  Unfortunately my routine seems to be:

1. get up
2. shower
3. get dressed
4. wake the kids up
5. start breakfast
6. rewake the kids up
7. finish breakfast
8. really yell at the child that is still not up
9. start some aspect of lunches
10. realize I still haven't done my hair or makeup
11. get the kids to finish breakfast and start brushing teeth, getting shoes and socks, gathering things for their backpacks that should have been put away last night
12. realize there is no time to finish making lunches, aw crap, it's another buying day kids!
13. grab a granola bar for my own breakfast and rush everyone out the door.

...But other than that working seems to be going pretty well.  For those of you who've asked.  Thanks for asking.  We're adapting pretty well.  15 minutes more in the morning and the time to fold the laundry, and not having to go to the grocery store with the masses, oh and taking down the Christmas decorations, which obviously is not something that needs to be worked into my every day schedule, and not much has changed.  Which forces me to accept that a good portion of my time was not exceptionally well spent. 

Frankly  my house should be much better organized. 

But I'm much better about recognizing my faults than doing anything about them it appears.

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All Grant wants for his birthday is a planet.  I was thinking this was going to have to be something between him and God, but then I realized all I have to do is point out the brightest star on his birthday and voila!  "There you go son, that one's yours."  Sweet. 

Perhaps I should point out the midrange bright ones, because the chances of us ever exploring those at least in his lifetime are fairly remote.  He can live happy in the lie that he owns that planet over there...somewhere...

Oh I should say, all he wants for his birthday is a planet and a bike.  Do you think the pointing out a bike somewhere in the cosmos thing would work for this too?  Because if we can figure that out, I am set.

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Speaking of birthdays, you're right Jon had a birthday.  What a bad mommy I am to not even mention it.  To you, I mean.  I totally mentioned it and more to him.  Just in case you are wondering.

  

               

(clickity to biggify)

I think it's fairly apparent I need to learn how to hold my camera in the horizontal position.

In spite of that, we had fun.  He had a Mario Party.  And Mom even played video games.  I'm not sure my children fully appreciated the sacrifice as my scores didn't really contribute to our chances of beating the evil Wario team. 

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So, I've been drawn into Facebook.

It's fun and I don't have to really think too much to post.  An obvious plus.  I don't think much before I post around here come to think of it.  But you didn't have to mention it.

But I see some drawbacks.

Pardon me if I complain...too much.

I don't want to build castles in the digital world.  I don't want a plant for my green patch to solve global warming.  I don't want to become fans of everything in the universe.  If I really am such a fan, you'll know about it from the things I actually speak to you about.  And it may be mean to mention it, but I'm not sure I want to be Friends with everyone I used to know in High school and everywhere else.  I mean if we were such good friends, wouldn't we have stayed in contact? 

I miss the good old days where you would happen to meet some one you used to know, you get that chance to say, "HEY!  How are you?"  You'd find out what they are doing, if they have kids, married, career...and then, here's the part I miss, you'd go on with your every day life and they'd go on with theirs.  If you really wanted to you could exchange phone numbers or email addresses and then if you were really actually friends with that person you'd stay in contact after this chance meeting.  But if you weren't, not much would change.  You'd have had an enjoyable 15 - 30 minute conversation and then your obligation was over.

ahhhh...over...

But now we have Facebook.  And the days of the unending obligations begin. 

Do I really want to know that Person A, that I didn't care enough about to know much about for the last 20 years, is: looking for love in all the wrong places.  Or some such thing.

Tomorrow, Person A is: wondering whether or not to buy that new album.

In 2 days: Person A is....killing me softly with his endless Facebooking comments that I care nothing about!!!!  Aghhhh.

I'm trying to be discriminating in who I befriend in the Facebook world, but I worry about the possible ramifications of nonfriending someone who asks.  Will they, for example, think I am a snobby stuck up pig if I never respond to their friendliness.  Will it get ugly?  Will my lack of friendly contact cause them to spiral into a cycle of despair and depression?  Is Facebook their only source for companionship? Do I want that on my already over burdened conscience?

Do I care?

And what if I Un-friend them after I friend them because they are clogging up my Home page and causing me to miss things from people I actually am Friends?

These are dilemmas for which I have no real answers. 

Did you have a very Merry Christmas?

I really did have plans of posting something special for Christmas.  But let's face it, you didn't have time to get on here and read it anyway, right?  You can think of it as my special present to you, not posting that Christmas post, who can put a value on time?  And that's what I gave you my friends, a little extra time during Christmas.

You're welcome.

But now that the joyful day is over I know you just have oodles of time, it's streaming out your ears!  Hurry, put a cap on and save it!  (sorry, I don't know where that came from) And I can go ahead and give you a recap.

You're welcome.

So...Christmas...odd we didn't have any Christmas concerts this year.  That was weird.  Brooke's choir is working on their big musical for next month, and Grant isn't playing cello this year and I guess Jon hasn't progressed enough on violin to warrant a concert.  And not having any Christmas concerts is good and bad, you know?

We have no snow.  No white Christmas just like the ones we used to know.  Only dreaming.  It's been so crazy weather-ish-ness here.  In the span of a little more than a week we've had cold snowy days-warm up to 50 and melt all the snow-drop down to negative temps-and warm back up to the 50s.  Today they say 44 and tomorrow 69.  That's right.  Sixty-Nine Degrees Fahrenheit.  In Pittsburgh.  In December!  Why didn't all you Washington people come out here this year?

                                                                                    Oh that's right...no airports are flying there.

                                                                                                                           Sorry about that.

Enjoy your snow though.  I'm sure it's very pretty.

And now on to the main events.

We Christmas-eved it this year at my Aunt and Uncles. Yummy food!  Fun company!  And we watched the musical version of a Christmas Carol.  Is it bad that I can't help but think of Goofy as Jacob Marley?  I like when he falls down the stairs.  Sadistic I know, but it makes me laugh.

The kids were spoiled with treats and toys.

                                                                                                     As it should be.

                                    But it made it a little tough to settle them down.

But we managed.  It only took me 12-15 attempts to get this shot:

                        

Brooke is a little grumpy because she is not posing with her stocking.  Which I think is odd, because basically, her stocking is falling apart, it's terrible.  It's the only one I actually made myself.  And it shows.  But she was upset by not having it.  We found it a little bit later in a box we hadn't opened this year because I ran out of the little decorating mojo I had to begin with.  And she was happy again.  I'd really like to make her a new one, out of non-terrible fabric and make it all cute like the boys stockings.  But she wants her craptacular one.  ~ "It's special." ~  It's awfully sweet, but one of these Christmas mornings we're going to find her loot on the floor from the ripped out bottom of her stocking. 

Sometimes I think she was blessed with the extra dose of sentiment that wasn't given to me.  Like it was laying there on the floor after I was born and the angels said, "Oh well, just stuff it in her daughter."   

And then Christmas morning!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

                                                                 hey Seth, does that present envy remind you of anyone?

Santa did pretty well by our kids this year, Alex as you may have noticed, got a space station Mars set up, complete with Aliens.  So not technically accurate, as of yet anyway, but fun.  I was a little concerned actually about this one, but apparently Santa knows best, and he was excited about it from our trip to Kennedy Space Center.      

Jon as you may have been tipped off by the whining in the video got a Gameboy.  

And he was exceptionally thrilled to have the power to either allow or deny his siblings the right to play on said Gameboy.  You know what they say about absolute power though.

His Gameboy is now on a one-day timeout.  Some one, and it wasn't me, needed a little reminder that while it is indeed his Gameboy.  It and he reside in his parent's house.

Brooke got a new MP3 player.  This one with video capabilities.

Apparently we, I mean Santa, didn't get that quite right last year.

I wonder if we, I mean Santa, can just keep buying her off with a slightly upgraded version of technology of the same gift idea every year.  That will keep things simple. Especially since we, I mean Santa, are about a year or more behind in current technology upgrades anyway.

I saved Grant for last because it is totally my favorite.  See, as you might have noticed in the video above, we have made a deal with our kids regarding the coveted Nintendo DS.  If they want one, they have to save up for one.  We, the parents, will meet them half-way, which means they have to save up about $70 for one...figuring tax and such.  Brooke scrimped and saved almost her entire 4th grade year.  Grant decided the time was ripe for him to attempt the struggle about a year later.

He saved.

                     And he saved.

                                                   And he saved.  (and he spent a little here and there, but mostly he saved.)

Until finally he had enough money if he sold us his Gameboy (we gave him $15 for it, what he would have gotten from a trade-in at Gamespot...see Jon above) around last May or June.  And there was much rejoicing.

Until about 3 weeks when he lost it.

We looked high and low.  We cleaned out closets and behind chairs and bookshelves.  We could not find it anywhere.  I thought it must have been stolen.

But Santa found it!  And brought a long a couple new games and a case.  What a guy! 

And now we will fast forward over many joyfully received gifts, for which those of you who are responsible for such gifts we are really thankful and appreciative, but seriously going through all of them would make this already long post exceptionally long.

                                 Except for Thanks Dad and Kate for the picture.  I cried.  I love it.  Thank you.

And for all the rest of you, whether you gave us a tangible gift or just the gift of being in our lives, please know that we love you!  We hope you had a really wonderful Christmas and we wish we could give you this in person!

 

...a 2 hour delay.

Of which I have mostly wasted already.  But heres a little bit of Sketchy fun for you to take with you as you go about your daily lives:

We (finally) have a Christmas tree and it is all decorated and everything.  Yay!  I don't think we have been this late since the Mac-Gyver tree.  But it's up and it's purty and the kids have messed with the lights so now they are all wonky as opposed to perfectly sequenced the way their dad left them, but oh well this is not a problem I am prepared to be concerned with right now.

We bought new lights this year (well, last year during the after Christmas sales) and they are pretty, and they don't get hot to the touch, and they don't use a lot of electricity so Tom lets me leave them on all the time (but maybe he is less afraid of this tree burning down as it only has to survive 5 days). However, they don't allow good enough lighting for me to take a cute picture of my kids sleeping under the tree.  We will be going back to the burning down the house model next year, because as you all know, it's all about the picture around here.

This year they remembered the "tradition" of sleeping under the tree all by themselves and it was cute to see them all excited.

Saturday, we baked.  Brooke and her friend Brittney helped.  They were cute.  "This is so much fun!"  Hmmm.  I thought it was a job to be crossed off my "Do Before Christmas" list.  I didn't realize it was supposed to be enjoyable.  But I tried to not intrude too much on their whole "having fun"; crazy attitude towards Christmas.

Tom will be happy I used a semi-colon there.  I used it just for him.  Apparently it is his favorite punctuation.  And I thought I already knew everything about him.

Sunday during the passing of the sacrament, Alex piped up:  "I wish they'd pass around some peanut butter too!  And bless that!" 

Needless to say our spiritual enlightenment was enriched with gratitude for our kids.  I mean honestly.  Not only did it crack me up that he wanted a peanut butter sandwich Christ's Supper, but he also thought ahead enough to forestall the objection I was just about to offer, by insisting that the blessing be offered over the peanut-butter as well.  Smart cookie.

PS: my spell checker is messed up.  It's taking perfectly normal words like objection and turning them into objection and then objeClion.  And I don't know who or what objeClion is or what he's doing with my blog.  And it's not just objeclion, there was crack and tried and many others and I tried to click skip but I may have messed up a time or too.  So let's pretend this is a bloggy game and you try to come up with the right word to match the right sentence, if you see one.  Enjoy Bloggy friends and family!  It's a little holiday bloggy party, if you are good maybe I'll serve dip.

So long Miss Fairy

Well, it's over.

My youngest of young now knows the truth about Miss Tooth Fairy.  And as much as I hated that wench, I'm sort of sad now that she's gone.  I think I've told you before about my failings in the Tooth Fairy department, so I should be happy.  At least now they know that when cash/present fails to appear magically under their pillows, that it is just their lame mom and she will eventually come through if given enough reminders.  But still, that "magic" appears to be somewhat sullied now that there are no longer any visions of winged humanoid shaped insect in their little minds.

It, like so many other things, is all my fault.

So I shouldn't whine too much.

You see...

I told him.

I know!  It's horrible.  But I did.

It happened like this:

"Look Mom!  My tooth fell out!"

"Mom!!!  Look at Meeee!  I LOST my TOOTH!" 

"MAH-OM!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(That may or may not be a slightly over-dramatized version of our actual conversation, I'll leave you to figure that out.)

"That's great Boo!  Go put it under your pillow."  And then continue cooking dinner/picking up the house/playing on the Internet. (again you figure that out)

And off he gleefully goes.

                                                                     Fast forward to the following morning at the breakfast table.

"OH!  I FORGOT TO CHECK UNDER MY PILLOW!!!" and off he quickly and expectantly goes...

"Um, buddy, you know sometimes the tooth fairy has a really busy night and she ummm, is running a little late..."  As my 3 other children give me knowing and you're-so-pathetic looks.

Sobs from the upstairs bedroom are heard.

"Oh Crap." from the kitchen is heard.

Guilty and accepting of my patheticness, I climb the stairs to find the boy on his bed, tears in his eyes.

"No Mom.  She's not late.  She took my tooth.  But,  b...b...b...UT SHE DIDN'T LEAVE ME ANYTHING!!!!!"  Wails, sobs and tears.

"I'm sure it's here somewhere buddy, it probably just fell off your bed."

"N...n...n...no.  It's gone.  She.  She...She just doesn't want to give me ANYTHING."

more sobs.

"I'm sure we can just write her a note explaining that you lost your tooth."

"No.   IT'S OVER!"

Here's where I lost control of the situation completely, not that I ever had it. 

So I sat the boy on my lap and hugged him tightly and then, I did it.  I told him I knew the tooth fairy would respond to his note and asked him if he wanted to know how I knew.  And then I told him this was a very big boy secret and did he think he could keep a very big boy secret?  And then, and then...And then, I said "I am the tooth fairy."

And he looked at me in stunned amazement. 

I'm not sure whether that is an insult or a compliment that I don't match his vision of the winged-humanoid-shaped-insect known as the tooth fairy.

"And Mom would never let you down like that would I?" 

No he agreed, quite gratifyingly, as I had just let him down completely.  Mom would come through...eventually.  And then he got that look in his eye.

"Does that mean I can make a wish?"

"Sure, buddy, you can make a wish, what would you like the tooth fairy to bring you?"

"How 'bout a Nintendo DS?"

Um, no.  Sorry just because the tooth fairy secret is out doesn't mean the tooth fairy budget has just gone limitless.

We finally got the wish scaled down to Pokemon cards or a Bakugan.  Now that's a realm I, I mean, the Tooth Fairy, oh heck, I can deal with.

It's probably super pathetic, but I still made him write the note:    

I wonder if he was writing to the real Tooth Fairy, if she would have gotten a more detailed request. But then again, maybe she wouldn't have gotten a "best friend, Alex K." I guess I can take that. 

Happy things from the 'burg

One fun thing about my new job is I'm getting familiar with more weird PA town names...although most of them are townships or boros (not to be confused with burros).  And I have some new favorites to add to my list of CRAZY AND WONDERFUL PENNSYLVANIA NAMES,  of which is not currently in existence, but I think will have to become so now.

And the 2 townships or boros (not to be confused with burros) lucky enough to begin my list are:

1. Moosic, PA  I don't know how Moosic got it's township name and you know I don't care.  But I'd like to imagine a lot of pastures and cows and one day 2 farmers (or would that be ranchers with cows?  Anyway I like the word farmer better than rancher, somehow that's too close to raunchers and this is my delusional story so I'm calling them farmers...ahem) ...2 FARMERS were laughing and telling jokes in that farmerly way they have about them and then the cows started up complaining about one thing or another, as cows are wont to do, and one of them says "Well, I guess that means its time to get back to work..."  and the other one says, "Yep, I set my alarm on Moo-oooo-oooo-sic..."   Get it?  Moosic?  Oh I kill me. 
2. Mowcow, PA  I found this township next and I was quite happy!  Look another bovine reference!  (Really, my job is exceptionally boring sometimes and this gets me through the day...mostly I sit at my desk working and thinking, if we had a decent computer system this could be done so much more efficiently!!!  And then I realize that while that may be true, if it were so, then I wouldn't have a job.  So I don't complain out loud.  Much.) And then I realized that it was only a typo and it's really Moscow, PA.  Which you know, although it has that whole Russian thing, doesn't really lend itself to cow jokes.  So now I'm less enchanted with it.  I guess we could just pretend it was Mowcow...

And it's not all just CRAZY AND AMAZING PA NAMES, I have to bring you.  Oh no!  I offer more.  Much more!

I have CRAZY AND AMAZING PA WORDS too!  Now how much would you pay?

I think I already taught you "Yinz" that hybrid of "you all" or "y'all" in case Paula Deen happens to be reading my blog.  So let's move right along.

This one I heard for the very first time to day:  HOOPIE

Any quick guesses on the definition?

                                                                                                             No?

Alright, I'll put it in context for you:

                                                                                They're all just a bunch of Hoopies.

Or this one ought to make it easy for you: 

                                                                                   That Walmart is Hoopie-city!

Apparently (according to Word Detective), Hoopie originally meant any native of West Virginia, but now it pert' much  means yinz found yerself a bunch of hillbillies.

But isn't it a nice sounding word?  Hoopie, Hoopie, Hoopie, Hoopie, Hoopie...

It's got a musical quality to it! 

                                            I think I'll just wish you all a Hoopie Day!

There is hope.

or: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

You're welcome.

A very merry...

I just have a minute, I'm on a break.

Work.

Sorry, it's taking up a lot of time.

Who knew?

But...

I have to mention just one thing.

                                    My husband is the best!!!!

And

                                          It's his birthday!!!!!

Happy birthday honi.

And thanks.

for: liking to teach our kids all the stuff you know.  Even when they aren't listening.*

and for:  being willing to hang on to the misbehaving one so I don't have to do it.

and for:  being willing to risk bird poop to hang out with your kids in what they want to do.

and for: humoring me in my picture needs even when there is a boat ride going by making comments about people getting married and kissing in the lucky tree.

and for:     thinking a Thanksgiving picnic on the beach sounded fine.

And by the way, I think it's cool that you were excited about seeing this:  and     

and even that when I showed you this shirt you had to "read" the calculation to see if you knew what it meant.

       Happy

     Birthday!

For "all that white stuff"

Out of the bosom of the Air,

Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,

Over the woodlands brown and bare,

Over the harvest-fields forsaken,

Silent, soft and slow, descends the snow.

 

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Snow-Flakes"

 

 

Winter has come early to the North East.

I'm not really a winter wonderland lover.  I'm not really thrilled to enjoy the bounties activities the snow brings.  I will take my kids sledding...if I can't get out of it.  I'll snap pictures of their snowmen as long as I can come inside soon.

I'm sort of hoping that somewhere there is a snow quota which when met, means we get an early Spring.

But there are things I really like about the snow.  Such as:

Looking at it through the window in a warm house.

Christmas lights look even more beautiful through the snow.

Hot Chocolate is even more yummy when drunk through lips cold from being outside, especially this kind:

 

YUM!

Kitty is demonstrating on of my favorite winter products.  I'm especially thankful for what ever brilliant mind thought of door draft blockers that you put on both sides of your door...yeah brilliant mind! And thank you Bed, Bath and Beyond for selling them.

 

And I am really thankful for Kohl's this year and their awesome sale which allowed me to purchase Tom (and Brooke and Jon) a really cool coat for an awesome price.  Check out the cool new coat:

 

And the cool price?  $35.00!  WOOOOOOT!!!!!!  Yes, it was 50% off because of the sale and I had an additional 20% off coupon.  Mmmmhmmm!