Memories

So I read a nice article in Reader's Digest about writing your memoirs. Which is not the same as your biography. Memoirs are memories, they are nice and short. So today I'm writing 2 Christmas Memories. One sad-ish, one funny.


My husband had been dead 6 months. It was the first Christmas without him. Thanks to life insurance, (which I am a HUGE advocate of), money wasn't an issue. Buying presents for kids all by myself was.

The boys were easy. Anything Star Wars related and they were happy. I had them done in a microsecond. Oriahna was a different issue.

I could not find a present for her. She had dolls, she had toys, she had clothes...how hard could it be to buy a present for a 2 year old girl! My husband had done all the shopping for kids before. He was such a big kid himself, he knew exactly what to get to make them excited on Christmas morning.

So here I was wandering around Toys R Us with a cart full of Star Wars toys, tears in my eyes, going up and down the aisles wondering what to buy for her. I said a little prayer even, I think it was probably the silliest request he's ever gotten..."Money's not the problem, Heavenly Father, I AM! What should I get her???"

Then I rounded a corner and there it was...like a television show when the new product comes out on the spinning stage with the spotlight on it. Well, it wasn't that shiny, but it felt like it to me. The Barbie Big Wheel.

I hugged the box and put it in my cart. I know its a dumb story...but I still get emotional thinking about it.

AND NOW...

(Same year actually)

The night before Christmas we were getting ready. I let the kids pick out what cookies we were going to give Santa. They chose Grasshoppers. You know, those nasty chocolate cookies with mint filling. ICK!

So I laid them out with the milk. They gave Santa a huge helping, so he left a few.

The next morning the kids were excited, playing with their new toys...the Barbie Big Wheel zooming around the house. Jefferson found Santa's leftovers and said, "Mom, can I have a cookie."

I shuddered, "You can have all of those cookies that you want!" They hadn't actually tried them yet, they had just bought them for Santa.

So Jefferson took a bite. Stopped. The look on his face was PRICELESS! I giggled and said, "Go ahead and spit it out." I watched him run off to the bathroom and didn't think much of it until later.

Later was when his brother came running out of the bathroom shouting, "MOM! MOM! SANTA PUKED IN THE TUB!"

Sure enough, Jefferson had spit out the Grasshopper into the tub. Jaylan had gone in and found it, and assumed that Santa had just had too many cookies for one night.

Getting to know you - Christmas style

So Dad sent me this little quizlet, and I thought it was FUN so I posted it here too! Love you see yours, or send me an email.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both! Depends on what I have on hand.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial - just bought a new one this year

3. When do you put up the tree? When I feel like it.

4. When do you take the tree down? See #3

5. Do you like eggnog? Yup! Unfortunately, Dell won't let me drink the loaded kind....

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Whitney Doll

7. Hardest person to buy for? Dad

8. Easiest person to buy for? Everyone Else

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Ashamedly, no...hoping to remedy that this weekend with a huge one to put on the lawn with a spotlight.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? HA! You are hilarious!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A gripe card...yeah, guess who was the first person I used it on...

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation? Scrooged. Hawaiian cruise.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? October

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chineese food on Christmas Eve

16. Lights on the tree? Pre lit tree now! YAHOO

17. Favorite Christmas song? Go tell it on the Mountain

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Mostly home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes, yes I can

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Usually a star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? New PJs Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Radio stations that won't play songs about Christ...HELLO!!!!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Blue and Silver tree, which we are doing this year!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? For the scene in Mars Attacks to come true and watch Congress blow up on TV

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? Don't care! I loves you all anyways!

Slacker

Yes, I am a slacker, truth is, I always look at everyone's blogs at work, where I don't have access to pictures.

So.....Here's a nice long blog with pictures of what's been going on.

Halloween - Jaylan is 12 now, the death knoll for trick or treating. He stayed home and passed out candy, dressed up like Pinhead, so he could scare little kids.

Jefferson was a vampire hunter and Oriahna was a vampire....go figure. Jefferson has this deep hatred for vampires, so it was fitting. Pics NOW.....


Oriahna the vampire...I lost the pic of Jefferson because I am a bad mom. The worst part of his costure was trying to find a cross! Do you know how hard it was to find a CROSS in SLC! (Mutters under breath)









So then the kids went on to Test in Tae Kwan Do. They are green belts now, which means sparring...which means beating each other up with weapons are allowed. Here is the pics of their test, they are in yellow belts testing for their green belts.


Jaylan doing his forms... its called "Tow Sohn Yo" Don't ask me to spell it....


















Jefferson breaking his board, they all broke a 1 inch board this time, even Oriahna. She was scared she couldn't do it, but her Master told her he wouldn't ask her to do anything he knew she couldn't do. She broke it on the first try.


I'll have to get some pictures now with their Nun-chucks and big giant sticks with them smacking each other..... :)

Soooooo it's September

Yeah yeah, time has flown.

I have no pics at this time, sorry, I'll see what I can do about that later.

Updates on us all...

Jen and Nate are finally married! YAY! Sept 5th was the big day. Her colors were Red and Orange and Black and Silver. Halloween colors!!! Yeah...I'll get some pics of that up. Katelyn was a tired bug after that day, she and I laid down and watched Spongebob for 2 hours before the reception. I tried to get her to nap, but I think Nana got more sleep than she did.

Audrey was here for a week. She went down to see Mandy and my new baby nephew Rylan for most of it, and then spent the weekend with us.

Jess and Forrest - nothing much to report there. Jack Jack is growing fast and talking. He loves to come over and torture my poor dog Shay. She sees him coming and just flinches, but she's so gentle and loving. I can just hear her saying, "OK, I'm ready Jack Jack...poke me in the eye, I'm ready!" He gives her hugs then, after he pokes her in the eye.

Keegan - Working for Greene's construction as a concrete person. He needs a hair cut...

Jaylan - Started 7th grade. Yeah, his mom was freaking out about that. I still haven't met one person that said that 7th grade was the best year ever! Everyone has told Jay, "7th Grade SUCKS!" He has told me he doesn't know why since he's having fun. So good so far!

Jefferson - 5th Grade, still the oldest in his class and still the shortest. He's too smart for his own good. He is the bored kid, which can lead to trouble if he isn't involved in something. His teacher is good about that though, and keeps him busy.

Sami - Braces and glasses. I told her, "oh no!! You'll look like a nerd!" But she's a cute nerd. She had 2 teeth pulled and braces on her upper teeth only. They said she'll only need them for 5 months. I thought that was amazing...remembering how my friends had them for years! She only uses her glasses for reading, which is a plus as well. She's a 5th grader as well this year.

Oriahna - 4th grade drama queen. She finally got the point that she has to earn her long hair. If she doesn't brush it...off it comes! (what a mean mom) She had lots of fun with her aunt Audrey and was really really sad when she left. Hopefully she and I can scrape our pennies together and go with Grammy to see Audrey in D.C. in Feb - (shameless plug for donations :))

Dell and I are just working and trying to get the house done to sell it. It's been over 1 year now and the bathroom still isn't finished with it's remodel. But the less said on that the better...or I'll go crazy.

Scottish Festival

Sorry for the lack of posting - a month - I'm a slacker.

We've been working on our bathroom, I got a new job, and kids are out of school.

Then Dell decided to have his arm swell up like a balloon, he's spent the past 3 days on IV antibiotics so that's been fun.

We went to the Scottish Festival a couple of weekends ago where we all had a blast! They had clan tents, (although our clan was missing :( ) booths, food, (yes, there was haggis), the best rootbeer I've had in a loooooong time - brewed is the only way to go, facepainting, bagpipes, kilts, and a really fun concert that night with some fun groups. The kid's favorite band was the Wicked Tinkers... http://www.wickedtinkers.com/ I didn't know they had didgerydoos in Scotland, but it works!!! They were awesome! They had a little mosh pit up in front and all the kids went up and danced and danced with them and everyone else, they made sure that no one squished the kids. I hightly recommend them, especially the song, "Wallop the Cat".

Anyway, here are some pics, you can see the kids liked the facepainting. Jefferson took most of the pictures.

If you tilt your head and squint, they kinda look like the extra's from Braveheart.

Remember, many have been kilt for calling it a skirt...

This is when all the bands assembled. It was so awesome to see and hear.

Back to the grind

Well, we had a fabulous week! Despite the fact that I got my usual seat on the airplane, you know, the one with the little kid that kicks you for the entire 3 and a half hours...Everything else was perfect.

We had a 3 hour layover in Chicago and so I got to eat a Superdawg! So yummy with the dyed neon green relish! I recommend it! We went to Midway instead of O'Hare airport. They have a nice memorial in the Airport about the Battle of Midway, which is where the airport gets its name.

Miami was hot and humid...saw no gators on this trip. The Sheriff's department guards the ship while you are in port, so Dell and I watched him run up and down the harbor chasing people off. When you take off though, the Coast Guard gets to escort you out of the channel, driving a little boat with a big gun.

Key West was beautiful - Hot and humid again, I kept sweating off my sunscreen. We had breakfast with the chickens and the cats at the Blue Heaven Restaurant which I HIGHLY recommed, very very yummy. We went to the top of the Lighthouse and took pictures from all around the island. We also went to the Southernmost Point of the Continental US - well, the southern most point that you can publicly get to. It is not a big island...Dell and I walked across it in 30 minutes. They have used every square inch of that place, and walking or biking is the best way to get around. There is noooooo place to park. We went down to the Marina and saw all the cool boats, and some rather large fish that spend their lives at the "fish cleaning station" where they can get all the freebies.

Cozumel was pretty, and busy in San Miguel. To all you nice Mexican people that tried to sell me everything, I would have gladly bought it all but I don't have that much money! We did buy our liquor at the grocery store of all places, no one else had Controy. Go figure! Amy Jo, you're bottle is in the mail! It was funny, when you get back on the boat the first thing they do is confiscate your liquor until your last night of the cruise. If you are going to drink booze, you are going to drink THEIR booze. Even non-drinkers like Dell and I had to hand it over.

The cruise was great, we saw dophins and flying fish in the water as we zoomed along. The food was fantastic, (Sushi bar from 5 to 8 every night!) They even had a Jamacian style pulled pork that made Dell sweat...so you know it was good. 24 hour pizzaria, midnight mexican buffet, and the yummy yummy cheese!

So we are back, safe and sound, the kids missed us, and loved their presents we got them. I found a luchador mask for Jefferson, you should have seen his face...

Fun cruise, I recommend it!

Busy Saturday

Well, here it is, 8 pm on Saturday night, gotta get up at 5 am to catch our plane. Am I packed? Oh, yeah right, that's hilarious. I have clothes in the washing machine, Dell's out getting TSA approved locks, and my children are somewhere scattered through the neighborhood. It'll all come together, it always does.

Today was a divide and conquer day. The kids had testing for Tae Kwan Do, Jaylan had his performance of "The Little Mermaid's Adventure with the Pirates of the Carribean" - of course testing was at 11:30 and the play was at 12:30. OH! And Sami's here too!

So Dell took Oriahna and Jefferson to testing, while Jaylan and Sami and I went to the play where we all finally met together. Then it was a race around the valley to get everything for our trip, ending with a trip to the Rec center to go swimming with Mandy and Kadee and Grandma and Grandpa. So here's some pictures to tide everyone over until I can get back from vacation. As well as a little video of Sami being a goofball with the camera....

Jaylan as Jack Sparrow with his treasure chest.

Oriahna doing a kick.

Jefferson really takes it seriously!

And Sami being, well, Sami.

And the four of them acting like the weirdos they are...

Unlucky with puppies...and Rum!

So my Jaylan is starting a trend of having bad luck with dogs. Almost two years ago he was bit by a dog that required stitches. He and his brother and sister saw the neighbor with their dog, a really cute Jack Russell terrier, and they asked if they could pet it, (if I have done nothing else in teaching my kids, they have had it POUNDED into their brains that they always ask permission before petting someone else's dog). She said, "Oh yes, he loves kids." Well I think it was the fact that she was holding him and that 3 weird little kids were all reaching out to touch him, he freaked out and bit Jaylan on the eye. So I get a phone call at work from the neighbor apologizing, asking to take him to the hospital...etc. I said, "No, let me take him in." I get there and Jaylan is sitting on the floor holding a paper towel to his eye and petting the dog that bit him, "Hi Mom! This is PJ!" Now he goes and visits PJ every Friday. Just a freak thing, and he made friends out of it...go figure.

Then yesterday, again, he was bit by a neighbor's dog on the leg. Nothing serious this time, just a pinch. Of course he was wearing his nice new suit and I, being the great mother, asked first "Did it tear your suit?!?!" No, it didn't. But he's starting to get a complex. "I don't know what is wrong with me, Mom! Why do dogs keep biting me?" But I thought this one was funny too. Jaylan was out collecting fast offerings and the man said, "I don't have any money." THEN, after Jaylan got bit he all of a sudden was willing to open his wallet....made me laugh.

Countdown to the cruise - 6 more days!!!! The closer it gets, the more requests I have for people to bring back rum...I'm going to have to take an extra suitcase for all the rum! I should start charging and make a tidy haul for rum running, I don't drink a drop. Hey, It's in my blood, grandad was a bootlegger and great-grandad made moonshine. LOL!

Loves to you all!

pics

OK, here's Jen and Nate. Now you can see what he looks like...Ta da!

As for the rest of us...OK so does anyone else feel like this is the winter that would not end? ACK! Enough of that! No more dwelling on the weather!

Bathroom update - yes we've been remodeling the bathroom, which started last SEPTEMBER. The dry walling is all done...FINALLY! Which means I can sand and paint and then install crap and get the kids OUT OF MY BATHROOM! Ok done with that rant, which is not aimed at my children, BTW, just at their father.

No regrets

OK, so I'm looking around at all my friend's blogs and sites. Many of their posts have pictures of their little babies and toddlers and talking about nap time (hooray for naptime!) and watching Elmo and the silly things their kids do.

I enjoy everyone's babies and want to reach out and pinch their cheeks and spoil them rotten and give them everything that their parents won't let them have. They are all so cute and funny and perfect!

Would I want to do it all over again? Nope.

Granted, I started my family young. Really really young. And I had them really fast and really close together. Was it the smartest thing to do? Dunno. All I know is that while everyone else is having babies now, my baby is 8, and I really really like it that way.

I don't have to change diapers. I don't have to feed and dress them. No more hassling with car seats. I can tell them to go outside and play and know that they will look both ways before crossing the street. They don't fight with me at bedtime. They bathe and shower themselves. They even occasionally ask questions that spark an interesting conversation, "Mom, what's Socialism?"

They like scary movies, they like to help me garden and cook, they play video games with me - and win most of the time. I am having so much more fun with them now that I ever did when they were little.

I look at Jaylan now, who is 12, and I realize, "I've only got 6 years left with him. I've got a lot of playing to fit in the next 6 years."

Anyways, what is my point? Hold on to your babies, and let me hold them too, because I love them, (But I love handing them off to their Mom's when they are stinky too!) Enjoy you're time with them now, and when they are 8, and 10, and 12. I have no regrets at all for playing with them when they were babies, or enjoying them now that they are older.

I look back at my house growing up. It wasn't always the cleanest or the nicest. Nowadays my mom's house is really nice and clean and she has nice things. I look at my house now and the state of total chaos that it seems to remain in...but I remember a poem that Mom had on her wall growing up.

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs.

Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Someday I'll have a nice clean house with nice things in it. But I'm not looking forward to it that much.

Nana and Granpa

Just a little note about the little ones. Katelyn has been with us this weekend. She's such a busy girl, makes me tired. She drives me nuts when she's here but I miss her when she's gone. Go figure. She'll be 3 this month, and is talking up a storm. Yesterday she ran up to me, "Nana I cold!" with her arms wrapped around her. I tried to get her to snuggle with me to warm her up, but she can't sit still for more than 5 seconds. So she jumped off my lap and ran to Dell, "Granpa I cold!" She's a fun girl.

This is Jack-Jack. He turned 1 in January, so he's much bigger now. He's already taking after his father in teasing everyone. We went to Lava Hotsprings the first weekend in April with everyone, and I got to feed Jack-Jack. What an appetite! Holy cow the little monster almost ate my finger! He says,"hi" and when he wants something he doesn't say please he says, "thank you, thank you." until he gets it. He kept poking my dog, Shay, in the eye, (because they are so facinating) and Jess would say, "Be soft!" and he would give her a hug, and then poke her in the eye again. Funny kid.

Updates -

So a few things are happening.

#1 - Jennifer is engaged. Hooray! His name is Nate, and we like him. A lot. Mucho better than he-who-shall-not-be-named-because-he-is-a-loser. And he treats Jen like a queen, which is something she has only SEEN instead of experienced (because her daddy treats me like a queen), so I'm really happy for her. He also is really good with Katelyn. Dell and I are going to a "meet the parents" night tonight for dinner, should be good. We're just waiting for her cancelation to go through and then we'll announce a wedding date. Welcome to the crazyness Nate! - I'll post pictures as soon as I get some, ahem, Jen...

#2 - Jaylan is playing the part of Jack Sparrow in the upcoming presentation of The Little Mermaid's Adventures with The Pirates of the Carribean. Should be fun. They sing and dance and act and there are pirates! What more could you want! If you are going to be in my neck of the woods on May 3rd, that's when his performance is.

#3 - Jefferson's You Tube videos - Oh yes, my crazy son is now into animation - http://www.youtube.com/user/kewldoodjefferson - you can find his animations there. Unfortunately, his microphone broke and so there have been no new additions recently. Sucks to be 10 years old and want to animate things and your Mom makes you work on a computer that is a million years old. A new microphone is in the budget, just Mom never thinks about it when she's at the store.

#4 - Weight loss count - Oh yeah, I'm losing weight...shed 12 pounds, and I am VEEEEEERY HAPPEEEEEEE!!! Mom and I are doing water aerobics every morning at 5 am. I usually finally wake up halfway through the workout, glad I haven't drowned. Probably still won't wear a bikini in Cozumel...heh heh...but its a start!

Happy Birthday Dell

Happy Birthday Dell! Not much more to say to that except that we love you. Unless you want me to publish how old you are...

Off to Margaritaville

Hooray! Dell and I are booked for our cruise, leaving the first week of May. We're going to Key West and Cozumel. Yes, off to Margaritaville!

We love cruising, highly recommend it. Some people list pros and cons about it, and yes there are. Seeing how this is our 4th cruise though, we think the pros definately outweigh the cons.

So, here are my two bits about it....

Cons - Timetable; you are on the ship's timetable as far as being on shore. Case in point; when we are in Key West we are there from 7 am to 2 pm. Do I want to stay for the Sunset Celebration in Mallory Square? Oh do I ever! But, I'll be back on the boat by then.

Pros about this (Yes there is a pro) - You get a taste of everything so you can decide where you want to actually STAY. We've gone to the Bahamas twice - and have definately decided that after visiting a couple islands that Nassau is THE place to stay. So, Dell and I decided that the next time we go to the Bahamas, we are not going to cruise, we are just going to park it in Nassau and play. Same with Hawaii...the cruise let us sample all of the islands, and while each one was unique and fun in its own way, we really decided that if we go back that North Shore is our destination and we'll just park our fannies on a beach there, Oahu had everything we wanted.

Pros - Room and board. No need to worry about finding a hotel room, there is one waiting for you every night. No need to pack up your stuff all the time when you arrive at a new place, you just grab your swimsuit, your camera, some sunscreen and go. Room stewards are the BEST!!! You don't get that kind of service at a hotel, NO WAY! Dell and I have had some awesome room stewards! Even in the bowels of the ship in the cheap rooms, they go out of their way to serve. One time Dell lost a button on his pants, and he asked our room steward, Antonio, if he had a safety pin. Antonio said, "Just a moment, " and he held out his jacket like one of those illegal watch salesman, and there were 50 safety pins on the inside of his jacket! Needless to say, we were impressed.

Food - When they say you'll gain about 5 pounds on a cruise, they are not kidding. There is always food. 24 -7 there is food. You are surrounded by food. Good food! From 6 to 9 that sushi bar is open, and that's where you'll find me...snarfing down sushi. (Note, drinks are extra, including soda. Dell buys an all you can drink soda card for the week.)

Con - I know I know, how can there be a con about food. Well there is. You can miss out on lovely local dining experiences... like CONCH! I like conch, kinda chewy, but good. Heh heh, and ask Dell about his Mountain Dew in Nassau sometime...hilarious! But be sure to sample the local cuisine wherever you are, don't just rely on the cruise for all your comfort zone foods, branch out and take the plung...try the conch.

Shore excursions - ah yeah, well, not too many pros here...

Pros - They get you back to the boat on time. That's about it!

Cons - Ok, so you're spending the money to go somewhere, you probably should spend the time researching it too. There are less expensive ways to see your destination. Cruise ship excursions are very touristy, (aka TRAP!) Do some searching, see what the locals say to do. You'll find the beaches less crowded and the food much more yummy. Trip Advisor is a GREAT place to start, they give you actual reviews from travelers on what they did and what they found was fun for them. Given the fact that you have little time at your destination, it's a good idea to have it all planned out. (I found this GREAT site for Cozumel - http://www.cozumelmycozumel.com/ - written by Americans who live there to help people out with their vacation - THANKS GUYS!)

Anyways, point being, cruising is way fun! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to post when I get back!

(I posted a pic of AJ and I in Hawaii! That's Kap with us - he walks on fire...)

Salutations!

So I decided to take a stab at this. I don't have any earth shattering ideas, and mostly this will be a way to tell everyone what has been going on with our family.



Things are really never quiet around our neck of the woods, with 7 kids, 2 grandkids, and various neighbor kids, I never know who is in my house. I walked downstairs the other day and I had 8 children in the basement, 5 of which were not mine. They were playing DDR, which I suppose I should be glad they are getting some kind of exercise, but the NOISE! Oh the noise noise noise! (Hey, I sound like the Grinch!)



Anyways, Easter came and went with only 1 mishap. The children left their candy out and the dogs found it. Oh yeah, two chocolate Easter bunnies were devoured. (We told the kids that Beagles like to eat bunnines.) Then the puking began. Shay was one sick puppy all night. She puked on the floor, on the chair, and ultimately, on my bed. Nothing like washing your sheets at 9 pm on a Sunday night. Then there was the frequent trips to the bathroom she also insisted on all night, (chocolate is a diuretic...found that out!) Anyways, this morning she and I and Dell are all tired puppies.



Amy Jo and Ben were here visiting this weekend. It was so much fun to spend time with them and Miss Katie. It's nice to be adults for awhile and talk to adult friends. Very refreshing! My batteries definately feel recharged. Would love to get the fab five back together somehow, have some kind of a reunion somewhere fun, (no kids allowed) and recharge us all. Have to think on that one...