Tradition

It all started on a crisp, cool morning in October of 2001. I saw a fall display at the college where Rich worked. It seemed like a perfect photo opportunity. Out of that photo a tradition was born.

The first year was an easy snapshot of Richie (just 3 months old) lying on a blanket. The second year brought a picture taking challenge in the form of a pumpkin grabbing toddler, the third year a sweet big brother holding "his baby", the fourth year brought pumpkin grabbing toddler #2, last year it seemed they were both getting the hang of it.

And this year...

At Long Last...

...I am back on the blog. I'm woefully behind in blog reading as you may or may not have noticed. Unfortunately I was unable to access the internet while on my trip. Actually, I was unwilling to pay the $14.95 a day the hotel/convention center was charging for that privilege. Can you say "HIGHYWAY ROBBERY" and "SICK AND WRONG"?

Yes, I AM bitter.

Anyway, I arrived home on Sunday evening, but have been wading through piles of mail and school papers (unfortunately did not get to through this pile in time to see that my son's school pictures left a little to be desired and that the picture retakes had already taken place...lovely), dealing with a mysterious rash on my eldest (possibly caused by one too many "happy meals"???), major car repairs, suitcase unpacking, laundry, and the various and sundry other items that tend to pile up and greet you with warm welcome when you are away for any period of time.

By the way, my husband did survive (as did the children). The house was in GREAT order when I returned home and although there may have been some excessive McDonald's eating, all in all Rich faired well. So, dear husband this is your official and virtual pat on the back. You are THE Man! MANY thanks and MUCH love to you my sweet.

I have so much that I could share, but I thought that I would just share some basic highlights from the convention. In no particular order...

1) You can view my all time favorite moment of the actual convention here. Seriously, this was the most fun I've had in a long time. 400+ grown women throwing balls at (I mean to) each other. I was hit in the head at least a couple of times and our table was filled with coffee splatter from leftover Starbucks cups being pummeled at high velocity. Good times.

2) It wasn't all fun and games. We did get serious. We had several great speakers including Becky Bailey, Daniel Levitin, Maria Bailey, and Ysaye Barnwell. We also were treated to a concert by this group.

3) In order to save money, I did not sign up for many of the evening "extras". So I was left with some free time to spend here. My favorite purchases came from here. Oh dear, I just realized that I probably spent all the money that I saved not going to the convention extras at the mall. Oops.

4) Like any self-respecting convention there was of course a place to buy Kindermusik products. I enjoyed this immensely because I came away with some SERIOUS deals. By the way, (slightly off the subject) has anyone ever noticed that there is a room named Utopia A and B in every convention center known to man? Why is that?

5) I watched two whole movies all by myself in the comfort of my hotel room. Ahhh!

6) I perused through this store to my heart's content and bought my very own grown up size blankie (soft as a baby's bottom) for only $12.99. It is my new favorite thing.

7) And last, but not least, the fact that all the walking I did surely worked off any extra calories that I consumed here, here and here.

So, there you have it. A glimpse into my little adventure. I promise to catch up on all of your blogs soon! You guys were busy while I was gone ;-)

Over and Out

I'm leaving tomorrow and will be heading here to attend this event.

I'll be leaving my family behind. So, please pray for safe travel for me and sanity for him. Seriously. Pray for my hubby as he holds down the fort singlehandedly. That is no easy job.

All of the preparations are making my head explode. I have made a handy dandy reference list for my hubby. I have enlisted this friend and this friend to help with childcare. And of course, this friend, this friend, and this friend have all offered to lend a hand as well, if needed. I have great friends!!!

I've made my packing list, I'm finishing up the laundry and I've had a heart to heart with my husband. Nothing serious, mind you. It went something like this...

Me: Okay, should I try to plan out meals for you OR are you just going to take them to McDonald's anyway?

Him: Yeah...the second.

I'm so glad I asked the question. I do have some "easy to prepare" things in the freezer if he decides to be ambitious, but I kinda doubt it. Oh well, I guess that is the fun of having Dad in charge!

Friends, I AM taking my computer so I will try to check in when/if I find some hot spots, but may not be doing much posting.

I hope you have a blessed week!

Quatro Cosas

I got tagged for this Meme by Darlene. Thanks Darlene! Feel free to play along if you haven't done it yet!

Four Jobs I Have Had

1) Kindermusik Teacher
2) Music Minister
3) Inventory Specialist
4) Mommy

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

1) Anne of Green Gables
2) Anne of Avonlea
3) Nine Months ("This is MY MOMENT!")
4) Little Women

Four Shows I Watch on T.V

1) 24 (What will that Jack Bauer do next?)
2) American Idol
3) Grey's Anatomy
4) ER

Four Places that I Have Vacationed

1) Nantucket Island, MA (Honeymoon)
2) Scotland (while we lived in England)
3) Gulf Shores, AL (2nd Anniversary)
4) Vegas (last year for our 10th anniversary)

Four of my Favorite Dishes

1) Mashed Potatoes (My Mom's)
2) Manicotti (Olive Garden)
3) Roast, Potatoes, and Carrots (My Mom's)
4) Chicken Enchiladas (Casa Fuentes...hole in the wall mexican place where we live)

Four Places I'd Rather Be

1) Milligan College, TN
2) Nantucket, MA
3) Indiana (where my family lives)
4) Florida (where Rich's family lives)

That's all folks!

Ramblin'

Well, it has been awhile since I wrote a post of unadulterated randomness, so guess what? It's your lucky day!

I'm sitting here with a bottle of water and a few empty Halloween candy wrappers by my side. I bought the candy for "decoration". Yeah, right...now they'll be "decorating" my thighs.

I've flipped through the channels and read through all of my bloglines and I guess the only thing left to do is write a post about NOTHING.

Oh wait. Here's something. I finished those thank you cards today! Only three months late, but hey...better late than never. Honestly, I probably would have forgotten about them all together, but I had little postcard thank you notes printed with this picture...



What else could I do with the pile of postcards that said..."As you can see, our little Skywalker had a GREAT time at his birthday party! Hope you did, too! Thanks for joining us! Love, Richie". The only option was to use them for their intended purpose. I did add a "p.s." at the bottom that says, "Sorry this is so late!" because I would not be me if I didn't.

Hmmm, let's see...what else?

I made dinner two nights in a row! I even used the timer on my oven so the chicken potpie I made would be golden brown and bubbly hot when we got home from Will's soccer game. Of course, our dinner was postponed for a while when we realized that we needed to make a Columbus Day boat for school. The instructions said that the boat could either float or sink. Hmmm...let me think about that one. Yes, we are definitely boat floating types. Rich and Richie whipped up an impressive specimen in about 30 minutes (while Richie was eating his dinner). Thank God for my creative husband!

Speaking of school, the rule follower in me is being torn in two directions with Richie's homework. You see, each week they bring home two letters to learn. They are supposed to color the "letter people" pictures, trace the letters in capital and lowercase, find three pictures of things that start with that letter from a magazine and glue them into the "Letter People" book. All of that is fine and dandy. The real problem comes when it is time to label the pictures. They encourage you to let them spell the words phonetically. Wha??? Excuse me?? You're talking to the 2nd runner up of the 4th grade school spelling bee. You spell the words RIGHT or your opponent gets "sailboat" for a final word and you LOSE! I've said it before and I'll say it again, "sailboat is SO NOT a 4th grade word"! I'm really not bitter...I'm not...really...but I think you can see why I might hyperventilate a little at the thought of telling my son it is in ANY WAY okay to spell a word incorrectly. Thankfully, Richie usually spells them right on his own. He only gets confused when the letters don't match the sounds or when there is a silent "e", etc. So, I let him spell the parts that he can and then I help him with the tough sounds. I can't help it. Hopefully, I'm not opening a can of worms here, but what do you all think? Am I doing the wrong thing?

Well, it is getting late and I should probably retire for the evening. But before I go, I must share with you the results of my latest poll. The question posed was...shoes - heels or flats? 6 of you (66%) prefer flats versus 3 (33%) of you who prefer heels. Thought provoking, I know. Feel free to leave your 2 cents on this very important matter.

You Reap What You Sow

A couple of years ago at a MOPS convention, I came across an interesting resource called Seeds Family Worship. They are worship CDs for families. The lyrics to the songs are solely from scripture. I purchased two, one with the theme of praise and the other with the theme of courage. I only played them a time or two after I returned home because it seemed like my boys were a little too young for them at the time.

However, just recently, I found them in the car, dusted them off and gave them another whirl. I'm SO glad I did. They have been a huge hit. The boys love the music. The other day I had the most beautiful and JOYFUL moment singing praise to God with my boys coming home from school. And for those of you who have experienced pick-up from school in our little town, you know it can only be an ACT OF GOD that I would experience any amount of joy after leaving "THE LOOP". (Sorry, I digress.) So, can I just say our little moment of praise was PRECIOUS? Richie is in the back singing at the top of his lungs, and when I look in the rear view mirror, Will is back there giving it his best as well. It was one my favorite Mommy moments EVER! This is the scripture we were singing...

"Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens,
praise him in the heights above.

Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars.

Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created."

Psalm 148:1-5

All this to say, I'd like to recommend this resource to you. The music is fun so the kids enjoy it, but here's the clincher...I really enjoy the music as well. There are a couple of the slower songs the kids don't really go for (of course these are the ones that I like). And a couple of the songs that I think are a little hokey or have hokey parts (which, you guessed it...the kids LOVE). Thankfully, those songs are not SO hokey that you feel the need to store tranquilizers in your glove compartment. But the biggest selling point is that every song is STRAIGHT from scripture. I love knowing that my family and I are memorizing scripture and being filled up with God's TRUTH.

So, I know you are all thinking...enough already, where's the link? So, without further ado I'd like to tell you a little story about...JUST KIDDING!

Here's the link.

Wordless Wednesday

Fickle

This evening I was getting William dressed for his soccer game. And I'm using the term "game" quite liberally. He is only three and I wouldn't exactly say he is playing a game as much as he is running along with the crowd and on occasion coming into contact with the ball. Even if by accident.

Anyway.

As I'm putting on his shin guards and and soccer socks he says...

"I love these!"

(indicating the soccer socks & shin guards)

"They make me happy!"

Hmmm...

If you read this post a few days ago, those words may ring a bell. Yes, that's right...they are the EXACT SAME WORDS he used to describe his affinity for cuddling with Mommy.

What more could a mother ask for than to be put in the same league as soccer socks?

I'm honored.

Really.

Marital Meme

Saw this Meme on Jen's blog and thought it looked like fun. Play along if you'd like. Be sure to leave me a comment if you do.

1. Who is your man? Rich

2. How long have you been together? Married 11 years

3. How long did you date? A little over two years

4. How old is your man? 33

5. Who eats more? He does, yet still I gain more. How unfair is that?

6. Who said "I love you" first? He did, although it was probably somewhat coerced ;-)

7. Who is taller? My hubby has a whole foot on me!

8. Who sings better? We both sing well, but I'm going to say me since I'm giving him the next one...

9. Who is smarter? He is.

10. Whose temper is worse? No comment*

11. Who does the laundry? I do, but Rich helps occasionally.

12. Who takes out the garbage? Rich, but I help occasionally.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Rich

14. Who pays the bills? Well, I write the checks, but he makes the money.

15. Who is better with the computer? Rich is tech support for all our friends and family.

16. Who mows the lawn? Well, to look at it now, you would think no one, but when it gets mowed Rich does it.

17. Who cooks dinner? Again, WHEN the cooking gets done, I do it.

18. Who drives when you are together? Rich

19. Who pays when you go out? Usually Rich

20. Who is most stubborn? No comment*

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Rich

22. Whose parents do you see the most? I think it is pretty even.

23. Who kissed who first? It's the great debate. (read more here...don't forget to read his comment)

24. Who asked who out? We didn't go on an official date for quite some time because neither one of us had a car on campus. But I'm sure he asked me out for our first official date.

25. Who proposed? Rich (read more here, unless you read it when you clicked on the link for number 23)

26. Who is more sensitive? No comment*

27. Who has more friends? That's a tough call. Probably me.

28. Who has more siblings? We both have three siblings (Rich has three brothers and I have three sisters)

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Rich does in the big things (like which house or car to buy), but I probably do in the little things (where/what we eat, what goes on the calendar, etc.).

*Okay, okay...me! (in reference to #'s 10, 20, and 26)