Goodbye 2009

2009 has been a shitty year, I can’t say I’m sad to see it go.  I spent the majority of this year miserably pregnant and had a nasty bout of depression when I turned 29 in August.  Those are the only 2 things I’ll miss from 2009; my child bearing years and my 20’s.

I’m excited about 2010 and the next chapter in my life. No, I can’t have anymore babies but I’m looking forward to raising my 5 children and watching them turn into adults over this next decade. I’m even optimistic about my 30’s, I’ve started a book and I plan to stick with it and see it through to the end. My marriage is stable… I may tell him to F off from time to time but that just adds to our charm. We’re comfortable.  I’m even excited about the possibility of work! I’ve been home for 8 years and I plan to go to work when Jackson starts school in 4 years. Over the next decade I plan to do some traveling; my sister in law and I have a plan to go to NYC next year for New Years Eve and kind of a treat for turning 30. Being from Florida I’ve never seen snow, I plan to see some! There’s so much I’m looking forward to in 2010 and the years to come.

I’m happy to say Goodbye 2009!

[Via http://greek4cheerful.wordpress.com]

A day in our home!

Our home is filled with kiddos, toys, laughter….and I love it! I love staying at home with my munchkin Ellie, and wouldn’t trade it for the world! Here are a few snaps from today. When they are looking so cute, I can help but snap a few!

My cute little nephew. He is such a handsome guy, and a really cool little kid!

And, this is our kitty Georgina. She loves to sit up and watch the kids from afar. Ellie’s new words are “Kitty Kat”.

[Via http://emilyfrasierphotography.com]

Goodnight Smooches

As the evening is coming to a close for the boys, if Mad Dog is home, I head to my green leather chair in our master bedroom. Mad Dog gets the boys set up with a show or movie and I get a few minutes to journal. The boys are used to this routine and when their actual bedtime arises, they know to find me in my journaling chair for a goodnight ‘hug and mooch’ (as Frick likes to say). You would think this would seem fairly typical. With Frick and Frack typical is a word that doesn’t always apply.

First, little brother Frick comes in without wearing any pants or even a pull-up. Apparently he made a u-turn on his way to getting his nighttime pull-up. He leans in for a ‘mooch’.

“Good night, Frick. And I love your pants by the way,” I say.

He turns and exits and his little cheeks are bared for the whole world to see. “Tanks, Mommy,” is his way of thanking me for the compliment. He heads out the door to find Mad Dog and put on his pants (at least I hope that is what happened).

Then, it is big brother Frack’s turn. Lately my new nickname has been Agent Juarez (a guinea pig from the children’s movie, G-Force). Frack is Agent Blaster.

“Hi, Agent Juarez. Will you marry me?”

“Of course Agent Blaster.”

Frack leans in for a kiss and declares us “married”. He is quite serious about it and a tiny smile creeps over his face. It’s obvious he is feeling nothing but love for his Mom. He grabs me with both arms and squeezes me tight.

“Goodnight, Mom. See you tomorrow.” And he’s off with a dash.

In my five years of motherhood I have seen and heard a lot. I still marvel at the fact my boys manage to bring something different to our daily rituals and routines. This is one of the many reasons that no matter what, I have one of the best jobs on the planet.

[Via http://writesforallmommies.wordpress.com]

It was a great day today!

Well I got some of the many things done that I wanted to get done.  I still need to meditate for the night.  It’s hard to find time to do that with three children.  Miss A is in a growth spurt and is nursing all the time and it would be great if she didn’t try to stand on her head while she did it.  Then my boys are just boys loud and always moving but good boys.  It will be late before I get to meditate for the night but I will get it done maybe I will post about it after I do it.

Today I learned how to make a black mirror for scrying  I might have to try this out.

Also Mr Spirit and I talked about a blessing for the kids so I am going to start writing one up.  It will be one the first things I put in my BoS.  I like that what I am going to place in it is going to have meaning and be written up by me.  The Blessing will be simple and a blend from both our faiths about guiding the children and helping them find their true path neither of us are going to force the children to follow our faiths.

I have been asked in the past how Mr Spirit and I can blend our faiths so well that many that don’t know what our faiths are wouldn’t know that we are a blended faith home.  Well for one we both believe in being good people and giving back and pretty much the golden rule to put it simply.  The holidays well right now it’s just the Mr and the kids and myself so it’s easy to blend them.  My holidays and specials are normally just for me and not a big to do Mr. Spirit will make sure to do something with the kids when I need time for something and I do the same for him when he needs it.

For Christmas I got him a bible everyone thinks this is weird but why wouldn’t I honor his faith it’s a part of him and he honors mine all the time as well.  I would go and sit in church with him every Sunday if he asked, but he doesn’t church isn’t my thing but I think I will start going as he starts looking for his Spiritual home.  It sucks with the military he just hasn’t found that church he feels right with and the one from before he deployed well seems different now.

Today I also started my research into Imbolc or Candlemas  and it’s again something that I haven’t really looked into and I am sure I will be doing something I already have the meal planed for the most part something simple that my children love.   Mr. R is such a picky eater.

Speaking of dinner

Tonight we have pancakes with eggs cooked inside of them it was good we cooked the eggs to over easy and everyone loved it Mr. R ate the most he has in a long time!

Blessings,

Spirit

[Via http://mmspirit7.wordpress.com]

To the Beach & Heading Back to Indiana

project 365 entry for Sunday July 5th, 2009

We didn’t leave out as early as planned. Oh, well. Not sure which beach we were going to, just heading east. Didn’t want to go to Myrtle Beach, it’s way to crowded for my liking.

We ended up hitting the coast & crossing into NC. I was not happy to find that everything was pay to park at the beach! I am just not use to that. We drove through several areas. Beaches were either crowded or there was no place to reasonably park. Finally started heading back south along the coast. Found a place to park ( yes, I had to pay..ggrrr). Having to watch the time, while kids are trying to have fun, so the money doesn’t run out of the parking meter is just not my ideal of fun at the beach. Oh well, the kids wanted to get to the beach.

The oldest granddaughter loved it.



My grandson thought he was saving his aunt…LOL He was so proud of himself.



My grandson & my youngest daughter:



My daughter & granddaughters had been collecting shells and putting them on a towel. What they didn’t realize, until this photo, that my grandson had been going behind them & burying the shells in the sand.





Time was running out on the meter & I still had hundreds of miles to drive home, so headed back to the van. As we were trying to knock sand off of each other, an older gentleman came up calling “There you are! I was afraid that I missed you!” As it turns out, this man & his wife had watched me & the 5 kids on the beach. I guess people were surprised that the kids were so well behaved & that I had been able to keep track of them all by myself & still able to take photos. It was very hot today & he & his wife thought we looked like we needed something cold to drink. He had run back to their house to grab little kool-aid drinks for the kids & a bottle of ice-cold water for me. Bless their hearts. Never know when you will find the kindness of a stranger.

Got the kids loaded. They had been asking what Myrtle Beach was. So, I decided to keep heading south & drive through Myrtle Beach so they can see it. Then the plan is to head west towards , well basically pretty close where we started this morning.

Hope I made you smile. Until next time …

[Via http://project365catherine.wordpress.com]

Christmas is not all laughter (part 3): razed to the ground

Racing after time to put out the raging fire. (Picture courtesy of Yahoo! News)

Days ago, it had me wondering, what is Christmas like to families and to individuals whose homes were snatched away from them at the time when the world is merrymaking. What does it really feel like for these now-homeless folks?

On the morning of 23 December 2009, over 800 families living in Pasay City, Philippines lost their homes to a raging fire that gutted through residences. In all effort, the residents threw buckets upon buckets of water onto their houses, and tried salvaging as best as they could everything they could still get from it. The waters did somehow accomplish its intended purpose, but it wasn’t enough – far from enough. The residents did salvage some, but gone were the rest, along with their houses. For all they know, they  find their struggles in vain.  

Click here to read the story.  

These families will find it difficult to accept that just when the year is about to end and they were about to get ready to meet the new year, a fiery nightmare hit them at the time they least expect it – a nightmare that they can’t shake off easily from their minds. It is something that history has forced its own script to be written upon the lives of these folks. Hard as it may be, but fate has played a serious joke.   

Fire victims in evacuation centers. (Picture courtesy of GMA News)

To think that this happened on a month that millions would agree to be the happiest season of the year is one that completely breaks my heart. Just two nights ago, in a TV news interview, one of the residents narrated that during the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy last September, as the floods reached neck-deep in height, much of her belongings were destroyed and rendered useless. Now, as another one struck, it left her and her family desolate. Not only were her things destroyed, it was turned into ashes. The only thing she could say last was that this is her saddest Christmas ever.  

For the greater part, I feel pity over the many children and infants who, in this early stage of their life, have incurred much trauma already. This trial, if we take it this way, is something that adults could somehow manage to process and, later, understand and cope up, though it will take time for some. But for the young, this amounts to a shock, they whose lives are still oriented towards play and imagination of the great and new wonders of life. Besides, what wonder will a child get from seeing her own house burn before her very own eyes?  

This is not to sound morose over these incidents. It’s just that there are really instances when the Christmas of some can turn from laughter to sadness. We then who are blessed with a home and privileged to celebrate this season of giving – as we often say it – are invited to lend a hand, be it in money or in kind, to help these folks and the many like them who are suffering the same fate.

[Via http://omelreflections.wordpress.com]

Making their Dad's Christmas Special

Now that Christmas is past,  I can finally post pictures of these fantastic siblings!

It took some time to find a date that worked for all of them and then a rush to go thru the prints.

Mom was in on the secret,  I’m sure Dad is very proud of his three kids.

You are a wonderful family, many blessings to you this holiday season and wishing All the Best for 2010!

[Via http://bettinawoolbright.wordpress.com]

The Warmth of Winter

Christmas Eve was really lovely. I left work at about 1 (with blessings to go). I picked up my sons. Grey and I wrapped presents and made cookies. Thane bopped around as Thane is wont to do. My husband came home early.

Making cookies for Santa

But when Thane woke up from his nap, he was shivering. Cheerful. Eating and drinking. But shivering. Curious, I took his temperature. 102.8. WHOA. I proceeded to try to figure out what could possibly be up. Obviously, he couldn’t go to our Christmas Eve service like that. So reluctantly I left my husband behind and took Grey.

Now, when Grey is angry or upset he’ll say, “I don’t want ____” where ____ is his heart’s desire. So for example a regular day will have me saying, “Grey, you need to get into the car right now and stop goofing off.” If he actually HEARS me, which doesn’t happen until about the 80th time, he’ll sometimes get mad and say, “I can never never never play my DS again.” You can almost bet that he’s thinking about his favorite thing: his DS. Well, yesterday he made a small mistake (didn’t listen to an instruction) and when I called him on it, do you know what that child said on Christmas Eve? Not “I’m not going to get any presents!” which was what I expected. No, instead it was, “You’re not going to let me go to church tonight.” On Christmas Eve, the thing my four year old was most excited about was our church service.

It warms the cockles of my heart that my son wanted to go to church so much. And it was really a lovely service. The children *I* remember as the Angel Gabriel back when were home from college and looking terribly grownup and flatteringly happy to see me. The church looked lovely. My friends were there — young and old. And there was the pageant with the angels and the holy family and the gathered crowds. I played my trumpet for the hymns. Grey sang along, loudly and correctly. He sat beautifully for the entire service (abetted by the old school Pokemon cards he’d gotten as a gift). And then afterwards he and one of his cohorts in crime chased each other around the sanctuary while I chatted. He was in no hurry to get home and get with the loot parts of Christmas. It was just beautiful.

An angel's eye view of the manger in Bethleham

Eventually we did get home, and he carefully laid out four cookies for Santa and some milk. We played a game while waiting for him to fall asleep, thinking this would take a while. We were wrong. He was out like a light. And Santa came and gifts appeared and joy filled the house, except for the feverish baby (who is a very cheerful sick kid).

The joy of Christmas morning

The boys are still young enough to sleep until their regular time on Christmas morning. But I heard excited exclamations as Grey discovered the scene below. He’s always so satisfied by the end of his stocking I wonder why I ever think I might not have enough for him to open. His interest in opening gifts lasted until the end of our gifts — he still has to open all his grandmother’s tomorrow, but since she flies in tomorrow morning, that seems appropriate.

I caught Grey helping Robby play with Robby's present

Then we all rotted our brains out on the various digital anesthesias. (Well, except for Mr. Slightly More Clingy Than Usual Thane) Grey got two DS games and two Wii games and the usual parental rules regarding them were suspended. He got an astronaut set (including two space monkies!), real Legos, blocks, a science experiment kit, books, and a glow-sword. And oh did he have fun with it all (right until the sugar-crash-fueled complete meltdown). Thane’s favorite toys were his new bunny Mr. Bun (Grey snitched his snuggly new moose) and the colander and spatula Santa brought for Grey’s stuffed bunny Robby. My husband got a Kindle, which is really, really awesome looking. I got a number of really nice things, including a fantastic apron (really!), a Wii fit from my brother, and a new recipe book. (Ok, maybe I’m easy to please.) But mostly, it was all filled with joy and togetherness.

Grey brought up the idea of sending a thank you note to Santa. I wonder how many kids who write Santa letters also write him thank you notes?

I'm not too sick to play with blocks!

As for Thane, well, he was down to 101.2 tonight. Tylenol seems to help immensely. Was ever there such a bad 4 day patch to get sick? I’m pretty sure it’s a really nasty persistent ear infection. He just stopped a course of antibiotics like 3 days ago. I’m guessing it held off but didn’t cure an infection. I’m also guessing that since this is his fourth infection in as many months, tubes are in his future. This isn’t so bad, though. It doesn’t seem to bother him that much. It’s not infectious (so I don’t have it to “look forward to”). It’s not going to be dangerous even if we have to wait until Monday to treat it. I haven’t decided whether it is terrible timing (sick for Christmas!) or fantastic timing (we were going to be staying home anyway!).

Mr. Bun Gives sick Thane a kiss

The grownups have topped off our day further rotting our own cerebellums with more video games. My husband appears to be in a very tense ground battle with the Russians on one of the floating bridges in Seattle. I think that, after a nice 2 year hiatus, I might actually beat Fable. And my mother-in-law flies in tomorrow! Yay!

So how was your Christmas? What was most meaningful in it for you? And, the real question, what loot did you get?

[Via http://bflynn.wordpress.com]

Reason for the Season

Despite all the holiday commotion, I managed to squeeze in little Frick’s three year wellness check-up. It went exactly as I thought it would…., horrible. First of all he’s in good health so that wasn’t the problem, it was his behavior. Going in I figured I had a 50/50 shot of him being compliant and the odds didn’t fall in my favor. He was so defiant when the nurse tried to evaluate his vision and hearing she decided to ‘pass until his four year check-up’. So as of right now the pediatrician has no quantifiable evidence that Frick has the ability to see or hear.

After a few level 8 meltdowns and much cajoling on my part, Frick successfully completed the rest of the exam. Praise the Lord there were no booster shots this time around! I don’t think we would have made it through unless one of the shots included some form of sedation (for him not me…., well, beggars can’t be choosers, really).

So, my little Frick is healthy and my big boy Frack is growing up fast. He had the opportunity to go to ‘work’ with Mad Dog. He took it very seriously. He was dressed to the nines and had his work bag packed with books, games and some cars. He knew the weight of his father’s job rested on his shoulders (apparently he had to take several breaks when he was at the office obviously feeling the pressure). He was very proud to ‘help’ his Dad.

On the way home from work they stopped at the mall where you can ride the train (you all know it’s my favorite) and they picked out some ornaments for me and Frick. Mine was personalized and said I was the ‘Best Mom’. Even though most days I don’t feel anywhere near my best, it helps when you have someone like your own child who believes in you. No matter the season, reason or temperament, I am loved.

[Via http://writesforallmommies.wordpress.com]

Florida.

I hate my family.

Every year I visit them for the holidays, and they complain incessantly.

If I’ve done well in school, it’s not good enough.

If I’ve lost a substantial amount of weight, I could always lose more.

I don’t know anything about anything, even if I’m taking a degree on the subject.

No matter what I say, I’m wrong… even if I’m right.

They blame my girlfriend for “changing” me over the three years we’ve been dating, which is not the case. I’m sure my development as a person wouldn’t have been very different had Suzanne rejected me when I first asked her out.

They’re like children.

[Via http://earlymoderninternet.wordpress.com]

Leapfrog Tag or Tag Junior

So maybe you’ve read my review on the Leapfrog Tag Junior and the Leapfrog Tag, but you’re unsure which is the best to get for your child. To try and make things easier I’ve put together this little side-by-side comparison chart:

Leapfrog Tag Leapfrog Tag Junior age range 2 to 4 yrs 4 to 8 yrs books small sized board books, only a few words per page hard cover, paper paged books, more words per page like an early reader book, some game pages reading tool larger ‘buddy’ that is easy for small hands to grasp and hold on to, the reading base is wider making it easier to come in contact with areas on the page a thick pen design, tip enables point to specific words in a story or selecting smaller interactive elements on the page interactivity introduces kids to basic concepts like colours and size, single or small word count per page increases child’s vocabulary, touching elements on the page provides surprises like sounds or dialog and encourages kids to explore flexible with your child’s reading skills (can have whole story read or child can read and use the pen to get help with tricky words, games are included to help guage child’s understanding of the story, increases the child’s vocabulary, touching different parts of the page reveals more dialog or sounds and encourages kids to explore. compatibility Can NOT read Tag books Can use the Tag pen to read Tag Junior books also (need to download the audio and the pen will read the book just like the Junior does – whole page at a time, versus word by word), there are also learning cards and interactive boards that are designed to work with the Tag too Learning Path connect with Leapfrog’s Learning Path to discover your child’s favourite books and pages and what they are learning connect with Leapfrog’s Learning Path to discover what activities you child enjoys most, how long they’ve spent with a book, what they are learning and how that compares to where they should be at cost Tag Junior:$39.99 Cdn

Tag Junior book:$9.97 Cdn Tag:$59.99 Cdn

Tag book:$14.97 Cdn Includes USB cable, Tag Junior reader, Learning Path connect software CD-Rom, one pre-loaded book USB cable, Tag reader, Learning Path connect software CD-Rom, one pre-loaded book Review Tag Junior Tag

I hope you find this chart helpful. We’ve tried both the Tag Junior and the Tag. My kids love the interactivity and fun involved with them; I love that they are learning while having fun. And with the Learning Path program I can see just what they are learning.

[Via http://cabadov.wordpress.com]

Dear Santa: Real Talk

A LETTER TO OLD ST. NICK

 

Dear Santa, 

I’ve been thinking.  For the last couple of days I’ve had the pleasure of going all ‘Terminator’ on those barricuda Christmas shoppers at the mall.  As much as I’d love to say I enjoyed getting toys snatched out of my hands, my feet stepped on and my face scratched by some old lady because my shopping cart was blocking hers, I have to admit that this year’s Christmas shopping experience has been one great big ball of cow poo!  With that in mind, I wonder what you would do if your ass didn’t have those little brown-nosing elves to get all of your Christmas shopping out of the way; and eight reindeer to fly you over traffic jams, bird-flipping drivers and cops who are itching to give you a ticket.

I bet you wouldn’t handle it so well would you?  By the end of your experience, you’d probably be somewhere in a bar getting completely wasted.  Trust me, there are about 30 million, give or take another 30 million people, plus me, who end up in a bar fight after Christmas shopping.  If you think that’s bad, just wait until the after Christmas sales.   I’d pay to see the look on your face if you had to deal with that. 

Goodness gracious, Santa, I see why your hair is white and you’re so fat.  You are under a lot of stress.  You’re probably getting drunk all the time.  Santa, are you an alcoholic?  Is that why you have reindeer chauffeuring you around vs. you driving a big old U-Haul truck? Well, any way, what goes on in your home isn’t my business until it hits prime time news.  So enough of the drunk-Santa jokes.  Actually Santa, I kind of feel for you. While we regular joes only have to shop for our small families, you have to shop for the entire world.  You have to be mindful of the old, the dirty, the unpleasing, the ungrateful, the arrogant, the evil and the rude.  That has to be a job in itself; attempting to satisfy those who are never satisfied at all.  Who could blame you for getting smashed?

You’re probably in cahoots with drug dealers, bank robbers and psychiatrists, because I couldn’t imagine any sane, sober person attempting to take on the challenge that you’ve committed yourself to.  And that sweet old Mrs. Claus is probably some bitter old skank who can’t count to -5- and only bakes burnt cookies to pay you back for keeping her trapped all the way in the North Pole.  She can’t even get any because you’re out shopping all day for other people.  She’s probably always PMSing because she’s too far away from civilization to have an affair; and no doubt the elves are out of the question. And in your spare time, you probably only have time to practice your aim for when you sh*t bricks down the chimneys of everyone who mocked you all year long, leaving yourself too grumpy to shut Mrs. Claus up and break her off a lil somethin’ somethin’.  Not to mention you’re probably always tired and in a grumpy mood because your strapped for cash, having to feed all them damn elves and those hungry ass reindeer. 

Geez Santa, I was ready to rip you to shreds.  But now that I understand merely the possibilities of what you have to deal with all year long that we normal folks only have to deal with about 7-14 days out of a year, I’ll let you off the hook.  In fact, I’ll do better than that.  I’ll raise this glass to you in honor of keeping up the tradition of Christmas.  It’s because of your drunk ass that we are guaranteed to get laid on Christmas eve, and if the gift is good enough, on Christmas night too.  Thanks to you, our kids are nicer, our mother-in-laws don’t call, and our employees show up to work on time. 

Kudos to you Santa!  Not for being lucky enough not to be the 100th person in the checkout line, when the cash registers opens to the 3rd customer; kudos to you for only being fat after having to deal with all of that drama at home.  Just promise me one thing: That you and Mrs. Claus won’t remake any Ike/Tina or Chris/Rihanna Christmas specials.  I don’t think out networks can handle that right now, well not in the midst of our administration shift and all. 

Well that’s about it for now Santa.  Keep your head up. 

Oh p.s.,

I got a little something for you to give to Mrs. Claus (click HERE).  You can thank me later by leaving that shiny platinum plated crossbow under my tree.  I know it’s a little risqué, but 90% of any effort is getting started. 

Merry Christmas,

   Hottywood

_______________________________________________________________

 

Quote of the Week:    “Get your ass out of the street if you can’t see where you’re going.”

[Via http://hottywoodhelps.com]

Trinity

I had a great Christmas portrait session with little Trinity and her parents. We had some very special shots of Trinity in the stocking her mom was sent home from the hospital in 29 years ago. It is wonderful that it has been saved all these years! What a special and unique family heirloom.

[Via http://genophotography.wordpress.com]