the aftermath

It's the day after.

 

The day after the Son is born.

 

The day after the big fat guy in a furry red suit comes down the chimney. 

 

The day after the kids have blown through their presents like whirling dervishes.

 

The day after a huge dinner that was surprisingly easy to cook this year.

 

The day after we spend the entire day in our pajamas - except for Monkey, who changed from the old pajamas she slept in to the new Hannah Montana pajamas she got from Mawmaw and Pawpaw.

 

This is the day after.

 

This is the day Trey takes the opened and destroyed boxes to recycling.

 

This is the day Trey shops for a new TV for the bedroom (this has been a long... discussion... between us and I finally gave up).

 

This is the day that Trey witnessed two men arguing and road-raging; the Christmas spirit must be gone.

 

This is the day that I make a dog and cat food run to the grocery store.

 

This is the day that I get the kids OUT of the house no matter what.

 

This is the day that the tree is coming DOWN because I'm tired of Little Man breaking ornaments and of the cats peeing on the paper underneath it. 

 

This is the day that the Lord has made;  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

 

 

Thankfulness

photo by mathewingram

 

It's Thanksgiving!   Well, almost.  In just three days, it'll be Thanksgiving.  Close enough, right?  We are traveling, just like everyone else in the country, so this will probably be my last post for the week.  First one, too, apparently.

 

I wanted to encourage you, in this time of pushing Christmas shopping, to stop and remember that this week is Thanksgiving.  A time to give thanks.  We get so wrapped up in Christmas, Christmas, Christmas that Thanksgiving often gets missed (unless you count the Day-After-Thanksgiving attention).  Sunday, our pastors reminded us that we should stop and be thankful.  Thankful for many big and little things, especially in this time of economic troubles.  Do you have your health?  Be thankful.  Do you have your family?  Be thankful.  Do you have food and clothes?  Be thankful.  

 

I'm thankful for so many things.  I'm making a list (and checking it twice, gonna find out ... wait - wrong season!) and I encourage you to do the same.

 

I'm thankful for my family.  My husband who is my best friend.  My children who amaze me every day.  I'm thankful that my children still have all of their grandparents and nanny.  I'm thankful I still have all my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister-in-law and beautiful nieces.

 

I'm thankful for my friends.  'Nuf said.

 

I'm thankful for my health - such as it is.  Sure, I could be healthier, but I'm good.

 

I'm thankful for the house we have (even though I have a love/hate relationship with it).  

 

I'm thankful for the grocery game because we're able to eat well and still stay under budget.

 

I'm thankful for Dave Ramsey (even though I hate having to stick to a budget) and for not having car payments.

 

I'm thankful it didn't rain on me this morning while I was bagging leaves in the yard.  (The rain came later and stayed all day long.  In case you were wondering).

 

I'm thankful that my husband has a good job and I don't have to work, even though I do, part time.

 

I'm thankful for so many other things like sunrises and sunsets, rain, a good book, brownies, my children's teachers and schools, my church and my pets.  

 

What are you thankful for?

 

Halloween

Well, I don't normally post pictures of my kids, but since they're all incognito, I thought it might be ok this time around.  Aren't they cute!

  

 

 

We went with Little Man's buddy, WB.  Their neighborhood is ideal for chasing after candy.  They had lots of energy starting out.  After about the 10th or 12th house, the energy waned a bit.

  

 

 

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

  

 

 

This was the haul that Little Man brought in after we called it quits after the 15th or 20th house or so.  Monkey continued on to about 5 more houses.  Her bucket was overflowing... 

 

 

The sugar-induced drunkeness began shortly thereafter.  We left WB's 'hood and headed to another friend's house where they were having a bonfire and s'mores.  I didn't get any pictures because by then I was exhausted and just wanted to sit by the fire.  We didn't even get home until about 9:45 or so and the kids went straight to bed - face paint and all.

 

All in all, it was a good night.  

 

 

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope everyone had a happy 4th celebration.  Yes, I know it's the 5th,  but I was busy yesterday!  We were invited to a good friend's house, who was throwing something like a block party (only it was in the driveway - it just included most everyone around the block) for the 4th.  It was great fun!

Picture this:  Bright (hot) sunny day, lots of adults being outnumbered by lots more children, lots of good food, lots of what little Monkey called "daddy's juice" when she was a toddler.  Yeah, that's going to come back to haunt us, I'm sure.  Anyway, the kids were confined to the back yard for a while with a water hose, some balloons and a sprinkler, only occasionally escaping in an attempt to douse some unsuspecting adult.  Then when that got old, they infiltrated the driveway with sidewalk chalk and races with Razor scooters, only stopping to grab a drink (NOT "daddy's juice") and some food.  I'm pretty sure Little Man ate an entire watermelon.

Dinner was great, thanks to some considerate friends.  You see, this was a BYOM (bring your own meat) get-together.  Well, we forgot ours.  But we didn't forget the dessert!!  At least our priorities were in line.  Anyway, kind souls shared their smoked chicken (note to self: must look into this "green egg" thing), grilled chicken legs and some bacon wrapped venison tenderloin.  The retired vegetarian in me said  "no way you're eating that!" but she was overruled by the current carnivore.  I only had one, though, so that makes it ok, right?

When dessert was served, you would think the children hadn't been fed since birth.  Little Man and his sidekick, WB, each had 3 ice cream cone cupcakes like this.  Monkey had one, too, plus some of my trifle, key lime pie, butterfinger cake and a brownie.  This was just the first course of desserts.  Throughout the evening, there was also ice cream and blow-pops.  Well, something had to keep these kids going 3 hours past their bedtime!

Then it was time for the fireworks.  Little Man watched some that were far-off, visible through the trees, but he wasn't too enthusiastic about the ones just up the street.  I think terrified would be more accurate.  He had a death grip around my neck for the first, oh, 30 minutes of our amateur fireworks show.  It made me wonder how he'll do for Rockin' the Docks tonight, when the professionals put it together.  He did eventually relax, but I think that was sheer exhaustion taking over.  Monkey sat with Trey a little closer to where the fireworks were being staged until some rogue rocket launcher or some-such thing went just over their heads. Then they moved back to where we were sitting.  Monkey is such a little drama queen!  She screamed and squealed with just about every pop and sparkle, hiding her head in my armpit like a freaked out puppy.  Speaking of puppies, ours slept through the whole thing, in a friend's lap.  I think he might be deaf.  That would certainly explain his lack of listening skills - or is that just because he's a puppy?

After the first "show", we started packing up.  I wanted to be out of there before the daddies on the street started having bottle rocket wars, using the mailboxes to aim at each other's houses.  I guess that's what happens with daddies when there's a lot of their juice around.