Merry Montage Christmas
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Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Elf on the Shelf and a Great Prank
Elf on The Shelf
The last couple of years I have heard about this Elf on the Shelf. I saw a couple of the other Cheerio mom bloggers posting about and was always curious. A few weeks ago I was walking through Target and saw them there and decided this would be something fun to do and if it makes the kids behave better until Christmas would be a bonus! I bought my box with our little Elf and his book. We took out the book on Thanksgiving night and Dan, Katelynn, Junior and myself all piled into Katelynn's bed to read them the story. We had a huge bonus too because I had caught a commercial on TV advertising a 30 minute cartoon all about Elf on the Shelf the next night. I read the book to the kids and we told them to look for our elf that Santa would send us the next day. Dan was even interested in this "Elf on the Shelf" and thought it seemed like a pretty neat thing to do. That night Dan and I found a spot for our Elf where the kids would spot him, but wouldn't be able to touch him. In the story it tells you that you cannot touch the Elf because it was a rule from Santa and that the Elf also had to follow the rule of not talking to anyone, but he enjoys it when the kids talk to him. I also had to make sure and put him in a spot where I wouldn't have to move him for the entire day and wouldn't be in the way of our Christmas decorating. I found a nice little spot for him by our plants. The kids spotted him right away in the morning. Katelynn decided that she did not want him in our house. She really wouldn't answer why she didn't want him there, but you could tell that it was because she didn't want someone watching her behave badly and then reporting on her. She felt that she had to be good because she was being watched constantly (why do me and Dan not have the same affect?). She also said that since he was there he could stay this year, but that she didn't want him to come back next year. As the day went on I even starting thinking that this little elf was a little freaky. Every time I walked into the room there he sat and he looks off to the side all sneaky like.
Here is where my fun begins for the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend!
I sent my brother a couple of texts asking if he had an Elf on the Shelf or if he had heard of them. He sent me back that he had no clue what I was talking about. I took a picture with my phone of "Chippy" sitting in our plants and sent it to him and my mom. I immediately got a text back from my brother stating "don't you dare send that to me". Duh! Game on! I laughed so hard and knew instantly from his text that this thing was freaking him out. My mission - get my brother an Elf on the Shelf. I teased him all day with texts stating that he may be too late because there was already one on the way to his house. I also resent the picture of "Chippy" in the plants with a message of "I'm Coming for You". Yeah, I was getting to him. I had to figure out a way to get an elf in his house while he was gone. My goal was for him to walk into his house and be sitting somewhere and then all of the sudden he notices the elf and freaks out. I called a few of my cousins and asked them if they could get into his house while he was gone and nobody could. Leave it to my brother to be one of the only people left in the world without a code to their garage. (Jeffrey, this is why you get locked out of your house and the rest of us don't!) I called my mom and talked to her and then finally got a hold of his wife. She didn't have the two young boys and she was in town. I gave her the rundown of what was going on and she was in. She went to Target and picked up an Elf. The best part was she was leaving to go to her parents house with the kids the next morning and came up with the idea of leaving the Elf out before she left for the weekend. I told her to leave it by the TV because that is where Jeff will end up. It didn't take long on Saturday to get a text from Jeff. It was short and sweet. I just text him back and said "What?" I already knew what and I was laughing hysterically. He said - How did you get this in my house. So I told him that we told our Elf to let Santa know when he did his nightly report on our family at the North Pole that Jeff's family was also in need of an Elf and if he would send one to him. He said he was looking out the window and then from the corner of his eye he saw it and now they were both just sitting there staring at each other. He said it freaked him out. He thought I was sending it in the mail or something. He still has no idea that his wife helped me or how I got it there within 24 hours. I love it! I called him on the phone and just laughed. Getting him this way made my entire weekend. Later that night Katelynn wanted to call her Uncle Jeff and talk to him about his Elf. She wanted to know what he named his Elf and he told her he named it "Get Out" because he wanted it to Get out of his house. I just about fell over laughing. Katelynn thought it was a pretty funny name to name his elf. Fabulous, Fabulous, Fabulous. It isn't often that I get to pull one over on my brother, but when I do, its a good one. Jeff enjoy your Elf on the Shelf!
I will say that Katelynn and Junior have both warmed up nicely to our Elf, Chippy, and they run around the house every morning to see where he is. They say good morning and good night to him every day and Katelynn will talk to him. She has questioned whether he is real or not, but I know that she really wants to believe that he is and she is not sure if he really reports to Santa Claus or not so she has been on pretty good behavior since he has gotten here. If she is doing something she shouldn't Dan or I will remind her that he is watching us and she gets it right away. Junior either really doesn't get the concept yet or he doesn't care if Chippy tells on him, but he likes him nonetheless. Katelynn has now decided that he can come back next year as well. So, if you don't have an Elf on the Shelf check it out it may be worth either a scare for people or to set your kids attitudes in check!
The last couple of years I have heard about this Elf on the Shelf. I saw a couple of the other Cheerio mom bloggers posting about and was always curious. A few weeks ago I was walking through Target and saw them there and decided this would be something fun to do and if it makes the kids behave better until Christmas would be a bonus! I bought my box with our little Elf and his book. We took out the book on Thanksgiving night and Dan, Katelynn, Junior and myself all piled into Katelynn's bed to read them the story. We had a huge bonus too because I had caught a commercial on TV advertising a 30 minute cartoon all about Elf on the Shelf the next night. I read the book to the kids and we told them to look for our elf that Santa would send us the next day. Dan was even interested in this "Elf on the Shelf" and thought it seemed like a pretty neat thing to do. That night Dan and I found a spot for our Elf where the kids would spot him, but wouldn't be able to touch him. In the story it tells you that you cannot touch the Elf because it was a rule from Santa and that the Elf also had to follow the rule of not talking to anyone, but he enjoys it when the kids talk to him. I also had to make sure and put him in a spot where I wouldn't have to move him for the entire day and wouldn't be in the way of our Christmas decorating. I found a nice little spot for him by our plants. The kids spotted him right away in the morning. Katelynn decided that she did not want him in our house. She really wouldn't answer why she didn't want him there, but you could tell that it was because she didn't want someone watching her behave badly and then reporting on her. She felt that she had to be good because she was being watched constantly (why do me and Dan not have the same affect?). She also said that since he was there he could stay this year, but that she didn't want him to come back next year. As the day went on I even starting thinking that this little elf was a little freaky. Every time I walked into the room there he sat and he looks off to the side all sneaky like.Here is where my fun begins for the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend!
I sent my brother a couple of texts asking if he had an Elf on the Shelf or if he had heard of them. He sent me back that he had no clue what I was talking about. I took a picture with my phone of "Chippy" sitting in our plants and sent it to him and my mom. I immediately got a text back from my brother stating "don't you dare send that to me". Duh! Game on! I laughed so hard and knew instantly from his text that this thing was freaking him out. My mission - get my brother an Elf on the Shelf. I teased him all day with texts stating that he may be too late because there was already one on the way to his house. I also resent the picture of "Chippy" in the plants with a message of "I'm Coming for You". Yeah, I was getting to him. I had to figure out a way to get an elf in his house while he was gone. My goal was for him to walk into his house and be sitting somewhere and then all of the sudden he notices the elf and freaks out. I called a few of my cousins and asked them if they could get into his house while he was gone and nobody could. Leave it to my brother to be one of the only people left in the world without a code to their garage. (Jeffrey, this is why you get locked out of your house and the rest of us don't!) I called my mom and talked to her and then finally got a hold of his wife. She didn't have the two young boys and she was in town. I gave her the rundown of what was going on and she was in. She went to Target and picked up an Elf. The best part was she was leaving to go to her parents house with the kids the next morning and came up with the idea of leaving the Elf out before she left for the weekend. I told her to leave it by the TV because that is where Jeff will end up. It didn't take long on Saturday to get a text from Jeff. It was short and sweet. I just text him back and said "What?" I already knew what and I was laughing hysterically. He said - How did you get this in my house. So I told him that we told our Elf to let Santa know when he did his nightly report on our family at the North Pole that Jeff's family was also in need of an Elf and if he would send one to him. He said he was looking out the window and then from the corner of his eye he saw it and now they were both just sitting there staring at each other. He said it freaked him out. He thought I was sending it in the mail or something. He still has no idea that his wife helped me or how I got it there within 24 hours. I love it! I called him on the phone and just laughed. Getting him this way made my entire weekend. Later that night Katelynn wanted to call her Uncle Jeff and talk to him about his Elf. She wanted to know what he named his Elf and he told her he named it "Get Out" because he wanted it to Get out of his house. I just about fell over laughing. Katelynn thought it was a pretty funny name to name his elf. Fabulous, Fabulous, Fabulous. It isn't often that I get to pull one over on my brother, but when I do, its a good one. Jeff enjoy your Elf on the Shelf!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thanksgiving Day - Weekend
Our 4 Day Thanksgiving Weekend
Thanksgiving weekend really starts on Wednesday as soon as you are done with work! You just cannot beat a 4-day weekend. I decided to really take the entire 4 days off and not do any work. I have to say not sneaking in 30 minutes here and there to get a few things done has been refreshing. I think it also helped that I didn't receive emails from people over the 4 days either!
Wednesday
Wednesday after work had a full schedule for me. I darted off to the bank to deposit a few checks for Dan and to grab some cash for myself for Black Friday shopping. I drove home quick because I was also taking Junior to get his pictures taken at the mall. I rushed into the house and grabbed my little man and changed his clothes, grabbed him a snack that would not be smeared all over his face and some water for the ride. We pulled into Sears at 6pm on the dot, our appointment time. Junior was a ham taking his photos this year and our photographer was great with him. He sat and posed where she wanted to him and then would look up and say "cheese!" After pictures we headed to Pretzelmaker for a pretzel dog to share and wait for our pictures. Once we picked out the prints we wanted it was off to the grocery store to grab our last minute items for our Thanksgiving Day Feast. Dan had given me a short list of what he still needed from the store. I was in charge of appetizers and pumpkin pie which I had not started and had bought nothing. Junior and I raced through the grocery store and then the checkout. We were on our way heading back home and sitting at the turn single I realized I had forgotten the one thing Dan had asked for and I forgot Cool Whip for our pie - darn it. There is nowhere to turn around and get back to the store I was at so we headed off in a different direction to Walmart. I am already racing against the clock at this point thinking, Junior needs to get to bed here eventually and I still need to bake a pie and I was thinking a glass of wine would be nice before bed too. As we are pulling into Walmart all of the sudden there is a fire truck and an ambulance pulling in behind me. What is going! on and Really!, are going through my head. I had to stop at this store?! Something had happened I guess, but we were on a mission at this point and didn't see what the commotion was all about. We ran through Walmart and found what Dan had needed and headed over to get the Cool Whip section. I am in the pie and dessert fridge isle and I'm standing there and cannot see anything. I all of the sudden realize that there is a HUGE empty location and I get up close and read the tags. Yep, it was the Cool Whip section - Gone! I couldn't even help it I just blurted out loud - You've got to be shittin me, they're out of cool whip?! There was some guy standing next to me and he just looked at me strangely and I shrugged my shoulders and kept on moving. I did end up finding some store brand cool whip on an end section and there were only about 10 of them left. We paid and darted out of the store and to the car to get home. We finally were home by about 8:45pm and I still needed to get Junior to bed and bake my pie. Dan already had Katelynn in bed when we got home and Junior wanted to play with Dan for a little bit. I let them play and cleaned up a little and started my pie and then took him to bed. Once I had my pie in the oven I opened a bottle of Shiraz and enjoyed a glass of wine and chatted over text and Facebook with one of my girlfriends and my brother. I finally went to bed around 11:30pm that night. Dan of course already had the Turkey stuffed and everything that he needed all completed or laid out for the next morning.
Thanksgiving Day!
Dan woke up around 5am and put the Turkey in the oven and came back to bed. The kids were up and running around about 7am and I stayed in bed for a little while! I finally crawled out and had a cup of coffee and went straight for the newspaper and the Black Friday ads. I did clean the house up a bit since I hadn't done much the night before. We watched the Macy's Day Parade and kind of just bummed around for the morning. Around 11:00 I started getting out the appetizers and snacks to start munching on and we cracked open the first bottle of wine. My cousin Rory was joining us for Thanksgiving dinner which we were having around 1pm. We had a great feast as usual with Dan making most everything. After we ate Dan went and laid down and took a nap and the rest of us went and played Wii. I think that we Wii for about 5 hours straight from Wii sports to Wii fit to Wii Dance Moves. I was completely wore out and I think the kids were too. We ate again and hung out some more and then Dan and I put the kids to bed. I had been out shopping earlier in the week and had come across The Elf on The Shelf at Target. I had read a few things and heard about The Elf on the Shelf the last couple of years and thought that it would be fun for the kids to do this year. I took out the book and Dan and I and the kids all piled into Katelynn's bed and read the book. We told them that the Elf would probably show up at our house that night and they could look for him in the morning. After the kids were in bed Rory and I decided to finish off the wine. I had full intentions of going to bed right after the kids did since I wanted to get up and go shopping for Black Friday deals around 3:30am. I wasn't up for the Midnight change and since I wasn't going after any electronic deals I figured there would still be items left in the store for what I wanted. Rory and I ended up having a few beers after the wine and did some really deep talking and I didn't go to bed until 12:30. I knew I was in trouble because 3:30am comes really quick then and I was tired from staying up late the night before.
Black Friday Shopping!
3:30am definitely came quick after staying up way to late! But I was ready for it. I rolled out of bed and got ready and was out the door with my coffee, purse, and Black Friday ads. One of my girlfriends was supposed to join me and I had sent her a few texts when I woke up and tried to call her, but she was snoozing away and missed out. I was off and running, well, running at a snails pace! My first destination was Walmart. I pulled in a not so busy parking lot and a not so busy store. I was kind of shocked. I walked around the store and grabbed the items that I was wanting and the only items that I didn't get were the cheap Wii games and it could have been because I missed them. I walked straight up to the checkout line and out the door in no time at all. Next stop was Kohl's. I walked in and same thing at this store. There were a few people shopping around still and I was able to grab my items and even took the time to look around at a few others and right through the check out line. Off to Old Navy and Target next. Same deal at both of these stores! Got my stuff, no line to wait in at the check out and out the door. My next destination was McDonald's. I was starving and needed some more coffee and there was no way I was going to attempt to get in-line at a Starbucks, way too busy! I grabbed a quick bite in the parking lot and then went to the Outlet malls and hit a few stores and got a few more gifts. It was nearing 7:00am and I was heading over to the mall for my final stops. There were a few stores there that had opened at Midnight, some opened at 6am and the rest were opening at 8:00am. My girlfriend finally sent me a text at 7:30am that just said "I suck!" and I replied - Yes, you do and missed out on all the good shopping, I am almost done. I hit the last few stores I needed to hit and was home by 9am. Success!
Friday
Every year Dan and the kids get out the Christmas Tree while I am out doing my shopping. This year was no different. I got home and the kids still in their pj's and the tree was up. They are not aloud to decorate or take anything else out without me, but they enjoy getting the tree out at least. Katelynn could not wait to decorate this year. I really just wanted to go back to bed! I didn't though. I started to take down any Thanksgiving decorations we had up and started to clean up so we could make room for Christmas. We decorated throughout the day. I did get a short nap in thank goodness. Friday night I was exhausted and was in bed by 9pm. We didn't forget to move Elf on the Shelf aka Chippy.
Saturday
Saturday we continued to decorate. Dan went to a gun auction and the kids and I hung out decorated, cleaned, played Wii and watched a movie. Dan was still gone in the later afternoon so we decided to head out to Kohl's to look at Christmas decorations. The kids are wild in the stores. Junior goes one way and Katelynn is daydreaming in her own section and I am trying to wrangle both of them up. I found a couple of decorations to buy and the kids each picked out a decoration to hang on the tree. Typical girl / boy picks - Katelynn picked a flower and Junior picked an airplane. The kids were really over eating turkey and left overs so we went to Red Robin and ate there instead. Surprisingly when I take the kids out to eat by myself they are angels. We had a good time and Dan was home when we got home. We watched another movie and had some popcorn and it was off to bed. We still didn't forget about Chippy and the kids were starting to warm up to him.
Sunday
Sunday morning we bummed around again and then Katelynn and I went to church. We got home just at the start of the Vikings game. It's getting less and less exciting to watch them, but I paid for the NFL ticket so I feel that in order to get my money's worth I do what I must and watch them lose week after week. We did a lot of laundry and finished up the decorating.
Thanksgiving weekend really starts on Wednesday as soon as you are done with work! You just cannot beat a 4-day weekend. I decided to really take the entire 4 days off and not do any work. I have to say not sneaking in 30 minutes here and there to get a few things done has been refreshing. I think it also helped that I didn't receive emails from people over the 4 days either!
Wednesday
Wednesday after work had a full schedule for me. I darted off to the bank to deposit a few checks for Dan and to grab some cash for myself for Black Friday shopping. I drove home quick because I was also taking Junior to get his pictures taken at the mall. I rushed into the house and grabbed my little man and changed his clothes, grabbed him a snack that would not be smeared all over his face and some water for the ride. We pulled into Sears at 6pm on the dot, our appointment time. Junior was a ham taking his photos this year and our photographer was great with him. He sat and posed where she wanted to him and then would look up and say "cheese!" After pictures we headed to Pretzelmaker for a pretzel dog to share and wait for our pictures. Once we picked out the prints we wanted it was off to the grocery store to grab our last minute items for our Thanksgiving Day Feast. Dan had given me a short list of what he still needed from the store. I was in charge of appetizers and pumpkin pie which I had not started and had bought nothing. Junior and I raced through the grocery store and then the checkout. We were on our way heading back home and sitting at the turn single I realized I had forgotten the one thing Dan had asked for and I forgot Cool Whip for our pie - darn it. There is nowhere to turn around and get back to the store I was at so we headed off in a different direction to Walmart. I am already racing against the clock at this point thinking, Junior needs to get to bed here eventually and I still need to bake a pie and I was thinking a glass of wine would be nice before bed too. As we are pulling into Walmart all of the sudden there is a fire truck and an ambulance pulling in behind me. What is going! on and Really!, are going through my head. I had to stop at this store?! Something had happened I guess, but we were on a mission at this point and didn't see what the commotion was all about. We ran through Walmart and found what Dan had needed and headed over to get the Cool Whip section. I am in the pie and dessert fridge isle and I'm standing there and cannot see anything. I all of the sudden realize that there is a HUGE empty location and I get up close and read the tags. Yep, it was the Cool Whip section - Gone! I couldn't even help it I just blurted out loud - You've got to be shittin me, they're out of cool whip?! There was some guy standing next to me and he just looked at me strangely and I shrugged my shoulders and kept on moving. I did end up finding some store brand cool whip on an end section and there were only about 10 of them left. We paid and darted out of the store and to the car to get home. We finally were home by about 8:45pm and I still needed to get Junior to bed and bake my pie. Dan already had Katelynn in bed when we got home and Junior wanted to play with Dan for a little bit. I let them play and cleaned up a little and started my pie and then took him to bed. Once I had my pie in the oven I opened a bottle of Shiraz and enjoyed a glass of wine and chatted over text and Facebook with one of my girlfriends and my brother. I finally went to bed around 11:30pm that night. Dan of course already had the Turkey stuffed and everything that he needed all completed or laid out for the next morning.
Thanksgiving Day!
Dan woke up around 5am and put the Turkey in the oven and came back to bed. The kids were up and running around about 7am and I stayed in bed for a little while! I finally crawled out and had a cup of coffee and went straight for the newspaper and the Black Friday ads. I did clean the house up a bit since I hadn't done much the night before. We watched the Macy's Day Parade and kind of just bummed around for the morning. Around 11:00 I started getting out the appetizers and snacks to start munching on and we cracked open the first bottle of wine. My cousin Rory was joining us for Thanksgiving dinner which we were having around 1pm. We had a great feast as usual with Dan making most everything. After we ate Dan went and laid down and took a nap and the rest of us went and played Wii. I think that we Wii for about 5 hours straight from Wii sports to Wii fit to Wii Dance Moves. I was completely wore out and I think the kids were too. We ate again and hung out some more and then Dan and I put the kids to bed. I had been out shopping earlier in the week and had come across The Elf on The Shelf at Target. I had read a few things and heard about The Elf on the Shelf the last couple of years and thought that it would be fun for the kids to do this year. I took out the book and Dan and I and the kids all piled into Katelynn's bed and read the book. We told them that the Elf would probably show up at our house that night and they could look for him in the morning. After the kids were in bed Rory and I decided to finish off the wine. I had full intentions of going to bed right after the kids did since I wanted to get up and go shopping for Black Friday deals around 3:30am. I wasn't up for the Midnight change and since I wasn't going after any electronic deals I figured there would still be items left in the store for what I wanted. Rory and I ended up having a few beers after the wine and did some really deep talking and I didn't go to bed until 12:30. I knew I was in trouble because 3:30am comes really quick then and I was tired from staying up late the night before.Black Friday Shopping!
3:30am definitely came quick after staying up way to late! But I was ready for it. I rolled out of bed and got ready and was out the door with my coffee, purse, and Black Friday ads. One of my girlfriends was supposed to join me and I had sent her a few texts when I woke up and tried to call her, but she was snoozing away and missed out. I was off and running, well, running at a snails pace! My first destination was Walmart. I pulled in a not so busy parking lot and a not so busy store. I was kind of shocked. I walked around the store and grabbed the items that I was wanting and the only items that I didn't get were the cheap Wii games and it could have been because I missed them. I walked straight up to the checkout line and out the door in no time at all. Next stop was Kohl's. I walked in and same thing at this store. There were a few people shopping around still and I was able to grab my items and even took the time to look around at a few others and right through the check out line. Off to Old Navy and Target next. Same deal at both of these stores! Got my stuff, no line to wait in at the check out and out the door. My next destination was McDonald's. I was starving and needed some more coffee and there was no way I was going to attempt to get in-line at a Starbucks, way too busy! I grabbed a quick bite in the parking lot and then went to the Outlet malls and hit a few stores and got a few more gifts. It was nearing 7:00am and I was heading over to the mall for my final stops. There were a few stores there that had opened at Midnight, some opened at 6am and the rest were opening at 8:00am. My girlfriend finally sent me a text at 7:30am that just said "I suck!" and I replied - Yes, you do and missed out on all the good shopping, I am almost done. I hit the last few stores I needed to hit and was home by 9am. Success!
Friday
Every year Dan and the kids get out the Christmas Tree while I am out doing my shopping. This year was no different. I got home and the kids still in their pj's and the tree was up. They are not aloud to decorate or take anything else out without me, but they enjoy getting the tree out at least. Katelynn could not wait to decorate this year. I really just wanted to go back to bed! I didn't though. I started to take down any Thanksgiving decorations we had up and started to clean up so we could make room for Christmas. We decorated throughout the day. I did get a short nap in thank goodness. Friday night I was exhausted and was in bed by 9pm. We didn't forget to move Elf on the Shelf aka Chippy.Saturday
Saturday we continued to decorate. Dan went to a gun auction and the kids and I hung out decorated, cleaned, played Wii and watched a movie. Dan was still gone in the later afternoon so we decided to head out to Kohl's to look at Christmas decorations. The kids are wild in the stores. Junior goes one way and Katelynn is daydreaming in her own section and I am trying to wrangle both of them up. I found a couple of decorations to buy and the kids each picked out a decoration to hang on the tree. Typical girl / boy picks - Katelynn picked a flower and Junior picked an airplane. The kids were really over eating turkey and left overs so we went to Red Robin and ate there instead. Surprisingly when I take the kids out to eat by myself they are angels. We had a good time and Dan was home when we got home. We watched another movie and had some popcorn and it was off to bed. We still didn't forget about Chippy and the kids were starting to warm up to him.
Sunday
Sunday morning we bummed around again and then Katelynn and I went to church. We got home just at the start of the Vikings game. It's getting less and less exciting to watch them, but I paid for the NFL ticket so I feel that in order to get my money's worth I do what I must and watch them lose week after week. We did a lot of laundry and finished up the decorating.
The "Floss On" - A Little Sibling Challenge
Last week I finally had returned to the dentist to get a couple of cavities fixed. I do not know why I dislike giving my money to the dentist sooo much, but it is like pulling teeth itself. I will hold off and hold off until I get a cleaning and then feel guilty and make an appointment to get my teeth fixed. (My mother is probably having a fit at reading this after the money they spent to fix my teeth with braces and all the other fun orthodontics I had). I went to the dentist first thing in the morning and then worked from home the remainder of the day. There is no need for anyone to see me with my mouth drooping and me possibly drooling.
So here I was working away and my cell phone rings and its my brother. Apparently his leg had dialed me and not him so after we got through our confusion it came up in our conversation that I had been at the dentist. We both were griping to each other about the cost of fixing our teeth. We then talked about what both our dentists had told us is we need to floss, every day (and mine added in a fluoride mouth rinse too). Jeff decided that we should have a friendly competition. I am calling it the "Floss On". Both of us have to floss every day. The first person to miss a day owes the other $10.00. You can floss anytime after lunch, which would be after 2 meals and before midnight.
Its been a pretty fun competition so far. We have been texting and harassing each other about it and neither of us is willing to give our money to the other. So the Floss Is On!
Who do you think will outlast the other?
So here I was working away and my cell phone rings and its my brother. Apparently his leg had dialed me and not him so after we got through our confusion it came up in our conversation that I had been at the dentist. We both were griping to each other about the cost of fixing our teeth. We then talked about what both our dentists had told us is we need to floss, every day (and mine added in a fluoride mouth rinse too). Jeff decided that we should have a friendly competition. I am calling it the "Floss On". Both of us have to floss every day. The first person to miss a day owes the other $10.00. You can floss anytime after lunch, which would be after 2 meals and before midnight.
Its been a pretty fun competition so far. We have been texting and harassing each other about it and neither of us is willing to give our money to the other. So the Floss Is On!
Who do you think will outlast the other?
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Black Friday Shopping Unhappiness
I always look forward to Black Friday. My day to get up hours earlier than anyone else in my house, grab a cup of coffee and head out shopping around 4am until noon. What could be better?!
Nothing, that is what. Nothing for me could beat that. I loved it every year. I am so irritated that the stores are changing their hours this year to open Midnight. I really do need to get some sleep before heading out to shop til I drop. I liked going to bed and catching some zzzz's and then getting up early. Now they are basically saying, either catch an hour of sleep and get back up or just don't go to bed so you are so exhausted you have no idea how much you are spending. Is that their purpose or what is?
I keep wondering if they realize that a majority of the people out shopping are Mothers! We are going to shop, shop, shop and then we have to go home and pull ourselves together and watch our children. There is no nap for us or going to bed or back to bed when we get home, so basically what, we need to start popping Nodoz or something to make it through the day now because we haven't slept at all? I just don't get it and I'm not happy about. I still have yet to decide what I am going to do. I know that at least for me I need to get some sleep or my immune system will be crap and the following week I will probably catch some cold from the germs floating around.
I will admit that I am a bit selfish and I do shop for myself on Black Friday. There are great clothing sales. This year I don't know. How am I supposed to start at Midnight and shop for 6 to 8 hours while I wait for the clothing stores to open up. I won't that is what. So either I miss out on some of the hot deals or I don't get to shop for my clothes.
As I said, I am really not happy about the time changes this year. I will post an update after Black Friday of what my decisions were and if I survived this year.
Nothing, that is what. Nothing for me could beat that. I loved it every year. I am so irritated that the stores are changing their hours this year to open Midnight. I really do need to get some sleep before heading out to shop til I drop. I liked going to bed and catching some zzzz's and then getting up early. Now they are basically saying, either catch an hour of sleep and get back up or just don't go to bed so you are so exhausted you have no idea how much you are spending. Is that their purpose or what is?
I keep wondering if they realize that a majority of the people out shopping are Mothers! We are going to shop, shop, shop and then we have to go home and pull ourselves together and watch our children. There is no nap for us or going to bed or back to bed when we get home, so basically what, we need to start popping Nodoz or something to make it through the day now because we haven't slept at all? I just don't get it and I'm not happy about. I still have yet to decide what I am going to do. I know that at least for me I need to get some sleep or my immune system will be crap and the following week I will probably catch some cold from the germs floating around.
I will admit that I am a bit selfish and I do shop for myself on Black Friday. There are great clothing sales. This year I don't know. How am I supposed to start at Midnight and shop for 6 to 8 hours while I wait for the clothing stores to open up. I won't that is what. So either I miss out on some of the hot deals or I don't get to shop for my clothes.
As I said, I am really not happy about the time changes this year. I will post an update after Black Friday of what my decisions were and if I survived this year.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Mommy Talk - Side Story from the Halloween Party
As I had stated in my previous post about Katelynn's school Halloween party, I did not really feel like I was fitting in with the other moms that were there. Here are the ins and outs of what happened.
First off, it was Halloween - right? I didn't necessarily dress up for the party, but I did have on a cute Halloween shirt that said Happy Halloween on it. There was one other mom that kind of dressed up too, she had a green t-shirt and had written Crayola down the front with a sharpie marker.
1 - Next we are at our "stations" and ours was decorating cookies. I was talking to the other mom at my station and she said that she was exhausted. She had been up making little treats for the kids which was her daughters idea, but her daughter had bailed on her and in the midst of creating the little gifts her husband came home from work at 10:30pm that night. She had to stop making the treats and warm up her husbands supper and then she was up until midnight and back up in the morning at 5:30am.
So, as she is saying that her husband came home at 10:30pm and she had to warm up his supper plate for him I'm sure my eyes shot up and looked at her like "What?" I said nothing, but normally my expressions give me away. All I can think is - its 10:30pm - you are a grown man and you can warm up your own plate -No? Well, that's how it would have went at my house - I probably would have been in bed already. So, we talked a little bit more as we made cookies and she said that she was happy that her mother was able to watch the baby so she could come to the school for the party. I told her if she was really exhausted maybe she would watch the baby a few extra hours and she could go home and take a nap. Pretty sure she then looked at me wondering what I was talking about.
2 - The kids missed their field trip to the pumpkin patch because of a snow day, but their pumpkins were delivered during the party and we all made our way outside. Each kiddo got to pick a pumpkin and then lined up to take a class picture in their costumes. I am standing outside and the kids were busy so I went and stood by a couple of the other moms as they were chatting. This other mom is saying that she does not want to have anymore kids and I politely asked how many kids she had and she said she had two. She said she is just always tired and she felt two was enough and that she has do pretty much everything. I said that I had my husband get snipped. She said her husband was too scared or chicken or something to do it. I told her if she does everything then maybe she should leave for a couple of weeks and let him do it all and then when she returned he would probably be more than ready to go in. I kind of thought it was funny, but she didn't. She looked at me and said "My husband works 80 hours a week". I had no response. What am I supposed to say to that? Sorry? Whew - is what I thought, I am not touching that one.
3 - So here comes mom # 3 that I tried to have a conversation with a little bit earlier. She walked up to me asked me if I lived here. I said yes. (Duh, my kids going to school here, more than likely we live in town or very close by). She then proceeded to let me know that she opened a salon in town and I could come in and get my hair and nails and such done. That was pretty much the only reason she had approached me. Nice - so that is what I was good for. Don't want to be your friend, but I would love to have some of your money. I didn't realize that I was the spa looking sort of gal (okay if I am being honest, maybe a little, but still I could be a friend too).
4 - End of the day. I am sort of standing by mom # 2 whose husband works a lot and her kiddo runs up and says something to her. Mom is very appropriate and fixes her daughters costume and basically explains to her daughter to watch her costume and we can't be showing those (boobs). I am thinking, okay, very nice. Her daughter gives her a hug and runs off to play. Mom # 2 looks up at me and says - My husband is part of a nudist colony. "What the hell?" I am pretty sure I dropped my jaw and then I kind of nodded my head like I understood, which I didn't. Okay, note to self, get mom # 2's name and kids name and make sure to never have a sleep over at their house. It didn't even phase this woman to say this to me, it was crazy.
What a day, what a day! I left in shock, shaking my head and thinking, yep, definitely not fitting in with this group.
First off, it was Halloween - right? I didn't necessarily dress up for the party, but I did have on a cute Halloween shirt that said Happy Halloween on it. There was one other mom that kind of dressed up too, she had a green t-shirt and had written Crayola down the front with a sharpie marker.
1 - Next we are at our "stations" and ours was decorating cookies. I was talking to the other mom at my station and she said that she was exhausted. She had been up making little treats for the kids which was her daughters idea, but her daughter had bailed on her and in the midst of creating the little gifts her husband came home from work at 10:30pm that night. She had to stop making the treats and warm up her husbands supper and then she was up until midnight and back up in the morning at 5:30am.
So, as she is saying that her husband came home at 10:30pm and she had to warm up his supper plate for him I'm sure my eyes shot up and looked at her like "What?" I said nothing, but normally my expressions give me away. All I can think is - its 10:30pm - you are a grown man and you can warm up your own plate -No? Well, that's how it would have went at my house - I probably would have been in bed already. So, we talked a little bit more as we made cookies and she said that she was happy that her mother was able to watch the baby so she could come to the school for the party. I told her if she was really exhausted maybe she would watch the baby a few extra hours and she could go home and take a nap. Pretty sure she then looked at me wondering what I was talking about.
2 - The kids missed their field trip to the pumpkin patch because of a snow day, but their pumpkins were delivered during the party and we all made our way outside. Each kiddo got to pick a pumpkin and then lined up to take a class picture in their costumes. I am standing outside and the kids were busy so I went and stood by a couple of the other moms as they were chatting. This other mom is saying that she does not want to have anymore kids and I politely asked how many kids she had and she said she had two. She said she is just always tired and she felt two was enough and that she has do pretty much everything. I said that I had my husband get snipped. She said her husband was too scared or chicken or something to do it. I told her if she does everything then maybe she should leave for a couple of weeks and let him do it all and then when she returned he would probably be more than ready to go in. I kind of thought it was funny, but she didn't. She looked at me and said "My husband works 80 hours a week". I had no response. What am I supposed to say to that? Sorry? Whew - is what I thought, I am not touching that one.
3 - So here comes mom # 3 that I tried to have a conversation with a little bit earlier. She walked up to me asked me if I lived here. I said yes. (Duh, my kids going to school here, more than likely we live in town or very close by). She then proceeded to let me know that she opened a salon in town and I could come in and get my hair and nails and such done. That was pretty much the only reason she had approached me. Nice - so that is what I was good for. Don't want to be your friend, but I would love to have some of your money. I didn't realize that I was the spa looking sort of gal (okay if I am being honest, maybe a little, but still I could be a friend too).
4 - End of the day. I am sort of standing by mom # 2 whose husband works a lot and her kiddo runs up and says something to her. Mom is very appropriate and fixes her daughters costume and basically explains to her daughter to watch her costume and we can't be showing those (boobs). I am thinking, okay, very nice. Her daughter gives her a hug and runs off to play. Mom # 2 looks up at me and says - My husband is part of a nudist colony. "What the hell?" I am pretty sure I dropped my jaw and then I kind of nodded my head like I understood, which I didn't. Okay, note to self, get mom # 2's name and kids name and make sure to never have a sleep over at their house. It didn't even phase this woman to say this to me, it was crazy.
What a day, what a day! I left in shock, shaking my head and thinking, yep, definitely not fitting in with this group.
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Happy Halloween - 2011
Halloween 2011 started out pretty great. It was Katelynn's first school Halloween Party and I had signed up to help out at her party. We had a nice breakfast at home and she got her costume on and got ready. We dropped Junior off at daycare and I got to see how she starts out each day at school. I helped out with snacks and a project and took a few pictures of her class all dressed up. The kids were super nice in her class and loved to talk. There were a few other moms their helping out and I attempted to hold some conversations with them, but it became apparent to me that I may not fit in with the Mommy crowd. I think they all are stay at home moms and very traditional in their roles as wife and mother and do it all to take care of the family. This is definitely not me, (everyone needs to pitch in around here!) but I did what I was there to do and had fun with Katelynn and her classmates. I worked from home the rest of the day and picked the kids up early from daycare to get ready for the festivities of the night.
I wanted to do something fun for supper on Halloween and we had found this idea in a book, Worms for Brains. I thought the kids would think it was pretty cool and they are always up for helping me cook, but it was super nice outside and they decided to go outside and play instead. Dan and I each carved out 2 of these peppers and made spaghetti. I thought it was great. Dan, Katelynn and I after sitting down to eat each dumped our spaghetti out on our plates, but Junior wanted to eat his right out of the pepper and through a fit when we tried to dump his. At first he wasn't even sure what to do with it! It was a fun way to start the night. Here are our creations!
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| What?! Worms for Brains. |
The kids got ready and we got ready and took our pictures and headed out the door. I set a bowl full of candy out on our front porch since both Dan and I wanted to go with the kids. We went around a few blocks and then made our way back to our house to check the candy and re-fill it if it needed it. The kids were definitely not done yet so we headed back out in a different direction. Junior did start to get tired of walking and it was getting chilly out so him and Dan went back to the house to hand out candy. Katelynn eventually got tired to and we headed home. She loves handing out candy to other trick or treaters too and we still had a few come to the door after we got home. The kids dumped out their candy and Dan went through it. They filled themselves as full as we would let them and then before the sugar rush hit we shipped them off to bed. They are still on candy overload a few weeks later as we ration it a piece out to them each night from their pumpkins. We had a great Halloween and a ton of fun this year.
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| Here come's Mario! |
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| Mario and Princess Peach from the Mario Brothers. |
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| Yes, even I had to get ready to trick or treat! |
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| Princess Peach |
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| The Loot |
Pumpkin Painting
One afternoon Dan had gone golfing and it was just me and the kids. We were looking for something to do and since we hadn't carved our pumpkins yet I decided we could go ahead and grab a couple of them and paint them. I wasn't about to do the carving so this was our option for an afternoon activity.
The kids thought it was great. We got lots of paints and brushes out. Junior pretty much made a mess of color on his around the entire pumpkin and my little artist carefully painted hers and even made sure it had eyelashes so it was a lady.
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| Katelynn finished product - check out the eyelashes. |
Family Trip to the Pumpkin Patch
It was time to head to the pumpkin patch down the road and have a little family time. Its always fun to go. Its a small pumpkin patch, but we enjoy it. Its free to get in and they are local farmers. They really enjoy people coming and are super friendly. The kids jumped into the first wagon they saw and then looked at Dan, c'mon start pulling! First stop was to head to the maze. We let the kids be the guides and see if they could find their way out, it was funny watching them run back and forth, nope dead end, nope dead end, nope already tried that. Katelynn did eventually lead us the right way. Next stop to the Pumpkins to pick out the best for carving. Katelynn loves to look through them, but really only looks for about a minute before she feels that she found the perfect pumpkin. Each kiddo made sure that they picked a little pumpkin they could keep in their room as well. Dan took Junior through both the haunted houses that they had there and he seemed to do okay with it. I was scared that he would freak out later that night at bedtime, but he didn't. Katelynn tried to be brave and she would step one foot in with me and then back out quickly. It was a no go for her. We had a fun afternoon of running through the pumpkin patch and I got my pictures I wanted.
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| Dan's new friend! |
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| Pretending to scream! |
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Annual Halloween Pumpkin Patch with Friends
We started Saturday morning with some quick cleaning in the house and breakfast. Dan headed off to work for a few hours and we headed out to Sam's Club and the Halloween store for groceries and costumes. We were out the door at 10:30 am and had to get our groceries bought and our costumes picked out, drop them back off at the house and head to the Pumpkin Patch to meet our friends at 1pm.
Katelynn had decided last month what her and Junior were going to be for Halloween already - Princess Peach and Mario from Mario Bros. I had a talk with Katelynn that morning and explained to her how cute I thought her idea was that they would match, but that if we got to the costume store and Junior found something else that he wanted to be that she would need to be okay with it, but she could still be Princess Peach. She said that she understood. I sometimes wonder if she really does or she just says that so that the "serious" talk can be over with?
We found Katelynn's Princess Peach costume almost instantly after walking in and found her size so she was all set. Junior found a display of Lightning McQueen and Cars costumes and I really thought for a second that he was going to ask to be Lightning McQueen. Katelynn quickly pointed out that she spotted the Mario and Luigi Costumes and directed him over to that display instead. He took it like a trooper and I asked him who he wanted to be and he said "Mario". We found his size and then headed over to the adult section. Dan has his costume from last year that didn't get worn so he will be a copy this year. I was looking and looking and looking some more for a costume for me. I am sorry, but almost every costume in there is not something that I could dress in and take my kids trick or treating in. First off - I would not be dressed appropriately and second I would freeze - well - every piece of me off walking around! I finally did decide on something at Katelynn's urgency to get out of the scary Halloween store. I tried it on when I got home and it is definitely a no go and needs to go back. At least the kids are taken care of!
It was already getting late by now to head home to drop off groceries because I took to long at the costume store. We got home brought everything in and I threw together a quick lunch we could eat in the car and we were off within 15 minutes of being at the house. We did end up showing up late, but it was fine because so was every else.
We met our friends at the Pumpkin Patch and the kids were so excited to see each other. They ran around and played and played on the playground equipment and checked out the animals at the petting zoo piece. It was in the 80's and hot, hot, hot standing outside. There was also a face painter at the Pumpkin Patch and the kids decided they wanted their faces painted. We said that was fine and got in line. We stood in line for our kids for what seemed to be 3 hours, it was really probably close to 30 - 45 minutes, but it took forever. We let 3 of our kids get their faces painted and the 3 youngest had to miss out because we were all done hanging out in the one spot. We headed into the Corn maze which is always interesting with 6 little kids and 3 moms who may or may not be paying attention. We of course let the kids lead us around and they had a blast, but it always gets that point where we have over stayed our welcome in the corn and we just want out. I think that we were more successful this year than the last time and found our way out relatively quick. After that we took some pictures of the kids by the pumpkins. I had a great spot all picked out that would have been great lighting, but it also put the kids in a terrible spot to look up at the camera because they were looking directly into the sun. After some cries and screams from the kids after trying their best to look up we quickly moved them to another spot. Sorry kiddos! We took our pictures and it was apparent that the kids were pooped. No naps and running around for 3 hours will do that to them. Us moms decided that next time we need to remember to take pictures first because the kids get all sweaty and dirty from running around. It was a great day and it was so nice to get to see my girlfriends and hang out for a few hours. My kids were zonked on the way home.
Katelynn had decided last month what her and Junior were going to be for Halloween already - Princess Peach and Mario from Mario Bros. I had a talk with Katelynn that morning and explained to her how cute I thought her idea was that they would match, but that if we got to the costume store and Junior found something else that he wanted to be that she would need to be okay with it, but she could still be Princess Peach. She said that she understood. I sometimes wonder if she really does or she just says that so that the "serious" talk can be over with?
We found Katelynn's Princess Peach costume almost instantly after walking in and found her size so she was all set. Junior found a display of Lightning McQueen and Cars costumes and I really thought for a second that he was going to ask to be Lightning McQueen. Katelynn quickly pointed out that she spotted the Mario and Luigi Costumes and directed him over to that display instead. He took it like a trooper and I asked him who he wanted to be and he said "Mario". We found his size and then headed over to the adult section. Dan has his costume from last year that didn't get worn so he will be a copy this year. I was looking and looking and looking some more for a costume for me. I am sorry, but almost every costume in there is not something that I could dress in and take my kids trick or treating in. First off - I would not be dressed appropriately and second I would freeze - well - every piece of me off walking around! I finally did decide on something at Katelynn's urgency to get out of the scary Halloween store. I tried it on when I got home and it is definitely a no go and needs to go back. At least the kids are taken care of!
It was already getting late by now to head home to drop off groceries because I took to long at the costume store. We got home brought everything in and I threw together a quick lunch we could eat in the car and we were off within 15 minutes of being at the house. We did end up showing up late, but it was fine because so was every else.
We met our friends at the Pumpkin Patch and the kids were so excited to see each other. They ran around and played and played on the playground equipment and checked out the animals at the petting zoo piece. It was in the 80's and hot, hot, hot standing outside. There was also a face painter at the Pumpkin Patch and the kids decided they wanted their faces painted. We said that was fine and got in line. We stood in line for our kids for what seemed to be 3 hours, it was really probably close to 30 - 45 minutes, but it took forever. We let 3 of our kids get their faces painted and the 3 youngest had to miss out because we were all done hanging out in the one spot. We headed into the Corn maze which is always interesting with 6 little kids and 3 moms who may or may not be paying attention. We of course let the kids lead us around and they had a blast, but it always gets that point where we have over stayed our welcome in the corn and we just want out. I think that we were more successful this year than the last time and found our way out relatively quick. After that we took some pictures of the kids by the pumpkins. I had a great spot all picked out that would have been great lighting, but it also put the kids in a terrible spot to look up at the camera because they were looking directly into the sun. After some cries and screams from the kids after trying their best to look up we quickly moved them to another spot. Sorry kiddos! We took our pictures and it was apparent that the kids were pooped. No naps and running around for 3 hours will do that to them. Us moms decided that next time we need to remember to take pictures first because the kids get all sweaty and dirty from running around. It was a great day and it was so nice to get to see my girlfriends and hang out for a few hours. My kids were zonked on the way home.
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| Trey and Katelynn |
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| Hailie, Junior, and Katelynn |
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| Into the Corn Maze |
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| Sorry kids - the lighting was good for me, but not so much for you! We can't look - the sun - Ahhh! |
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| Hailie, Trey, Katelynn, Junior, Breck and Tayteum |
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| Junior, Mommy, and Katelynn |
The day left me with 2 very sleepy kids!
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