Adorable Video and yes, I'm a bit biased.

Is it cheating to post a video when you are too tired to blog?


"Swordfish" from Jarrett Green on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Karaoke

Here's a new tradition.  Karaoke after Thanksgiving dinner.  The big boys(mid-late 20's) are a hoot and have zero inhibitions.

Watching my daughters sing together was interesting.  Heather is 23 and Rylie is 8 but they both moved the exact same way and both sang well.  It was sweet and you could tell that Rylie was SO HAPPY to have her big sister home if only for a few days.

So yeah it's 10:30 so I imagine this will be going on for hours and hours.

Last night I finally went to bed at 3am! Hubby woke me up in the most wonderful way though.....not what you're thinking.  He laid my 2 month old grandaughter down right in front of me and her little face was the first thing I saw.  What a thing to wake up to.

I hope all of my online friends and their families are having a wonderful time together.

Blessings to all.

Giving Thanks

Recently I was re-reading a couple of my posts here on my blog and was a little disappointed that they sounded somewhat whiney.  If it sounds like I complain about my life a lot it's because  most of it is in jest.

I say a lot of things about living in Wichita Kansas....nothing happens here, no cool entertainment, no great concerts etc.  I am VERY thankful that I live here.  There is no other place I'd rather raise my kids. I grew up in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and I am so thankful we got transferred here when our adult kids were really little.  This city is home.

I also say a lot about my kids.  That's because I have so MANY of them.  I am SO thankful for my kids.  They are my life.  Each one is special in so many ways.  I'm thankful for the "first family" kids.  They call themselves that even though they have the exact same parents the "second family" kids do.  They were all mostly grown when we decided to have the last two. They are all funny adults, great parents and good friends. I'm very thankful for them......ask me in 30 yrs or so when they're putting me in a nursing home and I might say differently.

I'm not sure I can express how thankful I am for the little kids.  I never imagined(I had hoped) that I'd get the chance to experience the joys of parenthood all over again.  Never in a million years would I have thought we'd be doing this again...and I love it.  I'm VERY thankful for doctors who do vasectomy reversals! Doing parenthood a 2nd time is different.  I have so much more patience now but not near as much energy.  I know how to pick my battles and when to let things go.  I truly appreciate children now and realize how quickly they are grown up and gone.

Last, but definitely not least.  I am thankful for my husband Michael.  The man is a saint to have put up with me for over 25  years.  I'm thankful for his unfailing love and support of everything I do.  I'm thankful that he doesn't mind cooking because I abhor anything in the kitchen.  I am thankful that he understood my desire and agreed with me when I chose to be a stay-at-home mom.

I am so very thankful for my life.

Procrastination

Yep, I've procrastinated.  House is a wreck. Company coming tomorrow.  I work WONDERFULLY under pressure but I can tell that hubby is getting really worried.

I love procrastinating because I've discovered it's one of those things that I'm really VERY good at.

I've picked up a new Jason Mraz CD and I'll have everything in tip top shape before it has to be.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I'm trying to try.

Just a quick note.  Last year hubby moved his old big screen tv into the front room to make room for his flat panel.  Up until now the kids have just been playing their wii on the old one.  It has no cable hooked to it or anything.  Well, this weekend I hooked up a DVD player to it.  My treadmill sits in front.

Previously I've just never been able to stick with the treadmill because it's SO BORING.  All I had was my music to listen to.  Well now I'm going to try to watch stuff.  I'd rather watch the news or The View or something but the DVD player will suffice.  Now, what to watch?

I thought about watching my 24 DVD's from season one.  But I've seen all of those so I feel like I need something new to really hold my attention.  I have the first season of Seinfeld on DVDs......no, I never ever watched the show but always wanted to.  So, that might be good.  I totally missed the first season of Lie To Me and if I can talk one of my kids into getting it for me for Christmas....hehe..I'll watch that.  So, after Thanksgiving guests are all gone at the end of this coming week I hope to get on that darn treadmill.  I'll start out walking and just go from there.

Wish me luck!

Pre-Thanksgiving Panic

I am starting to get totally panicked about Thanksgiving.  It's a week away and I'm already stressed.
I have 11 people descending on my house next Wednesday......3 bedrooms isn't going to hold us all! LOL  And those are just the folks coming from out of town.  Thursday will include all 6 of my kids with 4 of them having spouses, 8 grandkids, a niece and her boyfriend, and a really good friend. I think that's like 25...of course 10 of them are under 8yrs old. OMG.

Ages of children in my house at one time. 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, and 6 weeks.  I have a very small house!

So, on top of the people, now I have to feed them all.  Mind you that wouldn't be such a problem but I ABHOR cooking.  I try to do as little cooking as possible on a normal day.

Hubby has informed me that he has taken Tue & Wed off so he can help me.  You should read that last sentence as "hubby can cook".
WAIT, just realized.  On top of the people, kids, and all of the cooking....my house is a wreck right now.  LOL there is so much to do I keep sitting down at my computer in frustration.  Where to start, where to start?

I think I need a big bottle of cold water and a list.  A list will make it all better. shhhhhh I'll believe it for a little while.

Cool Cars, Tough Decisions

When my adult kids were little I drove mini-vans.  Then I drove a Ford Expedition.  After the kids were grown and driving their own cars my husband bought me a Miata. Woohoo! Only two seats.  I'd tell the big kids there was only enough room for me and my purse.  Oh, and of course having a convertible rocked!  When we decided to have more kids hubby and I traded and I went back to driving the Expedition.

So, three years ago we traded the Miata for a Jeep.  Not just any Jeep but a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4 doors) in Rescue Green. It's the coolest vehicle ever.

The day we bought the Jeep was the only day I can remember in my life where I did "the girl thing".  The dealership only had two Unlimiteds that day.  The Rescue Green, bare bones, and a black one loaded with power and all sorts of good stuff.  I chose by color that day and have kicked myself in the ass MANY times since then.  It's 2009 Chris! Who rolls their windows up manually?  Who has to unlock and lock their doors with a flipping key??? I do.  Yes, I have the coolest color car. Yes, it looks totally awesome with the whole top and all 4 doors off.  Yes, I love my personalized license plate that says JEEPERS and also my Life Is Good spare tire cover.  I DO love the Jeep.

I want power. We always assumed that next Spring we would trade in Rocco. I forgot to mention that my Jeep had a name didn't I?  Rocco after Rocco DeLuca and the Burden because they are my all time favorite band and their first CD was the same rescue green color as the Jeep.  So, we assumed we'd trade Rocco for another Jeep with power and every other option available.   I don't care AT ALL what color it is.

BUT, and here is the tough part.  Last night I started thinking about all the things that I don't like about the Jeep.  The back seat is cramped. It seats two kids ok but you put that third one in the middle and it's sardine city.  The kids in the back seat seem like they are breathing right down your neck too.  So, here is what I'm thinking.

I know, it's a depressing thought but something that must be considered.  I like the extra room a mini-van would give us.  I love the thought of getting kids in and out quickly.  The Jeep is hard for the kids to climb in to and Davis at 6 yrs still needs a push on the tush to get up and in.  I like the idea of being able to drive for the kids field trips and carry more than one extra kid.  I'm sure hubby would like more room as the driver's seat IS a bit cramped.

Well, I have until Spring to think about it.  Maybe I'll go have a look at mini-vans to see what's new with them.  It's probably time though.

Do mini-van drivers have a "wave" like Jeep owners do?  Do they wave at the other drivers of mini-vans? NO? Dang, one more cool thing to lose.

*sigh*

Christmas Joy or Drudgery?

Wow, just the title of this post screams SCROOGE!  I really do like Christmas.  I always have.  It's just now that I'm a mom and a gramma there are so many people to buy for that it makes shopping almost too impersonal.

I have six kids, four of them with spouses.  So, there's ten people right there.  Then there are eight grandkids, parents, inlaws etc etc to buy for.  Even if I make a long list I feel like I'm not putting a lot of thought into each person's gifts. In years past I would ask the kids(not grandkids) for lists.  But just buying from a list makes me feel like I really didn't "pick" a gift for them.  Does that make sense?

Three of my grandsons were all born within four months of each other. I refer to those three boys as "the little boys" even though there is another little grandson a year behind them. Last year they were all two years old at Christmastime.  So, I pretty much just shopped for them by age and not by personality or tastes.  Yes, two year olds do have different tastes.   I need to stop shopping for them as a unit, buying three of the same thing and calling it good.

Last, but not least.  Money.  Yep, it's the root of all evils that makes the world go around but does NOT grow on trees.  I have enough to buy decent gifts for everyone.  The tricky part is making sure that everyone gets about the same amount spent on them.  In the past we've always gone by how much we spent on each person but that does not work well when I  find a great item for 75% off of it's normal price.  Not that my kids are nasty and compare their gifts to what others get but I definitely don't want any hurt feelings.  So, I'm stressing already about shopping.  In the next couple of days I hope to make a list of ideas for each person. I need to do something so the shopping part is enjoyable.  Let's face it, shopping should NEVER EVER feel like drudgery.

With all that said I must say this- Christmas at our house is wonderful.  It's loud and busy, kids laughing, kids crying, music playing, christmas wrapping ripping.  We almost lost "the little boys" last year in the 3ft foot tall pile of discarded wrapping paper.  It doesn't get any better.

I'll post my shopping experiences soon.  Is anyone done with their shopping?

Lists? I make lists.

Recently on a blog I read there was talk about lists.  "Bucket Lists"....things people would like to do in their lifetime.  I LOVE lists. I make lists for all types of things.  Grocery lists, to do lists, Christmas lists, menu lists, lists for housework, lists for kids' homework, lists of important numbers etc.

Never in my life have a made a list of things I've wanted to accomplish in my life. Yeah, don't get your hopes up because I seriously doubt that I'm going to scratch one out now.  At 45, isn't it a bit too late to do that? I've accomplished a few things that would have been on a list I'm sure.

1. Married a wonderful man
2. Became a mom (twice really but that's a long story)
3. Was able to be a stay-at-home mom for my kids
4. Be a grandmother (ok, not sure if that would have made it onto a list when I was younger but there it is)

That's about it.

I didn't go to college, I don't have any skills really, not sure I ever actually picked what I wanted "to be when I grow up".  Too late for that? I honestly don't have any desire to go back to school.  I would love to get a job where I was still available for my kids before & after school.  Not a lot of those out there.  I'd love to help with our family finances because private school is expensive but I can't figure out how.  If there are real and valid work-at-home jobs there's no way of weeding through the scams etc to find them.
What to do?

Maybe I should make a list but then I'm afraid if I did make one that it would only be a list of things I wish could happen that never would.  And wouldn't that be more depressing than just not having a list at all??

I'll have to think more on this. At this point in my life I'm not even sure what a list like that would contain.

pondering.................

I'm not a writer

I'm not a writer. I recently told a friend that I cannot even write a good grocery list and that's the God's honest truth. Was I not paying attention somewhere in my schooling and missed the "How to Write" lessons? Or maybe, just maybe, writing is one more talent I do not possess. Because it IS talent. I recognize this when I get caught up in someone else's blog and forget what I was doing there.

I use my status as SAHM as an excuse to say that I really don't have anything interesting to blog about. Not everyone who blogs talks about themselves though. As a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, member of the human race there must be something I can try to put in to words that might interest people.

So, I'm going to give it my best shot. Please just remember. I am NOT a writer. I am a reader who would love to learn to write.

What do you think makes a good writer?