Family Reunion Part 1 (Through Friday)

Every year my mother's family gets together for our annual family reunion. We have been doing this EVERY YEAR since 1979. That's 33 years of reunions... And this year we very nearly canceled. I take that back. We did cancel. Then we changed our mind, and the location.

I was so excited to have been part of the planning this year, and my mother and I spent months last year planning, searching, and nailing down the details for the campground, activities, etc. Reunion was only going to be 3 hours away from my house, and that alone had me thrilled! I usually have to travel more like 12 hours to get to reunion. Everything was going well until 2 1/2 weeks before reunion when my grandparent's (the patriarch and matriarch of the family) came into town to talk to my mother and her sister. The next morning, my mother called me and tearfully explained that her mom had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Family Reunion was called off. Grandma can't travel and is not allowed to be that far from her doctors (12 1/2 hours).

I was pretty shocked. And I had a bad couple days. I will admit, I am pretty close to my Grandma. She was my employer for 3 years, and I learned a lot from her. She was an integral part of my life during the bleak 4 plus months when my father was in the hospital and after he had died. She is strong and silent and amazing. And I am sad. But that's for a different post. So... two weeks later (a mere 4 days before reunion was supposed to occur) we got a call from my aunt (mom's other sister) saying reunion is back on. But we are moving it to Grandma's and Grandpa's hometown (also my hometown).

Um... Okay... ACK!

Joe had originally taken time off work for reunion. When it was canceled he rescinded the request. And now he had to ask for it off again! Which, thankfully, he got off. Mom was not so lucky. She had to work one of her original days off. BUT- she made up for it by taking an extra couple days AFTER reunion off as well. To make a REALLY long and frustrating few days short it worked out like this:

Joe and I (and kids) would drive down Thursday.

Mom would fly in Friday.

Joe would drive back with my brother on Sunday (gotta work).

I would drive back with my mom (and our kids) on Tuesday. (I wanted a few extra days to visit family and friends)

So we drove for 12 1/2 hours on Thursday. And got into town with very little incidents. Okay, okay, Matthew took a bath in yogurt (not my idea- Lacey loves to share), and Lacey kinda didn't make it to the potty in time (so she had to sit in a wet seat for a couple hours), but there could have been worse things...

{Que doomed suspense-like music now} Dun Dun DUNNNNN....

We were staying at my cousin's house during the reunion, and so we unloaded our two youngest into the bathtub and commandeered their washing machine and dryer to clean their car seat covers first thing.

Friday went well. We woke up at 6:30 (darn Alarm clock- his name is Matthew). We ate some breakfast took our time getting ready, and headed into town for a fantastic lunch at a local eatery we HAVE to go to when we get into town. We then, had a blast hanging out at my aunt's house for a few hours, and eventually met up with EVERYONE at a local (mini golf/laser tag/arcade/bumper cars and other such activities) FUN center. It was mostly okay most of the time. Matthew gave us some grief, but that's what one year old's do, so it was not too big a deal. We got to visit with most of my out of town aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was nice. But Grandma was tired, so we didn't see her that first day.

I know I do!

I don't do this every week, but this week's questions are fantastic! So I am joining in the linky party with Impulsive Addict, Janette, Mamarazzi, and Seriously Shawn for their "We Wanna Know Wednesday." (Yes I know, it's Thursday)

This week's questions:

{1} What must you do before you go to bed at night?
{2} What is one thing you must snack on at the theater?
{3} Before going on vacation what must you do?
{4} What is one thing you must do every day?
{5} Is there something you do that must be done in a particular order?

My answers:

{1} What must you do before you go to bed at night?

I make sure there is a clear shot from each bed in my house, to the front door. It was pointed out to me a while ago, and I think it stems back from my childhood, but I HAVE to have a clear shot to go from my bed, to the crib, then to the front door. And of course I check my kids bedrooms too. If there is a mess in their room I will push everything to one side to make sure the path is clear.

{2} What is one thing you must snack on at the theater?

I don't really have a must have snack for the theater. Usually a piece of mint gum does the trick for me. I can't bring myself to spend half a month's salary on the stuff they sell, and I don't like the idea of sneaking food in...

{3} Before going on vacation what must you do?

Oh how Joe teases me about this one! I must make a packing list. And I mean DETAILED. I will pair up outfits for my kids and roll them up together so that we aren't left on the last day with a red shirt and green shorts, and I will also pack the bags in such a way that you can just remove a layer for the day (so I don't pack all the underwear in one area, there is a pair of underwear and socks packaged in with the rest of the outfit). I also mentally go through the trip and try to picture all the different stuff we will need (like for camping I ALWAYS forget to bring a hammer to get the tent staked down...). I also insist on packing the car myself. Which is funny, since Joe used to pack UPS trucks for a living and is REALLY good and making things fit.

{4} What is one thing you must do every day?

Besides the expected "brush your teeth and eat" stuff, I think the one thing I MUST do everyday is probably check my social media outlets... Though not necessarily for the reasons one might expect. At least not lately. I just opened up an Etsy shop, and am excited to see my jewelry selling, so I check my Facebook page, my Etsy shop, my business email (okay, my personal email too), and my website for traffic and sales. It thrills me to no end to see other people who like my creations! (That, and spending my day with children makes me a little nuts and I crave adult interaction- which is quite often found online...)

{5} Is there something you do that must be done in a particular order?

Wow - this one proved to be really hard! I wanna say yes- there are tons of things I do that have to be done a specific way in a specific order, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head... so I will stick with the order of my shower habits... To be vague cause no one needs all the details, I always wash hair first, then wash body, shave anything needing shaving, possibly attack rough body parts with sugar scrubs or pumice stones (or both), and then I do one final rinse before drying off (top to bottom) while in the shower (don't wanna get the floor wet), and finally exiting the shower (left leg first).

And there ya have it! The inside details of me! Come join the fun! (And in case you didn't get the memo, go check out my websites!!!)

Shenanigans and other such fun stuff

Oh, how I love my kids! They really are fun. I figure it's been a while- I really ought to catch you up on some of the good (and not-so-good) times we have had recently...

I got a bit of a crafty bug a few weeks back, and decided to make the girls some cute summer flip flops. I got 4 handkerchiefs in 4 different shades of pink and purple, then I bought them cheap little flip flops... combined them and got THESE:

and of course, a picture of my willing guinea pig trying them on...

Matthew got bored at breakfast the other day. When I went to check on him, I found this:

A very common and equally frustrating practice these days is when Lacey decides to make herself something to drink. Usually it's chocolate milk. And of course, she doesn't put ANYTHING back when she is done making said drink. The main reason it's frustrating?

Yup... Matthew LOVES eating the Ovaltine powder.

The kids LOVE playing with my latest acquisition.

This kid has no concept of "OFF LIMITS"... he even opened it up to push the buttons. Little stinker!

The other day I was talking with a friend in the front room when I look down the hall to find my son showing off his latest talent. He sure loves to draw!

and this is what happens when you have to clean up the (thank goodness) washable marker...

Lately my daughters have found a new love for the movie, "Pete's Dragon." Which is fine with me! I love the music- and the story... talk about good childhood memories! Until I gave my kids a bath a found THIS on Lacey!

look familiar?

For Christmas this last year my Sister In Law gave us a gift card to the local zoo good for an annual pass... we have already used it once, and am looking forward to many trips this Spring and Summer. A few of the better pictures from this trip:

Look at that! We are ALL smiling!

We spent some time in an art exhibit. The girls got bored... so they sat down to rest...

Matthew got loose for a few minutes. Lilia managed to catch him.

Hopefully things are well with you, too!

Strawberries!

So one of the best things a bout my local Walmart is their inability to properly stock certain fruits. More specifically, raspberries and strawberries. A few times a year they find themselves inundated with excess berries, so to get rid of them they sell them SUPER cheap. As in .99 cheap. so instead of paying upwards of 2.00 per clamshell of raspberries or strawberries, you can get them for a dollar! And of course, I do. And then I make them into some of the yummy canned goods I love so much.

Sure enough- this last week Walmart had bunches of strawberries to off load, and boy did I help them out! Over the course of three days I bought 15 clamshells of berries and proceeded to cook them up in all sorts of fun ways!

I also, helped a friend of mine with her 9 (or was it 12?) clamshells as well... She chose to turn hers into strawberry jam to be sold at a bake sale for her daughter's soccer team (all you local yocal's out there, I think she still has some for sale... you know- in case you wanna help out a bit).

I then went on to make some strawberry/blueberry jam, and a couple batches of freezer jam, two batches of strawberry ice cream base (to be turned into ice cream at a later date), and 3 batches of strawberry lemonade concentrate... YUM!

A picture of just some of the goods I made... :D

When I had finished all this, I then went on to buy my mother 5 clamshells of strawberries and proceeded to freeze them for her to use in smoothies, and other such goodies.

I still had enough strawberries left over to make some strawberry shortcake for dessert one night. One of my family's favorite desserts...

Oh how I love Spring! Bring on the berries!

Cause I know you do...

Seeing as how I don't post on here as often as I would like, I thought I would try something different. I found this totally awesome Linky Party and decided to join up! Every WEdnesday they do a "We Want To Know" Party. It's hosted by:

Impulsive Addict, Janette, Mamarazzi and Seriously Shawn

The questions this week:

{1} What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Are you an eyes or a smile person? Maybe another body part?
{2} If a movie was being made about you who would you like to see cast to play you? And would your movie be a comedy, drama, romantic-comedy, action film or a horror movie?
{3} Does your high school yearbook include a senior comment section? If so share what you said about your future goals. Have you met those goals? If you do not have a yearbook just share what your goals where when you were 18 and if you have met them. If you’re brave enough include your Senior Picture!
{4} What latest trend simply baffles you?
{5} When you walk into a room how do you present yourself? Do you walk in with confidence and command the attention of others or do you slink in and do your best to go unnoticed?

On to the answers!

{1} What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Are you an eyes or a smile person? Maybe another body part?

The first thing I noticed about Joe was how very animated he was. It was like he walked right out of a Jim Carrey Movie! The second thing I noticed was his sense of style (turns out it was his younger brother's sense of style... long story), the third was that he had a nice caboose... :)

{2} If a movie was being made about you who would you like to see cast to play you? And would your movie be a comedy, drama, romantic-comedy, action film or a horror movie?

I would love to see Jennifer Aniston play me... but lets be honest. That isn't likely to happen. I have been told I look like Jodie Foster or (ugh this is hard to admit) Kimmy Gibbler (From Full House). And my movie would definitely be a dramady. Some funny some drama...

{3} Does your high school yearbook include a senior comment section? If so share what you said about your future goals. Have you met those goals? If you do not have a yearbook just share what your goals where when you were 18 and if you have met them. If you’re brave enough include your Senior Picture!

My yearbook didn't have the future goals section- but the goals I had set for myself were pretty much: 1. Get Married. 2. Have Kids. 3. Travel. 4. Learn to make money doing something I love. I have met the first two, I have done a little of the third (though not nearly enough) and I am still working on the 4th... As for my senior picture... I don't have it on this machine, but I have a picture of me at one of the Dances my senior year... so here ya go!

{4} What latest trend simply baffles you?

Leggings on adults. I just don't get it... Skinny jeans are okay in a jean color (read: blue) but colored skinny jeans look too much like leggings to me.

{5} When you walk into a room how do you present yourself? Do you walk in with confidence and command the attention of others or do you slink in and do your best to go unnoticed?

I am kinda in between these two examples. I walk in with confidence, but I don't command the attention of others. I am fairly confident in myself, but I don't feel the need to showcase myself.

See? That was kinda fun! Now maybe I can get to posting about what's up and what's not...

Let's hear it for the girls!

This was a fun week for both of my beautiful girls. On Friday of last week Lilia came home with the long awaited "Big Green Tractor!" (For those of you not in the know, this is a big construction paper tractor for them to decorate with pictures and info about themselves to then take back to class. Basically it means just this- Lilia is student of the week!) Then on Monday Lacey came peeling out of preschool yelling, "Momma! I got to be the helper today and I get to take home the show and tell bag!"

Lacey thought about it all day Tuesday and decided what to take for show and tell. So we put the object in the show and tell bag and then had to write three hints about what was in the bag so the rest of her class could guess what it was. The hints: 1. I am white. 2. I am fuzzy. 3. If I could talk I would say, "quack, quack!" Funny enough- this specific toy was an Arctic Circle kids meal toy. She just LOVES her fluffy duck. :)

As for Lil, her tractor went back to school on Monday sporting pictures of her, her family, and her favorite thing to do (gymnastics), as well as telling about her favorite color (blue), food (peaches), and if she has any pets (1 dog- Midge). Yesterday she came home with what I think is just about the cutest spotlight ever! It seems whoever is the student of the week- forgive me- FARMER of the week gets letter written to them by everyone in the class. And I must admit. These letters are SO CUTE! I, of course, being the proud momma that I am will share some of them with you. After reading them it seems almost as if each table (group of 4-5 students) shared information since she has almost identical letters in little bunches, but they are still fantastic. The letter starts:

________ is special because...

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Love,

____________

The kids fill in all the blanks.

A list of characteristics attributed to Lilia in these letters is:

Lilia is special because...

She is fun/funny.

She has a wonderful memory.

She is beautiful.

She is pretty.

She is cool.

She is smart.

She is nice.

She has pretty blonde hair.

She is creative.

She is a good friend.

She smiles all the time.

She is polite.

She is honest.

She has a nice laugh.

She is good at hula hooping and jumping rope.

She has hicups.

She is prepared.

And she is respectful.

I just loved these letters. Certain one's in particular stuck out as note worthy, and for Lilia's sake, I want to share them here so we have them recorded long after this booklet disappears.

From Drew:

She is smart. She is very very pretty. She was my partner for the dance. (They just did a first grade program where each class did dances. So cute!)

From Jillian:

She is nice to me. She is respectful for Miss S. I can't blef (believe) that she is so respectful.

From Michael (I mentioned him before as someone she likes in her class)

She is so smart. She's so fun to play with. She's so nice. She's so respectful. She's honest.

(this made Lilia smile and do a little dance. She is too funny!)

And prehaps the best in the bunch- from our neighbor Kyle:

She was my first friend I made when I moved here. She can be really funny. She is very pretty. She can be super nice.

I love how he said "can be" and not "is". Hahaha! It's totally true. These two are very good friends, and they also fight like an old married couple. I sure love my neighbors and their kids! Lacey does too-

*Funny side note* As I was reading these letters out loud I read one from one of Lil's classmates named Zach. (Kyle has a younger brother named Zach who happens to be Lacey's age). After reading the letter I read, "Love Zach" and Lacey yelled, "Zach!? I LOVE Zach!" So cute!

I am so proud of my adorable girls. They really are such good kids, and make my day to day life so much more fun.

Happy List

I figure it's been a while since my last post, and since today is shaping up to be a good day, I wanna tell everyone why I am so happy! Lucky me, I ran across a blog that promotes just that! A HAPPY LIST! SO without further ado:

I am happy to see some significant change in the basement! I have painted the office down there and chosen fabric for the curtains. Now to just acquire a sewing machine to finish those curtains and all will be well! (pictures to come eventually...)

I am happy with my new couch! It's so perfect for us. And it looks nice. And it smells nice (gotta love leather).

OLD COUCH...

NEW COUCH!

I am happy with this weather. Nothing like some sunshine and a little rain. The temps have been cool, but not too cold.

I am happy to be mother to three adorable miscreants. They are so much fun!

I am happy with Lilia's report card. It was the 1st grade equivalent to straight A's.

I am happy to hear Lacey's prayers at night (where she prays to be "almost cute" and asks if she can "go to school every day" like her sister).

I am happy to see my little man, Matthew, healthy. And to see him fold his arms on demand. It's pretty cute. See?

Attempt #1...

Attempt #2 complete with bowed head.

I am happy to finally have the fabric for Matthew's blanket all ready to go! Now, to get me that much needed sewing machine...

I am SUPER happy that Joe and I have finally decided to become a TWO CAR family! After 10 years, it's about time.

I am happy to be married to such a marvelous and funny man. He really does make life that much better. :)

I am happy for beautiful things. Like the peacock at the zoo last week.

I am happy. Yup- that's all there is to it.