Happy Birthday to Me

I had a terrific birthday yesterday. Of course, it started off with the usual Sunday morning run-around-getting-everyone-ready-for-church thing, but church was good once we got there. Then we came home and my birthday started for real. I asked for clothes. It's been a while since I went shopping for myself and I needed some new things. Richard went berserk shopping for me. See below....

The black scarf at the top of the couch is actually a shawl. It will be perfect sitting on the Arctic-cold stand at church. There is also another scarf (black and white above the black skirt) which is thicker and cuddly. Also a pair of black leather gloves. I can't believe he spent that kind of money on gloves, but they'll last forever if I don't lose one. The purple blouse surprised, but I think it'll go well with the skirt. The green shirt is a favorite already. Richard has trouble buying me anything that's not green. LOL Oh, and there's a silvery sweater with some fake bling around the neckline. I'm not real sure about it, but I'll try it on and see how it goes.

James picked out this sweater. He insisted that I had to have it. Unfortunately, it's missing a button. So, I'm going to take it back and hope against hope that they have another one just like it. I really like it. It's a good cool weather sweater--or again for the chapel.

I love this skirt. The belt is cool and it has piping on the sides that gives it some interest. Sorry about the lovely picture of the floor. Guess I could edit my photos before posting, but...nah.

Never in my life would I have picked these sweaters. I haven't done blouses in years, but these aren't real. I guess they're the newer version of dickies? I love the color of the blue sweater. The blouse has a ruffle down the front, but I'll give it a whirl and see how it looks. Richard really liked the print, so again...I'll give it a try. It's amazing what others think will look good on you and you just never know until you try it on.

This is my favorite. A wool coat. I've needed a new coat for ages. This one isn't too thick (I have a bulky one for those really, really cold days. All two of them here in North Texas.) I would've been ecstatic if this were my only present. I think Richard spent just about every cent of his bonus money on my birthday. Now I can save up for some shoes! :-)

All in all, it was a great birthday. I was treated like a queen all day. Waited on hand and foot--steak for dinner, the boys played nicely (mostly) and didn't "bother" me. I basically sat on my bum all afternoon. The only really bad part of the day was watching the Cowboys pretend to play football. Good grief, I think *I* could throw better to my left than Romo did!

I am blessed with a great family who loves me and takes care of me. It may sound cliche, but that right there really is the best gift of all.

A Great Christmas Day

At 6:00 am on Christmas morning, there's a light knock on our bedroom door. Two precious little boys, wearing the new pajamas they'd opened on Christmas Eve, were standing there--oh so excited! "Mom! You've gotta come out here! You gotta see! There's presents under the little tree. And they're NOT WRAPPED! Come on! You gotta see!" All of this said in an excited whisper. They were trying so hard to be quiet, but they could hardly contain themselves. It was exactly what Christmas morning is supposed to be about. What a great way to start the day.
John got a Guitar Hero guitar. He was pretty ecstatic about it. Notice the amazingly cool pjs too.

James got the IPOD he was wishing for. It's a shuffle because let's face it--a 9 yo doesn't need 450 songs. This particular 9 yo doesn't even *know* 450 songs. Only problem--the shuffle is tiny. And James doesn't hold on to things very well. But it was his greatest wish and Santa provided. Apparently Santa trusts him more than his parents do, but we'll keep working on that. ;-)

I have no idea what's in this box. Chris was a Scrooge most of the day. Santa was tempted to fly back and retrieve the presents given. For now, I'm going to chalk it up to being 15 and believing that there is absolutely not a single cool person living in this house. But it's getting tiring.

It was a grand day all around. The younger boys played their games while waiting for Chris to get up. Once all the presents were unwrapped, it was a quick and easy clean-up. All boys younger than 21 were upstairs playing new games. Richard and I were left to relax for a little while in the quiet of the downstairs. Have I mentioned how much I love having an upstairs game room? Should I mention it again? I love it!

This was how the rest of the day was spent--or at least the rest of the morning. I was on my computer too--playing my new Diner Dash game. Yes, I could spend hours on that game. I have no idea why--but it intrigues me. We all did manage to get showered and dressed before the grandparents came for dinner. There was more opening of presents and some very yummy dinner--turkey, GF dressing, GF sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls. Kinda like Thanksgiving, but that's what I grew up with so it's what we did.

The day after Christmas has been spent in relative quiet. Richard had to return the TV that Santa brought (from the Walmart Black Friday sale.) The speakers were crackling and popping. WM didn't have the same model in stock so Richard, in a fit of practicality and fiscal-mindedness, had it put on a gift card and will wait to see what pops up. He'd already taken the big TV upstairs for the boys to use, so now we have their little TV downstairs. But really...if that's the worst thing that happens this year, I have no complaints. Other than that...we're just playing our new games, not watching our new TV, and listening to the quiet. It's wonderful.

I hope all two of you who read this blog had a very merry Christmas and will have a great new year.

Just About Ready

Picture below are the homemade goodies. James helped make this batch of fudge. Then the gingerbread house. Unfortunately (as per the usual for me) the finished product picture is posted before the putting-it-together picture. Someday I'm going to remember the pics go in backward from how I put them in.

Richard took care of the "glue," and the boys did the decorating. I was in charge of pictures and morale.

So now we have cookies, sausage balls and fudge. And our first-ever gingerbread house, thanks to our Secret Santa.

Still some wrapping to do. Richard swears he'll do it, but I'm getting antsy and he's not doing it. Deep breath. Relax. Overall, this has been the easiest Christmas we've had in a very long time. I'm loving it. Merry Christmas everyone!

Sunday Afternoons and Other Musings

I just love Sunday afternoons. Sunday mornings--not so much. But Sunday afternoons--wonderful. Football on TV. It's cold today, so we've got a fire going. I'm in my comfy clothes, sitting in a chair by the fire and just relaxing. I baked some cookies. (Don't get excited--they certainly weren't homemade. They're the break-apart kind. But I don't care. That's about as domestic as I get.) The boys are running around upstairs, but they aren't fighting so I'm not saying anything. It'll quiet down in a bit. Days like this are few and far between, so I'm especially grateful when they come around.

Christmas is this week. Really? This week? Shopping is just about done. *My* shopping is done. Richard just needs to take James out tomorrow. I want to make more fudge. And we're going to have a real Christmas dinner again. For the past several years, we've ordered a deli tray and just snacked all day. But I kinda miss the idea of a real dinner and the boys are old enough now to get out the Christmas plates and make it an occassion. And I think my in-laws will be here. That's the plan anyway.

So...I'll spend the rest of the evening figuring out dinner and just enjoying the relative stillness of the house. With three boys, stillness is certainly relative, but overall it's a very nice afternoon/evening. Tomorrow...I'll get back on the horse and start wrapping presents. But that's tomorrow.

Why I Teach

Ok...so this isn't really why I teach, but it's a nice perk. For those who may not know, I teach elementary music. That means that I have every child in the school at least one day a week. Grade kindergarten through 5. 50 minutes each class. There are days when I want to pull out my hair. And then there are days like the last few. Throughout this past week, children have been coming to me, bags in hand, to give me Christmas presents. And hugs and smiles. Some were just little hand-made cards. Much of it was food--yummy food. Snickerdoodles, brownies, fudge. Warm, fuzzy socks, hand lotion. And gift card--two to Starbucks (yay for caramel apple cider) and one to Chick-Fil-A. Woo hoo!

But, of course, the best presents are the smiles and hugs that I get each and every morning. How many other jobs are there (besides "Mom") where you start each day with friendly "Good morning"s and sweet hugs. And after the cold front moves in tonight, I'll be using those fuzzy socks for sure. And the Starbucks cards. And eating Snickerdoodles. Ahhhh.

It's Looking Like Christmas

Just so you know...picture captions are underneath each picture. You can thank Mrs. Hackbarth, my high school newspaper and yearbook teacher, for that. The caption goes below the picture. (Or to the right, but I centered my pics, so there ya go.)

This is our den--with the fireplace and tree. This tree has all of our cutesy ornaments--ones the boys made, presents from students, and all of the ornament exchange ones. It's a fun tree. Richard put the garland and lights around the fireplace. We're still waiting to put the stockings up. Hopefully, before Christmas Eve.

The cutesy tree in the den.

The pieces on top of the easel are all from either my mother or my grandmother. The china doll on the right isn't really a Christmas decoration, but I didn't want to move it because it's the one safe place in the house

This is the front room tree. This is the first year we've had two trees. This one is the more formal tree--a bit taller and only glass ornaments on it. It's very relaxing to sit in this room and looks pretty from the window.

When you walk in our front door, this is the first thing you see. We always have the picture hanging there, but the little nativity seemed a really good Christmas addition, along with the garland and lights. The front room is directly left of this, so it's a nice, peaceful entrance.

So...this is our Christmas house. It feels good to have it all up. There are more decorations, but I got tired of taking pictures. :-)

Caroling

I took a group of 40 4th and 5th grade choir students caroling today. We went to two retirement centers and then out to eat lunch at CiCi's. It was a fabulous trip this time. The kids sang very well and behaved amazingly well. Even at CiCi's. Janet and I were pleasantly surprised. We got quite a few compliments from people at both centers and the restaurant. One guy even came up and asked if it would be appropriate to email our principal to tell her what a nice group of young kids we had. Wow!

In thinking about it, I realized that I don't have many, if any really, of the "popular" kids in choir this year. So there's no one who's really spending all their time trying to impress everyone else. It was a great day. This should be a good choir year.

Happy Birthday, Mom

I miss you. I miss being able to call and just chat about everything and nothing. I miss Christmas at TC. I miss the big tree and all the presents and the food and cookies and pie and family.

But I learned something from you. (I know...you're shocked.) I took today off from work. I finished my Christmas shopping, took John and myself to the eye doctor and made some fudge. I didn't get anything wrapped yet, but I'll find another day to do that. The trees are up and decorated (I'll post more about that in another post.)

So...I'm finally starting to figure out how to make the Christmas I remember happen in my own home. Yes, it's different, but I'm adding more and more each year.

Thanks, Mom. And happy birthday.

Changes For Real This Time

I was released today as primary pianist. Actually, I was originally released as primary chorister. I thought hey--my name and Suzanne's calling! Maybe we both got released. But no...they fixed the error. So after today, I'm no longer in primary--at least not on Sundays.

But I have a new calling. It's what I've known was coming. And hopefully, I'll be able to know what I'm doing fairly quickly. Can you tell from the pictures? Didn't you already know?


I'd prefer not to wear the ugly yellow shirt. Really, you'd think after all these years they'd have found a better color--or at least a more flattering yellow. But I digress. Someone told me, "You don't really have to wear the shirt." Well, if I want the boys to wear their uniforms, I should wear mine. And I'm terrible about remembering to take the boys' shirts and books on den meeting day. So maybe this will help. And...I'll have to prepare ahead of time.

Uh-oh. There's the real rub. Preparation. Den meetings start 15 minutes after I get out of school. Just enough time to get to the car and get across town to the church. Wonder if I can work with the actual den leader and see if she will be in charge of the activities and I'll be in charge of record-keeping and enforcing behavior. I mean...actually keeping the boys in the room instead of running around the building.

I'm kind of excited. I'm not scared of it anymore. Am I supposed to be set apart for this? That would probably help. We have pack meeting this week. I have no clue what's going on, so I think I'll be making so phone calls and emails to find out--and then probably just be the mean leader.

At least after this week, we probably don't have another meeting until after the first of the year. So...maybe I've got time to get things in order. Maybe. Anybody out there who's been doing this for a while and has any great ideas? Send 'em my way!!!

Is it in the DNA?

What is it about men and boys? Do they really not see the socks all over the floor? The pillows on the floor? The cereal left on the table? The dishes piling up in the sink? The overflowing laundry hamper? The piles and piles and piles and piles of papers?

I'm tired of having to tell everyone in the house when to do some chore or the other. Everyone. And telling those who are learning to pick up this or that while the one who should know is sitting in the computer chair surrounded by the same junk I'm telling the shorter people to pick up.

If I had a daughter, which side would she be on? I wonder.

Hectic-ness

How do we get ourselves into such a tizzy around the holidays? I had something to do every single night this week. Ok...I had nothing Monday night, I don't think. But it's weird because I don't really remember Monday night. It was a lifetime ago.


Tuesday night was Enrichment progressive dinner. It was nice and good food.

Wednesday night was a surprise baby shower/dinner out. Yum!


Thursday night was the 5th grade program. They did fabulously! I'd like to say I never doubted them, but I'd be lying. And not just lying--majorly lying. Extreme fabrication. But they proved me wrong and I'm so proud of them. They knew their lines and most of them sang the songs. The ones that I knew wouldn't didn't, but then again their parents got to see them stand up there and stare into space for 20 minutes. So that's a plus.


Tonight was the ward Christmas party. Just me and the boys. It was a party+serviceproject. Dinner started 30 minutes late, so 7:30. It was good and John was especially excited because they had ham (HAM!!!) James was excited because they had baked potatoes. There was not a single dessert that John could eat, but most everything else was good. Then we got pictures with Santa. Then we were supposed to fill stockings. Well...we left. I'm sorry about doing that--sorta. But I was there with with two boys who were getting tired and cranky. Chris was off with his friends and then spent time talking with the YM leader.


Have I mentioned how much I love this YM presidency? They seem to be really in tune with the boys and their needs--and they know how to do scouts! Maybe Chris will finally advance! How cool would that be?


But back to the party...we left before the actual service project part. I just couldn't take the boys fighting anymore and I was feeling a bit alone. Chris even noticed and came over and sat with me for a few minutes. He said, "You look...alone." Yeah. So he sat there for a minute. I told him he didn't have to sit with me. "Ok." And off he went. But he noticed. That tells me a lot. He's made mistakes--don't get me wrong. And he's got a monkey on his back that worries me, but overall...he's a fabulous kid. He goes about quietly doing good--much like his grandfather.


Back to the party and week again...so we came home. Richard came home a few minutes later. He'd been up at school trying to get caught up on grading. He said he stopped by the party, but they were already cleaning up and we were gone. Oops.


So on Saturday...there's a primary activity at 8:00 in the morning. Then karate. Then three red-headed boys will be spending the afternoon/evening with us. Anyone got any valium? (They're wonderful--really. I love those boys. They're just...energetic. I'll just remind them that they can have Sister Martin or Mrs. Martin and see whom they choose. Sister Martin is the fairly nice sister from church. Mrs. Martin is the mean music teacher from their school. Maybe we'll put on a good movie too.)


So...the topic was a made-up word: hectic-ness. I don't like it, but really...what things this week was I going to say "no" to? I want to say no and I've honestly gotten pretty good at it, but there just wasn't anything to drop this week. Next week will be easier, I think. Just choir caroling Monday night (church choir), karate two days, cub scout pack meeting the same night as the orchestra concert - see, that's a combo right there! Ooh--with the pack meeting the same night as the concert, that frees up Tuesday. Maybe I can do the dishes that night. Oh...and school choir caroling during the day on Wednesday. Staff party Thursday after school. Seriously, what can I say "no" to?

Two Weeks

Two weeks. Just two more weeks til "winter break." Those three days we had off for Thanksgiving was like a dropperful of water to a man trapped in the desert. Just enough to wet the tongue, but not enough to satisfy. We are so, so, so, sooooo ready for a break.

I've still got some shopping to do. We've got some stuff done, but not finished. I need to write it down and get it definitive. I'm planning on taking a personal day next week to finish shopping and maybe wrapping--even :::gasp::: baking!

So...two week until break...two and a half until Christmas. I feel much more prepared this year than last. I hope it stays that way. Surely it will. Surely.