Monday, December 22, 2008

It feels like Disney

Lately I've felt much as I do when I go to Disney World. Like today waiting in the long line at the Post Office. I started getting that excited feeling you get after you've waited for so long winding back and forth in the dang line, then finally making it to the front of the line and knowing you are going to be called to ride next... I mean buy stamps and send your package. All that anticipation!

Did you ever almost get to the front of the line and the ride breaks? That's what happened to Jared tonight at Brandsmart. He was second in line when the registers broke down. Of course you have to stand there because you've already waited so long and you're sure it'll be fixed any minute. After about 30 minutes everyone cheered when they finally started working again.

Then yesterday when we went and saw various houses insanely decked out in Christmas lights (it's a yearly family tradition that we started last year--only I missed it last year... that's beside the point). Among the displays we saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a couple of Mickeys and a bunch of other happy characters that gave the kids the same thrill they would have gotten had we spent 80 bucks a ticket up in Orlando. They may even tell you it was better since one place handed out cookies. Another house had put the lights to music, which reminded me more of Las Vegas and was completely awesome! This retired man begins in January to synchronize his lights to 15 Christmas songs which comes out to about 20 hours a week all year. Crazy!

Some guy even started playing bumper cars with me last Saturday in the Target parking lot. I mean I've always liked bumper cars but I had to wonder, am I at Disney World? All right Sakheed (sp?), if you are reading this, in the future just because a car is pulling out of a parking space that you want doesn't mean you can just back up without looking behind you or ignore the honking that is taking place. Also, just because my car was not made in this century and may have other marks on it doesn't mean you can just ram into it like that and not even act in the least apologetic. And one more thing, was that really your phone number you gave me because I called it when your phone was in your hand and nothing happened?

Friday, December 12, 2008

Kid Quotes

This was a conversation I had with Erin a while back.

E: Mommy, those crackers are mine because I bought them.
L: Do you have any money?
E: Yes, because I'm 16, just for pretend.
L: So you have a job?
E: Yes.
L: How much do you make?
E: 10 cents.
L: That's not very much.
E: Well, I go to the store and buy more money. I have to go to the store every day.
L: What do you do for your job?
E: I study.
L: For what?
E: For covering the rocking chair. (It's no wonder she only gets 10 cents!)
L: Do you do anything else?
E: Nope. Actually, I do. I eat and then I study.

This is how I know Erin's school is teaching her something. The other day after coming out of the hospital to visit a friend's baby she sees the American flag, stops in the middle of the sidewalk, puts her hand on her heart and recites the pledge of allegiance. How patriotic. Then a few days later she saw another one and said "hey, that's the pledge of allegiance flag!" I even overheard her teaching it to Alex by making him repeat it word by word, and then making him start again when she lost her place (the funny thing is he does it).

I laughed when Erin was standing in front of the Christmas tree and while holding a jack-o-lantern asked me if I would play Easter with her. Now that's a kid who loves her Holidays!

Tonight was our Christmas party and when Santa made his appearance, two out of the 30 or so primary kids started screaming... those would be ours. I would say our kids have a big case of Santaphobia. Erin has never sat on his lap. I asked her why and she said "because I don't want my butt touching his lap." Tonight Jared told her that if she saw Santa he would give her candy and she said "I'm done with candy." (Something we never thought we'd hear from her, but I guess her fear of that weird, jolly, fat man outweighs her love of candy).

And just to add one of Alex. He sneezes "Achoo!... I'm ok"

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Chris the tree (and more)

Marissa is now six months old. She is sitting, growing teeth, playing peek-a-boo, giving hugs, drooling a lot, eating anything she is given, and as always rolling all over the place, including under the futon (a favorite spot of hers for some reason). She is truly a happy baby. In her baby blessing it mentioned being happy several times and she is really showing it. It is just so amazing to think about what effect one child can make in our home. She is such a joy for all of us. I don't know how else to describe it, but she is definitely supposed to be in our family and is such a blessing to everyone.

We put up our Christmas tree this week. Looking back I guess we should have spent a bit more time choosing it, but we were in a hurry and were juggling kids (not literally). So it's tall, skinny and a bit lopsided... but somehow that description fits our family. If I try to turn it to hide a weird bald spot, there's another one on the other side. There's really no way to make it look good... I've tried. It's the kind of tree you would expect to find a few days before Christmas when everything else is taken, not the beginning of December! What a bust! Then we attempted to put our newly acquired star on. We ended up chopping off the top to fit the dang thing on and since it's not lit it makes it look even weirder. At least we get some good laughs every day looking at it. Erin named it Chris (it being a CHRIStmas tree and all), but it's a girl Chris because she wears a skirt. I love the smell of the freshly cut tree in our house. It almost makes up for the disaster that surrounds it right now. Why is it so hard to keep this place clean? (I know the answer to that: 3 little kids, school, callings, life, favorite TV shows, hobbies, blogging, laziness, messed up priorities, etc.--but it's still a kind of bothersome).

It's also been a bit nippy lately. A couple of days ago I finally broke down and bought the kids some long sleeved shirts. It was like 64 degrees so we gave our overworked AC a rest and opened some windows. Today it's back to the usual 79 degrees, which is not bad either. I really don't mean to rub it in for anyone that may need to wear a coat right now, I only want to express gratitude for the beauty that surrounds me during Florida winters because the summers are so bad sometimes. After months of feeling like you need yet another shower just by walking to your car or being trapped inside because it's too hot outside or getting humidity headaches if you do go out, it is so glorious to send the kids outside to play or spend a couple of hours at the park without worrying about heat stroke or sunburn. Yes, I do love Florida and am grateful for all that I can enjoy here.

Here you can see Marissa sitting, one of the new long sleeved shirts and part of the weird tree (see, my random blog entry does all tie together in the end:)