So Much (ABC-style)

This weekend. It was our annual family slumber party weekend.

There was/were...

So much...

A - Aunties. Aunt Darla (me), Aunt Sissy, Aunt Liss... as much fun as it is being a mom, I really enjoy being an aunt, and acting silly like only an aunt can be.

B - Bittersweetness (yup, I know it's not a real word). While we really enjoyed being together, it wasn't quite the normal hilarity with my grandfather so sick. And my brother couldn't come. Well, that just was no fun at all! :(

C - Cousins. We've never been around other parts of our family during our special weekend, but we have one cousin in from out of the country, so we had her & her sister (and the sister's family) all over Saturday night. It was so fun!

D - Dancing. Big and Little Sissy (my nieces) were full of dances they were willing to share with us. So cute!

E - Exercise. Don and I brought our P90X DVDs with us, and the whole lot of us (well, almost) did Kempo X (Kind of like kickboxing) and Yoga this weekend. Even the little kids!

F - Food, fun, frivolity, family... lots of "f" words, huh?

G - Guilt. I was in charge of one meal for the weekend (only one meal!), and I was making Italian beef. I was afraid the meat wouldn't be finished in time, so I moved the slow-cooker to High on the 4 hour setting. I had every intention to move it back to Low for the remainder of the day (before we left to go shopping), but I forgot... So my meat wasn't cooked through yet. And I was supposed to feed 15-ish people. I felt AWFUL! (of course, my family was great about it, and we just exercised first, and it was eventually done!)

H - Headstands. For some reason, we decided to find out who could do the best headstands. It started with Bub, who is really good, of course. Then my dad showed us how good he still was at headstands. Then the rest of us all tried. I could still balance with my legs on my elbows... I just couldn't lift my legs up from there! :) Then on Saturday when the cousins were visiting, my cousins showed off their skills, too! Hilarious to see adults still trying to show off!

I - Ingenuity. When Little Buddy didn't have a diaper (and DEFINITELY needed one), let's just say duct tape came in handy (along with other diaper-like supplies)...

J - Jammies. Practically all we wore all weekend.

K - Kids. Kids, kids, EVERYWHERE! And I loved it!

L - Laughter. Oh my goodness... SO. MUCH. LAUGHTER! It's good for the soul, or so I've heard! Oh yeah, and love.

M - Mysteries. My niece decided there was a mystery on-hand, because while Bub TOLD her he ate the whole bag of Skittles, she still smelled them somewhere in the house. So we spent over an hour writing down the clues, helping her interview potential witnesses, and finally "planting" evidence for her to help her solve the mystery (she didn't believe Bub when he told her they were all in his stomach!). Very cute!

N - No camera. Nuff said. Grrrrrrr....

O - Overeating. Such good food! And so much of it!

P - Pepsi Throwback. Yum. That's all I've got to say about that. YUM.

Q - Quiet time. Oh wait... NO THERE WASN'T!!!!!!

R - Rummikub. We love that game. And we're a competitive bunch! It was funny to see Don and my Mom get into a trash talk war! Over Rummikub!

S - Shopping. Of course. Cuz it wouldn't be a family weekend if we didn't go shopping. And the boys went shooting. At the shooting range. Cuz it wouldn't be a family weekend if they didn't go shooting.

T - Technology. There were 4 iPhones, 2 laptops, and 2 netbooks out regularly. And a Wii. And a projector. Sad, isn't it?

U - Understanding (see Guilt). My family was so sweet when I messed the food up. And everyone understood that all of our emotions were a little elevated because of other situations. It was all good. And there's no other people I would have rather been with when I was emotional!

V - Valuable memories. I will never in my whole life forget my Grandpa's prayer for all of us when we visited him. Nor will I forget Little Sissy's hilarious stories about her Brown Lambie. Nor how Sis used the laundry basket to push Little Sissy and Little Buddy around for their Luge racing. Nor how Little Buddy hopped with bunny ears on all day. Nor how excited Bub was to see his favorite team (the Colts) play with his Dad and uncles.

W - Walking. Went for a walk with my two sisters. Well, maybe saying there was SO MUCH walking is stretching it a bit, but it was a good time to visit and fit in a little exercise all at the same time.

X - eXcitement to be together (yes, I know it's cheating...)

Y - Yoga X (see Exercise...) Oh, I'm so sore!

Z - Zzzzzzzzz's. Oh yeah, baby! Got some sleep, although it wasn't my own bed for sure!

It's that time of year...

It's time for our family slumber party weekend!

It's filled with...

acting silly in our pajamas...

A little rock n roll...


A little reading and/or introspection...

Lots of time spent in the kitchen...

Food so good it'll make you drool...

And sleeping... (with or without the remote in our hands)

And most of all... fun and love!

Deck the Halls (and closets)

So, I've not talked much about my resolutions goals mottoes for 2010 yet (cuz I'm still catching up with Christmas stuff), but I'll give you a sneak peek into one of mine: simplify! That's my goal...

So jumping ahead (cuz it was still technically 2009, and it wasn't required until 1/1/2010 to be a 2010 motto, right?), I decided to simplify in my Christmas decorating this year.

For a couple of reasons.

First of all, we've decided to sell our house (another story for another time), and I didn't want to over-decorate just in case someone came to see the house. Secondly, I'm lazy... I believe I've mentioned that before.

But I DID decorate... I just put out some stuff... and made sure it was stuff I really loved having out at Christmastime. Like my big tree. Normally I put up 3 trees... our big one in our great room, our regular one in our bedroom with all our hallmark ornaments, and one up in the kids' playroom that they can decorate however they wish.

But not this year. Just my big tree. See?


But I think the decorating I was even more proud of wasn't Christmas-y at all. In taking photos of the house, I noticed that every single picture of my closet looked terrible. Even though I didn't think it looked that bad in "real life," the photos showed every. single. item. that was out of place. So I pulled out SKILLZ I forgot I had... my Gap-sweater-folding-SKILLZ. I worked one summer and/or Christmas holiday at Gap, and my entire shifts consisted of folding sweaters and shirts with folding boards.

So, since I don't own folding boards (duh!), I used the next best things... catalogs and sale ads! And I was pretty proud of the results!


*In full disclosure, my closet does not currently look EXACTLY like this... While the items on the shelves are still nicely folded, there does seem to be quite a pile of clothing left on my bench that hasn't made it back on the uniformly folded shelves yet. Oh well...*

December Fun for all

So, I know I've talked about how much I dislike certain kids' activities in the past, but the one thing I really enjoy is the children's Christmas program at our church. Probably because I know most of the kids, so it makes it funnier and more fun fun(ner) to watch.



The kids were in the big kids' program (can I just say that it hit me this year that I not only have kids in the big kids' program, but that they are among the oldest in that group... AAK!!!). I think the program was called Angel Alert, but I'm not positive... suffice it to say it was about angels.


Sis had the first solo of the program. She did a good job! Unfortunately, this is the only decent shot I got of Sis because I couldn't seem to get enough light on the choir.

Bub and another boy were the surfer angels.... because, you know, I'm sure there are surfer angels. Right? Bub (and all the kids, actually) did spectacularly with their lines and solos. I was so proud!

This is one of my favorite shots of the night. The program was over, but the "stars" were still on stage when our pastor came to the stage to close in prayer. Here Bub is bowing his head and folding his hands in prayer... love it!

After the show, we got some shots of the kids. Here they are with their cousins, R & S.

Angelic, really... wouldn't you say?

Some other shots of the night:

Don, my sweet Grandpa, and my uncle

The two surfers monkeying around...

All in all, a great night. And I had nothing parent-wise to even complain about! :)

More, way-behind Christmas memories/photos to come...

Lists

So, I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit scattered naturally. Like, lists make me a little sweaty. And itchy. And uncomfortable. And constraining. (all of a sudden, lists sounds a lot like yard sales for me... weird!) Well... I think my point is made. Lists can make someone like me who likes to "fly by the seat of her pants" feel like running and hiding.

However...

I am married to someone who loves lists. Who might actually marry lists if he weren't already married, and it was legal. So, I've learned to live with lists. And sometimes appreciate lists... once Don promises me that our lists don't have to be all-inclusive and/or binding.

And...

I find nowadays that when my world seems especially chaotic (like, say, NOW?), I actually willingly MAKE lists. And use them. I have an ongoing to-do ACTIVE list going on at work. Don and I have started a family "dream" list (things we would love to do sometime as a family). I have an ongoing list of books I would like to read. See what I mean? I'm starting to maybe even embrace lists!

So, in the spirit of this turn of events, I am making a list for today. Of things that I currently like/am thinking about/make me smile. Can you people like me handle it? Don't just handle it... EMBRACE IT!

My list for 1.12.10:

1. I have been going through some old pictures. Whew! Can you say Darla had an awkward stage? Because she (I) did! And if only I was ambitious enough to get out my scanner, a lot of you might be surprised at some photos I have of you, too! :)

2. P90x... it's kicking the tar out of me! For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a crazy, intense workout. I'm actually loving the workout... it's the nutrition plan that's making me a little crabby... health eating = YUK! (not really, but it is ashamedly difficult for me!)

3. This cute little netbook that I'm blogging on. Sis saved all her Christmas money, and bought half of this and I bought the other half. It's so little. And so cute. And sometimes she lets me use it!

4. My family... with my grandfather ill, we've all spent a lot of time together. And I love my family!

5. Laughter... sometimes I laugh at things that others may not find funny, but I really, truly believe that laughter is like medicine sometimes!

6. Sunshine... it's still cold with snow on the ground here, but the sun is shining! YES!

7. My new DVD player... it's a cheapy, but it's nice not to have to eject and re-load a DVD 15 times before it will play (like our old one!)

8. Chapstick... my new best friend in the winter...

9. Along with my ugly pink UGGs. I might actually splurge on a "real" color of them because they are literally the warmest pair of shoes/boots I have ever owned

10. I feel as though I've been letting my short hair grow out forever! And I got it in a little, ugly ponytail the other night. It's a hair-growing milestone, I tell you!

I'm sure I could ramble on and on (see? I'm fulfilling my rambling INSIDE a list... who knew?), but I have to go work out my legs and backs, or whatever the p90x gurus tell me is for today!

In honor of...

Grandpa

• You and Grandma have always let me come over any time I wanted... you still do!
• You told me to put my book I was reading down on my lap during church when I was little... you told me it was disrespectful to have it up by my face while others were trying to listen to the service. But then you'd make Grandma give me a piece of gum, so I wouldn't be sad.
• You quote scriptures to fit whatever situation is at hand
• You got up to "testify" how great God was to you and your family almost every time the opportunity presented itself at church... and you cried every single time (I love that about you!)
• You love Grandma with all of your heart
• You love God with all of your heart
• You never let an opportunity pass to tell any single member of your family how much you love them. And appreciate them.
• You care passionately about others
• You never have claimed to be perfect (if anything, you're too humble), but you live your life in such a way that others admire
• You're so stubborn... and that's not all bad! :)
• You like to tease me about being a red-head... you told Don that you knew what he goes through being married to a red-head... us redheads fight you husbands like tigers, but defend you like lions, right?
• In the midst of all your pain, you want to make sure we're all right... and that we know you love us!
• You make my kids feel so special... as you do for all your kids, grandkids and great grandkids!
• I loved the nicknames you made up for us as kids: JulieBell, Darla Doodle, Christalina... we made our own up for Missy (it rhymed with her first name... we didn't know it was a bad word!)
• I'm so excited to be almost as good-looking as you!

Grandpa quotes from last night:

• Suffering may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning! Don't forget that! (Psalm 30:5)
• Isn't it exciting that we have faith and can look forward to our Crown of Life, Dar? Revelations 21 tells us that there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more death... how can people live without that hope?

I love you, Grandpa!

We interrupt this Bloggy Break for the following message

I really have things to say, REALLY! I just haven't got the oomph (or something) to get back to blogging quite yet. But I have several started. So hopefully SOON, I'll be back!