Family Moments

I *heart* them.

So much so we began Family Sundays. This day occurs the first Sunday of every month whereby I force *I mean* beckon my family and extendeds to come spend time with us at our house - or theirs, as the year goes on - and enjoy a good ol' fashioned Sunday dinner. Or a bowl of cereal. Whatever. I just want us to get together more regularly.

I like my family.

And I remember as a kid tons of family gatherings - my grandmother always fretting over what we'd be eating. Giant skillets of fried chicken. Homemade mashed potatoes and gravy. O.M.G. My mouth is watering. We wouldn't clear breakfast before she'd be planning dinner (the mid-day meal when you were Country). You know what I mean, don't you? Your grandmother was the same. But we don't do that. I mean, sure I concern myself with what I'll be eating for lunch (that mid-day meal now that we're City), but we don't sit down to Sunday dinner. Well, at least we didn't.

But I asked my family, and they complied. So at least once a month, my kids are getting to know who they are - via they're family. The way that I know who I am. Because I know from where I came.

Here we are yesterday, a.k.a. SuperBowl Sunday. Yesterday's menu was chili. Not so much Sunday dinner-esque. But I still thought the scent of savory spices and corn bread wafting through the house made for good olfactory memories.

And keep in mind, this was at the end - just before the Saints kicked the Colts' butt. So we're looking pretty over the whole Sunday Family dinner thing. Or we ate too much chicken dip and cheesy salsa. (Look - even the dog's passed out in the corner.)

Nevertheless, I love Family Sundays.

I *heart* PJs!

After becoming completely inspired by this post @ A Little Loveliness, I decided to make Pookie and Sasha matching pj's! And further, I made their MiniMe (American Girl) dolls a set, as well.

Now, I'm still busy sewing, cuz along came the SuperBowl and all the gettings-ready that that requires, but here's enough to let you know how completely adorable they'll be in their entirety when I finish them! (probably sometime next year!) Plus - the t-shirts are fine for everyday Valentine wearing!

What I Love :: Day 5

I'm not good at math.

So the days of my series have to go with the date.

I can't bring myself to say Day 3 when it's Day 5 - a.k.a. February 5th.

And because I just like to be a little eccentric.

Cuz it's only Day 3 of the series, but it's fun in my head to skip 4 altogether and jump straight to 5.

So that's what we're doing.

And today, I'm loving kids. Sort of their spirit, their child-like faith, they're irreverent ability to turn something kind of cruddy into something wonderful and fun.

I'm not like that.

I get cranky.

I simmer and stew and pout.

Sort of like a child, but even a pouty child can turn their frown upside down within ... moments, really. BigDaddy will say to Pouty Sasha: Show me your attitude! And she immediately grins.

I like to wallow in it a while longer than that.

Case in point, Wednesday night. It was our annual cookie platter making extravaganza for the heart group. (I've mentioned that before.) Unbeknownst to me, it was also hubby's week to be late manager on duty (he's like the Undercover Boss in some respects - he likes to do the same work as his people, I guess. But I wasn't all too happy with his timing, I'll just be honest with you). On the same night that both boys had karate, and then the Pinewood Derby weigh-in, plus eve of Hubster's birthday, so there was present-purchasing to be done. And cookies to make. And deliver. But they didn't get delivered.

So Wednesday night, I'm sitting, slouched over the table with a few dozen frosting-stuffed, sprinklific, heart-adorned blobs o' cookie mass meant for medical professionals, but sitting in front of me. Wondering what I was going to do with all of them. I think I even cussed at them. At least once.

When what to my wondering ears did I hear, but one little voice asking, "May I have one?"

"Sure." I answered dully. "Have as many as you want."

Off she skipped. Discovering that big sis had a fistful of sugar, in came another. Then another. Then another. Until all that remained was a few crumbs.

And a row of smiles.

And a camera.

And a new attitude.

So, in a nutshell, I love kids. Especially mine.

The What I Love Series :: Day 2

And now I'm two days behind. Perhaps this will be a month-long series - 14 posts, every other day. Would you grow absolutely sick of all my *hearts* by then, or would that just be me?

Anyway, in truth, this is Day 4. And don't groan because it's cliche. It's his birthday. I have to post about him on his birthday! C'mon!




To make it even more sugary sweet, here are specifically 37 things I love about this guy.
1. He makes me laugh.
2. Even when I don't want to laugh, he makes me laugh.
3. And then he makes the kids laugh, and that makes me laugh, too.
4. He is an awesome provider for this family.
5. He has an incredible work ethic - which is one reason why he is such a phenomenal provider.
6. He thinks differently than I do.
7. He thinks so differently than I do that sometimes I am amazed by how differently two people can witness the very same event. And I like how he helps me to see things differently.
8. He is logical.
9. He is intelligent.
10. He challenges the kids to also be intelligent.
11. He is my spell-checker. "Honey, how do you spell nostalgic? Check...Honey, how do you spell ..." Anyway, he's almost always right. At spelling words.
12. He's almost always right. But he admits when he's wrong. And he knows how to apologize.
13. He is always well-informed. Wanna know anything about politics, sports, the iPad, Tiger, squid off the coast - he's your man.
14. He buys me Icee Mochas. And brings them home to me.
15. He takes me to the Bread Co. for breakfast every week.
16. He makes amazing waffles. M&M for the kids. Blueberry for me. And butters them and cuts them, dowses them with syrup. And sprinkles on powdered sugar. (Those should count as more than one!)
17. He cleans the waffle maker after making waffles.
18. His bacon makin' skills rival the best chefs.
19. He is handy with tools.
20. He saved us hundreds of dollars by designing and building two separate custom-made entertainment centers - and used recycled wood.
21. He takes care of the yard.
22. He cleans up the dog poop.
23. He rarely asks for help taking care of the yard.
24. But he likes it when we help.
25. He's awesome at involving the kids in his home work.
26. He put a picture of Meiners in his workshop after telling him he was his "Little Helper."
27. Meiners grinned for days.
28. He sometimes finds Sasha's binky in the dead of night.
29. He soothes her when she screams, "But I want my mama! Mama?!?!?!?!?!"
30. He doesn't put up with crap from the kids.
31. He disciplines them, and he stands behind my discipline.
32. He says, "If Mom ain't happy, I ain't happy."
33. He always tries to make me happy.
34. He succeeds.
35. At just about everything.
36. But if he doesn't succeed, he keeps trying.
37. He is my best friend.

I love you, BigDaddy.
Happy 37th Birthday!

What I Love :: A 14-Day Series

And I'm already a day late.

So here we go: I love this idea from Shawni. (And I just love her and her blog in general -- her photography; her spunky, feisty adorable 2 year-old who rivals mine in [apparent] tantrum abilities; her insight ... everything. And not in a weird way - at all.)

Heart Attacks.

We'll be doing this this week and next!

~See you tomorrow!
k

More Awesome Photos!

Seriously, Folks. How could I not follow the last post up with this series of photos? See that? That right there?


What's that girl doing? Is she break dancing?

What girl?

THIS one:
Wait, wait, wait. Wait just a minute. You can't tell from this angle? You think she's just 'Doin' the Mit'n?

Yeah. You might think so. Til I zoom in on this:



She's doin' the mit'n dance all right. My mom told me she was gonna hate me for this one day. I told my mom I had every intention of showing it to Sasha's future husband before she walks down the aisle.

Full disclosure. That's all I'm saying.

Photo Sequence

I came across this sequence of photos tonite while working on a project with Pookie. I just had to re-post them. Even the tantrums (mine), the whining (mine), and the messes (also mine) pale in comparison to the gift that is this present.