MerrryHappyChristmasBirthday!!!

Whew. The Holidays are over. It's my favorite time of year. Until it's over. Let me paint a picture of why:

Christmas Eve, my Hubby's parents came in. We got their plethora of presents unloaded and then got ready for dinner and church.

Isn't she so cute?? (The was my dress, by the way)

Mason was slated to sing and and all that with the other kids during church service. He practiced and practiced. We got there and he did stand on the stage, I'll give him that. But he only clapped for 1/2 of one song and then just stood there the rest of the time, staring blankly and playing with his shirt. Oh well, maybe next year. He still looked cute.

Christmas morning, we woke up and gave the kiddos the presents from us (and Hubby and I exchanged gifts). Mason got a WordWorld building blocks set and some Bob the Builder underwear and Cars coloring stuff and Grace got a inflatable penguin weebly thing (you hit it and never falls over). Then, we got ready for Hubby's family--cooking and setting up. They arrived (sisters and kids), and we ate a ham dinner. Then opened presents. Grace and Mason were of course well taken care of. (but of course Grace was far more interested in the paper and boxes)


The whirlwind subsided by early evening and his parents stayed the night. The next day, we celebrated Mason's 4th birthday!!

(Oh please, Mommy! Can I open my presents now??)

He got Cars toys, the completion of the Veggietales movies (he had 3 left) and an I-Spy Wall-E book (Grace's gift was eating the wrapping paper).

Then, we took him to Peter Piper for lunch, which he of course loved.

We had a mega cupcake...

(he's licking the candle)

(Yum!!!)

..and he enjoyed it!!

The grandparents went home, and we cleaned up for Round Two. The next morning, my parents and aunt and uncle and other aunt came. (my sister and brother-n-law and kids were supposed
to come too, but that's another story). We had yet another ham dinner and opened presents.

Sigh. And that was it. They left that afternoon and Christmas and Mason's birthday were officially over. Yesterday, we took down the Christmas lights, tree, decorations, signs, etc. Like I said, it's my favorite time of year and until I come down from the high. Now, I'm ready for Spring!! What? Winter just started??? Hmmmm...

Santa's coming!!! I know him!!

It's down to days now. Grace's First Christmas. Mason's 4th Birthday.

Am I ready? Sure...

Merry Christmas, all!!

Disappointment has a flavor, and it's pepperoni and cheese

You know how when you remember things from your past, they seem a bit glorified, and you wonder if you relived them, if it would feel the same? Like Fraggle Rock for instance. I LOVED that show as a kid. I watched it every week. My favorite character was Red. And recently, we found Fraggle Rock DVD at Target and I was so excited. I couldn't wait to recapture that strand of my childhood. We got it home, I opened it up and put it in, anxious for that nostalgic feeling. And at first, it flooded back. The theme song brought me back to when I was a little girl with waist-length curls and my Cabbage Patch named Brenda. But then the theme song was over and the episode began. And sadly, within 5 minutes or so, the nostalgia seeped out and it was replaced by drastic disappointment. It was boring, to be honest. And of course, incredibly cheesy. Don't get me wrong, cheesy can be awesome and it really did define television from the 80's, but there's a line. And Fraggle Rock crossed it, went down another street and took a detour. I was sad.

This leads me to the title of my blog. We were out and about today, and we happened to be in Kmart (because it has been really difficult to find Mason a winter coat--the toddler ones are often too small and the big boy ones are ginormous!!), and inside is a Little Caesar's (the only one left around here). To give a little background, Rob and I met at a Little Caesar's in 1995, so we both have memories of the scent of garlic and pizza dough. So, we decided to give this one a go. It had been years since we'd eaten there. We ordered Baby Pans and Crazy Bread. I have to admit, I was a tad bit excited. I remembered fondly the Crazy Bread I used to make myself back in the day, dripping with garlicky goodness and warm and oh-so-tasty. But when our order came out, the first frustration was that the Crazy Bread was raw--and I don't mean, "oh, it's a little undercooked", I mean, when you tried to take a bite, it came apart like melted cheese. Sick. So, we took it back. And the pizza was weird. It didn't taste bad, it just looked strange. It was like they had folded dough over and squished into a square. So, after we got our new order of bread and choked down the peculiar pizza, we looked at each other with a bit of remorse. Gone are the fond memories of Little Caesar's. Or at least the chance of renewing those memories.

I guess the moral of this entry is this: some things are better left remembered than relived...

Holy is the Lord--Reading MP3 Tea Leaves

1.Put your iPod (or media player) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Send to friends who may enjoy the quiz as well as the person you got the note from.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? If Tomorrow Never Comes (Garth Brooks)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? This Love This Heart (Phil Collins)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?Home (Daughtry)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?Please Don't Go (Boyz II Men)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? The Space Between (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?I Wish it Would Rain Down (Phil Collins)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me (Phil Collins)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Beautiful Mess (Diamond Rio)

WHAT IS 2+2? Can you Feel It? (Jackson 5)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? The Disease and the Cure (Kutless)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? What You Are (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Hearts of the Innocent (Kutless)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Wherever We Go (Newsboys)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Kit Kat Jam (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Ants Marching (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Dreaming While You Sleep (Genesis)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? Grey Street (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Crawling (Linkin Park)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? Louisiana Bayou (Dave Matthews Band)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? The Rescue (Kutless)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? When Its Love (Van Halen)

HOW WILL YOU DIE? Don't Cry (Seal)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET? Guiding Me Home (Kutless)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Give Me Words to Speak (Aaron Shust)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? The Dreaming Tree (Dave Matthews Band)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? I Do Not Belong (Kutless)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? All Alone (Kutless)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU? Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Jason Castro)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Overcoming Me (Kutless)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? Do the Neurotic (Genesis)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? Holy is the Lord (Chris Tomlin)

Am I crazy?

Wait...don't answer that. Let's just say for argument's sake, that the answer is "yes". Then, this next bit of information shouldn't be surprising...

Today was the schoolwide Spelling Bee. And I helped run it. Not too stressful, but it took up the first half of my day. I took just enough time to explain to the sub that was taking my class what needed to be done, and then I headed to the library around 7:15. Kids came down around 8, and by 8:30, we were beginning the real deal. One of my students came in 5th of 42! That's pretty good! I have to say, the words you're given in a Spelling Bee are purely luck of the draw, because you may get a word you've seen before, and you may get a word like whirligig, that is clearly uncommon. Anyways, the Bee ended around 9:45, and then we had to tear things down and get it looking like a library again. Then I dashed up to my room to talk to the sub and get settled. Then it was lunch at 10:17 (yes, we eat THAT early). Then, my 4th period kids came in. And about 10 minutes after being there, I actually walked them about a half of a mile down the road to the nearest elementary school, where they shared children's books that they had made (inspired by the If You Give a Moose a Muffin type of books), with a 3rd grade class. That actually went pretty well. The kids were a little hesitant to meet the 3rd graders ("What if they cry?" "What if they don't like my book?"), but overall, I think they were pretty proud of themselves. And in fact, the 3rd grade teacher said that this was the first time on particular student of hers had every smiled! That warmed my heart.

I'm taking my Period 1 kids tomorrow (actually pulling them out of their elective class because of scheduling conflicts), and my Period 5 kids Friday. I've taken pictures, and plan to put up a bulletin board somewhere (in my classroom or in the school somewhere else?), to brag about the project.

Toldja I was crazy...