Well, we moved Uncle C & Aunt C. The following Monday I woke up with a sore shoulder but that subsided after a few hours. My arm pains were sort of amusing. I couldn’t lower my arms or raise them without discomfort. I had to keep my arms bent at the elbows all day. It was so worth it. We had so many laughs together. Even Aunt C and I. That is especially good news. We haven’t always got along. She has had this crazy idea that my life is so special and I have everything so easy. I think she finally got the hint that my life was no piece of cake. I might go into all of that another time but I their moving weekend made me so happy don’t want to go into all the pettiness that went on for years.
This weekend I made Aunt C laugh so hard she almost couldn’t walk! We got along SO well I just had to blog about it. The Christmas of 2006 was especially wonderful due to Aunt C. She was wonderful and full of cheer the entire time! It made that Christmas the most memorable as well.
Growing up moves where always handled by the military. Those colored stickers with the numbers hold fond memories. I wish I had kept a few over the years but I was a kid so what did I know about keepsakes. I can only recall one time the military actually messed up a bit on moving us. Sure, sometimes our furniture and other belongings were delayed but we did receive them. During our last military move, when my father retired…”Oh this is not your stuff? That’s ok, fill out this form. Keep the stuff, the others will be compensated. Oh? You are missing some items? Fill out this form and you will be reimbursed.” My parents were not happy with this “Why should the other family be without their belongings? Why should we be without ours? Who is paying for all of this? Oh, that’s right, we are…tax payers exist in the military too.” They tried and tried to convince the movers who were subcontracted by the military. Usually we had actual military move us so this was a first for us to have a subcontractor.
The military moved us each time but anyone who has moved knows there is a lot of work to be done once the items arrive at the new home. I suppose due to all of our moving about while we were growing up we grew use to the regimen of moving. This along with the last military move led us to rely on ourselves when someone in our family moved. It usually turns out to be a real family and friends event.
The weekend was full of hard work and laced with laughter.
When I arrived at their new McMansion style house I pulled up into the empty driveway. I was a little surprised the driveway was empty and the garage doors were open. As soon as I had the rabbit cage halfway out of the back of my van …here comes Uncle C leading a caravan of trucks filled with furniture and other household items. We rushed to get the rabbit inside and I moved my van out of the way. Uncle C had gathered a crew of friends to help with the move.
We made quick work moving the large pieces of furniture and such. My brother’s friends were all gentlemen. They believe women should not have to lift such have heavy things. I was given couch pillows, paintings and similarly small items. ManSon helped with the large furniture items with ease. As I watched him lift one large item after another I couldn’t believe this Man was once a helpless, tiny baby I held in my arms.
As he waited for an item to be passed down to him at the ramp of the truck he shook hands with each of the other men and introduced himself. This was hilarious to me since everyone already knew who he was. This was not the first time they met. They have known him since he was a toddler. When he introduced himself to Aunt C’s stepfather I couldn’t help but laugh! “Don’t be silly. I know who you are”, he laughed too. ManSon couldn’t figure out how everyone already knew him but he really had no idea who they were. Then it dawned on me. He had not seen any of these people for at least 8 years. He is only 19 so that is half of his life ago. Just over 8 years ago Aunt C treated me so badly at a family function I never wanted to set foot in her house afterwards. The Christmas of 2006 plus all the fun we were having on their moving day really made me believe all of that was behind us.
After unloading the trucks everyone was invited to partake of Aunt C’s wonderful buffet set up on the island in the kitchen. She really out did herself! The food was wonderful! Her mother even brought her homemade rum cake and pumpkin bread. De-Lish-Ous!
After everyone had time to recuperate and refresh all but one of Uncle C’s friends headed off to the many other things they had to do that day. I was actually surprised since I knew there was a storage unit which still required attention. Uncle C, his friend, ManSon and I headed out to pick up the many items in the storage unit. There was only one moving truck left but I had my van. I asked Aunt C if Snow White could stay at the house so there would be more room to load in my van. She agreed. I went upstairs to J’s room where Snow White was playing on her DS to let her know the plans for the next hour or so. I didn’t want her to suddenly discover her brother and Mommy had left. J was playing with her and keeping her company so I asked her if it was ok if Snow White stayed with her. I thought J would like to feel in charge. I also knew Snow White had been so engrossed with her DS that she barley noticed anything going on around her all day. She was content to have a place to sit on the floor and just play her DS. At most she might ask for a glass of water or to use the bathroom.
With that Uncle C and his friend lead the way in the moving truck while ManSon and I followed in my van. We reached the storage unit in about 30 minutes and started the grueling task of moving the items in the packed to the gills storage unit.
Every once in awhile Uncle C would pick up something and say “I haven’t used this in 9 months so I really don’t need it. Do you want it ManSon?” After a few of these statements I half jokingly said “Hey, I know what you are up to. You want to load up my house with all this stuff huh?” ManSon did really want most of what Uncle C had offered and I never rebutted. Uncle C was actually offering him good things such as a tool box, car mats and things.
Uncle C’s friend joked about a few items in the storage unit. “I think this would catch a good price on the Antiques Road Show! Two kites, brand new, in the box, never used, mint condition. What about this, a 1980’s bathroom sink. In mint condition. And this 1970’s washroom vanity.” His friend was funny and yes these things were in the storage unit. My brother does toss things he thinks he will never use. He usually has no problem purging items from his house. These were mostly things our parents bestowed upon him during their move after 20 years in the same house.
Every once in awhile Uncle C would pick up a box and say “This box is SO heavy! What could be in here?” After a few of these proclamations I said, in a matter of fact tone “Oh, that’s your porn.” I couldn’t believe I kept a straight face! I couldn’t believe I said the word Porn! Out Loud! My brother almost dropped the box! He also turned several shades of red. (he.he.he.) He was over come with embarrassment. He couldn’t believe I said it either. My brother. The super all time Daddy of the Year. The ultimate Family Man. How could I have said that?!
His friend laughed with such might he almost fell to the ground. When ManSon recovered from the fact that I said the word Porn he burst into laughter. I laughed until I cried! I brought three men to their knees, laughing, just by saying one word out loud.
There was one bad incident. While ManSon, the friend and Uncle C were carefully picking up a computer desk with an attached hutch….it broke in half. Uncle C quickly said he could repair it and it was no big deal but I could see the doubtful, apologetic looks on the friend’s and ManSon’s faces. A few minutes later Uncle C picked up a heavy box and….you guessed it “This box is so heavy! What’s in it?” I couldn’t resist! There was another burst of laughter from all!
Soon we were on our way back to the house to unload everything. While taking things out of the moving van and moving them to the basement Aunt C picked up a box. “This box is so heavy! What’s in it?” You know I HAD to say it! Okay, I didn’t say it but I explained the whole situation back at the storage unit. She laughed so hard she could hardly walk! She laughed heartedly for a good 15 minutes! As she walked past ManSon he said “Obviously I missed something. Something really good. What made her laugh?” He had never seen Aunt C so jovial. I explained but he was over that joke after like the 5th time. I still laugh today about it! Porn! As if! he.he.he!
After we finished unloading the sun had gone down. Aunt C told everyone to stay put because we just had to try the fabulous Pizzeria down the street. She called ahead and left to pick it up. Snow White came down stairs to join in our conversations. Well, she pretty much staid glued to her cousin J’s side. She didn’t look up from her game but she made sure she was sitting next to J on the couch when she came downstairs. She was so engrossed in her game that she didn’t notice when J moved from the living room to morning room with the rest of us. She could have seen us if she would only look up from that silly game. Oh well, she was content and I didn’t feel guilty for not spending time with her during the move.
That day I only witnessed one account of my nieces in battle. They have been at each other since the day the youngest could walk. They actually have knock out drag down fist fights with each other. It started innocently enough with the girls giving each other high-fives. Gradually the slapping of hands grew harder and harder until they were punching each other and eventually one of them went crashing into a wall in the kitchen.
Before I could lift up the one who fell the other was already upstairs behind her locked bedroom door. Uncle C came in to hug the one who fell and look her over for damages. Uncle C talked to the girls and they made up shortly there after. This type of behavior has always shocked me. I have seen them at family functions and thought maybe they had outgrown it by now. As I said, I only saw them fight once the entire time we were there. This is at least progress from the constant physical fighting of years ago.
We all joked and chatted for awhile then Aunt C came with the pizza. A few minutes into our pizza Grandma and Grandpa called to say “Hey, you are just around the corner how about stopping by our house.” Pretty much it was a test to see how long it would take me to drive to their house from Uncle C’s new house. We really wanted to get back home after a long day but I couldn’t refuse.
We said our goodbyes and drove another hour and a half to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. After an enjoyable hour visit we took the three hour drive home. Poor ManSon was so done in by the move he slept in the van while Snow White and visited with Grandma and Grandpa. I felt sorry for him but knew if he really wanted to he would have come inside. We left our house at the crack of dawn and arrived home to our beds around midnight.
It was grueling work but I want to remember this day.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wonderful Home Coming
Whether coming home from a long day or from an extended time away there are sights that warm us all the way to the depths of our heart and soul.
Your husband waiting at the front door with open arms.
Your children rushing from the front door because they cannot wait for you to make those small steps from the car to enter the house.
Your cat or dog sitting in the front window with tails wagging while doing a little happy dance with great anticipation of you opening the front door.
Add to this the site of your own Christmas tree as you pull up in front of your home. Lights shining in an awe inspiring way. Vague shapes and shades of ornaments accenting and mixing into the beautiful glow. Peaceful. Wonderful. A feeling of “this is the season for joy.” Taking a moment to stop and appreciate all who are around you. All that is your family and your life.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thanksgiving with the Family
I truly enjoy our family get-togethers. Your family really understands you. They often finish your sentences before you have a chance to just because they are on the same wave length. We can look at each other without saying a word, laugh hysterically and know exactly why something was so incredibly funny!
Last year both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner were at my house. This year Thanksgiving was at my parents house. This was their very first big holiday dinner at their new house. We planned on leaving early in the morning. Due to being so excited the night before it took several hours for me to fall asleep. This lead to a late start for us.
I was also worried about a phone call I received that night from my sister. “Mom is a bit upset with you. She wants to know why everyone is calling you to coordinate HER Thanksgiving dinner.” It never occurred to me WHY? Just as I never think to ask Why when just about everyone in the family asks me what to get so and so for their birthday or Christmas? Or when anyone wants to know when so and so’s birthday is they always call me. Well, I pretty much call everyone when there is a birthday in the family to make sure they at least call to give Birthday wishes. Anyway, I think everyone was calling me to see when me and the children would arrive and to make sure we were not all bringing the same dishes.
Oldest Daughter decided it would be fun to have a non traditional Thanksgiving with Dad. His version of Thanksgiving was eating crab legs at a Chinese buffet and going out to watch a movie. My children are old enough to decide which parent they would like to spend the holiday with and I will not pressure them one way or the other. I do miss them terribly when they are not around but I do realize I am not their only parent.
Since no one would be at home to let the dog out when he need out, we took him along with us…on a long, long road trip. Before heading out on our road trip we had to take out the long seat in the very back of the van and one seat in the middle row. This was to insure we had plenty of room for the organ Grandma and Grandpa were giving us. Plus Pups dog cage, two large pumpkins for Grandma’s pumpkin bread and veggie soup and the large cooler with wheels for the food we were bringing.
Due to the missing seats the pumpkins, dog cage and cooler started rolling around the back of the van. Pup was so afraid one of those large pumpkins was going to roll right over him! He jumped up in the passenger seat right in ManSon’s lap. I had to pull over, put the pumpkins in the dog cage and buckle the handle of the rolling cooler to Snow Whites seat. Pup still cried for the first half hour. He eventually settled down by curling up in my extra large purse between the two front seats.
The day before I told my sister we would arrive at our parents house in the morning. We arrived around 1pm. Why the urgency to arrive early in the morning? Well, my sister was visiting our parents since the previous Saturday. Yes, almost a full week of visiting before Thanksgiving Day. It does not matter how much you love the people you are visiting, there comes a time when enough is maybe too much. A thoughtful parent can cover all the ways you should improve your life in one afternoon but imagine all the ways they can make up in a week. My little sister, Auntie D, is just over 30 years old and pretty much has her whole life together. The one thing she wants to improve in her life is her job. She has yet to find the perfect job. She has a job which pays the mortgage, all of her bills and allows her some financial and personal freedom. Auntie D is looking for a job which better suits her experience and educational background. What she has to improve upon is beyond me.
My older brother, Uncle L, knows what he is doing in life and has many things he wants to work on. Thus his visit started the night before Thanksgiving and will end with his departure Saturday evening. See with age does come wisdom.
As soon as we arrived there was just barely enough time to hug my parents and visit the bathroom before Auntie D was hustling me out the front door. She insisted that we take our dogs, Bear and Pup, for a much need walk.
While we were on our walk with Snow White and our dogs, ManSon unloaded the cooler and put the food away in the down stairs refrigerator. I brought a large ham which was the same size as the large turkey. My super pasta salad that had so many veggies you could almost see the pasta. Well, what can I say. I got a bit carried away with the chopping of veggies with my giant, super sharp knives. Along with these two items I also brought two pumpkin pies since our family is really big on pumpkin pies. Seriously, ManSon alone could eat a whole pie himself.
Soon we were all sitting in the living room, Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie D, Uncle L, Snow White, ManSon and myself while Bear and Pup got acquainted. We caught up on what everyone has been up to last week or so. We touched a little on politics but mostly talked about personal items. Everyone asked about Oldest Daughter and I explained she was spending the holiday with Dad. Sad sighs were released from everyone in the room but they understood.
My personal stuff was derived from a few official letters I received in the mail recently. One was to inform me of a “fee” which sounds more like a fine for receiving child support. The other letter was from the Court House via the school telling me I better sign Snow White up for the program for Handicapped Children. At first I laughed at the letter thinking they must have confused her with someone else. She is not handicapped in any way shape or form (Thanking God). I will get into these two letters in another post. I wont go into anyone else’s “personal stuff” as it is their “stuff” and so minimal it would boar you to tears.
A few minutes later Uncle C called to say they were just about to leave his house. This was about the time we sort of expected them to be just around the corner. Who am I to complain? I arrived hours later than expected myself.
When they arrived hugs and kisses were given all around then another jaunt around the neighborhood with the dogs. Snow White loved showing off HER dog to her cousins. Everyone in our family loves dogs but it wasn’t like this was the first time her cousins had met Bear and Pup. Uncle C teased Snow White by saying “Since you have our Bunny visiting you why don’t I take your dog for awhile?” She persisted that there was no way in this world he was going to have HER dog. “Come on. I will give you a whole quarter. No? Ok how about 50 cents? 50 cents is a lot of money! I will give you 50 cents for him.” Uncle C was not about to take her dog but he could not resist teasing her about it. We all laughed at his futile attempts and her reaction to each proposal.
As everyone calmed down and sat in the living room for another round of catching up Grandpa asked me take a look at his computer. Apparently his Wiifi was not working properly. My Dad has had a computer for the last 10 years or so and for that I applaud him. Most of his generation, friends, consider them too complicated or they just do not want to bother with them. My Dad sees the advantages of using a computer but does not have all the training required to use his highly techno loaded computer to the fullest. For this he relies on me. Each time I visit we have a mini computer class to help him use his fully loaded computer system. When I say fully loaded I mean FULLY LOADED! He has EVERY gadget, gizmo in the latest and greatest technologic software and hardware. He puts the rest of us to shame.
As soon as the rest of the family hears I am working to fix his Wiifi lap tops start to appear out of thin air! Apparently many of my family members want to keep in touch with the world wide web even on Thanksgiving Day. If I had not been on a family computer tech call I would have posted to my blog.
During a computer class intermission it was time to walk the dogs again. Snow White, my nieces, Auntie D, Bear, Pup and I walked the dogs around the neighborhood. We ran, laughed and all carried on like children. Then something stopped us dead in our tracks. Snow White was several yards ahead of us. We saw a pack of DEER running! In the first second we were all excited about seeing the deer. The next second I was RUNNING towards Snow White YELLING!! It wasn’t excitement that made me yell! It was pure FEAR! “SNOW WHITE!! SNOW WHITE! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK OUT!!”
Thank goodness she was walking Pup. He spotted the deer before Snow White saw them and he barked as loud as a little dog could. The deer veered away from her and gracefully traipsed across the street in front of her. Auntie D, our nieces and I finally caught up with Snow White. Auntie D was trying to take pictures as she ran but they came out a little blurry. As the deer skipped across the street we counted them….8 reindeer! “Snow White, how many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh?” “EIGHT! MOMMY THERE WERE EIGHT!! Mommy! Santa‘s reindeer are practicing at Grandma‘s house!!” Moments like these are truly priceless.
Well, it was time for everyone to start gathering around for the feast. My sister-in-law, Aunt C, brought green beans and new potatoes in her extra large crock pot, home made sweets -snickers pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cookies, rice crispy treats and home-made-melt-in-your-mouth-make-you-drool macaroni and cheese. Grandma’s turkey looked too good to eat! She also made pork beans with brown sugar and mustard spice, rolls and croissants and I cannot remember what else. I was later told that Auntie D made the mashed potatoes which were whipped creamy and so delicious. After dinner she told us they came from a BOX! I have tried instant mashed potatoes before but they were nothing like this. Her mashed potatoes tasted wonderful! When everyone was saying their goodbyes later you might have caught me licking the spoon and scraping the bowl. he.he.he.
When we were figuring out who was sitting where my youngest niece, 11 yrs old, was standing at the formal dinning table. When I said “All of you girls and ManSon will be eating at the kitchen table” which was just a few feet away. She jokingly said “Oh no! Not again! Us at the kiddie table?” We both laughed but apparently it was not funny to my sister-in-law, Aunt C. I saw her rush over to my brother, Uncle C, and heard her say “We need to talk. OUR family must eat together” In the end the kiddie table consisted of Auntie C, Uncle C, my nieces and Snow White. Since Aunt C and Uncle C were going to eat at the kiddie table that freed up some room at the formal dinning table for ManSon.
It really is no big deal who sits where but I thought it a bit odd that Aunt C made it a point that she and Uncle C sit at the same table with their girls. The girls would have been just fine at the table without their parents. The whole point of setting up the tables dividing the adults and the grandchildren was for conversation. Mind you ManSon is a great deal older than my nieces and Snow White but he would have carried on a great conversation with all and kept it going. Most importantly he could be my spy to find out what is on their Christmas lists.
When the turkey was carved Grandpa asked “Who wants a drumstick?” Snow White is all about the drumstick weather it is turkey or chicken so she held nothing back when she shouted out “ME! ME! I want a drumstick!” As soon as she had possession of that drumstick everyone wanted to snap a shot of the youngest family member with a giant drumstick. “Hold it right there…just a little closer to your mouth…almost there….one more for me..and me too.” Snow White was a trooper in the beginning but then she said “Can I eat it yet!”
During our feast there were laughs all around and many funny photos taken. One photo was of Auntie D and Uncle L dulling with carving fork and knife. One of Auntie D looking like she was about to poke me with carving fork and Grandma in the background looking like she was tisk tisking the idea.
We have many, many years of formal family photos over the years. We still pose for these but something happened years ago when I was pregnant with Snow White. Our Dad said he has everything he has ever wanted so from now on asked that his Christmas gift be a photo of all of us. That year we had a group photo session for just his children. We wanted to include our sister-in-law but she said she was happier shopping. Anyway, the photo shoot went well and you know when we get together there is just too much fun! While the photographer loaded up the camera for the next set of photos we joked around with different poses of us attacking each other. The photographer laughed with us and said she would gladly take a photo of us doing just that if we really wanted one. In unison we agreed we would really want one photo of us joking around. To this day that is one of our favorite photos of each other.
Keeping in the new tradition of our silliness we took a silly photo of us last Christmas. This photo came back to us in the shape of a surprise Thanksgiving envelope for each of us…full of money from Uncle L. We all thanked Uncle L for the early Christmas presents! Auntie D was not in the photo since she took it last year nor was Aunt C. Well, they were trying to work out their issues with the timers on their cameras and could not manage to get in the photo in time. During which I said “Show us your silly!” I got the first photo then it was a game and I was in the photo Auntie D took which was the best of them all!
Since Grandma was too ill to come to Christmas at my house last year and Auntie D and Aunt C were trying to take the photos none of them were in our silly photo last year. This year we had everyone minus Oldest Daughter. Auntie D had perfected her camera timer and this year we did another silly picture.
Auntie D took 125 photos or more and I only took a mere 15-20. I might post some later but for now this post is very long as it is.
How was your Thanksgiving holiday? I will post my Black Friday experience next.
Last year both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner were at my house. This year Thanksgiving was at my parents house. This was their very first big holiday dinner at their new house. We planned on leaving early in the morning. Due to being so excited the night before it took several hours for me to fall asleep. This lead to a late start for us.
I was also worried about a phone call I received that night from my sister. “Mom is a bit upset with you. She wants to know why everyone is calling you to coordinate HER Thanksgiving dinner.” It never occurred to me WHY? Just as I never think to ask Why when just about everyone in the family asks me what to get so and so for their birthday or Christmas? Or when anyone wants to know when so and so’s birthday is they always call me. Well, I pretty much call everyone when there is a birthday in the family to make sure they at least call to give Birthday wishes. Anyway, I think everyone was calling me to see when me and the children would arrive and to make sure we were not all bringing the same dishes.
Oldest Daughter decided it would be fun to have a non traditional Thanksgiving with Dad. His version of Thanksgiving was eating crab legs at a Chinese buffet and going out to watch a movie. My children are old enough to decide which parent they would like to spend the holiday with and I will not pressure them one way or the other. I do miss them terribly when they are not around but I do realize I am not their only parent.
Since no one would be at home to let the dog out when he need out, we took him along with us…on a long, long road trip. Before heading out on our road trip we had to take out the long seat in the very back of the van and one seat in the middle row. This was to insure we had plenty of room for the organ Grandma and Grandpa were giving us. Plus Pups dog cage, two large pumpkins for Grandma’s pumpkin bread and veggie soup and the large cooler with wheels for the food we were bringing.
Due to the missing seats the pumpkins, dog cage and cooler started rolling around the back of the van. Pup was so afraid one of those large pumpkins was going to roll right over him! He jumped up in the passenger seat right in ManSon’s lap. I had to pull over, put the pumpkins in the dog cage and buckle the handle of the rolling cooler to Snow Whites seat. Pup still cried for the first half hour. He eventually settled down by curling up in my extra large purse between the two front seats.
The day before I told my sister we would arrive at our parents house in the morning. We arrived around 1pm. Why the urgency to arrive early in the morning? Well, my sister was visiting our parents since the previous Saturday. Yes, almost a full week of visiting before Thanksgiving Day. It does not matter how much you love the people you are visiting, there comes a time when enough is maybe too much. A thoughtful parent can cover all the ways you should improve your life in one afternoon but imagine all the ways they can make up in a week. My little sister, Auntie D, is just over 30 years old and pretty much has her whole life together. The one thing she wants to improve in her life is her job. She has yet to find the perfect job. She has a job which pays the mortgage, all of her bills and allows her some financial and personal freedom. Auntie D is looking for a job which better suits her experience and educational background. What she has to improve upon is beyond me.
My older brother, Uncle L, knows what he is doing in life and has many things he wants to work on. Thus his visit started the night before Thanksgiving and will end with his departure Saturday evening. See with age does come wisdom.
As soon as we arrived there was just barely enough time to hug my parents and visit the bathroom before Auntie D was hustling me out the front door. She insisted that we take our dogs, Bear and Pup, for a much need walk.
While we were on our walk with Snow White and our dogs, ManSon unloaded the cooler and put the food away in the down stairs refrigerator. I brought a large ham which was the same size as the large turkey. My super pasta salad that had so many veggies you could almost see the pasta. Well, what can I say. I got a bit carried away with the chopping of veggies with my giant, super sharp knives. Along with these two items I also brought two pumpkin pies since our family is really big on pumpkin pies. Seriously, ManSon alone could eat a whole pie himself.
Soon we were all sitting in the living room, Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie D, Uncle L, Snow White, ManSon and myself while Bear and Pup got acquainted. We caught up on what everyone has been up to last week or so. We touched a little on politics but mostly talked about personal items. Everyone asked about Oldest Daughter and I explained she was spending the holiday with Dad. Sad sighs were released from everyone in the room but they understood.
My personal stuff was derived from a few official letters I received in the mail recently. One was to inform me of a “fee” which sounds more like a fine for receiving child support. The other letter was from the Court House via the school telling me I better sign Snow White up for the program for Handicapped Children. At first I laughed at the letter thinking they must have confused her with someone else. She is not handicapped in any way shape or form (Thanking God). I will get into these two letters in another post. I wont go into anyone else’s “personal stuff” as it is their “stuff” and so minimal it would boar you to tears.
A few minutes later Uncle C called to say they were just about to leave his house. This was about the time we sort of expected them to be just around the corner. Who am I to complain? I arrived hours later than expected myself.
When they arrived hugs and kisses were given all around then another jaunt around the neighborhood with the dogs. Snow White loved showing off HER dog to her cousins. Everyone in our family loves dogs but it wasn’t like this was the first time her cousins had met Bear and Pup. Uncle C teased Snow White by saying “Since you have our Bunny visiting you why don’t I take your dog for awhile?” She persisted that there was no way in this world he was going to have HER dog. “Come on. I will give you a whole quarter. No? Ok how about 50 cents? 50 cents is a lot of money! I will give you 50 cents for him.” Uncle C was not about to take her dog but he could not resist teasing her about it. We all laughed at his futile attempts and her reaction to each proposal.
As everyone calmed down and sat in the living room for another round of catching up Grandpa asked me take a look at his computer. Apparently his Wiifi was not working properly. My Dad has had a computer for the last 10 years or so and for that I applaud him. Most of his generation, friends, consider them too complicated or they just do not want to bother with them. My Dad sees the advantages of using a computer but does not have all the training required to use his highly techno loaded computer to the fullest. For this he relies on me. Each time I visit we have a mini computer class to help him use his fully loaded computer system. When I say fully loaded I mean FULLY LOADED! He has EVERY gadget, gizmo in the latest and greatest technologic software and hardware. He puts the rest of us to shame.
As soon as the rest of the family hears I am working to fix his Wiifi lap tops start to appear out of thin air! Apparently many of my family members want to keep in touch with the world wide web even on Thanksgiving Day. If I had not been on a family computer tech call I would have posted to my blog.
During a computer class intermission it was time to walk the dogs again. Snow White, my nieces, Auntie D, Bear, Pup and I walked the dogs around the neighborhood. We ran, laughed and all carried on like children. Then something stopped us dead in our tracks. Snow White was several yards ahead of us. We saw a pack of DEER running! In the first second we were all excited about seeing the deer. The next second I was RUNNING towards Snow White YELLING!! It wasn’t excitement that made me yell! It was pure FEAR! “SNOW WHITE!! SNOW WHITE! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK OUT!!”
Thank goodness she was walking Pup. He spotted the deer before Snow White saw them and he barked as loud as a little dog could. The deer veered away from her and gracefully traipsed across the street in front of her. Auntie D, our nieces and I finally caught up with Snow White. Auntie D was trying to take pictures as she ran but they came out a little blurry. As the deer skipped across the street we counted them….8 reindeer! “Snow White, how many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh?” “EIGHT! MOMMY THERE WERE EIGHT!! Mommy! Santa‘s reindeer are practicing at Grandma‘s house!!” Moments like these are truly priceless.
Well, it was time for everyone to start gathering around for the feast. My sister-in-law, Aunt C, brought green beans and new potatoes in her extra large crock pot, home made sweets -snickers pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cookies, rice crispy treats and home-made-melt-in-your-mouth-make-you-drool macaroni and cheese. Grandma’s turkey looked too good to eat! She also made pork beans with brown sugar and mustard spice, rolls and croissants and I cannot remember what else. I was later told that Auntie D made the mashed potatoes which were whipped creamy and so delicious. After dinner she told us they came from a BOX! I have tried instant mashed potatoes before but they were nothing like this. Her mashed potatoes tasted wonderful! When everyone was saying their goodbyes later you might have caught me licking the spoon and scraping the bowl. he.he.he.
When we were figuring out who was sitting where my youngest niece, 11 yrs old, was standing at the formal dinning table. When I said “All of you girls and ManSon will be eating at the kitchen table” which was just a few feet away. She jokingly said “Oh no! Not again! Us at the kiddie table?” We both laughed but apparently it was not funny to my sister-in-law, Aunt C. I saw her rush over to my brother, Uncle C, and heard her say “We need to talk. OUR family must eat together” In the end the kiddie table consisted of Auntie C, Uncle C, my nieces and Snow White. Since Aunt C and Uncle C were going to eat at the kiddie table that freed up some room at the formal dinning table for ManSon.
It really is no big deal who sits where but I thought it a bit odd that Aunt C made it a point that she and Uncle C sit at the same table with their girls. The girls would have been just fine at the table without their parents. The whole point of setting up the tables dividing the adults and the grandchildren was for conversation. Mind you ManSon is a great deal older than my nieces and Snow White but he would have carried on a great conversation with all and kept it going. Most importantly he could be my spy to find out what is on their Christmas lists.
When the turkey was carved Grandpa asked “Who wants a drumstick?” Snow White is all about the drumstick weather it is turkey or chicken so she held nothing back when she shouted out “ME! ME! I want a drumstick!” As soon as she had possession of that drumstick everyone wanted to snap a shot of the youngest family member with a giant drumstick. “Hold it right there…just a little closer to your mouth…almost there….one more for me..and me too.” Snow White was a trooper in the beginning but then she said “Can I eat it yet!”
During our feast there were laughs all around and many funny photos taken. One photo was of Auntie D and Uncle L dulling with carving fork and knife. One of Auntie D looking like she was about to poke me with carving fork and Grandma in the background looking like she was tisk tisking the idea.
We have many, many years of formal family photos over the years. We still pose for these but something happened years ago when I was pregnant with Snow White. Our Dad said he has everything he has ever wanted so from now on asked that his Christmas gift be a photo of all of us. That year we had a group photo session for just his children. We wanted to include our sister-in-law but she said she was happier shopping. Anyway, the photo shoot went well and you know when we get together there is just too much fun! While the photographer loaded up the camera for the next set of photos we joked around with different poses of us attacking each other. The photographer laughed with us and said she would gladly take a photo of us doing just that if we really wanted one. In unison we agreed we would really want one photo of us joking around. To this day that is one of our favorite photos of each other.
Keeping in the new tradition of our silliness we took a silly photo of us last Christmas. This photo came back to us in the shape of a surprise Thanksgiving envelope for each of us…full of money from Uncle L. We all thanked Uncle L for the early Christmas presents! Auntie D was not in the photo since she took it last year nor was Aunt C. Well, they were trying to work out their issues with the timers on their cameras and could not manage to get in the photo in time. During which I said “Show us your silly!” I got the first photo then it was a game and I was in the photo Auntie D took which was the best of them all!
Since Grandma was too ill to come to Christmas at my house last year and Auntie D and Aunt C were trying to take the photos none of them were in our silly photo last year. This year we had everyone minus Oldest Daughter. Auntie D had perfected her camera timer and this year we did another silly picture.
Auntie D took 125 photos or more and I only took a mere 15-20. I might post some later but for now this post is very long as it is.
How was your Thanksgiving holiday? I will post my Black Friday experience next.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Family Boogie Time!
Being a Single Mom who works out of the house my children and I have a tight schedule. During the week after work we only have a few hours to get together before bedtime.
On our way to school, daycare and work we ALL sing along to one of our favorite CDs or a song that comes up on the radio. Little known fact...I dance in the car while playing my favorite CDs. I try to remember NOT to do this infront of my children's friends. This perks us up for our day. The drive home is always full of chatter about our day and that continues in the kitchen while dinner is made. I have an 8 year old daughter so that means the chattering doesn't stop until bed time.
Music has always been the best motivational tool to get my children moving on their weekend chores. Since my older two were 3 and 5 we have pumped up the music so everyone in the house can hear it while cleaning. We have continued this tradition. It makes cleaning fun and we end up in the family room with made up instruments (tennis racket guitar, empty ceramic pot drum, etc.). We usually end up falling down on the coach in histerical laughter.
Oh my goodness, something for the whole family? An activity that includes fun music? This is something that my whole family would enjoy. When it is raining we could still wiggle in exercise...for ALL of us! Given our limited time in the evenings together a Wii would be a great family activity! Check out the Bloggers Network! I just found out they are having a contest for a Wii Boogie
This post is brought to you in conjunction with the Parent Bloggers Network a family gaming experience. Shake it. Sing it. Create it.
Parent Bloggers Network ( http://blog.parentbloggers.com )
Wii-Boogie ( http://www.wii-boogie.com )
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