Teacher Work Day, Part Deux

Today is my day to "play" with the kids.  Daddy took Sir T, K and Lady E downtown yesterday and took tours of Ford's Theatre and the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and ended with the Spy Museum.    How am I going to top that?

I might have to pull out the big guns - Chuck E. Cheese. 

And In The End . . .

It's been quite a busy week for us.  We had soccer practice, basketball practice, games, dive class, RE classes, play dates, and it's the busiest time of the month for me at the office.  Ugh.     

In the midst of all the running around, I've been doing a lot of thinking about life and death.  Don't worry - I'm not depressed or anything.  I suspect it's a normal progression in life.  You are invincible and oblivious in your 20s.  You are trying to figure it all out through your 30s.  And well, your 40s are filled with working hard, raising children, having TONS of responsibilities dumped on you and coming to grips with your immortality.

It just seems at this age you start to encounter a lot of sickness, sadness, and death.  I recently got word that a neighbor-friend of ours was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She's my age and has three small children.  My heart aches for her and her family.  The good news is she says they found it in time and in the end, she will be fine.   

A couple of months ago, I attended the funeral for Reverend Monsignor Thomas J. Cassidy at our church.  I can't say I knew him really well but good grief I confessed my sins to this man on more than one occasion so we definitely knew each other.  Albeit sad, at 83 I can at least be comforted by the fact he had a great life and in the end, he changed so many people for the better. 

I have also been struggling since September to make any sense of the tragic death of Jack Donaldson.  He's the 12 year old boy I've blogged a couple times about who got swept away in a freak flash flood accident in my area.  I have been following his mother's blog since the accident and have grown to love this family.  Such a happy, healthy, smart, funny, and precious boy taken WAY too soon from his family.  Through the sadness, her stories of Jack are so inspiring to me and in the end, he is changing so many people for the better. 

And just last month I attended the funeral for a friend and co-worker.  I walked the halls of our building for roughly 8 years with Paula.  What an amazing person.  She was always happy.  She was one of those people even if she was mad she looked happy about it.  At the funeral, I just stared at her 2 small children.  How were they going to move forward without their mommy?  But in the midst of all the sadness, I saw family and friends coming together and celebrating this wonderful woman's life and in the end, she is changing people for the better. 

I guess this is what got me thinking about death in my life.  This topic always brings me to my grandpa. He died roughly 30+ years ago.  He was the first person to die in my life that I actually had a relationship with.  I had already lost 2 grandparents and a few aunts and uncles before him but I didn't really know them like grandpa.  Grandpa I knew and I loved.

His name was John Joseph and he was born in a small town in Pennsylvania back in the early 1900s.  He didn't marry my grandma until they both were in their 30s which was really old back then.  The story was that my grandma and grandpa were the last two single people in town so they just got married out of necessity.  I'm not sure that was true but I always wondered if they really loved each other.  It always appeared to me though, they weren't happy together.

BUT my grandpa was the greatest to me.  I have incredible memories of him.  He used to start every conversation between us with "well hello good lookin'".  We would take trips to McDonalds for "hamburgs".  I loved when he called them that.  When I was around 11, we went for a walk in the neighborhood and he told me that I could be anything I wanted to be in life.  He told me I was smart, funny and cute.  I had never heard that from anyone before (especially from anyone in my family).  He gave me hope.  You know what?  Sixth grade for me was the greatest year I ever had academically AND with my confidence.  I had straight As, had tons of friends and I loved life.  It wasn't until years later that I realized it must have been my grandpa's words of encouragement that probably made that year so great.

When he died a few years later it broke my heart.  I cried like a baby and I meant it.  I never really spoke of this but my grandpa came to me after his death and he stayed with me until I was in my early thirties.  He didn't talk to me or give me advice.  It wasn't like that.  He was just there.  I could feel him.  He was my guardian angel.  He gave me strength.  I so vividly remember the last time he came to.  It was the night of my grandma's passing.  He came to me in my sleep and he said "I have to go now.  I love you".  To this day I have never felt his presence again.

The memories I have of him are wonderful and in the end, he changed my life in ways I hope he knew. 

So my prayer is when I check out of this place that my children will feel my presence long after I'm gone and in the end I will have changed them for the better in some small way.

Until next time . . . remember to count your blessings

Happy Tuesday With a Status Check

Nothing really to write about today.  I updated my "About Us" page with a new caricature of Lady A.  Still working on one for Prince William.  I also updated "My Bucket List" with a few must haves.

Enjoy and have a great day!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It (NOT) Snow

Hi Everyone out in Blogville, USA.  I say that even though I know 'YOU" are not there.  Stats don't lie.  However, I will REMAIN positive and keep thinking that you are just running late and will be here shortly. 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  Ours was interesting to say the least.  See on Friday when I checked the calendar for our weekend activities, everything looked pretty tame.  We had one basketball game on Saturday morning, a diving class on Saturday afternoon and an indoor soccer game Sunday.  I knew I had to fit in a few of my own errands -- a trip to the grocery store at some point, I needed gas in the car, and I wanted to run by the hardware store to grab a hook for the front door but all in all it was a weekend that was low on the stress-o-meter. 

Then it hit.  The MAJOR snowstorm of 2012.  By Friday night, all county activities were cancelled and the town was shutdown in preparation for the BIG SNOW.  Of course, I quickly took inventory of the toilet paper and milk situation.  We had enough TP and milk to sustain life for at least 2 days.  The boys were sad about their activities being cancelled but the house was over the moon about all the possibilities of sledding, snowman making, and hot chocolate sipping in the morning.

When Prince William and I climbed into bed Friday night, it was snowing pretty hard.  HOWEVER, when we awoke Saturday morning -- NOTHING.   They cancelled and shutdown the town for this?   Prince William and I went into full blown PANIC MODE.  What the heck are we going to do with 4 kids in the house all day with basically nothing planned and a dusting on the ground. 

First, I made a huge breakfast of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, etc.  That ate up about an hour.  The kids played in the basement play room for the next hour and now it was 10 am.  What next?  Our plan -- Prince William would go to the grocery store for fun foods and some Redbox movies.

I, in turn, started a crockpot of Spanish rice (a family favorite) and pulled out the board games.  We have been playing a lot of SEQUENCE FOR KIDS lately.  Very simple and the kids love it.  When daddy got home, we started a movie marathon.  The kids watched Mr. Popper’s Penguins and Cars 2 while daddy and I watched Ides of March and The Help.  I wasn’t thrilled with the selection of Ides of March.  I’m not a big George Clooney fan.  Yes, I loved him in ER (who didn’t) but his movies always seem to let me down.  Take for instance Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?  I was SO gooned up for this movie -- laughed twice then fell asleep.  Staring At Goats -- not at all.   Up In The Air -- great story but boring as hell.  I'll give you the Perfect Storm (it was more about Mark Walberg tho) and Michael Clayton.  Ides of March -- I won't give you.  This movie had such promise and possibilities.  I kept waiting for the great twist -- then nothing.  Prince William even fell asleep. 

On the other hand, The Help -- Loved it.   Really made me laugh yet cry at the same time.   It got me thinking about Joey.  As a child, our family had a maid named Joey that came a couple times a week.  I have some very nice memories of her.  She would sometimes bring her daughter Tinsy who was roughly my age and we would play and have a ball together.  I remember Joey making us lunch and we would sit at the kitchen table telling stories and laughing.  Joey had such a great laugh.  This movie made me hope that my parents treated her with respect.  I don’t recall any situations or episodes where there was tension or any problems but I was young (under 10 years old) and probably oblivious to the world around me.  I do know for sure that Joey and Tinsy used our bathroom and that was JUST fine with us.  There is lots to be told about my parents and how they raised us but I DO believe they treated Joey with respect.  She was a funny woman and very caring of me and my siblings.  I do remember when money got tight and the family had to let her go that it was a very sad time for all of us.  She was part of our family.  Watching this movie made me sad that I didn't keep up with her and I wondered how she was doing.

So I guess I can say the family made it through the DUSTING OF 2012.  Prince William built me a couple of fires; we played board games; watched a few movies and spent some quality time together laughing and hanging out.    We ended the weekend with Sir T's indoor soccer game on Sunday.  It was nice to get out.  Sir T even scored a goal.  WAHOO!!!!! 

Sir T, K and E started Sports Camp this morning so I can’t wait to hear all about it this afternoon.  Today is bill paying day so tonight I’ll be hearing a lot of moaning and groaning from Prince William.  This is always a tough bill-payment cycle.  He finally gets a clear look at how much I spent on Christmas.  Ouch!!!! 

Have a fantastic day and remember to count your blessings.

A Blog About Nothing . . . Now There's An Idea

Let me start by saying I am NOT a creative person.  Why I started this blog is a COMPLETE mystery to me.  I have absolutely no interior design skills.  I’m not a fashionista.  I’m not a bargain shopper.  I can cook and bake but let’s face it you probably already know how to make hot dogs, microwave tater tots, and open one of Betty Crocker’s boxes.  Hell, I can’t even write that well but here I am -- blogging away.  

My sister Pippa and I constantly joke (well, really cry) about how our parents raised us to be “good” at just about everything but not “great” at anything.  One of my father’s favorite “zingers” went something like this “all my children’s brains are full of useless knowledge”.  That one hurt like a bullet to the chest.

As an adult, I have come to grips with the reality that I am just AVERAGE.   I can SOMEWHAT hold my own in a conversation about politics, I can throw a football with a pretty decent spiral, and I have a few dance moves like Jagger. 

So why do I think I can write a blog about SOMETHING?  Here’s the reality of my situation.  It’s hard for me to come up with ideas to write about.  I find myself asking (rather begging) Prince William to help me come up with topics.  Love the guy to death but he’s not a lot of help in this area.  Case in point – the other day he suggested I blog on why women go ape-crazy when they are on their periods.   My first reaction was to throw something at him but then I remembered I have a “good” arm but not a “great” arm.

So, for now I’m left with what?  I could blog about my children.  With four of them under the age of 9 I have tons of material but I’m not sure I want to expose them.  I could write about balancing motherhood and a full-time career but frankly I’m barely hanging on.  I could write about all my worldly travels but between you, me and the lamppost not sure you want to hear stories about little towns in Pennsylvania.  

So how do I make this work?  How do I write a blog that people will be interested in and keep coming back?  I need a business plan.  How about a blog about nothing?   Jerry Seinfeld made millions with this business strategy.  I’ll just start blogging about nothing and we'll see where it goes.  

That reminds me, did you know that Jerry Seinfeld loves breakfast cereal?  Just a little useless knowledge.

A Great Blog From Momastery

Here is an article entitled "Don't Carpe Diem" written by Glennon Melton, a blogger from Momastery.  This article is all over Facebook and the internet right now. 

I absolutely love it. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Blog

Getting the hang of this blog world business isn't easy.  Today I was devotedly working on making improvements to MY site.  Prince William, who is in the IT field, has been patiently assisting me ACHIEVE my visions.  I worked on the "Grab My Button" icon and created my signature block that appears at the end of each blog entry (I know you know that).  I'm not gonna lie, this took me ALL day. 

Everything isn't exactly how I like it YET but I did make some headway today and I feel good about it.  I hope you like it too.  I'm totally up for any advice, suggestions, and/or comments.  I'm thick skinned so I can handle it.  Now all I got to do is come up with something to blog about. 

Oh yeah, grab my button and let me know if it works!!!!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas Again and Again and Again

With four children you can only imagine how often Prince William and I are laughing at something someone says or does around the house.  The most recent laugh is from our incredible edible 2 year old, Lady A. 

One of MY favorite movies in the whole wide world is White Christmas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas_(film).  You know the classic -- Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen, set in a little Vermont town at a beautiful bed and breakfast during the holiday season.  I have ALWAYS had a fantasy of taking a train to Vermont in the middle of a snow storm because of this movie.  You can't even keep track of all the great songs that come out of this movie either -- Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep (one of my favorites), The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing, What Can You Do with a General?, Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army and of course the classic White Christmas.

This holiday season, I was able to watch the movie all the way through.  This, in and of itself, is a huge accomplishment.  I rarely get to watch television anymore but to watch something uninterrupted, well that just doesn’t happen in my world.  So to watch this movie in its entirety, and with my sister Pippa I might add, was a treat beyond measure for me.  We sang every song together, reminisced about watching it as children and we both agreed (YET AGAIN) that we must take a train ride to Vermont some day. 

Anyway, Lady A caught a few minutes of the movie before bedtime and fell in love with one particular song - SISTERS.  I'm not going to lie, Pippa and I can recite every word of this song AND do the dance steps to match so it brought me great joy that she too loves the song.  

Let me set the scene for you.  Phil and Bob receive a letter from Freckle-Faced Haynes the dog-faced boy (a former army buddy) asking them to audition his two sisters (Betty and Judy).  When they go to the club to audition the sisters, they perform this song.   An added bonus to this song is when the boys find out that the girls might be arrested, Phil helps the girls escape and convinces Bob to don the girls' left-behind costumes and lip-sync "Sisters" from a record, to give the girls time to make it to the train.  This part is absolutely hysterical (to me). 

If you have NEVER seen the movie, it’s a MUST (right up there with It's a Wonderful Life).  Oh the joy this movie has brought me over the years and now to see Lady A enjoying it too -- PRICELESS.  She wakes up in the morning and the first thing she says is "disters".   It took the family awhile to figure out what she was saying but once we put it together, it's been basically non-stop for weeks.  It's "disters" for breakfast, lunch AND dinner.  The house is pretty divided on this issue though.  The boys are OVER IT.  Prince William and Sirs T and K can't run fast enough whenever it's on (which is a lot) but the girls, Lady E too, still enjoy watching it together, singing along and doing a dance step or two.  It's a treasured moment for me and my girls. 

This gives me a great idea – I'm going to plan a train trip to Vermont with my girls one day (and this promise I plan on keeping.)

Here are both versions.  Enjoy!!!!

The girls:

http://www.videohippy.com/video/80095/White-Christmas--Sisters-Sisters

The boys: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpC-dZpD7eI&feature=related

Joran Van Der Sloot Sentenced to 28 years in a Peruvian Prison

I don't usually blog about current events (who cares what I think, right?) but today's sentencing  of Van Der Sloot to 28 years in a Peruvian prison hopefully will cause him to finally come clean with what happened to Natalie on that awful night. 

Please (FOR ONCE) do the right thing and give Natalie's family some closure and peace. 

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/13/joran-van-der-sloot-to-be-sentenced-for-murder-peruvian-woman/?test=latestnews

Who Knew by Pink

WATCH ON YOUTUBE:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-264VgAdn8

(If I ever start working out again, this will be on my Ipod)

You took my hand
You showed me how
You promised me you'd be around
Uh huh
That's right
I took your words
And I believed
In everything
You said to me
Yeah huh
That's right

If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong
I know better
Cause you said forever
And ever
Who knew

Remember when we were such fools
And so convinced and just too cool
Oh no
No no
I wish I could touch you again
I wish I could still call you friend
I'd give anything

When someone said count your blessings now
'fore they're long gone
I guess I just didn't know how
I was all wrong
They knew better
Still you said forever
And ever
Who knew

Yeah yeah
I'll keep you locked in my head
Until we meet again
Until we
Until we meet again
And I won't forget you my friend
What happened

If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong and
That last kiss
I'll cherish
Until we meet again
And time makes
It harder
I wish I could remember
But I keep
Your memory
You visit me in my sleep
My darling
Who knew
My darling
My darling
Who knew
My darling
I miss you
My darling
Who knew
Who knew

Rainy Daze And Mayhem Always Get Me Down

Every Monday morning in the interest of maintaining my sanity, I really TRY and sit quietly in the kitchen and plan out the coming week.  It sounds kind of pleasant, right?  You probably picture me relaxing ALONE in the kitchen in a comfy easy chair, in front of a roaring fire, sipping my fancy coffee drink, wearing my warm slippers and robe, and of course,  my feet up, right?  WRONG.  In actuality, it's a high intensity workout for me.  I am usually up and down about 30 times fixing breakfasts, packing lunches, dressing kids, combing hair, and breaking up a fight or two.  It usually ends with me turning into Sybil and screaming “grab your jackets” as we scramble out the door to barely make school on time.  I'm not even going to lie -- there is no comfy easy chair involved, no fireplace to speak of, fancy coffee drinks aren't my thing, I don't own a pair of slippers, and I wouldn't be caught dead in my robe (even in the privacy of my own home).  It's just me in a pair of oversized sweats and a ratty t-shirt trying to manage 3 (sometimes 4) needy children while googling mapquest for soccer fields and basketball courts in the area.  

I have every GREAT intention of organizing upcoming activities and figuring out how we are going to do it ALL in one week with no surprises and minimal stress for everyone involved.  Let's take a look at this week's schedule.

At first glance, I have a sense that "this shouldn't be that bad of a week".  First up, Prince William gets up at 5:15 to get himself and Lady A ready and her to daycare by 6:45 am so he can get to work before 7:30.  This is my teleworking day so I DO have to put in 7.75 hours of business work at some point.  But first on my plate is getting the other 3 kids ready and to school on time, stop at the grocery store on the way back and get dinner stuff for the week, and then to the gas station to fill up the tank.  Mondays are short days at school so I don't have a lot of time to do my "chores" around the house.  I have to pick Sir T, K and Lady E up at 1:10.  We will stop by the house for a few minutes to collect ourselves and grab a snack or two and then it's off to Lady E's Daisy Troop meeting at 2.  I wish I could spend more time with Lady E while she is enjoying her time with her fellow Daisies but I usually spend most of my time following the boys around monitoring their activities.  The meetings are held in a church so I can't just let them run amok.  I spend a large majority of my time going between the meetings and looking for them.  It's probably comical to watch me go back and forth sweating constantly saying "stop running", "lower your voices", "what are you doing?", “come here”, “why did you do that?”, “pick it up!!!”, etc.  Prince William and Lady A will be getting home around 5:30 or 6 so I'll plan on hustling home from Daisies to start dinner, finish up a load or two of laundry; sit, eat and clean up dinner; start homework; clean house; and then start bedtime routines.  At this point, I am usually in need of an aspirin.

Tuesday looks manageable (I think).  Prince William will do his thing in the morning with Lady A although Tuesdays Lady A goes to Gamma and Papa's house.  This puts a bit of a strain on Prince William because he has to fight traffic into town but we both agreed it was crucial for Lady A to have quality time with the grandparents and so we make it work.   I'll get the other 3 clowns up and off to school and then it's off to work for a full work day at the office.  Prince William will leave work early to beat the traffic to get Sir T, K and Lady E off the bus because they have religious education right after school.  We also have a repairman coming between 5-8 so I will work through lunch to be home for that.  We will all meet up in the kitchen between 6 and 6:30.  I'll start making dinner; finish up a load or two of laundry; sit, eat and clean up dinner; do homework and go through Tuesday folders; clean house; and of course the nightly bedtime routines.  Oh yeah, Prince William has Crossfits at 7:30-9.  Two days in and I'm still upright.  At this point, an aspirin won't cut it.  I need a beer.  

Wednesday (YEAH HUMP DAY).  This will be the day I work through lunch again so I can grab them from school early to hit the Mall.  I have GOT to get Sir T pants, sneakers and indoor soccer shoes.  He has basically outgrown every pair of pants he has and he has absolutely no tread on the bottom of his sneakers anymore (not only is it borderline embarrassing, it's become a safety issue now.  He actually keeps slipping and falling).  Then we’ll head over to pick up Lady A from daycare; meet up at the house; Sir T and Prince William will then leave for soccer practice; I’ll get dinner started; finish up a load or two of laundry and start homework with Sir K and Lady E; Sir T and Prince William will get back and we'll sit and eat; I’ll clean up; do more homework; clean house; and again with the bedtime routines.  I have now progressed to cocktail status.

Thursdays are always rough on me.  By the time I FALL out of bed in the morning I feel defeated.  The day will start with Prince William doing the grandparents thing and me rushing to get to work "somewhat" on time to make my staff meeting at the office (SIDE NOTE – Thursdays are usually a teleworking day for me but once a month I have to attend our monthly staff meeting so I have to go in).  This does not make the morning go very well for 3 rushed kids and a mentally challenged mom.  Sir T also has indoor soccer practice from 6-7:30 pm.  Prince William does Crossfits from 7:30-9.  I will do the start dinner; finish up a load or two of laundry; sit, eat and clean up dinner; do homework; clean house thingy and finish with bedtime routines.  This is the night Prince William and I save for "us" time.  We enjoy emptying trash cans around the house, mopping and vacuuming floors, cleaning a toilet or two and paying bills.  AH THE TOGETHERNESS OF IT ALL.  At this point, my head spins around twice, Prince William starts twitching and we both do a shot of tequila and throw our glasses against the wall. 

Happy Friday.  We'll do school, work, and Sir T’s basketball camp from 6-7:30.  I'll plan on coming home from work and ordering Papa Johns Pizza.  I don’t plan on doing laundry or helping with homework.  I won't be cleaning the house in any way, shape or form and frankly whenever the kids want to go to bed is fine with me.    

Welcome to the weekend.  Saturday, Prince William is doing Crossfits at 7 am, Lady E has a Daisy Pajama Party starting at noon which I am a volunteer and Sir T has 2 soccer games starting at noon and 2 and a basketball game at 1.  By now, I have multiple personalities and I don't know who the hell I am!  We'll round out the week with Church Sunday morning and Sir K has his first diving class at the local community center at noon. 

Of course I know there will be a few peppered-in activities.  The 2 to 3 extra stops to pick up milk, bread, etc., probably a stop for gas at some point and please lets hope no one gets sick.  Prince William will probably have to make a snowman out of cottonballs at some point and I’ll fit in a project involving collecting leaves from the backyard.

The good news is there is always a silver lining to our madness AND that would be we will probably never get robbed.  They say robbers tend to watch houses and break in once they know the routine of a home.  There is ABSOLUTELY no way a robber could ever figure out when we are coming and going in this household.  So I do feel safe at home.

By the time Sunday night rolls around and my mind has a chance to clear, I do realize - IT'S ALL WORTH IT.  We are together, happy, healthy and ALIVE.  We always fill in holes with tons of laughter, a few trips out back to the trampoline, a game or two on the Wii and finish each night with hugs, kisses and prayers.  All in all, a nice week’s work. 

Enjoy your week everyone!!!!

Anybody Up For A Break?

Is it wrong that we are roughly 6 days into 2012 and I already need a break?  Does anyone else feel this way?  I mean between the getting the house back to its original state and returning to the whole “day to day” operations thingy, I’m exhausted and despondent.

I took all the Christmas decorations down a few days ago.  It’s earlier than I usually do but Prince William started the process so it was game on for me to just do it.  I guess that started the "bummer-ness" of it all.  Albeit the house is back to its original state, it seems sterile and empty and sad.

I loved the time I got to spend with my family, friends, and relatives this year.   For some unknown reason, I had two whole days to spend with my best friend, my sister Pippa.  She came up from Richmond with 3 of her boys and our kids had a PLAY-FEST.  They ran ragged around the house and yard and giggled like there’s no tomorrow.  We, in turn, had a BAKE-FEST and prepared some awesome cookie tray gifts for our friends and neighbors.  It was such a great time for me.  I MISS my sister very much.  With 8 kids between us now, it’s virtually impossible to get time with her anymore.   Maybe this should be a New Year’s Resolution for me.  Spend more time with my sister. 

I also got to spend some quality time with friends.  We ended up renting a Lake House at Lake Anna for New Years and went with 2 close couple friends of ours.  What a fantastic time.  This is the 4th or 5th year that we have done this and it always works out magnificently.  We all have kids roughly the same age now so it’s GAME ON for the kids and GAME ON for the adults.  We get to have a few drinks (maybe a few more than a few but no one was counting), laugh a lot and pretend we don’t have a care in the world.  It’s very therapeutic.  Maybe this should be a New Year’s Resolution for me.  Spend more time with friends.

Spending time with Prince William's parents this year was extra special as well.  I guess as you get older you start to really come to terms with “hey, these people might not be around much longer”.  I made sure I took tons of pictures and really enjoyed their company.  It reminded me of my grandpa.  My grandma was kind of a downer and really no fun to visit with (that’s for another blog post) but my grandpa was awesome.  I have such fond memories of him.  I want my kids to have those same special memories of their grandparents.  Maybe this should be a New Year’s Resolution for me.  Spend more time with the grandparents.

So as the kids fall back into their daily routines o.k. and Prince William and I make our way back to reality, I will DEFINITELY make one of my New Year’s Resolutions to LIVE IN THE MOMENT.  LIVE IN THE NOW.  HELL JUST LIVE and do it with joy and happiness.

Happy New Year to all and to all a . . . see you next time 

Over the Rainbow / What a wonderful World - IZ, Israel Kamakawiwo`Ole

WATCH ON YOUTUBE:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5JicO2bKec
(This song has such meaning to me.  The first time I heard it I was at a funeral for a 17 year old friend who was killed in a car accident.  It was her favorite song at the time of her death.  Rest in Peace Julie Nagel)

Ooo oooooo oooooo oooo ooo ooo ooo

Ooooo oooooo oooooo

Ooo ooo ooo

Ooo ooo ooo

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,

And the dreams that you dreamed of,

Once in a lullaby.

Oh, somewhere over the rainbow,

blue birds fly, And the dreams that you dreamed of,

Dreams really do come true.

Someday, I'll wish upon a star,

Wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

Where trouble melts like lemon drops,

High above the chimney top,

That's where you'll find me.

Oh, somewhere, over the rainbow, bluebirds fly,

And the dreams that you dare to.

Oh why, oh why can't I?

Well, I see trees of green and red roses too,

I'll watch them bloom for me and you.

And I think to myself: What a wonderful world!

Well, I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white,

And the brightness of day.

I like the dark and I think to myself:

What a wonderful world!

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky,

Are also on the faces of people passing by.

I see friends shaking hands, saying, 'How do you do?'

They're really saying, ' I...I love you!'

I hear babies cry, and I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more than we'll know.

And I think to myself: What a wonderful world!

Someday, I'll wish upon a star,

Wake up where the clouds are far behind me.

Where trouble melts like lemon drops,

High above the chimney top,

That's where you'll find me.

Oh, somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high.

And the dreams that you dare to,

Oh why, oh why can't I?

Ooooo oooooo oooooo

Ooooo oooooo oooooo

Ooo ah, ah, ah... eh ah ah, eh ah ah ah ah...

The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra

WATCH ON YOUTUBE:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9ZGKALMMuc

(This song was OUR song on our wedding day)

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you
And the way you look tonight.

Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely, never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it ?
Cause I love you, just the way you look tonight.

Mm, mm, mm, mm,
Just the way you look to-night.

NO BAKE CREAM CHEESE PIE

This recipe is SO easy I'm a little embarassed to put it on paper.  Growing up, my mom would make 2 or 3 of these pies the day before Christmas Eve and it would be our treat before bedtime Christmas Eve night.  The tradition would continue the next morning when she would let us each have a slice for breakfast.  Yummy!!!! This brings back a nice memory of my childhood.   Enjoy!!!

(NO BAKE) CREAM CHEESE PIE

Recipe from Thattoddlertown.blogspot.com

1-8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
1 cup SIFTED Domino Confectioners Sugar
1 8 oz Kraft Cool Whip
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 graham cracker crust
1 can Comstock Cherry Pie Filling

Put the softened cream cheese in a mixer and slowly add the (sifted) sugar and vanilla.  Once cream cheese, sugar and vanilla are blended, fold in the cool whip.  Spoon into pie crust and chill overnight.  When ready to serve, slice and add cherry topping.

I'M PARTYING OVER HERE:

http://eatathomecooks.com/category/ingredient-spotlight