I *MIGHT* have let the cat out of the bag...

I think I just dispelled the mystery of Santa for my 10 year old son, Sam...
Some of you might think he is much too old to still believe in Santa, but that too, you can blame on me.
I love the thought of my children believing in something so whole-heartedly and without question.

So... yes, I have played up the Santa card quite well...

... until tonight.

Tonight, I left the present I bought for Sophia, Todd's daughter, sitting in the hallway.
That doesn't sound like much of a problem, right??

Well, it wouldn't be, except I bought her the thing she asked Santa for...
and Sam looked at me with eyes squinted and said, "Why would you buy that when Sophia asked Santa for that?"

I didn't have a good answer other than I saw it and knew she would like it.

Yeah.
I think I blew it.

A Ghoul Ol Time

I love dressing up and hosting parties!!

In the past few years, I have done it for my birthday, but this year I just had TOO much on my plate around that time.

Don't get me wrong, NOTHING has fallen off my plate... It's just that things seem to be "easier" right now... By easier, I mean, I have a wonderful man who likes to host as much as I do. :)

So here was our spread...

We had "Take a dip in our coffin" dip

"Finger" foods

Shrunken head punch

That had a little fog added to it

Look at that swirl coming off of it!!

Welcome...  Let me serve you!!

I love that my friends get into it as much as I do :)

Bob Ross and a Happy Little Tree

Madam Butterfly

Zach Galifianakis as Alan with Carlos

Death - can't elude him

Popeye and Olive Oyl

Sally Stitches

Look out Sally!!

If you say gullible slowly, it sounds like "oranges"

I love being able to laugh and joke with my students!  By this time of year, it is a normal every day occurrence.  I love being able to "get them" on April Fools Day!

But the laugh today didn't come from me just getting them... it came from them getting my student teacher.

Yep... the ol' quarter down the nose trick.

She'll learn. ;)

the first of many?

I didn't ring in the new year at a big bash with lots of people.
Just he and I.

He brought me a glass of wine, kissed me on my lips, and held up his glass to cheers.
"Here's to the first of many!"

I smirked.
...because this is how I had always imagined it...
...being with the one I loved...
...knowing just being together was enough...
...and wishing to be together for many years to come.

Real or not?

This time of year the conversation amongst third graders is normally about Santa.
The debate about whether he is actually  real or not.

Normally.

But this year...
... this year, my students debated whether mermaids are real or not.

Santa wasn't mentioned.
Not once.

The jury is still out on the mermaid debate.

Belief has been FULLY restored!

My son, Colby, is nine and in the fourth grade.
Fourth grade seems to be the age that most kids stop believing in Santa. I know, because I taught fourth grade for five years and it broke my heart every year to have students share with their peers how he wasn't real.

Colby had a friend explain to him how he wasn't real last year.  Colby looked at me with questioning eyes.  Later that night, Sam got a video email from Santa telling him to be nice to Colby because "Santa is watching!"  That was enough to pull Colby back onto the "belief" train.

But this year.. this year I could already see it happening.  Anytime Santa was mentioned, Colby just kind of rolled his eyes.  I felt like I was just going to have to let it go that he was no longer a believer... a little part of me saddened.

So, Thursday night, I took the boys to our local amusement park to see the parade and Santa, like I do every year.  We arrived just as the parade started, so we ran towards where it would end so we wouldn't miss any of it and so we would also be close to where Santa would go afterwards.

We found and open spot and here came Santa in his sleigh. Santa was waving to all of the boys and girls as he past them. Then he got to us.  Santa leaned over and pointed right at Colby and said, "MY you have grown a LOT in the last year!"
Colby looked at me, his eyes widening, and shouted, "Mom!  He remembers me!!"
I smiled and nodded.

Belief has been FULLY restored ... at least for one more year.

Oh give thanks...

Day 1 - People will be here in four days. MUST. start. cleaning.
Day 2 - All toilets have been scrubbed. All towels and bed sheets have been washed. Three days - SO much to do!
Day 3 - Go home sick from work. Running a fever. Aches. Sore throat. Head to the doctor. Two days - gonna take that long to get well.
Day 4 - Bake pies... take naps in between. One day to go. Make children vacuum and put dishes away.  Decide a spotless house is overrated.
Day 5 - Guests arrive. Feeling better. Sheets are back in the washer in hopes to NOT get visitors sick. Eat TOO much food. Stay up half the night shopping.
Day 6 - Entertain guests.  Unload and reload the dishwasher 3 times. Hope that some of this food leaves with them. Wish for a nap.
Day 7 - Everyone showers, eats, and packs up. Say your goodbyes. Sit down in a house with a sink of dirty dishes, a laundry room full of dirty towels and sheets, a refrigerator full of leftovers you don't want to eat.

Yep. LOTS to be Thankful for.

The best costumes are not bought

Two years ago when BOTH my boys decided to be ninjas for Halloween and I spent a total of 70 bucks on costumes that they NEVER touched again, I decided I was done!

Last year, I re-lived how much fun it was (when I was a kid) to design and make our own costumes. I went on and on about it.  I allowed my boys to search the internet.

They decided to be a cop and an inmate. I bought them sweatpants outfits (one black and one navy blue - $20 total, plus they could wear it afterwards) and made the rest by hand.(Yes, those are hats made out of poster board.  Yes, that is a ball and chain made out of a dog chain and tin foil. - What can I say??)

This year, again, I planted the seed.  

Colby's was easy... His best friend was going as a nerd and he wanted to be one too. 

Glasses - $1

Suspenders made of white duck tape (from last year's costume) and chip clips - free

happy (nerdy) child - priceless

Now Sam's took a little more time and thinking...
Lab coat from school - free
rubber cleaning gloves from under the kitchen sink - free
red paint - 77 cents.
Sam being EXTREMELY happy because he got EXTRA candy because people liked his costume the best - priceless!!

Luck of the Irish

The boys and I headed to the St. Patrick's Day parade today.
We sported our green.
Green is my favorite color... so it is only fitting that this would be one of my favorite holidays.

This is a tradition that we started several years ago with my best friend from high school, Erin.
She is also Colby's godmother.
We are the type of friends that can go without seeing each other for years and pick up where we left off without skipping a beat.
I enjoy friendships like that.

While Erin and I caught up, the boys did their fair share of chasing after candy.

We saw normal parade fair...

...and unusual as well. 

Just cause you call him O'possum doesn't make him Irish!!

I even felt like I had my own little shy leprechaun along.

Top o' the mornin' to ya.

Yeah... it was a day well spent!!

(Erin, I promise next time you and I will get a picture together... not sure how that didn't happen :)

Remember when you looked forward to Valentine's Day?? OR Why Valentine's Day sucks when your single

My boys are beside themselves that we are out of school today... sure, the newly fallen snow plays a part in that... but there is also the fact that we prepared Valentine's Day cards that will not get distributed until tomorrow... the day after Valentine's Day.

I wish I could muster up that kind of excitement for this day of love. When I think of Valentine's Day now, the exact word that comes to mind is, "Meh."


I know this comes from knowing I'm not going to have beautiful roses sent my way.
Or have a mushy, gushy card handed to me.
Or I especially won't be getting anything in the shape of a little box.

But more than anything it is because the last Valentine's Day I was "with" someone ended with him breaking my heart and me breaking up with him.

Have I gotten over him?
Sure.

But there is still that undesirable aspect of a holiday that is ALL about love when my heart was crushed then.
Here's to finding a guy that changes how I feel about this holiday...

Ghost of Christmas Past meet Ghost of Christmas Future

Christmas has always been a special time for me... but it has also been a hard time for me.
My mom was killed in a car wreck on December 27, 1997 and because of that, it is so very important to me to spend Christmas with my boys.
Thankfully, I have an ex-husband who gets that.


You see... my Christmas morning consists of: My boys waking up, them waking me up, me calling their dad(my ex, R.) and his parents.  Then they all drive over. We watch the boys open presents. We make breakfast together and spend the morning together.  


It's just what we have always done.
It's what I hope we always do.


I'm not trying to hold onto what I used to have.
I'm trying to savor what I still have.


I still have two beautiful boys.
I still have ex in-laws that love and care about me very much.
I still have an ex that sees the importance of me having my boys on Christmas morning.


I'm also trying to prepare for the future.


You see... I spent the day with my ex's family, and my ex, and his girlfriend.
I already know this is how my future Christmases will be.
... and I'm okay with that.


Hopefully, one day, I will have a man by my side that is understanding of this crazy extended family that I call my own and know how much happiness that it brings me that everyone is as okay with it as I am.

Holiday Photo Props make the World go round

So... I hosted my school's Christmas party.
It's something I do every year.
I love coming up with new things for us to do or try.

This year I came up with using Photo Props.

I mean, I love taking pics, and I have recently gotten back into making crafty things... so I figured why not?

I spend one of my insomniac nights (yes, I'm back to not sleeping again) creating these.

Who doesn't love a little Santa & Rudolf??

What can I say??  My friends and I are obsessed with mustaches. 

Then I gave instructions and let the fun happen.

Even Buddy the dog got involved

Oh Fu Man Chu, we love you!!

Yeah... we had a great time!!

a little email from Santa to seal the deal

I'm normally really honest when it comes to my kids and questions that they ask.
Santa is my one vice.
I can't help it.
I just love the joy and excitement on my kids' faces.
I just love the sneaking around and getting ready for 'the big reveal'.

Sam is still in full fledged believing mode.
Colby, however, is wavering... not to the point that he will actually admit that he doesn't believe... because I have always said, "Santa doesn't bring gifts to those who don't believe."


What??!!
He doesn't.
I mean that statement could be justified as truth. *grinning*

So, yeah... I wanted to seal the deal.
The other day I created a PNP.

What's PNP?  You might ask?
Stands for 'Portable North Pole'.
It's a little video where Santa is the star... and he just happens to know you child's name, age, location... and what they want for Christmas.

So I created one for Sam... with all good intentions of creating one for Colby as well...
But the perfect opportunity arose today.
Sam came home and said that he had written a letter to Santa.
Without missing a beat, I said, "Really??  No wonder I got an email from Santa today for you."


Sam's eyes grew big.
Then he looked at me with a raised brow.
"What?" I asked. "Look. It says it's from Santa."
Sam couldn't deny it... It did say the sender's name was, in fact, Santa Claus.
Colby pushed his way through, "Let me see."


I clicked on the video.
I thought, for sure, Santa saying Sam's name would get him... but it didn't.  It was Santa "knowing" that he lived in Missouri.
"How does he know that??" Sam questioned.
"What do you mean? He comes here every Christmas... of course he knows you live in Missouri!!" I said with a twinkle in my eye.

But the part that got Colby was when Santa told Sam that he needed to try extra hard to make sure he got along with his brother.

Yeah... I don't think I need to make Colby's video now.
I think Santa did a find job of convincing with Sam's video.

Things to be thankful for - Friday Confessional

I confess... that while everyone else in the school hates the 2 days before Thanksgiving, I love them!!  Every year I do a pilgrim simulation and I wish my kids would be that engaged all the time. (It's a lot of talking and a LOT of work... but it's worth it!)

I confess... when Colby came home on Monday and said he needed to be a pilgrim by tomorrow, I wasn't really happy...  But I am happy about how his outfit turned out.

I confess... that I'm excited that my brother and his wife are having a little boy because now they will have one of each...  But deep down I was hoping for another little girl. (Man... I love my niece!!)

I confess... it makes me a little sad when Sam asks "How soon are you gonna take us to dad's?" Just because his dad's house provides a dog, a fort, and video games.  My love and random fun can't compete.

I confess... that when I had a friend challenge me to grow my hair out at the end of the school year, I thought, Hey no biggie!" I mean I was cutting it about once every 3 weeks.  But it has taken a LOT longer to grow out than I thought!!  Here's some progression pics for ya from May to Nov:

I confess... I really want to put my tree up and be done with the mess but I know I should wait until the boys come back from their dad's.

I confess... being back out into the dating scene again (and not being in a relationship) sucks!  I forgot how much I don't care for meeting people who don't "know" me.

I confess... helping to counsel my brother through a fight with his new bride (this was their first holiday as a married couple) has taught me that maybe I do know a lot about relationships.

I confess... having a 2nd Thanksgiving with my bestie and people from school who didn't have anywhere else to go turned out better than I thought it would.

Putting creativity to work

So... I made my boys' Halloween costumes this year.

I couldn't justify spending 25 bucks a pop for each kid only for them to be wadded in the corner of their closets afterwards never to be worn again.

Also, That's what I loved about Halloween as a kid... being creative and figuring out what we could make and become.

I didn't realize how much I missed doing that...

So when I asked the boys what they wanted to be, I knew I could easily make their choices.

Needless to say, These costumes brought the little hams out...

A Hoppin' Good Time!

My weekend was a whirlwind!

First... there was coloring eggs before my boys left with their dad for the weekend.

Then... there was my brother, Nick, who had different uses for the wire egg dippers...

Third... there was staying up half the night to finish a bridal shower cake!

After that... there was a nice bridal shower for my brother's fiance'.

Soon after... I got the chance to give my niece her first real apple.



The next morning... I got to see her enjoy her first Easter.

... and her pretty little Easter dress.

Finally... my best friend from HS and her family invited me for Easter dinner. It has been too long since I have seen Erin.  Things never change between us ...and that is why we are friends.
(Somehow I didn't get a picture... next time.)