Coming to a Nursery Near You

Archive for the ‘holidays’ Category

I’m so not a fan of fake sentiment. I suppose I’m a bit jaded, because of the recent problems Jimmy & I have faced.  But I sit and watch tv commercials for Valentine’s Day and it drives me crazy.  One commercial, which I think is for a phone or something, starts off with “old fashioned” mom, who is espousing the benefits of the giant box of chocolates that her spouse has given her and how he always picks out the fanciest card, and she says, that makes her love him more.

How does a $5 card and some chocolates you probably don’t need make you love someone MORE?  It’s stupid.

Instead of waiting until Valentine’s Day to show someone you love them, that ONE DAY – why not do it every day?  This goes for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, all the “days”.   I don’t need greeting cards full of fake crap, chocolates I really don’t need or any of it. I’d MUCH rather have someone tell me, and really, truly mean it, that they love me.  But anyways…………

I went out this morning to get the kids some Valentine’s Day cards, because I’d planned on making my own but then when push came to shove, I just couldn’t put it into words, I suppose.  So I ran to the market at 8am, grabbed some cards, whipped cream and the paper.  On the way, I listened to a talk radio show from DC and they were talking about how guys aren’t still doing the

When I got home, I hung some new Valentine’s decorations in their rooms while they slept.  I then proceeded to make my family strawberry pancakes, some of them even heart-shaped.  I framed them on the plate with whipped cream AND red sugar sprinkles. 

[Collective “awwwwwww” – go ahead, I’ll wait.]

When they were finished, I gave them the cards, and their much anticipated heart-shaped chocolates, and I had also gotten Libby & Zachy some stuffed dog/bear things that give BIGGGG Kisses and say “I LoVe You!” (yeah, that got old fast).  Everyone was happy (and hyped on sugar).

After breakfast, the kids & I played a few games of Uno, then I got working on my landfill called my bedroom.  Jimmy & Anthony went out to the store (gee, wonder where THEY’RE going), and when they came home, they gave me a tulip plant, cute card and a raspberry cheesecake. . . (I’d asked him to PLEASE not get me one of those boxes of chocolates.)

After we did lunch, I watched the Daytona 500 (mostly) and continued puttering in my room. Anthony & Jimmy worked on recording a song that Anthony’s written, Libby & Zachy took turns driving me buggy.

For dinner, I made something I know that they all really like, and also baked a strawberry cake that they didn’t know about.  We had a nice dinner and now we’re all doing our own thing.

I think the best thing about the whole day, though, was that there was no fighting.   It was a nice day, quiet and non-chaotic. 

That’s WAY better than fake sentiment.

I made my own card for Jimmy.  Inside, I even made up the verse inside.  It wasn’t full of sappy, false sentiments.  Maybe that’s the 14 years and 14 Valentine’s Days we’ve spent together.  Maybe it’s the issues that remain in the air, like a cat box stink, that you can’t quite get rid of.  Maybe I’m just too old for this shit. 

In any case, Libby proclaimed this the BEST Valentine’s Day EVER, so I suppose I’ve done my job for the day   Oh, and she said that BEFORE she saw the big cake in the kitchen with the red sprinkled heart on top!

Yes – one single resolution.  Here it is…

– are you ready?

My New Year’s resolution for 2010:  Try not to suck as much as a mom in 2010.

How’s that?

Not too demanding, not too difficult to understand.

Try, being the operative word.

See, try as I might to be Donna Reed and Carol Brady all wrapped up in one cute little package, I do not, in face, succeed at either. I never have been, but of course, the pressure to be such always has been there.

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I actually began this post last Monday, but life, and emotions, got in the way, and so here we are, another week gone. Another week closer to Christmas. Oh. Goody.

I’ve only bought a few things, mostly because Jimmy’s already got his own plan of what he wants to buy, and so I don’t know what I’m “allowed” to buy.  So I stick to groceries, mostly.

I’ve also been buying more stuff for doing crafts with the kids, and for making homemade gifts although I haven’t figured out how I’ll be able to ship them.

I WAS able to bill for some ads that have been on my blog that I’d never billed for, and now I have enough money to early-bird register  for BlogHer ‘10. 

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You’ll notice that there are only 2 children in these photos, although I distinctly remember having given birth to 3.  THAT’s because the littlest one fell asleep while I was trying to get the other two kidlets finished up.  So no trick or treating for Zachy this year – but that’s ok. Check out my other two rugrats

no one had to ask him who he was this year. LOL  His dad did an awesome job on the makeup job AND the silvery costume thingie, which was totally a remake of another costume from a few years ago

Zachary was gonna be a pirate – but not so much   I’ll try and get him into the costume today just so I can take pics LOL

(Just a note on Libby’s makeup. *I* did her makeup, and she smudged it a bit – so her FATHER fixed it up and that’s why it looks like she used a magic marker LOL)

I stayed home w/the baby so I could give out candy while sitting on my so VERY cutely decorated porch – and I think we had a TOTAL of 10 kids.  Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. LOL

But the pumpkins?  PUMPKINS WERE ROCKIN!

Again – 3 kids – 2 pumpkins.  THAT’S because ANTHONY had to be difficult and
blow the candle out on his before I got a chance to take a picture.  Again – I’ll do that tonight, I suppose.  MAYBE.  Nothing like staying topical on this blog, huH!?

This holiday season, economic times are making things really hard for people to even begin to think about holiday gifts.  Whether you celebrate Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or a combination of all 3, finding spare cash around to pick up gifts for those we love is really hard.

(Particularly when there no money even coming IN right now.)

So perhaps that’s why now, even more than ever, I’m drawn to all the holiday giveaways that these awesome bloggers are doing right now.  I’ve already been EXTREMELY lucky by winning Day 4 of TypeAMom’s 12Days of Giveaways.  THAT made my day, I’ll tell you!

Now, MomGenerations are in on it too!  Today is Day 1, and they’re giving away some fabulous stuff (of course). So go check it out – and enter (but not too many times – ya know – cuz I gotta win everything!!!) LOL