Happy Easter greetings...

 

From the Head Brothers.

Ed...

 

 

 

And Fred ...

Yes, all of this is true.

Hi y'all!

Did you think I fell off the fiscal cliff?

I took a little bloggy break and enjoyed the most delightful holiday.

Back to work today.

I see no penguin pajama pants or cream cheese in my immediate future which is very unfortunate.

Let's see if I can review some of the highlights of our holiday...

Yes, each of these things actually happened.  Regardless of how ridiculous they may sound.

We had a fish funeral on Christmas morning. RIP Kane the Second.

I watched an insane amount of football.

I ate an insane amount of food.

I was an insane amount of lazy.

We headed on a 455 mile journey to Texas to see the Captain's sisters.

His grandmother and aunt went with us.

They are not in the best of health.

They brought a wheelchair and a walker.

And a pee bag.

And a poop bag.

(Sorry people - just keeping it real here.)

There wasn't much space left in the truck.

I found a small spot to wedge my head right between the wheelchair handle and an exceptionally large Christmas present.

By all means, when you are travelling with six people and luggage and medical paraphenalia and bags and stuff to make sure you bring the biggest most gigantic Christmas present you can find.

Twenty minutes into our eight hour drive, Aunt asked to stop.

At one point we stopped at a Wallie in Arkansas to potty and two women were duking it out on the floor of the Subway.  Kicking and throwing punches.  As Jordan said "Women on the floor, weave everywhere.  Security!

At 10am, they asked about stopping for lunch.

Worse than my kids...

Me, Jordan and my two SIL's managed to keep a group convo going for eight hours. 

My crew stayed in a 116 year old bed and breakfast owned by my SIL's family.

G'Mom and Aunt stayed at a hotel down the road.

But we all gathered in the big ol' house to hang out and eat and visit.

Cooper brought his portable ping pong net and paddles and arranged a tournament.

Have you ever played ping pong on a 110 year old glass topped dining room table?

I have.

I came in fourth.

It was fun.  We had trophies and everything.

I got up one night at two in the morning to make sure I had turned off the oven from fixing dinner the night before. 

It would be very awkward to burn down my SIL's family's 116 year old house.  Oops.  Sorry.

Speaking of awkward, the pee bag may or may not have ruptured on the 116 year old wooden floors.

Awky awk awk.

Pee. On. Da. Flo.

There was a bird in the house.  Flying around.  Bird. In. The. House.

The Captain refrained from buying Cooper a samurai sword at the antique store.

Thank you.

I discovered that The Captain is insanely competitive at playing Taboo.  We played lots of Taboo and Catch Phrase.  Good stuff.

The Aunt, when she did speak during the weekend which wasn't much, talked in a baby voice.

My sweet little one year old niece and my sweet little eight week old nephew are precious.  I'm in love.

We loaded up the gypsy wagon and headed back on Monday.

At the hotel that morning, the Captain managed to lean against the alarm with G'Mom's suitcase ancd call the fire department.  Nice.

G'Mom got a nose bleed.

Jordan got car sick.

Two miles from her house, G'Mom thought the left her house keys in Texas.

False alarm.

Thank goodness.

We finally got home late Monday afternoon.

I kissed the ground.

I loved loved loved spending time with my SIL's and their hubbies and their sweet babies. 

Yesterday we had the 5th Annual Dipapalooza at Connie's.

More cream cheese.

Yes, please.

I really think cream cheese should be a stand alone food group.

I need to go to detox today.

But instead I'm headed to work.   The kids are still out of school.  They are lucky ducks.

How many times did I say cream cheese in this post?

I loved my holiday.  I laughed so much.  And loved my family.

So back to reality today.  Have to get my brain turned back on.  And I hope my pants will still zip.

Ciao!

whassup

Home stretch.
One and a half days for Coop.
One exam for Jordan.
A little more work for me.
But, my brain has already started checking out.
A little too soon.
Gotta' hold on.
I just want to be hooommmmmme.
Need to make more Chex Chex.
And sausage balls, too.
Throw in another batch of fudge for good measure.
Wonder if I could serve that for Christmas lunch.
Sure.
Who doesn't like all that.
Ready.
Ready.
Ready.
For the holiday break.
Gotta' push through today and tomorrow.
Then we'll have some fa la la la la.

Hello door.

Since parenting and fifth grade math took its toll on the very core of my being yesterday, I have no gray matter left this morning to put together any logical form of a blog post. 

So, I will share my front door with you.

I love this guy!

 

See Gauge up there peeking out the window?  Hey Gauge!!

Here's a better look in the daylight before he was quite finished. But, you can see him better here.

It was cheap.  And easy.

I like cheap.  And easy.

And I'm so glad it's Friday.

The end.

Merry!

How about a little Christmas video?

From my kids' great school.

One hour. One run through.  Two takes. One fun video.

Click here for some merry merry!


PS - Jordan is at 2:17 on the left in a green sweatshirt.

Hello Mr. UPS Man...

 

Yeah, so I've been doing a lot of my holiday shopping online.

 

Yes, that was one day's visit from Mr. UPS Man...

 

 

The List

Coop has submitted his Christmas wish list.

Legos
iTunes money - $50 or more
Kindle Fire
Trampoline
Doggie
New iPod Touch
Computer
New bike
More stuff
The end


Just a few things about the list...

No trampoline.  Ever. 
Santa doesn't bring live animals.  Ever.
He just got an iPod Touch last Christmas.
We have a computer.
Kid also has a bike.

Looks like Legos...

And more stuff...

Oh what fun!

Yes, I'm still alive and well.
I just took a big ol' bloggy break.
We had a great LONG Thanksgiving break.
Food was eaten.
Football was watched.
Halls were decked.
Tree was decorated.
Naps were taken.
Elf was watched.
Yesterday we had a big ol' slap of reality.
Back to work and school.
Basketball is now in full swing.
First game was last night.
Yay for #23!
And club volleyball starts tonight.
Yay for #22!
I've almost finished my shopping.
Yay for me!
Annnnnd, I've even wrapped some gifts.
Jingle all the way.

Embrace the Pumpkin

It's November 15.

Mid-November.

One week from today is Thanksgiving.

I've already seen commercials on TV featuring Santa Claus.

Jordan is listening to Christmas music.

I've spotted a Christmas yard inflatable.

Last night I drove by a house that already has their Christmas tree up, lights twinkling through the window.

I ran in the store last night to get some of those cute little baby pumpkins.  Some fall decor.  That shouldn't be too much to ask.  Because as I've already noted, it's mid-November and Thanksgiving is still to come.

No dice.

Not just no dice.

No pumpkins.

Really? 

It's all Christmas stuff.

Can't a girl just find a few of those cute little baby pumpkins?

Can't we just embrace the pumpkin and the pilgrim and the turkey?

I hate rushing the season.

Yesterday

Relax.
Kindle.
Nap.
Grilling.
Burgers.
Corn.
Lazy.
Play.
Hot.
Water.
Splash.
Fireworks.
Family.
Fun.
Nice.

Happy INDEPENDENCE Day!

Why do we say Happy 4th of July?

The 4th of July.

We've even dropped July and shortened it to "The 4th"

Its name is Independence Day.

We don't say Merry 25th of December.

Merry 25th.

Happy 14th of February, honey.  I love you.

So why has this day lost its name?

I don't get it.

Peeve.

V'Day

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day?

The Captain brought me some candy.

And he also fixed my flat tire.

How romantic is that?

Yep. Laying on his back out there on the cold driveway pulling a big ol' nail out of my tire.

True. Love.

And, for dinner, I made chili. Because, it was, you know, chilly.

Then I sat at Jordan's volleyball practice for three hours.

This morning I'm sleepy.

And I'm going to snort coffee straight from the can.

Bye.

Back at it.

Alrighty. Back at it. Reality hits hard this morning. Back to school and work. Back to uniforms and homework. No more jammie pants and naps. Dislike. Dislike. DIS. LIKE.

A random holiday recap:

The ham and pork tenderloins I was so obsessed about? Well, they froze. In that tiny little refrigerator. Frozen solid chunks o' pork. I discovered this tragedy just a few hours before they were supposed to go in the smoker. It was a serious refrigerator setting fail. So back to the grocery on Christmas Eve Eve to pick up more meat. I may have appeared desperate when I was crying to the butcher lady, "I NEED TWO MORE PORK TENDERLOINS AND A HAM. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE."

The holiday feeding of the five thousand went well. Food was delish. And plenty.

Santa brought Cooper tickets to WWE Monday Night Raw. It was last night. We got home at 11pm. While that late bedtime is not working out so well with the early alarm clock this morning, I figured today would be ugly regardless, so might as well go out with a bang. A good wrestlin' time was had by all.

We had a great week at the beach. Laziness abounded. Sun, naps, books, football, and lots of cream cheese.

Lots of cream cheese. And sour cream. Our annual Dipapalooza turned into a weeklong Dipapalooza.

It was chilly in the mornings and Connie and I took our heated throws (yes, we took those, thank you very much) and coffee out to the balcony. Nice.

I read Redeeming Love. If you haven't read it, read it. You won't be sorry.

I'm also almost finished with the current rage, The Hunger Games. It's a good one.

And, guess what? The Captain gave me a Kindle for Christmas!! Woot! I'm anxious to load some books on there. Since we already had the books that I'm reading now, I didn't do the ebook thing with those....

It's 25 degrees right now. That's ridiculous. Especially since this time last week I had my toes in the sand. Well, this time last week, I WAS ASLEEP, but you get my drift.

So, back at it today.

Oh, and volleyball practice tonight. Errrrrg.

OK, let's hear from you on this Whatever Day of January it is....

How were your holidays?
What did Santa bring you?
Any New Year's Resolutions to share?

Sound off.

To do list

Will somebody remind me why I didn't take today off? {HEAD SLAP}

I still have one more gift to pick up. I have to go by ______ and get some ____ _______ for Connie. Then I have still have some wrapping to do. And, as I typed that, I just realized I think I have more wrapping to do than I thought.

Then ... cooking. And more cooking. And some more cooking.

Cooking for five on Friday night, nine on Saturday night, fourteen on Sunday lunch. I'm thinking about making the same thing times a thousand and just putting it out there three times. Nobody would notice would they? Even though it's kind of various combinations of the same people. I was fretting that I won't have enough food for Sunday. But, after a total come apart on the phone with my mom the other night, I feel better. Because nothing says Christmas like a nervous breakdown.

I'm obsessing right now over the big ham and two pork tenderloins that are in the outside little refrigerator in the garage. I had to put it out there because it won't fit in the regular frig what with the 27 containers of sour cream and stuff. I'm afraid I've set the temperature too warm or the frig is going to die or something. I've checked on that meat a jillion times. Including once at 3:30 in the morning. Yes, I have issues. So, I will just continue to go out there and pat my ham.

Oh - guess what? Last night, Jordan and her friend cooked dinner for us - poppyseed chicken, beans, rolls, apple dumplings - YUM. It was delicious. And they cleaned up the kitchen. (Score!) And brought me flowers. Sweet girls. They were so proud of themselves. And gave each other a high five and said "We're gonna' be great moms!" It was really a sweet act of service and a nice treat. I may sign them up for a weekend cooking job.

So, I'm off to work. Then home. HOME. Yes.

Then, it's all just fine. Regardless if my cranberries get cooked or not.

And, my sweet beloved husband just looked over at me and said, "So, whatcha' got goin' today and tomorrow?"

Bless.

Excuse me while I beat him with a wrapping paper tube.

What are y'all doing? What's on your to-do list the next few days?

Sound off.

The Elf Returned

Jerry the Elf returned right after Thanksgiving. And this year, instead of simply hiding around this house, he seemed to get himself into quite a bit of mischief. And occasionally make a mess.

Oh, Jerry ...

Strumming along...

First things first.... The winner of the yummy molasses cookie prize pack is.... Kearsie! {clap clap clap} Hooray! Now you can invite us all over for cookies!

Once again, I feel like I didn't accomplish much of anything this weekend. And, that's pretty tragic since it's the last real weekend before Christmas. I normally take THIS week off, but this year am taking NEXT week off. And it's become problematic because I still have 92,186 things to do and not much time to do it. And on this Monday morning I'm kicking myself for not taking off. But next week, I'll be glad. So I've just got to push through this ridiculous thing they call work.

Anyway, this weekend I did manage to make two trips to Target on Saturday and none of it was really holiday related.

Long story, but Cooper was in the market for a new guitar since his most excellent quality $30 Walgreens guitar is showing some significant wear and tear which is just a nice way of saying it's about to crack in half.

We ran to Target to JUST LOOK. And in the music department of Target (yes, Target has a music department), they had a $79 guitar for $30. And of course this deal was ONE DAY ONLY. So, I ate my words and we got the guitar with a combination of his money and my money.

Take guitar home. It's a beauty. Well, as beautiful as a $79 guitar from Target can be. But he discovers it's more like a grown up guitar and is too big.

Cue the wailing.

So we go BACK to Target (I am really not proud of this behavior.)

And we got a $29 guitar in the toy section.

And sure enough, thing was broken before it ever came out of the box. Because, I remind you, it was a $29 guitar from the toy section at Target.

Much to the kid's chagrin, I didn't haul bootie back up there, but that guitar is now boxed up and ready to be returned.

There's apparently a serious time crunch here since there's some alleged neighborhood holiday concert coming up. And it's vital that he be a part of it since he's the one that plays the intro to Crazy Train.

The rock group practiced on Friday night in my garage. Coop hauled his guitar and drum set out there. I let the merriment go for awhile but then asked that they simmer down less my Scroogey neighbors call the cops and I get cited for some noise ordinance. And I'm not really sure I could convince the nice officers that they were playing Oh Holy Night.

Other weekend happenings....

Jordan and the Captain went deer hunting this weekend but it was a total bust.

I went to the mall yesterday in an attempt to finish all this shopping. All I did was reaffirm the fact that I'm allergic to malls. There were just so many ... people ... and .... cars .... It was a frightening experience.

And, last night the Captain sensed an impending holiday related nervous breakdown so, in a move of desperation he asked how he could help. ''Can I go buy something for somebody? Can I go get food for the people?" He did help me wrap some gifts. And one of them may or may not have been for him. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Anyhoo, I've got to make a list and check it twice. Time's a wastin'....

Surprise!

Today is Friday. Hallelujah and amen.

And it's my kids' last day of school. More hallelujah and amen.

I am very close to being finished with my shopping. And I've done a lot of wrapping, too.

And, I'm sure my brother-in-law will NEVER guess that he's getting a new fishing rod....

Timber

Because nothing says Christmas like trees falling over.

All I want....

Hooray hooray! I bought a Christmas present yesterday. I am finally realizing that these gifts won't buy themselves.... And, time....it's ticking.... So the show must get on the proverbial road.

I've been trying to order some things online. But soon, my statute of online ordering limitations will expire and the gifts won't get here in time. And I refuse to pay more in shipping than the actual gift costs. So it's looking like I'm going to have to go to some actual stores. I have confirmed that I'm allergic to the mall. So that's going to present a small problem.

Cooper has asked for a snowboard. This is slightly problematic because, you, ummmm, kind of need some snow for that. And a hill. He also is asking for a trampoline (Sorry, kid. Never), anything WWE related, and some Pittsburgh Steelers stuff.

Jordan's list only has three things on it: an iPhone, a gecko, and an additional piercing in her ear. Let's just say only one of those things is slightly viable. And it doesn't breathe. Or include needles.

The Captain never really asks for anything specific. He gets this weird little voice and says "allll I want is youuuuuuu". OK, then. That's easy. We're kind of "not giving each other anything" but we kind of do. Santa is still bringing us a new shower floor and getting our roof fixed. So there's that. Ho ho ho.

Me? I kind of want a Kindle, and of course world-wide peace, and 5 minutes without somebody saying "Mom".

And right now, I want some more coffee.

Ciao!

Tannenbaum > Topics

I'm totally brain-dead. Seriously can't think of a single thing to blog about.

And I really don't want to get into the fascinating things that have made it to my kids' Christmas wish lists. Let's just say the list includes a snow board and a gecko.

I'm still in denial about the leak in my roof and the broken tiles in my shower. So I won't be chatting about that.

Yesterday, I had lunch with Cooper and the rest of the 4th grade class. And, since there wasn't much burping or tooting nor was there talk of such activity, there was no real blog fodder there.

And, you really don't want to hear about how I had to take a nap at 8:30 last night just so I could be awake enough at 9:30 to leave to go pick Jordan up from volleyball practice. (And yes, practice that ends at 9:45 is late.)

Not gonna' talk about any of that stuff.

Nope.

So, why don't you tell me about your Christmas tree....

Real or fake?

White lights or multi-colored?

Matchy matchy ornaments or anything goes?

Craziest ornament?

Favorite ornament?

Ready? Go!