Hot Chocolate

Anytime we are out and about in the cold, running errands, playing, or have just had a long day in general...I, often, ask the kids if they want me to make hot chocolate.  Preferably, homemade on the stovetop with a dash of vanilla.  They get all excited and get the mugs out and wait, patiently.  Ironically, they rarely drink but a few sips (on a good day, maybe half), and eat all of the marshmallows out of it. 

It occurred to me that it's not really about the cocoa.  It's the feeling they associate with the cocoa.  Mom makes it, then, we all sit at the table and drink it and talk and laugh.  It's the experience of the hot chocolate.  We've done it since Jake was about 2.  Going on 7 years.  7 years of warm fuzzies attached to a beverage they don't like as much as Sprite.  But, who cares? 

All they want, all they need is you.  Wherever your head is at, no matter what the bottom line in the checkbook is,  whatever you and your spouse may have argued about the night before, they want to feel safe and secure.  To know that you're a room away night after night ready to chase the scaries away.  That their home is a dependable place, with meal times, and baths, and bed times, and order, even if things in our 'adult' world are on shaky ground.  They shouldn't have to deal with any of that.  They're kids.

I think for my kids...a cup of hot chocolate symbolizes all of that.  So, I'll make gallons of it, even if they don't drink a drop. 

a season for change.

***Warning:  this is going to be a ramble.  I have not organized my thoughts on this one AT ALL.  These kinds of posts always seem to get me into trouble, but it's my blog, so deal.

I come from a VERY large extended family on both sides.  My mom's side is significantly larger than my dad's, but both are pretty big.  My dad comes from a family of 5 (his middle brother, my uncle, is deceased), and my mom comes from a family of 8.  What makes both families unique, is that, aside from the occasional college student, we all live in the area.  Isn't that weird/cool/sad/good all at the same time?

Needless to say, it has caused mass chaos at holiday time throughout the years.  Gotta go here, gotta be there kind of stuff.  Fast forward to 2009.  It's hard.  Really hard. 

Here's the deal...
I really enjoy being with my family.  ALL of them.  But things in my own world are changing.  I'm not the 18-year-old girl dragging her boyfriend (yes, he became my husband) around to only 2 events.  I'm a wife & mother to 4 children.  Christmas is about a lot of things, but namely, it's about sharing the magic of the birth of the King with children, and everything else that goes along with that.  And, now that I have my own kids, that one sentence has a whole new meaning for me. 

Let me say again, I love my extended family.  We all get along, and laugh, and joke, and play games, and, generally, enjoy each other when we are all together.  But, when is enough, enough? 

That sounded harsh.  And, I really, really don't mean it to. 

What I'm trying to say, and failing at miserably, is that as time goes on, can things always remain the same.  Can we all cram into someone's house, shoulder to shoulder, with new girlfriends, husbands, babies, etc., and still get the same thing out of it that we did 15 years ago?

On my mom' side we have resorted to renting a hall, or splitting up into our smaller groups to do holidays, birthdays, and the like.  I feel like, at this point, we just get together for the sake of getting together. A HAVE to, not a WANT to.  And, I really do still want to see them, and spend time with them around the holidays, but it's getting to be so much.  Church, Chirstmas Eve festivities, then Christmas morning with just us, then Jake's side, then my side.  Ugh!

I want to claim one of the two days as our own.    No distractions.  Just us.  Any which way I look at it, it's the Christmas Eve gathering that needs to get axed.  It makes me sad, but at the same time, I'm not sure that I still get the same charge out of that party that I used to.  I still enjoy it, but it's not the same.

That's sounds awful.  And, sometimes change is hard to stomach, but it's necessary.  Unavoidable.

I hope I didn't make any of my familial readers sad or mad.  Sometimes, I think that I say out loud what many of you are thinking.  There are pros and cons to zipping it shut AND being more upfront.  Is there a right or a wrong?  I'm not sure.  Confronting it head on has always worked better for me.   

Does anyone else feel the same?  Please tell me I'm not alone...

Please.

Tired of the same ole.

I am Pete's room mother extraordinaire for the 1st grade Christmas party this year.  Due to some budget cuts the amount of money we are allotted has been reduced from $50 to $25.  Luckily, we have a great group of parents who, even if they work, are always willing to pitch-in in any way they can.  (I love our school.)

Snacks, drinks, and paper goods have all been taken care of, and I even managed to get a couple of monatary donations.  One of which was $30.  How cool is that?

I, now, have $60 with no food or paper products to buy.  I am sittin' pretty.

I want to try and avoid that goody bag overload.  Full of junk and junk food alike that the kids get bombarded with at every festive gathering.   Not that there is anything wrong with a good ole fashion treat bag, but it just seems so wasteful to me. 

I'm thinking we are going to go with an unofficial 'handmade' party theme this year.  Sure, there will be a couple of traditional party games, maybe some carols, and a story, but I thought I'd show the kids that they can make some cool stuff with their own bare hands.  Stuff that they can be proud of, and hopefully gift to someone in their family.

I haven't decided on anything 'for sure', yet, but I found some great ideas.

 Home-made snow globes from here.

I've seen these lots of places, but I think it would be an easy and fun thing for them to make.  You can use super glue or a glue gun (adults only for that step), instead of silicone which will increase the assembly time by lots.  I could pick up lots of vintagey cake decor for the insides at our local bake supply shop.

Diorama ornaments from here.

I love when the kids bring home handmade ornaments.  Our tree is full of them, and every Christmas when we get them all out, it's so fun to see all of them from the last several years.  I thought these were fun, and each kid could really make theirs personal. 

Cookie mix in a jar from here.

The infamous 'cookie-mix-in-a-jar'.  I know it's an oldie, but I've never seen it done at a school party.  I thought this would be fun for them to measure and scoop, and, later, make at home. 

Home-made sugar scrub from here.

I, also, love the idea of this kind of a gift for a mom, grandma, aunt, step-mom, or sister.  I checked out soaps and lip balms, but they take much too long.  This sugar scrub from Crystal at Little Bit Funky is a quick & easy alternative.  I think the idea of pouring and mixing will be a hit.

So, what do you think?  Do you have any other ideas?  Fairly easy, fun, maybe a bit messy?  Let me know, I'd love to hear them!

A nice story.Real nice.

So, on Friday, I went to see 'The Swell Season' in concert at The Pageant.  It was the first time I got to see Glen Hansard live (it is officially crossed off of the list), and it was really amazing.  The crowd was great (not too rowdy, yet, totally, ready to hear some great music), the energy was so charged with anticipation, yet calm and serene, and the band...well, the band was unbelievablly incredible.  It was like a dream.  I know that sounds over the top, but I cannot express in words what seeing them 'for reals' was like.  Music has such a hypnotic power over me.  I have great amounts of respect for musicians and songwriters.  It is such an amazing art form.  Words with music.  To me, it seems like such a sacrafice to put a settled kind of life on hold, so that you may bring your 'art' to people the world over.  But, I suppose to them they are just doing what they were born to do.  What makes them who they are. 

Okay, enough Glen love.  Onto to the meat of this story...

So, I go to the show with Big Jake and my cousin, Michelle.  It was fantastic. 

Afterwards, we meet up with my sister, my bestie, my cousins, and their other halves at Pin-Up Bowl (a retro-ish bar and bowling alley where you can order Pop-Tarts, how cool is that?!).  We had a great time talking and laughing.  Throughout the night there were lots of jokes about Glen popping into the bar (it was next door to the venue) and sweeping me off of my feet and onto the tour bus.  Ha, ha!  Jake even said he'd let me go.  It was all very comical.  Then, we decided our tummies were hungry for some late night greasy spoon food, so, we packed it up to head to Courtesy Diner for some slingers. 

We all parked behind The Pageant, but on different ends.  So, our motley crew split up in two different directions; my sister, Christy, Tony, and Emily one way, and Jake, Michelle, and I the other way.  On the way around the building, I was thinking to myself how ironic it would be if the band was getting on the bus to head out just as we were walking to the car.  Apparantly, the other group was thinking the same thing.  We must have both reached the back around the same time, and when we did...well, HOLY CRAPTASTIC! 

There standing in a group of 15-20 people in the balmy 20 degree St.Louis temps, was Glen and Marketa!  They were talking with the group of fans, signing autographs, being so gracious, and, basically, just oozing coolness. 

Here's the Glen/Beth convo breakdown:

me: Hi, would you mind getting a picture with me?

Glen (in his wicked Irish accent): Yeah, yeah!  Sure!  Just after this picture, cool?

me (swoon, trying to hold my cool factor together, and failing miserably): Awesome.  Thanks!

Yes, I think I said awesome.  Lame.  I know. 

Let me just say, that I am not one to be mesmerized by fame, celebrity, or the like.  I'm not even sure Brad Pitt or Jude Law would make me a crazed, fanatical mess.  It's just never been my thing.  I think I had a Grateful Dead and a Phish poster on my wall in high school, not a poster of Corey Haim, if you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down.  But, to have someone I respect and admire so much from afar standing right next to me.  Someone who's creative genius speaks to me in such an enigmatic way...well, it was surreal to say the least.  I was one smitten kitten. 

After that, Marketa Irglova (who is as cute as a little pixie that I wanted to stick in my pocket) posed with me for a money shot.  They, also, both signed my ticket stub. 

I sound like a big weirdo, I know. To put it into perspective for you, pick one famous person you would want to meet, that you not only have a super secret crush on, but greatly esteem.  Now, imagine how you would feel.  That's how it was for me times 5,734,398,380.  Seriously. 

I'm still a mess over it.  I've just been randomly smiling, or watching some of the video I shot of the set, and getting giddy.  Aside from my wedding day, and the birth of my 4 children (duh), it was quite possibly one of the best nights ever.  I think what made it so great, was that it was so unexpected, so impromptu,  AND I got to share it with some of my all time favorite people who were so happy for me (some of my posse even had tears).  The stars were aligned, JC was sharing a smile with me right at that very moment.

And, just because even I thought it was funny...
My cousin, Tony, (God love him) nicely stated, "I don't see what the big deal is...he looks like Yukon Cornelius." 

Touche!
Alright, alright, I'll give him a pass on this one, because in this particular case, it's utterly true.  Yukon, or not, Glen is still scrumptious.  Thanks for the laugh, anyway, Tony.

a teaser...

Boy, oh boy, do I have a story for you,

but you gotta wait until tomorrow.

Here's a little hint...

 

Wowza, it's good one.

My friday night.

Tonight we have an overnight babysitter for ALL 4 kids.

This is only the 2nd time in F.O.R.E.V.E.R. (literally) that all four are gone overnight.

We probably should sleep, but...

we're going here:

to see this guy (I am busting at the seams with excitement):

then it's off to this cool place:

and, then, maybe here (will I still be awake?):

all while kickin' it with these fantastic people:

Each and every one of them brings something different to my table of fun. 

I am lucky to have them in my life and share a night sans kids with them. 

AND, I totally just realized that there will be a shocking

amount of neon lights in our night of debauchery.

Hmmmmm?

Hope you have an equally enjoyable Friday!

5 kids + 5 adults = 47 rad photos

These are a few of the photos that we got taken a couple of weeks ago by Brenda Shelton.  If anyone in the Saint Louis area is interested in having her shoot your family, email me and I can forward her contact information to you.  She is very reasonable, talented, and fun.  She will put you at ease from the get go, and the kids really liked her, too.  She really took time with us, which is always appreciated when it comes to dealing with us crazy Grebes. 

Thanks, Brenda!

We had a great time!

green eyed.

illustration by Steve Mack

www.spotillustration.com

I've been thinking a lot about gifts that people are blessed with.  Like, how my sister can always make me laugh, even if I'm really in a funk, how my mom can always make me see the reality of a situation, how my best friend is a good listener, or how another friend of mine is really good about thinking of those less fortunate.  And, then of course, there are the other kind of gifts people possess.  I guess you would call them talents.  My mother can decorate a house like a professional Better Homes & Gardens stylist, but on a fierce budget.  My sister can sew and cook.  Good.  My dad and husband are good at figuring out how to build stuff, or bring my mom's and my ideas into fruition.

What I'm getting at is why should people be envious or jealous of people's gifts and talents?  God meant for all of us to be different.  To be good at different things.  To bring our talents and positive attributes together, and share them.  To use them to make others and ourselves happy, and in the process giving the resulting glory back to the Big Man. 

Recently, I've been made to feel crappy about the fact that I've made our home nice and aesthetically pleasing (at least to us), that I find the time to blog (which, all of you fellow bloggers know doesn't take much time), that I can make things with my own two hands instead of buying it (sometimes making it even better), or that my family can survive on a strict budget with no help from outside sources (I can show you my bank statements to prove it).  Why do people care?  Or better yet, why do they waste their time worrying about it?  I don't do any of the above to make people angry or feel bad.  In fact, my intention is the exact opposite.  I want to share my talents, show others that they can do it, too.  That it's nothing special or extraordinary.  Just resourcefulness, creativity, a will to decide that you CAN.  We all have it inside of  us.  Some choose to use it, some don't.  Whatever works for you and your family is cool. 

The bottom line is this...
We can all be a bit jealous of others at times.  I'm just as guilty as the next guy.  But, keep it innocent.  Don't let it bother you (sometimes easier said than done).  Don't let jealousy become envy.  Don't let it turn you into a cruel, green eyed monster.  Become proactive instead.  Turn that energy into something you and God can both be proud of.  He wants us to use our gifts. 

In the end, we make time for what we want to make time for.  For me, family is and always will be first.  Everyone happy, fed, warm, clean, snuggled, loved...then I can write, craft, read, beautify.  We can't be all things to all people all the time.  It's impossible.  There are many hours in the day, and an idle mind is such an unfortunate waste...unless, of course, you need a Calgon moment. :)

And, hey, you don't have to take my word for it (holla for the Reading Rainbow nod):

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. ~Eleanor Powell

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. ~Leo Buscaglia

 

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."  ~Erma Bombeck