2012 In Pictures

Consider this a wee year in review post. With the added bonus of all the pictures being never-before-seen (at least I hope)!

Happy Holidays!

We'd like to wish all of our friends & family a very

source: http://leapingfrogdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/11/freebie-merry-christmas-antique-post.html

My Facebook Don'ts

My Personal Facebook Pledge.

First, I'd like to start by saying that I do not mean to offend anyone. If you do any of these things that's fine (and this wasn't written about you) and you should continue doing you.

I promise...

1. Not to make a sonogram or my kid's photo my profile picture. The profile picture is meant to identify me. Not my kids, not my husband. If it's National Children/Parents/Spouse/Whoever/Whatever day or week then this wouldn't apply but otherwise my profile picture will be me.

2. Not to inundate my status updates with all things kid. I know this can be hard since parents love their kids so it can tend to be our favorite topic. I know I have yet to birth my own miracle baby and if that day comes I may forget about this pledge and end up posting about the color & size of my baby's poo. And may I also remember that not every photo of my child would be a good one. So should that day ever come someone please stop me.

3. To not make passive-aggressive or thinly veiled statements when I'm upset with someone. I'm surely guilty of this in the past but that's where I'd like to leave this habit.

4. To not post leading status updates. You know, the ones designed to get people to comment and ask "What's wrong?" just for the poster to reply "Nothing." or "I don't want to talk about it." If you didn't want to talk about it, you wouldn't post it.

5. To not be overly mundane or boring. I know that I do not lead the glamorous life but I'll be damned if I just post "Making spaghetti for dinner." or "Running late for work." I shall put at least an iota of spark into my posts.

They Get So Big, So Fast

I'm late in mentioning it, but Isaac turned 9 on the 28th of last month. This year we skipped the party on favor of a family game of laser tag. We went to Laser Quest last week and it was way more fun than I was expecting. It also cost a bit more than I'd like to pay but it's not a bad price. I didn't get any good pictures of the action because I was busy playing! I tried to get a few pictures before the fight went down but it was black lighted so they didn't turn out well.

Don't you just love the guy in the background?

In other birthday related activities, Isaac spent the day before his birthday at home to have a day with us to celebrate. He was treated to birthday breakfast at IHOP. We still owe him a bit of an Isaac day because we ended up spending a lot of the day car shopping. Yep, we are in the market for another car. To get straight to the fact, we were in the market. We've decided for now that another car goes on the back burner. Didn't want to trade in a car that's paid for to finance a car, just didn't seem like the best idea.

Black Thursday?

The original plan was to head out super early with Carissa to go Black Friday shopping. However, after looking at the sales ad again, I realized that all the things I wanted to buy were 8pm Thursday sales. So I hustled down to Wal-Mart around 7:30. I had to line up for the Wii, which was great because 1. I got there early and knew I'd get one & 2. because it's nice and calm as opposed to the items awaiting pallet unwrapping at 8. With one present down and one to go, I hurried down to where the $39 bikes were. hoping that there weren't all gone. I checked the crock pots on the way and they were wiped out. I was in luck and grabbed up a bike for Isaac. Along the way though, I had to ditch my shopping cart so that I could get through the crowd. That made for quite the difficult walk down to the register {I ended up balancing the bike box and the Wii on my head!}

I even captured a sew seconds of the 10 o'clock frenzy.

                       


I'd love to say that after the 8 o'clock I was done, finito, finished, but no. I waited around for the 10pm deals to get something for Kyle and I. Once 10 hit, it was once again a madhouse{, a madhouse!} as people went a little nutsy-cukoo for those pallets. However, once again I was in a calm line and got to just enjoy the frenzy.

Even though it's a little wild and crazy, I would totally do it again. Next year, here I come! {Hopefully with much more money!}

Thankfulness Fest 2012

In the midst of the occasional feeling that life has got it in for us, I try to realize that we have a good life going on here. So in the spirit of the day I wanted to give a little thanks for the things there are to be, well, thankful for.

photo source: http://dribbble.com/shots/811869-Give-Thanks?hex=996633&list=color&percent=30&variance=50

• The bestest husband ever. As I am fond of telling Kyle, it is just stupid how much I love that man. I am crazy proud of him. He's loving, supportive, caring and just plain good. He's good to me and to Isaac. And how he held down the financial fort when he was the only one working and didn't bug out is beyond me.

• That crazy kid Isaac. How it is possible for children to drive you so insane but still inspire such fierce love is one of Mother Nature's better plans for survival. That kid is one of the best things in our world and we love him dearly. He's sweet {and Sweet Money}.

• My parents. The coolest. Period. But to elaborate slightly, I couldn't have asked for better and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Plus I feel a big twinge of pride when our friends say they like them too.

• The friends who round out our 'social' life. Such good people, from the ones we've known for years to the ones we've only known for a months.

• All the little things that in the difficulties of life we tend to take for granted: our health, our home, jobs that provide for us, plenty to eat, clothes to wear. It is all too easy to forgot that we have plenty in our life to be so grateful for, things that are the basics but that not everyone is blessed to have.

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

What Would You Do-oo With a Spare Bedroom?

In the months since Blaze moved out the spare room has been what lots of people'd spare rooms turn into, a junk room. Random things have been getting thrown in there, so it's a bit like a disaster zone. I decided that I wanted to make the room a little like a craft room, so I put my (free! Craigslist) vintage Drexel desk in there. Unfortunately, I still haven't moved out the roll top desk, that has only moved to the closet. The play kitchen has been moved in there along with the silverware cabinet that I use to store my art supplies. All the picture frames I have been hoarding to make a gallery wall with are there. A very large dresser mirror is in there. It is a grab bag, I tell you! Since I want the style to lean towards the look of a nursery, I pulled down all by baby related items from the attic and now that's all piled in there too. It is very crowded in there!

The (hopeful) plan is to put a sleeper sofa and storage ottoman in there. Then, across from that, a TV mounted to the wall. (Yes, I know that this doesn't sound at all like a craft room or a nursery, but we want the room usable beyond my drawing at the desk.) The hope is to have a space for guests again with the ottoman a place to stash blankets and pillows for the bed. In the daytime the couch and TV set up would mean that I could coax Kyle into being in the room with me {should I want him there, :)} As for art ideas.... well I have a few and by 'few', I mean a bucketful. Too many ideas, actually. On the subject of wall colors, I have almost completely decided on pale turquoise  for the room (pale mint is it's main competition) with a pale yellow closet. I've even got fabric ideas for DIY curtains. I'm telling you, I have got a bunch floating around in my noggin. Now the trick is to bring any of it to fruition.

The Nose Knows

I got to take today off work! Kyle had his nose surgery today. To cut to the chase, it went fine and everything's okay. The Hubs had a severely deviated septum, which he's probably had this side of forever. Kyle hasn't breathed well for years and today he was finally able to take a giant step to fixing that problem. I was tasked with chauffeur and watching him for 24 hours. Tomorrow he's heading back to the doctor to have a couple of stints left from the surgery removed. Kyle needs about a week of rest and recovery time, but he's doing well.

Getting ready for the operating room.

We showed up at the surgery center at 6 o'clock this morning {So, no sleeping in for me!}. We weren't quite in and out but between waiting, surgery, and recovery time, we managed to get out by 10:30.

In recovery and sleeeeepppy.....

Poor thing's nose is very sore and he's not allowed to sneeze, but I know he's fingers crossed hopeful that soon he'll be able to take a deep breath through two nostrils.

Of course, know I wonder if his voice will sound different once those nasal passages are clear...

Election Day & Night

photo source: abcnews.go.com

The day has came and went and we all know the victor in the presidential election is Barack Obama. And if you know us, you know that we are over the moon about it.

Here in Virginia Beach, we waited an hour in line to vote and most of that time was spent outside in the cold...with an 8 year old. Isaac was thankfully very well behaved, really the little bit of 'problems' we had were to be expected. Do you know a child that can be perfectly behaved and quiet while waiting for an hour with no tv or video games or even a book? So really, I cannot complain.

As we did last election night, we headed over to my parents' house to watch the results. Mom was steady on her wine and getting upset whenever a state was called for Romney. After some slow results coming in and the time creeping on us, Kyle made the call that we should just head on home, since it didn't look like a winner was going to announced soon. Of course, Barack won while we were driving home, Mom called to let us know. Going home didn't get us in bed any faster as we were like lots of other people and all up in the interwebs, virtually shouting our happiness about the results. We are so crazy excited about Obama's victory especially since it was looking so close. I was seriously worried that he was going to lose and I am so thankful that did not happen.

Trick-or-Treating: Kid Style

First off, I do not have a single, solitary photo of Isaac. My camera was at home and it was too dark to use my craptastic camera phone and I forget to ask Blaze or Kyle to use theirs when we actually got inside where there was a light source. Super sorry about the lack of photos, I resorted to stealing one of Mariska in  her purple witch costume from Blaze's Facebook page.

Isaac did a repeat of his Costume from 3 years ago and went as a rockstar. He wanted to do it again since now he has Paper Jamz guitars and they actually play songs compared to using one from Guitar Hero. Funny thing though he that he completely forgot about playing the music for anyone. Kids, go figure. As for Mariska, that hat lasted all of 3.5 seconds before she was over trying to keep it on and handed it off to anyone that would carry it. After about 10 houses Isaac started to complain about being tired but after the threat of calling it quits he wasn't quite so exhausted. He also tried to pass off carrying the guitar around the same time but after being told about the LARGE candy tax involved in taking off part of costume, he snatched that sucker back fast.

After a few Mariska meltdowns and one instance where Blaze turned back to help her not get left behind but  Mariska saw that as Mommy coming to take some candy away (M's bucket would get heavy and so some candy would be offloaded, which is what sparked one Mariska meltdown) and turned away from her mom, which was hilarious to see, we headed back to base camp (that'd be Blaze's place) since it was 8 o'clock and the end of free candy time. Sheesh, that was a long sentence! 

All that running around did eventually tire Isaac out, as he didn't survive the ride home. That I really wish a had a picture of...imagine Isaac, head back, leaning on the car window with his mouth wide open. Gorgeous, right?

Hope you all had a happy Halloween and a really good treat haul. Remember parents, the cost of taking your kids out begging for candy is that you claim half their stash. Candy tax, people, candy tax.