I Give it Five Stars

This last weekend was just plain wonderful.  Everyone had a little something on the schedule just for them, as well as a family event for all of us.   It couldn’t have been more perfect had I really tried to make it exactly that way.  

It began with Friday evening and my youngest son’s birthday sleepover with three of his friends.   They had a great time together complete with popcorn, games, movies, cheesecake, laughing and more laughing ‘til the wee hours of the morning.  I had to send my apologies off with each boy for how tired each of them were going to be come 5PM.

Saturday afternoon my husband headed north for  some time to play field hockey with his friends while my youngest played games with Nani and Grandpa for the afternoon.  My oldest and myself headed downtown so he could participate in the annual Tuba Christmas concert outside in the park.  They practiced for 90 minutes in the basement of the church (which was nice and warm I might add) and then played outside for an hour-long concert in the 28°F weather.  His lips and fingers were pretty much numb thirty minutes into it.  Everyone then joined us at the park for the concert, which was fantastic!

That night I spent an hour with my parents at the church choir concert and enjoyed the wonderful music and soloists and ALL the decorations galore.  The songs were beautiful and the little girl on the front row in her gold star costume was about as “Broadway” as a five year old could be.  So adorable.

To finish the weekend off we slept in a little on Sunday, had a late breakfast, then finished off homework and headed to our friends’ church for a wonderful production of Scrooge.   The pews were filled and the show was great.  It was even more enjoyable watching our friends who were in the production and all their dancing and singing.   It was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.   The spirit of Christmas and togetherness was upon us the entire time. Overall I give it five stars and I’d like to order another three days just like them for next weekend.

Change of Plans

Yesterday was my youngest son’s 10th birthday.  He had friends over on Friday for a sleepover and stayed up too late, had pizza and cheesecake for dessert and overall had a great time.  He has such a wonderful group of friends who are always a joy to have over, which makes saying “yes” to a sleepover so easy.

My sweet 10 year old.

On Sunday, we made Rice Krispie treats together so he could take them as snacks for his class on Monday, his actual birthday.  He melted the butter and stirred in the marshmallows.  I loved watching him stir and tell me, “I don’t need your help, Mom.”  He’s growing up so quickly. We packed them up and set them by his backpack to take to school.

Chipmunk cheeks filled with marshmallows!

Yesterday was his birthday.  This is how he spent most of the morning…an unexpected change of plans.

Home sick on his birthday.

Sick on the couch.  A head cold and fever.  He seemed to take it all in stride however.  Grandma brought him some “medicine” which closely resembled chocolate chip ice cream and I took him to Best Buy in the afternoon to use his gift card on a game he’s been wanting.  This will probably be a day he’ll remember and wanted it to have some “happy” memories from the day and not just of him being sick. 

I tried to get him to close his eyes (don’t dare call it a “nap” when you’re 10!!), but no such luck.

He felt better after dinner, so we watched The Sorcerer’s Apprentice together since he felt better.   Even after missing out on celebrating his birthday at school yesterday he still had a pretty good day…….ice cream, movie, trip to get a new game and popsicles on the couch. I told him that because he was home sick, that actually made his birthday one day longer and will celebrate it at school the next day.  He was thrilled with that.   So, I guess being sick on his birthday wasn’t all bad after all.  

My Ten-Year Old Son

My baby is turning ten years old today.   I feel like it was just yesterday that he was my tiny little boy wrapped in a yellow blanket sleeping all day and always happy. Where does the time go?  

He doesn’t need my help tying his shoes anymore or zipping his coat.  He can make his own breakfast and has an opinion about what he wears to school.  He’s becoming so independent now and has such confidence in himself that he makes us so proud.  He’s a quiet soul, but is funny as all get out and always surprises us with his quick comebacks to any adult conversation.  It may not look like he’s paying attention, but he is.   He’s so polite and courteous to everyone and is the model cub scout in every way.

He’s my little companion in the car and will go on any errand with you as long as there are gummy worms in the end.  He never complains and has such an easy-going nature, well, most of the time.   Add a lack of sleep to the mix and you could get a different child at any given moment. 

As his parents, we are so proud of all he’s done and will continue to do in this world.  I see great things in his future.  Perhaps he’ll be an artist, a computer engineer, an Air Force Cadet or maybe even a geologist.  The sky is the limit, but do know that this last ten years has been a blessing for us because he’s given us and our family so much love.   I love you from here to the moon…………(I can still say that, even if you’re double digits old.) Happy Birthday, my little boy.  I love you.

Extra Lights and a Cat Ornament

This is our first Christmas in our new house and so was excited to see what the house would look like all decorated.   I had thrown out several old and tattered decorations before we moved, then sold 50% of what décor I had left at our garage sale prior to the move and was still surprised by how much I have left over that I didn’t use. 

I put the remaining decorations in a plastic tub in the basement storage left to collect dust and be of no use, until today.

One of my friends is an angel.  Really, she is. (You can see her halo and wings when she’s not watching.) She has requested any extra Christmas décor to decorate a foster family’s tree tomorrow for five little girls that have never had a Christmas.   Never had a Christmas.

This just made my heart pound.  I had to do something.  I found the tree stand we used last year for our real tree (that I so desperately had to have and will probably never have another real tree again), found the box with all the extra lights in it and then remembered we had a whole box of teddy bears in the garage.  But were there five?

I went to the garage to look in the box and found four.   Rats!  My husband decided to check in the other box next to them and sure enough, there was one more bear.  Five!  They will each get a new home to five little girls who will love them and hold them.

A much better life than living in the garage in a box, don’t you think?  (God Wink don’t you think?  Five bears for five little girls?)

So tomorrow, I will get the joy of helping someone decorate their home so that they will have a  wonderful tree and decorations to share with their family just like the rest of us will.  It will be wonderful to look forward to.

The Mall Today

I actually went to the mall today for the first time in a long time.  I don’t like the mall at all.   Teenybopper shops, loud music, clothes in windows that no one really wears, and don’t forget the parking lot; just a few of the reasons I’m not a huge fan.

I was in search of a birthday present (or two) for our youngest son who will be entering double digits in a matter of days.  How did that happen?  It seems like only yesterday…..anyway.

I was walking through the mall with a mission to find A, B and/or C and was almost run over by not two, not three, but four texting, oblivious to the world in front of them, people.  I have to admit, I like my little gadget of a phone and use it to find phone numbers and to answer  the trivia question on the way home from school, but I just don’t have that busy of a schedule that I have to multi-task every moment of the day.  I certainly don’t text and walk into people.

As I walked the mall from store to store, I realized that almost everyone (probably 75%) had their phone in their hand or right up in their face.   There should be a word for it.   It’s like the walking dead.  Are they really searching for coupons for the next store ahead? I don’t think so.  Are they telling the nurse how much medicine to give to the patient?  I don’t think so.   Nothing they could be saying, browsing or texting could be more important than being polite to those around you. 

I really try to use my phone when it’s appropriate.  There are times when I am on it and I probably shouldn’t be, but I think those times are fairly infrequent.  It’s something I am conscious about, but I don’t think the rest of the world is, or at least they weren’t today.

Next time you’re out and about walking in public, take note of how many people you see with their phone in their face.  It’s a trend I’m not a fan of.  What happened to saying hello to people as you passed them?   What happened to that trend?  Just curious.