Christmas is FINALLY Over!

I come from a big family on both sides. This comes packed with blessings and curses. One of the curses is trying to get everyone together at the same time. We learned years ago that in order to make any "get together" holiday work for all of us, the paternal and maternal sides of the family for two of us, and all the significant others that we're better off choosing a weekend after the "official" holiday has ended.

Typically we celebrate the 1st or 2nd weekend in January, but due to unforeseen circumstances it got pushed back really late this year. It was a great weekend full of family and laughter, but boy oh boy, I am soooooo glad I can officially put all things Christmas back in the garage now.

Here's a few photos from our final festivities...

With all the cooking to follow, we decided to treat the girl's to
Schoop's Hamburgers Friday Night.

Twas the night before Christmas...

My dad was super excited about his new Chicago
Bears Jersey. He even did a happy dance.

The girl' love snuggling up with their Aunt Bear.

Surprisingly, even after she did this....

Everyone was still pretty tired the next morning.
Especially Lena.

That's all for today, hope everyone had a great weekend!

Sorry About The Future Therapy Kid... Mom's a Little Nuts!

Last night was Lena's choir concert and like all moms, I was extremely proud of my little girl. I'm kicking myself right now, because I already transferred all the videos on my phone over to my external drive last night and forgot to upload them to my YouTube Channel.

My mom wasn't able to make it since her car is broken again, so the moment I got home I hurried up and loaded them onto my regular Facebook page for Gramma to see and completely spaced out everything else. That's okay, I'm certain no one other than Gram wants to see an hour of a children's choir anyway. It's just one of those things that mothers love... When it's their own child. But here she is before we rushed out the door...

I made sure to get there super early, like 45 minutes early, this year to make sure I got good seats. Last year, I ended up stuck at work a little late and by the time I arrived I was seated all the way toward the back and could hardly see my munchkin. Both James and Lena thought I was being a bit excessive (and maybe I was) but there was no way I was not sitting in front this year.

As it turns out, even with all of my over-zealous seat obsession, I watched in almost utter horror as my daughter walked out and promptly walked all the way to the opposite end of the stage from where we were sitting. How could I let this happen? I was on the wrong freaking side!

I immediately leaped up and dashed to the other side of the gym. I'm pretty certain I embarrassed the living daylights out of Lena with my lightening reflexes, since no other parent moved an inch when the kids filed out and Lena had her face buried behind her hands.I suppose leaping like a gazelle across the isle and almost sliding across the gym floor wasn't the smoothest move I could have made. I'm also guessing that either A) the other children were kind enough to inform their parents of what side to sit on or B) that I'm really the only freak parent out there who doesn't care what other people think. I'm going to go with A, if for no other reason that to make myself feel better.

I was full on prepared to sit squarely on the floor (again, there was no way I wasn't sitting in the front). Thankfully, there was a kind old Gramma who took pity on me and had a spare seat next to her that she was kind enough to share with me. I thanked her and said hello to the mom on the other side who literally rolled her eyes at my greeting and proceeded to ignore my existence for the remainder of the evening. Sheesh... Someone's a GRINCH.

The only moment through the whole concert Lena smiled was when her Auntie Ma'mie got there during the second song, otherwise she was busy giving me dirty looks between songs.

But I don't care. I got a front row seat. I tapped the whole darn thing. And we kept the tradition my family has had since we were little and celebrated with DQ afterward.

Three Down, Two To Go

There are certainly benefits of coming from a family the size of a small country... For instance, you don't just have a birthday party, you get a birthday month when you're the spawn of the Nowhere family.

Lena and Paige have birthdays just a few weeks apart and it's been a cycle of celebrations since mid-September. It started back during our trip to Michigan. My grandparents are snow birds so on our final trip to Grand Haven before Christmas comes around we celebrated the girls' birthday with them. A week ago we celebrated with my Indiana family and this weekend we celebrated with the other half of my family up north in Aurora. Sadly, there was no getting out of work for Paige so she didn't get to go with for the lunch part, but Gramma sent back all sorts of goodies.

My step-mom is the birthday queen of our family tree and treated us all to an amazing lunch at a hibachi grill. Lena, being a long time member of this family, has been on several occasions. Her and my mom are kindred seafood spirits and they go to town on the poor unfortunate souls. They were in heaven with the shrimp, scallops, lobster, etc. Not being a huge seafood fan and given the fact that it requires sacrificing a few limbs to purchase, dinning on things that swim are a special treat for Lena.

Anne, on the other hand, is still learning the multitude of personalities in my family and how each one does things differently. She'd never been to a hibachi grill before. You'd think we'd just taken her to Disney World with how excited she got! She wanted to see every corner of the restaurant, wanted to use chop sticks, and didn't complain at all about trying new foods. That by itself is an exceedingly rare occasion. She was just so thrilled by the whole experience that she was willing to take in every moment and every bite of it. She was not however, very fond of them starting the grill...

Anne immediately shot backwards when he lit the oil and you'll notice her slowly schooching back toward the table. Overall all though, the whole family had a great time with Gramma and Auntie Pika. We even got a couple new pets to take home...

Now all we have left is Lena's slumber party with her girl friends this Saturday and birthday dinner / Thanksgiving with James' family next weekend. We're almost to the end... For a couple weeks at least!

Phase or Foreshadowing?

I have insisted for a very long time now that Lena will be the one and only biological child I will ever have. When she was younger, like 3 or 4, I really did want another one. The circumstances and the person that I was with at the time just were not right to venture into baby making territory. As time passed and she got older the idea of starting all over again from infancy just simply did not have the same appeal. Now that she'll be 11 in just 5 more weeks, the fact that I'm sorta feeling the baby bug lately just seems like all out insanity!

Ummmm... Maybe?

I'm not entirely sure who's Koolaid I accidentally drank, but I really think I picked up the wrong cup. This uninvited baby fever is making me feel several cards short of a deck right about now. I was so young when I had Lena, which honestly I think made me a better mom (I had the energy), and I've been looking forward to the fact that I will still be semi-young when she goes off to college. I have always had plans for when that time came.

I had a set idea on how the rest of my days would play out. Granted, I also thought I'd most likely be single for the rest of my child-bearing days as well. I never expected James to come into the picture and I certainly never expected that he'd be the kind of person I could see that sort of future with.

We dated a couple of times before and it just never worked out. When we entered into round 3 I found that he was a totally different person than what I remembered. See, I've known him for almost 8 years and after his divorce from Anne and Paige's mom he was a downright bitter and resentful person (not that I blame him, she did sleep with the neighbor). I could not handle all the negativity that he carried around with him and it just sort of fizzled out the first couple times. Since he learned to let go of his anger I've discovered that he's an amazing person. He certainly puts up with all my crazy antics and loves me despite the drama that comes in spades with my family. He knew what he was getting himself into and the fact that he didn't run screaming in terror from my mother sealed the deal on him being a keeper in my eyes.

It certainly doesn't hurt that he's a damn good father to both of his girls and mine either.

Now that we've been together over a year it has sparked an blitzkrieg from both our families. When are you getting married? When are you going to give me another grandchild? When, when, when??? Holy sh*t people, slow down! Speaking from two people both previously married and both previously divorced, neither one of us is in any particular hurry. We love each other and we will get there, but weddings are freaking expensive and damnit, I want a house more. Anne and Lena need to not share a room any longer than absolutely necessary for the sake of our sanity. We have plans, we have goals, and ultimately... We have a budget.

I have to admit though, since getting into the blogging community and seeing everyone else's babies that I'm feeling the long dormant yearning. When we went to Toys 'R Us today for Anne to spend her gift card, she wasn't the only one day dreaming about buying up half the store. We just happened to be browsing in a different section than her and Lena. While the two girls were drooling over the new DISNEY INFINITY Starter Pack Xbox 360 we were fantasizing about car seats, cribs, and the Lightning McQueen toddler bed.

I know how badly he wants another baby. He always planned to have more and the idea of trying for a boy is one that excites him to no end. It weighs on me that I'm the last hope for carrying on his family name sometimes and his mother certainly has no problem laying that one on thick every time we come over. His mom and his sister have already planned my baby shower, or at least that's what they told me a few weeks ago as they corned me in the kitchen with the when, when, when's.

But I don't feel it for their sake right now, I feel it for mine. Every time I see someone with a baby there is a huge part of me that is jealous. Usually I make myself think about everything that comes with it: lack of sleep, dirty diapers, bottles, baby bags, etc. And then... I think about the socks. Damn tiny baby socks, they get me every time. I just can't picture those itty bitty pieces of cotton and not melt.

Part of me is hoping this is just a phase that I'm going through and part of me is hoping I'm just crazy enough to do it.

And Today We Remember...

While most people are remembering those that were lost on September 11th, my family is remembering the man who celebrated his last birthday that year. I know it's a day that I will certainly never forget, not because of the attack, but because it was the last time we celebrating my dad being alive. He turned 39 that year, far too young for it to be his last. My dad lost his battle with cancer only 5 months later.

My dad was an amazing man. Even though my parents split up when I was 2 he was always a constant part of my life. I was lucky enough for my parents to remain friends and always put me ahead of whatever they had going on between the two of them. My mom tells me that she used to call him and wish him "Happy not anniversary!" every year because they had gotten married on his birthday when they were 18.

As any typical child would be, I had wanted my parents to get back together. But I'm extremely grateful that they didn't. I ended up with two amazing step-parents when I was 9 and am thankful for it every day. The woman my dad would spend the rest of his days with did something that being with my mom never could have. It made him happy. He told me once that he had never believed in love at first sight until he met her. She's my mom just as much as my biological mom is. I have a brother and sister from their marriage (I have a lot more from my mom's second marriage) and I wish they would have gotten to know to know him the way that I did. I am grateful that I can actually remember him. I remember his laugh, I remember the foods that he loved, I remember this lessons he taught me and the things that he told me. I remember when he struggled with addiction and I remember the courage he had to ask for help and walk away from it because he love me more than anything else.

I make it a point to talk about him all the time when I'm with my siblings. They're pretty grown up now and I want them to know what an amazing person he was and how proud he would be of them. My mom has done a wonderful job raising them without him, but I will always wish they had been as lucky as I was. Happy birthday daddy and I love you!

Family Filled Weekend

I had originally started this post last night, but decided I just didn't have the energy. By the time our house quieted down, all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch, watch a little TV, and then head off to bed.

Saturday we went to James' parents' house for his brother's birthday dinner. Since his dad has crones, we do it earlier in the day because he doesn't typically last more than a few hours with all the excitement that having 13 people over brings. I was incredibly surprised at how late we were there. We didn't end up leaving until after 8pm and we'd arrived around 2pm. Anne and Lena ended up going home with his brother and sister-in-law because they wanted to spend the night with the cousins. You can tell you're a parent when the fact that we got to go to the grocery store with no kids was exciting for us!

Saturday before we left my dad had called the house to talk to James about the upcoming Bear's game. My parents moved recently so they haven't bothered having cable put in just yet. What originally was supposed to be him coming over to watch the game turned into a house full of people. Now, I'm certainly not a football fan, but it ended up being a fun day anyhow. My mom and my brother came with him and then because the girls had spent the night we had his brother's family over too. We set out a bunch of snacks, cooked out on the grill, and let the girls bike ride all over the neighborhood.

I was really pleased with the way everything turned out. By the time it was done I was exhausted... I love busy weekends though, especially when they're filled with family.

My Beautiful Princess, Little Man, & Baby Mia

I know I've been pretty much MIA all week and I'm sorry about that. I haven't had much time with everything that has been going on. It seems that every time I sat down and logged in I had to log right off again. However, now that I'm here, I can't think of much to write, so I'm just going to share a few photos instead. My daughter had the Daddy Daughter Dance Friday and that's part of the reason for all the commotion here. I just have to say, I'm so grateful for my brother in law. He's awesome and I'm glad that Lena has so many fantastic men in her life. I know that it doesn't replace the fact that her father is moron, but it certainly makes moments like these much easier to enjoy.

Oh and one more thing.... I finally had the pleasure of meeting baby Mia! My friend and I have been stuck together since we were 9 (so the last two decades). We went to his son's 4th birthday party this weekend and I finally got to meet his new baby girl (who honestly, at three months, isn't so "new" anymore).

My favorite Little Man in the whole world. Happy 4th Birthday!

I though I'd be nice and give Chris and Noelle a break. She slept in my arms all night .