Candy coated raindrops

Sprite's Keeper's weekly Spin Cycle is about Halloween this week, and um, yeah, we've been doing a LOT of BOO-ing lately. Tonite was all about the candy and the rain and the new neighborhood! It's the first time the boys have really trick-or-treated since we live WAY out in the country, but our new neighborhood makes a real party of it, with several trailers full of cute kids, people gathering to party and hand out candy along the way, and kidsKIDSkids having fun...the perfect Halloween!

And they're off...
Candy (or picture) overload, before it even begins

Game faces ON

Their candy chariot

And then there was rain....

which made for some cool pix for the boys...

and some dedicated (soaked) mommies!

Jack and I riding in the hay...and our new neighbor making silly behind me ;-)Entering our new cul-de-sac....they know how to do Halloween, even in the rain!

Harry getting his BOO on

and cracking himself up - it was a LOT of fun!

Jack and Grayson in a serious lite saber battle

We headed back to our old neighborhood, where there is an amazing Haunted Trail - Dean usually takes the boys after our Halloween party, but since we didn't have one this year, I got to check out the awesome setup. They start working on it in August!

Harry's favorite scene (of about 10) - pirates...surprised?!

Done! Jack filled his pail and both of his gloves....sorry, teachers, but I don't think the extra hour is going to be enough to balance out all that sugar ;-)

Happy Halloween!

Soul For Real's Candy Rain

ABC - Spin Cycle

Antsy girl
Bound for some
Craved
Decompression as
Encouraged by my
Fantastic,
Generous
Husband who has given me these
Incredible and
Joyful
Kids. My
List of
ME would
Not be complete if I
Omitted the wonderful
People whose
Qualities have helped
Really
Shape
The
Unusual
View that I take of the
World. Sending
XOXO's to those of you who have contributed.
Yes, it's good to get back to the
Zone.


Posted as part of Jen's Spin Cycle about Memes - check them out

09/24/09Harry: I miss you, Daddy, but I have to go do my work now!Jack: I got lonely and missed my family when I was over there.
The Jackson Five

Photographs and Memories - Spin Cycle

Jen's weekly Spin was about "Memories" a few weeks ago, and I've been Reminiscing, taking pix and humming tunes ever since. I had almost given up hope of running across another bicentennial quarter, especially with the minting of the state quarters in the last decade, but I lucked into one the other day and got all mushy inside. My beloved Gramma and I loved to collect these quarters and wheat pennies - it's been so long since I've found either, but it's always a gift I cherish when I find one and am overcome by a rush of Precious Memories.

I have so many wonderful childhood memories - from singing Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head atop Jimmy's shoulders sometime around the age of 4, to falling for the Doobie Brothers after hearing Black Water - I was 6 and at my first sleep away camp, and it was an anthem of sorts...we had no idea what it meant. Jim Croce's You Don't Mess Around With Jim was popular when I was in 1st grade, and I can still remember us all hanging out by the front door singing it while we waited for our parents to pick us up. I saw the Doobies, Aerosmith, Bob Seger, Jimmy Buffett and all sorts of cool 70's acts. There are all sorts of awful 80's songs that bring back a rush of teen power and angst, and great dance tunes that remind me of the wild days of college...it seems like just about every song I hear evokes some sort of memory, and I usually toss out the bad as soon as they rear their ugly heads.

What brings back memories for you? Do you tend to remember the good times or the bad?

And seeing as I need some kid photos, how about this flashback and last weekend's updated versions?

This is Harry's foot during the first days, circa March 2004...
and last weekend - gulp!

When I realized how much his foot had grown, I decided to get a hand shot...

and ones of Jack, so he's not 'jealous for another day' ;-)

And in case you're wondering, songs that bring back baby love the most so far: Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World, Bob Marley's Get Up Stand Up (I saw today that there's a new kids' cd BisforBob), Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want, Rascal Flatts' (yuck) Highway for Jack and Everyday for Harry. The boys love music and playing 'name that tune' and naming the artist - it's been fun, so far!

Happy Reminiscing - check out Sprite's Keeper for this and other great spins - give it a whirl yourself!

Jim Croce

Oh Jealousy, look what you've done...

Jealousy is the topic for this week's Spin Cycle, and it reminded me of this cool book that I found at a book fair while in those angsty, deep thinking days of grad school.

I think she captured it pretty well - it's one of the most corrosive emotions, IMHO. It can be silly or tragic, and I've come a long way in terms of letting things go...there's still work to be done, but being blessed and content eases a lot of those negative feelings for me. I've hopefully found more healthy ways to strive for things, relationships, etc. that I want than to let the green man rule - May the green stay far from us all!

Good Charlotte's Jealousy

Summertime, and the livin' is easy - Spin Cycle

So I'm catching up on laundry tonite, and Jen's Spin Cycle is getting a little attention so check out the summer plans of some of the blogosphere and join in if you want :-)


So, truth be told, the whole year is pretty amazing for us, but this is the first summer that schedule's have changed, we're prepping for kindergarten and it does have a different rhythm this time around.


The boys have two VBS's at the end of this month, and will go to a 3-morning summer camp and a 5 full-day summer camp just before school starts. The free movies and bowling schedules are out, and we're just waiting. Other than that, we're taking it easy and enjoying the slower pace and spontaneity that summer allows. We'll have lots of adventures with friends, trying especially to spend time with those who'll be in different schools next year.

We've made our vacation plans and will join the ranks of regular summer folk, forgoing our usual off-season trip because they'll be in school :yippeesniff:



Here's what they looked like three years ago, on their second Ocracoke voyage - how's that for glee??

How's summer shaping up for you?? Enjoy it all!

06/007/09 Harry: The answer will be YES! (waggling eyebrows and trying to convince us) Jack:That's why you should never fly a house! (while watching UP)

Ella Fitgerald

As I love you tonite - Spin Cycle

Jen over at Sprite's Keeper comes up with all sorts of writing assignments that lead to fun spins - last week's was on saying "I love you" - check out the other spins if you have time!

Dean and I have been saying "I love you" for over 10 years now, and I'm saving the cheesy stuff for August, with the exception of tonite's dinner art....I'm nothing if not classy ;-)

How lucky am I that I can't even keep track of the number of times it's said in a day much less the more than 3500 days I've been blessed with this love. Thank you, babe!

We've been signing "I love you" since forever, this is the only picture I can find of the boys signing, but they still love to tell us - I'm cherishing it all.
There were days when they first became more verbal and needed more clear discipline when I would catch myself saying "I love you, but...." Hearing those old tapes often helps focus on the goals, and I made a conscious effort to change it to "I love you, so...." It seems to be working so far. They haven't used love a lot, yet, and I'm hoping our initial "love is not a weapon" helps them respect the emotion and not try to use it too much for manipulation.

Here are some random loved and loving pix - you'll find the ones of them noticing each other for the first time, kissing and hugging the first times in the slideshow. Tho I find them being less demonstrative with each other lately, I often find them sharing a space and marvel at what it must be like to have such a relationship :wub:

Harry

Jack's silly face

Dean and Jack all lovey last month

Dr. Hook's Years From Now

she wasn't good but she had good intentions

I am LATE - and I hate it since one of my biggest quirks in terms of manners is all about timeliness. The worst thing about being late is that it seems to imply that the other person's time is not as important as yours, and it drives me crazy to be late....but I've been lazy, and hope this 4-fer will catch me up and put me back in Jen's good graces :-)

Over the last one month +, Jen's Spin Cycle has had some great topics: quirks, time, celebrity, manners, and most recently, mistakes (you can check out the great spins for each of these by clicking the links)

I have been thinking about them all and sort of formulating my own spins on the topics, just haven't made it to the writing phase on any one - today's the day. I'm going to put four together into one, and maybe even try to sneak celebrity into it ;-)

As far as quirks go, I can hang right in there with the quirkiest! I'm partial to letters and numbers and have a few organizing things that I try to subdue so as not to be too far out there ;-) Of course, I already mentioned the time/manners/quirk vortex of timeliness....if you look in my dishwasher, you'll see my pitiful attempts at streamlining the unloading efforts...any time I can add numbers to 13, I consider it serendipitous (tho I guess if I'm looking for them, it may not count)...as an only child, I made up all sorts of word games and loved palindromes - I even found a website that is for people like me, so it must not be too quirky, right? Many an hour was whiled away trying to make words 'equal'...by assigning number values to letters (a=1, b=2, etc), I would work to make entire sentences have equal value between the words. Ummmm :blush:

My favorite quirky musician is Lyle Lovett - She's Hot To Go (I always wanted that Ugly From The Front shirt, but was never brave enough), Here I Am, etc. etc. etc.

Time is a funny thing - I never seem to have enough these days, but still try to cherish every minute. Some of the best time I've spent lately may appear to be wasted to others, is not very productive, but is full of love and memories. Schedules have consumed my life the last few years, and it's a real pleasure to let time pass at a more natural pace these days. The truest truism of parenting has been that 'time flies'

Some favorite time songs: Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted, Lyle Lovett's Closing Time, Clint Black's Killin' Time, Lindsey Buckinghams' Time Precious Time, Rolling Stones' Time Is On My Side, Vaughan Brothers' Tick Tock, Jim Croce's Time In A Bottle, Dr. Hook's Years From Now

Manners have consumed a lot of our parenting efforts these last years, and they seem to be sticking so far....I've upped the ante since Jen posted about manners, and we've been working on transitioning requests to 'may I....' They're getting it. Jack's favorite manners have to do with people (ladies first is a constant for him) while Harry's tend to focus on the wording (precisely phrasing things) and the rules ('you have to say...') are constants for him. My own worst manner blunder is interrupting...again with the seeming like your agenda is more important, which is truly not the case for me - the thoughts are just so fleeting and I have trouble controlling the impulse. So to all of you whom I've interrupted, please know that I'm making an effort :blush:

I don't really know any songs about manners, but did find Third World's Manners and ran across Bad Manners' Lip Up, Fatty, which reminded me of my old bosses' forays into cool slang...

We all make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. Before I met my Prince Charming, I made the mistake of marrying someone who was not right for me...luckily, we figured it out quickly, but not before a plant almost died. I'd received it as a college graduation gift and it slowly began to lose leaves, getting down to one remaining leaf the week that my ex and I parted ways. After he left, the air seemed cleared and the plant began to rebound. Just before marrying Dean, I had to divide it because it had gotten so abundant. This is one of the THREE planters that have grown from that single leaf....

...I take it as a good sign ;-)

Some favorite mistake songs: Lyle's Her First Mistake, Brad Paisley's Make A Mistake, Sheryl Crow's My Favorite Mistake, and another I can't remember at the moment (Queen, maybe?)

I have looked for the picture I have of Barry Gibb with a good friend circa 1978, but alas I can't find it - that's as close as I get to celebrity....it was a REALLY big deal back then!

Some favoriate celebrity songs: Brad Paisley's Celebrity, 3 Dog Night's Celebrate and my all-time favorite 'celebrity' quote: Billy Joel - 'a star is just a ball of gas'

Hope you're able to stop by some of the spins, and maybe even give it a whirl yourself some week :-)

Lyle Lovett's Good Intentions

They'll tax you any way they can

It's that time of year, and my DH has gotten me on a better track...I seriously used to have to take 4/14 off from work because I always waited until the absolute last moment....I miss the parties, but not the stress!

I've been thinking about taxes and thought it might be fun to spin it differently....what would you choose to pay for, consumption wise? My consumption tax would be consumed by:

Personally: computer games, blogs, movies, pizza delivery
Kid-wise: PBS shows, books, Laurie Berkner music, fountains, hotels, driving trips

Since I am not the most creative, and Jen at Sprite's Keeper opened this week's Spin Cycle as a free-for-all, I thought I'd use this and hope to get some fun and creative comments ;-)

What do you consume most? Would you happily pay for it rather than lose it?

Jerry Piper's Sick Of Paying Taxes

Hey, Jude (Trike-A-Thon pledges) - SpinCycle

This is one of the first songs I can really remember taping (yes, one of those big boxy recorders) - I was watching some American Bandstand show when I was about 10 years old and worked thru all the parts of taping the song, playing it back about a million times, etc.

Now, in the grown-up world, St. Jude does amazing things for children and their families who are fighting to SURVIVE and thrive thru their battles with deadly illnesses. The St. Jude Trike-A-Thon is a week-long program addressing safety and cancer - on March 27th, the kids will ride for 30 minutes and collect donations for this worthy cause (typically 25 laps, or a specific amount for the event). The boys' preschool is partcipating for the third year - they have a pretty modest goal of $1500 this year, with 54 students participating....if you would like to participate and help us bust that goal, please email me or leave your request in the comments section - TIA for any and all support!

This is the cute t-shirt they may get!

I donated platelets for the first time today, so it's sort of been an all-around cancer day. Apparently, I have 'great platelets' all curly and lots of 'em! :blush:

Jen at Sprite's Keeper assigned Survival for this week's Spin Cycle...and the timing is perfect for helping others survive! Do whatever you can, and if it means donating J&H's trike-a-thon, all the better - please contact me by 3/25 so I can take care of all the paperwork stuff, and TIA!

The Beatles

We're adventuring!

Jen at Sprite's Keeper assigned Adventure as this week's Spin Cycle - check out the other adventurers!

Since I have the word in my blog title, I was going to do a thorough job of researching it, but then I got distracted at the end of the 'adventure' entry in dictionary.com and wanted to share it with all you wordies:  
The Visual Thesaurus - it's totally cool but has a fee after an initial trial

...and this is how many of my pursuits turn into adventures - a little bit of distractibility, a little bit of intrigue, a lot of superficiality, and a desire to share it all.

Of all the definitions I saw, I like "what must happen" best, with the exception of this Sesame Street song:

An adventure is something we promise is going to excite you(Hahh-ah-ah-ah-ahh)
An adventure is something as thrilling as it can be(Hahh-ah-ah-hah-ah-ah-ahhh)
Adventures make wonderful stories and so we invite you, yeah(Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooooooh)
To hear about something that happened to my friends and me.(Hah-ah-ah-ah-ah. Hah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhhhh. Oh!)

Then there's this Ella Fitzgerald love song:

Time and again I've longed for adventure,
Something to make my heart beat the faster.
What did I long for? I never really knew.
Finding your love I've found my adventure,
Touching your hand, my heart beats the faster,
All that I want in all of this world is you.
You are the promised kiss of springtime
That makes the lonely winter seem long.
You are the breathless hush of evening
That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.
You are the angel glow that lights a star,
The dearest things I know are what you are.
Some day my happy arms will hold you,
And some day I'll know that moment divine,
When all the things you are, are mine!

And how about the Violent Femmes:
Life is an adventure,made for an adventurer.Made just for the boy who can,grow up strong and become a man. Nothing will bother you,you will do what you want to.Laughes and loves and hopes and dreams,action will supply the means.

All the references I've found relate to the homo issues surrounding poor B&E, but I still like the song despite all the controversy: Sesame Street - Bert and Ernie's Great Adventure

Change Is Good - Spin Cycle

Jen's Spin Cycle for the week is about Change, and I am feeling a bit Band-ish rather than political or philosophical, so here are their words and a glimpse at the state of change at our house

Change is then, change is now, Change is what, change is how

Change is this and change is that, Change is where change is at

Change is good

Change is yes, change is no, Change is everywhere you go

Change is right, change is wrong, Change is here, change is gone

Change is good

You can change your life, Find a new way to go

You can change your world, You don't even know

Life's a long road, Lighten up your load

Change is good

You can run but you can't hide, From the things you feel inside

You can laugh or you can cry, Kiss all your tears goodbye

All you got to do, Is try and try you should

Change is good

Change is high, change is low, Changes come and changes go

Change is this and change is that, Change is where change is at

Change is good

You can pine your life away, Let others pass you by

You can climb a mountain high, Like an eagle in the sky

All you got to do, Is try and try you should

Change is good

Change is never done, Something better has begun

A change is gonna come

Change is good

They have just begun to call coins 'change' -

they used to be 'wishes' since we tossed them in the fountain

and dreamed all sorts of dreams :sniff:

At least now it's a fun thing they share with Dean - dividing his spare change every day and putting it into their banks.

The Band

The more you laugh The more you fill with glee

Jen's Spin Cycle for the week is all about Laughter, and I must say my laughter has gotten liter and nicer since having kiddies. An example of the humor I grew up with:

For a fat girl, you don't stink much.

Funny, shocking and not so nice.

Humor tended to be at the expense of someone, mostly myself, but my younger years were fairly pointed and cruel.

These days, the laughter comes in this form ~

Mary Poppins and Uncle Albert I Love To Laugh

What Is Love?

In honor of Heart Day (and in conjunction with Sprite's Keeper's Spin Cycle), I asked them separately "what is love?"

Jack: When your heart is happy. I love you. I love Daddy. I love Harry. I love my whole family!

Harry: Hugs and kisses. You can snuggle me! Love your Mommy. Love your Daddy. Love your Grammys and Papas. Love your sister....(anyone missing??LOL) (I prompted him a little, and he got there with a big wink!)

Hope you are able to surround yourself with love this weekend!

Haddaway

People who believe in music are the happiest people I've ever seen!

I've been a slacker about Jen's Spin Cycle lately and really don't know how to respond to this week's topic: Songs! I mean, my whole site is about songs, many of which I don't really love, but the words fit our lives at any given moment. I can't decide on a favorite, a life anthem, or much of anything else in my post-stomach-icky haze, so I'm just going to tell you that music makes me really happy.

The first song I ever bought was the Doobie Brothers' Black Water - I was about 6 and missed all the nuance, but hey, it had a grooving beat ;-) I loved Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog as much as Jack currently loves John Mayer's version of Route 66. Every moment of my life has had some sort of soundtrack, and listening to music can take me back there in a nanosecond.

I want to have the Vaughn Brothers' Tick Tock and Jimmy Buffett's Defying Gravity played at whatever sort of goodbye service I have (yeah, I have a problem with control to think about this, I guess!). The Indigo Girls' Up On The Watershed is my mental KITA song. My all-time favorites are Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Lyle Lovett, James Taylor and most recently Brad Paisley. I've been lucky enough to see them all a few times, with the exception of BP.

I listen to music to suit my mood, to get me into another mood, to make myself, my love, my kids happy, because I can't figure out the words on my own, and because it's there. I love all sorts of music, which is probably why, along with having limited mental capacity, I can't figure out how to spin this one.

Check out this week's spins for some great tunage! May your days be melodious ~

Here are the lyrics for those songs I mentioned:

Defying Gravity
By: jesse winchester,1975
I live on a big round ballI never do dream I may fallAnd even one day if I doWell Ill jump up and smile back at youI dont even know where we areThey tell me were circlin a starWell Ill take their word I dont knowBut Im dizzy so it may be soIm riding a big round ballI never do dream I may fallAnd even the high must lay low (even the high must lay low)But when I do fall I will be glad to goYes when I do fall I will be glad to go

Tick Tock
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dream That all the people of the world got together on the same wavelength And began helping one another Now in this dream, universal love was the theme of the day Peace and understanding and it happened this way The sick, the hungry, had smiles on their faces The tired and the homeless had family all around The streets and the cities were all beautiful places And the walls came tumblin' down People of the world all had it together Had it together for the boys and the girls And the children of the world look forward to a future Remember Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock people, time's tickin' away Remember that Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock people, time's tickin' away I had a vision of blue skies from sea to shining sea All the trees in the forest stood strong and tall again Everything was clean and pretty and safe for you and me The worst of enemies became the best of friends People of the world all had it together Had it together for the boys and the girls Children of the world look forward to a future Remember Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock people, time's tickin' away Remember that Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock people, time's tickin' away Remember that, remember that Remember that, remember that People of the world all had it together Had it together for the boys and the girls Children of the world look forward to a future Remember Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock people, time's tickin' away Remember that Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock people, time's tickin' away

Up On The Watershed
Thought I knew my mindLike the back of my handThe gold and the rainbowBut nothing panned out as I plannedAnd they say only milk and honeysGonna make your soul satisfiedWell I better learn how to swimCause the crossing is chilly and wideTwisted guardrails on the highwayBroken glass on the cementA ghost of someones tragedyHow recklessly my time has been spentThey say that its never too lateBut you dont, you dont get any youngerWell I better learn how to starve the emptinessAnd feed the hungerUp on the watershedStanding at the fork in the roadYou can stand there and agonizeTill your agonys your heaviest loadYoull never fly as the crow fliesGet used to a country mileWhen youre learning to faceThe path at your paceEvery choice is worth your whileAnd theres always retrospect(when youre looking back)To light a clearer pathEvery five years or so I look back on my lifeAnd I have a good laughYou start at the topGo full circle roundCatch a breezeTake a spillBut ending up where I started againMakes me wanna stand stillUp on the watershedStanding at the fork in the roadYou can stand there and agonizeTill your agonys your heaviest loadYoull never fly as the crow fliesGet used to a country mileWhen youre learning to faceThe path at your paceEvery choice is worth your whileStepping on a crackBreaking up and looking backTil every tree limb overhead just seems to sit and waitTil every step you take becomes a twist of fateUp on the watershedStanding at the fork in the roadYou can stand there and agonizeTill your agonys your heaviest loadYoull never fly as the crow fliesGet used to a country mileWhen youre learning to faceThe path at your paceEvery choice is worth your whileUp on the watershedStanding at the fork in the roadYou can stand there and agonizeTill your agonys your heaviest loadYoull never fly as the crow fliesGet used to a country mileWhen youre learning to faceThe path at your paceEvery choice is worth your whileAnd when youre learning to faceThe path at your paceEvery choice is worth your while

Perry Como's I Believe In Music

Oh, The Guilt!

Jen's Spin Cycle topic for this week is 'guilt' - we all know it, sometimes it works for us and sometimes against. I'm feeling lazy, and not a bit guilty about it btw since I just got back from the gym (SayHA), so here's what you get from me this week.

Guilt, don't LUGit too long or far ;-)

Nirvana

Resolution of Happiness - Spin Cycle & Tricky Tuesday

Jen's Spin Cycle challenge for the week is to share your resolutions with the blogosphere. This is a tough one for me because I typically follow JB's approach in Trip Around The Sun (Jimmy Buffett):Yes, I'll make a resolution(Martina McBride):That I'll never make another one. I make little goals about once a week, sometimes once a day, and only occasionally meet them.

I like the idea of a resolution of happiness, and found these fun articles today. I'm killing two birds with one stone, which makes me happy, so there you go...already on the way 2 whole days early - yay me!

10 Real-Mommy Resolutions

Toddler Behavior Resolutions

Happy 2009

Everclear's Don't Change

ETA: I hit publish before thinking that it's only Monday. sheesh! An update on our behavior paper chain - they liked it enough to start another one for January. I have no scientific evidence that it worked, but I do know what Jack said this morning: "I want to wear this shirt, but if I let Harry wear it because he wants to, will I earn another link?" Woohoo!

No secret santa for me - Spin Cycle

Jen's Spin Cycle for this week is 'secret santa', a chance to introduce a blog we really enjoy. I'm a little intimidated because I just found this blog, have no creative juices left after all the Christmas Jollies, and am still trying to take more than four breaths without coughing up a lung....but I couldn't NOT introduce this awesome site, even though I've only really seen a tiny morsel and she has a huge audience (tho nowhere near as cool as all you SCers, right?!?) So, with only one more slight apology for not doing her true justice, I offer up my gift to you all:

I ran across The Pioneer Woman Cooks right before Thanksgiving with this post about homemade cranberry sauce.....I spent a few moments at the holiday table wishing I'd actually made it when I looked at the cranberry sauce I'd always thought of as 'normal' with a new eye after seeing Ree's amazing pix and great instructions. I've 'watched' her cook all sorts of amazing things, and will actually try these carrots for our Christmas dinner.

Ree seems to take on any challenge in the kitchen (and maybe elsewhere based on my quick peek at the homepage), takes fantastic pix of the process, and has an amazing ability to empower even the most novice cook! The site is so easy to navigate, you can search any recipes (and likely much more), and she's funny. Oh, yeah, and she gives away free stuff ALL the time...good free stuff! If you like to cook, can't cook, dream of cooking, you'll be happy here :-)

If you know more about her, please comment here since there's a fair amount of Spin Cyclers who pop thru here and expectations are high ;-)

Happy Cooking!

Zebrahead's (anti-Christmas)Deck The Halls

Yule (B)log - Spin Cycle

Jen's Spin Cycle for this week is all about your blog - how you named it and other bloggy experiences.

HarryJack was what the daughter of my good friend Lori called the boys when she was about a year and they were newborns. For some reason it stuck, maybe because it sounds awfully pirate-y ;-) Lots of other people lump their names together, but often as JackHarry.

I had been sending out emails to family and friends with groups of pix, and often found myself titling them something related to 'adventures'. It got to be sort of overwhelming and I never knew who really wanted to see and hear all our stories, plus the blog seemed like a good alternative to the scraps of paper that I planned to work into some sort of souvenir once they are done with us. This way people can read what they want when they want, I can try to keep track of the little moments that sometimes get lost in the shuffle. When I first started it, Dean was travelling a lot and it was a nice way to let him 'see' our day and have an excuse to watch the slideshow so he didn't miss us as much.

Somehow I stumbled upon a few blogs along the way and met a lot of nice (and snarky, even better!) bloggy friends. Though I'm still a novice at most things cyber and have only the goal of recording our lives, it's a lot more fun (and social) way to do it than all that jotting of notes on scraps of paper!

So, here we are, always glad to find an adventure, see friendly faces, and spread a little Merry along the way - thanx for stopping by :-)

Keep Christmas With You All Through The Year - Spin Cycle

Jen, the Keeper of the Spin Cycle, asked us to post about our Holiday Newsletters, you know the long lists of amazing family accomplishments that start weighing down mailboxes long before I'm ever ready to think about the year ending. You've seen what you want of our year right here, so I thought I'd post the lyrics to a beautiful duet Jimmy Buffett did with Martina McBride about the passing of another year - hope it's treated you well and the next one is filled with more joys!

Trip Around The Sun

Every day's a revolution

Pull it together and it comes undone

Just one more candle and a trip around the sun

Chorus:

I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning

And it's good to know it's out of my control

If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living

Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go

No, you never see it coming

Always wind up wondering where it went

Only time will tell if it was time well spent

It's another revelation

Celebrating what I should have done

With these souvenirs of my trip around the sun

(Chorus)

Yes, I'll make a resolution

Then I'll never make another one

Just enjoy this ride on my trip around the sun

Just enjoy this ride ...Until it's done

And here's what a year look like at our house - Harry really wasn't copping an attitude this year and who knows why Jack always looks shell-shocked in this pix....they both had a great time but were much happier talking with Santa than posing for the pic ;-)

This is a Sesame Street carol

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - Spin Cycle

So, I had to use this song, given the upcoming Elfly days :-) And since Jen's Spin Cycle was all about Thankful-ness, this one's for you...

everyday people sing their simple song

I am thankful for my loving family, through the good and the bad and the ugly, there is no greater honor and privilege than spending my days with you three.

I am thankful for my extended family, and my family of friends, and the internet which has made a whole set of virtual friendships possible. Thanx to all of you for the love, support, laughs, and tears that make it all more wonderful!

Hoping that these days bring you all the blessings and quiet moments of love that you can enjoy, and that the holiday season is full of your favorite things.

I found this picture the other nite and remembered the moment I took it - it's amazing how much their personalities have remained just as sweet and goofy as in this picture taken four years ago :sniff:...care to guess who's who??

Enjoy all these moments. God speed in your travels and celebrations!

Sly and the Family Stone