Thursday, January 29, 2009

Snow Day Memory










We finally got some snow here in the midwest. My kids thought it wasn't going to happen. So today, they're on their third snow day in a row and I predict they'll be bored by 1:30. I'm very thankful for all my mom memories, I have a treasure trove full. One of my favorites always comes back when it snows. December 20, 2004- they were cooped up in the house and getting really bored. My daughter, Shelby was 7. She was going through a "dress-up" phase. I say phase because she's into barbies now, seldom dress up. Anyway, she would twirl around the house in her clicky little plastic high heals with her pink feather boa and her teal Little Mermaid dress and then change into her cheer uniform and tennis shoes and jump around chanting and whooo-hoo-ing. I don't remember exactly what I was doing, but I was distracted. She came in and asked me, "can I dress Austin up like a girl?" Without giving it any thought, I said, "Sure."




Now, Austin was five at the time. He's a very rough and tumble, dirt collecting boy who's had numerous trips to the E.R. for critter bites and bike accidents. At the age of five he was a firm believer in the existence of cooties and that girls were the prime carriers. So, as soon as I uttered that word, "Sure", I thought "oh boy, here we go." "He's gonna get mad that she even asks to do this and they'll be fighting in a minute."




Well, a few minutes went by and I didn't hear the arguement that I was sure was coming. Instead, it was eerily silent.....




And then I hear the clicking of those plastic heals in the kitchen...... so I walk in....... to find....




My son in a pink, sparkly princess dress with a blonde wig on and those high heals!! Yep, Kodac moment. We've had the close up posted on our refrigerator for four years now! Someday, really soon, I'm sure he'll make me take it down. It gives everyone who comes into our house a chuckle.
And now, as I sit typing, my roudy nine-year-old speeds around doing donuts on his four-wheeler in the field behind our house. I'm thankful to be living in the era of photography and pink dress-up dresses and wish kids didn't grow up so fast.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The hat

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Every Christmas my family and many of my parents' friends play a gift game at our party. Everyone brings a gift worth approximately $10. We put all the gifts in a pile under the tree and everyone draws a number out of a hat. Whoever draws number 1 goes first. This is the unlucky number to have. That first person picks a gift and opens it. The second person has to choose, they can either open another gift or steal the first person's gift. If they steal, the first person has to open another gift. The third person can steal either of the opened gifts or open a new one. This keeps going until all gifts are opened. The person with the last number gets to choose from all of the gifts that have been opened or end the game by opening the last gift. We have about 25 people playing every year and it really gets fun. Weeks before Christmas my husband and I start shopping for the perfect gift for this game. Everyone wants the gift that they brought to be the "fought-over" gift, the one that gets repeatedly stolen. And, of course, if nothing else interests you then you simply steal the gift that you brought. This year's big gift was a warm hat my mom had bought. Nearly everyone had the hat at one point and my mom took a picture every time it was stolen. I think toward the end of the game we were all fighting for it just to get our picture taken in it. With many other great gifts up for grabs, including tools, Christmas decorations, even money, the hat was heavily pursued. I had the hat twice and as things came to an end, at the last minute...... it was grabbed again. My cousin, Ray ended up with it and the rest of us were forced to accept what we were left holding. So... I wonder what I should bring next year......