Confessions of a Black Friday Shopper

I was a Black Friday novice this year. Not once in my life had I wanted to attend a Black Friday shopping trip. In fact, I avoided Black Friday like the plague. Well, I suppose I met my tipping point this year and succumbed to the ads... I have to say, this will be my new tradition! I LOVED it! I got to spend some girl time with my mom and in-laws, I got some uh-may-zing deal, and I just had a blast! Here's the rundown:

Thursday Night: after extensive debate and many shreds of newspaper ads, go to bed at 8:00pm

Wednesday:

2:00 am: pop out of bed like a well oiled toaster

2:57 am: leave the house with minimal baggage- debit card and license in one pocket, ads and shopping list in the other

3:14 am: be fourth in line at Kohl's, have a great time laughing and joking with fellow shoppers(until 4:00 am, then all bets are off)

4:02 am: run through the store like a mad woman

4:06 am: realize no one else is in a shopping frenzy and calm down to get the things on my list

4:47 am: leave Kohl's and head to WalMart

4:53 am: invent own parking space, hop in to WalMart, weave my way to the back of the store for desired product, yank last desired from woman with less spunk/sass, check out and be on my merry way

5:13 am: arrive at Target, do some shopping come out while it's still! dark!

6:48 am head over to World Market and get a free ornament in the gift basket, buy French Milled soap for a buck! woo hooo!!!!

7:36 am: breakfast/should be lunch... at IHOP- thanks, Mom!!!!

8:53 am: got to Fairfield Michael's and start to ebb a bit. We all started walking around like zombies visiting aisles repeatedly and slurring our speech.

10:03 am: Head home- crash.

I will be doing it next year, any takers?

How we do Turkey Day...

with a HUGE amount of pictures!

Look at that bird... shake your tail feather (I'm sorry... I had to say it)

And THE picture to top all pictures...

Tomorrow's Turkey Day!

Get that bird in it's brine!!! *

*A friendly reminder from your neighborhood perfect turkey captain.

Seriously...

SO, yeah, I was just reading the blog, Seriously, So Blessed... when I realized that my last post looked almost exactly the same as her post on New Moon... I am so that mom she's poking fun at!!! I know she only does it out of jealousy.

only a little obsessed...

*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*vnew moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*new moon*

I saw the sign (think Ace of Base)

Now that song will be stuck in your head all day. You're welcome.
Onto the post!
There has been quite a bit of construction on our road lately. Since it is a two lane road, the construction crews have been closing one side and having cars take turns to use the remaining lane still open. With this procedure comes a tired looking, sometimes eating Doritos (true story), man holding a sign that either reads, 'Slow' or, 'Stop'. Pretty straight forward, no? Jimmy and I were driving through the cone zone and stopped at one of the men holding a 'stop' sign. Strange. This part of the road has both lanes open... Well, maybe they are about to close one side. Hmmm...The sign man was standing there chatting it up with a few other workers while we patiently waited for the sign to change. We sat there for a full minute. Think: a mouth full of fluoride in the uncomfortable trays minute... not- the last minute of 'Glee' minute. That's how long it took for the man and his buddies to realize we were stopped in the road. Then the group looked at us confused as to why we were just staring at them. The exchange of meaningful looks went between us in the car and the men on the road for another full minute. Meaningful to the point where our eyebrows and theirs were about to have a serious brawl. Then one guy looked up at the pole he was holding on to and realized that he was holding a 'stop' sign. He quickly put it down and started waving us through the nonexistent traffic. As we rolled through, I glanced back at the men men laughing and pointing at the former sign holder... gosh, I'm glad I wasn't the only one.

I'm so sneaky

My mom sent us a few treats from See's Candy a few weeks ago. One of the treats was a 1 lb. box of Nuts & Chews... I know you're drooling, but please people, let's get a hold of ourselves. Because Halloween was soon approaching, we put the See's in the cupboard so Kaitlin's cheap candy would be consumed first. I assumed that Jimmy had forgotten about the 1 lb. box of Nuts & Chews and very slyly hid it on top of the refrigerator. While Jimmy and Kaitlin would snack on her Halloween goodies occasionally, I would sneak into the kitchen for a taste of the good stuff. I had a meeting to attend to one night and had to leave my precious (think Gollum from Lord of the Rings...) chocolates to fend for themselves. Apparently, I did not take into account that Jimmy is, in fact, taller than me... hence, being able to see the box, hence finding it when I was at the meeting, hence... oh, gosh- you know what happened next- I was caught red handed... melted chocolate handed, rather. I am not as stealth as I think I am. At least I ate all the good ones first.


p.s.- thank you all for your sweet and tender words from my Kenai post. Your words are very encouraging and it helps to have them in this difficult time.

Our girl, Kenai

Our sweet dog, Kenai, peacefully passed away today. I cannot believe the tremendous effect it has had on our family. I suppose the effect is reflective of what she gave to our family. Kenai was a happy, loyal and loving animal. She was tender and sweet to Kaitlin, despite the numerous times playing dress up. Jimmy and I have cried together more at this event than any other in our life together. We loved Kenai. She brought such a special spirit into our home. We will miss Kenai dearly. I have no doubt that she is cheering up many children in heaven. Jimmy and I both admitted to each other that her heart was clearly for children. She would follow Kaitlin around and just kiss her to pieces. I am grateful that I was granted a short time with, Kenai, the angel dog. Rest in peace, sweet girl.

Joy to the World

I don't know what it is, but this year I feel the holiday spirit so strongly. It's palpable. It's deep. There are some years that I just skim through the holidays nearly panting from the busy-ness that comes. But this year, I feel the spirit so strongly and I'm striving to savor every moment.

The smells, the laughs, the friends, the family... it just feels so real to me. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that has given me this gift of the holidays. I am sorry to say that I don't have this wonder and awe every year. The gratitude for the amazing things in my life run deep and I feel anchored to it. I know that the spirit of Thanksgiving is not just about the food but about the gratitude and love for our loved ones. It's about those that granted us freedom and paved the way in a new nation. I know the spirit of Christmas is not all about the commercial aspect, but a true celebration of the greatest gift of all, our Savior. My love for the Savior is so real. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he loves me. I know that the birth of the precious Christ child is a miracle. Not just a miracle of that night... but of his whole life and example. How I love the knowledge of these things. I treasure my testimony of a true and living Savior. May this holiday season grant you peace and joy. May your hearts be filled with a tangible love and your soul be touched by the small miracles that happen everyday.

Rules of Mommyhood

I have come to learn with being a mother that there are certain tricks, rules, if you will of nature. I have listed some choice rules in our house below:

• The Rule of the One Messy Room- at no one given time may all rooms within the household be entirely orderly. One room must take the fall... usually mom's room.
• The Rule of the School Aged Child- you will never be able to wake your child early enough to avoid: the morning rush, banshee screaming/yelling, slow eating, lost shoe.
• The Rule of the Toddler- this child must act like a blender with the top removed especially at: the grocery store, the toy store- heck, any store...
• The Rule of the Teenager- anything a parent states must result in rolling of the eyes and a muttering of some sort. In most cases the uttering resembles, "whatever..."
• The Rule of the Laundry- it shall never, ever, ever, ever, ever be done
• The Rule of the Dishes- *see rule of laundry above.
• The Rule of the Potty- no matter how many times a child uses the restroom before an outing, once leaving the threshold of any given residence, will need to use the potty immediately. This rule is usually most in use during car rides when the nearest restroom is either at least an hour's driving distance or filthy beyond all reason.
• The Rule of the Ratio- 50:1 amount of time it takes mom to clean a room to how long it takes to be completely unrecognizable i.e. trashed.
• The Rule of the Food- only the food on mom's plate is desirable, even if it is the exact same food on everyone else's plate.
• The Rule of the Good Book- a child is equipped with ultrasonic hearing in that a page ruffle or spine crack of a good book is heard at distances between 2 and 40 meters from reading site. The child has two choices at that point: make trouble or play shadow.
• The Rule of the Toothpaste- a child may never leave more than 30% of current toothpaste in tube remaining in the tube.

Tried a new recipe tonight...

did NOT go over very well with anyone. Jimmy actually threw away his remaining portion. It has to be pretty bad if he doesn't at least hide it in the napkin first...

get the tissues ready...

I am terrible at writing thank you cards, birthday cards- any of those. Terrible. My family can attest to that. I am going to send a card to this little boy, though. If I can do it- I know you can! (this little boy is the son of a friend)

5 year old Noah is in the last stages of a 2 1/2 yr battle with Neuroblastoma Cancer. The family is celebrating Christmas next week. Noah's request is to get lots of Christmas cards.

Lets do it, please send cards to:

Noah Biorkman
1141 Fountain View Circle
South Lyon, MI 48178

with sweet and sour

This past Sunday at church, I got up to speak while Kaitlin and Jimmy stayed seated in the congregation. While I was talking about a very spiritual experience Kaitlin whispered not so quietly to Jimmy, "Dad, it smells like chicken nuggets... and I want to eat them."

The red button kid revisited

To quote an earlier post:
"I am a self proclaimed red button kid. The definition of a red button kid is this: one that sees a button, any button and has an overwhelming urge to push/pull said button. I still have to fold my arms when I walk by the fire alarm at the church. Luckily, there's a protective plastic shield over that alarm now. It used to be completely exposed... I would have to walk very quickly past that red button with arms folded and look in the complete opposite direction."

It seems that karma like to make a mockery of one, Stephanie Graham... because, literally touching the kindergarten class sign out sheet- the sheet I have to touch every day- is this:

Leaving a legacy

I almost feel like I need to explain my self for my lack of blogging. I would love to let you know what's been going on. Although I won't go into to detail, maybe some bullet points will suffice. Yes! Bullet points- I love bullet points...

• Jog-a-thon- yes, I did make two full-sized palm trees to flank the snack table. A snack table that was only up for 30 minutes. A snack table that was attended by a crazy lady catching the trees as they were bullied by the wind. Gosh, I hate being a show-off.
• Halloween party- crazy lady entertaining kindergartners for four hours. Think: jumping up and down, singing, making a complete and total fool of oneself. Cue: less than fresh orange sweater and daughter covering face in embarrassment.
• Harvest festival & baking of 20 pies for pie eating contest (that one was actually easier than it sounds)
• Meeting with financial advisor
• Compiling resume- argh! (thanks for the help, mom!)
• Feeling frustrated that every past job has come to me and sitting around waiting for a job offer is not being proactive. (anyone looking for a(n): event planner, professional organizer, caterer, seamstress, wedding anything, beneficiary to large fortune? Also, lines are open for pledges)
• Keeping a happy home- dude, I know that's dang short bullet point, but you all know what a happy home entails...

And so, so much more. Plus, I have realized of late that I was starting to write this blog for everyone else but me. Consumption of mind came from multiple daily comment checks, google analytics checks, etc. I've always been one to worry about what people think of me. From my mouth comes a scary high whining voice when I suspect someone not liking me. But this I tell you now: No more! (I put the exclamation mark there to sound more menacing- what do you think? Wait! Don't answer that! I don't want to know what other people think... for the most part. If it's a compliment... argh! Why am I so darn self-defeating?!) It's nice to have a online journal to look back on. I just read my blog from beginning to now and thoroughly enjoyed some of my antics and cringed at the things I posted because I thought someone else might like it. I came to the realization that when I am being most real, a legacy is left for the family that someday will only know me as the great grandma who uses an electronic chair to get up the stairs.

So, on the cons list of such a long hiatus: lack of detail with those bullet points when they all transpired. And on the pros list, not blogging has given me serious time to catch up on my Netflix queue.

Due to the crazy week ahead

My posts will be non-existent for 7-10* days...

*subject to change. If you will be pining for my return, I will still post this week on Butterflies with April.

Paranoid much?

I was shopping at Ross the other day looking through their clearance aisle... you know it's bad if you're buying clearance at Ross- haahaa!!! I just like me a good bargain. Anyway, as I was perusing the aisle, I noticed a woman to my left about to walk behind me. Because the aisles are so small, I pushed into the rack a little so that the woman could pass easily. As I continued to look through clothes, I noticed in my peripheral vision that lady was following me! I kept walking down the aisle, smooshed into the clothes to let her pass, but the dang lady would not stop following behind me. I am not one to get upset, but this woman was driving me nuts. I would peek ever so slightly over my shoulder and see the woman lurking behind me. If she thinks she's scaring me out of the clearance aisle- that crazy cupcake has got another thing coming!!! When the situation had reached it's peak of annoyance, I turned around to ask if the woman needed to get past me. As the turn was complete, I realized I was looking into the most familiar and slightly annoyed hazel eyes- that's right folks, I was looking in a mirror...

I assure you...

...my parents will be shocked by this next statement.

For me, the hardest thing about being a parent is the mess.

Having the same story

on prime real estate on this blog for a few days in a row may become boring for avid readers... but a few days between posts means that my house is clean.

Pickles and Ice Cream

When I was pregnant with Kaitlin, I sent Jimmy out to get a whopper at BK for an end to my craving. The instructions were specific: light mayo, light onions, add mustard, extra pickles, cut in half. My darling husband came home with a perfect burger for his cranky wifey... what I didn't know until last night (Kaitlin is now six years old, mind you) was this- Jimmy asked the woman at Burger King to cut the pickles in half, not the burger. He, of course, received a puzzled look from the worker, but insisted that the pickles be cut in half. There was no way Jimmy would be coming home to pregnant Stephanie without a perfect Whopper. It was only a mere 24 hours ago I learned how crazy my sweet spouse thought I was asking for such an insane burger...Luckily for him, they cut the burger in half too.