HO! HO! Hmmmm!!

Dear Santa,

I've been thinking.
You're getting the better end of this deal.
I do all of the work and you get all of the credit.
I say, next year...we switch.

You can spend December running all over town trying to find the best deals on the best gifts.
It's always easy finding parking spots and dealing with grumpy sales girls.
Don't worry,shipping and handling doesn't add up to very much.
Putting lights and decorations up is fast. It only takes a few days.
And then just a few short weeks later, you get to take them all down again.
It's a ball.
You'll love wrapping presents.
Don't sweat it, there's no stress.

I will spend December starring in t.v. movies and specials.
I'll make all of the appearances at parades and parties.
I'll eat cookies and drink hot cocoa.
It will finally be acceptable when my body parts jiggle.
And then I'll take a year long vacation before I have to make another appearance.
I'm feeling jolly just thinking about it.
I think it's a great plan.
So? Whad'ya say?

XO,

p.s. will you please tell your mall "helpers" to stop promising things like ponies.

No refunds or exchanges!!

So Greg has this really nice, watch that he loves.
He realizes one day that it is not working.

He changes the batteries..still no ticking.
He takes it to a watch shop and they can't fix it.
Greg gets mad that this 'supposedly' fantastic watch no longer works for him.

He takes it back to the manufacturer and insists on a new watch or his money back.

They happily oblige and he walks away with the newer, shinier model.

He's very happy.

Next thing I know, we're over at my parent's house.

He's saying things like, "doesn't work anymore" and "not what I agreed to".

He stands there fully expecting a refund or exchange.

And then my dad simply nods his head and pulls out his wallet and says,

"How much do I owe you"?

And then I woke up.

I've got to stop drinking Dr. Pepper before bed.

I'm gonna go make sure Greg's watch is working

and then I'm gonna do some laundry.

In every job that must be done....

They say that cleaning a house while children live there

is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing.

Some days feel like a light flutter and others feel like a

category 6 blizzard.
When I was a kid, I shared a

room with my two sisters.

Needless to say, it was difficult

to keep a tidy room.

I HATED when we had to clean it.

I knew if I ever got a genie in a bottle

(which I totally thought was possible until I was about 12)

that I would only need one of the three promised wishes.

Not money, not a bigger house, not the latest toy.

No. I wanted something much

more valuable.

I wanted so badly

to be able to snap my fingers like Mary Poppins

and have things magically put themselves away.

Oh to have that amazing power.

That would still be my one wish.

Imagine all the extra time.

So, while cleaning is not my favorite thing

I do love a clean house.

So this off track we did some deep cleaning in the basement.

You know the kind that only happens a few times a year.

The baseboards get cleaned, the walls washed, the mattresses vacuumed.

Every nook and cranny is attended to.
We went through clothes and shoes and discarded the things we no longer need.

We threw away papers and trinkets,

and got rid of the one-armed barbies and hairless dolls.

It was quite an undertaking.

I hate doing this but love the end result.

This is the first time I really involved the girls in this process.

You all know that it's so much easier to just do it yourself

but I feel it is important to teach them at a younger age so

that when they move out of my home,

they will know how to keep their home.

After three days and a few temper tantrums

(by everyone involved)

we had a very clean and organized basement and bedrooms.

Nothing was out of it's appropriate place.

The girls were especially proud of their efforts

and were very excited to show Daddy.

After we had the talk about how lovely their spaces were

and how important it is to keep things neat and clean,

the girls each promised me that they would keep things as they were.

I actually had some confidence in them.

I walked out of Makenna and Olivia's room and heard this conversation.

Olivia: "I love when our room is so clean".

Makenna: "Me too. Don't you think we should keep it like this all the time".

Olivia: "Yeah. We should...

.

.

.

But we probably won't".

I better get a bigger shovel.

Safe and Sound

So today is Veteran's Day. My big brother Dan is a Veteran and since he already thinks I have Velveeta Cheese running through my veins, I won't care if he hates this post. (like he even reads this blog anyway).

Dan has always been big and strong and a little sceeery.

When we were kids he would simply give me the "sideway snarl" and I would pee my pants.

He was always causing mischief.
If he wasn't getting in trouble for kicking his Kindergarten teacher,

he was getting scolded for teasing me.

If there had been 'time out' back then, he would have permanent seat marks on his behind.

Dan would like everyone to think he's a scary grizzly bear. But he's more like "Grumpy, Reluctantly Protective Care Bear".

One of my earliest memories of Dan involved the school bus and him being kicked off said school bus. He got into a fight and the bus driver gave him the boot. Like a scene from a bad after school special, I looked out the back window of the bus, 1st grade fingers against the window as I watched my brother kick the bus as it drove away and he had to walk home.

This was the first time I remember Dan 'protecting' me. He probably doesn't even remember but the fight was about me. A stinky boy had made fun of me and hurt my feelings. I don't know if Dan felt protective of me or was just mad that somebody other than him had made me cry.

When I was about 10 he found out that I was madly in love with Jimmy Jeppson. He teased me about every other second and would try to embarass me whenever he could. But...he always seemed to make sure I was invited to things that he knew Jimmy would be at.

My Sophmore year of High School, I had the privelidge and honor of riding to school with Dan in his very cool red and white pickup truck. I thought Dan was the coolest thing ever with his football and basketball friends. And while I thought Dan was awesome, he didn't quite feel the same about me and would park the truck in the corner of the parking lot and make me walk either ahead of him or behind him into school.

Of course, this only lasted until he realized that I had super cute friends and then I became somewhat tolerable and was included in activities where his friends were. When one of those cute friends (with a somewhat sketchy rep) started flirting with me, he put a stop to it quickly by informing said friend that I was "Off Limits!!" I'm sure this friend had no interest in me but I knew that my brother was watching out for me and my little sophmore girl feelings.

There were many times when he would try to be tough. One time he kicked me and my friend Melissa out of his truck because we were being "annoying". We started walking home in the dark and got really scared when we saw headlights following behind us in the distance. We thought for sure it was someone going to 'get us'. We found out later it was Dan following us to make sure we got home okay. Big softy.

After High School, Dan joined the Army. He was our Citizen Soldier. He joined at the 'safest time ever' the army recruiter said. Soon after, he was in Saudi Arabia. He always says, "It was no big deal" and that "I was never in any real danger". I don't care what he says, anyone who would willingly go to another country where bombs and guns are in the hands of people who want to hurt you, all to protect complete strangers....that's a special kind of brave.

Dan was always a teensy bit intimidating and I think he may have acted that way on purpose so that we would always do what he said. But his jig was up when I saw him holding his little newborn son and when I heard him singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to his little girl. I knew that it had been an act the whole time. His cover was blown.

Dan is a great father and husband and an amazingly hard worker. He is super smart at everything and he speaks Italian. How cool is that?

He's one of those people that doesn't say a lot but what he says is intelligent and worthwhile.

I knew that I could marry Greg when Dan gave me his approval.

Although his hugs and "I love you's" are rare, they are completely sincere and etched into your memory forever.

I think he is such a good person. And I am so proud to say that I'm his sister.

And he can make fun of me forever, but he will receive a "Happy Veteran's Day" phone call from me every year. Love you.

Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for another.
It's one thing to protect and die for those you love. But these soldiers do it for people they will never know. People who disrespect and abuse their freedoms. People who take it for granted.

I cannot express how much love and respect I have for these men and women and their families who sacrifice so much for a country full of people who will skip over this day without much more thought than that it's a Wednesday.

I'm such a sucker for Veterans. You can count of me crying and standing when the Vets go by in the parade. Whether in War or peacetime, I think these are the bravest people ever. And the funny thing is, they're probably all a little like Dan. A big teddy bear trying to come across as Grizzlies.

I hope we all (no matter what our political views are) remember them and what they do every day for us.

Here's to feeling protected.

Happy Veteran's Day.