Our Christmas Eve Visitor

On Christmas Eve Buddy the Beagle jumped up and went running to the back door, barking like crazy.

I let him out, expecting him to run on through the Florida room and out into the back yard.

Instead he ran to the corner of the Florida room and went nuts. Barking and baying and trying his best to get up into the corner.

There's an old chair that needs repairing and several other "projects" I'm going to get to one day in that corner and he was going crazy trying to get behind all of it.

Which could only mean one thing.

There's something in that corner that's not supposed to be there.

Long ago, the Island King and I divided up certain duties. He doesn't do laundry and I don't catch critters or kill bugs. It works well for us.

Since this was obviously his department I sent one of the kids out to the office to get him.

He came in with a big stick, put Buddy back in the house and then started looking for whatever Buddy had been barking at.

I hear him laughing and then he tells the Oldest Island Boy to get my camera.

This is what they found hiding under the old chair.





And he seemed pretty determined not to leave.

The Island King kept trying to push him towards the door with his stick but the opossum wouldn't budge.

It took almost 10 minutes of pushing and prodding to get him to run out the Florida room door.

I like opossums but I don't want one living in my Florida room.

I hated to put him out into the cold on Christmas Eve but he had to go.

We've got 7 cats and 2 dogs and I think adding an opossum to the mix would just be too much.

See, Mom, I'm not an "animal hoarder" like you think I am LOL

The End of an Era

For a while now the Youngest Island Boy has been asking me about Santa.

My gut reaction every time he asked was to tell him not to believe anyone else and that YES! Santa is real.

About a month ago the Island King and I had a long talk about when to tell him the truth.

I said "We never admit that Santa doesn't live at the North Pole!"

The Island King believes that when a 9 year old comes to his parents and asks them to tell him the truth about Santa that it's time to tell him.

"You shouldn't lie to him at his age. If he asks you a serious question like this it's important to tell him the truth so he'll know he can trust you" he says.

Which makes sense and I do agree with.

As Christmas got closer the Youngest stopped asking about Santa so I thought I'd get one more Christmas in before he knew the truth.

But on Christmas Eve he came into the room, looked me right in the eye and said "Mom, do you swear to me that Santa is real?"

The Island King started giving me the evil eye from across the room and I knew I had to tell him the truth.

I explained that Santa is real but that he's a spirit that lives in all of us and that Santa is the spirit of giving but there is no Santa Claus at the North Pole making toys with elves.

I then told him that just because he knows this now that nothing will change.

Dad and I have always been Santa and we will continue to do all of the things that Santa does every year.

He seemed relieved. I think he's known for a while but needed confirmation and I know he was afraid that if Santa wasn't real then Santa wouldn't come to his house.

I was doing a pretty good at not crying until he said...

"So I guess there's no Easter Bunny and no Tooth Fairy either, right?"

BOOM! It was like I'd been shot in the heart with a double barrel shot gun.

From there all good parenting went out the window.

I lost it. I started crying and couldn't stop.

Luckily, the Island King was there to take over and told him not to freak out - Mom was just having a Mom moment because everybody is growing up so fast.

It was awful. He was upset because he thought asking me to tell him the truth upset me so he shouldn't have asked.

I managed to stop crying and explained that it wasn't his fault and I think he felt a little better.

He left the room and I cried for 15 more minutes.

Later, I walked through the living room and he said "I wished I'd never asked about Santa. When my kids ask me I'm going to wait until they're 10 to tell them."

More shotgun blasts to my heart.

I made it out of the room, yelled at the Island King for making me tell him the truth, and then cried some more.

Obviously, I knew he wouldn't believe in Santa forever but did this have to happen on Christmas Eve?!

Christmas morning happened like it always did and that night the Youngest came up and gave me a big hug and said "Thank you, Santa"

That made me feel good but now it's official.

My babies are not babies any more.

I suggested that we might want one more baby and after the Island King picked himself up off the floor he asked me if I'd lost my mind.

And he left the room with a parting shot -

"We are not having any more children - we are both too damn old to have another one!"

I know he's right but it's still sad to see them all growing up.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day we went to my parent's house and spent the day with my family.

My Dad smoked a turkey the day before and then fried another one Christmas morning.





Normally, this is where everyone hangs out, keeping him company, but this year it was cold and raining. The Island King hung out with him for a little while but the rest of us stayed inside.



The kids held out as long as possible but it wasn't long before they were declaring that "It was time to open presents!"







And of course there were more Nerf guns. I'm beginning to think we now own every gun Nerf makes.



There was a TON of food. And a bunch of hungry people to eat it.



This is my mother telling me to put the camera down and fix my children a plate.



Which I did.

We ate and then watched A Christmas Story - which is hands down my most favorite Christmas movie.

When that BB pops back and hits Ralphie in the eye I absolutely die laughing - every time.

It was a wonderful day filled with family we love. Exactly as it should be.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with my in-laws this year and as always we had a great time.

My nieces and nephew looked so sweet in their Christmas outfits.



My children, on the other hand, refuse to dress up at all anymore and while they're just as sweet as the other kids they rock a more "casual" look. Which they refuse to give up.



Whenever you put them all together you can always tell which ones are mine.



It's that different drummer thing. They got a double dose from both their Dad and I so we really aren't surprised.



Not long after everyone arrived the kids couldn't wait any longer so the present opening began.



Their were squeals of delight from everyone in the room.

The Oldest Island Boy got a hatchet - which he considers the coolest thing he's ever owned.



I'm really not comfortable with this but he's earned his "Toting Chip" in Boy Scouts which means he's passed a bunch of tests and is considered to be safe with knives, axes and hatchets.

"Lots of the guys have them" he told me today.

That doesn't make me feel any better.

The Youngest got the Nerf gun of his dreams.



His brother got one too and the bullets are still flying.

My MIL is one of the most talented people I've ever met and she crocheted this shawl and gloves for the Island Girl.



She also made these sort of ski masks. We never could come up with a name for them but they are definitely cool.



The Island King, his brother, both of my boys and I each got one. They will be much appreciated when we're hiking or fishing in the cold.

She also crocheted thick socks for the boys. Uncle R loved his.



She made so much cool stuff that I'm going to write a post about it next week and show off her beautiful work.

There was a big, machete, bushwhacker thing from the Island King to his brother.



There's another one just like it under our tree that he bought for himself.

I think my MIL got the biggest surprise of all.

After all of the presents were unwrapped my BIL told her he had one more thing but it was too big to wrap.

He came in and she looked at it for a minute trying to figure out what it was



And then she realized he was holding an electric grill for her picnic table.





To say she was excited is an understatement. She said she's wanted one for a very long time.

What is it about boys, cammo gear and weapons?





We ate a big dinner and then played with our new toys for the rest of the afternoon.

It was a wonderful, relaxing Christmas Eve and we loved every minute of it.

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed holiday!

Our Visit With Santa

We took the kids to see Santa last tonight at Bass Pro Shop.

The line wasn't very long and I was watching the little bitty ones climb up on Santa's lap and remembering when mine were that little.

And then the ladies in front of us took their babies up to see Santa.



There was a woman standing next to me that said "Just when you think you've seen it all - something like this happens"

I can't imagine what would happen if we took our Beagle to see Santa. He'd either lick him to death or bark him to death. Either way, I am sure he wouldn't have been anywhere close to behaving as well as these two did.

We only had our two legged babes with us and the Youngest really wanted to talk to Santa.



He told me later that he asked Santa for a tuxedo and a memory eraser like they have in the movie Men in Black.



I had no idea he wanted a tuxedo or a memory eraser.

When he finished, the rest of the kids joined him for a picture.



I got a little teary eyed watching all of the other babies and seeing how big mine have gotten.

I blinked and they're half grown. Amazing how fast that happens.

I wish it would slow down just a little.

The Elf Award

Because the Cub Scouts won the Elf Award for best children's float in the Christmas parade they were presented with an award from the City at Monday night's City Council meeting.

A lot of the boys have left town for the holidays but we had a handful that were able to come and accept the award.

The awards were presented at the beginning of the meeting and the boys went up and were given a very nice plaque by the Mayor.



I have no idea why the picture turned out so yellow and grainy.

After they received their award we went out into the lobby and took a picture of all of the boys in front of the Christmas Tree.



And then one of each boy holding the award.



They are very proud of themselves. And so are we.

Carpentry Merit Badge

This year the Boy Scouts are celebrating their 100 year anniversary.

As part of the celebration a select few special merit badges are being offered. They can only be earned in 2010 and will really be something special to the boys later on in life.

Our Troop has been working on Carpentry, Tracking, Pathfinding and Signalling.

The boys had a work day not long ago for their Carpentry badge. Everything has to be done as it was in the scouting book issued in 1910 - which means no power tools.

They're making stools and have learned to use a lot of hand tools that most of them have never even seen before.



And being Boy Scouts they have to do the majority of the work without help.





Their scout leader and several other dads have been there to help but the task is really on the boys.



They've done a really good job but the majority of them were eyeing the power tools in the shop and talking about how much easier it would have been for people in 1910 if they'd had even half of the tools we have now.

So they've learned how to use almost obscure tools and to appreciate how hard it was back then and how easy they have it today.

Over all I'd say that no matter how the stools turn out they've learned some good lessons.

Owned By Grandma

Saturday we went to my nephew's birthday party - at the skating rink.

On the way to Pensacola I was telling the kids about the skating rink we were going to.

This rink opened when my mother was a teenager and since it was just down the street from her house, she spent a lot of time there.

Every year the rink would hold a skating contest and the winner was crowned Queen of the Rink and her picture was taken and hung on the wall.

My Mom was Queen three years in a row.

When I hit middle school skating was the thing to do and I spent every Friday and Saturday night at the rink for years.

My Mom's picture was still hanging on the wall and while I was a decent skater I could never skate as well as she did.

So as we drove over I was telling all of this to the kids.

"Are you going to skate?" they asked.

"Absolutely not!" was the answer.

When the Island Girl was eight she went to a skating birthday party and I skated and did very well.

Until my cell phone rang.

I skated off the floor into the rec area, propped myself up against a pool table and answered the phone.

And when I did I leaned back onto the pool table and crossed my feet.

Unfortunately, I forgot there were wheels under my feet, my feet went rolling out from under me, I landed on my butt, and broke it.

Officially. Broken tailbone.

I spent the next two weeks sitting on the couch and the six weeks after that sitting on a donut everywhere I went.

Breaking your butt is a very unpleasant experience and I decided then that my skating days were over.

But...

We get to the party and there's my mother - in skates!



That woman skated around the rink, forewards and backwards like she was 17 years old. It was amazing!

And inspiring.

I watched her skate for a few minutes and knew I had to do it too.

The Island Girl was very proud me. She doesn't know how to skate so she thought I was being brave like her and giving it our best shot.



I got my skates on, hesitant, but watching my mother who hasn't skated in decades, skate around the rink.



I made out it onto the rink and felt so young! I was 13 again and skating!



For a few feet.

And then I started to fall.

I knew I was going down and was able to break my fall. It didn't hurt so I got back up and continued on.

After a while I was starting to feel it come back to me and thought I was doing pretty good.

My non-biological sister, Monkey, and I were skating around, talking about how we used to live in this place, how well we could skate and reminiscing about the good old days.

I was feeling confident and enjoying her company and then I was on the floor.

I never saw it coming. One minute I was skating along and the next minute I hit the floor so hard my glasses flew off and across the floor.

I couldn't decide what was worse, the searing pain in my elbow or the searing pain in my hip.

And I'm trying to slide over to my glasses before they get run over.

Meanwhile, Monkey has stopped turned around and says "What the hell just happened?"

My mother has raced over to see if I'm ok and to grab my glasses.

And my daughter is laughing so hard she can't stand up and has fallen into a heap on the floor next to me.

Laughing hysterically.

By now I've had time to realize that my hip and elbow aren't actually broken but they are definitely injured.

My Mom helped me up and is supporting me as we skate back to the benches.

All I can think about is getting those skates off my feet and how bad I hurt.

The Island King took my skates off and put my shoes back on for me because bending over made my hip scream even louder.

I limped back over to the table where the kid's party was set up, declared myself finished with skating forever and then watched in amazement as my mother skated back onto the rink with all of the kids and did the Chicken Dance - on skates!



The picture is dark and blurry because my hip hurt too bad to walk out to where they were but trust me, that is my Mother doing the Chicken Dance - on skates.

The Island King was standing next to me and said "Wow, you got owned by grandma."

I sure did. There's no denying it. My mother skates as well today as she did 25 years ago.

Mom, I AM IMPRESSED!

You're still the Queen of the Rink!

And I am your daughter, at home with a black and blue hip, hobbling around like an 80 year old today.

You'd think after 45 years I'd see these things coming but I never do.

It keeps life interesting but the older I get the more painful it becomes.

Sunset

Sunset Cache at the Jetties

Back in August someone hid a geocache out near the jetties but for some reason I never made it out there to find it.

Now that I've got the fever again I wanted to go find it.

None of the kids wanted to go so the Island King and I set out Sunday afternoon on a hike to the jetties.

This has to be one of the pretties walks you can take.







This guy came by and even though I'm scared of heights I think that looks really fun.



The sunset was beautiful. There's something about clouds around the setting sun that I just love.



We found the cache easily, signed the log and crossed it off our list.



There was an odd memorial set up down by the water.



It was covered in sunglasses and goggles and there were piles of shoes underneath it.

Strange.

We sat down on the jetties and watched the moon rise.







After the moon rose it was time to go home, feed the kids and relax.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.