Tacky Advertising

 I have been caught off guard by some strange marketing ploys. 

Here is a few of the tackiest.

* "Hi, I am from the blog hop.  I hope you will join me back."*

Clearly, you have no interest in reading what I wrote.  While I commend your dedication to

marketing your own blog, it is still a little tacky to cut and paste this comment on several blogs.

*While the family mourns the death of the younger brother, Mom pulls out Hershey syrup to make the older brother feel better.*

This happened on an episode of General Hospital (do not judge me).  It was a really sad moment and they did a product placement for Hershey's in the middle of it.  They must have mentioned the brand name at least three times.  Double tacky!!

*"If she can't remember your name, remember ours."

This was on a billboard for an Alzheimer's treatment center in our area.

Triple tacky!!! 

And finally, I just received this postcard in the mail...

This is the front.

 

This is the back. 

It is from an insurance agency.  This is the kind of mailing they send out 2 days before Christmas and in the middle of Hanukkah.

Tackiest of all!

Tell me when a tacky one catches your eye!

I Forgot. One More From J.

 I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas.
We had a great one and the fun keeps going, so not much time to post today so here's a quick one from J, that I forgot to share.


Me: "J, I need you to pick up the _____."

J: "Why do you make me do EVERYTHING?...Even when we have all of these extra kids! (HUFF)"


(I promise we are trying to teach manners around here.)

Missing Mom

I am missing Mom.

I am sure that many of you know exactly how I feel.

Christmas was her perfect holiday and it

highlighted all of her strengths.

Tons of reasons to rationalize spoiling the grand kids.

Amazing sweets and home cookin'.

A houseful of decorations; old, new, tacky, and the homemade.

Family gathering around her dining table holding hands to pray before lunch.

Thoughtful surprises to make you feel special.

A firm believer and advocate for Santa.

Someone who loved, God.

Because of her, I dive into this holiday today too, in my own style.
My traditions now blend hers and ours.
I am preparing to make mac-n-cheese and mashed potatoes with way too much butter,
and listen to a little Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers Christmas music,
in honor of her.

I prayed for comfort on the that 1st Christmas without her and my prayer was answered.

I find comfort this Christmas in seeing parts of her

 spunky attitude and loving heart reflected in me, my husband, my Dad, my sister, my children,
and those who loved her.

Of course there is a little less gluttony spoiling, and a few less tasty treats but

the love in our family continues on.
We will celebrate together and have a ton of fun, as she would want.

I am sure that she too will celebrate His birth, in Heaven.

We love and miss you Mom.
JOY to the world.

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas doesn't stress me out...

Christmas doesn't stress me out.

THIS DOES...

This bucket of around 3000 glow in the dark beads...

were spread from one end of the basement to the other! (26 feet)

We asked J why she did it and she replied, "We were lost in the woods and I made a trail so that we could find our way back."

 Let me tell you, we had a "trail of tears" as she cleaned up one little bead at a time!

Finally, H and I helped once we were sure she had learned her lesson.

It was too much for one rotten little 4 year old to clean up alone.

The funniest part was turning off the light and realizing that we had missed a few.

Good thing for glow in the dark beads!

Sunday Funnies: L's Take on Sports

Today was an exciting day for L and PT...their first Xavier University basketball game at Cintas Center.

Our kids watched the Xavier vs. University of Cincinnati game with us recently. Those of you from the Cincinnati area know that it is a game that is heated and unpredictable. Well this one ended in a huge fight...pushing, punching, mouthing off, and a kick. After they started doing replays and close-ups, we made the kids leave the room and later talked to them about sportsmanship.

Fast forward to today...PT asked if L had ever seen a basketball game in person and her response was, "No but I have seen a hockey game and they both fight.". Then she smirked.

Ironically, she went to a special "education day" at the Cyclones hockey game earlier this year with her class. Tons of kids filled the place and a huge brawl broke out I hear...great "education day.". The only thing more ironic would have been hockey players hosting a "dental health" day. I hope this isn't going to be a pattern with our sports teams.



Her quick wit makes it a little hard not to laugh.

What Happened to Our Sweet Baby...

What happened to our sweet baby girl, JJ?

Oh yeah, she turned two.

She has been overtaken by the uncontrollable need to say NO! and MINE!

She also has decided that she all the right in the world to assert herself, PHYSICALLY!

She told my husband the other day, "Bad choice Daddy! I don't like it!"

All the while, pumping her fist in the air like a protester or something.

All of these things are pretty common for kids her age.  However, however after having 5 of them trying this with me at one time or another, I am a little burned out on the defiant stage. 

This too shall pass, right?

She did catch me a little off guard on Monday.  I was working in the kitchen and JJ and CM were right up my rear as always.  I heard a thud...then a cry.  I looked over and CM was holding her forehead, and JJ had a strange look on her face and this in her tiny hand...

Yep, that's right. 

She whacked her sister in the head with a mini-frying pan for no apparent reason.

Poor CM!  JJ has quite a swing!

Please pray that we all survive this defiant stages of both JJ and CM!

PJ and Pancake Party

I am way behind, but I wanted to post some pictures of JJ's 2nd birthday party.

PJ'S and PANCAKES

Since we were holding the party on the morning of Black Friday for just a few of her friends,

we thought that the pj's were appropriate since some might be out shopping early.  

It also cut down on the time it took to get everyone dressed for a 10 am party at our house.

I got some of the ideas from Pinterest and Family Fun online.  

Did I ever tell you that I love the internet when planning a party?

 I used foam sticker letters on toothpicks to decorate the rainbow pan"cake" and the muffins.

(Her name is not really Amy, but you get the idea.)

 The letter "Q" in the foam stickers looks just like a balloon, fyi.

 A topping bar for the pancakes.

 Fresh fruit made me feel better about serving Fruit Loops as an appetizer.

Sausage, pancakes, and smoothies...easy peasy.

As favors, each family got a bag of powdered donuts with a note reading,

"I donut know how to thank you for coming to my party."

With 5 kids, I am bound to run out of creative ideas...wanna share yours?

Darn You, "The Christmas Shoes"

L was home sick yesterday...strep throat, our favorite! 
While waiting in the car, the song "Christmas Shoes" came on.  Have you heard it?  If not, check it out.

Well, then she wanted to know what it is about.  You know the story...mom is dying and her young son takes what little money he has to buy his mom some "Christmas Shoes" in case she goes to "see Jesus tonight."  He, of course doesn't have enough money and a man helps him pay for them.

Sweet, very sweet, but oh so sad.

L cried right there on the spot and I got choked up just explaining it to her!  Oh but that wasn't the end of it.  At dinner, L got teary-eyed and said she was just thinking of the song about the Christmas shoes.  Then PT asked what it is about...we explain it...he tears up without even hearing the song.  A few hours later, H goes up to check on the kids in bed and PT in crying.  He said he was thinking about that song again.
I just adore their sweet hearts.

H, needless to say, was not happy with my "stupid song" after that.

Darn you, "The Christmas Shoes!"  Darn you!