This and That

Blogging is hanging over me.  For the first year of each of my children's lives I made a scrap book with pictures that I developed and cleverly put together on colored paper.  I also filled out a baby book for each child writing down all the new things they did as they developed.  When we bought our first digital camera, the scrap booking came undone.  I was suddenly able to take hundreds of pictures digitally instead counting down the roll of film but this left me with decision fatigue.  I couldn't decide which pictures to develop out of the dozens so I look the path of least resistance and didn't print any of them.  When I started blogging and wastebooking I used these media as my foster scrap book.  I keep telling myself that someday I'll print off my blog and make a journal so I have something tangible to show for life passing by.  I haven't done that yet.  Instead I've lost my steam and haven't been documenting anything as I should.  I'm overwhelmed.  To counter this, I'm becoming a lot more selective about how many digital pictures I take lately.  If I don't take the hundreds of pictures like I'm used to, they don't hang over me- waiting for me to do something with them.  

Here are a few pictures that will stop hanging over me as of now...

 Raycito playing "Mr. Church" at his Christmas play

 Little D (in the check vest and cap) as a newspaper boy

 Lou- who played different parts including a pigeon, and a city girl.

Christmas came and went.  

 I learned an important lesson.  It feels horrible to make a twelve year old boy cry.  We had a dilemma this year.  We had a limited budget and we were unwilling to go over it for Christmas.  We carefully planned our gifts for our children so that we spent equal amounts on each but the problem came when we realized that Raycito really needed boring things like jeans and we knew he wasn't going to appreciate them.  We were excited though because we got him and Little D an iPod touch to share.  We decided to have him save the best package for last.  Let the anticipation build up, we thought.  We each took turns opening a gift in a circle.  Raycito's first package was clothes.  When it came around to him again the second package was clothes.  He was visibly bummed (not to mention he had tried them on at the store so they weren't even a surprise).  When I saw his chin start to quiver I told him to hold on because the best was yet to come!  When he opened the third package which was also clothes he started to get discouraged and cry.  Wait Ray!  The best is still to come! I tried to encourage him.  It was hard though because Little D didn't need clothes so his packages were Legos.  Raycito couldn't understand why there was such an obvious imbalance in the gifts.  He was finally in full blown tears believing that all we got him was a belt, a hoodie and some jeans.  When he finally did open the last gift with Little D and saw the iPod touch, he tried to cheer up and recover from the clothes trauma.  I learned that I should never make him wade through the disappointment of fabric to get to the good stuff.  If I had let him open the iPod touch first, he wouldn't have given a hoot about the clothes.  Ah well.  Raycito asked why couldn't he have gotten the Legos.  We explained because then he would have all the clothes and the Legos and an iPod to share and Little D wouldn't have had anything to open (except an iPod to share).  Good thing my boys do actually share everything.  Once Little D whipped out the Legos and they had the iPod going, all was forgotten and forgiven. 

 All I got was clothes too and I liked it!

 Uncle dad, mom, Dave, me, Kass, Tanner

 My mom went to town this year and made aprons like these for each of her daughters and daughter-in-laws.  Pretty awesome.  I don't even dare wear it though cause I'll mess it up.

 New Year's Eve found us up past midnight at a friend's house.  I think this was the first good New Year's Eve I have ever had.  Ever!  They usually all stink and are disappointing but this year proved different.

 Pages, Evans, Millers, Giles and others...

 The only girl who had a miserable New Year's was Lou because she HATES seeing people kiss.  It makes her feel weird.  Her welcome into 2013 was full of real tears because of all the smooches.