O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

The one REAL tree that Kevin and I bought was (go figure) when we lived downtown Cleveland.  He was so kind that he agreed to my crazy dream of hoisting it on the Corolla, finding a close-enough spot to park, and walking it up 3 flights of stairs.  All so that Garth, our cat, could eat it and shed all over every bottom branch.  But it was real, and I was thrilled. 
Since then, we've been happy with a fake one I got for a Dollar (yep, one big one) at a garage sale.  Every year, I tell myself I'm over it, and a real one is replacing the dust grabbing one sitting in our basement.  But somehow, that tree finds it's way back in our family room, adorned with lights, ornaments, and Crate and Barrel's version of tinsel. 
Sad as I was that after reviewing this months budget, and discovering that a real one was out of the picture (did you see how many people were here for Thanksgiving??)... Kevin was quick to catch on that if he played along with my little game, the beginning of this merry season would be a lot merrier. 
So we faked it.  Let's be honest.  Part of the reason I wanted the whole experience of getting a tree as a family was so that I could blog about it later.  (Blogs are all about making your lame life sound cool).  And if we couldn't have the Norman Rockwell version... we were going to make the Mitchell back woods version.  Which is all about putting on ridiculous hats, acting as if the basement back room is a lush tree garden... and the steps are mounds of snow that you must cross to get your purchase home.  And.. after I discovered that Kevin is a terrible tree fluffer... it actually surprised me how alright the tree looks.  It just needs a little extra love every year.  Of which I am willing to give, if it will save me some cash.. and my marriage.
Laugh if you may.  At least I have pictures that I can look back on one day as I stare at my magnificent real tree that my some day budget didn't even notice. 

What a find!  A pre- assembled tree in that chaos of a tree farm

Good thing he wore his hat.  I hear basements forests can get chilly

Bet you didn't find ornaments included in your Real Tree

Jack giving a tour of the finished product

At least this year I can do without the ugly white gate around the tree!

 Better luck next year Mitchells... maybe we should grow our own Christmas tree?

Black Friday

After we had our fun filled Thanksgiving day (see previous post)... we carried on the tradition of going out with all of the other crazies and hunting down the best deals in town.  My sister Rachel, my mom, and I, slept in our clothes, slapped some water on our faces at 4am.. and were pulling through McDonalds by 4:40am.  It's one of my favorite days of the year.  One, because I get to hang out with my sister and mom (although we missed Sarah a lot), and two, because it's the one day a year when looking like you've had no sleep and didn't wash your hair is totally an acceptable practice.  (The rest of the year I also do that.. but I stick out instead of blending in:). 
So off we headed to Walmart to find a not so secret gift of a GPS for Kevin.  You can bet I was pretty pumped when the old man handing out wrist bands to the first 50 customers had enough for me!  I pretty sure I asked him if I won, and he gave me the strange... how early do you drink your coffee, lady.. look.  Next we found some cheep-o comfy pants for 5 bucks at old navy. Because I can never have enough black sweat pants.  And Callie landed herself a new pair of $10 jeans. 
Eventually we made it to the mall with the rest of the City.  Around 9:00, we realized that it was getting to be that time when looking really bad wasn't all that accepted anymore, and we may want to make our way home to take care of the 14 people still at my house. 
But it was another great day in a string of: Kevin doesn't has to work, and I have people at my house watching my kids while I shop... days, so I enjoyed it very much.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

In line with our Breakfast Burrito's, wrist bands, and coffee





Turkey Lurkey

This weekend Kevin and I entered adulthood.  Being married for 8 years, 3 kids, 1 law degree, and a house just didn't cut it for us.  But hosting Thanksgiving?  Now that orbits you into another level of maturity.  And I am proud to say that we survived, and I'm pretty sure that most, if not all of our guests enjoyed themselves.  They may not have all gotten a pleasant night of sleep... due to Jack and Charlie's shenanigans every night... but they were well fed with great conversation. 
No small thanks to everyone who pitched in too.  From my parents who brought almost their entire kitchen with them in the van, including a smorgasbord of pies.. to my sister who stuck it out with little Norah being trampled on by lots of crazy boys, to Kevin's parents who kept the alcohol flowing.. to my sweet sister in law Mandi who basically cooked the entire meal herself.  And we were also excited that our Chicago fam joined in on the fun.  Apparently, our house is the perfect middle point on the map between Illinois, and Columbus. It was a beautiful collaboration of lots of different talents and giving.  And we are so very thankful that the melting of the two families can get along so well.  No crazy in laws here.  Just really kind families who make it so special.
The highlights of the day are as follows:

• My house didn't burn down while cooking a Turkey in the Laundry room
• Everyone had a seat at the table, except Kevin who was our designated "floater" and kid table entertainment, extraordinaire
• No food was spilled on my new chairs, Praise the Lord
• We only had to have one Beer run... and now Kevin will have lots of after work stress relief left overs for the foreseeable future
• I wore my first pair of leggings.. and didn't get weird looks
• To my knowledge, no dishes were broken, and the china was out!
• During a slow moment, my dad and Kevin's dad decided to clean out our master bathroom backed up sinks.  The result was 5 toothbrushes and 70 cents.  Gotta love those boys of mine.  Bonus: that's two thirds of the way to a breakfast burrito:)

Here are some pictures from the day...


The obligatory carving of the Turkey... My dad was happy to pass that to Kev

Some of the Family



After dinner comatose naps

Grandma Peggy and Papa Geoff with their 7 and counting Grandkids



Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Next year I'm going back to my moms!!

Happy Birthday

My sister Sarah has her 30th birthday this Monday, the 22nd.  Sadly, she currently lives in France, so a Happy Birthday rendition on her front porch steps is out of reach at this point.  However, a Happy Birthday blog-out, is not. 
I was blessed with 2 sisters growing up.  Sarah, 18 months older, and Rachel, 2 years younger.  Which makes me the middle child... and is totally a blog post waiting to happen...but another day.
Both of my sisters are loving, encouraging, and close confidants.  My high school years would never have been the same without them, and we still talk today multiple times a week by phone.  I love having sisters.  Maybe not so much in the drag it out, fight out- smack down of high school... but after we stopped sharing clothes, the heavens cheered and we became friends. 

So this post is for you, Sarah.  I promise Rachel, that come August 18th... you will be the all-star. 

Happy 30th birthday, to my favorite older sister.  I am so proud of the way that you took on France, scary and lonely as it was.  You learned the language, and can now even make jokes in French.  Something I'm still struggling to do, in English.  You inspire me to run farther, eat better, and buy cooler clothes.  You allowed me to live vicariously through you on your journey to Joe Jeans, and you introduced me to my favorite among all favorite Gap Jeans.  Of which Kevin will be forever grateful. 

You have been my number one cheerleader as I struggle to be a mom of twins.  You have seen me at my worst moments, and still find a way to make things seem positive.  I know that I am being prayed for by you, even all the way from France. 

You have answered my crying phone call every time I moved.  Telling me kindly to stop my sobbing, and be kind to Kevin.  You were there when I had no friends, and you rejoiced with me when I found them.  You were struggling in a new country, yet were able to Thank Jesus for my excitement. 

I am praying that this will be a good birthday for you.  That it will be an encouragement of where you have been and what is to come.  Maybe some day we can live in that compound together... but until then, I am grateful for a good phone connection.   So go and treat yourself today, and remember that lots of people in the good US of A love you so much. 

Happy 30th.

A BIG Thank You

I am a self admitted, very emotional runner.  I basically decide that I will run depending on whether or not I like the days music selection on my ipod, or whether or not I could fit into my favorite jeans.  I like it when it's over with.  I'm not so much of the "but it's all about the journey," girl. 
Which is why when I lost my ipod a few weeks ago, things were very sad in my running department.  I had lost my point, my motivation for literally spinning my legs, going nowhere, on a treadmill.  Without Kelly Clarkson or spiritual encouragement (yep, listen to both during the same run)... I was definitely not going to be getting in shape for my big Thanksgiving meal. 
Until, my friends, my super cool husband decided to surprise me with a brand new shiny ipod shuffle the other night.  He told me he had to stop on the way home to pick something up for me.  Which I immediately thought were flowers.  Would have been nice, of course, but this was so much better. 
So now, I am one happy runner again.  No more fiddling around with an ancient MP3 player from back in the day when itunes was a sparkle in Steve Job's mind.  This girl is back in the century, and back on the treadmill.  So happy in fact, that yesterday I'm not sure I stopped smiling the entire run.  And no, it wasn't even because I was watching free cable at the Y.   - although I do enjoy that too. 
So thank you Kevin.  What a good gift, and a great surprise. And bonus for you... you just guaranteed yourself at least a few more years of my 20 something backside, still looking like a 20 something backside. 
Happy Running Everyone!

She is my Sunshine

When Callie was born we lived in a one bedroom condo in the heart of downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  It was perfectly smashed right between the Indians and Bulls stadiums, and therefore was left wanting for extra space.  So we generously shared our small bedroom with her pack n play.. and I was left to dream of the room that I would one day create for her.  
The next place we moved was yet again, another small space.  And although she did have her own room this time, our first apartment was just that... an apartment, and therefore those dreams were again put on hold. 
Another year later, my sweet little 2 1/2 yr old got her first fully pink room in our first real house.  Being the creative type, I thought it was a magnificent idea to go the extra mile and free-hand paint a huge (really.. huge) flower on her wall to match her perfect Pottery Barn bedding.  (Disclaimer... it was purchased off of the clearance rack.. and was appropriately named "Callie".. which is of course why I bought it).  But fashionista Callie became traumatized by that ginormous flower.  Crawling into our bed at night claiming that, "The flower kept me up" or.. "Mommy the flower is scaring me.  Please paint over it!"  Good job me. 
Later I learned that pink wasn't her color after all.  How could I have known just how cool Purple had become in the circles of 4 year olds?  Apparently all of her friends were doing it.  So she convinced me that if we re-did her room for her birthday present, she would sleep through the night and I wouldn't be awoken to her elbow in my eye ball every night.  So this time we used our parental smarts, and instead of filling her room with unsightly, ability to scare, flower paraphernalia, we lovingly incorporated everything beloved by Callie... that is, all things Disney.  So now when she wakes in the middle of the night, she will face Mickey, Minnie, and Belle pictures staring back at her.  And when she is sent to her room for time outs, she can now snuggle with Daisy and Goofy.  And what little girl doesn't need a purple chandelier to make the room a little more girly?  Well, honestly, most girls don't.  But this girl got hers for free when I spray painted our ugly brass one left over from the dining room redo.  All in all, I would say it was a nice purpley change on a nice and snug budget.  And so far, she has stayed in it for 2 nights and counting... with no midnight terrors of flowers anywhere in sight.  Totally worth it for us. 



Before: Scary Flower



After

After... No more Flowers, just Sunshine








Dress Me Up.. Then Get Me OUT

This is a little late... but pictures of Halloween cannot be forgotten.  Let's just say that the boys were in their outfits for a total of a 3 minute photo shoot... and Callie rocked the Minnie look all around the neighborhood, scoring her Daddy and me a good stash of Make my Butt look Bigger, Please... candy. 
I guess it was my fault for thinking that although Jack and Charlie are attached like glue to their stuffed Tigger and Pooh... that does in no way mean that they would like to dress up as such, turning little hand held Pooh into a life size monster.  Better luck next year! 


Sad Tigger Charlie





My Friend Jamie and Callie's friend Madison.. Trick or Treating buddies



That's Bananas (Or at least that's what they want you to Eat)

Watch out reader, I'm about to get slightly political on you.  But don't worry... besides this sentence, I'm not even going to mention the "Shellacking" (President's words) from Tuesday night.   Instead, I'm going to tackle the most ridiculous item that I've heard today. 
On the Today Show this morning, they highlighted a story coming out of San Francisco.  On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to ban any sort of children's toys given out with unhealthy meals.  That means, moms,... that if you lived there, you no longer need to specify upon a drive-thru whether the Happy Meal is for a girl, or a boy.  They believe that the toys (yes, the cheep, piece of crap, plastic, break before you pull into your driveway- toy)... is the cause of childhood obesity.  Really?  Really San Francisco Board?  I wonder, do they even have children themselves?  Because I have NEVER, not once, been asked by any of my, count them, 3 children to go to McDonald's because they really want the newest toy.  Nope, I've been begged for a lot of things.  But Happy Meal toys are not one of them. 
I would beg to differ that if American families are running through those drive- thru's too often, leading to the fattening up of our kids, then there are much deeper issues behind those orders than a desire for a bad toy.  Let me begin to count the ways. 
Maybe our society is so consumed with being busy (myself included), with working, after school sports, and in my case, redocorating, that there is no longer time to cook a meal, sit, and eat a healthy dinner as a family.  (I know, racy point Kim).  Then again, I didn't see the S.F. Board also banning what parents did with their time?
Maybe we have forgotten that people older than us young hip things actually do have wisdom... like how to cook, how to make soup, how to prepare a meal in advance so that we are not rushing around come 5pm.  (ie... hang out with your Grandparents, they can be pretty darn cool... Ahem (Grandma De and Grandpa Harry).  And again, I didn't see the Board regulate a per/week mandatory, "Get and old Friend", policy. 
Maybe too many kids are playing ridiculous video games instead of running around outside like I was forced to as a kid.  Did they regulate work outs for kids?  Thought Not.
I'm just saying, I am the first to admit that sometimes my van auto-pilots into a fast food chain.  But I'm also slightly bright enough to realize that that means the next meal will include veggies and fruits.  And I'm definitely smart enough to realize that I don't need a governmental system telling me what I can, and cannot feed my kids.  Maybe we should send the Board back to.. wait for it... "Common Sense"  school to realize the true definitions of cause and effects.  Because I am positive that this cause, was not the reason behind that effect. 
And that's about as political as I feel for one day.  Off to do some decorating, and maybe eat some pie:).