TBT - Merry Christmas

For today's Christmas Eve Throwback Thursday, I'm looking back to Christmas's past.

Christmas Eve, 1965

I'm not sure why I was looking so sad on Christmas Eve.  I loved that Christmas dress and I always loved going to my grandparents house for Christmas Eve dinner and the reading of The Night Before Christmas.  Maybe I'd lost that day's round of gloating.

Christmas Morning, 2001

While not very Christmasy, I love this picture of my kids coming down the stairs Christmas morning.   Sarah's look of determination and concentration and Zack's obvious excitement and death grip on Brown Bear.  Poor Brown Bear!  He looks like he's got his hands up in that, "You're choking me!" defensive position.

Merry Christmas to all of you.  I hope that Santa is good to each of you and that you are warm and safe and surrounded by friends and family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

TBT - Christmas Gloating

Gloating.  It's one of my all time favorite Christmas traditions.

Gloating, Christmas 1976

As soon as the first packages arrived under the tree, my sister and I would begin the daily gloating ritual.  We'd start at one end of the living room & lay our presents out, end to end, on the living room floor and see who had the longest pile.  It made no difference who had more gifts, just their size.  Diamond earrings?  An engraved necklace?  The book all the cool kids were reading?  No thank you.  Give us a mop, a toilet plunger, a Chrissy or Velvet doll.  To this day, I'm not sure if I begged and pleaded for Chrissy & Velvet because I wanted the dolls or because they each stood almost three feet tall.  I definitely won the gloating contest the year I got both Chrissy & Velvet, but then came the crushing years when my sister got her own apartment and later got married.  I was at the earrings and nail polish stage of life when my sister was happily receiving mops and vacuum cleaners.

Sadly, I could never force get my own kids interested in gloating.  It may have had something to do with always having very hard hardwood floors....  I wonder if my sister's kids gloat.  I wonder if my great niece and nephew gloat.....  Hmmm, Great Aunt Jeannie just might have something to teach them.

TBT - First Timers

Christmas, 1995...

Zack's First Christmas

Zack's first Christmas.  I'm not sure why the Christmas tree was on the coffee table, unless maybe it was so that Zack couldn't reach the ornaments.  I can't even remember.  All I do remember about that special Christmas is that Zack would have been perfectly happy with one empty cardboard box and a bow to chew on.  Instead of giving him a box and a bow, our living room looked like a ToysRUs warehouse on Christmas morning.  Good grief!  Santa definitely over indulged that year.  You gotta love first time parents Santas.

Great Aunt Jeannie

Remember me mentioning that I'd finally gotten to meet my adorable great-nephew on Thanksgiving and how my dear, sweet sister and her adult children are teaching the baby to call me Great Aunt Jeannie?  Great Aunt Jeannie with the emphasis on the Great.  Remember how I'm throwing a little bit of a hissy fit about it?  I mean, come on.  Great Aunts are old.  Old and frowny-faced.  Old and frowny-faced and they sit all lady-like and proper while pinching your cheeks.

Great Aunt Susan, Christmas, 1987 or 1988

While I'll admit that I've got a bit more gray hair than I like to think about and I do occasionally get frowny-faced, I do not sit like a proper lady and pinch cheeks.  I am not Great Aunt material.  Not yet!

Giving Thanks, Day 26

I'm combining giving thanks with Throwback Thursday.

Today, as America celebrates Thanksgiving by stuffing their faces, I'm thankful for

Zack, at peace with a full belly, 1995

full bellies and food hangovers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks, Day 12

Today I'm giving thanks to my kids...

TBT Zack & Sarah, Kings Dominion, 2001

and the fact that they (a) have both learned to drive real cars and (b) they both got teeth.  Eventually.

I'm still terrified of the idea of them being behind the wheel and the freedom that a driver's license provides, but damn if it isn't sweet having someone I can send to the grocery store.  Thanks kids, I love you to death!  And would you pick up a head of lettuce on your way home?

TBT - Halloween Dress Up

It's TBT/Throwback Thursday, Halloween is only a few days away, and I'm reminded of my grandparents.  My hippie for a day grandparents.

Hippies

Okay, so my grandmother's choice of hats isn't what I'd call "hippie" but my grandfather's hair sure is!  They'd dressed as hippies for a costume party and if I remember correctly, they got stopped by the police on the way.  I was pretty young & don't know the details, but just seeing my grandfather with that hair makes me laugh.  He was a judge and didn't have a "hippie" bone in his body.  Neither of my grandparents did.  My grandfather sat around the house in his coat & tie while my grandmother was the type to wear white gloves when she went out to lunch.  They may have dressed immaculately, but they enjoyed life and were great fun.  When they let their hair down, that is.

TBT - The Rescue Rider

It's Throwback Thursday, otherwise known as TBT....

The Rescue Rider

For Zack's first Christmas, Santa brought him the Rescue Rider.  And, boy! Did Zack love that thing!  He pretty much learned to walk by pulling up on the back end of it and pushing it all over the house.  Later, he learned to sit on it and propel himself forward with his feet.  I never understood why it was called a "rescue" rider because it was really a dump truck.  What ever.  Zack carried all his favorite toys, loads of sand and more frogs & turtles than I could count around in the back of it.

Later in life, by the grand old age of 2, Zack had perfected steering his Rescue Rider.  Zack would start at the back of our house & race straight towards our front door.  A glass front door, I might add.  He'd get within inches of slamming into the door, turn the steering wheel, do a half a donut spin, and end up with the back of the Rescue Rider literally only an inch or two away from the door.  He did this over and over and over again and never hit the door!  Not once!

Later still, when his little sister was grown up enough to be chasing him around, calling "Hack, Hack" (because she couldn't pronounce the "z" in Zack,) he'd give her rides on the back and he even carried her dolls around for her occasionally.

Zack drove that Rescue Rider until its wheels fell off.  Literally.  Well, that's not true.  They didn't fall off.  They were hard plastic and he wore huge giant holes in them (from sliding towards the front door, I'm sure) and eventually, the holes got so big the Rescue Rider would no longer role.

It was a Very sad day the day the Rescue Rider went to live with the garbage men.

TBT - A boy in a cage

It's TBT/Throwback Thursday...

Zack in a cage

What is it with kids and cages?  Zack loved playing in the dog cage at his granny's house and as a child, I remember happily taking my nap in my cousins' dog cage when we'd visit.  Do/did your kids like to play in cages?

TBT - How 'bout those Redskins!

It's Throwback Thursday and I've mentioned before....

Zack, 4 months & already a Skins fan

We root for the Redskins.

Zack, 2 & Sarah 3 months

Before either of them could even sit up on their own, our kids knew who to root for.

So, who do you cheer for?

TBT - Rain

Have I mentioned that it's been raining for 4,000 days straight?  Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it has rained every day for the last five or six days.  Maybe even seven.  I've lost count.  My brain is so moldy from all the rain I can't even remember when the rain started.  It feels like there was never a time when it wasn't raining.  Like there's no Before.

Anyway, it's been raining.  Of course it has.  The State Fair is in town.  It always rains during Fair Week.

But this rain has been a little different.  This has been a lot of rain, not just normal, Fair Week drizzle.  The local news has been full of reports of the flooding taking place at JMU and Va. Tech.  And this weekend, Hurricane Joaquin should make it's arrival along the Virginia Coast.  Joaquin could bring us up to ten more inches of rain.  Ten!

Ten inches of rain is what we had with Gaston.  Gaston had tractor-trailers floating down Richmond's Main Street.  Floating tractor-trailers!  Do you have any idea how much water it takes to float a tractor-trailer?  I don't, but I know it's a lot and that's what we had with Gasont.  A lot of freaking water.

And that brings me to today's TBT pictures.

Gaston flooding, Providence Forge, VA

We had a little flooding with Gaston.  That is not a photo of the river we lived beside.  Nope, it's our road.  And if you look closely, over there on the right by the No Outlet sign, you'll see some of our belongings floating away.

Canoeing in the yard

The one good thing about Gaston was that the kids learned how to paddle a canoe.  Again, that's our yard, not the river.  And if you look closer, just to the right of the canoe's bow, you'll see the high water mark on the telephone pole.  Yep!  The water in our yard was armpit deep on my 6'4 husband.

Ever since Gaston, I get a little skittish whenever we have a heavy rain storm.  Don't get me wrong - I love a good storm.  There's nothing much better than being safely tucked away in the warm, dry house, knitting and reading (hopefully not by candle light,) while wild weather rages outside.  I even like hurricanes.  All that wind and water and danger excites me just a bit.  Some people get their thrills from jumping from airplanes or climbing steep cliffs or even alligator wrestling.  I get my thrills watching the weather rage while knowing I'm safely tucked away inside with a nice sturdy roof over my head and soft yarn in my hands.

But this weekend has me a little more nervous than excited.  All that flood water that's up in the mountains near JMU & Va. Tech has to flow downwards.  Down toward us.  And that flood water will be arriving just about the same time Joaquin does.  And we sold the canoe a few years ago.

I can't decide which I should be more focused on as far as storm preparations go.  Should I go yarn & book shopping?  Should I go to the grocery store & stock up on water and toilet paper?  Or should I go buy another canoe?

TBT - Mom's Best Day Ever

What happens when it's TBT (Throwback Thursday) and football season?  My mom's best day, ever!

Mom meets Joe Theismann

Have I mentioned my mom was a Redskins fan?  Actually, "fan" doesn't really describe her.  Fanatic would be more accurate.  Did I mention we had Thanksgiving dinner on a Friday one year because the Redskins were playing on Thanksgiving Day?  Have I mentioned how my mom would send me outside to play & lock the doors behind me so that I wouldn't bother her while the game was on?  Have I mentioned that while all my friends' families were having big Sunday dinners, we had cold cereal for supper on Sundays?  Have I mentioned that during the games, Mom would wear multiple Redskin pins, a Redskin baseball cap, a Redskin license plate type thing tied on string around her neck, and a Joe Theismann sweater my aunt knit?  And have I mentioned that while wearing all that, she'd sit in her chair, eyes glued to the TV screen, cigarette burning in her Redskin ashtray, a drink in her Redskins glass, all while rubbing her Redskins paper weight, coffee mug and teddy bear while shouting, "Come on boys!"  Have I mentioned coming home from a first date to find a queen sized sheet with "Hail to the Redskins" spray painted on it & nailed across our front porch?  Have I mentioned that as a younger child, my allowance was based on my attitude towards the Redskins & my willingness to shout,  "Hail to the Redskins" when ever we were out & about & saw someone else wearing maroon & gold?  Have I mentioned that once I moved out of the house, Mom always, always called me after a win & would shout, "Hail to the Redskins!" into the phone then hang up without saying another word?  It's weird, but since her death, Sundays are lonely.  Those phone calls are probably the thing I miss the most about her.

You can only imagine Mom's excitement when she got to spend a little time with Mr. Theismann during his visit to the cerebral palsy center where she worked.  Thank you Mr. Theismann for giving Mom her best day ever.  I sincerely hope you were not too traumatized by her.

TBT - Disney

Zack and Sarah loved Tigger in the books and in the movies,

Zack & Sarah with Tigger, Disney World, 1998

but they weren't so thrilled to meet him in person.

Actually, their favorite thing about their trip to Disney World with Grandma was the wreck they saw on the way their.  A horrible accident happened right in front of them & the fire engine pulled up next to their car and they had a front-row view of people being cut out of the cars & the med-flight helicopter landing.  The helicopter was so exciting that to this day, you ask them how they liked Disney and they start talking about the helicopter landing near them.  They didn't even mind being stuck in a car, on a bridge, in the Florida heat for over four hours.

The kids get their fear of those giant, oversized, walking & waving, stuffed animal things naturally though.  I'll admit, they freak me out just a bit.  And every day at work, I walk past Planet Snoopy & most days, Lucy is right there, waving & walking and doing her photo op thing with the kids.  And I freak out a little, I stare at her to make sure she's not going to 'get me' and I begin laughing at myself and my silly fear.  And Lucy sees me smiling and staring & makes a beeline for me so we can high-five each other.  Every day.  You'd think I'd learn to take another route through the park, or to not make eye contact, or to burst into tears instead of laughing at my fear, but no.  No, I just start my day at work all wiggy, knowing that I've come in contact with a giant, oversized, walking & waving stuffed Lucy.

TBT - Gentlemen, Start your engines!

Being a good ol' country boy, my husband was a big fan of NASCAR and we frequently went to the races.

Dover, 1998

This was the start of the 1998 Dover race.  Earnhardt didn't do so well but it was still a good time.

TBT - Gone Fishing Part 2

Only my husband would have back surgery then go fishing and catch a fish heavier than he was allowed to lift while in the healing process.

The big fish.

Luckily his friend, Ron, was there to help.

TBT - Gone Fishing, 2001

Sarah caught the big fish.

Beached Basking Shark, Hatteras, NC, 2001

Okay, so I made that up.  But we did see a big shark.

After a week of being official homeschoolers, we decided we needed a break & went on vacation.  While out riding on the beach at Hatteras, we came upon this beached basking shark.  It was still a tiny bit alive and while it was sad to see, it was also fascinating & was the start of a whole giant shark unit study.

Hatteras, NC, 9/10/2001

And while exciting to see & a fantastic learning opportunity, the experience put an end to my kids ever being satisfied with learning science from a text book.

It was also the last time Sarah willing swam in the ocean.

TBT - For the birds

It's Throwback Thursday....

I've always loved this picture of me holding a robin.  Of course there's no date on the photo, but I'd guess it was taken somewhere between 1965 and 1967.  The picture was taken in my aunt & uncle's backyard and while I can't remember my own name half the time, I remember that the tulips on the dress were pockets and I had red patent leather shoes to match.    I was quite the fashionable young bird catcher.

TBT - Hospital Hair

I'm throwing back to 1982.

May, 1982

Celebrating my 20th birthday in traction with hospital hair was not a lot of fun, but I guess it could have been worse.

May, 1982

I survived the windsurfing accident, the lengthy hospital stay, the bedpans, and the surgery.  I lived to tell the tale.  And all the cigarette smoke stunted the hanging plant enough that it didn't grow so big it smothered me in my sleep.  Yes, you could smoke in hospitals in the early '80's.  My roommate & I both smoked and all the nurses would come in our room during their cigarette breaks to hang out with us.  I'm a little surprised the air was clear enough to even take a picture because when you're in traction, there isn't much else to do but smoke.

TBT - Daddy's Girl

Today we're throwing back to 1964.

Dad & I, Gloucester Banks, 1964

What can I say?  I was a daddy's girl.  In all honesty, I think I was daddy's girl for two reasons.  First, I drove my mother crazy; and second, my parents were older when they had me and they were beginning to run out of energy.  Dad was just so glad I was a girl & he didn't have to play football with me.

Speaking of my birth....

Today's my birthday.  To celebrate, I'm offering a 50% off coupon code for 3 hours today in my Etsy shop.  Stop by my shop between noon and 3 p.m. EDT, today and use coupon code "HAPPYBIRTHDAY" to receive 50% off your total order.  Fifty percent off!  It's almost as good as cake!

TBT - Birthday Boys

May is a big birthday month for our family and today, we are throwing back to celebrate two May 9th birthdays.

Rex

My father-in-law, Rex, who is deeply missed and my nephew, Mike.

Mike J.

Yes, another Mike in the family.  My extended family is odd like that.  My husband & my nephew are both Mikes.  Besides my husband & nephew sharing names, my mom & my sister's mother-in-law shared a name, as does my nephew's wife & my daughter.  The same goes for birthdays.  My nephew & my father-in-law share the same birthdate, as does my mother-in-law and brother-in-law.   All the similarities make it extremely confusing when we gossip about each other.  

Happy birthday, guys!