This is what it feels like to be social

Today we had the opportunity to go to a Papa Johns Pizza and make our own pizzas.  It was a field trip set up with the homeschool group I joined back in October.  This is the first outing we've gone on with them. 

We got to keep these awesome aprons!

#1 went with another group so I don't have 

any pics of her.

Believe it or not, I'm not entirely comfortable meeting new people.  I can do it and I don't necessarily hate it, but I think if we were all honest we would say that it is easier to just stick with the people you already know and the friends you have instead of branching out and making new friends.  Unfortunately, with the move I had no other option other than making new friends.  It's not exactly easy for the girls either.  I wouldn't consider any of them shy, but it's just plain hard to make new friends. 

It's hard to see, but their aprons are covered in flour

But we all buckled down and guess what?  We all made new friends.  I met a couple of moms with children the same age as the girls.  I really hit it off with a couple of them.  The girls had fun playing with the other children.  And best of all--we got to eat pizza and play at the park!  In addition, I found out about a few other homeschooling groups in the area that don't have websites that I can now contact and hopefully have even more opportunities to get out of the house a little more!  I had forgotten how good it feels to go out and do something fun.  I'm looking forward to settling in here even more and making friends for myself and for my girls!

Feeding the crowd

I made dinner tonight for everyone at church.  The congregation here has a meal before services every Wednesday night.  I'm not sure why they started.  And to be perfectly honest, when we first moved here I wasn't so sure I was going to like it.  Turns out, I actually enjoy it quite a bit.  First of all, it isn't a potluck.  One person provides the entire meal for everyone and we rotate who cooks by signing up for it.  That means that I only have to cook one Wednesday night every 6-8 weeks.  Granted, that one time I have to cook is quite an undertaking, but still.  5-7 weeks off, even for one night a week is awesome!

The first time it was my turn I was actually nervous.  Trying to come up with something that you think everyone is going to like can be a little nerve racking.  But I finally decided on taco salad and it went over pretty well.  Everyone especially loved the brownies I made.  I take no credit--they came from a box. 

The second time it was my turn I made white chili.  I've never had so many people ask me what a dish was in my entire life.  Or so many looks of trepidation when they tasted it.  I think most of them told me they were pleasantly surprised that it was pretty good.  I chose not to look too closely at the trash cans to see how much was thrown out.  Ignorance is bliss!

So tonight was my turn again. I considered chicken enchiladas, but that is what I make for pot-lucks.  I don't want to make them eat the enchiladas too often, then I would have to stop bringing them to the pot-lucks.  Right now I always come home with an empty dish so I decided not to mess with a good thing.  So I went back to taco salad.  I figured it had been about three months since I made it the first time.  I was feeling pretty good about how it all turned out until one of the elders walked in tonight, looked at the food and exclaimed, "It must be Anita's night to cook!"  I never did find out exactly what he meant by that, although I believe the general gist was that I can be counted on to bring something Mexican related.  I tried to tell him that the white chili wasn't even close to a Mexican dish, but he just smiled at me and shook his head.  I told him that since I was in such a rut next time I was going to only bring turnip greens and it would serve him right.  Unfortunately for me, he actually loves those nasty things so he would enjoy that meal.  Cajuns...

The plus side to all of this, is that even if I am constantly bringing food to this congregation that they don't know what to do with, they all love the desserts I make.  Most of them have gone over pretty well.  So even if most of the actual food gets thrown away, at least I can enjoy the compliments about the desserts!

Friends

You know those friends who are true friends?  Those friends that really can just come over whenever and you have no qualms about how picked up your house is or if there are dirty dishes in the sink?  Or that you can go to their house whenever just because and always feel welcome.  We had those friends before we moved, the E's.  Amazingly enough I was friends with the wife and Hubby was friends with the husband and all our girls were friends.  It happens, just not that often. 

To be perfectly honest, I was a little afraid of what our friendship would become once we moved.  I knew we would have the best intentions of staying in touch, but both of our families are busy with our lives.  Neither Mrs. E or myself are the type to write each other an email every day.  I know our Hubbies have talked several times, but that doesn't necessarily help the Mrs. and I.  Back in October my Hubby took our girls and went camping with the E's when I went from my Grandma's funeral.  Good for the Hubbies to catch up and our girls to enjoy each other, but again, not very helpful for my friendship with Mrs. E.

When the E's called several weeks ago and asked if they could come stay with us for the weekend, we were all excited and looked forward to them coming.  And you know what?  It was like we hadn't been in two different states for the past 4 months.  We were all completely comfortable with each other.  Having an extra 5 people in our home wasn't any more stressful than having family here.  All our girls played with each other just like they always have.  The Hubbies started several discussions about the church and basically had many "preacher" discussions.  Mrs. E and I shared the same snarky attitude we always have, and the ability to laugh about the same things. 

All the girls together

I'm so thankful to know that even though we don't live in the same town and see each other several times a week, our friendship can remain strong.  The knowledge that we can get together after many months of not seeing each other and pick back up right where we left off is such a blessing.  And the best part is that it is a blessing for myself, Hubby and our girls!

I can be crafty!

***I apologize for the length of this post.  I thought I had moved on from the trauma this caused me, but once I started I realized I'm still scarred.  

I would not consider myself to be a crafty person.  I like the idea of crafting, just not the actual process.  I like getting everything organized and sorted out and lists made of what all I am going to need.  Because I'm a list person.  But I really dislike the clean-up.  Even if it is just me, having to get everything cleaned up when I'm tired and grouchy after doing the craft is a pain.  Not to mention the fact that I have never once had a craft go according the plan.  Ever. 

As for doing crafts with the girls, kill me now!  I wish I was the type of Mom who loved to do crafts with my children.  My girls certainly like doing them.  But I can not stand doing it with them.  Not only do they make a huge mess, regardless of what it is we are actually making, they very rarely do it correctly.  Imagine that, a child not being able to flawlessly execute a craft that I myself can not seem to make look right.  And even though my head knows this, my oh-so-carefully-kept-under-control control freak nature is driven absolutely nuts when my 8 year old does not evenly space the jewels she is gluing to the paper.  Now, before you think I'm a completely awful person, I have never taken a project away from my child to do it for them because theirs doesn't look right.  But I secretly want to. And it makes me twitch that I can't.  So you will rarely see me sitting down to craft. 

Despite all this, for some inexplicable reason, I decided that I would make a large majority of the Christmas gifts to give out to family this year.  I blame Pinterest and my friend B for guilting me into joining.  She knows who she is.  Most of them turned out OK.  None of them turned out as planned.  And I have already instructed Hubby to remind me of everything I went through to make all this stuff next year if I should happen to temporarily lose my sanity again.  Here are a few of the things I made.

Cinnamon applesauce ornaments.  They're kind of cute, they smell really good.  Baby Girl #3 was able to help me with them.  However, once done I wondered if they had any true functionality.  The thought was to have them for several years to help the house smell good.  I gave several away to different people and I still have quite a few.  If they still smell good next year it will have been worth it.

Multi-colored crayons.  Made for Baby Girl #4 and the two cousins that are close to her age.  You basically melt down several pieces of different crayons.  Turned out OK.  Uglier than I thought.  This is probably due to the fact that I was so desperate to not have to peel the paper off 100 crayons that I recruited Baby Girls #1 and #2 to do it for me.  They apparently decided that all the gray, black and brown ones should be done first.  They were probably conspiring against me because I won't do any crafts with them.

Cute, right?  WORST CRAFT EVER!!!!!!!  It seemed like the simplest craft.  Cut some cord and some old t-shirts up, braid them together and then glue a magnet on each end.  I was even going to have #1 and #2 help with this one.  Only to discover #2 doesn't know how to braid.  News to me!  #1 has known for a while and #3 just recently taught herself as well.  I just assumed #2 had taught herself as well.  That was not the case.  Also, the lady whose blog I read on how to do this simply stated, "Glue a magnet on the end with tacky glue".  Did she mention that tacky glue takes forever to dry?  Or that if you try to put it down after 30 minutes thinking it is dry enough that the magnet will fall off because it is not, in fact, dry at all?  Did she mention that the magnets themselves are a real pain to find in a craft store, or that the size of the magnet matters?  Did she mention that if you try to order magnets online because you can not find the right size in 5 different stores that they might not be strong enough to actually hold the ends of a bracelet together?  Or that if you try to switch to a hot glue gun because you have wasted hours of your life and only finished one stupid bracelet that it will not work if you already put tacky glue on the bracelet?  In case you have missed the sarcastic tone, no, she did not mention any of that.  I could go on with several more things that went wrong.  Suffice it to say, I made several of the bracelets for my girls and their friends.  I don't know if any of them can be worn.  And I don't really care at all.  If I never see those bracelets again I'll be fine with that.

This was my favorite.  It didn't turn out as planned either, but at this point I didn't care at all.  I made one for my Mom and made one for myself at the same time.  I really liked it and it's a little awkward to ask someone to make something for you. In case you're wondering, my Mom and I both have a tendency to snort when we start laughing really hard.  I love it when my Mom does it, it makes everyone else laugh even harder.  It's not so cute when I do it, but I'm usually laughing too hard at that point to care what other people think about my laugh.

That's all the pictures I have.  I made some other things--sugar scrubs that turned out OK, rice bags that you can heat up, bath crayons for the little girls that are basically colored soap, some seek and find bags.  I don't know how much everyone will use what I made for them.  At this point I just hope they lie to me and tell me they use it all the time.  Until next December when they admit that it has just sat in their home not being used so that I can quell any desire to make anything for anyone.  EVER AGAIN!

Baby Girl #3's birthday

Poor kid has a birthday just over a week after Christmas.  Since my own birthday is exactly two weeks after Christmas I am aware of how much it actually stinks.  It's not that I didn't get enough gifts or attention growing up on my birthday.  It's just that everyone is always so partied out from Christmas that there isn't much celebration left in them when it comes time for your birthday.  The one good thing is that we're usually around extended family for Christmas which means I'm able to throw a celebration for her in there somewhere.  So far she doesn't seem to mind.

This year we were up at my parents' and my brother (D) and his wife and daughter were coming up a couple of days before our family Christmas.  #3 had told me multiple times she wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese for her birthday.  I really dislike that place.  I'm not exactly sure why.  It is entirely possible that I dislike it solely based on the cliche aspect of it.  And the fact that it always seems dirty to me.  And that I have never been to one where I did not see a child climbing on the ski-ball machine.  (Once it was my child--but that's another story).  Regardless, I did not want to do Chuck E Cheese.  Instead, I thought we could go to a place called Incredible Pizza, which as it turns out is now called Gatti Town.

Gatti Town is like a grown up version of Chuck E Cheese.  There is a Pizza/Salad/Dessert Bar that is all you can eat for as long as you are there.  And you put money on a card for the games instead of having to carry 4 cups filled with a million tokens.  There are also a lot more games that actual adults can enjoy like putt-putt and go-carts and miniature bowling.  But also plenty of kid games as well.

Baby Girls #1, 2 and 3 with Uncle on Bumper Cars.  Baby Girl #4 and cousin are looking on morosely because they are too short to ride.

Baby Girls #1 and #2 on the go-carts

 I had a good plan.  We went on a Thursday and got there about 3:30.  My plan was to play first and then eat and then leave, missing most of the evening crowd.  It didn't quite work out that way.  Which is OK.  One of my other brothers (S) was able to get off work a little early so he was able to come, so the extra stress was worth it.  But seriously, it is so stressful to me to try to keep track of 4 children, make sure they all get to play and do everything they really want to, count tickets, and then take 15 minutes at a crowded counter to decide whether they want a pencil or plastic ring.  I had 6 other adults there with me and I still left completely exhausted, and quite frankly, a little hungry.  All you can eat doesn't help when you're trying to make sure your children get everything they want.  Don't get me wrong, my family did most of the work for me.  But I try to not just assume they will handle everything so I was constantly jumping up to get another breadstick or refill a drink.

Baby Girl #3 actually enjoyed the little kid section more than anything

She loved this train

So we left a little later than planned.  And then we swung by my brother (S) and his wife's place so brother (D) and family could see their new house.  One does not simply "stop by real quick" in my family.  Our quick stops involve making a pot of coffee.  But luckily I have done this before so I knew to bring the girls' PJs for them to change in to.  We had an hour and half drive home.  Made slightly longer due to the fact that even though I have made the drive several times in my life, and was actually following my Dad, I was talking instead of paying attention and took the wrong exit.  Onto a turnpike.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Oklahoma turnpikes, suffice it to say we had to go several miles down the road in order to turn around.

We made it home around 11, all the girls went right bed and the adults were not far behind.  I was pretty proud of myself for being able to give Baby Girl #3 a celebration at a pizza/party place, even if it wasn't Chuck E Cheese, and even if it wasn't on her actual birthday.  That proud moment disappeared on her actual birthday when she asked me what we were going to do for her birthday and then got a blank look when I explained that Gatti Town was her party.  *Sigh*

Our Christmas

The majority of my family was able to get together on the 29th for our family's Christmas gathering.  Hubby didn't come with the girls and I because I was going to be at my parents' for two weeks.  My older brother and his wife spent Thanksgiving with us so they were with her family for Christmas.  Everyone else was there though, even my sister's fiance who drove 10 hours round trip just to be able to spend a few hours with us.

My family is not huge on traditions.  We decided several years ago as more of "us kids" were getting married that we would plan on celebrating Christmas whenever the most of us could get together.  One of my brothers is a State Trooper and he works a lot of holidays.  Hubby usually isn't going to be taking off any time around the holidays because he's expected to be at home for the congregation.  So we work around everyone's schedules to include as many as we can. We figure as long as we're together, the actual day isn't as important.

The one tradition we do have?  We have a scavenger hunt every Christmas.  Mom and Dad started doing one, I don't even know how long ago.  We used to have it just around their house, but the in-laws started complaining that it wasn't really fair since they hadn't grown up there and how were they supposed to know where the dog was buried?  Whiners!  Anyway, this year Mom and Dad went all out and actually gave items to several church members, gave us the addresses and we had to map it out on GPS and then figure out who had what.  It was a lot of fun. Although the driver in my car was the Trooper brother, and I'm not crazy about what a stickler he seems to be for the "laws of the land" such as the speed limit.  Anyway, it's the one thing we have all decided needs to be done every year.  I sometimes think my parents wish they hadn't ever started this tradition, but we all tell them they have no one to blame but themselves!

After the scavenger hunt we opened gifts and ate a laid back meal of enchilada pie.  If you've never had it, you've missed out!  I gotta say--my family is loud when we all get together!  Even when there were 8 of us living in the the house when my siblings and I were all at home my parents' house seemed plenty big.  (Most of the time!)  However, when there were 17 of us talking, opening gifts, and eating it seemed a little cramped!  But you know what?  I wouldn't change it.  I'm so thankful I was able to spend time with all of them.  And let's be honest--anyone who knows me knows that I'm not what you would normally term a quiet person.  We're all pretty loud, and I love it!

It's my Birthday!

And I did a whole lot of nothing!  I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch and tacos for dinner.  We were late getting home from our trip so school had to start today.  I got to open all my gifts early so I had nothing to open today.  Baby Girl #1 made cookies after dinner but since Hubby and I started counting points today I can't eat more than one. 

And you know what?  I'm OK with my day being like that.  The gifts that I did get were pretty awesome.  Hubby fixed my wedding ring that has been broken for several months!  He also got me a certificate for a massage and money to go and do anything I want to for an entire day.  I'm really looking forward to that day, whenever it comes.  My parents got me a bracelet that I love.  Hubby is making my favorite breakfast for brunch on Friday. 

So my actual birthday wasn't one that will go down for the most spectacular day of my life.  That's OK.  My blessings are many.  And if the gifts and breakfasts and special treatment get drawn out over several days instead of being all in one that may be even better.  That's just that many more days that I get to say, "But we're celebrating my birthday!" to get out of cleaning the dinner dishes!

Finally home

We are finally back home.  We're two days later than what I planned thanks to a fever that made its way through each of the girls, one day at a time.  Baby Girl #3 was actually sick on her birthday!  Poor girl was miserable.  But we're mostly all better, and we are so happy to be back home.  I missed Hubby and the girls missed their Daddy. 

I'll do a re-cap of the last several weeks over the next several days hopefully.  We had a lot going on, but we had a wonderful holiday season.  We're thankful for the time we got to spend with family and for all the blessings God has given us.  God is so Good!