A quick recap of the weekend and then some.

We had a short but busy, and fun weekend.  Nothing was planned, we just did a lot of flying from the seat of our pants.  I like it that way.  I know sometimes it is necessary to plan, but I prefer to just go with the flow.  Having things on the schedule during the weekends can tend to stress me out--and that's nonsense, stress is for weekdays :)  

Friday night, Brian and I decided to get some dinner out, so we called up his mom and she happily agreed to take the munchkins for us.  They were equally excited to see grandma Debbie.  I didn't get any pics of the evening but it was sure nice and much needed.  Brian and I hit up Cheesecake Factory while the kids enjoyed Happy Meals brought for them by Grandma.  At the end of the night, Brian and I brought back cheesecake for everyone to enjoy for dessert--a good night indeed.  

Saturday, Brian's friends were getting together to meet one of the guys' new fiance.  We had some "errands" to run earlier that day, and I already wasn't feeling good for those, so I decided to just stay home and let Brian and Max go--Maggie was pretty cranky too, so we just chilled out.

Chilling with my #1 girl.

Shortly after Maggie and I settled in at home, my lil sis called to see if I wanted to watch Miss Sophia while her and Cody went to do some grocery shopping.  Sure!!  So, Sophia came over to our house.  Maggie was sleeping when she arrived, so for a little bit it was just auntie/niece time!

Auntie Erin snuggled her up in Max & Maggie's baby bouncy seat and she loved it!

She's just the prettiest little thing!!  

Soon, Maggie heard there was a baby in her house and woke up.  She immediately took ownership of the bouncy seat.  She loves her little cousin--she wants to pet her and watch her.  She even shared her silky with her for a brief moment before deciding it was too valuable to share with anyone.

Don't worry, Sophia is NOT underneath my monster-sized baby :)

When Brian arrived home from his friends' house, we decided to stop by his parents for a quick visit.  They have a smaller dog named, Mickey.  Mickey has a little dog door off the back of their house.  At one point in our visit, a small child of ours showed up missing.  Turned out Maggie found the doggy door and decided to escape--she stood proudly outside the doors looking in at us as we searched for her.  Once realizing she'd been discovered, she ran away as quickly as possible--thank God their yard is fenced in!  Little turd!

After a visit to Brian's dad and step-mom's, we decided to get dinner with my family.  We went to my mom's and had pizza and ice cream.  

Papa Mike enjoying his two granddaughters.  

This is our best attempt at a picture with Papa and all his grands.  Not the greatest...but it's a start I suppose.

And then the raspberry monster came out and wreaked havoc on little Maggie's belly!  I don't think I've heard her laugh so hard--ever.

Sunday was a lazy day.  I did have a baby shower to go to, so Mom watched my kids for a few hours while I went there.  It was really nice to see some old faces that I don't get to see much anymore.  And it is always exciting to help a friend celebrate impending mommy-hood.  

On Monday, I had a dentist appointment so Linds watched my kids.  When I got back we had lunch and played for a little bit before heading home.  While we were in the living room, Maggie appeared to be missing--again.  I swear I watch my kids, she is just a little sneak.  

This is where Lindsey found the little stink-bug.

Perched up on Nana's table playing with Mommy's keys and Aunt Leelee's cell phone.  

Soon we headed home to wait for Daddy to get off work.  We enjoy trying to take pics with all of us in them.  The kids think its so funny to see themselves on my phone.  So here's take one:

Max decided to not cooperate--typical.

Then take two:

Much better--and so so ornery.

Finally, Monday night Mommy and Max had to make-up snacks for Max's preschool.  His turn to bring snacks was Tuesday so we found these little guys (or the inspiration for them I should say) on Pinterest.  A little hot glue and masking tape, and wa-la!!  Aren't they just adorable.

Max's little robots!

Valentine's Day--Not Just a Day for Love-birds!

Valentine's Day has never had a huge appeal to me.  I probably liked it best in elementary school when we got to wrap a shoebox in tin foil and paste construction paper hearts on it and then take it to school where it was stuffed full with little valentine greetings from classmates (which I never read) and candy (which I always ate in a day).  Those were simpler times, for sure.  No one lamented over not having a boyfriend or girlfriend and there was no pressure to find a gift that accurately reflected how much you loved the receiver of the gift.  The only true disappointment of the day came when you saw instead of candy, your teacher had taped an unsharpened pencil to her valentine to you!  Seriously, I thought these people were supposed to be smart ;)  

As I got older, and didn't have a boyfriend come Valentine's day, I started to see and understand where the complexity of Valentine's Day came into play.  It wasn't a day to pass-out cheap Valentine greetings to all your friends, it was a day to proclaim to your peers, "I am important enough to have a boyfriend/girlfriend!!"  For those who didn't (even if by choice), it was hard not to feel somehow out of place.  Seeing friends walk out of school with balloons and stuffed animals holding a box of chocolates was down right depressing.  But, that's the nature of high school I guess.  You magnify every situation and perceive it to be more significant than it really is.  You, at the time, don't understand that the second you walk out of the doors of high school after graduation that none of that crap mattered, like, at all.  The classmates who never were without a boyfriend or girlfriend weren't as awesome and perfect as everyone believed them to be.  You realized that outside of the safety net of a small group of people, where it's not too terribly difficult to perch yourself high on a pedestal and convince others of your amazingness, you really are all equal--single or not.  It's like the playing field immediately leveled the second the tassels were moved from one side of the cap to the other.  If only we all could realize that while we're in high school--we'd spare ourselves a lot of unnecessary self-loathing and grief!  

I'll admit, I did have a few Valentine's Days during my jr. high and high school years where I proudly marched into school on the morning of V-Day and stuffed my thoughtless gift into the lucky recipients locker--more concerned with getting to my own locker to see what treasures awaited!  Sigh, so many aspects of teenage Erin I wish I could disown!!  I'm ashamed to say I at time fell into the trap of finding self-value by the mere factor of having a boyfriend come Valentine's Day (even if I did break-up with him the next week--he had served his sole purpose after all).  But, I guess those experiences have helped to shape my perspective of V-Day now, as a happily married adult and mother who knows the true meaning of love and the value of that love.  

I haven't had a "single" Valentine's Day since graduation--I started dating my now husband a few months after beginning college.  The first few Valentine's Days we had together carried a high level of expectation and anticipation--because I still had that immature side where I found an element of self-worth wrapped up in the gift I received, and because, for the first time, I actually did LIKE the person I was celebrating V-Day with.  So dumb, I know.  I know I was truly in the "honeymoon" stage of the early relationship because I thought the pink Ty Teddy Bear and Chocolates were the best thing ever (SMH)!!!  Thank goodness I've grown-up a lot since then.  

I have come to understand that Valentine's Day ISN'T a vitally important holiday.  The weight of my love for someone or their love for me isn't represented in the gift or card given.  And certainly, not having someone to share Valentine's Day with romantically by no means suggests you aren't important or special.  Truly, I don't think Valentine's Day is just a day for lovers--notice Hallmark doesn't just have sappy V-Day cards for lovers...they also have them for parents, kids, grandparents...etc--proof V-Day isn't just a day of MUSH! Valentine's Day is merely a day set-aside to do something different than your normal every day gestures of love and appreciation to remind someone(s) how much they mean to you.  It's not to be taken so seriously that people find themselves depressed and lonely--because in truth, don't we all have at least one person we love that could be celebrated on a day like today??  I would encourage any singletons out there to celebrate your singlehood today!  Tell your family & friends how much you love and appreciate them, treat yourself, LOVE YOURSELF!!  Don't let your self-worth take a beating today.  I'd rather spend 100 Valentine's Days single than to be celebrating a superficial, un-authentic love with the wrong someone just for the sake of celebrating.  In the end, the cards usually get thrown away, the chocolates make us fat, the flowers wilt and start to stink, and the stuffed animals just take up space and really aren't that cute--especially the creepy life-sized ones.  

Keep Valentine's Day simple.  It is just one day of 365 and it will be over and forgotten soon.  I will love my husband just as much tomorrow as I do today.  And honestly, he'll appreciate me cleaning the toilet, sweeping my shedded hair off the bathroom floor, or making dinner for the family more than he does the card or giant cookie I gave him.  For me, I see Brian's acts of love in making sure the sidewalks are clear for me and the kids every day, putting gas in the car when it's cold so I don't have to stand outside, and in bringing me a Diet Coke from McDonalds before going into work this morning. And my kids, they've already peeled and placed every sticker from their sticker packs they got in their cards--and have eaten most of their shared giant heart cookie.  They don't care that it's Valentine's Day, and they certainly know today and everyday how much Brian and I love them.  For them, I hope it is always as simple as that--although something tells me they'll have to learn this on their own as well.  

Happy Valentine's Day everyone--take some time to tell or show someone today how much you care!

A sampling of our festivities for V-Day 2014!!

Max & Maggie's card to Brian

Brian's Heart Cookie (we'll see if he shares!)

Max and his "Swoopie" card that "grows" when you open it!

Brian, mine, Max, & Maggie's cards--we could have ordered a pizza instead with the money we spent on these!!  Sigh...well at least we've done our part to keep Hallmark in business for another year!

The Making of a Musical, Part 1

If you've ever been a part of the cast, orchestra, crew, or production team of a musical, you know what a huge undertaking it can be.  The amount of detail and work that goes into the final product is something most people are unaware of--and I guess that is the point.  You go out wanting to present a show that people get lost in, if only for a few hours.  You want them to be drawn in and to feel like a part of the story.  That, as simple as it may sound, is a hard thing to achieve.  It's challenging because it means everyone has to be on their game.  Actors must know their parts so well, it's second nature.  The orchestra has to have polished the accompaniment music--which often consists of 10 or more parts.  The technical elements of lighting, sound, and scenic transition have to be on time and in sync with what is going on with the dialogue and music.  It can be a logistical nightmare if you aren't organized and it can all fall apart at the drop of a hat if even one thing is off--especially in an amateur production where there often isn't the level of experience needed to "keep on keeping on" when something doesn't go as rehearsed.

So, with all this in mind, you can get a little bit of an idea of how overwhelming and sometimes stressful it can be to be the person at the reigns of a production.  This is where my mom has found herself now for 4 years in a row with our local high school.  She isn't alone though, my brother, Jacob, is a huge asset (sometimes you can take that "et" off and he's that too...ha) to her.  As a theater major, he brings a great deal of relief and insight for my mom as he takes care of things like scenic design, lighting, and even music.  They are a great team.  Occasionally my sister and I are there to input our ideas and thoughts, but for the most part, it's Mom and Jacob's show.

The last three years have been pretty successful for them and the students.  Their first show was The Sound of Music.  Honestly, I don't think it could have been any better received by the community.  It was the first show in the school's brand new theater and the experience of doing a show with bigger and better resources in our back pocket really made a huge difference.  For the first time, we could have big sets, more sophisticated lighting, an orchestra pit for the musicians, and use backdrops.  Not to mention, audiences could sit in comfortable seats and not metal folding chairs and there were no 100 year old oversized fans blowing aggressively in anyone's face and drowning out the sound--air conditioning is a beautiful thing.  It was the makings for a great first production and it certainly didn't disappoint.  The following year they did Grease.  It was another big name show, and so it was an easy sell.  I loved this show.  The choreography was some of the best we'd seen from a high school production at that point in time and thanks to our newfound space, we could use an actual car for the scenes revolving around the ever-famous "Grease Lightening".  Last year we did Thoroughly Modern Millie.  We had the perfect cast for it and they did such a great job.  I've seen Millie many times--this was one of my favorites.  The cast just owned their performances and the choreography was top notch.  Another impressive element of this production in particular was the costuming.  My mom has such an eye for it, and you couldn't help but notice the bright colors on stage--it added so much depth and interest (proof of how important good costuming is).

This year...this year we are pulling out all the stops.  The chosen show has been on our back burner since Mom took over the musical.  We tried for 2 years to get it and were denied the rights because a certain former gymnast and her cast were touring in this production at the time...meaning no one else could get their hands on it.  It is a show that is going to appeal to young and old alike because it's a story we all grew up with.  The characters are as familiar to us as old friends and the fantasy of it is something we've all dreamt of at one point or another.  When we found out we got the rights, we almost didn't know where to start or what to do next--it was so unexpected and we were off-our-rockers excited.  The first order of business was to announce it to the students.  Here's their first glimpse of what was coming their way:

2014 Musical Announcement

So, just in case you couldn't get the video to work, I guess I can go ahead and let you know that the musical we are doing this year is none other than Peter Pan!  And, in case you were scratching your  head about my previous references to the gymnast who was touring in Peter Pan, it was Cathy Rigby.  She's been performing the title role in this musical for years.  We had the privilege of seeing her perform it and she's fabulous.  She made us fall in love with this show--and now we're so thrilled to be bringing it to our hometown.  This musical is so huge because it has the added technical element of FLYING.  Yes, you have to have actual flying (or at least the illusion of flying) in order to do this show justice.  The scary element of that factor is that we don't add the flying until the very end.  Everything has to be ready to go weeks in advance and then a flying company (for us, it's the same company that did Cathy Rigby's flying--so it's safe to say they probably know what they're doing) comes in to help us choreograph, set-up, and rehearse the flying scenes. It's a huge undertaking--not to mention expensive!  However, the flying is what adds the element of "magical" to this show.  That first glimpse of Peter Pan flying up and through the Darling's nursery window is such an exciting moment in the show.  You hear an audible gasp of excitement every time and it sets up the anticipation of what is to come.  I can't wait to see it unfold in our production.

Right now, we're busy staging and learning dialogue and music (set construction has also recently begun).  Auditions were in November (oh, the stories I could share about auditions--most of them involve Mom, Jacob, Lindsey and I fighting and bickering about casting) and they started choreography in December.  As per usual, the choreography is fabulous.  We have some incredibly talented dancers in this show--our Tiger Lily is captivating to watch already.  Audiences are going to LOVE her.  I'm already impressed with the progress.  It isn't clean or ready for public viewing by any means, but I can see past the lack of polish to what it is going to be in the end--and I can't wait for others to get to see that.  One of my favorite aspects is getting to see each student become their character.  They come into rehearsal as Adam, Katey, Elizabeth, Isaac, Mason, Jordin, etc.  But once they step onstage for rehearsal they are Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, Peter Pan, the Crocodile, John and Wendy.  They take their part in this production seriously.  They know they're an important piece of the puzzle and that without them doing their job, the final picture will be incomplete.

So here's to 2 1/2 more months of hard work.  I plan to update as we go along and I'll share some photos (maybe some video snippets) so you can see what goes on behind the closed doors of the theater.

For now, some rehearsal pics.

Peter and the Lost Boys

They won't grow UP!

Tiger Lily and the Indians

The "Twins"

Captain Hook, Smee, and Pirates

Lost Boys, and the Darlings

John Darling and the Lost Boys

Director Robin blocking a scene with the lost boys

The "BEWARE: you're getting close to the edge of the stage" light strip.

OKAY...and here's a video clip of a dance rehearsal!!

UGG A WUGG

A Night at Nanny's

Our family likes to pile as many people into small spaces as possible.  One of our favorite places to do this is at Nanny's house.  Nanny's house is a special place.  It is the place where Nanny herself was born.  Actually, she was born in what later became the feed house while the her parents were building the house.  She grew up there with her brother, Paul.  The family ran a successful hatchery there for years.  In fact, in the basement there is still a very large egg incubator--I bet its worth a lot in the right hands, now that I think about it.  Nanny lived there until she married and then an unfortunate series of circumstances unfolded when she and my late grandfather Gramps were in their early 20s, and they ended up moving their small family into the house to live with my great-grandmother.  She's lived there ever since.  My mom and 2 aunts grew up there and my siblings, cousins, and I have spent countless hours out there playing wiffle-ball, high-flies, hide-and-seek, chasing chickens, looking for eggs, and trying to find where the newest litter of kittens were hidden in the barn.  So, so many memories.  I will always love Nanny's house.  Now I look forward to holidays when we really take the stuffing of people into a small space to a new level.  Some grumble about the lack of elbow room at the table, but I absolutely love it.

Holidays aren't the only time we convene at Nanny's house.  We frequently make spur of the moment plans to have pizza nights at Nanny's and whoever can come, comes.  Last Friday night was one of those nights.  We actually got a fairly good turn-out for last minute plans.  My cousins Cheryl and Lynnette and their children Eli and Dax, my aunt and uncle Heidi and Mark, my mom, sister, her new baby Sophia, myself and Max and Maggie were in attendance.  It was the first time for Cheryl and Lynnette to meet Sophia and Max was so excited to play with his buddy Eli.  Maggie took a liking and interest to Dax, who surprised us all with his new-found skill of army-crawling across the floor.  

Nanny loves it when we all come over. I can only imagine her joy.  It would really be something to have 4 generations of your family under one roof--a family that started with you. I for one am so grateful that my kids are close to Nanny and their great aunts and uncles, cousins, and other extended family members. Family is more important than anything, and it is so important to me to make sure that my kids value those relationships from an early age.  I really cherish these times and there's no one I'd rather spend my Friday nights with than my family!  

Mark & Heidi with their youngest great niece

Mark with his other great niece

 The following is a sequence of pictures of Dax trying to play with Maggie who didn't want to share her boat...

No guilt...

Cheryl hogging, I mean meeting, Sophia!

Sweet baby girl all cozy and calm.

Max, Maggie, & Eli gave us a concert...

You can't tell from the pic, but when he is held up, he runs in place--very entertaining!

Sitting-up like a big boy!

Apparently we were boring company for Mark :)

Nanny getting Dax set-up on the boat.

It's all he wanted to do all night!! 

 Mission accomplished.

Nanny and her newest great-grandbaby

My Inspiration: Name that Blog

I had wanted to take up blogging a long time ago, but the biggest thing that kept me from diving in feet first was the lack of a name for the blog.  I tossed around so many ideas--I won't even tell you what they were because they were complete crap.  I was in need of some serious creative ex-lax if I was going to make this blog happen--and one day, seemingly out of nowhere, it came to me.

One of my absolutely favorite shows growing up was "Growing Pains".  We watched it ALL. THE. TIME.  I'll admit it, Kirk Cameron's Mike was a hunk and I wanted to marry him.  But, for the sake of this post, that's irrelevant.  I always loved the theme song for GP.  So when I went to You Tube to watch/listen to it again after so many years, I found my blog title in the lyrics.  The last line in the chorus of the song is We've got each other, Sharin' the laughter and love.  I changed the wording ever-so-slightly and hence was born the blog Sharing in Laughter and Love.  

For me, I wanted the blog to be predominantly about our family's life.  I can't even begin to put into words how much I love my family--in fact I'm pretty sure there are no words to describe the depth of my love for them.  But what I can tell you is this.  There is no shortage of laughter or love amongst us.  As long as I have them, I have everything I'll ever need.


Listen to the full version of the song here: As Long as We Got Each Other

Show me that smile again
Oh, show me that smile
Don't waste another minute on your cryin'
We're nowhere near the end
We're nowhere near
The best is ready to begin

All in a cloudy daze
I look into your eyes and see them shining out
Holding you close this way
Holding you this way
Is like having summer everyday
Ooh, ooh

As long as we got each other
We got the world spinnin' right in our hands
Baby, you and me
We gotta be
The luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin'

As long as we keep on givin'
We can take anything that comes our way
Baby, rain or shine
All the time
We got each other
Sharin' the laughter and love

Promise me here and now
Nothing but jokes
Will never come between us
You can depend on me
'Cause I need you like the air I breathe
Oh, oh

As long as we got each other
We got the world spinnin' right in our hands
Baby, you and me
We gotta be
The luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin'

As long as we keep on givin'
We can take anything that comes our way
Baby, rain or shine
All the time
We got each other
Sharin' the laughter and love

As long as we got each other
We got the world spinnin' right in our hands
Baby, you and me
We gotta be
The luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin'

As long as we keep on givin'
We can take anything that comes our way
Oh, baby, rain or shine
All the time
We got each other
Sharin' the laughter and love

We got mo' snow....

Well, we are snowed in--again.  This may be the worst winter I can remember in terms of the longevity of bad weather.  Typically we have a bad snowstorm, maybe two.  This winter it just seems never-ending, one snow fall or ice storm after another.  It really can't be 85 degrees and sunny soon enough.  But, it is what it is, and we started our day off with Mickey waffles and fruit--it just never gets old eating a waffle shaped like our favorite mouse!

After breakfast, Brian busted out the snowblower for the ka-zillionth time and dug out our driveway.  While he did that, I got a VERY excited little boy ready for his first romp in the snow of the season.  It's finally not sub-zero weather or wet--so the conditions were ripe for a day of sledding and snow throwing and he couldn't have been more excited.

He has long outgrown his 3T snow suit pants, so it was lots of layers for Max.  We didn't go too crazy though--NOTHING like this poor kid:

POOR RANDY.

Just enough to keep the cold and snow out!

Now, once I sent Max out with Brian, I had a very VERY sad little Margaret on my hands.  She only ever wants to do what her big brother does--nothing more, nothing less.  She just stood at the door and cried and gave me the most pathetic little eyes of plea.  

My reasons for not sending her were simple.  She doesn't have boots or any real winter weather clothing aside from her coat and hat.  But I dug through Max's old stash of gear and found a few things that might work--some boots that were about 2 sizes too big, extra pairs of long warm pants, etc. 

So, I gave in....

...and we had one happy little camper!  

Brian had built a little snow ramp in the back yard for Max to ride his sled down.  We knew Max loved snow, but weren't sure how Maggie would do.  This was her first time playing in the cold, fluffy, white stuff.  I'll just let the pictures tell the story.

When one finds a ledge of snow, one should sit.

This was unquestionably the highlight of the fun--sled rides!

Then, the second Max gets off of the sled...

....Maggie decides a sled ride while laying down for a rest was in order.

This is Max protesting that decision.

They had such a great time.  But, sadly all good things must come to an end, and such was the case with their time in the snow.  We drug Maggie in kicking and screaming and Max soon followed.  They were thrown into a warm bath (which, as a kid was one of my favorite things to do after playing in snow) and quickly found that warm fluffy white stuff is just as fun as cold fluffy white stuff and their play time continued.

A snow-covered Max

Bubbles!

My little darlings.