see what i mean?

Based on the family picture woes, thought I'd share a Christmas card design that was vetoed by hubby. I thought it was funny. :)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good hair day or year.

you can't photoshop this

It's that time of year again - when I get my annual reality check that I am not skinny, my husband is not photogenic and Christmas cards are a pain in the you-know-what.

The annual family photo shoot was a complete flop. First, because the cool background I had chosen for the picture was not an option due to its close proximity to the building that houses hubby's clients. Well, it wasn't an option because hubby refused to let it be one. That of course resulted in two people who were really in the mood to smile for 100 pictures. I was one of them.

The second problem was the fact that it was 20 degrees outside and my kids are wimps. Even with long-johns and long-sleeved shirts they looked so pained in most of the pictures you'd have thought there was a wave of constipation going through. I suppose this could be blamed on Mom since she waited so long to set up the photo shoot date. But, knowing how much a battle it would be, procrastinating torture is very understandable.

The third problem is that my Mom was taking the pictures and I failed to tell her where to stand or that the camera lens could be adjusted so us handsome Larsons didn't look a mile away. Then again, that may have been intentional on her part. Once I saw the pictures on my desktop, we looked much better further away.

Sigh. Now I'm left with a battle in my head between my vanity, which wants to send out a picture that makes us look somewhat normal, and my desire to make people laugh, which wants to send out the most god-awful picture I can find and put a funny caption on it. And believe me, I have lots to choose from. (Did I mention it was windy that day? And my boys hadn't had their wrestling haircuts yet?)

I'm afraid I will have no options but to go the funny route - man those pictures are horrible! I've toyed around with "Making the rest of the world look good, one snapshot at a time." Or "We don't always look this good." Or even: "If everyone looks crabby on your Christmas card, you might be a Larson." I don't think my in-laws would appreciate that last one too much.

Now, I'm really just wasting time writing here when I should just make a decision, get the stupid photo card done and mail it off. Time to spread some holiday cheer.

please don't come over to my house

I'm pretty certain I lack the clean gene. At any given moment, there are dirty dishes in the kitchen, coats and boots piled by the front door, and schoolbooks and legos strewn about the living room. I'm not sure the last time the kitchen floor was scrubbed and I only know the toilet is clean because I just had to wipe it after some nameless boy broke the "no standing while peeing" rule.

To be fair though, I don't think my house was this messy before I had kids. It's got to be their fault somehow.

I have farmed out nearly all the chores with the exception of laundry, and they still don't get done, even if I threaten no snacks until they're done. The trouble is that the cleanliness only lasts about 45 seconds.

Add a construction zone to the mix and I have just about given up. Last week I started taking down 2009 Christmas pictures. (Now, before you go and think that I'm really slow, let me just say that I leave my cards up year-round. I was actually ahead of the game - taking down old cards before I even got any new ones.)

The trouble is, that I realized quite quickly that all the cards were dusty. And the cabinet they were taped to was full of cobwebs. So, I did a most natural thing I could think of - I started wiping them off the ceiling.

A minute later, my eldest son asked, "Is someone coming over?"

I replied, "Do you think I only clean if someone's coming?"

The sheepish look on his face revealed the awful truth - that is exactly what he thought. Oh dear. I'm officially teaching my kids how to live in a messy house. I don't believe this is a good thing.

Do I get crabby and start throwing things into piles and take toys away and generally go berserk, or do I just succumb to the blatant fact that I should just never, ever have company over again? Well, at least for another 13 years, when the last of the messers is hopefully out of the house.

Consider this your invitation to drop by uninvited - in about September of 2023.

boys say the funniest things...

Number Four: I want to get born again.

Mom (thinking this is an evangelism opportunity): Why's that?

Number Four: So I'm the oldest.

How do you argue with that?

good quote...

If you do something right once, someone will ask you to do it again.
-Unknown

breaking down walls

Getting a start on opening up the old part of the house and the new. Wonder how many child labor laws we're breaking here. He couldn't have been happier though, busting up concrete blocks.

Once the wall comes down then we have to finish off the opening. Glad that's hubby's job and not mine.

it's nice to have boys...

because they argue about who gets to take the mouse out of the trap.