More Words, Bob Dylan and the Armadillo

This year's Christmas letter:

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is

Rapidly fadin'

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'.

Times they definitely are a-changin.’

Recently, I’ve been looking back at past Christmas letters I’ve written. I feel the need to defend the Christmas letter.  It seems that this year, even more than ever the Christmas letter has come under attack.  I still believe in good old-fashioned letters and updates from people you care about.  Even though people tell a certain story on Facebook...it is usually a glossed up version of the truth. Believe me, I get it.  If you have seen my Facebook profile picture, you understand that I too fall victim to the “make it look better than it is” syndrome.  I looked pretty good ONE night last year and I am using the picture from that night in every profile I have online and otherwise.  Even the church directory.  

But hopefully my Christmas letter has been and is different.  Real.  Not depressing real (well maybe to some people.)  But a real update.  Real life--funny, complicated, annoying, ridiculous and good and bad.

In my look back I realized things are changing.  My babies that I wrote about are getting bigger, growing up.  And it is happening fast.  Soon they will be teenagers (and then the letters will get scary real).

Peyton turned 10 this year.  I can’t believe I have been a mother for a decade.  (Yes it is about me.) He is thriving in baseball and football.  It’s the first year he isn’t so crazy about school which is bumming us out.  He recently decided it was time to make the switch from calling me “mommy” to “mom.” Ugh.  He asked to go deodorant shopping with Tim. They bought AXE, the deodorant that attracts uber-attractive women.  Really Tim? “Mom” will be going deodorant shopping with Peyton next time. 

Times they definitely are a-changin.’

Lucy however is still as funny as ever.  As we were decorating the tree, we told stories about each ornament.  We told the story behind the fortune cookie ornament, the story of how Tim proposed to me with a fortune inside a cookie.  Lucy followed up with, “Why? Didn’t he have the guts to just ask you?”  Classic. She is having a great year at school, which if you could hear the surprise in my voice when I say that you might judge me.  But we are beyond thrilled that she is happy.  Believe me, the world is just a better place when Lucy is happy.

JT is 5 1/2 and had a rough fall adjusting to kindergarten.  Set back by speech issues and Celiac disease he is finally getting used to his new routines.  Just in time for the two-week holiday break.  But I am hopeful he will continue to adjust and learn to love kindergarten.  It is the season to believe in hope, right?  JT is still an amazing little athlete.  He loved baseball this past summer and is enjoying hockey now.  He might be into hockey a little too much.  I find myself saying “Quit checking your brother into the wall.”  A lot.

The baby Wade is 2.  He is obsessed with matchbox cars and all things Toy Story.   He is a yes man.  Actually a “Yup” man.  Ask him anything...”how are you?” he replies “yup.”  “do you want to go outside?” “yup.”  

I haven’t been in love with 2011.  There were some really good things about it, but a lot wasn’t that fabulous.  I mean even if I were one of those people that was all phony and fake in my Christmas letters, it would be hard to spin some of the stuff that happened.  Like hoping for a short sale on our under-water mortgaged house, frustrating health issues, longer hours for Tim’s job, and oh so much more.  Just one of those years.  But there were some really great moments, they were mostly great moments even in the midst of stress and exhaustion.  

I started two blogs and am writing more than ever before in my life.  And it feels good.  Check them out: Jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.blogspot.com and my blog dedicated to living gluten free with four kids, Agluten-freefamily.blogspot.com.  You can also follow me on Twitter at @angelaYblood or @aglutenfreefam.  I share a lot.  So much in fact that some people that I used to talk to a lot, don’t call anymore.  They just read.

Social media has proven to be incredibly entertaining.  Peyton of course is concerned with what is going out on the world wide web.  “Are you sure you want to put that out there?” he recently asked after I showed him a video I posted of me dancing in the kitchen.  

Again please believe me when I say, I realize it won’t be long before I am asking him that very question.  (Well maybe not with a dancing video, but you get what I mean.)

2011 was a roller coaster and I won’t lie and say that I am not ready for a fresh start, a change.  But I also realize that time is going fast, things are changing, babies are growing up, memories are being made, stories are being told and there is magic in everyday.  Even in the worst days.

Wishing you strength for the roller coaster ride of life, the ability to laugh when it’s funny and let go when the change is out of your control.  

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And by the way, how can you not believe in the Christmas letter when you can work in a Bob Dylan song quote?

Nothing says Christmas like a Bob Dylan cover...right?  Love Brandi Carlisle.  


And just because I love her, here is Brandi covering another classic favorite of mine.  







Here are some old and newer Christmas TV flashbacks:

I heart Phil.

#CattywampusChristmas

So, I tell people this isn't a blog that can really fit into any type of genre.  I will not show you a craft you want to make with your kids.  I will not give you a recipe you want to make with your family.  The only take away?   I will make you feel sane.  Saner than me.  


I compare it to "Wife Swap" without the swapping, you will feel better about yourself after reading this blog.


For example, here's a little gem for you.  After writing my post about feeling the Christmas spirit because of the family party, I went f-ing crazy.  For a multitude of stupid reasons, I started crying, swearing and ripping down Christmas decorations in  dramatic fashion.  It was a real crazy-lady moment.  They happen quarterly if I am being honest.


But this was a real, life sucks, Christmas joy is stupid moment.  And I am not going to lie, ripping down the decorations felt great.  It felt dramatic and like I was living the soap opera lives I so covet.  But then I laughed.  I laughed that I covet soap opera lives, a dying genre. What does that say about me?  I laughed because I actually used the word covet in my head.  I laughed because it was so f-ing stupid.  I was the one that had to clean up.  A tantrum is so much more fun when you aren't the one cleaning up.  Duh.


I laughed because life doesn't suck.  Christmas joy isn't stupid, well not all of it is stupid.


If you are feeling this, leave a comment and tell me something crazy, stupid you have done in the heat of the holiday moment.  Seriously. Have you ripped down decorations?  Did you tell off an in-law?  Spill it.  Help me and countless others feel sane, well saner.


And while we're talkin' crazy, here's a look back at last year's Christmas letter.  It's totally cattywampus!  If you are on twitter, get it trending #cattywampusChristmas. (And follow me @angelaYBlood)


Christmas Letter 2010

“How’s that?,” I ask Tim as we put the finishing touches on our Christmas tree.
“A little cattywampus,” he says.  “But good.”

Two hours later the tree was wrestled to the ground by our one-year-old Wade.  I stepped out of the room for two minutes and of course that is all it took for our cattywampus Christmas tree to come crashing down.  This is not the first Christmas letter I have written that involved our tree falling down.  Nor do I think it will be the last.  

Cattywampus is a word that Tim and I love.  It is how we describe many things in our life.  The definition says it is slang meaning askew or awry, but both those words seem too proper for us.  

I would describe the entire last year as cattywampus.  It was a blur...jampacked with so much.  Sometimes it feels like too much. I feel like the pig character in the children’s book “A Pig and a Pancake,” randomly bouncing around from one thing to another.  Or Amelia Bedlia, not quite getting it but making the best of it.

Having a fourth child was a real game-changer.  Sure, I now have a funny, abnormally large family to blame all of my un-organization on, but all of you who have known me for a while know the truth.  I have always been scattered and flighty.  Now I just have more people looking to me for plans, answers, directions and hugs.  Tim recently likened parenting this many children to the Whac –A-Mole game—you have every problem fixed for about a second and then a child pops up with a problem.  It seriously only lasts about a second that a child isn’t popping up.

Wade, who turned one in October, is a funny little guy who is all over the place.  He is tough (just ask our Christmas tree) and already loves to wrestle with his big brothers.  I call Lucy little mama because she always wants to “help.”  She started first grade and after a bumpy start is very happy.  Lucy is still fiercely independent and has a fabulous imagination.  Peyton turned 9 in November.  He is a very serious, sweet soul; a voracious reader and is almost as tall as me.  

JT is an absolutely adorable boy.  He was diagnosed with Celiac disease this past year.  Our little buddy was wasting away in front of our eyes...it was horrible.  But luckily we got a diagnosis and the whole family has been gluten free since May.  JT has gained four pounds, grown three inches and is so much happier.  It was an entire life change for the whole family--food wise and financially.  Tim has lost 17 pounds which is great, it is mostly because we can’t afford to eat as much.

Some really wonderful things happened to us this year, I ran a marathon, Tim started a new job as principal at an alternative high school which is closer and in a safer neighborhood, we built a baseball field in our backyard, Wade started to walk and so many more good things for which I am so grateful.

Of course there were many parenting moments that left me speechless or wondering if I was doing the right thing.   For example, the playground incident:
Lucy, now 6, and I are playing on a playground and she quickly climbs to the top of a pretty high structure.  She looks like she’s going to jump.  My heart starts racing and I say “Don’t jump from there.”
Lucy-”Why?”
Me- “You might get hurt.” Lucy-”I might not.”
Me-”I wouldn’t do it.”
Lucy then shrugs, crosses her fingers, closes her eyes and jumps.  
After sticking her landing, she turns to me and says “See? Told ya.”

A couple of Sundays ago, I was teaching JT’s Sunday school class and was supposed to teach the story of Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem to find a room.  Admittedly, I wasn’t excited about teaching the same old story to the kids that morning.   We played the “No Rooms Available Game” where the kids role played as the inn keepers in Bethlehem that were at full capacity.  Little Ian and Ava played the roles of Joseph and Mary and knocked on everyone’s doors.  The children repeated “no room for you” with great emphasis and anger much like the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld.  It was a blast.  But then one child said “no room for you, but hey come on back in our barn, how’s that?”   Suddenly I imagined the holy family looking out at the barn and saying “cattywampus, but good.”

So, as we tape up the tree and sweep up the broken ornaments we get that life is messy—plans go awry (if you are one of those proper families).  All we can do is cross our fingers, close our eyes and jump.  Oh yeah, and laugh, a lot.

Wishing you a merry cattywampus Christmas!


Classic TV clip:
"Can't a guy be happy on Christmas?" Love Alex P. Keaton.  Love the whole Keaton family.




Merry Christmas to you...

Chaos, Craziness and Lots of Love

Looking back through my old Christmas letters I've sent over the years, I've noticed a theme....chaos, craziness, lots of love and the obligatory Christmas tree falling.

And because I am a nut about tradition, today the Christmas tree fell.

Here's a letter from 2009 that mentions lots of crazy (the tree must have fallen after the letter 
went out).






Complete chaos.  That is the description of my house and my mind.  I have never really been a very organized person or what you would call a planner, but this year feels more intense.  Time is moving faster. Is it the recession?  Is it too much coffee?  Is it being over committed with holiday activities? Is it the pressure to have everything perfect?  

It could be the hormones.  


Happily, we had our fourth child in October, Wade Kimball Youngblood, and life hasn’t been the same since.   He is a beautiful, healthy baby and we feel so lucky.  But it has also rocked our world a bit.  I am fine with change…as long as I am campaigning for it or in charge of it.  Four kids, swine flu, holidays and breastfeeding…not so much.

While Tim and I are running around like crazy people, bemoaning change, the kids are bubbling with happiness.  Peyton is very sweet and thoughtful—he is that kid that writes the letter to Santa and says he doesn’t need anything, but his little brother wants a fishing pole.  The letter is genuine and amazing, just like him.  Peyton is 8 years old and in second grade.  Lucy is a beautiful, witty child.  At pre-K graduation last year, her teacher said a nice thing about each child such as “he is so good at sharing” or “she is so kind.”  When Lucy walked on stage the teacher said “she is hilarious.”  I asked her what she wanted Santa to bring her and she said “Santa knows.”  Hmmm…hope Santa gets it right.  She is 5 and now in kindergarten.  JT is a charming, sweet little 3-year-old boy.  He is doing much better with his speech since starting speech therapy last year.  He still struggles with some sounds and baby Jesus sounds like baby
Cheez-its.

When we told people we were having another baby many people supported us.  But others didn’t know what to say, remember this was right around the time Octomom became famous.  People said “you are crazy,” “better you than me,” “how are you going to fit everybody in your house” and we even got a “why.”  And yes, sometimes that was Tim and I talking to each other.  

While we don’t have the answers to some of those questions we do have faith, hope and a sense of humor.  We have faith in our love and in our family. A sense of humor to laugh at all of our parenting blunders; like when the young babysitter comes over and corrects JT not to point the gun at our faces while we are lying down pretending to be shot in the face by him or as I am yelling “it’s a present, not a weapon so stop hitting your sister.” 

It is impossible not to feel hopeful about life with these adorable, albeit violent, children in our lives. Lucy told us the other day she believes the world needs more bubbles…I agree.  

So, as we prepare for another Christmas pageant I do realize the chaos will calm down, the hormones will level out and life will be normal crazy.  I also realize that we have become that family that takes up half the roles in the pageant.  But I am proud to be that family.

Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas!!!!!!




A look back at some good Christmas episodes of days gone by in TVland:


Thank god the kids from West Beverly were saved with a Christmas miracle.

Love this Christmas special and the CD was a staple in my house growing up. I remember always wanting "a fast talking lover" when I was a fancy, sophisticated grown up (yup like Dolly Parton).  "Dolly always says where there's a will, there's a way."  Definitely a Christmas to remember!  I completely heart Dolly then and now.

There's nothing like soap operas at Christmas....so sad there are only a few left on the air.  Long live the soaps! Long live the montage!

 

A Good Old-Fashioned Letter

There are a lot of holiday letter haters out there.  Some people even created web sites dedicated to bad Christmas letters. 


But I still believe.  I believe in the joy of getting a letter in the mail.  I believe in telling the story of our families and our lives.  A real story, well not too real.  No one really wants to know how many times I cried over the past year or how neurotic I really am.


But I do believe in sharing our stories.  And even though some of them are sugar-coated and totally fake, most of them are sort of interesting.  Especially if you care about the people.  Even though yes Facebook and Twitter have made it easy for people to connect, many people don't really tell their real story online.


And believe it or not, I do know a few people that I care about that aren't on Facebook.  Just a few.


So, in the spirit of the season, I am looking back at my past Christmas letters. 

Hopefully they tell a sort of interesting story.

Christmas 2008

The past few weeks have been interesting.  I keep waiting for the moment, you know that moment right?  When the spirit of the season takes over and you feel that all is right with the world.  I still have a week or so to go, but I am worried I won't be overtaken by a moment of utter joy and contentment.

I have been listening to the right music, baking, making Christmas crafts, decorating, singing happy birthday to Jesus and watching a new TV special every night.  But I feel more Grinch-like than ever.  One morning I swear I was re-enacting the scene from that Seuss tale with all the "noise, noise, noise!" and my adorable children were the annoying little Who's down in Whoville.


Maybe it is because I live in Metro-Detroit (not such a good year here).  Maybe I watch too much CNN and read too many political bloggers.  I mean it has not been a bad year for my family.  In fact, looking back we have had some very good moments.


Peyton started first grade and after a month of adjusting to being in school for a full day, he loves it.  He says he wants to be a writer or a baseball player when he grows up.  He is a heart-crushingly sweet boy. Lucy, 4 1/2, is doing well too.  She is still quite a spitfire with a very strong sense of self that I hope she carries with her forever.  JT has still never gotten his hair cut and is the absolute cutest 2-year-old in the world.  He is struggling with his speech, but can hit a pitch and can throw a spiral.  I have discovered JT might end up being the kid who puts his tongue on the flag pole like that kid from A Christmas Story.  He does whatever his big brother and sister tell him--there is trouble ahead.

Tim started a new job as principal of the alternative education high school and he loves it.  He is still the athletic director of the other high school.  His dedication to the kids at the school and his kids at home is inspiring.


For me personally, my Christmas felt like it was in October and November.  In October, I accomplished a goal of running a half-marathon which was thrilling.  I volunteered a lot for the Obama campaign and was overjoyed when he won.  Then a couple of weeks later I went to my first Madonna concert (a dream of mine since 1984) and was blown away.  All of these experiences I would rank as life changing. (I forgot to mention my life-changing and slightly embarrassing newfound addiction to Facebook.)


So, maybe it is the let down from having such an amazing autumn.  Maybe it is my unorganized lifestyle and manic pace.  For example, the other day trying to get the kids to school I felt like we were jumping in the getaway car after a bank heist--the doors were frozen shut on the good old minivan, so Lucy and Peyton had to jump through the back while I am yelling "Go! Go! Go!"


Maybe it is the super high expectation that I put on having a moment of utter joy, and if I am always waiting and watching I am really missing it.  Like an old watched pot, nothing is happening.  The fear and anxiety bubbling up by forcing the moment are taking the joy away.  So, I am now surrendering to the season and not trying to force Christmas perfection.  Case in point the other night, I got out the holiday plates, the linen tablecloth and the advent wreath---we were going to have a fancy, schmancy holiday dinner.  But when the whole planned menu didn't work out, I announced we would be dining on frozen pizza which prompted Lucy to tell me she likes hers cooked.  The kids fought over who would light the advent candles and then who would blow them out.  JT threw his food and Tim got frustrated that he couldn't answer everyone's questions, including mine, at once.  But it was okay; I sat back and sighed in surrender, looking at my messy-haired family full of life and love.  It was a mini-moment and hopefully more will come.


I wish all of you moments of unforced, anxiety-free Christmas joy.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


Another look back at classic Christmas moments on TV (something else I totally believe in, TV!!!!).


The Brady Bunch, it wouldn't be Christmas without this very special episode.  I feel I can totally relate to this episode after having Strep this past weekend, except I don't have an Alice.  I so want an Alice.  That's right this is the one where mama Carol loses her voice and sweet little Cindy asks Santa for her mommy's voice back.  "He's better than a doctor, he's Santa Claus."  Classic.





If you missed my look back at my Christmas letter from 2007 and a great clip from Little House on the Prairie, CLICK HERE.

The Christmas Letter

I love Christmas letters. As you can imagine, my Christmas letters are not flowery, unreal tales of a perfect family. We are a little more real than that.

Long ago, way before Facebook and Twitter, I loved reading the updates from friends and family that came at Christmas time. Of course some of them were obnoxious, but it was only once a year. Remember when updates were once a year?


My dad's second wife had an Aunt Greta whose letter I found particularly fun and fascinating. I only met Aunt Greta once and she was very interesting. But her letters, there was something about her Christmas letters.  They were captivating, informative, funny and real. I looked forward to them every year.


When I decided to write my own family's Christmas letter I had Aunt Greta's in mind. I wanted to share what was happening in my life without being boring and worst of all phony.


So this month, I will be looking back at past Christmas letters. (I don't know how not boring this look back will be however.)
Christmas 2007

My Christmas tree fell down last week...ornaments crashed to the floor, lights were tangled, and it was a mess. Standing with a scared, fascinated and guilty look on his face was little JT. Peyton and Lucy came rushing into the living room and stared at me, waiting for my cue on how they should react. It was quiet for one minute and then I shouted "hey look we get to decorate the tree for a second time, how lucky are we?" In a truly Pollyanna moment, we all happily deocrated the tree again. I would love to tell you that is how I react to everything that goes wrong, but that would be a lie.


The inspiration for my positive-ness comes from the kids. The other day as I got the kids dressed, I was getting so annoyed with the static electricity that was making our hair fly up and go crazy. After pulling the sweater over Lucy's head, she looked in the mirror and exclaimed "Mommy look at my hair, it is magic!"


This past year has been filled with many moments, some magical and some not (no matter how you look at them). But overall we have been very blessed. Peyton, who turned 6 in Novmeber, started kindergarten this year and loves it. He especially loves riding the bus. The rate that he is learning is amazing--kindergarten is the new first grade you know. Seriously, he has a wonderful teacher, goes to a great school and is making some new friends.


Lucy is 3 1/2 and started preschool this year. I promised I would never label my children and all the books say you shouldn't put your child in a category, but I can't help it. She is showing all the signs of becoming a classic middle child, free spirit, stubborn, independent firecracker. Let's just say this, I spend my life running after my children saying "1...2.." so they will listen and with Peyton I never got to "3." When I get to "3" with Lucy she just keeps running. The first time it happened, Tim looked at me and said what happens when you get to 3 and I replied that I had no idea. I still have no idea how to get Lucy to listen--maybe that will be in next year's letter. I am open to suggestions!


JT is 19 months old and quite the character. His favorite thing to do right now is stick his finger up his nose at the dinner table to make the other kids laugh. He is into everything and just starting to say a few words, such a fun stage.


When I say I spend most of my life chasing after the kids I am not exaggerating. It is exhausting, but so much fun. I still find time to over-commit however and volunteer at as many things as I can to make me crazier. I became the chair of children's ministries at my church and came out of the closet as a liberal and got political this year. This is a shameless plug for my group Moms for Hillary that a good friend and I helped start; it just kicked off on Dec. 10. We've been working with Hillary Clinton's campaign office since July to get it up and running. It is really very exciting to get involved. I was telling the kids one day that I was helping someone get elected president and what a big job it is to be president. Peyton looked at me and said "you should try and get it, you need a job."


Tim, a very supportive politically conservative husband and truly devoted, fun dad, is still enjoying his job as an assistant principal/athletic director. His hours are still crazy and the other night he came home close to 11 after we were all in bed. As he was tiptoeing through the living room, he bumped into the Chritmas tree. The tree fell down...ornaments crashed to the floor, lights were tangled, and it was a mess. I rushed out of bed and Tim stared at me for his cue on how to react. I was quiet for a moment and then I swore and asked what was wrong with him?


So, I am still working on my positive attitude. But I really am trying to see the magic in everything like Lucy and the kids do. I hope you all have a magical Christmas and New Year.

Also, in the spirit of the holiday season, I am going to be taking a look way back at some of my favorite Christmas tv episodes.


If you have a few minutes, you should watch.  It's a good one from a childhood favorite, "Little House On the Prairie."  Laura gives away Bunny. Waaaaa!