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December 30, 2009

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, holiday, Love, Uncategorized
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Ahhhh, Christmas. I love it. Celebrating the birth of Jesus, singing worship songs in church to candlelight, being with my family—it’s such a wonderful time—hard to really express in words. I also love all the neat secular things that surround the holiday—decorations, snow, giving gifts, fires, wrapping, candles, cards, etc.

So let me share the highlights of the Crowe family Christmas. I hope yours was just as joyous.

Thursday, December 24

8:30 a.m.

Got up early and began preparations for dinner that night.

10 a.m.

Assisted my dad as he fixed an outlet and my jet tub. (I can’t tell you how happy I am that the tub works now. Did I mention it was the primary reason I bought my house?)

1:30 p.m.

More preparations for dinner.

2:15 p.m.

Went to church and met my brother and his family. I got a little choked up during the service, which I have done every year for the past several years. You see, my dear friend Jeff passed away from a battle with cancer on a Christmas Eve a few years ago and it’s hard not to think about him on this day. He was a beautiful person and I miss him a lot. But he would want us to celebrate and be joyful—and I am thankful for the time we had with him.

4:30 p.m.

We arrive back at my house and I begin delegating tasks. It never fails that in the mad rush to get dinner cooked and ready, the kids need me to set up the Wii, put in a movie, or show them something or answer some question about my house.

5:30 p.m.

Family sits down for a dinner of meat and cheese fondue. I get up a dozen times and am always the last one to finish eating. It’s okay though, I love to host this special night.

6:30 p.m.

I hang out downstairs and have some bonding time with my nephews while we watch Star Wars. My nephew, Harmon, who as a little tyke was famous for talking loudly in movie theaters says all natural like, “Ya know what I don’t like? I don’t like when people talk during the movie.” Really Harmon? That’s new. I send Tyler up for cookies and we snuggle in while Harmon explains the significance of each scene.

8:30 p.m.

As I settle down with my parents, and Greg and his family head back to MD, I notice that the present I have for Harmon that was under my tree was suspiciously moved to a central location.

Friday, December 25

9 a.m.

I come downstairs and notice an empty bottle of vegetable oil on the carpet. Last night it was full of oil that was used in the meat fondue pot. I call the doctor and ask if Grendel will die or not and am relieved to hear that my only worries are of the gross stuff that comes out both ends. I am thankful it will not be another Advil overdose situation. That is a story for another day.

11 a.m.

Arrive at Greg’s house. I make the traditional Christmas morning monkey bread and then meet Zenia’s new puppy, Scooby. What a cutie pie—until he started chewing my hair and then I had flashbacks of Grendel’s youth.

11:30 a.m.

Kids start tearing through the presents. I have to admit, I love seeing them smile when they open something they like. Their faces light up with such joy. Harmon admitted he saw his present at my house and after opening it exclaimed, “This is my favorite present of all time. I’ve wanted this my whole life.” It was a Legos Star Wars Wii game. He didn’t let it out of his clutches for several hours.

12 noon–7 p.m.

Played with the kids and Scooby, ate lots of cookies and yummy food, boxed with the kids, watched them wrestle, and played Wii. Zenia messed with my iPod by putting country and rap stations on my favorite lists, recording weird messages and videos, and laughing at my lack of knowledge about how to program it. After I rested a bit and came down from my sugar cookie high, I went home. Grendel survived with no problems.

A day with my family at Christmas is precious indeed. I’m going to keep my tree up for awhile just so the mood lingers a bit longer. Happy Holidays.

Round one of the Crowe boxing tournament

The best present ever.

Reading the letter to Santa. “Here’s some milk at no cost.”

 

 

November 21, 2009

People all over the world, join hands.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, kindness, Love, marketing
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I have a topic today that’s really kind of an amalgam of several observations that come together in a theme. It’s what I like to do—see patterns and try to make sense of them. So the other day I saw the latest Gap commercial on TV and I thought back to my grad school days when I (and my group) wrote a paper and gave a presentation on the GAP commercials for our advertising class. I really do love seeing the new commercials GAP comes up with each year. They are so creative and fun and I think they do a fantastic job of creating positive awareness of the brand. And I’m sure they have helped increase revenue.

This year’s commercial is about cheer—and the commercial is kind of like a cheerleading song and dance. There have been a few favorites over the years. I loved the Gap Khaki Country and the one that initiated a revival of swing dancing. But I think my favorite is the one that uses the Love Train song. You can see the commercial below.

So the Love Train thing led me to think about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. My friend posted a challenge on Facebook which I then forwarded to my friends whom I am sure forwarded on to their friends. The challenge was to update your status every day with something you are thankful for. It’s a beautiful way to live, really. It’s easy to get caught up in misery or the stressful parts of our life, especially now. To make it a point to think about the wonderful gifts God gives us and to praise Him for it makes you think about how good our lives are.

This also got me thinking about how wonderful these social media sites are and how much good we can accomplish through them. We can spread positive messages, help people in need, educate people about important issues, and share our love for each other all through the social media love trains.

See, I told you I was going to pull a bunch of things out of the air and come up with a theme. Spreading love, gratitude, happiness, and goodwill. That’s a pretty good theme. Today I am thankful that all of you are reading this and that I can voice my opinion without the fear of oppression.

 

 

 

September 9, 2009

An interview with the munchkins.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under Love
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In one of my first posts I talked about how I really love kids—other people’s kids. I am fortunate that my brother and his wife decided to have four of them. I get four kids to love, spoil, play with, and then give back.

Last weekend the Crowe clan gathered at the Crowe’s Nest in Bethany Beach. It’s a bit of a shock to my system when we gather. I go from the quiet tranquility of my house to the chaotic tornado-like atmosphere of a house full of kids who are constantly teasing, wrestling, laughing, running, and singing. On one of the more cloudy days I thought it would be fun to interview the kids. That was before I spent an hour trying to wrangle them to sit down for a few minutes and actually give me answers that I could publish.

So consider this my back-to-school assignment and your introduction to my family.

Dawn: What was the most fun thing you did this summer?

  • Zenia, age 14: Went to New Life Bible camp in Buffalo Mills, PA. It was fun because my friends were there. I’m going to go back next year.
  • Julia, age 13: The camping trip. It was all mellow and everyone was happy.
  • Tyler, age 9: (Tyler was not cooperating for the interview so Zenia answered for him.) He got rejected by four girls and got slapped by two of them.
  • Harmon, age 7: Played Wii. (Okay, that wasn’t very exciting so I asked him what else he did this summer.) We went camping. I don’t know where though. Lake something. (What was the best thing about camping?) Eating and taking naps. And playing poker.

Dawn: Were you excited to go back to school?

  • Harmon: No. (Why not?) Because there’s so much more work than I would have to do in public school. But Mom wanted me to be home schooled.
  • Zenia: No. Well actually yes. ‘Cause after camp there was nothing really left to do.
  • Julia: Yes. Because going to school (for her) isn’t like going to school. I get up early and finish early. Then I go for a run, play soccer, listen to music and then go to soccer practice.
  • Tyler: No. Because that is a dungeon of non sophisticatedness.

 Dawn: What makes you special?

  • Harmon: My awesome whaaa, whaaa. (He did some karate moves around the house as he shouted whaaa, whaaaa).
  • Zenia: My butt. I speak my mind. I say what I mean and mean what I say. (Julia says she has to be right.)
  • Julia: I’m the best soccer player in the family.
  • Tyler: (Again he wasn’t cooperating so Zenia replied, wrestling.)

Dawn: What are your future goals? Or, what do you want to be when you grow up?

  • Zenia: I want to go to VA Tech. I want to go to the University of Maryland first and then transfer. I want to become involved in the government and work in embassies.
  • Julia: I want to become a pro soccer player and then maybe marry Donovan or Tim Howard.
  • Harmon: A spy. I want to be in the army but I haven’t decided if I want to be a spy or someone in the army. A spy has a better chance of not dying so I’m gonna say spy now. Once I’m in college I’ll pick. Because that’s when you get the choice to pick.
  • Tyler: An HP. (What’s that?) A hot person.

Dawn: What’s your favorite movie?

  • Harmon: Star Wars the Clone Wars. Because it has my favorite people and more violence.
  • Zenia: Get Smart. (She changes her mind after hearing Julia.) Oh okay, Blades of Glory.
  • Julia: Blades of Glory.
  • Tyler: Pride of Chucky. (Zenia says he hasn’t even seen it.)

Dawn: Who’s your favorite Aunt?

  • Harmon: You! (I love you, too H.)

Dawn: Who’s your favorite dog?

  • Harmon: Grendel. (Two days earlier he convinced himself that he was scared of Grendel and hid in the basement when we came over.)

Well, there you go. Four of the most fun munchkins I know.

 

 

 

 

 

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