Life and Times of the Sharp Family

Tonight, we are ringing in 2012 at Surfari Joe's in beautiful Watervliet, Michigan.  Actually, I have no idea whether or not it is beautiful because I have seen none of the actual town.  You literally turn off 94 directly into the parking lot of this massive indoor water park/hotel. We ran into a deal that Surfari Joe's was having that included a night's stay in one of their hotel rooms, a Pizza Hut dinner for 4 (brought to the hotel), and an all-access family pass to the water park.  We decided to give it a whirl, so here we are. It's been just awesome.  The kids swam and swam and swam.  There were water slides and a lazy river and valves and wheels to turn that released water in a delightful spray.  Most of the water park is only six inches deep, so we were free to let the kids wander at will and watch them giggle and be wild.  AJ would climb up the rope ladder and fly down the slide over and over again.  Breslin loved to float on his back...

Guys who are sensitive to "female" issues, beware.  It's true that this post is dedicated to my gynecologist, although I didn't want to put that as the title because that just seemed like a deal breaker.  I do want some people to read this, after all.  It will not, I repeat, will not contain any graphic material whatsoever.  Cross my, ummm, heart. I  love my gynecologist.  She is funny, smart, and real .  She takes more time to talk to me than many people in my life and shows genuine interest in me, not just facts relevant to my gynecological health.  She never, ever makes me feel stupid or unimportant.  She seems like the kind of person I would want as a friend, and I genuinely look forward to seeing her, even though I certainly don't relish the appointment itself.  That's a high compliment to give if you've ever been to or have any inkling of what goes on at an annual appointment with an OB/GYN. Today was a day...

It's been no secret that Miss Dharia Lou is a fan of cooking.  Every time that I go to make something, she is my little sidekick-helper.  She is forever wanting to help me scoop, measure, and mix ingredients.  So when I saw that today, at Camp McGregor,  Fresh is Best, LLC  had a free kids' cooking class for ages 3-12,  I loaded up Dharia and we headed out for our adventure.  I had no idea of what to expect, but when we arrived (a little late and my internal GPS was slightly off) we found a very energetic group of women who had all kinds of cool projects to share with my daughter.  Almost just as importantly, mommy found a fresh-brewed pot of piping-hot coffee, complete with organic creamer and fair trade sweetener.  I happily imbibed while watching my little girl learn the art and wonder of cooking (knowledge I am not fully qualified to impart). First, we made veggie pizza.  Dharia painstakingly spread the cream cheese mixture o...

Today is the single most dreaded day of the year for me.  It's the day that I take down all of the Christmas decorations, including our Christmas tree.  The Christmas DVDs and books get boxed up, the candles and snowmen, the fiber optic gingerbread house (yes, I actually have one of these...don't ask) all get placed into Rubbermaid bins of green and red and stored in the attic for another 11 months. It's all so very depressing to me.  Seeing our bare, naked Christmas tree stripped of its lights and ornaments and laying by the side of the road makes me want to cry.  And that's not an exaggeration at all, unfortunately.  Our living room never seems so big and empty as it does just after the tree has gone and the stockings are down.  Somehow, everything seems a bit less cozy and comforting. But, I really have to believe that the anticipation of this horridness is worse than the actual task itself, because completing it leaves an odd sense of relief.  ...

I couldn't post this yesterday, because I had already written a pretty selfish and shallow post about the gifts my mom got me.  Maybe it would have seemed less superficial if I had been thankful for my mom's thoughtfulness instead of just talking about all of my loot.  I guess deep inside I'm still an eight year old girl, straining to see which presents are hers under the Christmas tree. But, regardless, yesterday, after I got ready and marveled at all of my cute new stuff, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house for an all-day Stuart Clan Christmas (where I also got cute new stuff...hello, sparkly Tom's Shoes! Thanks Dad and Lisa!) which culminated in a couple of rounds of the game Wits and Wagers and the perennial favorite, Catch Phrase .  I love playing games with the Stuart Family.  Everyone is a good sport, no one gets whiny or dramatic, and we're a pretty smart group (if I do say so myself), so it's always a challenge and interesting.  I got to p...

My mom is the BEST at giving presents.  I know, I know.  Christmas is about giving, not what you get.  But, today, when I was getting ready to go out, I kept gravitating towards all of the cool stuff my mom gave me.  Last night at our Christmas, she got me a sweet shirt and a really cute scarf.  She gave me cute boots and my favorite lip gloss. It wasn't just the stuff, ok?  I'm saying this because my mom always makes me feel like I am cute and fun and funky with the presents she gives me.  I feel so special because she knows me so well.  I can't wait to wear and use all of the things she gave me for Christmas. Thank God for my Mom's presents! Lord, thank you for my mom.  Thank you for the way she is able to make me feel so special.  I feel so lucky to have a mom who cares about me so much and knows me so well.  In your name I pray, Amen.

Nine years ago today, my husband proposed to me. It's fun to think about and reminisce.  Colby and I had arranged to exchange gifts in the late morning at my house after my brother, Evan, and I had Christmas with my mom in Jackson.  On Christmas Day, 2002, there was a ton of snow on the ground and on the way home, Evan decided that he wanted to do some doughnuts in a parking lot.  During the course of our doughnut frivolities, we somehow careened out of control into a ditch and got stuck.  It took us over an hour to get unstuck and back on the road.  So, needless to say, we were very late and neither one of us had a cell phone (this was 2002, after all), so Colby was left to sweat it out in nervous anticipation waiting for us to arrive. When we finally got to the house, we started exchanging gifts.  My last present from Colby was a Precious Moments figurine that had a little boy down on one knee with a sign that says, "Yes or No: Choose One". Colby g...