crossrhodes

Think your back to school shopping list is long?  Wait till your kids go to college!  It gets longer AND more expensive!  We walked out of Walmart yesterday with 2 shopping carts full and another full cart at Target.  We’ve already spent $1100 on James’ supplies, laptop included, but that does not include books yet and a couple more big ticket items like a backup hard drive and TV stand.

Of course, we’re not buying everything new.  We got a TV on craigslist.  He’s inheriting his uncle’s microwave, my dishes, towels, etc.  And some of the items on the list will differ per person.  i.e. Not everyone needs a rice cooker but James IS half Asian.  He had to have one =)

I’ve compiled a list from several sources, including Walmart, the new student committee at Drexel, and a list James found online. Click here for my College Shopping List in MS Word or PDF.

People have been asking me what names I have chosen for the baby. I browsed an A to Z list, starting with the boys, and settled on the first name that sounded nice to me: Aidan. (Obviously, I didn’t get very far down the list =) Then my aunt told me that Aidan was the most popular baby name in 2007, followed by Braden and Kaden. Well, that turned me off to Aidan!

I want a fairly unique name that’s still easy to pronounce, and one with meaning, especially from the Bible. Scratch off Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego… but their buddy Daniel is on the list!

For a girl, the name Layla Grace rolled right off my tongue. I want a girl to have my initials to pass down any heirloom items I have monogrammed (don’t laugh!!!). Then my niece reminded me that we already have a Keilah Grace among the kids. Layla Grace… Keilah Grace… well, that would just confuse the heck out of the grandparents!

So, we’re back to square one and starting with Biblical names. Hannah’s story in the Book of First Samuel is meaningful to me, but I chose other names that sounded nice, too.

Don’s only stipulation is to not name our kid after our parents or grandparents (sorry, Wilfred!). And James says he’d want a more unique name, too, if he had a choice. Other than that, the decision is all mine. So, take the following polls and tell me what you think!

You may choose more than one name from each list,
however, you may only vote once.

Mannn, I wish I had little kids N-O-W!!! This baby is taking too long to come out and play with me. My brother’s kids are in the Christmas musical at church. My sister’s kids wrap gifts and bake cookies with her. My kid? He’s too old and grumpy (teenagers!) to care about Christmas fluff (unless he’s finding the perfect gift to impress his girlfriend) and cares even less about taking down and putting up the tree from the attic. So, I didn’t even bother to decorate this year.

A house with little kids is more fun at Christmastime, don’t you think? And when I have my house of little kids, I want to:

1. Trim the tree with ornaments I make or buy for the kids each year.
2. Dress up the dog in a reindeer costume and go sledding. (Note to self:
   Get a dog!)
3. Make an Advent Calendar of fun activities or little gifts for each of the 24 days.
4. Unwrap and read a Christmas book to the kids each night from the 1st day of December, saving The Night Before Christmas for the 24th. (I LOVE this idea!)
5. Build a gingerbread “cottage”.
6. Make snowmen cupcakes.
7. Bake Christmas cookies and wrap as gifts.
8. Recylce daddy’s old sweaters into stockings to be filled with goodies by The Three Kings (aka Wise Men of the East).
9. Watch classic Christmas movies in brand new Christmas pajamas.
10. Hand-cut paper snowflakes to deck the halls.
11. Send handmade cards to troops overseas.
12. Go on a toy-purging spree to donate and make room for new toys.
13. Take pictures with Santa at the mall… or, since this mommy hates the mall, Photoshop Santa into a family portrait =)
14. Sing Christmas carols on kareoke and record it on home video.
15. Be a wise man, shepherd, or even a donkey at the church Christmas pageant.
16. Recite the story of Christ’s birth in Greek and Hebrew on Christmas morning. (*hehe* Alright, that’s a little ambitious.)
17. Practice the proper way to dip their pan de sal, jamon, and queso de bolla sandwich in hot cacao on Noche Buena.
18. Make snowglobes on New Year’s.

Do you have fun traditions and activities that you do with your kids? Share! Share! Share! I’ve got lots of time to compile a list before I have a litter of kids to play with.

[Edit] Thanks for the comments everyone! Added them to my list:

19. Drive to see Christmas lights AND stop for hot cocoa.
20. Buy gifts for local children AND send shoebox gifts to children overseas.
21. Bake a symbolic cake in honor of Jesus’ birthday AND remind the kids that His birthday isn’t really in December.
22. Have the kids pick their own ornaments each year AND make keepsake ornaments for them like this and this and this.

1. I got pulled over for the very first time in my nearly 20 yrs on the road! (I noticed I’m more intimidated by female officers than even big, burly men.) She thought I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. Hah! I NEVER drive without buckling up just like I never leave the house without wearing a bra! I’m so OCD about it that I won’t even back out of my driveway until my passengers are buckled.

   I think the neatly labeled accordion file — in which I organize my insurance, registration, take-out menus, and store coupons — gave away my OCD. On the front cover, in the largest font my P-touch labelmaker can print, it reads, “IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS! PLEASE RETURN TO THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT OR ELSE!” Such an anal person must be wearing her seatbelt!

2. I made my first all electronic check deposit today! We are leaving our local bank for an entirely online ONLY bank. It’s a sign of the times! Our lives are so digitally integrated that the only time I ever have to go to the bank is to deposit odd checks (i.e. birthday gifts, store rebates, etc.) As soon as our favorite credit card company offered point-and-click checking, I switched!

   How does it work? I scan the check, submit online, and then into the shredder it goes! What a brilliant idea!

3. And lastly today, our big boy James is getting his first ATM card and checking account. I know, scary! It’s not actually in his possession yet. And he won’t get it until he has paychecks coming in and we have a long, long, long lesson about money management. But it’s time since he’s going to be writing us rent checks pretty soon. LOL! Just kidding, James =)

   Think about it: his first “real” bank does not have a store front. In no time, the concept of a local bank will be as foreign to him as a black Michael Jackson! Imagine that?!?

Haven’t done these lists and surveys since my first Blogger blog. They’re a good and easy way to journal for scrapbooks. So, here goes the first of a new series for which I created the category, Top 10 & Other Lists. I think I’m gonna start tagging for the heck of it.

Malou, Cynthia, Bill, Kelly, and Troy: consider yourselves TAGGED!

10 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME…
1 I am a Christian.
2 I’ve been scrapbooking since high school.
3 I was born a shutterbug; it runs in the family.
4 I’m a foodie; will try anything once but a snob to bland food.
5 If there were zero bugs in nature, I would be a tree hugger.
6 The first car I bought myself was a 98 VW Golf.
7 I have salty cravings, not sweet.
8 I’m a night owl.
9 I have a fear of confrontation.
10 I can do without potatoes, but I cannot live without rice.

9 WAYS TO WIN MY HEART…
1 Clean up after yourself
2 Cook me a gourmet meal
3 Take me on a cruise
4 Show me a cute baby
5 Talk, don’t yell
6 Be a comedian
7 Send me a handmade card
8 Have a breath mint
9 Install the recessed lights I’ve been asking for since we bought this house 5 years ago (hint! hint!)

8 THINGS I WEAR EVERYDAY
1 My tattoo… it follows wherever I go.
2 My wedding ring… it’s stuck.
3 Clean underwear… always!!! Read more