BINGO, GNO, and PALS

Gotta talk about a couple of things left over from Tennessee. First and foremost, BINGO. As mentioned, those Crazy Cruzes love BINGO. We are going on our 8th year of this being a family tradition. To sum it up: We play Bingo on Christmas Eve. We tuck all of those ga-zillion pesky kiddos in bed and party it up. With prizes.

In years past these prizes have been donated my Mom and Dad and have included, but are not limited to: jumper cables, lint removers, kitchen gadgets, money, gift cards, candy, knives, etc., etc. You know, just the stuff your heart has been longing for all of your lives. In recent years, there have been a few grand prizes including various versions of ipods. Needless to say, it gets serious right after the jumper cables and candy are won, but when the lint remover is still in play.

However, once my Dad, the Official Bingo Ball Selector, announces, "This Round is the Grand Prize," many things occur: everyone grabs a couple of cards each to up their odds, sweat starts pouring, brows begin furrowing, and silent prayers get muttered. Here are few candids from this years BINGO game. And no, I didn't win the grand prize. Rachel and Terry cleaned house with a nano and and itouch.

I'm a caught here in what looks to be mid-sassy comment. I'm sure it was one of the usual BINGO jokes. You know: B4, before what? I 25, Dad you're not twenty five. You wish. (feel free to fill in your own version now)

Awwwww SNAP! Yeah, I won this necklace. Jealous much? You probably wish you had it, along with the neck freckles.

Secondly, GNO. The stars aligned for me in a couple of ways: lots of gratuitous babysitting and a meeting of long time girlfriends. These are ladies I hadn't seen in a quite awhile, and it was so much fun. It's true that everything and nothing changes. We were all the same, but totally different. It was interesting to me how easy it was to slip right into conversation, like we just saw each other yesterday. Thanks for the lunch gals! Let's do it again. We'll all go to the city and eat sushi. Okay, we can eat something else. I'm not committed to sushi. Italian? You pick. Let's just get together again.

And lastly, PALS. Seriously folks, with a building like this do I really have to convince you that they have amazing greasy food? The hot dog, hamburger, and fries are ginormous!!! It's the kind of food that will send you right to the treadmill. It's worth every step and more. I have had quite the love affair with this drive-thru. Many, many hard earned Chick-Fil-A dollars spent here.

I have a confession: I rarely get to eat here. It is in Kingsport, and I almost never down there, but I was already in town for our GNO lunch. I was ALREADY FULL from this said lunch when I drove by PALS, I actually flipped a U-TURN and stopped by for a burger and shake. Despite being full already, I was groaning in ultimate satisfaction.

Let's go there sometime. We'll sit in the car and tell jokes while we eat frenchie fries and chipped ham and cheeses. Then you'll probably say something like this, "Katie, er, I mean 'yo mama,' that was so good I could kiss you." To which I would respond, "No, I'm not comfortable with that." Unless it was Noah, and I would say, "Yeah baby. Just a sec, let me finish this bite of chipped ham and cheese though. And make it quick 'cause these fries are gonna get cold." Kidding. I would never rush through a Noah kiss . . . . but, I do get to go there so seldom . . . . no, no, I wouldn't rush through it.

Back In Action

Did you miss us Shafers? We were on the road visiting the fam in Tennessee, and now we're back. Accents and all. A few highlights from our trip:

• starting our trip with a new battery and alternator courtesy of the Sri Lankin mechanics on the corner. Nothing says excitement like a big, fat repair bill.
• spending the night in a motel and hearing a tired Calvin say as he awoke in a strange place, "Mom, is this where we live now?"
• playing B-I-N-G-O with those Cruzes. Those silly, bingo lovin' Cruzes. Thanks for the memories. and the battery powered lantern, cute necklace, and chance at an ipod. LONG LIVE THE IPOD!
• Going out to lunch with friends, relatives, husband, and kids. A lot. The pants don't lie, and they're telling me that I ate out. A lot.
• hearing a dear old friend remind me that I once got mad at her for copying my mixed tape. I actually said, "You can't just copy someone else's mixed tape." Ahhhhhh, the unknown rules of adolescent friendships so easily broken. Thank goodness we managed to mend the relationship and move forward.
• making cream puffs with my Mom. I love you, Mom. I love you, i love you, i love you.
• listening to Wyatt cry and wail, "Rico is my BEST FRIEND!!!!" as we drove away to New York. Mind you, Rico is a small, brown wiener dog that he had met only five minutes previous. But what can I say? One canine best friend is worth a million mediocre, human ones. Needless to say Noah and I were laughing silent, parent giggles while solemnly trying to comfort him with, "It's okay. I know you love Rico. You'll see him again."
• Continental Breakfast.
• all of the warm weather days that afforded us the time to play croquet, shoot baskets, throw the football, visit the tire swing, jump on the trampoline, and ride bikes.
• a 2ND Thanksgiving Dinner. A real Thanksgiving Dinner, made for the second time. Jealous?
• one visit to Chuck E. Cheeses when the adult to child ratio was 6:2. Noah and I were in hog heaven, eating cheapie pizza and letting aunts, uncles, and grandparents help the boys spend the tokens.
• and last but not least - - - every single moment.

THE Parade

While Noah's family was in town, we took off to the city to watch the THE Macy's Thanksgiving's Day parade. Two things to note if we do it again:

1. Take EVERYONE'S advice and get there early, so that you can see. Try as we might in our alley, we could only see the ginormous ballons glide by. No Floats. Lucky for us, we were so busy keeping an eye on our kids, trying to keep them happy that we hardly realized that there was anything out there. Even luckier - - - we only got one decent pic of the floats: our dear favorite Sponge Bob. And you get just as good of a view as we did. 2. Don't stand next to the vent. My friend Mary Pack was right. Standing beside the nasty, stinky subway vent will ruin your parade experience. We moved after we noticed that stank. And no, I'm talking about the purple boots.Despite the imperfections, it was perfect! What's better than seeing your babies smile? What's better than laughing with your friends and family for a couple of hours? What's better than having this once in a lifetime experience in the city?

I can only think of one thing: coming home to Thanksgiving Dinner already made. Thanks to Boston Market and Cathy and Shaf.

I (heart) my life.

Gobble Gobble

An exercise in post-modern poetry writing by Yo Mama, dedicated to The In-Laws in an effort to verbalize and memorialize a killer weekend.

Thanksgiving.
One visit stretching Wednesday through Sunday.
Exciting. Each Moment a mix between vacation and easy street.

Emily.
I would sit up until 2 a.m. with you any morning.
Searching. To understand just what our vampire powers would be.
At least we can be sure that yours would be that of a skilled fabric stapler.
You have a gift.

Use it wisely.

If you liked it, you should have put a ring on it.
One hour in a laundry basket.
Laughing at Beyonce and Justin Timberlake. (Click Here if you want in on our joke.)

Mimaw.
The boys are still crying at the mention of your name.
You did too many dishes and brought too many gifts.

Pipaw.
Wyatt never sat so still during any treatment as when he sat on your lap.
So still.
What skill to tame the youngster's asthma.

Nathan and Joelle.
The nomad sleepers.
Thanks for the bread.
Your choice of pancake was sublime.

Synopsis: A successful Thanksgiving with Boston Market Turkey, homemade sides, and P.I.E. We were blessed because no one left their underwear on the counter and everyone got at least one nap. Sometimes two.

The Shafers Visit Lady Liberty

I'll make this short. I know that you have lots of blogs to surf. I know how Monday morning brings the promise of weekend posting. So, no stories, just witty quips under pictures. Enjoy.

My three dudes on the ferry out to Ellis Island.
Same Boat. Attempt at a group photo. As you can see, I'm not even willing to put a sandwich down for a family photo. I love sandwiches.
The beautiful ceiling in the main building at Ellis Island.

Lady Liberty. She's so tall.

I heard she's a member of Oprah's book club. She's always reading something. I admire that in a statue.
You have to climb 156 stairs to get to the feet. I had only climbed three stairs and started to dread the remaining 153. I am so proud of Calvin. He climbed all 156 up and down without any help!! He loved it. Wyatt slept through the whole thing.
This is a picture of me removing toe jam from Lady Liberty's toes. This particular piece was giving me some trouble. I'm kidding. I would never call my child toe jam. Or would I?
More comedic genius at work as I train my son in the ways of humorous fake nose picking

This is what you get when you go to the Statue of Liberty on such a rainy day and wear your hood.
So cold. So wet. I think my exact words to Noah were, "Hurry and take a picture of this because I want to remember exactly how miserable this wet moment was." We don't look too miserable, huh? I have to say spending the day with those boys of mine is always pretty fun. Even if it's wet.

Photo Share

I didn't get a chance post the pics from when Mom was here. I'm not sure why there are so many pics of us taken by us. I guess we didn't want to trouble anyone. She was such a fun guest. She was willing to do anything. We walked around a ton, looked at lots and lots of dish stores, and ate one of the most memorable burritos of all time. Mom, I loved spending lots of time and your money with you.

Oh please pick me Wicked lottery!!!!

Mom, Me, Ryan

Get Well Soon!!

Dear Mimaw Caffy,
We are thinking about you every second of the day. We want you to feel better soon so that we can come and play with you at your house. We need to have a picnic, eat gummy bears, and jump on the "frantolin." Please tell Pipaw to watch over you for us and give you lots and lots and lots of kisses and hugs.

xoxoxo,
Calvin and Wyatt

Guest Blogger: My Mom

In an effort to bring diversity, equality, and plain ole' fun, I introduce my guest blogger: Kay Cruze (my Mom).

Topic: City Highlights

At the ferry
...Katie, "We have to run Mom."
Mom. "Run, run?"
Katie, "Run."
Katie, "You can stop running now." (with me still running)

My question of the day,
"Now where are we?"

Best statement,
"O.K, what next?"

What I learned in Kindergarten came in handy,
"Wait, we can't cross the street until the light changes!"

Walking Two Miles with Ryan for a Cookie
That Nobody Wanted to eat.

Walking, walking, walking, walking, walking.

Defective fans from Chinatown. Always check your merchandise, especially when you can't haggle them for a deal.

Lovely dreams...
Crate and Barrel, Anthropology, dishes, dishes, dishes.

"It's so simple, all that matters is chocolate." -a true insight from MAX BRENNER.

No Wicked for the weary, (sniff, sniff). Like lotteries mean anything.

A lovely night walk on Fifth Avenue.

One.... more..... ride..... on.... the..... subway.....uggg.

Watching the lovely city lights fade away on the ferry.....

What a lovely day with Katie, and in the words of Calvin, "I love the city."

Have You Missed Us?

Don't harp on me over that whole, "I'll post everyday for a month" thing. I've been living it up with my parents. Yesterday we took a jaunt into the city for the important stuff: lunch at Blue Smoke, rice pudding, and discount fans from China Town. We ended up in New Jersey outlet shopping and from there it was a blur of running, chasing, dragging, exhaustion, hunger, fun, and McDonald's. Here are a few pics of our journey.

Blue Smoke had the best pulled pork sandwich I have ever eaten. And I have eaten a lot of Buddy's BBQ and feel as though I could testify under oath that it pales in comparison to Blue Smoke's tender, oh so tender, and smokey sandwich.

We were only 24 hours early for the filming of a scene from CSI New York. We even beat the film crew there. We would have waiting longer, but our kids were cranky after just 6 hours of waiting. Just kidding, we didn't wait. We're not that crazy.

While meandering through the toy store with Grandma, Calvin found a little shopping cart and tried to load it up with goodies for himself. I have to say that I think it was the right approach. Grandma was eating out of his hands and if he had stuck with a moment of two longer, I think he could have haggled some more toys out of her.

When set free from the stroller for seconds, Wyatt ran right to some tree thing and climbed all over it. I don't have much else to say other than I thought it was adorable.

Let's Have Some Fun

Kay and Shane. Mom and Dad. Mimaw Kay and Bacca. Grandma and Grandpa. Hey You and You Over There. Call them what you will, but I will just call them, "I'm glad that you're here." Sorry the posts may be slow, but we're too busy enjoying our visitors.

Cally's At IT Again.

Don't miss out on this week's give-away. I think that she's serious about this one.

The Cruze's Very Special Olympics

The Summer 2008 Cruze Family Olympics were held in Knoxville, Tennessee at the exciting Cruze Compound. Though many locations lobbied for the privilege of such a prestigious event, the grand matriarch and patriarch (Shane and Kay) prevailed. At this lovely venue world-class, er, I mean, family-class athletes competed in the following challenging areas:

Tug of War

Girls

Vs. Boys

(They never had a chance.)

As you can guess from the trash talking face here, the girls won. Repeatedly.

Triathlon

I can't even pretend that we did anything remotely close to a real triathlon. Competing in teams of three, we ran about .10 of a mile, biked about 1/2 mile, and shot 10 hoops.

Don't underestimate this guy. He whooped up on all of us with his bike.

Conan claimed that these shoes, actually designed to wear in ping pong tournaments, gave him the extra edge he needed to win the running leg of the race. Uh-huh, right.

Here are the twin runners still gloating in their victories hours later.

Wyatt with the hoops champ. Dude took us to school. That's why we call him the bus driver.

100 meter (or however long the field is) Dash
Run, Emma, Run!!!

Eldon posing beside Mandy, who is Emma's Slovakian running coach. You can tell from her face that this is a serious matter.

Water Fight
Go see Calico for better pics. Calvin just wanted to drink the water, but hey, it was a little hot outside.

Guitar Hero

No real winner here, unless you count having fun and then we were all winners.

Photography

Just kidding. We didn't really compete in this area, but Cally certainly looks like she is, eh?

Dad Hall of Fame

Here are a few Dads that inspire me daily

Noah (Dad of my Children) - This man is good with kids. He has just the right touch for every situation. It brings me great joy to listen to him comfort Calvin after a bad dream, or gently quiet Wyatt when he is sad. I haven't met another man so in love with his children, so willing to give them his time, so good at being their Dad. I'm so grateful for the boys he has given me. I hope that he knows that his boys love him sooo, sooooo, soooooooo much. Really, truly.

Dad (Dad of my Heart) - In case you didn't know, I love him a lot. I love his passion, generosity, and happiness. I strive to be like him, and I thank him for giving me life and the wonderful upbringing that I had. Six kids instead of fancy cars, big houses, or whatever else one might want wasn't lost on me! Dad, you will always be the best Dad I ever had.

Shaf (Dad of My Honey) Our relationship has grown since we first met. It is always nice to have another Dad figure to love and befriend. He showed Noah all of the tricks of the trade, including Daddy Magic. Charming in his quirkiness, he is a favorite around our home. Thanks to him for loving my kids so dearly. PIPAW!

Scott (Half of the Twin Dads and pictured on the far right) As a brother, one could not ask for more, and as a Dad what lucky kids he has. He is a man with an endless amount of energy, humor, and wisdom. He is a teacher, but a fun one. He has the kind of kids that you look at and say, "They are good kids." What a guy. (Conan, Other Half of the Twin Dads and pictured on the left) If you have never met this man, that's a shame. He is inspiring in his everyday life. He is sincerely kind and loving to everyone, his family most of all. His family is dear to me. He spends a lot of time thinking and meditating about them, and he deserves the blessings that his five kids do and will bring.

Eldon (Dad of Kekoa and Leilee) Sorry about the tiny pic. Blame it on my less than stellar bloggin' skills. He is the epitome of patience. Truly if you could bottle it, you would be wealthy. He has such a genuine appreciation of his children that is very endearing. They are so lucky to have someone who is so attentive. He is a treasure to his family.