Just a bunch of words.

I don't have much to say, but feel like I should blog. I just always have this feeling that I'm not interesting. That my life isn't interesting and worth typing out on a public blog for other real people to read. I think the only people truly interested in what I put out here are (is? are? ahhh, whatever) my parents. So I have a hard time thinkin' up things to blog about. Because you don't really want to hear about how we had to leave the children's museum early today because it was so.stinking.crowded and I was panicked that I would lose track of one of my children. Or about how I want to highlight my hair and bought a box of DIY stuff but am nervous to use it. Or about how I can't find a good solution for cleaning my floors. But those are the most interesting things in my life. So I have to dig deep for blog fodder.

I suppose I could talk about my neighbor girl, the 11-year-old I mentioned in my last post or last week or something like that. She is such a sweetheart. And I'm growing to love her like one of my own children. She was with us all day today because she was out of school for MLK day. I just have the best time with her and I half-joked with her that I wish she could hang out with us all day, everyday. She's great with the boys (and they adore her) and we seem to have the same kind of sense of humor. Her mom is thinking about moving at the end of the school year and I begin to get a sick, panicky feeling when I think about that possibility. Being with her makes me ache so badly for a daughter of my own and the thought of her not being around on a daily basis anymore makes it worse.

On a lighter note, I feel the need to mention that Marc-Adam climbed out of his crib last week. Without hurting himself. At some point in the process of getting out he had to have fallen some distance. But I had no idea he was out until I heard him banging on the door. Silly kid. He drives me batty, and yet, I just can't seem to get enough of him.

So, does anyone else feel like they have nothing interesting to say, but they just blog anyway?

It's like looking into the future...if I had a daughter

I've been "tutoring" (and I use that term loosely) our neighbor-girl in math. When I was her age, I hated math. Now? I love it. It's fun to me (my how things have changed). But her? She LOATHES it (notice the capital, bold AND italic letters). But she likes me and I think she likes spending time with me so I think that helps her get through the couple of hours we spend on her homework a couple nights a week. I have dreams of grandeur of turning her attitude about math around and helping her become a whiz at math. However, I'm beginning to doubt that I'll even be able to get her tolerate it long enough to have a working knowledge of the facts and the whys.

So at the end of the evenings that we work, I think she starts to wonder why she liked me to begin with. I don't let her get away with "winging" it. I don't let her pout or slouch or whine. I don't let her move on from a mistake unless she understands why she made the mistake and why it was wrong. I make her do a problem over and over till she gets it right (although, the third time or so, I'll look over her shoulder to help her correct her mistakes immediately to avoid doing the whole thing wrong again). That's about the time that she starts looking at me like I think my own 11 year old daughter would look at me...probably the way all 11 year old girls look at their mother at some point or another. The look that says that she wishes that the floor would open up and swallow one of us. But I want her to understand it. I want it to click for her and I want her to be proud of herself when it does. And above all I want her to not hate it so much. I'm just not sure that's possible.

And this whole experience has solidified in my mind that I don't want my kids to go to public school. At least not until they have learned HOW TO LEARN on their own. She comes home with this homework that takes 2 hours to do and she says that the teacher hasn't gone over how to do any of it. Or the teacher explained it in such a way that completely baffles my neighbor-girl. But then I've had a hard time figuring out how she learns so that I can teach her in a way that she understands.

I love this girl....but I'm going to need lots of patience and prayer to get the both of us through this.

And if you ask us to do anything, we'll tell you we saw the movie

*Updated with the link that I forgot to add that explains exactly what "The Pirates" are.

In honor of my 26th birthday, we took the boys to see The Pirates on Friday. Actually, the two things just happened to coincide, but honestly, it was one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

Stephen and Zachary had never been to a movie before. I've just been too afraid of what might happen and movie going is too expensive these days to risk having to leave half way through. But they're older now and more able to control themselves (or be controlled). So we got there really early and let them check everything out and get all the wigglies out before the movie started. They each got a popcorn or candy and a Sprite (a treat because we don't buy or supply them with soda, ever). Stephen had to call his Grammy to tell her that the movie screen was even bigger than her TV.

Once the movie started, they were already calmed down from their excitement and were more than ready to watch it. They both snuggled in after their Sprite was sucked down and the popcorn/candy had been inhaled (Zachary actually hand-fed me most of his popcorn, sweet boy) and giggled, laughed out loud, gasped and squealed. I think they had a great time and I was so glad that all went well. I was a little disappointed that the pirates didn't actually sing their song and the one time it was played at the end, it was interrupted.

Now we'll have to wait another 5 years for another appropriate movie to take them to.

I'm pretty sure I'm an idiot.

Okay, okay, so I know I'm not idiot. Most of the time. But I might be too scattered to be doing anything that involves any kind of contact with human beings. Or use of the english language.

Lately, I've been much better about checking over comments and e-mails I've been sending out and I can't believe how many mistakes I make. Spelling errors, extra words, words left out....you all must think I dropped out of school in the third grade (not that I think 3rd graders are idiots).

So let me assure you that I'm neither an idiot nor did I abandon formal schooling at the elementary level. I just think that my fingers move much slower than my brain (and if you've ever heard me talk, so does my mouth).

WFMW, Backwards Edition--Help with young toddler, please!

The baby is 14.5 months old and by far the most stubborn, persistent child we've had up to this point. There are several things in the living area of our home that are off limits to him that he is obsessed with. I'm sure he's obsessed simply because he knows they are off limits, but he's driving me batty with his persistence. The four "hot spots" are the books on the bookshelf, the TV buttons on the TV (particularly the on/off button while the two older kids are engrossed in their show), the entertainment center doors and the older kids' chore cards. Even if I wanted to, I can't do anything about removing the TV buttons, entertainment center doors or the kids' chore cards. I could remove the books from the bookshelf for a while, but what's that teaching him? I don't remember the other two being nearly this obsessed with the "no-no" things.

So what do you do to teach them at this age that certain things are off limits? I've done the re-direction thing with him for four months now and it hasn't helped one bit. I could seriously re-direct him for over an hour but he's just so focused. I tell him "No. Not Marc-Adam's. Don't touch." over and over again, but it doesn't make usually make a difference. And if it does, he just melts into tears for a few minutes, I then re-direct him to a new activity and then 30 seconds later he's back at it again. At times, it even seems like he thinks it's a game because I rush at him when he's playing with the cards or the books because I want to get to him before he totally tears something up. He then starts giggling at me and gets excited. I spend a large chunk of my day dealing with this behavior, but I'm out of ideas on how to rein him in a little bit. So what can I do about that?? Is there hope? PLEASE HELP!!

Go to Rocks In My Dryer to see if you can offer any help to other bloggers.

Sometimes all you need is another set of eyes

Up until a few days ago, meal time around here had gotten pretty ugly. The kids' manners had started to fall away and they're attitudes about the meals were bordering nasty. There was silliness at the table, whining, fighting and they were never happy about whatever was in front of them. Every single meal I made was met with whines and eventually, they just quit eating my meals and started living on snacks. So a few weeks ago, I cut out the afternoon snack. That helped a little bit, but I was still enduring ugly attitudes at dinner time. I'd like to tell you that I'm a big enough person that the opinions of a 3 and 4 year old didn't get to me, but that would be a big fat lie. Because it did get to me. I dreaded making dinner because I felt so unappreciated. And I was just.so.tired.of the whining.

And then last week my BFF, Alison, and her darling daughter came to visit. I was lamenting to Alison about meal times and how they were really getting to me and how I needed to do something but I wasn't sure what. She said, "Well, how about if they complain about it, they don't get to eat at all. They won't starve if they miss a meal or two because of it."

Wow. That seems so simple, I thought. Why didn't I think of that? I thought. And then I realized why I didn't think of that. I've gotten a little lazy in my parenting in the last year or so just so I could survive. I've been doing whatever was easiest to keep the peace (and my sanity), even if it meant the kids walked all over me. But now I'm getting past merely surviving and the kids need me to be past that so I can give them more guidance in how to act properly.

So, out of desperation, we started with the new rule that night at dinner. Before I made dinner, I gathered the boys and laid it out....if you whine/complain/make one tiny nasty comment about dinner, your dinner will be over and you will be excused from the table. I knew and prepared myself for the fact that someone would not be eating dinner that night (and I had a feeling I knew who it would be) and then that someone would serenade the rest of our dinner with their wailing. But I had Sweet Hubby and Alison to back me up (and to keep me from caving into their cries). Sure enough, Zachary (the one I suspected would go to bed with an empty tummy) sneered at the broccoli and called it "yuck" (I know he doesn't like broccoli and he didn't have to eat it, but calling it yuck was not acceptable). He was excused from the table immediately and his plate was swiftly taken from the table. And as I also predicted, he serenaded our dinner with whines, cries and wailing. Stephen, trying to earn brownie points, went a little overboard telling me how good the dinner was, Mama, and it was so yummy, Mama, thank you, Mama. I choked down the rest of my dinner, almost near tears because it nearly broke my heart that my child was begging to eat and I was telling him no. But he didn't starve. He actually made it to breakfast the next morning.

The next day, I also added bad manners to the list of "Do not pass go, do not collect $200, you may get down from the table."

We only had that one incident on that very first night.

And I'll tell you what, not only do I have sweet, civilized children at the dinner table, but they are appreciative and actually EATING the dinner. No whining. No complaints. No 489 reminders to keep eating and you need to eat at least one bite of your vegetable. Seriously. It's so much more peaceful.

So I'm convinced I just needed another set of eyes that were way more objective than I could be....and a little kick in the pants to quit being so lazy just to keep everyone happy didn't hurt, either.

The land of perpetual free internet connection

We recently upgraded to high speed internet (God bless the high speed internet). I called the dial-up company last month to cancel our dial-up and instead of canceling my connection, the they gave me a free month. Okay then. So then I call back this morning since our free internet is up on Friday. And they gave me 2 free months. I like the way they do business!

If I had known about this a few months years ago (and if I were a less honest person) I would have played this game long ago when money was really tight!

Ringin' it in...with hope

I'm amazed at the amount of hope I have for this coming year. I've never been big on New Year's celebrations or resolutions. Really, it's just another day to me. But something, something, is different about today. And tomorrow. And the next year. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm filled with so much hope about what this next year will bring that it almosts brings me to tears. I'm so hopeful that I can't even think about the past year, whatever disappointments I had or goals I didn't meet. I don't want to think about them. They don't matter now. I honestly feel like I have this fresh, clean new slate waiting for me when I wake up tomorrow morning. And I hope that when I read this post at this point next year that I'll be able to look back and think, "Wow, I really felt it coming".



Among the obvious things (being a better wife, mom, homemaker, etc) I have ideas in my head of how I want to live this next year that are too personal for me to post here. And I'm not even sure I could put it all here if I wanted to. I'm not sure I could make my "goals" coherent. But they're there. And this year, at this point in my life, I'm more than ready to make things happen.

*As I finished that last paragraph, Sweet Hubby called to tell me that he just had a wreck. He's fine, but he hit and injured a calf and there's quite a bit of damage to his car. See this post to remember how we started 2007. And now I guess we're going to end it the same way. We'll be starting 2008 with the same burden as we started 2007. But I'm not going to let that get me down. I'm still hopeful and I'm reminded even more of how I want to make life better for myself and my wonderful children and my sweet, sweet husband who is safe and sound.

Happy New Year to you and yours. May 2008 be a year that brings us all countless blessings. God bless you.

From our home to yours....

I want to use this, my 200th post, to wish all of my readers (all 3 of you) a very merry Christmas. I pray Christmas finds you warm, fulfilled, and surrounded by those you love and who love you. I hope your Christmas brings you love, laughter and memories. And most of all, I wish you a lifetime, not just a day, of peace and joy.

Merry Christmas

Just a little perspective

It's been over a week since I've blogged. How can that be? So much has been happening and life's been so busy. I have so many blog topics running rampant in my head, I don't know if I'll ever be able to put it all here.

The main thing that's been going on this last week has been family related. Sweet Hubby's 80 year old grandmother had been very sick. He went to be with her earlier this week. She passed away Thursday morning with most of her family by her side. From what he says, it was truly an amazing experience to be with her in that time. Just a few hours before she passed away, she started saying things like, "Do you hear the bells?" and commenting about the color of the clouds and about the people that were "there" waiting for her and cheering her on. It really helped put this season into perspective....while most people were out stressing about gifts or travel or food, Sweet Hubby and I were able to celebrate a woman who led a good and long life. We've been able to really celebrate Christmas, knowing what we have to look forward to, thanks to that Baby in the hay. I'm not exactly sure what I believe about the afterlife, but it's a glorious thought to think about his grandmother meeting her Creator and Savior. I had a terrible time actually being sad about it all. I had a hard time not smiling because I was so happy for her (which made me feel a bit like a freak, but that's a whole 'nother blog post).

On to other matters not nearly as deep or spiritual....I have to say I'm a little bitter. And I KNOW that's not how I should be feeling. And maybe I shouldn't even be blogging this because I'm not sure who all reads this, but here goes....I made the gifts for Sweet Hubby's side of the family Christmas (not the same side who just lost their mother/grandmother). I put my heart and soul (not to mention time and effort) in to their gifts. They thanked me for them, and maybe I'm not being fair because they don't know how much I poured myself in to their gifts, but they didn't seem very excited or that they liked their gifts very much. Perhaps that's just the way they are, and I don't know what I expected their reactions to be, but it seems they could have acted like they cared a little more. I was really excited about their gifts, I wish they were, too. Now I'm wondering if I could have done something else that they would have liked better.....

And now I'm tired and off to bed. Christmas Eve will be a busy day for us, although Sweet Hubby will have to work most of it. I may never get used to him working so much over the holidays.

I'm tired, I'm bored and I 've got kinks in my leg!

*Updated at the bottom of this post*

(Ten totally useless points to whoever can name which classic story that title line is from....)

(something about that first sentence just sounds completely grammatically incorrect...but it stays)


I feel like a whine. And I will take one because it's my blog and I can whine if I want to.

Okay, so I'm not really bored and there aren't kinks in my leg, yet, but when I read that story to the kids, I say that line in a really whiny little voice that seemed to fit my mood for the last few days.

I love Christmas time and I've actually really been enjoying it with the kids, but I've just been so tired and cranky lately. I know what my problem is. I've been busy trying to get Christmas stuff done so my house is a mess, we haven't done school in two weeks (I think we needed a little break) and I feel completely unproductive because I spend most of my day putting out fires (aka: referee-ing fights, cleaning up spilled milk, changing the channel, plugging in a movie, getting snacks, putting shoes on tiny people so they can play outside....the list goes on). If I feel like things are piling up on me, I shut down, stare at the mess and whine about it.

I'm working on apron for a Christmas gift. And I'm mad at it. I've had to take the thing apart and redo it three times already. And now I've got the whole thing assembled minus the pockets (and, oh, if I can get the pockets on right it will just be so stinkin' cute that it's a good thing the fabric's not my style because I might keep it and have to go buy a gift for the person I'm making it for) and I'm wondering how in the world I'm going to get the pockets on. You see, I had to gather the apron at the waistband (that was my first time gathering in a sewing project, I've tried to avoid it) and now I don't know how to get the apron part flat enough to get the pockets on. And if I did get it flat enough, I don't know how they would look once I got them on. And this is a dilemma for which I need my entire brain and with kids fighting, asking me questions or trying to pants me by using my jammie pants to stand up, I just can't put my whole brain in to it. I tried last night, but the apron and I had been with each other all day long and we were starting to give each other dirty looks so it was time that we spent some time apart. But if I can get it done to my liking, I'm just going to be so excited.

Which brings me to my next point. I love sewing. I don't think I knew how much I loved to sew until I pulled out my machine and fabric a couple weeks ago when I started thinking about making some Christmas gifts. I haven't sewed since Marc-Adam was born. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day/money in the budget for me to be able to do it as often as I like. I'm hoping I can whip up a few things to sell so that I can go buy more fabric and patterns and that maybe, maybe, I can start selling stuff I make so that I can keep doing it.

And for my next whine, I'd like to present my children. Whom I love dearly. But I want to hide from them. If I hear "Yeah, but...." one more time as response to something I've told them, they might be wanting to hide from me. I know that there's a possibility that our parenting might have gotten us to this point, but I've never let their arguing get them what they want. And ever since this backtalk/"Yeah but"/arguing phase began a few weeks ago, I've made darn sure that they don't get anywhere with it. I don't know what else to do....but the whining and arguing must stop before I collapse into a little heap on the floor. And surrender.

Lately, no matter how much sleep I get, I feel this uncontrollable urge to lay down and take a nap about 3:30. And yesterday, I sat on the couch to watch the Grinch with the kids, and fell asleep sitting up. When I woke up, Marc-Adam was in a completely different room from when I fell asleep and neither of the kids were sitting next to me like they were when I was awake. Zachary came running up to me saying, "YOU'RE AWAKE!!" I missed most of the Grinch!! Which means I had to have been asleep for about 20 minutes! While I was supposed to be taking care of my children!!

And then yesterday evening, we were driving to meet my in-laws, and Stephen wanted to take a little detour to look at this one house with a bunch of lights. I know I didn't fall asleep because, oh my word, how scary is that, and obviously we were safe, but I zoned out or something because all of the sudden I came back to earth and realized and I had no idea where we were. Thankfully, it's a small town, so I was able to drive a little further toward something familiar, but not after zoning out a couple more times and taking turns I didn't intend to take. It was so weird and scary.

But I have a great weekend to look forward to. I'm leaving for a few days to stay with my folks because I've got rehearals tonight and tomorrow night and the concert on Friday night for our church's Christmas musical-thingy. Even though it's only 25 minutes away, my parents live much closer to our church than we do and we don't want to have to spend that much gas making that trip 4 times in 5 days so we're spending a long weekend with them (which is really my cover for not wanting to look at or deal with my messy house for a few days). So I have the concert Friday night in which I'm singing a duet of "In the Bleak Midwinter". I love that song and it should be pretty. But, last I heard, the guy I'm supposed to be singing it with had a bad upper respiratory infection....so our plans might change a bit. Stephen's also singing with the children's choir in that concert and he's just so cute standing up there with all the other kids. I can't wait to see how he does at the actual concert. We will definitely have the camera going just in case he does something to win us $10,000. Saturday, my mom and I are taking a girls' day and going to finish up the rest of our Christmas shopping. We haven't done that in what seems like forever, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Monday, I think I might join in on BooMama's tour of homes. I was going to post pictures of our Christmas stuff just for fun earlier this week, until I saw what she was doing with the tour of homes. So I think I'll do that instead of doing it all on my own.

So there's lots to look forward to. Let's hope it can jolt me out of my doldrums.

Love all around.

*Update: I had to start fresh with the apron. I think I worked on it too long yesterday, because when I started working on it this morning, I realized I had done most of it all wrong. It was partly my fault and partly because the pattern instructions were so wacky (it's a new pattern I've never used before). I'm able to keep the pockets I had before--as far as I know those are right--but everything else needs to be re-done. And since I had to take the other pieces apart so much yesterday, I figure I'm better off just starting fresh with new pieces. I'll post a pic when it's done.

And God bless his sweet little heart.

This evening, the kids and I were saying our prayers before bed. When it was my turn, I said something about 'Thank you for Pastor Bill and all our Sunday School teachers. And be with the people who don't have homes or families this season....."

After all the prayers were said and we said our final amen, Stephen looked up at me with his big dark eyes and said very sadly and quietly, "Mommy? Pastor Bill doesn't have a home?"

I think he would have seriously asked Pastor Bill to come live with us.

A Christmas Meme

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper and a bow(if it's being shipped, no bow)....unless I have a gift that just can't be wrapped.

2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial...I'd love to do real, but it's just easier to have a fake one.

3. When do you put up the tree? Generally the weekend after Thanksgiving....but with Sweet Hubby's new job, that was out of the question, so this year we did it the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31. I can't stand to look at it after Christmas, so I take it down as soon as I get a chance.

5. Do you like eggnog? I don't know....

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Um....I can recall a few....but I don't know which would be my favorite.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. A cheapy $10 one from Wally World...It's an all one piece kind of thing where the pieces are glued down to the bottom. But Joseph came loose a couple years ago and Mary came loose this year, so they travel now. I'm surprised something hasn't gotten broken yet....but my feelings won't be hurt if it does.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Hmmm...my father-in-law? I usually can find something for everyone.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Sweet Hubby. He has an ongoing wish list all year round!

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? I can't think of anything really bad...

11. Mail or email Christmas card? Sadly, neither. I always have good intentions to send out a card, but for some reason, it never happens.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Oh, there are just too many. A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, the original Miracle on 34th Street....the list goes on and on.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled/re gifted a Christmas present? I don't think so....

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My grandma's fiesta crescents, pecan pie, homemade cookies.

16. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, and in a very close second, O Come Emmanuel

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel, I guess. On Christmas Day we go to my grandma's house, but she only lives an hour away.

18. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Grumpy.....oh, wait....

19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One Christmas eve and all the rest on Christmas morning.

20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? White Elephant Christmas exchanges.

21. Best thing about Christmas? Christmas Eve. Drinking hot chocolate, eating warm from the oven cookies, reading the Nativity Story from the bible and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with the kids.

Rambling all the way to nowhere....

I know. That title's been used by other people. But there's just no other title that would fit as well as that one.

There must be something I'm missing about crock pots. People sing their praises and talk about how wonderful they are and how easy they are and all kinds of inspiring talk to make me pull mine out a couple times a year. But in all honesty, I don't like crock pots....and while pulling mine out yesterday, I realized that for some strange reason I have 3. Three crock pots. I have no idea how that happened and cannot think of even one situation that I might need even 2 crock pots.

And the recipes...they all taste the same to me. The chicken, the beef, the vegetables...all the same. And I don't really like it. We walked in the house yesterday evening after the crock pot had been working on dinner most of the afternoon, and the kids immediately scrunched up their noses and asked what the smell was. I hated to tell them it was dinner. Thankfully they had already been filled up full of Cocoa Pebbles at my parents house, so they weren't terribly interested in white chili. Actually, it was one of the better recipes I've ever used. But it doesn't matter how good the recipe is, the crock pot is also a pain in the neck to clean which takes away any "Oh, it's so easy" feelings from me.

On to other news, we ordered some stockings the day after Thanksgiving. I've been wanting to buy them for years, but this was the first year that we actually had the money in the budget to do it. While we were ordering, we explained that Marc-Adam's name was spelled M-A-R-C "HYPHEN" A-D-A-M. When we got the stocking, it was Marc'adam. Apostrophe. So we called back and to tell them it was wrong and to see what they would do about it. The lady said, "Well, ma'am, this is hyphen." No. It's an apostrophe. As in "can't" and "it's" and "Alli's". She said, "OH, you're right! I'm looking right at it! It's been years since I've heard someone use the word 'hyphen'". Wha....? Whatever. Can we have a new one? So, they're sending us a corrected one free of charge. Which is why, among other reasons, we love JCPenney's.

One more thing in this post o' random....I know some people think it's entirely too early, and some people are already sick and tired of hearing about it, but I want to encourage you to start looking into a presidential candidate you can get behind. I'd love to tell you to get behind the guy (and yes, it's a guy) I'm behind, but I won't. Yet. I just want to encourage you to at least start listening and researching. It's more important than ever to know what these people are saying, doing and planning. And even though it's a little less than a year away, please plan on voting. I'm afraid that the votes will be too close for people to have the luxury to say that their one vote won't matter.

And now I'm off the soapbox....but as November '08 draws nearer, I'll be talking more about this.

The Plan, it has backfired

Earlier today, Stephen overheard me joking with my mom about something being "made in China". At dinner, he reminded me that not every toy was made in China (even thought that's not really what I had been discussing with my mom), and I told him that most toys were and I could prove it. We just so happened to have a Veggie Tales pirate ship on our table during dinner (yes, we have interesting centerpieces), so I turned it over and showed him where it said "Made in China". He paused for a second, in deep thought, and said, "Ohhhh, that's right. Santa died and now the people in China have to make our toys."


Oh dear.

An indication of my cooking...and why no one eats it.

While I was making lunch the other day, Stephen walked in, took a look around, glanced at the stove where lunch was cooking, walked out and said to himself:


"Hope it doesn't catch on fire again."



Gee. Thanks.

Well, I did it.

We had "the talk" with Stephen (and Zachary, but I don't think Zachary even paid attention to the fact that we were in the same room). You know, the talk about Santa Claus. We've "done Santa" from the beginning and I've hated it. It took a lot of courage dug up from my mommy instinct, but Sweet Hubbby and I finally agreed to 'fess up and tell the truth. Actually Sweet Hubby did most of the talking (and did a great job) and we told him that St. Nicholas was a real man who loved God so much that he did exactly what Jesus told us to do and he loved everyone, and he showed that love by giving food and gifts in secret to people who were very poor and had nothing. And then when St. Nicholas died, people admired him so much that they started to pretend to be him and they started giving gifts in secret (and also started calling him Santa) and telling stories about him. We told him that LOTS of people pretend to be Santa...even Daddy. At that point, it seemed to click for him. He said, "And Papa and Poppy?" We agreed and told him that we could still pretend and have fun doing all the stuff we did last year (baking cookies and leaving them for Santa and getting up together to see what Santa brought). We asked him if he had any questions and he said, "What about Mrs. Clause?" Lol.

So I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. We went to Wal*Mart the other day and they had a "Santa". Stephen was excited (this was before the talk) and went to take a picture with him. He carried the picture through the store and then a little while later said, very thoughtfully, "Mama, I don't think that man was really Santa Clause." We had a nice little discussion about most of the mall/store Santas not being Santa Clause. I think it was a good segue in to the talk we had the next day.

In protection of other children, we told them that this was a huge secret that only really big kids know, so they couldn't say a word to other kids about it. Stephen's surprisingly good at keeping secrets (he never even lets on that he knows a secret), so I'm not too worried. But there is a little nagging feeling that my kid will be the one to ruin it for someone else's kids.

Yeah

Ah, recovery. Almost. We still have one more family get together for Thanksgiving tomorrow, but for the most part, we've winded down our Thanksgiving festivities and are firmly in the Christmas mode. We got our tree up on Tuesday because Sweet Hubby was off and we weren't sure when we'd have another chance to do it anytime soon. All of this year's ornaments are bought and the Christmas movie watching has commenced.

I went shopping with my mom and cousin yesterday. We were out of the house at 7:30. I want to be one of those that are in the Wal*Mart with list and ad in hand at 5:00am, I really do. The chaos is fun and the crowds don't bother me, but at this point in my life, it's just not an option. Maybe next year when I'm not nursing anymore. Of course, Wally World and others are going to have to come up with some better Black Friday deals to make it worth my while. The "deals" this year were a little underwhelming. But I did get some deals...I did not walk away empty handed. I only bought a few things and walked away $100 under budget. Yay! Which allowed to me to work more things into the budget that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to do.

I'm almost done with Sweet Hubby's gifts for Christmas. Just one more thing and I'm done. The kids will be easy this year. Bunk beds, a bike, an easel and a couple of small toys and CDs. I've covered a few other people on our list, but I still have more than half of my list to finish.

I'm usually not at all choosy about what I want for Christmas. Every few years, I set my heart on a pricier item, but for the most part, I don't know what to ask for and it's not really important to me to get anything. But. This year, I have a my eye on a few big ticket items. And I *think* I might actually get them. I'm pretty sure I'm getting this (right, Mom?? *grin*). Which makes me happier than I can say. I've been hinting at Sweet Hubby for a while that I'd really like an MP3 player and the hints have been getting more and more obvious with the last hint being, "I want an MP3 player for Christmas." I think he was perceptive enough to pick up on that subtle statement. I hope. And at first I thought I was going to be a snob about it and insist on an iPod, but after doing a little research, I don't think it's going to matter to me at all. He's been acting like he's got it covered and that's what I'm getting, but I don't know how since it's not in the budget. I can't wait to spend an afternoon finding and downloading all the perfect songs. I've even promised Stephen that he can have a few songs on it so he can borrow it. He's been begging for an iPod (LOL), but that's just so not gonna happen. But maybe I'll think about a cheapy off brand for his birthday. The one thing that's probably going to have to wait till next year is a Kitchenaid mixer (pink...or maybe red). I've wanted one for a few years, but they're so expensive, I won't buy one for myself and they're too much to ask for as a gift. But I might start saving up in January for next year's Christmas so maybe we can work it in to the budget. I can't think of what I would actually use it for, but I think I'd find something to whip up.

The Happy Visit

Stephen had his very first dentist appointment today. He was very excited and it went very well. No cavities! He looked so grown up and gave the ladies no problem. He thought he was the coolest kid ever (he didn't get much disagreement from me, either). My camera almost died but I was able to squeeze a little more life out of it by talking real sweetly to it, so I got some cute pictures.

Climbing up in the chair



Flipping through a magazine while being patient



You see how he's got his hands/arms?? They're propped behind his head! Have you ever been so comfy in the dentist's chair?



Getting his teeth "counted"

Quarantine

It's been an interesting few days around here. Every single person in my house came down with that stomach virus I mentioned. If you've been anywhere near my house in the last week or so, I pray for your health. If you've been near my house and have recently been reacquainted with your toilet, that would probably be courtesy of my sweet family. My sincerest apologies. Count yourself blessed if you haven't.