My sister. is driving. me crazy.

And now I'm feeling crappy. Also, I told Laura I was going to blog about this. (I just used blog as a verb! I'm really deep into the blog-world now!) Firstly, my sister. Let me relay the conversation that just took place over the phone:

Kim: Hey, guess who we just saw in FYE?

Me: Who?

Kim: Jessie's brother!! Yeah! I didn't know he worked here!

Me: Was he a jerk?

Kim: (talking to daughters in background) Well, I just wanted to tell you that! Bye!

Click.

I called her back and told her that I was going to buy her a phone with no earpiece, only a mouthpiece, so she could talk to her heart's content, because she doesn't listen!! I said it all "Haha how amusing"-like but I really would buy her one if they sold them! Last week we had a similar conversation:

After talking a few minutes:
Kim: blah, blah, blah, talk talk talk

Me: yeah, so where are you?

Kim: (talking to daughters in background)

Me: Where are ya'll at?

Kim: (still talking to daughters)

Me: WHERE are you AT?

Kim: Well, I guess I'll let you go. Talk to you later. Bye!

Me: (through clenched teeth) Bye Kim.

AUGH! Anyway, aside from that driving me nutso, it is rather funny, and it was funny to tell her about it too and make fun of her about it. The reason I said I feel bad is when I asked her again if Jessie's brother had been a jerk, (she didn't know about "the incident" where he was rude and I cried) and she said, "No! He hugged me and everything!" So... wah. I guess its something personal with me, and he just no longer likes me or something. :( I don't know. I'm trying not to let it bother me, but it does hurt my feelings. Ah well, there's this thing I read that says, you can't be liked by everyone. Like, I don't like everyone I meet, so I can't expect everyone to like me. I just can't understand it, because we (J's brother and I) used to be friends and laugh and joke, etc. You know? Again, oh well. You all like me right? (begging for affirmment. how sad. :D )

Weekend musings

First let me say that I am very sleepy this morning. For some reason I didn't get to sleep till after 11:30 last night, then I woke up at about 10 till 5:00, and couldn't go back to sleep. :( So I got up, as planned, at 5:30 to exercise. I'm SO glad I actually got up and exercised. Finally! Have you ever felt tired and energized at the same time? That's how I felt when I was exercising (with Richard Simmons haha) but now I just feel tired. Moving on... :)
Friday is upon us once again. Who besides me is astonished that Christmas was 4 days ago? What happened? Well, my tree is still up, and I really hadn't made plans to take it down this weekend...bleh. That is such a drudge job to me. Its really fun to decorate and get in the spirit, but taking it all down is...depressing...dreary....ech. But it'll be a long weekend (yay!) so we'll see.
I'm going a little bit crazy with all the new presents the kids recieved. They want it ALL put together. Right now. "Please?" haha. I'm trying to watch my new DVD's kids! Give me a break! No just kidding. We've got most of their stuff put together, except for this one colossal Spiderman bath toy (really a POOL toy) that I don't even want to *think* of tackling until I've had 9 hours of sleep, a good meal, and then another nap. It's not as bad as I make it sound I guess. It just looks a little complicated and odd for my amateur putting-stuff- together skills. Jessie's the pro at that stuff. But I'm getting better. Goodness knows I've had enough practice in the past week!
Other than putting together the bath/pool toy and possibly coaxing myself into taking down a few Christmas decorations, we don't have much planned this weekend. There has been talk of going bowling (fun!) but I don't know if we are or not yet. Staying home ALL weekend sounds so so nice to me right now. We have games, movies..the kids have new toys...we are well stocked in the entertainment area. Plus there's my couch, my favorite blanket and my bed...it just keeps sounding better! I don't know about fireworks either. I like fireworks as much as anyone, but after Jessie set the grass on fire a few years ago and scared me out of 10 years growth, I prefer to go somewhere else and watch them. So we'll see..hope everyone else has a great weekend. :)

Cutie pie

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen? It's Santa Cole! I REALLY hope nobody minds me putting this up. Aunt Daphne, if you do, or if you think Emily would be horrified I'll take it down. But Amber sent it to me and I could not resist!! For those of you who don't know, this is my baby cousin Cole. He is just THE sweetest thing...I cuddled him for as long as I could Christmas Day, until he was cruelly ripped from my arms by my sister or some other mean person who wanted to hold him. :P I can't wait to see him again! He is SO cute! And I must admit, I called him a "little tootie-bear" many, many times. I couldn't help it! Babies make me speak gibberish.

Installment 2 - Christmas bloopers and tidbits

Here are a couple of funny things that happened on Christmas:

• My aunt Daphne accidentally wrapped up a onesie previously belonging to Cole and gave it to Cole as a present! HA I took a pic of Emily, Cole and the regifted onesie
• Immeadiately afterwards, Noelle opened her gift from Lily, and then Lily picks up a pair of scissors and says, "Mama why did we give Noelle scissors?" LOL I accidentally wrapped our scissors with the gift! I said, "I thought I lost those!" and Jessie adds "Yeah, we had to go out and buy some new ones!" Then I took a pic of Amber laughing hysterically.
• This happened the Sat. before Christmas. "Santa" made a surprise visit to Papa and Granny's house (Jessie's dad and stepmom's) during our Christmas time there. He handed out gifts to each child and they each took a pic with him, etc. Then he left, and when we left, we went to the mall as planned, because the kids still wanted to see Santa there. (I tried to get out of it, but they wanted to see him "again".) So we saw him and took a pic (very cute indeed) and when we left, Lily said, "Why did Santa look different?" OOPS. Jessie quickly said he must've needed to change his suit and the kids pointed out his gloves were a different color. So I cleverly surmised that he must've spilled milk on himself and Jessie said, "yeah, he just had to change his suit" and then Seth says, "Yeah and his beard too." HAHA Jessie saves the day with, "Yeah, he must've needed a trim." A close call!

The cutest moment of Christmas goes to Cole, who was wearing a Santa suit! He was SO cute! So sweet and precious. Seth and Lily got a LOT of stuff and when we got home on Christmas night we somehow managed to incorporate most of it into their rooms. One of my favorite gifts was a bottle of "Pure White Linen", a perfume that smells mmmmmm. Another one of my favorites is a "Spanish Daily Phrase and Culture Calendar: A whole year of phrases, cultural tidbits, and trivia." This is one of those offbeat things that totally appeals to my sense of humor. The calendar has all sorts of phrases that makes "Learning Spanish a breeze!" haha You know I have to give a couple of examples:

• December 5: Te pedi una cita con el dentista./ I got you an appointment with the dentist.
• Followed by December 6: Pues yo llame a tu psiquiatra; hace much que no lo ves./ And I called your psychiatrist; you have not seen him in a while.
• December 18 (for some reason the funniest ones are in December): Tengo la tension muy baja y a veces me desmayo./ I have very low blood pressure and sometimes I faint.

Ok, ok. Alone, those phrases are not really funny, but to be daily Spanish phrases on a calendar? To me, that's hilarious!

Installment 1- The blog to end all blogs (because its so very long)

Where to begin? I've been gone for a week! A crazy week. I can't believe how much I actually missed writing in this blog. My blog is my friend!! I know, I'm strange sometimes.
Firstly, my grandmother died on Tuesday. The funeral was on Friday morning. It was so surreal to see her in the casket. She looked beautiful and more peaceful than I've seen her in I don't know how many years. Throughout the funeral I kept thinking, "She's finally happy, and she's not suffering." My second(?)-cousin Betty gave a eulogy and told how my grandmother was a Christian and how much she loved her grandchildren. It was very sweet and moving. I'm SO glad to know that she's in heaven, happy with the Lord..and reunited with my dad, her son. I don't know what a reunion is like with a mother and son in heaven, but I know its got to be more wonderful than we can imagine. "Beulah Land" was played at the funeral...and OH that song. My sister and I were overcome with images of Granny greeting Jesus, dressed in her beautiful blue gown, happy and lovely and finally home. As hard as it is to lose her, someone who's been in my life and heart forever, my father's mother, I'm happy she's no longer suffering. She suffered from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's for many years, but now she's free from pain and worry. That's something to be thankful for.
Next, Christmas. What can I say? It was Christmas! It was wonderful and overwhelming. Well, I can start with Christmas Eve. That morning, I had church...the Christmas Cantata. My mom and Chuck came, Kim and the girls came, and it was so good to see them all there, sitting together. We did the Cantata and I was SO nervous. My voice was shaky on ALL the songs because I was so nervous about the solo!!! My heart started thumping and I was praying and singing and trying to take deep breaths all at once! haha So it came, and I got through it. To ME it sounded like my voice was REALLY shaky. Cause I was so nervous! But my family (of course they did - ha) said it was pretty and Julia (the one who handed the solo over to me) said it made her cry!!! I was like, "WHAT?" haha. So maybe I didn't do as badly as I thought. It was a great service though. We had the Lord's supper, and it felt nice to sit with all my family. It felt like LOVE in the room. I could feel God's presence that morning. :) I do love Christmas.
Christmas Eve EVENING we went to Jessie's mom's and it was all chaos and kids and family and food and fun. Jessie's mom got us these awesome outside-chairs with a little table and cupholder attatched. The kids of course, got toys-toys-toys. Then Jessie's brother came as we were about to leave. He and Jessie hugged and in earshot of me began talking. Jessie told him we were about to leave and his brother acted all outraged ("WHY?") Jessie told him we were going to see my family and his brother says something like "I think its really crappy that you only spend a couple of hours with your family and are going to spend all day with HERS"
What????
Jessie goes, "LOOK..." and tells him some stuff that I tuned out because I was REALLY upset. So the last fifteen minutes there, I spent trying not to cry! Yeesh. Then one of Jessie's cousin's wives, a lady named Jennifer, grabs me in a bear hug while I'm saying my goodbyes and starts being SO sweet..saying, "I'm sorry about your grandmother, I know what you're going through, my grandfather has Alzheimer's and if you ever need to talk and cry together you know you can call me..."
At that point the tears were about to start spilling so I hugged her back and thanked her profusely, said my last goodbyes and got out of there as fast as I could! THEN...I started sobbing! I did. What Jessie's brother said hurt my feelings SO much and then Jennifer was SO nice to me that the waterworks could not be stopped. Jessie was SO pissed off (at his brother, not me) at one point he said, "I just should've punched him!!!" I was thinking, yeah, that would've been nice.... haha. I feel better about it now though. We try to alternate years with our families and even out the time and you CANNOT please everyone no matter how hard you try. He can like me or not, but our family is our family and I don't calculate its every move to try and please him! Ok, the rant is through!
Since this is so long, I'm going to stop here! I'll have to write this blog in installments! Next to come, Andrea's Christmas Day! Stay tuned! ha

Baby crazy

I cannot resist a cute baby face. I have decided that maybe I need to go work in a nursery or daycare or something where I can surround myself with cute widdle baby faces all day. I love babies! And these are some of the cutest of the cute. Look at the little one with her lip poked out!! Too cute!!
I'm almost convinced that I want to have one more...and sooner than later. I know my mom is passing out. But Mom, look at these faces!! Can you blame me?

Very funny stuff

I just read THE funniest post. It's done by one of the parent bloggers on Parenting.com. Just click on the title "Very funny stuff" (so creative huh?) to read it. I'm sure I'll have an experience like this one day. Actually I did sort of. When Lily was about one or two weeks old, she seemed to be breathing funny. I called NurseLink and they asked me a series of questions and I was convinced that something was very wrong!! So Jessie took off work and we took her to the emergency room and...she was fine. She may have had a little cold-ish thing, but...Mama's (especially Mama's of newborns) can get very jumpy. Also, when she was a newborn, I would be asleep at night, and all of a sudden I'd JUMP up (I was practically airborne) and shout, "WHERE"S MY BABY?" She was always snoozing peacefully in the bassinet beside me. I was a basket case, but the fact that she's now healthy and happy attests to the fact that I did something right. Right? All my jumpiness was not in vain! :)

Seis días hasta Navidad*

The countdown continues! Yesterday I saw a commercial that said 7 shopping days till Christmas! and I shrieked, "Augh!" Jessie laughed at me and then I was like, "Oh I knew that. It just sounds like less days when they say it like that". Obviously, the holidays have muddled my mind.

Last night, Jessie and I played a rousing game of "Top Trumps" which has still not been finished. I don't think I've talked about our new addictive card game, but ours is a Lord of the Rings version. Its like War (the card game) except the cards each have a different character and they all have attributes which you use to try and "top" your opponents. For example, if I had in my hand, Treebeard (the really tall talking tree) and it was my turn, I would use his height (15' 4") to try and top Jessie's card. Of course, it's a game of luck too, because if he had the Balrog (20' 4') my Treebeard would become his. Confused yet? Just trust me, its a really fun game. :) We got it at Dollar General for a dollar! We get really competitive too, but I won't go into that...

I got Christmas card happy last night also and hung up all the Christmas cards I recieved (all 4 of them...come on family, get on the ball! (Just kidding!)). I have to use everything as a decoration. Its just all too cute. The impending excitement is just getting to be too much for me. Help me! I'm being overcome by Christmas spirit! I wonder if I wasn't a Mom what I'd be like right now. I don't know. I mean, I wonder if I'd have gotten back into church and gotten saved, and also straightened my life up. Or would I be...well I don't want to think about it. My life is my life and its a good life full of people I love and Christmas decorations and toys on the floor (and also food underneath the table on the floor.) I think if I could lose weight that would be the icing on the cake for me. Like Laura, my dear partner in chocolate-eating crime, I'm planning to start a diet-blog after Christmas, (oh and also a diet to go along with it.) I'm tired of this spare tire around my waist! So wish me luck. :)

*Six days until Christmas!

20 Christmas Questions

I found this list of questions from a really good blog I found through other parenting blogs, so let me link her: http://www.life-love-laundry.blogspot.com/. I love reading other parent's blogs. :)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Mostly wrapped, a couple unwrapped
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I love colored lights, but Jessie likes white...we have colored on the tree...maybe next year I'll let him have it his way... ;)
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No
5. When do you put up your decorations? Usually on the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year it was sort of done over a few days the week after Thanksgiving. We had a busy weekend. :)
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Oooh. Mama's fudge. And deviled eggs!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Christmas Eve at home with Mama. We read the Christmas story and I was just bouncing off the walls with excitement. The living room was decked out (no pun intended) and you could just feel Christmas.
8. When and how did you learn that Santa isn't real? What? This must be a trick question.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Usually we let the kids open one. BUT...this year, probably not. We'll be going to Jessie's mom's family before heading to my families on Christmas Eve and they'll probably open about a billion and one while we're there.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? With anything we have. Candy canes, decorations from when I was a kid, decorations given as gifts, some with family members names on them, some I made, colored lights, a beautiful angel on top. Its a true "family" tree.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it! But sadly, Mississippians don't see too much at Christmas.
12. Can you ice skate? I did once when I was about 8. I ended up with a huge blister on my foot so the answer would probably be no.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? a "computer" (using that word loosely) that had some kind of picture/word games on it. Had some kind of booklet with it. It was gray... I really did love it!
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? "Spending extra time with my family and making the holiday special for the kids. Celebrating Christ's birth." That was the previous answerers answers, but I couldn't have said it better myself.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Mom's fudge, hands down.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Putting up the tree, reading the Christmas story with the kids, listening to our "Muppet's Christmas" tape together (with Beaker!)
17. What tops your tree? a beateous angel in a flowing red gown (poetic?)
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving gifts? Giving
9. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night
20. Candy Canes on the tree? Yes, yummy

Thoughts, revelations and inane chatter

One week 'till Christmas! Doesn't it seem almost surreal when it gets this close? I'm getting really excited. Although next weekend is going to be crazy-hectic, I'm so excited for it. I had choir practice last night and I did the (gulp) solo. With a microphone and everything! I was almost horrified when they pulled out that microphone. But it went well, a little shaky (my voice, that is), but well overall.
I have to share something. During the preaching yesterday morning at church, Bro. Scott was talking about receiving blessings. He was saying that we could look at his checkbook and try to explain to him how his bills got paid each month. He tithed, paid bills, groceries, gas, etc. and logically and mathematically, he says there's no way he could've made it on his own. He gives to God, so God blesses him! Its awesome. I was sitting in the pew, however, feeling really bad. Jessie and I haven't been tithing like we should lately, it seems like expenses of life overpower us, but...Bro. Scott says that's where faith comes in. When we get our check, we need to go ahead and deduct our tithe from it, then God will help us with the rest. I was thinking about it all day...thinking about ALL that was going to have to come out of my next check. (A zillion things). And right now, we are really very broke. You know, Christmas gets expensive, and so does life. So I was also trying to figure out how to buy a little gas to last till Wednesday, AND give Seth lunch money this week. Then, after choir practice last night, I call Jessie (who's on his way to church) and he informs me that Seth's grandmother gave him $30 for "whatever". I was so overjoyed. Seth's lunch money!! That, to me, was God's way of telling me that HE CAN and WILL provide if we just trust Him. He's amazing. It's amazing to me that He still blesses me when I am so bad at trusting Him to take care of me sometimes. But as we all know, He works in mysterious ways.
Last night I wrapped the "Secret" presents. You know, the ones from the jolly fat guy? Jessie and I stood back and looked at the tree and all the presents underneath it and were a bit overwhelmed. They aren't all for the kids, they are for the names we drew for both sides of the family (his and mine) and for each other and my mom, etc. But still. For some weird, weird reason I keep thinking, "I hope no one breaks in and steals all these presents while we're gone, we'd be out a lot of money". Who knows why the mind thinks the weird things it thinks? To change the subject, Lily is having a Christmas party at her babysitter's today. She was excited. Seth's party is Thursday. I've yet to buy his teacher a present, but I'll take care of that Wednesday. I don't know what the heck to buy her. It'll be one of those "wild card" presents. Like, "I don't know anything about you, but here's what I guessed you'd like!" haha Surely I can't go wrong with a little Christmassy decoration. At least if she doesn't like it, she can stuff it in the closet with her tree until next year.

Don't cry for me Argentina!

I found this on a website (click on the title to view the link) and I thought it was interesting. I've only heard a few of these. I agree with 5, 7, and 10. But James Blunt? Ecch!

Top 10 Saddest Songs (from Kid Kraddick's website)
Physiology expert Dr Harry Witchel analyzed the effect of music on physical reactions including heart rate and skin temperature and found slow songs slow the pulse and have a similar impact on the body as feeling sad.
The saddest ten songs were:
1. The Verve - The Drugs Don't Work

2. Robbie Williams - Angels

3. Elton John - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

4. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

5. Sinead O`Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

6. Will Young - Leave Right Now

7. Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight?

8. Christina Aguilera - Beautiful

9. James Blunt - Goodbye My Lover

10. Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

I decided to write my own list! You know what a fan of lists I am! And I know there are probably 500 country songs sadder than the ones I'm listing, but I'm going to stick to what I know. And some that you might know.

Andrea's List of the Top 10 Saddest Songs

1. The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby (so depressing yet such an awesome song)

2. Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven (needs no explanation)

3.Sinead O'Conner - Nothing Compares 2 U (One of the best break-up songs)

4.Simon and Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair (ooh that one makes me swoon)

5.Five for Fighting (?) - 100 Years (normally not my type of music, but MAN that song makes me tear up)

6.Little Texas - What Might Have Been (a tearjerker and also kind of a country song! Oops!)

7. The Rolling Stones - Paint it Black (almost more angry than sad-very depressing lyrics, nonetheless)

8. Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love With You (although I played this at my wedding, its got this longing, yearning quality that qualifies it as a sad song)

9. REO Speedwagon - Keep on Loving you (lol Amber and I actually drove down the road crying to this song over two boys one night! HAHA sorry Amber, but I want it to seem authentic)

10. Pink Floyd - WIsh you were here

I know there are a lot I've left out, but that's my list for now. I'll change it if I think of some that deserve to make the top 10 list. What are your favorite sad songs?

I'm at the mercy of cheesecake

It's Friday!!! Three cheers. I'm about to do a little Christmas storytime with Laura for some kiddies here at work, so I'll post more after its done. I've been eating some of her delicious ranch oyster crackers, so my breath smells a little ranchy. I hope the kids don't notice. Last night we had fun at the park. :) It was all lit up so beautifully. It wasn't warm like I'd hoped, but we didn't freeze or anything. We took a walk around and then we got in the looong line to ride in the horse n' carriage. It was worth it though, to see Seth and Lily's faces light up when we started to go. The lights looked so pretty shining on the pond, it was all very shimmery.

Ok..its been about 3 hours since I posted the above paragraph. I just ate lunch...I feel like I ate an entire state. Maybe California or something. I have never been this full in my life! We all brought finger foods to work today. I brought sausage balls and cheesecake. We also have cocktail weenies, chicken nuggets, lemon pie, oyster crackers, pigs-in-a-blanket, cheese-and-crackers...and a box full of chocolates PLUS a tin full of cookies. Help me! I need to run to an Overeaters Anonymous meeting! Cause I definitely have been guilty of that. Moving on...(actually, I can't move at all)...

It's Friday, it's Friday! I think that I don't have anywhere to go on Saturday!! It's cause for celebration! No shopping (I can't finish shopping till I get paid anyway), no dinners, no nothing! Just me, home, and my bed. Oh and my husband and kids. (just kidding.) Next weekend is the BIG traveling weekend. 3 families in 2 days!!! We must summon the Christmas magic that allows Santa Claus to travel to so many places on Christmas Eve. haha And in my step-mother in-law's SUV! Bless her for letting us use her vehicle. It'll be so much more comfy and we'll be able to fit both luggage and gifts and miscellaneous-stuff-the-kids-and-I-think-we-can't-leave-behind in it.

A fun and seriously good thing I think: Christmas Eve, after church, (before the traveling takes place), I think Jessie, the kids and I are going to have a birthday cake for Jesus' birthday. Laura and I were talking about how the focus at Christmas is so much on Santa Claus and not so much on the REAL reason we celebrate. So to make it hit home better with the kids, I thought having a birthday party for Jesus would be awesome. I've always liked that idea. So I'll let you know how it goes. I love Christmas!! :) I know I'm probably unusually cheery, but something about the weekend + Christmas coming soon + getting paid soon just makes me feel giddy. But oh my stomach hurts. Someone needs to save me from myself. And keep me out of the breakroom!

Do you hear what I hear?

Do I post too much? Oh well, at least I'm amusing myself. Here, for our enjoyment, a new list:

Christmas songs I love!

O Holy Night

Silent Night

Away in a Manger

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

O Little Town of Bethlehem

The Muppets 12 Days of Christmas! :)

Hmm. I'm seeing a pattern here. It looks like my favorites are mostly classics. Now a list of:

Christmas songs that will eventually drive me to the brink of insanity!

Santa Baby (echh)

Little St. Nick (Run run reindeer!)

any Christmas song sung by any pop star

any Christmas song digitized or played on any annoying commercial!

I'm disappointed by Sunny 93.3 too. Usually I LOVE listening to them all during the Christmas season. But this year it seems like all I hear are those pop singers I mentioned. Not as many classics. :( But you know another one I like? The one where the little dog barks out Jingle Bells. I know I'm weird but I just think its so cute. :P

Better late than never!

I made it! I was late to work this morning because we overslept. How, I don't know. Because of a colossal headache, I went to bed last night at 8:00, and somehow didn't wake up until about 6:30 this morning. Wow.

We took the kids to the dentist yesterday. Heh heh. It went good and bad, as I told Laura. Lily did tremendously well, she behaved and also had no cavities! Yay! I wonder, though, how a child who's idea of good "brushing" is putting the toothbrush in her mouth and biting it, had such good teeth. haha I guess she must've done something right. Seth, unfortunately, had 2 cavities and has to go back next week to have them filled. :( He also did NOT like it. We heard wailing from the waiting room (no, we did not go back with them, and it wasn't because we didn't want to!) so I sent Mighty-Dad (Jessie) to go back and check on him, but Seth was just "scared". So after we left I told him that although it might be scary and hurt a little bit, it was a lot better to let the dentist keep his teeth healthy and have it hurt a bit than to have unhealthy, rotten teeth that hurt all the time. He reluctantly agreed, and I think it helped that they got a goodie bag with a toothbrush and stickers. Goodie bags make any situation go smoother, don't they?

Before Lily and I picked Seth up from school yesterday, we went to Walmart and I got Seth that cowboy hat I said I was going to get. $4.00 for a play cowboy hat! I felt I was being robbed, but got it anyway. I tell you, it was worth it. When Lily showed it to him, he was like, "WHOA!" and he said it looked like a "10 gallon hat". Then he said, "Mama, do cowboys live in the western?" haha He put the hat on and did not take it off until his bath last night. (except at the dentist of course) I wish he had some boots to go with it. I also bought him a bandana and tied it around his neck and put it over his mouth and told him he could be a bandit. He at first said he didn't want to be a bandit, but then relented, and said he'd be a "good bandit". They crack me up. Oh one more thing he did. My mom sent "early Christmas presents" (as only grandmothers are allowed to do), and Lily got this adorable red, velvety shirt and skirt, and Seth got a red-and-white striped sweater. Seth tried his on, and I told him he looked like a candy-cane, so he leaned over, crooked his back and did a candy-cane impression! I was just howling with laughter. Lily pranced around in her skirt (the shirt was a little too tight) and tried to wear it to daycare today. She didn't get to wear it, however, she DID get to wear her purple clippies, and that made her very happy. My little fashion-queen! Help!

We're going to Christmas in the park tonight, hopefully. Yay, free horse-and-buggy rides! I think it'll be warm-ish, so I won't have to go against my better judgement and have us shivering in the bitter cold for an hour of entertainment. I think an hour is all we'll be able to stay, because alas, Seth has school the next day and I have to make some sausage balls for work tomorrow. But I think it'll be fun. And I'm looking forward to eating those sausage balls too.

Are these men twins?

You have before you, the magnificent mugs of Peter Rekell (aka Bo Brady) and Ted Dekker. Now don't they look like long-lost brothers? Its uncanny. They even both have a "K" in the middle of their last names. Coincidence? I think not!

(I couldn't get the pictures to go where I wanted them to. That is why they look all uneven and squashed together. Sorry!)

Thoughtlets

I'm bored and trying to think of something interesting to post so here goes! An incomplete list of

THINGS I'D LIKE TO DO (or read, etc.)

Things I'd like to do: (short term)

*Go see a nativity play

*Go to Christmas in the park on Thursday

*Start a diet

*Start exercising again

*Go to the dr. and get rid of this blinkin' sinus infection once and for all!

*Buy stocking stuffers for Jessie and the kids

*blah blah blah

Things I'd like to do (Long term)

*Where to start?

*Lose 30-40 pounds (a nice dream)

*Really keep my house clean (give it a good, thorough scrub-down!) this is in the long term section cause I don't see it happening anytime soon!

*Go to Paris, Ireland, Canada; Florida, Maine, pretty much any state I haven't been to

*Be somewhere where it snows on Christmas

*Put Lily in ballet and Seth in karate - need to do that sooner than later!

*Write a book, publish a poem, illustrate (and write) a children's book, be in a play, sing a solo without totally freaking out about it! I'll put these in the category of far-reaching things I'd like to do.

*This one will get really long, so I'll move on.

Books I'd like to read:

*The Bible, cover to cover

*Motherhood is not for Wimps

*the rest of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books

*Three by Ted Dekker (I'm sorry Laura, I swear I'll get it read one day!)

*Re-read This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti

Movies I'd like to watch:

*Love's Enduring Promise (Janette Oke)

*Pete's Dragon (childhood movie I loooved)

*does this count? The second season of "The Office"

Things I'd like to learn:

*How to be a better Christian, and person in general

*to play piano and guitar

*to surf (I know, weird huh?)

*How to do math again so I can help kids with future homework (!)

*How to make myself eat healthily - not to mention, how to make Lily eat something green

*How to pick makeup to match my face and properly apply it (where was I in junior high? lol)

So, sorry if I've bored you to tears. I was bored myself and it seemed like a fun little thing to do. And it reminded me of some things! I know I left out a billion things out of every category, but you know, my mind isn't the most capable of minds.

A barrage of randomness! (Mostly about the kids)

Has anyone ever had a sinus infection that would not go away? I think its set up a permanent residence in my body! The doctor may be receiving a visit from me again soon. And this time I'm going to demand some antibiotics that work!
We read The Sneetches again last night. The kids are addicted to that book now. We also read "the Easter story", as Lily refers to it, out of their kids Bible last night. It is so neat to me that they are so interested in it. When I read about Jesus being put on the cross and then about him coming back to life, you could just see the emotion in their faces. They can't really understand why the people were so cruel to Jesus (who can?) but they know "he died on the cross to save us". I love that little Bible (thanks Aunt Daphne!) because it tells the stories in words they can understand. It does a much better job than I can do. Last Sunday during Sunday school they made a "coat of many colors". They were so cute. Mrs. Julia, who taught their class, said, "it's amazing what you can do with scraps of colored paper"(haha) Its true, those scraps of paper helped tell them the story probably better than if she had just read it off a page. I'm glad for all the resources there are for kids.
Tomorrow...I take Seth and Lily to the dentist. It will be Seth's first visit and Lily's second. I'm hoping all will go well, but I'm unsure, if they put them in two separate rooms, how I'll be with both of them. Run back and forth between rooms? I'm sure the dentist and the assisstants will love that! Maybe if Jessie has a short day I can coerce him into coming along. I'm hoping it'll be warm-ish and sunny afterward so I can take them to the park. The poor kids, with the bitterly cold weather, haven't gotten to go outside and play very much lately. Well, I think Seth goes outside at school during recess, but still. Oh, and the library. We have to return our books. Looks like I'll have a full afternoon. :O
In strange news, Seth has a rodeo at school on Thursday. A rodeo?!? I guess it's because they are studying the letter "r". But it just seems weird to me...he's supposed to dress western...hmm. He has absolutely NOTHING that even resembles western-wear. I think I may take my weekly Wednesday trip to Walmart and see if I can find him a dress-up cowboy hat or something. And we have to make him a stick horse. ?!? Out of paper and newspaper. Do you think they would accept me sending the real stickhorse he has? That would be cheating huh? But it neighs! I guess I better stop complaining and get to work on ol' Silver.

"Oh save me from those pale green pants with nobody inside them!"

We love Dr. Seuss!
I checked out a book last Friday, The Sneetches and Other Stories, and that book is so freaking funny. There are two stories in that book that I'd never heard or read before, "Too Many Daves" and "What was I scared of?". I love them. For your enjoyment, here is "Too Many Daves":

Too Many Daves
Dr. Seuss

"Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave
Had twenty-three sons, and she named them all Dave?
Well, she did. And that wasn't a smart thing to do.
You see, when she wants one, and calls out "Yoo-Hoo!
Come into the house, Dave!" she doesn't get one.
All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run!
This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves'
As you can imagine, with so many Daves.

And often she wishes that, when they were born,
She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn.
And one of them Hoos-Foos. And one of them Snimm.
And one of them Hot-Shot. And one Sunny Jim.
And one of them Shadrack. And one of them Blinkey.
And one of them Stuffy. And one of them Stinkey.
Another one Putt-Putt. Another one Moon Face.
Another one Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.
And one of them Ziggy. And one Soggy Muff.
One Buffalo Bill. And one Biffalo Buff.
And one of them Sneepy. And one Weepy Weed.
And one Paris Garters. And one Harris Tweed.
And one of them Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt.
And one of them Oliver Boliver Butt.
And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate...

But she didn't do it. And now it's too late."

Lily thinks the part that says "Oliver Boliver Butt" is the most hilarious thing she's ever heard. But I was rolling at "Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate".... :)
The other story, "What was I scared of", is about this (person? creature?) little guy who kept seeing this pair of pale green pants around town, and he was scared because the pants were walking and bike riding, and there was no one in the pants. Turns out the pants were just as scared as "little guy" and all he really wanted was to be friends. Haha, now I know you all think I'm nuts, but I love Dr. Seuss' sense of humor and under all the insanity there lies a good message! You can't get much better than that.

What has happened to me?

I remember laughing at a commercial in the past where this woman was talking to her baby and everything that came out of her mouth was like, "Does baby want to read the booky-wooky" and "Look, its daddy-waddy!" and such things...you get the picture. Well, I have turned into that woman!! I'm realizing more and more that the stuff coming out of my mouth is just gibberish. ANYTIME I see a baby I say something ridiculous like, "Look at the little tootie bear!" or something equally horrifying! haha Blame it on being a mother, I suppose. Last night I said something just so silly, that I stopped and asked Jessie when I had turned into this person. He just laughed, I suppose that's all he can do. Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind my baby-speak. Here is an example of some of the baby/pet names I call my kids. Brace yourselves.

Lily and Seth's pet names:
Bear (this one is Lily's main one, given when she was just a chubby baby)
Lily love
Baby Little
Lillums
Boo-bear
Sweet Love
Love-ums
Sethums (Seth's main one)
Sethie or Sethie Wethie!
Monkey Bunkey
Silly head Fred (not to be confused with "Sleepy head Fred")

That's just a few. After reviewing them, it looks like Seth gets the worst of it, doesn't it? I pretty much use all of those names on both of them at times though. It gets worse than that, but I won't go on. At least they don't mind it...yet. I'll stop using some of them when they get older. At least when they have kids I'll get to make up new ones!

My mother, the celebrity

That was a good article, Mom! And despite what you say, I thought it was a good picture! You really are a great person and the article casts you in the right light. I think you will be an inspiration to anyone who reads that.
So now everyone at work wants your autograph! You mustn't disappoint your fans!
Ok... :)
I had a good weekend, but it really flew by. Saturday we were caught up in mall traffic. Imagine how scary that was. We took our gifts to the angel tree center there, and I was really glad that we'd gotten everything on the list. Something that wouldn't have been possible without the help of Mom and Laura, so thank you both again! We took Seth BACK to the doctor that evening, because the cough has come back. It turns out he has an upper respiratory infection. They did an X-Ray because the dr. said it sounded a little like pneumonia, but thank goodness, it wasn't. And we ate at Abner's that night. MMM chicken strip-goodness.
Yesterday was a church and food filled day. After the morning service we had our Thanksgiving/Christmas eating. I got stuffed, then went home and slept, got up, ate again (I am a bottomless pit) and then went back to church for choir practice. And...I have to sing a solo on Christmas morning. I'm a little bit nervous (terrified) but I think it'll be ok as long as I can practice a little by myself. I'm a bit nervous about the coming-in-on-time aspect, but hopefully, (gulp) I'll get it by then.
And we had our little work breakfast this morning. Breakfast was delicioso I must say. And I got some lovely gifts. We all enjoyed it. Mondays aren't usually this nice. So I give us two thumbs up for deciding to do this on a Monday.
I'll write a little more later. Hope everyone is having a good day. :)

Breaking News: Jody answered the phone!

Imagine my surprise!
I berated him for not answering my calls before.

me: Now don't you feel ashamed, all I wanted was your address!

him: What?

me: You haven't been answering your phone when I call!

him: When did you call?

me, in a shrill voice: I've been trying to call you the past three days!

him: No, you haven't.

UGH! Brothers! I asked him how he liked my musical message this morning. He did admit to receiving that and said he was like, "What the...?" haha I knew that would get him to answer the next time. I asked him about missing Seth's birthday party and he said he forgot. I called him a "lying brother", for lack of a better insult, but all was well when we hung up. Ah, the love of a family.

Prospero ano y felizidad

The second post of the day and its only 10 past 10:00. !! Oh well, I just had a little bit more I wanted to write. Today is my Daddy's birthday. Joe Malon Thomason would be...57 today? haha Kim and I were talking about how Daddy always said people thought Mama was "robbing the cradle" with him, even though she is younger than him! Mr. Conceited haha. I miss him. Seth was talking about him the other day. "Your daddy is in heaven and he was a policeman". I wish so bad that the kids could know him and vice versa. I know they all would've loved each other. Anyway, I just wanted to make note of the fact that its his birthday. I hope to go out to the cemetary this weekend and leave some flowers or something. I don't go out there very often, for one reason, its an hour away, and for another, it just makes me so sad. But I do like to go occasionally. I do feel some small spark of connection there. Its so ironic that I work next door to where he used to work. Occasionally cops come in and there's this one cop that knew him, and I just sort of wistfully look at them, in their uniforms, looking so strong and brave, like I remember Daddy being. I miss him. I guess that's all I can say. That, and I'm thankful for having him the years I had him for a dad.

Feliz Navidad

I'm very glad we've reached the end of the workweek. These cold mornings are too much! Tomorrow morning, I look forward to just staying cuddled up in bed, nestled in the covers until my eyes open on their own accord. I'm very lucky in that Jessie almost always wakes up early automatically, usually before the kids(!) and he and the kids watch cartoons until I wake up. I know, I know, I'm lucky. Jessie doesn't mind though, he looks forward to his weekly dose of the Ninja Turtles and GI Joe. haha
My new annoying thing lately is calling Jessie whenever Feliz Navidad comes on the radio and singing it to him. haha Poor Jessie. And this morning, I called my brother, who NEVER answers his phone (hmm is he trying to tell me something?). I knew he wouldn't answer, so I left a chorus and verse of Feliz Navidad on his voicemail. Ha! That'll teach him not to answer when I call. (Sure it will.) I can't help it, I love that song. I just want to share it with everyone!!! :D If you want me to call you singing it, just let me know and it will be done. I'm sure I'll get a lot of requests. (ha)
This weekend we're going to buy gifts for our Angel Tree angel. A sweetie named Justin, who is 6 years old. He wants a Bible, a coat, trucks, cars, and books. It makes me so sad to think he might not have a coat today. Laura, who has one of the most generous hearts I know, gave me some money to go towards his coat. My mom (another generous heart) is giving us a toy truck she bought, so we ought to be able to give him most of what he wants. It makes me so happy to think of him opening his gifts on Christmas morning. :) This is part of what makes Christmas one of the best times of the year. Helping other people gives you a feeling beyond compare. We're also giving him a Green Eggs and Ham book that I discovered in my closet the other day. The gifts have to be new, but this book is so shiny and crisp, it can't be far from new. I bought it from the library, it was a donation someone had given. Other than me reading it to Seth and Lily a couple of nights ago, I don't know that its ever been read.
Speaking of Dr. Seuss, he is fast becoming Seth and Lily's favorite author. Thanks to a Dr. Seuss audio book I checked out for them recently, they can almost recite Green Eggs and Ham and another book called I Don't Want to Get Up Today. The funny thing is, they didn't know Dr. Seuss' name until last night.

them:"Who is Dr. Seuss?"

me: "Uh, he wrote these books."

them: "Oh".

Seth can read a lot of Green Eggs... now too. I'm so proud! Well, I have more to say, but I shall leave it for later. Feliz Navidad.

A frosty post

What is going on here? Wind chills of 0 degrees tonight? That wind outside looks like it could snap you in two. I feel for the poor souls that are brave enough to stand outside and watch the parade tonight. Although I love parades, I just can't stand the cold. As of now, my warmth is more important to me than watching the parade. :( I know, its sad, and I feel like a weakling. I'm just waiting for a year when there is a parade on an unseasonably warm night, and you know how unseasonable Mississippi weather can be, so I'm sure we'll hit upon one in the next couple of years! The kids don't seem to mind, yet, thank goodness. When they start asking to go, then I'm sure I'll bundle us all up and take them. I already have the misfortune of having a car heater that only Jessie has the wisdom to turn on (come on, you have to get under the dash with a screwdriver and make some wiggly movements with it, and I HAVE NOT figured out the art of that yet!) so I do endure cold rides home from work. I've gotten smart though. I started wearing gloves (instead of driving one-handed, warming the other hand with my body heat, then switching hands) and bringing a blanket for my legs! So its not so so bad, just my nose gets frigidly cold. So, good luck to everyone trying to stay warm tonight. And don't forget to REALLY bundle up in the morning. *Shiver*

Ch-ch-changes

Good morning!
I decided to do a little different of a blog today. I don't know why, I guess it just seems like my blogs are always the same. Well, it'll still be about me (my favorite subject! No just kidding. Really.) I'm going to divide my thoughts into categories, or something. I'm making this up as I go, if it wasn't obvious already.

Today:
I'm feeling: surprisingly chipper. Why? I'm not sure. I didn't get much sleep last night...but its a sunny morning. And even stranger is my use of the word "chipper", because that word really bugs me. I guess that's due to the lack of sleep.

Song in my head: Another strange one: "I saw three ships come sailing in, on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day. I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas day in the morning!"

I'm happy about: Getting off an hour early today! Yippee! The Christmas parade is today, so we're getting out of here before our cars get blocked in my the happy parade-goers.

I'm reading: A book about how to make the transition from a working mom to a stay-at-home mom. Very good reading. I'm also reading a new blog, damomma.com. Its very funny, she's a really good writer, in fact she just wrote a book called Motherhood is not for wimps which I hope to buy and/or read in the near future.

I'm nervous about: possibly having to sing a solo on Christmas Eve morning at church. Last Sunday, I was recruited to sing (I guess, a duet) with Julia, the lady that was singing the solo. But I think she wants me to just do it. We'll see.

I want to: Get an angel off the angel tree at the mall. Jessie and I talked about it last night, but he says what the kids ask for is usually semi-expensive, so I told him to go look at the tree today and see if any of the gift requests were in our budget. I feel kind of scrooge-y for that, but I do hope we can do one.

I need to: Take the kids to go see Santa Claus! Wrap presents, mop the floor, balance my checkbook, get a new strand of lights for my tree...nothing too daunting! Just a lot of little things.

All I want for Christmas is: Seth's two front teeth! Haha Hmm..I just want to have a good Christmas. It's been a good Christmas season so far. Not to change the subject drastically or get weird, but I think my antidepressants have really been helping me, or maybe Jessie and I are just getting along better, or something. But I've felt happier lately. So that has had a good impact on our overall family mood, I think. I haven't felt as pull-my-hair-out stressed as often as usual (haha). So, overall, things are going well. And Seth's new tooth is already growing in. He's so cute as a snaggletooth.

Random morning thoughts, as usual

"Where did you get that little red nose?

Jack Frost touched it, I suppose.

He touched it once, he touched it twice.

Poor little nose, it's as cold as ice."

I thought that was a cute poem. And fitting! My nose is always the part of me that gets cold first and it stays the coldest. I'm not sure who the author is. I got it from http://www.spritzels.com/poems/winter.html.

I can't help myself, I love little rhymes. And isn't that a beautiful picture? If you click on it, you can see it full-size. It's really beautiful.

Seth lost his "Nanny McPhee" tooth yesterday! He really "lost" it too. Jessie thinks he swallowed it. I forgot to put tooth fairy money under his pillow last night, I don't know if Jessie remembered it either. Maybe we can still save the situation and do it tonight, because I don't think Seth noticed. We're all too sleepy in the morning to notice much of anything.

I'm finding myself reluctant to tackle the Christmas cards or the rest of the wrapping. Sometimes I just get lazy and all I want to do is sit on the couch and read. Under a blanket. But tomorrow I will attempt to get some of that done. I'm done with my shopping!!!! *Cheers* All except for stocking stuffers. The kids will be easy to do..but finding cheap, small things to put in Jessie's stocking is kind of difficult. He doesn't want anything cheap enough! Maybe some Uno cards or something. I think I got those for him last year, but if I'm remembering correctly, the kids lost most of them.

Jessie and Seth cleaned out Seth's room after Seth's birthday party, so now Seth has actual floor space to play in!!! Jessie took up his train, which seemed kind of sad, but he put the pieces in a box so Seth can get them out and play with them whenever he wants. Jessie has been very efficient lately (is that the right word?) That's good, because I've been feeling lazy. I'll snap out of it soon (hopefully). Maybe I can at least pretend to.

This is really cool

Who knew? Santa has his own address! In Canada! Read this:

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/h0h0h0.asp

Or you can just get Santa's mailing address or his email address from here:

http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/dec/santa/default-e.asp

And he'll write you back! I have to send letters for Seth and Lily. Luckily, they've already each written a letter. But how many stamps do you use when you mail a letter to Canada?

I wish I'd known about this when I was a kid. :D

Some funny (and true) quotes I found about Bratz dolls on a message board

" I am personally outraged that a line of dolls that look and dress like prostitutes are marketed toward little girls. I know the trashy look is “in” right now; but I really wish that toy companies had enough moral backbone not to market this look to 3-year-olds.
What’s worse is that Barbie recently got a makeover to look more like those things! I know Barbie never was an ideal role model, but at least her face never gave me nightmares before."

"I'd like to see them come out with "Fratz," the immature teenage male dolls that drink too much beer and constantly sexually harass the skimpily-dressed "Bratz" dolls. While they've got the theme going, why not...."

"And what kind of name is "Bratz" anyway? Might as well call them "Little Monsterz" or "Hellionz" or "Troublemakerz". And that "Z" automatically makes a dull product cool. Er....."

"I just hate the look of these dolls. Absolutely the ugliest dolls on the planet. Colossal lips, freakish eyes, and unrealistically thin bodies to go with their little people-ish heights."

from: http://forums.toonzone.net/archive/index.php/t-122082.html

And Laura, I agree wholeheartedly. They are VERY ugly. :p

Mr. Sandman's on my shoulder

Good morning, I am very sleepy this morning, so if anything that I write seems unusual, please know its because I'm on the verge of driftng off and falling off my chair. I took some Nyquil last night and I guess it hasn't worn off.
We had a busy, but good, weekend. Friday night was the Christmas party at work. It was a lot of fun. The food was really good and I must make special mention of the succulent chocolate cobbler. It was SO good. The best I'd ever had. I will dream about that chocolate cobbler until I am fortunate enough to encounter it again. The company was good too! Jessie and I sat with Laura and Erick, my mom and Chuck, Brian and Mark. We were eating and laughing the whole time. I think everyone had fun. Poor Jessie encountered plumbing problems in the bathroom within 10 minutes of being there. But other than that, everything went smoothly.
Seth's birthday party went really well too. We had a joint party with his cousin Marissa, who is turning 7. They had a Superman and Supergirl party. The cake was really cute. Seth got lots of toys, and some clothes too, much to my delight. He has this loose tooth, its really loose, and its crooked now. He mastered the art of closing his mouth with only that one tooth sticking out!! Its is SO funny. My mom said he looked like Sarge from Beetle Bailey. Jessie called it his "Nanny McPhee tooth". HA! I took a picture of it. I do hope it falls out soon though!
But back to the birthday party. Lily and I had a disagreement about Bratz dolls. Marissa got one as a gift, and Lily started whining about wanting one, and I reminded her that her daddy and I didn't like them. Then Marissa proceeded to whisper in her ear that "I'll get you one for your birthday"...I think they are inappropriate for little girls, especially as young as 4 or 5. They dress like hookers! Halter tops, way too much makeup, tight pants, etc. Lily doesn't understand that though, she only knows that other little girls have them, and they are on tv, and she wants one. So more to come on that battle, I'm sure.
So now we're counting down till Christmas! We took the kids out to look at Christmas lights on Saturday night. They were so pretty. One of my favorites was a penguin jumping on a trampoline. They have gotten so inventive with outside Christmas decorations now. I even saw one penguin throw a snowball at another penguin! Very creative. :)

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches

Last night was a howling, windy night. I guess we were lucky to have had power this morning. It was definitely cold this morning too. I got "scolded" twice for going outside with wet hair. If the world knew of the frizziness that would result from me blowdrying my hair, they would complain no more.
Tonight is our Christmas party at work. It'll be nice to eat my weight in good food. Ha, well, I'll try not to go that far. We're eating at a restaurant with an all-you-can-eat buffet. That's dangerous for people like Jessie and me! We definitely eat all we can eat, and then some. I'll try to behave myself tonight though.
Our house looks so cozy with the Christmas tree up. I didn't want to leave it this morning. It was so warm and there was a nice warm blanket draped over the chair...who would want to leave that to go into the bitter cold and howling winds? haha It was a very pretty drive to work though. At first there were some pink and purple looking clouds dotted along the sky. Then the sun started shining and it was really pretty, especially with all the houses decorated all Christmassy. I had the thought that it reminded me of Christmas morning. I'm glad its not yet though. Somehow the anticipation of Christmas is almost as good as the day itself. Well, sometimes. Some people tell me how glad they are when it'll all be over, and I think that's sad! I wish everyone could enjoy it rather than being so frazzled and stressed. I know it does that, though, the pressure to buy everyone gifts and decorate and go to all the events that are jam-packed on the calendar, and the pressure for everything to be perfect. I try to keep myself distanced from that as much as I can, but its hard. I just try to enjoy the soft glow of Christmas lights and the Christmas music in the stores and I try not to go crazy with Seth and Lily pressing the buttons and playing their musical Christmas ornaments over and over again! I love Christmas, although I miss the ease of it when I was a kid. Its really fun to watch Seth and Lily enjoy it too. With all the hustle and bustle it can be easy to forget why we even celebrate this holiday, but if we stop for a moment and take a breath from all the shopping, it'll come back to us.

"Mail your packages early so the post office can lose them in time for Christmas."
Johnny Carson