Wimpy Post-Holiday Post...

My brain is a little out of whack from the events of last week...but what wonderful events they were! A wonderful Christmas with the family. The kids are a perfect age and everything was fun and exciting. I have to admit that by Saturday afternoon, they were basically sitting at the last family event (day 4 of festivities) with drool coming out of their mouths in a sleepy Christmas stupor. But good times were had. Here are a couple of cute pics from the week...

One More Holiday Haiku....

38 inches of snow this month
three more months of winter to go
so far, shockingly, I am not going nuts

Wait until the holidays are over
swimming, dance class, school, maybe a trip to Chicago
we will somehow cruise through the days

I thought I would see him go pee pee in the potty
before he wrote his name
now "Tom" is written on his art projects by himself

She is taller, leaner, wearing a new size of clothes
heading to the big girl section of Target blows my mind
wasn't I just there buying onesies for her

Watching our wedding video with the kids yesterday was shocking
we have changed, grown, experienced
people have moved, lost touch, married, added children or even died

Our biggest worry was "what mountain will we hike this Saturday?"
It was a simpler time, that is for sure
now, my face shows the signs of motherhood, his head is grey

But it's still us
time rolls on and we appreciate, love and hold on tight
we celebrate all that we are grateful for this week

An Ordinary Morning...

It started as an ordinary trip on an ordinary day with no real plans.
At the book store, we ended up the only people there for Story Time.
The large Mom's group they were expecting didn't show.
Special stories just for us, cupcakes to decorate and a Christmas tree art project.
Lucky us!
Off to Costco to grab a few things.
Luchtime...so a spontaneous decision to eat pizza in the food area was made.
I have never done that before and felt a little PLG about doing it.
The kids were ecstatic, daring to touch the pizza to see if it was too hot to eat.
Loving the table, the umbrella, the action all around us.
I think I would have loved it too, when I was little.
Things like this always intrigued me.
An older woman comes up to me and whispers, "Your kids are the cutest things I have ever seen."
Lucy asks to sit in my lap.
Tommy lays his head on my shoulder.
"You're a great mom," says Tommy.
They both hum a song from "Annie."
So here we sit in this silly store in this ridiculous food area eating ridiculously greasy pizza.
And it was one of the best mornings of my life.
I wonder if you guys will remember this morning. I hope so.

Holiday Haiku...

Going with my girl, Whoorl's, suggestion...I shall indulge in a little holiday "Haikuing" (that's right, I just tried to make Haiku a verb) myself...

Last week of preschool
before two weeks off
how I will miss the 2.5 hours

So many homemade ornaments and crafts
I will treasure those like gold down the road
I can just feel it

Struggling with the Core plan
"Bark" made by neighbors is too good
maybe I was too hard on myself anyway

Don't buy M&Ms for your toddler
unless you are sure
he is ready to potty train

It's never too late in the day to change
says the girl in the 2T Jasmine costume
who now wears 5T

Personal style - one area I will try to never intervene
all I want her to know is
she is a beauty inside and out

And she goes to the neighbors in a leotard
hey at least she wore a coat
what kind of a mother would I be

Oh Come All Ye Faithful....

I was born to a decorator, have decorations for every season and holiday, and have enjoyed decorating my whole life. So it should come at no surprise that Lucy is also loving the decorating concept. In fact, she has decided to decorate her room for Christmas. This has involved stealing ornaments off our tree and hanging them on her dressers. Regardless, it is cute and festive....



I didn't think too much of it. In fact, I had forgotten that her "Meema" had given her a Nativity back in November that had staked residence in her room ever since (she is a very holy girl). It was only today that I noticed, among the decorations, that there was an addition in the manger...


And that would go ahead and be...David.

I Wish...

"Mom? Can we just stop going to any stores so we can save our money and just go back to Disneyworld?"
(I wish...but could we live on cold mush?)

"Mom! If we go back to Disneyworld, you can buy a Snow White Barbie by the Snow White ride! And I will ride it with you, just as long as you tell me when to cover my eyes during the scary parts."
(She even went so far as to offer to have her 5th b-day party theme be "All Snow White," because she knows she's my favorite princess).

"Mom, I promise not to buy anything when we go there, so we can just go there and not spend any money!"
(I had to explain that an airplane ride and entrance into the park did actually cost money).

Sure, I wish we would win the lotto and go back to Disney this spring...and pay off our debt...and not worry about money.
Mostly, I wish we could help everyone out there struggling right now. So many people. Some radio stations in town are giving away money to people who call in with sad Christmas stories. However, there are so many sad Christmas stories, we will never know how bad it really is for so many people.
So maybe we can't get to Disney again anytime soon but we sure are lucky. Luckier than most people in the world. After our sudden job losses two years ago, I thank god for that one every day. I swear, after going through that, I never let myself take anything for granted anymore.
I worry about all the PLGs of the world right now and all the hardship people are going through. Please let this all turn around sometime very soon.

Blog Tagging Rules!

I've been Blog Tagged!
A funny gal I know via the hubs (thanks, Molly!!) tagged me. I have to post six random things about myself. Then, I have to tag six other people.
Let the excitement begin! ha!

1) I smell my hands. It makes no sense. I genuinely enjoy doing it.
2) If the chick flicks "You've Got Mail" or "StepMom" are on the TV at anytime, I must watch it. It's a sickness. Must be why my hair constantly looks like Meg Ryans, circa 1998.
3) My favorite meal of all time is a Big Mac extra value meal. Always has been, always will be. You can put a perfect steak in front of me, a luxurious dessert, or some magical side item, and I would still pick the Big Mac.
4) Pre-kids, I used to spend a lot of time loving, walking and playing with my dog and now I don't. I feel terribly guilty about it every day.
5) I won 1st prize in the national Jem Barbie singing contest in 6th grade. I think I've mentioned this before...won a Magnavox TV and VCR and took it to college with me.
6) I must pluck my eyebrows daily. They are so bad, I actually get a 5 o'clock shadow and sometimes pluck twice if I am going out that night. It makes no sense....

Get going tagged ladies...you gots some work to do! :)

My good friend, neighbor and running partner: Daily Doublesteins
My Internet friend, Amanda, who just had a babe and can totally ignore this request: Mama Zzz
One of my first GR friends and one I love a lot: Megz Daily Whine
Old Colorado co-worker and funny gal: Lopresti Lunacy
High school friend in Ireland living a (sort of) parallel life: Dublin Days
And finally, my favorite blogger/person I wish I knew in real life (like she'd ever do this...): Whoorl

The First Crush....

I can't believe I am typing this but Lucy actually has her first crush. She doesn't know that's what it is called* but let me tell you something...the girl is smitten.
The lucky boy's name is David and he is "funny", "nice," "runs fast," "so funny," "chases me but can't ever catch me," "acts like an alien," and is also "so, so funny."
We talk about David a lot on the car ride home from preschool. What hilarious thing he said...how his hat is so goofy....how he said "goodbye" to Miss Sherri in a weird voice. You get the picture...this guy is smooth. How could you NOT have a crush based on that kind of action?
Yesterday, the kids received their class picture from school. Lucy immediately wanted to hold hers the whole way home. The only comments she made in the 8 minute ride home...
"Mom, isn't David handsome?"
"David looks so handsome in this picture."
"David is really handsome here."

Bless her heart...it is too adorable. And as I type this, guess who's currently in our basement playing football while Lucy watches from her seat with a big, giant grin on her face?
You got it...the big D....


*Pet peeve: When people will ask an age inappropriate child, "So, who's your booooyyyfriend?"
Ugh...I cringe at that and always have, even before becoming a mother. So yeah FYI - I don't say squat about this crush she's got going.

Dear Chicken...

Dear Chicken,
You creep my out. And no matter how much I try to pretend you don't, you really, really do. I don't enjoy cooking you, touching you raw or seeing anything suspect in you. If I bite into something odd...I officially am "off the chicken" for a long, long time. I have started cooking in the crock pot so all I have to do is touch your frozen breast and drop you in the crock until dinnertime. Even still, you give me the willies. Yesterday, I had to pull apart two breasts that were stuck together by some sort of...tendon...and now I am all set for a good month at least.
Chicken, you are just creepy.
Love,
Me
p.s. Pass me a Gardenburger.

A List of Thoughts for the Day....

1. Woke up ecstatic the kids had school and it was a new, non-holiday week! Unfortunately, one hour later, they canceled school. I was not happy...not happy at all. Furious, in fact. Couldn't get over it all day. Still so mad...
O.k. moving on...sort of.

2. For those of you who care, I have officially lost 3 pounds in the last 3 weeks on the Weight Watchers Core plan. I would love to lose 5 more by mid-January. We will see if it happens. It is VERY tough to hold to the diet after a weekend "off the wagon." Ugh....I hate diets. Now I get why I have never been on one in my life.

3. Thank you, Stephanie, for recommending a swim with the kids at the gym pool as a great, fun way to kill 2 hours! It went splendidly and the kids were so PLG happy about it. I am definately going to make it part of our winter weather routine to visit at least once a week.

4. December plans are so fun and festive! I am already excited to make Christmas Eve dinner! The house is decorated and the gifts are all purchased. However, I have zero plans for January or February as of yet. This could be bad. Note to self: Must research fun weekend options to avoid a post-holiday depressive state.

5. Did you happen to catch Britney's special on MTV last night? It was an interesting documentary and at the end of it, I just felt pretty bad for her. Such a bizarre, sad, lonely life. I did manage to gain a new respect for her, I suppose.

6. Barack announced his national security team today. Interesting crew...will I ever get used to Hillary as Secretary of State? So exciting...it sometimes feels like I am watching a movie and I can't believe this is all really happening.

I guess that's it for the day...let's all pray for preschool on Wednesday and Friday, shall we? For the love of god...