Would you do this?

Would you start repainting the interior of your house a mere 5 days before Christmas - knowing you wouldn't have a prayer of finishing before?

That's what I thought.

Tannenbaum update

It still looks like that, but now I've grown to embrace and even love the tree's flaws. Much like Charlie Brown does with his tree. The tree is a good metaphor for my life. I thought and expected one thing, but another happened. And it's okay that way.

This year, it's just not about the tree for me. It's about so much more...

The BEST Christmas Album

I don't have one. But I want one.

What's your FAVORITE - FAVORITE?

I like strong voices and traditional renditions. I like the actual carols and I'm okay with modern arrangements, but I don't like pop arrangements. I want something that feels like church and warms my house and makes me feel all Christmasy.

I DON'T like Frank Sinatra singing any Christmas song so if that's your favorite, then you don't need to let me know. I have Nat King Cole, but that's not the best. I want the best.

What's your favorite? Let me know so I can go out and buy it!

Only 8 days from tomorrow!

O Tannenbaum

"O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum
"Wha-ha-ha the he-heck???"

My in-laws call me "Sweet Deal" because EVERYTHING I own has some sweet deal story behind it. And if you know me then you know that if you comment on anything I'm wearing or anything in my house the next thing you hear will be "Oh - I got at ____ for 65% off" or something similar. I get if from my mom - hands down the best-NEVER-pay-full-price shopper on the planet. And there's something really great about getting a good deal on something you really want/need. KWIM?

Okay - so back to the tree. Like everything else I own I got a GOOD DEAL! We moved to TX in late December 2002. And by late I mean 28th of December so we didn't have a tree that year. Just after Christmas we were shopping at Sears and my mom (of course) spied a 9ft pre-lit, multi-colored light tree - last year's model - for $99. I KNOW! We bought it. BUT, we don't care for multi-colored lights, so we bought eleventy-hundred boxes of tiny white lights and hand replaced every.single.one. Hand.replaced.every.single.light.on.the.9ft.tree. Thinking that it would be a lifetime tree. What we didn't anticipate is that makers of the tiny white lights would revamp the bulb design and the new tiny white lights don't fit our tree.

Bummer.

So, we now have this 9ft beauty in our living room window...with the front blinds closed.

Merry Christmas...

Work is tiring and high heels suck

Okay - work is exhausting. Kids are exhausting too, but I never had to care for them in 4 inch heels.

I'm sure I'll have more to say after I make it through the first week.

TTFN.

Let's make it official

I start a new job on Monday...

Wish me luck!

Repeat after me

That's what you do when you are 19 months old. Much to the delight and dismay of your parents.

For example, it's delightful when I say "box" and you say "box". It's also delightful when I say "coffee" and you say "gahfee".

It's dismaying, though, when I say "hell" and you say "hell". Or when I say "crap" and you say "grap".

Thankfully you balanced that out last night by repeating me in your best voice when I said "Whatchu talk'n bout Willis???"

You did good Bitty. You must have known how much I needed a laugh like that one...!

I don't even have a catchy title in me...

I'm just out of drama.

Actually the current drama is just so personal it's hard to find something else to think about.

I thought lemonade was only for the summer months...

Perhaps I'll have something in the next week or so :-) Don't give up.

Sorry Mickey D's. It's the meat.

TK admitted today that what really "grosses him out" about McDonald's cheeseburgers is the meat...

Praise the LORD. We don't have to go back anymore!

Thankful?

You bet. And then some.

Patrick Henry Reardon said "Suppose for a moment that God began taking from us the many things for which we have failed to give thanks. Which of our limbs and faculties would be left? Would I still have my hands and my mind? And what about loved ones? If God were to take from me all those persons and things for which I have not given thanks, who or what would be left of me?"

What indeed?

I have never thought about it quite that way...I don't believe I have ever given thanks that I have legs and am simply able to walk. Or that I have arms and am simply able to hug my children. Or that I have a beating heart and am simply able to live...and love.

Despite the challenges of the last year - and believe me there are many - I'm abundantly blessed and more thankful than I have words to express.

A few...

I'm thankful to have a husband to weather the challenges with. Both self-inflicted and accidental. :-) It's okay that not everyone gets us and it's okay that sometimes we don't even get us. But we "chose" and I will forever be thankful for that. I'm thankful to have my kids. That seems like a no-brainer but with the recent stuff in Nebraska it makes me realize that some people aren't. My two wild boys make my heart feel warm and whole. Sometimes when I look at them I can't believe I get to raise them. I'm thankful for my amazing parents. They will never know how lucky I feel to have them and to have a relationship with them. My children are blessed to have them for grandparents! I'm thankful for my in-laws. Despite the natural challenges with blending families, I'm grateful to have married into good people that have good hearts. I'm thankful for my extended family - for my grandmothers who keep on trucking, my amazing aunts, uncles and cousins. I'm thankful to be of sound mind and body. I'm thankful to have a roof over my head and food on the table.

...And mostly, I'm thankful to have a seat on God's train. I'm thankful to just be a passenger.

Duuuuuuuude

This is so gross I shouldn't even post it, but then I wouldn't be being true to the purpose of this blog, right?

I have gotten notorious for not bringing my diaper bag into stores during routine errands. I take it to the mall and such, but grocery, Target, Walgreens, no. Too much hassle. Lately, though, I have been questioning this strategy. The little one poops like 7 times per day - not even joking - and it's not scheduled. It's totally random. I'm ALWAYS caught without diapers and thus have to buy diapers and wipes in EVERY store so I can run to the bathroom and change him in order to finish shopping. WHAT-EVER. Will I learn?

Maybe one day, yes, but not yesterday.

We were taking a spin through Toys R Us and the boys were playing on the ride ons and I smelled it.

So, like I always do, I walked over behind Bitty and pulled his pants away just a bit to see if I was right...

I was...and it was steaming.

Bleh.

P.S. Todd is still so confused as to why I come home with new diapers every single day and my mom and grandmother think I'm an idiot... ;-)

Mini-me

And I'm not saying that in a good way...

I put the tree up this weekend. It's fake and it's freakin' huge so I take my time.

Anyhoo, I put the tree up and put the decoration totes next to it thinking I would do the decorating over the course of this week.

Today, Todd was sick and the little one was under the weather, too so they were both sleeping. TK and I were downstairs and he noticed the decorations.

"Mommy, let's decorate the tree. I'm going to help you. I'll put every hook on every decoration."

"Wow, TK - that's so nice. Thanks."

{5 minutes later}

"Mommy, turn off that TV and come over here and help me. I'm not doing this all by myself!!!"

Nice...