I Think It's Done, Isn't It?

Holy smokers...it's been two weeks since I wrote on here!! Sure doesn't feel like it!! Thanks to Valerie for making me realize I've been absent...I knew I hadn't written in awhile, but it just didn't seem like it'd been THAT long!!

Well, let's see. We had a Christmas celebration on December 8, at my sister-in-law's apartment building with my husband's mom's family. Then we had another one on December 15, in Spooner, with my mom's family (my parents aren't divorced, just had my mom's side that day) AFTER we'd been at a swim meet from 6:45 AM. We got home at about 9:30 that night from Spooner. I had a doctor's appointment on the 18th, nothing major, just looking into my brain to figure out why I'm such a nut LOL Also had a department meeting that day, so things were a little kabonkers that day too. Then started "Christmas weekend." Saturday night Bub & I went shopping for Christmas presents for everyone. Sunday we had Christmas with my immediate family at my sister's house. The we all got nice things, and brought home a big black plastic bag full of stuff, and leftovers. Monday my two oldest kids had Christmas at their father's mom's house while I worked and Bub took care of Derrick. Then we went and picked the boys up after supper that night. They brought home a big black plastic bag full of stuff. Tuesday we had Christmas at my husband's grandma's house on his dad's side. We brought home a big black bag full of stuff, and leftovers. Wednesday we had Christmas at my husband's dad's house. We brought home a big black bag full of stuff. Seeing a pattern yet? LOL

Thursday I had off from work and I used a few hours of that day to catch my breath. Then I decided it'd be a grand idea to start relocating my youngest two children's bedrooms; putting the youngest in his own room and the middle in the same room as his older brother, so maybe then he'd wake up and get ready for school better. By the time things were rearranged, cleaned up, vacuumed, picked up, organized, decluttered, and cleaned under, we removed a big black bag full of stuff from their rooms. LOL Bring home four, get rid of one. Sounds about right! LOL Today, my middle guy, Talin, was so eager to finish up this change that he volunteered to finish moving his clothes into his new dresser, and his baby brother's clothes into his new room. Of course I had to go through them and sort them out, pull out the ones that don't fit anymore, etc. There went another big black bag full of stuff. Two down, two to go!! Somehow this has all got to balance out in the end...there's no way we can bring four big bags of stuff into this house and only get rid of two, is there?? LOL

But seriously, we're always so thankful for all of the time, thought and effort everyone in our family spends to make sure we all have a great Christmas. We would have a wonderful Christmas just seeing everyone even if we didn't get gifts...it's nice to be able to be with family at least once a year. We got to meet our newest member of the family, my husband's cousin's baby boy, Mitchel. He's adorable, and amazingly enough my baby clock didn't scream overwhelmingly at me, just kind of a dull yearning that's gone already!! It's incredible...I held a baby, I was around a baby all day, and I didn't leave feeling like I needed another one. Don't get me wrong, I still love babies and kids...there isn't anything I wouldn't do for a child, but I just don't have the feeling of needing another one of my own. Yippee!! Guess that means old age is setting in, huh?

Speaking of old age...another few weeks and I'll be 29 years old; creeping ever closer to that doomsday age...30! Nah, I'm not dreading it really. It's a number...and that's all it is. Like I tell my grandma, it's not how old you are, it's how much life you've lived and how wise it's made you...you're 77 years wise Grandma, not 77 years old! Sometimes that makes her feel better ;o) I mean, she's raised three kids, had three grandkids and now three great-grandkids, lives on her own, is as independent as they come, has lost a husband and never remarried, and is still loving every second of her life most of the time. There's gotta be something to be learned from that.

So, New Years resolution: Not to go more than a week without touching base and making sure you all know I'm alive and kicking! LOL Lord knows that one ought to be busted to smithereens by this time next year! LOL Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a safe and happy New Year!!

Near Death Experience

Derrick had a near death experience today. I was just typing along, working like a good little person, when the breaker flipped downstairs. I stopped at the john on my way down (the room that the breaker box is in gives me the willies!!), and the room was promptly re-occupied by my husband while I went downstairs to reset the breaker. I climbed back upstairs with a basket of clean laundry (had forgotten it earlier when I was down there before work), sat down to turn my computer back on and get going back to work. That's when I noticed it. My two diamond rings were MISSING!! All that was left was my gold band. I asked Bub if he'd put them up or seen Derrick with them. He said no, that he was in the bathroom and hadn't heard anything. So I asked Derrick, "Where did you put Mommy's pretties?" I showed him my gold band so he had an idea of what I was talking about. He brought me over to the stove, pointed to the floor and said "Dropped it." So I moved the stove and saw nothing. I sat down and tried to work, but my mind kept bringing me back to needing to find my rings!! Bub said he didn't hear anything, so I figured they HAD to be on the carpeting somewhere. I punched out of work for my lunch break and got down on all fours, looking closely at our (desperately needing to be vacuumed) carpet for any sign of a glimmer, a shimmer, a hint of glint...ANYTHING. Derrick was now on time-out until I found my rings...even if it took a week and a half...he was going to stay THERE! He watched me crawl around on my hands and knees like a handicapped neanderthal for 15 minutes or so. I gave up, I asked him again, "Where did you put Mommy's pretties!!" Okay, I demanded it. He brought me back over to the stove. I had already checked there!! I decided my youngest child wasn't smart enought to realize the difference between what he did with something and the hole in the wall I was ready to make out of sheer anger. I looked. I cried. I cleaned. Then Bub had the idea that when he came out of the bathroom he had seen Derrick standing by the fridge, so maybe they were under there. We moved the fridge, and my brilliant husband's idea paid off...half-way. One of my rings was indeed trapped under the fridge amongst the other prisoners held captive, the magnetized alphabet, tin-foil wrapper balls, all guarded by big, black dust bunnies!! Bub swept the mess up, moved the fridge back and forth a few more times in order to free more debris, and then we decided that my other ring wasn't under there. Well, I figured if one was under the fridge, maybe the other really was under the stove. So we moved the stove half way across the kitchen (we have a small kitchen, so this really is possible), and LO AND BEHOLD A MIRACLE OCCURRED!! My other ring was sitting there, in a pile of fuzz and dust at an angle that I hadn't been able to see the last time I'd moved the stove. HALLELUJAH!! Derrick was allowed out of time out. I hadn't felt that much relief since, well...I'll get back to you on that. Derrick was promptly taught he is NOT to touch Mommy's pretties at all!

My rings now have a new resting place while I work, up all the way on top of my computer armoire where Derrick can't see them, and even more importantly cannot REACH them! This should save me the grief of being insanely angry at myself, and even more angry at him for taking them and losing them. I have never, EVER been as angry at any of my kids for any stunt they've ever pulled as I was at Derrick today. This one is going in the books, folks...and he's getting reminded of this at every major event in his life!! LOL

It Finally Looks Like Christmas!

Yesterday afternoon and last night we FINALLY got the first big snowfall of the season. Normally I'm not a huge snow fan. In fact, I hate driving in the stuff, and worse yet, it's COLD! But, it is pretty to look at from the inside out a window, and nothing says Christmas better than a white blanket of snow. I remember one year being outside in a T-shirt and jeans, with no snow on the ground at Christmastime, and that just didn't feel right. Plus, decorations put up on dead grass and scattered leaves just doesn't have the same ambiance that snow gives off.

I love how everyone is putting out their decorations...everything looks so festive! We, of course, haven't gotten that far yet. Matter of fact, the Halloween bin is still sitting waiting to be put away! Oh well...it'll get there. Probably Monday night I'll haul that bin downstairs and the tree and decorations upstairs, and have the kids help me and Bub decorate the place. Wonder if the cats will climb the tree...hmmm.... It's always interesting to have the kids help decorate though, because there's three of them using both hands to grab things to put up, and two of us using both hands to decorate with the last item one of them had handed us! Six things out, two things used! It's fun though, and they have a good time with it :o)

Now, to get that confounded Christmas shopping done! I'm seriously, SERIOUSLY considering just ordering everything off of LTD Commodities. Anyone else do that? I just don't have the time, money, energy or desire to go out to store after store and look for ideal things for everyone, just to wonder what I'll find at the next place. Forget it. This way I can glance through everything WITHIN OUR BUDGET and have it delivered straight to our door. Presto Cheapo...DONE!

Trey is still just loving being on the swim team, and he does such a good job most of the time. Except last week he lost one of his swim suits. Again. I've done everything I know to do to help that kid remember to put everything in his bag after swim practice, and he still loses things!! He has a list in his bag of the things he needs in there, we've talked about ideas to help him keep his things organized, and he was doing really good for awhile. Ugh.

In the "Interesting Things Kids Say" category, Talin took the cake this week. I was talking to Bub about how the car is making a funny noise when it's idling. As I was describing it, Talin pipes up from the back seat, "It's probably my foot." Completely serious, as if his foot seriously had something to do with the strange noise the car was making while he was nowhere near it! I had to laugh...it was too funny!

Derrick started going to his new daycare full time on November 26, and he LOVES it!! I'm so happy things turned out the way they did, but I knew they would! I'm a firm believer that the Lord has helped us along that path. He misses his former daycare provider, who moved to a different town, but is always happy to go to his new daycare. What a relief and huge pressure off of us! He's also starting to see and recognize more things around him, and with his ever-expanding vocabulary, it's adorable to hear him say "Look! Pretties!" when he sees lit-up decorations, or "Pretty House!" when a home is really decked out. It's worth the "scenic route" home just to hear him!!

Otherwise things have been pretty normal. Bub is doing a good job adjusting back and forth between working his night shifts and then coming back to daytime during the week. Soon he'll be able to work daytime weekends, and that'll be nicer still. I just can't believe it's December already. Somehow it doesn't seem like an entire year has almost gone by already. Wow...amazing!