End of the Year

I was planning a really awesome post for my last post of 2006, but I don't think it is going to happen. I have been under so much pressure at work and at home lately I have barely had time to think about anything else. We got some shocking news at Christmas that I am still trying to deal with and then last night we got hit with another bombshell, so I am just mentally exhausted. Anyway I know that things will all work out and everything will be fine in the end, but I just need some time to wrap my mind around it all. I am sure I will tell you all about it in the new year. Please have a safe and happy New Year's weekend.

Christmas in pictures

Here is a small sampling of pics. I took over 200 hundred pics, so I won't bore you with all of them. Elmo was the first thing the babe saw on Christmas, which was funny because that is one of the few words that he says that you can understand.

I have also included a few pics of my tacky blow up Christmas decorations, for anyone that wanted to see them. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, we certainly did. I have lots of stories to tell, so stay tuned! I will try to get caught up with everyone today and tomorrow.

Running on empty

I can barely keep my eyes open today. My coffee has worn off, I think I need to go make some more! I got off a little early yesterday to finish up my Christmas shopping, which was a good thing. I got most of it finished with the exception of a gift certificate that I have to pick up today at lunch. I got home around 6 and turned on the oven to start my marathon baking. I took the last batch of pecan drops out of the oven at 11:30. 5 1/2 hours of baking and I am beat. I baked 6 dozen cookies, Chocolate Chip, Sugar, and Chocolate-Peanut Butter, 4 dozen Pecan Drops, 6 mini Honey Walnut Pound Cakes, 2 Gooey Butter cakes, and I also made a batch of Tiger Butter. When I finally fell into bed around midnight I was so exhausted I just wanted to cry. I did manage to sit down for a few minutes and eat some supper and then I was back in the kitchen. I also took a break and bathed the babe and got him in the bed. Baking all these goodies is really tiring. I still have some baking left to do as well as cooking a pork roast to make BBQ. I don't need the BBQ until Monday night and most of the baked goods until Sunday, so I can pace myself.

I am very proud that I got all of that done last night though. I brought little goody baskets for the ladies in the office today for Christmas. I got one of my Christmas presents early last night. After we finished eating supper Hubby told me to stay sitting down for a minute. Of course this irritated me because I needed to get back in the kitchen and get to work, but I obeyed. Our daughter brought one of my gifts from under the tree and they told me to open it so I could go ahead and use it before Christmas. I really had no clue what to expect, I had not asked for much. Much to my surprise it was a DIGITAL CAMERA. I was so shocked. I have wanted one forever, but we just haven't gotten one yet. We have a camcorder that also takes digital pictures, but it doesn't have a flash and the pictures are not that great. So now I have my very own digital camera. Hubby said that when they picked it out he told our daughter that they really did not have to get me anything else and she told him that she wished that they could get me more because I do so much for them that she does not know how I get it all done sometimes. That just melted my heart more than any gift, to know that my child sees and appreciates all the things that I do. Ahh the joys of parenting! After Christmas look out I will post some pics with my new camera.

I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas. I will be back on Wednesday, I will catch up with everyone then.

All grown up

I had to go to court for my work today and so I am dressed very professionally with a blazer and a long straight black skirt and my tall black boots. I rarely if ever look in the mirror after I get dressed in the mornings, but I know what I look like in this outfit. On my way into the courthouse this afternoon I caught a glimpse of myself in the glass doors and I had to look twice at who that professional woman was in my reflection.

I guess in my mind I still do not see myself as a grown up professional person. Most days at work I just wear slacks and a shirt or skirt of some sort, but nothing too businessey like a jacket. Anyway I think it is a greal look for me, maybe I need to add some jackets to my wardrobe and pray that the weather here cools off so I could wear them. I jokingly told them when I got to the office this morning that I had on my big girl clothes today.

When exactly did I grow up? Was it when I got married the first time, or bought my first car, or maybe when I got my first full time job? I can't pinpoint it, most days I still don't feel like a grown-up, I just feel like a kid trapped in this 30 year old's body and life. Does our mind ever feel the age that our body is? Do our parents and grandparents still feel like young people in their mind? When they look in the mirror do they see their true reflection staring back or do they see the young, beautiful person that they once were? I know when I look in the mirror I don't see the same reflection that everyone else sees everyday. I still see myself as a 23 year old with less wrinkles and lines and less gray hair.

6 days until Christmas

I am really trying not to get stressed out, but honestly I just can't help it. Here it is 6 days until Christmas and I still haven't gotten hubby's stocking stuffers, I still have TONS of stuff to bake and make, the house is a mess. The list goes on and on. I did manage to get a decent picture of the kids, have Christmas cards printed, got them addressed and in the mail last week. That was a major accomplishment! I also managed to get cupcakes, a butterscotch cake, and some M & M cookies made and delivered to the Ronald McDonald House last Friday. I am on a roll. I still have so much to do and a very short time to do it in. Not only do I have all of those things to do, I still have to work everyday this week and take care of my family at night. Oh and another thing I have to do is get the kids to help me make stepping stones with their handprints in them for the grandparents. How long does it take the cement to set? We have to make 3 and we only bough one mold, so we will have to wait for each one to dry before we remove it from the mold. WHY DO I DO THINGS LIKE THIS TO MYSELF EVERY YEAR? Instead of buying gifts, since we are so poor I am baking goodies for everyone. Again, why do I do these things? Our office Christmas party is Friday morning, so I have to get all of the stuff made for my co-workers before then. I have until Sunday to get my family's done and Monday night for hubby's family. I also wanted to make a little basket for our neighbors (3 of them). I wonder how little sleep I can actually survive on, 4 maybe 5 hours? I was up until midnight last night wrapping gifts, so now everyone except me has a present under the tree. I should have one wrapped and under there tonight. I will be glad when Christmas actually gets here so maybe I can sit down and relax with my family a little bit.

Faster than a speeding car

Well not so much so. The babe had his first bloody accident on Saturday. His sissy was pushing him in his little car in the kitchen and he opened the door to attempt a stunt. Well 13 month olds do not need to attempt stunts. Anyway he fell face first out of the car onto the HARD kitchen floor. He was crying and bleeding. I was in the shower oblivious the the goings on in the rest of the house. Hubby came running into the bathroom screaming that the babe was bleeding, he fell out of the car! I jumped out of the shower, knelt over the crying, bleeding babe on the floor and dabbed his mouth with a wet washcloth. Finally the bleeding stopped and I could see that he had busted his lip. His lip was swelling. I took him to the kitchen, got a cold teething thing out of the fridge and took him to the living room to watch the Wiggles. 10 minutes later he was up and playing. I was so calm, it was almost surreal to me. I am not usually the calm type, but hubby on the other hand was like a raving lunatic. Thank goodness I am able to keep my cool under pressure. Let me just say it was scary to see my sweet little angel baby bleeding. What would they do without me?

Christmas Meme

I thought this was a fun meme, so here it goes.

1. Eggnog or Hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate with LOTS of marshmallows

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
The gifts from Santa do not get put under the tree or wrapped, each child has their own pile of loot in the den.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
We have 4 trees, 2 of them have multicolored lights, 1 has white lights, 1 has blue and white lights. We have white icecicle lights on the outside as well as red and green candy canes lining the driveway. We also have white lights in the hedges and some white light balls in one of the trees. The Griswolds would be jealous!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.

5. When do you decorate for Christmas?
I try to get started right after Thanksgiving, but it takes a while to get everything decorated.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? (Excluding desserts!)
My mom's dressing and sausage balls.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child.
All of my family being together at my grandparents house on Christmas Eve.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't remember.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes. We have Christmas with my parents on Christmas Eve. I am also going to start letting the kids open one gift from us on Christmas Eve. It was a tradition we did as children and I would like to do that with my kids too.

10. Do you bake cookies every year?
Yes as well as other things.

11. Snow? Love it or dread it?
I love it. Of course in Georgia we rarely ever get any and if we do it is Febuary or March. It doesn't usually stick and causes more of a mess than anything. It looks pretty in pictures though.

12. Can you ice skate?
No, I am way too uncoordinated.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
As a child it was my silver Barbie Corvette.

14. What's your favorite thing about the holidays? What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
The decorations, the food. Spending time with family and friends and remembering the real reason for the season.

15. Favorite holiday dessert?
Divinity, fudge, pumpkin pies and cakes.

16. What is your favorite Holiday tradition?
Having Christmas celebrations with my family and hubby's family.

17. What is your tree topper like?
A star, multicolored of course.

18. Do you like to give or receive?
Both, but really give. I like to do things for others.

19. What is your favorite Christmas carol?
Silent Night

20. Candy canes? Yuck or Yum?
Yummy, especially the fruit flavored ones.

21. What was the one gift you always wanted for Christmas but never got?
A car and a pony.

22. Do you buy a gift for yourself when shopping?
Before I had the babe I did, but since he has gotten here I am so broke I can barely afford to buy anything for anybody.

23. Favorite Christmas Movie?
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

24. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
In steps. First we pick out the tree, the hubby gets it put up in the stand. Then I put the lights on it. Then we decorate it and it usually takes a few days to get all the ornaments on it.

25. What do you do on Christmas morning?
We wake up and see what Santa brought the babe, then hubby and I open our stockings, then we play and eat some breakfast and play some more. We don't get our daughter until 5, so after she gets there we see what Santa brought her and then we open our gifts to each other.

I am not tagging anyone, but if you want to do this, go ahead.

I'm gonna wash that gray right out of my hair

Do you remember that slogan from a few years back for some haircolor? Anyway when I was off Monday I colored my hair. I did it myself and of course I hate it. That is one of those things that you need a girlfriend or a sister to come over and help you with. But since I have neither close by, I had to do it all alone. It was scary, I have not put any color on my hair in about 4 or 5 years and you can tell it. My hair has gotten so gray that there was almost as much gray hair as there was brown. I just tried to pretend that I didn't notice when I looked in the mirror, but it was there staring out at me.

I ran into one of my Mom's cousins Saturday and she made the comment that I had more gray hair than my Mom. Well that is because Mom dyes her hair and has for years. Premature gray hair runs in my family and unfortunately that is one of the things that I inherited. Why couldn't it have been money or a talent of some sort, why the gray hair? Anyway that comment really bothered me. I have kicked the idea of coloring my hair around for a couple of months now, but always dismissed it for one reason or another. Well I simply cannot have more gray hair than my Mom who is 28 years older than me. While I was at the grocery store Monday I picked up a bottle of light brown haircolor. You see I have learned in all of my years of previous bad hair dying experiences that you never actually buy the color you want, if you do your hair will be way too dark. I made sure that no where on the box did it say anything about red hair. Something else that I have learned in all of my previous experience is that if there is any variation of the word golden in the color it will turn my hair red, as much as I like red hair I am not ready to be one again. So I finally got up the courage to do it before my hubby got home Monday. I was so scared, I was shaking. I put the gloves on and got down to business, I walked around the house with that goop all over my hair and then the time was up. I went and rinsed it out and guess what color it is? DARK BROWN with red highlights! EXACTLY WHAT I DID NOT WANT! That was why I picked out a nice shade of LIGHT BROWN! My natural haircolor is medium brown (with LOTS of gray). Anyway hubby got home and did not even notice, so I did not say anything, since I really hate it. I think I liked the gray better. He noticed it last night, finally! He said it looked alright that maybe it would lighten up some the more I washed it. I sure hope so. No one at work has noticed it or if they have they have not said anything about it. Maybe they are pretending not to notice because it looks hideous. When will I learn to just leave things alone and let the professionals take care of it, after all isn't that why they went to school?

Food network, here I come!

I had a very productive day yesterday. I did not get everything done, but I got a lot accomplished and my house is a cleaner place because of it. I also sat down over the weekend and picked out the goodies that I will be making for this holiday season. I went to 2 different grocery stores and after spending WAAAYYYYYY too much money I am ready to start baking tonight. We are taking several cakes and cookies and cupcakes to the Ronald McDonald house in our area this weekend, so I gotta get started on those things. Hopefully this week I can post a few recipes for you all to try. That's all I got for now.

Brrrrrrr.....

That chattering sound you hear is my teeth. It is freakin' cold here, in Georgia, in December. I can't believe it. We are having the coldest weather that we have had in 2 years. WONDERFUL! I don't like the cold weather, I don't mind cool weather, but 18 degrees at night, give me a break. I had to get gas on my way to work this morning and I didn't even have a pair of gloves with me. I did have on my leather coat and fleecy scarf though. It is a really pretty day, sun shining bright, it's just cold. Actually I am not that upset about it. I hope it gets cold enough to kill all those creepy crawly critters outside.

I am going to see my Granny tomorrow. I guilt tripped my Mom into going. I hope they can be nice to each other for the few hours that we will be there. Really I wanted my Mom to go with me so she can ride in the back with the babe and make sure he is happy while I make the hour drive. She also needs to go see her Mother, even if she has a lot of resentment towards her. Tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us and my Mom needs to make peace with my Granny while they are both still on this earth.

I have taken Monday off so I can get my house clean. Doesn't that sound fun? Does anyone want to come and help me. Things have just gotten so cluttered and I have not really cleaned since before the babe was born, so it is wwaaaaayyyyy overdue. I am afraid the dust bunnies may attack me when I try to get rid of them. Don't think that I haven't cleaned any since he was born, I have done things like vaccuum and clean the kitchen, but other things like putting away the laundry and getting rid of just general clutter has really been put on the back burner. I hope Monday to get most of the major things done since I will have a day without kids or the hubby. When my house is a real mess it stresses me out and that is some stress that I can control, so I will.

Quick little bit about the babe. He is walking more now. He took 10 steps last night without holding on to anything! He is getting so big. He eats almost everything, especially things that he can feed himself. He is becoming so independent. He loves to read. He will get his books and just sit in the middle of a pile of them and thumb through the pages "reading" (mumbling and making noises). He is also starting to say distinguishable words other than Mama and Dada. He can say our dogs names (Dixie and Zoe) and he can say "Sissy" and "G.g" (his great grandma). He understands so many words when he hears them. He gets upset if you say ice cream or doughnut and you don't actually have any. He loves Ritz crackers and will point in the kitchen and grunt until you take him to the counter to get a Ritz. He also likes Cheese puffs (the organic ones). I break them into a few pieces and put them on the tray of his highchair and he gobbles them up. He has gotten 2 of his molars on one side and he is working on the other 2. This time the teething really has not been so bad. He has 10 teeth now!

I wish I had more to write about today but I really need to get my desk cleaned off so I don't feel so bad about not being here Monday. Have a great weekend and I will be back on Tuesday!

All apologies

Oh my goodness, please forgive me oh faithful readers, it has been 5 days since my last post. I can't believe I have been so slack. Actually I have not been slack, I have been extremely busy. I also have not read any blogs in at least as many days. I hope to be getting caught up this week. Let me catch you up really fast.

This weekend was fun. We went to Callaway Gardens Saturday night to see the Fantasy in Lights and it was magical. It sparked the Christmas spirit in me and we had a great time. It was cold and we nearly froze to death, but it was worth it. If you are anywhere near there, go see the lights, you will enjoy it. I did not take any pictures because I tend to get lost behind the camera and have a hard time actually focusing on the things going on around me when I am snapping pictures, so I left the camera in its bag and did not take one picture of any of the lights. I did take a picture of my sleeping baby after the tour. He was sleeping so peacefully as we walked through the gift shop and took turns holding him.

We did get our tree Saturday. We went to get it Friday, but everywhere was closed, so we got it Saturday. It is an ugly tree. It has a huge hole that no matter how many ornaments and lights I try to cover it with just won't go away. It is not a fat tree and it is not very tall, but honestly it was the best tree that we could find. Maybe it was a bad Christmas tree year. I got the lights put on it Monday night and we put the ornaments on it last night. So far the babe has not cared one little bit about it. We have 4 Christmas trees this year! We have one in the babe's room that is about 2 or 3 foot tall and it is a Pooh Bear tree. We have one in our den that our daughter decorates in all pink and purple, that is her tree. This year I got a small real tree for our dining room. It is my favorite. I decorate our dining room in blue and silver snowmen. My tree has a blue and silver bow on the top and blue and white lights and blue and silver balls. It is very simple, but I just love it. From someone who did not even want to put a tree, we now have 4!

Hubby has gotten most of the outside lights up. He worked on it until late in the night on Monday and he hopefully will finish with them tonight. The babe loves the outside lights! We have one of the blow up snowglobes and a blow up penguin and a small blow up Santa. We also have a runway for Santa and so many other things that I am not going to name them, just think of Christmas Vacation. Anyway, we do it for the kids and they LOVE it, so it makes it all worth while.

I spent most of the day Sunday decorating the inside of the house. I have entirely too many Christmas decorations. I did not put a lot of stuff out, because I just don't have time or room to put it. My house is now decorated for Christmas.

I had jury duty Monday, which I had completely forgotten about until Saturday. I spent most of the day at the courthouse only not to be chosen at the end. It was a case of Theft by receiving stolen property and the stolen property happened to be jewelry. Our house was broken into 2 years ago and the only thing they took was my jewelry, so of course I did not get picked for that jury. It was quite an experience and I realy didn't mind having to go. I did have to stand up in front of a group of people and talk several times and that made me very nervous and anxious. I do not like talking in front of a crowd. I dropped several classes in college because as part of the curriculum I would have had to give a presentation or a speech and I just can't do it. Having jury duty did get me out of the office for a day and while we were waiting I did get the thank you notes from the babe's birthday finished. Having jury duty also meant being away from the office while my boss was away from the office. I was so far behind yesterday I ran all day long. My phone rang off the hook and I had several errands for the office that had to be done, so I just did not have time for anything but work. Today is a new day and I think I have gotten a little more caught up, so maybe soon I get caught up with all of my regular reads. I missed you guys.

I made the kids get dressed in their Christmas outfits on Sunday morning so I could take some pictures of them. I managed to get one to load on blogger. Maybe I will try to load some more later.

I survived!

Whew, it is finally Friday. I for one, am so very glad. I survived the month end with a few bumps in the road, but I managed to get through them. I also managed to piss off a co-worker yesterday and now she is being a bitch to me. Oh well honey your loss. I am so sick of all the cattiness in our office. It really grates on my nerves sometimes. That is what happens when you work with a bunch of women. Oh well, I am not going to worry about it. I have many other things to worry about like picking out a tree and hours in the car with the babe.

We have such a busy weekend. We are going to get our tree tonight. Part of me really hates going to pick out the tree. It is so hard for my hubby to make a decision sometimes. I just pull up to the trees, look at them and pick out the best one. It should not take longer than say 10 or 15 minutes. He has to compare this part and that part and it never fails that when we get the tree home, it is too freakin' big for the living room so he has to trim the bottom. Having the babe that is now into everything will also add another element to the holiday tree decorating. It would be fine with me if we got a 3 foot fake tree to put on the table so he can't reach it and we could go back to the real tree thing next year. Hubby will not go for that, so we will begin the hellish nightmare of the Christmas tree tonight after work. Then once we get it home, he has to get it in the house and in the stand and then guess who gets to put lights on it? Yes that would be my job. So I guess Sunday will be spent putting lights on the tree. OH WHAT FUN! Anyone want to come and help me?

I am very excited about tomorrow. We are going here: http://www.callawaygardens.com/. I have never been and of course neither has the babe, so we are really looking forward to it. There are lots of shops and things on the way that we will stop at to break up the monotany of the babe riding for hours in the carseat. Our appointed time to see the Christmas light tour is at 8 pm, so I think we will be alright for the car ride home, he should probably sleep most of the way. My MIL and SIL are going too. It should be a fun family outing.

Maybe Sunday after I get the lights on the tree and some decorations put out I can get some rest. I doubt that I will, but hey a girl can dream, can't she? Have a good weekend!