My Everyday Life

What better way to kick off the New Year than with some old friends!!

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!  You are so dry and prick-el-eeee!  Probably going to have to break with tradition and take this bad boy down tomorrow instead of waiting until the weekend.  And yes, I’ll admit that the 25+ (I lost count) strands of lights on our tree *may* be contributing to its hazardous condition.

We fought the good fight.  We tried so hard to keep him in his crib for as long as possible.  J – 1.  Mom/Dad – 0.

Sometime in November, this kid started jumping out of his crib and waking us up – all.night.long.  It was terribly exhausting.  We wanted to keep him in his crib until we had the jumping under control because we worried the freedom of a toddler bed would encourage him to get out of bed even more than he already was.  He remained undeterred by all of our threats and all of the various consequences we imposed on him.   Even though we stacked a mattress and some huge pillows on the floor outside his crib so he at least had a soft landing, we didn’t want to push our luck any further with the jumping.  Strange things happen and with a kid who is tired and flinging himself over his crib railing without abandon, he could dislocate a shoulder or sprain a wrist or what have you.  So we gave in and converted his bed to a toddler bed.  And much to our relief, he still averages about the same number of jumps per night.  But this time the “jump” is about two inches off the ground.

And honestly, who can stay mad when you have a kid this cute and this excited about his big boy bed?!?  (and yes, he is wearing his Christmas “jom joms” yet again; he loves them!)  (sorry about the bad quality – iPhone pic)

When we were kids, my brother and I worshipped my sister.  We just thought she was the coolest person ever.  We always wanted to be with her and followed her lead in whatever she did.  If she went downstairs to watch TV, so did we.  If she went up to her room, we went up to our rooms.  If she went swimming, so did we.  Swings?  Us too.  On occasion, this annoyed her to no end.  I specifically remember this one day where she got up from the TV room and walked out the front door.  Then she walked down the driveway sort of zigging and zagging to the mailbox.  Next, she turned back towards the house and walked across the grass and back in the front door.  Upstairs.  Then back downstairs.  And there was me and my brother right there following behind like little chicks.  I think at some point she finally turned around and yelled at us to leave her alone.  Of course we immediately denied following her and then scurried away only to slowly work our way back into her presence.  And it seems like her first born, A, may be blessed with two little chicks of his own as well… and one more once R is old enough to sit on the bench.

Ok, maybe it wasn’t 12 days of Christmas but it sure felt like it!  Here is the third Christmas dinner we hosted at our house!  Next year, I think we’ll pick a day and just tell people come over if you want to see us.  And we’ll serve pizza and beer.  On paper plates.  And charge a cover for those who don’t help clean up.  Maybe even hire a babysitter to take care of the kids so Mama and Dada can relax.  And a cleaning crew for afterwards.  And a set-up crew.  And a cleaning crew for before the party too.  Hmmm… I could be onto something here.  All kidding aside – it was a great day and everyone was happy the O’s made the trek up from Maryland for the holidays.  The best quote of the night may have been something along the lines of “Will someone get these kids out of the kitchen?  I thought that is why you guys came over early — to watch the kids?”

I didn’t take many photos so looks like Mom will have to fill in the gaps again.  And who knows, maybe there will even be a picture of me?!?!   😉

The O’s looking all snazzed up.

The L’s looking all snuggly.

Tonight was round two for Christmas dinners!  Poor Dampa had to listen to 40 minutes of whining for donuts.  These were their faces when they were told “no more donuts.”

And once the children were nestled all snug in their beds (which was after the three times J jumped out of bed)…