Things have settled back into our usual routines around here. That tends to equal boring, but boring can be good. Zach's back in school, DH is off to a school for the week, then when he comes back, he hits the ground running with the start of a new semester next Monday. He's got 5 sections of classes this semester as well as additional duties with the leaving of one cadre member. Who knows when they'll get a replacement. The nice thing about the early semester this year is that commencement is early so that will give us some time with DH before he leaves for LDAC this summer.

Aaron and I just hung around the house yesterday only venturing out to go to the post office and a brief trip to Target. Too bad once I got to target I totally forgot why I was there. Today is more of the same with a doctor appointment to get the results of my lab work thrown in for some extra fun. See? Such an exciting life.

Oh wait, we do have some excitement coming this afternoon. We're supposed to get an ice storm that could turn into a major event. It's supposed to last a full 24 hours with the sleet and freezing rain. We'll see. Our weather people aren't exactly accurate when predicting storms. I'm prepared for the worst, but I'm not holding my breath either.

My husband and my oldest son are the great white spider hunters of the house. My husband sneaks up on unsuspecting house spiders with steel toe boots, only to smash them into oblivion (big hooah Army man that he is). My son chooses to run them over with the large toy dump truck we have. These incidents have occurred in different houses many years apart, but I see a pattern here. Silly me. I grab a kleenex or some toilet paper and smash them and then throw them away. My husband insists this is unacceptable as a form of execution because then you feel the crunch. Of course that led me to ask "Then how do you know they're dead?" He just shuddered and had some comeback that I can't remember now. Hopefully I can get to our 2yo before it's too late, and teach him the ways of proper bug and spider killing. Seriously, I don't see the need to be squeamish unless they're furry or poisonous. At least I always have the tale of the steel toe boot incident to bring up during disagreements or debates.

Today's a new day. No more wallowing in self pity. Just curling up on the couch. Well, in between loads of laundry. Our TV and our washing machine are both being finicky. My husband leaves for school for a week tomorrow morning. Who wants to take bets on which appliance dies while he's gone? Something else in the house could break, but that'd be too easy. I can just call maintenance for that. My money's on the washer since it would be the greatest inconvenience. If the TV in the living room breaks, I'll just grab the one from our bedroom. Then the one that used to be in Zach's room but got taken away for abusing his privilege will go in our room. Musical TVs will solve that easy enough. What are you placing you bet on?

Yes, It's only January 2nd, and I'm in a pissy mood. How else would you feel if you were a newly minted 29yo and you walk like you're an 80yo with years of arthritis buildup? I've barely been able to move for the last week at least. My fibro's been bad, but not this bad since right after I had Zach and I got sent to John's Hopkins because they had no idea what was wrong with me. I had some lucidity through the fog while switching laundry loads and now I wonder if it isn't the B complex vitamins my CNRP told me to take for my mood swings. If it is, are those my choices? Be in extreme pain or be a royal bitch all the time? I've tried medical drugs for the mood swings, but those turn me into Miss PMS of the Universe. Think husband's breathing literally makes me stomp off to the bedroom before I rip off his head and spit down his neck. Yeah, THAT'S what the meds do to me.

I've looked for support groups in my area, but I can't find any. There's plenty for people with arthritis, but I don't have arthritis. So now I'm in search of a good online group. A place to piss, moan, and commiserate, but not whine. There is a difference. Unfortunately I've found a lot of groups to be filled with whiners. Back to your regular scheduled blogging while I go pop more ibuprofen and curl up on the couch with my really soft fleece blanket that now feels like 100 grit sandpaper.

I've been doing well in the scrapping department lately. I've been trying to do a page a morning. I got one done yesterday of Aaron opening his Christmas gifts. I used Gina Marie Huff's Jolly Holiday Collection from Weeds and Wildflowers again. I'm really liking that one for my Christmas photos this year. I also used a template by Andrea Gold. If you're a template lover, Andrea has a lot of great stuff. I like hers because they come in square and rectangle. Not only that, but her rectangles are in portrait and landscape. She's so thoughtful like that. I normally scrap square, but I know I can go to her templates when I want to make calendars or any other rectangle project.

I've decided I have a love/hate relationship with my shower. The only times I get to use it are if the kids are asleep or if my husband is home. This leaves me with time to take as long as I wish under the hot water. OK, so it's warm water. Damn eczema. See? That's a hate. But then the warm water allows my muscles to relax a little bit and the fibro pain to ease. Of course 4 ibuprofen help that along as well - love. Then the bitch makes me think and get all nostalgic, reflective, you name it. I hate that. If I'm going to get all emotional, I'd at least like some alcohol in me first. I don't do feelings well. I was taught you put those away, unless it's anger.

Tonight I got to thinking about the boys. Zach is me only more intense. He is my worst qualities personified. That drives me bat shit crazy. I think the biggest reason we butt heads so often is because I want to control those qualities in myself and haven't yet gotten a total grasp on it, so I try with him. Poor kid. I'll start saving for his therapy now. Oh who am I kidding. He's been in therapy for the last 3 years thanks to a diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder, or as I call it royal pain in the ass syndrome. Then I got to thinking about all my quirks, illnesses, and chronic conditions. The boys already have the eczema and allergies. I hope that for them, that's the end of the line. Thankfully they are boys and most of what I have is passed through the females in a family. Their odds are smaller at least and sometimes that gives me a little comfort.

Then I start getting random thoughts like is it being neurotic, or having selective OCD, or is that just one in the same? Or, I wonder how gray my hair really is if I grow it out. Or one of my personal favorites and one that bugs my brain frequently, why is it that I am OCD about only certain things, but not all? Where is that coping mechanism for the things that don't bother me as much for my life all the time?

There are even times I mourn my mother and the lack of relationship we have and had while I was growing up. I wish she wasn't so messed up, but she's made her life choices, and they're not for me or my family. It's not something I can change. Then I get a mini anxiety attack wondering if someone in the family let it slip as to our address or phone number to her. Then i wonder if I should take her picture to the MP's and tell them if this woman shows up at the gate to turn her away on sight.

And tonight that started making me remember high school. Particularly my senior year. I have a lot of good memories of that year, but I also think I burned a few bridges. I'm sorry for that now. Sometimes I wonder if I should contact those people and say I'm sorry. I'm sure I could get a phone number or e-mail or something through mutual friends, but I'm too much of a chickenshit. I figure we've all moved on with our lives and I should leave well enough alone.

So there you have it. My bitch of a shower makes me have feelings.

As I was blog hopping the last few days, I noticed everyone getting all nostalgic and reflective as the new year approached. Today's posts are mostly about reflecting on 2008 and resolutions for 2009. I'll spare y'all another post like that since I don't do resolutions and I don't get emotional and reflective until June, right around my oldest's birthday. Who knows, maybe in 2009, I"ll even bore you in December with some sappy post as my 30th birthday approaches. I'm not making any promises.

But I did get to thinking. I was the first in my group of friends to have kids. OK, let me rephrase that. I was the first semi-responsible one to have kids. So as my little sister and my bff from 6th grade had their first babies this summer, they asked me for advice on all the baby gear. Let's face it, all the stuff they throw in your face is overwhelming. I was even a little intimidated as I searched through all the new stuff for them and my youngest turned 2 in November. I've also had random moms in the doctor's office waiting room ask me about toys as Christmas approached. I guess because I have a 7yo as well, they figure I've btdt, so I have a grasp on what I'm doing. If they only knew. At any rate, I thought I'd list some of our favorite products, web sites, stores, etc. from 2008. These are in no particular order. They're just listed as they randomly pop into my head. How else would they be listed at 5:30am on New Year's Day?

1. Hyland's Teething Tablets- You can find these in the vitamin section of your local Walmart. At our particular Target, I have to ask the pharmacy people for them. They're not a controlled substance, I just don't think many use them so they don't want to take up prime shelf space. We could NOT have survived teething without these babies. They obviously taste good as well because if you shake the bottle, my 2yo opens his mouth and says "Ahhhhhhhh."

2. Little Noses Decongestant Drops- Since some parents can't read and OD'd their kids by giving them too much cough meds, or gave their kids Tylenol Cold and Cough, then gave them regular Tylenol on top of that for a fever, kids' cold meds got pulled form the shelves. Thanks. And as for the "experts" (I use that term loosely) who tested these meds on kids and say they don't work, I'd like to know whose kids they tested them on. They worked on my kids, and they were great at bedtime so everyone in my house could sleep for more than 45 minutes to an hour at a time. Maybe all us cranky, sleep deprived parents with sick children should march on Washington some day and then they'd see. Idiots.

3. Other Little Remedies Products- The Baby Rub and Gripe Water are great too.

4. Evenflo Triumph Carseat- I forget which version we have exactly, but it looks like a baby recliner. Some people are turned off by having to adjust the straps every time they put baby in the seat, but I like it. That way you know the straps fit properly every time. There's no room for complacency. Although if you have a Jolly Green Giant for a toddler like I do, it might not be your best option. We did well at using it for under $10 a month when we did a cost analysis, but I would have liked it to last longer. Our seat is still in great shape. Our kid is just too freakin tall for it.

5. Legos- My 7yo will go to his room and play for hours with his Legos. Especially his Star Wars Lego sets. The only drawback is that he dumps them all out and then doesn't want to clean them up because he's overwhelmed by how many pieces he needs to clean up. I plan on fixing that by getting the Lego play mat I saw in their catalog they sent. As long as the pieces are on the mat, you just fold it up and they stay put until next time.

6. Cable TV- Yes, my 7yo has a tv in his room. He can watch only the channels I've deemed to be appropriate. This has been a life saver on crappy weather weekends during football season. The poor kid can only take so much football watching and then he wants to watch his cartoons. At least when the weather's nice he can go outside and play.

7. The Jeep umbrella stroller- The back panel rolls up to make a pillow in hot weather, revealing a mesh back. There's nothing worse than a sweaty back, am I right? The seat also slightly reclines, it has a cup holder for mom, and a sun shade for baby. But again, not so great with a tall kid unless they're willing to keep their feet on the strap and not let them dangle by the wheels. The side pouches are great too. They allow for a diaper and a few wipes in one side and a small toy in the other for quick trips.

8. Chicco Cortina stroller- Our Cadillac of strollers. I love this. It's easy to maneuver with one hand, there's a cup holder, covered compartment for snacks, keys, or whatever, the handle is adjustable, the seat reclines, it comes with a 5pt harness that you can change to a 3pt for older children, and it rolls smoothly. My husband and I can both use this stroller comfortably and walking upright without hurting our backs.

9. JJ Cole- There are a lot of products from this brand I enjoy. From the pacifier pod to the diaper and wipes caddy, you really can't go wrong. We also enjoy the Bundle Me and the Logic Bag. The Logic Bag is great for quick trips when they're small and then as an every day bag when you don't need to pack the entire house and the kitchen sink just to run to the grocery store.

10. Gerber Nuk pacis- Yes, we still have the paci. It's like baby crack in our house. And not only do we need a paci to fall asleep, but we have to have THE paci. There's a favorite one now. (Did you hear my eyes roll?)

11. Thomas the Train- These toys and the tv show provide hours of entertainment for my 2yo. It's the only tv show he will sit and watch motionless for 20 minutes. He's a train junkie.

12. Tyke Light- The kids not only get to have a night light, but they can sleep with these in their beds with them.

13. Sound Therapy clock radio- Aaron can't sleep without white noise. He's my light sleeper and needs something to block out household sounds. He's been this way since birth. I like the sound faintly coming over the monitor to sleep for my tinnitus.

14. Leap Frog - Another brand we have a ton of products from. We have the Leapster, Didj, Tag, Clickstart, and countless of their baby and toddler toys. My kids have enjoyed all of their Leap Frog toys. What I like best as a mom is there are usually two different volume settings and even the loudest one isn't overly loud. I was turned off of V-Tech toys because they're too loud even when they're supposedly on the soft setting, thus making me turn to Leap Frog.

Well, I think I've bored you enough for one day. These are some of our favorite products from the year. The sites that are linked are not because I'm paid by them. It was sheer laziness on my part on where I could find the most products to link, and by where I usually shop. Happy 2009!

I had a couple funny things the kids have done over the last couple days and I thought "That would be a great blog post." Unfortunately, I have the memory of a gnat, and didn't write them down at the time. So instead you get another scrapbook layout I did. Diane (Carjaziscraps) made some papers called Zach's PJs after my oldest. I love them! Her papers have such deep textures to them. I'm really drawn to Diane's paper packs (she sells at Wenchd Graphix), but I'm a lazy scrapper and usually kit scrap. I like to have everything I need right there in one spot to make a coordinated layout. She's going to force me to get an organizer and sort out my scrapping supplies yet. I think that's her evil plot for 2009.


Papers and frames (made with papers from) - Zach's PJs by Carjaziscraps
Cool Swirls and Boy Stitches - Flergs
Mesh - Joseph kit by Lliella
Font - Stamp Act Jumbled

I know stupid may sound a bit harsh when talking about children, but what else can you say when your otherwise smart 7yo comes up with these gems? (Disclaimer: we eat out way more than we should.)

-While sitting in the middle of a diner: "Are we in public?"

-While eating french fries: Son-"Do I have to eat the frylets?"
Me and DH - "Frylets?"
Son - "Yeah, these little fry pieces in the bottom of the bag."
DH- "They're not called frylets, they're just fries."
After calling them frylets several more times.............
Son- "Is there such a think as Chicklets?" (I know he was thinking chicken as we were sitting in Chik Fil A)
Me- "Yes, it's gum. Specifically, it's square gum, and even though we can buy it here, it's often associated with Mexico."
Son- "Do they have frylets there?"
DH- "They're not frylets, just french fry pieces!"
Son- "Is that what they call them in China?"
Me (looking at DH)- "No, but that's the language you heard isn't it?" (A reference to the show My Wife and Kids in which when someone in our house is talking to us at a time where we're not paying attention we now say that they were "talking Chinese.")

And I'm supposed to turn this boy loose on the world in 10 more years or so. I sure hope he gets some common sense by then because book smarts only go so far in life. And what's really funny is our 2yo has more common sense than our 7yo already. You can see we're going to be in for in in another few years.

Over the Christmas holiday, I made wreath treats for my boys. I remember making them in 1st grade and I have this urge to make them every year since because it was so much fun then. I was a little disappointed that no one had the little round cinnamon drops to make holly, but then again, maybe I shouldn't have been out looking on Christmas Eve. We improvised and used red sugar. I just followed the directions for rice krispie treats only I added green coloring to the melted marshmallows, and used corn flakes.



For more Make Something Monday posts, visit Jolly Mom and Go Graham Go.

I scrapped our breakfast with Santa pictures. I used Gina Marie Huff's Jolly Holiday collection at Weeds and Wildflowers.

I was my regular insomniac self and was up at 2:45am yesterday. After the family was awake and I ventured downstairs to be a social member of our family, my husband turned on the morning news. It seems we had a 3.3 earthquake in our area with the center about 30 miles or so away. We never felt a thing. We all slept right through it. It happened about 12:04am. Of course it was the talk of the news along with all the house fires that seem to happen in the winter. Oh and water main breaks. Can't forget those.

I decided to buy myself a Zune for Christmas. It was that or a Nintendo DS, and the Zune won. I needed something to pass those excruciating 30 minutes every week after we get our allergy shots. Plus, I learned from some other moms that you can dl kids' shows to the Zune (or ipod as they tend to have) and let the kids watch while you attempt to make your way through the grocery store before they turn into pumpkins. Did we survive without all this technology, yes, but if there's a way to make a mother's life easier, I say take advantage of it if you can. I also like that I can put pictures on it and show them off when asked about my scrapbooking since I do digital. And the FM tuner. Too cool not only that it has one, but that if I hear a song I like and want to dl later, I can mark it as such instead of trying to remember what the song was called or which band sang it. I know the moment I'd sit in front of the computer I'd forget, and then that would be one of those things that woke me at 2am and then I'd have to come dl the song before I forgot again. Or I'd remember as soon as I heard it on the radio again. It all then becomes a vicious cycle without the marking feature.

The drawbacks? I found I didn't like the headphones that came with the Zune. Like so many others that go in the ears, they were too big for mine. I found a pair of ear buds that can be customized, but they're also noise blocking. That can be good and bad. Good for when my husband is home and I want to sit here and drown them all out, but bad in that I can currently hear my congested self breathing unless I turn the music up fairly loud. My tinnitus doesn't need any more help in the loud music department. I've already spent too many years at concerts standing next to speakers with no ear plugs and listening to my ear phones too high. I'm also not finding an FM tuner that works with my car. It's beginning to defeat the purpose of having the Zune so we stop fighting over who has which CDs in whose car. I'm also feeling a bit overwhelmed by the music downloads. There are so many songs, bands, and singers I like that it's hard to remember every single song I'm a fan of. I definitely had to set up playlists. I'm sure if anyone is on the social network and looking at my playlist they're thinking WTF? I have dl'd everything in the last 48 hours from Frank Sinatra to Rage Against the Machine with a whole hell of a lot inbetween.

I'm finding we gravitate towards the music that was popular when we were in high school, most notably Jr. and Sr. years. My husband, whom I won't totally give away his age and date him, but let's just say he gravitates to Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Poison, and the likes. I, on the other hand, find myself gravitating towards Live, Everclear, Sugar Ray, Smashmouth, Creed, Fuel, and that era of music from the 1990's. And it makes sense seeing as how I'm a 1998 high school graduate. It's not to say we don't like anything that came earlier or later, we do, but these are the time periods that our favorites come from. I can guarantee it comes from the memories associated from the songs. Who has better childhood memories than their Senior year of high school other than maybe the pre-school years? Not best memories ever, maybe, but best memories while you were still living at home. Think about it.

Boogie Wipes are a product I've seen all over blogs lately. I've seen reviews and giveaways galore. From what I've sen and read, they look like a great product. Imagine my surprise when I was doing my Christmas Eve grocery shopping, which included cold medicine, and I found some at my local grocery store. I bought a package to try since we are the House of Snot once again. I figured what did I have to lose? Doing a quick cost analysis, they cost about the same per wipe as the wipes for baby butts, plus I always feel so bad when my toddler wakes up with those crusties on the outside of his nose in the morning despite my use of Vicks and a humidifier. The Boogie Wipes are wonderful for these crusties. They're also nice once the nose just starts to get irritated from tissues. They're a gentler way to wipe the noses of your little ones who haven't yet mastered the art of blowing the snot out. In a pinch, Boogie Wipes will also get chocolate Hershey Kiss drool off your off white microsuede sofa, as well as the dried snot that you didn't know your 2yo had wiped on there earlier. You know, the things that can't be avoided from a kid who does a face plant on the cushion to climb up onto the couch. If you think you'd like to try Boogie Wipes and you want to enter to win a gift basket, hop on over to Jolly Mom and enter her Boogie Wipes Gift Basket Giveaway ending January 7th.

Here we are at December 26th. The Christmas aftermath. In about an hour I'll be hitting the stores for holiday storage containers. I need a hard case for my new wreath and a few other containers since a couple of ours cracked and the handles broke this year, leaving sharp pieces in their wake.

I know Christmas is a time like Thanksgiving where we're supposed to feel blessed and thankful for what we have. Christmas for me has become bittersweet as I've become a mom. I do have some rules about toys and clothes for my boys. These are due to sensory and behavioral issues my oldest has, and the allergies we all have. For example, no stuffed animals. The boys each have a couple special ones, and that's it. They collect dust mites, and I don't have room in my freezer weekly for a whole zoo of stuffed animals to de-mite them. Second, no fighting toys like light sabers, guns, swords, etc. These get Zach all wound up, and he just become out of control and makes really bad choices with them. Then they get taken away. Same with car race tracks. Zach's clothes also need to be just so because he has sensory issues like I do. We can put on a piece of clothing that may feel fine to the average person, but there could be one seam in it that just bugs the hell out of us, and it'll sit in a drawer until it gets donated. Tagless shirts are the best invention ever for this.

So, when Christmas rolled around this year, I got the standard questions from the grandparents and godparents of what to get the boys. I was very specific on some things. Others, not so much. Why is it that the things I was specific about were the same things that I was ignored on? I won't go into details or point fingers, but I will say this: If you're going to ask for gift ideas and someone takes the time to give them to you, USE THEM. I gave ideas in all price ranges. Some things I was constrained to certain stores. For example, my in laws tend to only shop in department stores. They have just in the last year started utilizing discount stores like Walmart and Target on a regular basis. And once again, we are left with not bad gifts, just gifts that aren't right for my boys. They won't get played with or worn, and will take up space in a house in which space is already a commodity. And thank you to the losers, yes losers, who abused the system of store returns and now I can't make ANY return, not even for store credit without a receipt.

I'm thankful the boys get presents from our extended family, but what irks me is that they ask and then don't listen. Don't waste my time by asking if you're not going to listen to what I have to say. Maybe it bothers me so much because I take my gift giving so seriously. I take the time to find or make something that I know that person will truly enjoy. I put a lot of time and love into the gifts we give, even if they're bought from a store.

Next year, I think I'm going to have to be a bit Grinchy and make a Kaboodle list and tell everyone to stick to the list and mark what they buy off of it, and that's it. No going rogue. Once again, I will take the time to put all sorts of gifts in all categories and price ranges on the list. I use Kaboodle for my scrapbooking supplies. It would only make sense to use it for the boys birthdays and Christmas as well. Especially since i can e-mail everyone their lists to shop from. I think I'll even use the list myself to keep track of what I buy and what I need to get. That way I can avoid the feeling that the kids got way too much. It's too easy to over buy when you spread it out over several months like I traditionally do, but it adds up.

OK, gift giving PSA over, go enjoy what Santa brought you kids.

It's Christmas Eve. I still have all the presents to wrap. No shock there. It's been the same for the lat several years. I have cookies to bake since we ate all the ones that were to be for Santa. Oops. And speaking of cookies, what's up with no one having the tubes of the peanut butter Pillsbury dough? That's the base for my peanut blossoms, dammit. Sorry, just had to get that out. Today will be laid back with cookie baking, Christmas movie watching, and pizza for dinner. I do need to run to the commissary for lettuce and there was something else LOL. I'll wait until our ice clears up later in the day though.

I was crazy yesterday. I ventured over to Walmart because I wanted a case for he Zune I got myself for Christmas and pepperoni rolls. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Zach's blabbing was the worst part. We snagged a place to park right up front. I didn't get a cart knowing it'd be easier to navigate through the store without one. Soda! That's the other thing I need form the commissary LOL. Can't have CPT and Coke without the Coke. So we got through Walmart, and I didn't even spend the usual 20 minutes in line. Imagine that!

After Walmart I stopped at KFC for dinner at DH's suggestion. I was going to make pork chops, but forgot to pull them from the freezer in time for them to be thawed. If I don't pull meat out by 9am at the latest, it's still a block of frozen meat at 5pm. I swear our freezer works on the Kelvin scale.

I really need to get on the ball planning dinners. We've been eating out way too much. And no, that's not a New Year's resolution. It's just something I need to do. I go through this inability to seem to put a meal together once every 4 months or so it seems. It's a vicious cycle. I forget to pull something out of the freezer in time to have it thawed, I need to run to the store, DH decides he'd rather go out than be with the kids alone for any length of time, so we eat out, then I try to make diner the next night, go to get all the ingredients out, realize I'm missing something important, and the cycle starts again. It's terrible I tell ya.

I've decided the retail industry is the bane of my existence from September until, well, I'll let you know when. It started in September with the odd display of Christmas ornaments here and there. Um, can we have fall and Halloween first? Then the Christmas displays hit a fever pitch by Halloween itself. Hello? Anyone out there? Thanksgiving comes before Christmas. Thanksgiving rolls around and with it, Black Friday. The stores want us to spend our hard earned dollars, but quite frankly, nothing we've had on our wish lists has been on sale at a price we're willing to pay as a sale price. Yes, I'd like a Nintendo DS for those waits after allergy shots where I have to sit for 30 minutes, BUT a sale is not an item marked down to $123 from $129.99. Sorry. Especially when last year they had holiday bundles for the $129.99 price. This year, that's just the console. Boooo to Nintendo on that one. I've also seen Ipods marked down a whole $5 and touted as being on sale or as a special deal. Special to whom? Something that pricey needs to be marked down at least $20 for me to call it on sale. I was in Target for cold medicine this past Sunday, and what did I see? Bathing suits for the wee kids! WTF? Does anyone in the corporate office have a brain? The LAST thing I want to be doing is buy a bathing suit after I've packed on my winter pounds. At least give a girl until February, would ya? Oh! And in Ross, my son and I saw Valentine's Day stuff on Saturday! Just because it's in your warehouse doesn't mean it needs to be out on your shelves. Just sayin'.

And then there are my children. My 7yo gets the itch as soon as the Christmas stuff starts showing up in stores. "When's Santa coming?" "I want that for Christmas! Oh! And that too!" And the Christmas Gimmes begin. Then the anxiety starts and he works himself into a fever pitch to where he starts acting out, and I know it's over stimulation from the holidays, but I still want to rip his head off and spit down his neck. To try and curb the anticipation I allow the boys to open the boxes that come in from out of town as they come. It helps a little. And I had no idea my 2yo would even understand about the presents this year, but oh boy, he sure does! Zach got a box from his god mom yesterday and I had to pull one of Aaron's other presents from under the tree to let him open as well just to stop the all out tantrum. And I don't blame Zach's god mom. I certainly don't expect her to send presents for Aaron too unless she wants to. We agreed when Aaron was born that Zach really liked that the one thing that is still his and his alone are the boxes he gets from his god mom. He loves that he gets something he doesn't have to share with his brother since pretty much everything else in the house is community property. I can't blame him. And likewise for Aaron's godparents. They're friends of mine from high school that are now married, and I told them they don't have to send anything for Zach because he gets his special box that's all his.

So now that I've totally lost my train of thought, here we are 2 days until Christmas. I miraculously still have enough Hershey kisses for the Advent calendar, and I still need to wrap the boys' gifts. No surprise. I've been wrapping on Christmas Eve for the last several years. I take the time to undo all the twist ties, put in batteries if needed, and then wrap the gift. That way, once the paper is ripped off, the toy is ready to play with and we don't have impatient kids clamoring at us for their toy before we've had enough caffeine to deal with whining.

I'd love to hear your take on the retail stores and their new philosophy of switching the seasons on us. I see bathing suits in December now, shorts will probably be out in March, maybe earlier, and they'll have back to school sales before the kids are even out of school this year in June at the rate they're going.

Today is going to be painful in so many ways. The first way is that last night I woke up to go take care of Aaron and misjudged how many steps it was form our room to his. Normally it's 6 that I need to make my way down to get to his room. Last night for whatever reason. I went about 3, thought I'd hit the floor, started walking, and then literally hit the floor. The only thing that saved me from hurting worse today than I am is that I was still very much asleep and had no idea I was falling so I didn't stiffen up as I was falling to brace for the landing. Add this to the ever changing weather, my fibromyalgia, and this cold I've picked up from somewhere, and four ibuprofen didn't even touch the achiness this morning. And for the record, cherry Chloraseptic strips and Coke don't taste like Cherry Coke.

Later on this morning I have to go to the doctor we all know how much fun that is, so add in more pain. I also need to make an appointment for Aaron, he who will only sleep an hour at a time. More pain since I'll have to take both kids. While we're there and I'm torturing myself, I guess Zach and I will get our allergy shots. Might as well at that point. So what's your theme for today?

I made it! I survived Toys R Us the Saturday before Christmas. "How," you ask? I went at 7am. It was like being there on a normal week day. Now, based on the check out lines, I would not have been caught dead in there at 9am or beyond. Not enough money in the world my friends. After TRU, I took Zach out for breakfast. The boy was starving. He had grabbed some cookies to hold him over because Momma wasn't stopping until AFTER Toys R Us. After breakfast, we went to Target. The parking lot was more crowded than the store. Or maybe it was because I was there for things like laundry soap and toilet paper that we didn't see many people. I still forgot teething tablets. That makes three times this week so far. You know when I remember them? When I'm putting Aaron to bed and I'm giving him some teething tablets and I see the bottle is getting low. But, the morning shopping trip wasn't bad. We even stopped and got Zach's haircut. He chose another mohawk, just in time for Christmas. He wants to make it red for Christmas morning. The only drawback to the whole morning was that he talked the WHOLE TIME. For about 4 hours I heard blab blab blab blab blab. You see, there's a reason his nickname is John Madden.

And Aaron. The little craphead. He will hardly eat. Which, yes, I know is normal for a 2yo, but not mine, and then it also leaves his belly susceptible to the burning of his reflux. AND, he'd hardly sleep. Hardly any nap, and I was up and down with him until 2am. DH and I have conferred he's getting ready to do something. What, we're not sure. Last time he acted like this he got sick. DH even had the balls to mention the dreaded 2 words "ear infection." Bite your tongue mister. Isn't that what the tubes were for last February? And as of the beginning of December, both tubes were still in there. I really don't want Aaron to have to have a second set of tubes. OK, really, I don't want to have to go through the chronic ear infections and no sleeping for months until they realize he needs a 2nd set. My fibromyalgia cant' take anymore lack of sleep. The weather has claimed dibs on that for now with all these fronts and screwy temperature changes. It was 62 degrees last Friday. This weekend, we're under a winter weather advisory. WTF?

Christmas is in 4 days. Is anyone ready? I need to wrap presents. I hate wrapping. I miss the days when stores offered gift wrap. I need to get a few things for our Christmas dinner as well. I'll need to get fresh hoagie buns on Wednesday, and some french fries. We decided as a family we didn't want a big dinner since it's just the four of us, so hoagies and fries with gravy it is.

*Side note: Blogger needs to add hoagie and hoagies to it's spell check. Just sayin'.*

Call the looney bin. They need to come and take me away. I'm getting my 7yo up at 6am so that we can go to Toys R Us the Saturday before Christmas to get his brother a Christmas present from him. He got us presents at the school holiday shop. I want him to keep understanding about the giving so I'm making this trek with Zach today. I'm sure I'll come home having lost my last marble. We're supposed to stop for haircuts if there's any sanity left in me. We'll see. Hopefully I'll survive the trip and this isn't my last blog post ever. Farewell my friends. To the good times (in case this is my last post).

Today is my last day of freedom - maybe. We're supposed to get snow, freezing rain, and some sleet nastiness right as day breaks. I'm hoping for nothing more than a 2hr delay if school delays at all. Today is the last day before Christmas break. Then we parents have our little heathens until January 5th. I'm so glad I'm not a teacher. Those kids are going to be all kinds of excited (like they haven't been all hopped up on Santa already). Then they're having their Christmas parties, so they'll have sugar coursing through their veins in the afternoon. Not a combination I want times 20.

My husband went and had lunch with Zach at school yesterday and he said it was surprisingly better than he expected - the kids' behavior, not the food. He also said he can see why our son hardly eats lunch. Zach is easily over stimulated and he just blabs most of his lunch period. I had figured as much.

I need to wrap presents today, or at least some of them. I hate being up until all hours Christmas Eve because I'm wrapping presents. It's such a time consuming process, and it doesn't seem to matter how many or how few gifts we have, it takes hours.

Last night we went to our favorite pizza place just so we could bring home some half baked pizzas to cook Christmas Eve. Then I dragged the family to look at lights on the way home. We found a couple good neighborhoods, but for the most part it was disappointing. I've noticed over the last 5 years or so, people just don't put up the outdoor decorations like they did in years past. We were driving around post looking at what people put out and almost ended up at the General's house - oops LOL. Good thing he was having a party because there was a cop at the end of the road to direct us.

I think Zach's a little disappointed in our Christmas plans from the sound of them. I think he'll appreciate them more on the actual day. Our Christmases generally go like this: wake up at the ass crack of dawn, open presents, DH makes pancakes, eat, kids play with toys, and we try not to pass out asleep. That's pretty much our day until dinner. This year for dinner we made a family decision to have hoagies. I torture the kids with the turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, so I like to make something we'll all eat on Christmas. Usually it's alfredo, but we've been eating that fairly frequently lately while I perfect my recipe. But Zach just seemed disappointed that we don't have to run here and there to see relatives and friends, and no one is coming here. I know once those gifts are open all he'll want to do is play with his toys and not be bothered with anything else.

We also had to explain about leaving beer and cookies for Santa. I told Zach that most American children leave milk and cookies, so if he wants the good presents, leave beer. He was OK with that then. Then I explained (total BS by the way) that since we're Irish, we generally leave Guinness and cookies, but I couldn't find the Guinness this year. So it's Yuengling Porter and cookies for Santa this Christmas. Not that he minds.

I'm full of posts today. You know it's a great day when you give Secret Service guys the "Die a thousand deaths you bastards" look that only a mother can give.

This is how our day started. First, last night we got freezing rain, hail, sleet, snow, the whole shebang. There was a layer of ice coating our trees, shrubs, and cars this morning. School was on a 2 hour delay. My 7yo used his extra 2 hours to drive everyone in the house absolutely batshit. By the time I put him on the bus at 10:15am I was ready for a drink with an umbrella in it. One of the other moms at the bus stop remarked how she was going to get the worst mom of the year award because she was out of patience. I told her I think it's becauseChristmas is in a week. My son acts like a little asshole from November until New Year's. Then I mentioned how I was ready for a drink. She said if she didn't have a cold, she'd be ready for one too. Today was one of those days where I understand why some moms self-medicate and start taking meth and stuff.

Then, we were taking our nephew to his girlfriend's house before he flies home to Germany for Christmas break. First stop, the post office. Getting around post was a nightmare - to say the least. As I'm walking into the post office, there are secret service guys everywhere. They looked at me like "Who the hell are YOU?" and that's when I looked back at them like, "Eat shit and die." I get in the post office, and the post master says, "If anything starts happening outside, I'm going to run out and take pictures, OK?" To which I replied, "Sure, but as far as I'm concerned, the President can suck it today."

After we dropped off the nephew, enjoyed a nice lunch out, and ran some errands, we came home. Then I was reminded all over again was a goat screw post was. I e-mailed the garrison commander. DH asked me to be nice. I told him I'd try. My e-mail basically said they need to remember that not everyone who lives here attends the War College or works on post and I'd appreciate it if there would be some sort of notification put out about new traffic patterns for the day of their special events. That's my biggest complaint about this post. If you're not here as part of the War College program, you get left out. They seem to fail to remember there are permanent party people here as well. A little courtesy would go a long way.

The Winner is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

4

Timestamp: 2008-12-17 14:30:01 UTC

Rachel said...

I love the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol. It's always been my favorite. :)

December 14, 2008 6:46 PM

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit here.