A few weeks ago, my SP9 hostess asked all of us in her group to knit a dishcloth, and she picked four random winners of the people who met the challenge. I was one of them! Last week I got these gorgeous stitch markers in the mail. How pretty are they? Thank you!!!
The title sounds crazy, right? Well, we have a 30-gallon fishtank, and when the water gets a little low, the filtration gets all noisy and splashy and it eerily sounds like people talking (especially if you happen to be really tired like myself right now). Tonight it was driving me absolutely crazy. I just put Jake to bed and I was cleaning up here in the kitchen and I had to go into our bedroom several times to listen to the monitor to see if he was calling me. He wasn’t, but damn if it didn’t sound like it. It’s happened to both Drew and myself — one night during the summer we both swore we heard muffled conversations (like if you’re eavesdropping at a party). Of course, it really was just the fishtank when we got up to check, but still… Freaky! So anyway, back to tonight. Right then and there I added water to the tank and it is so much quieter and so much more pleasant, and I won’t have the creepies when I’m trying to fall asleep tonight.
We have one of those Advent calendars that have the pockets that you can stick little trinkets in. Last year was the first year using it and Jake loved it *so* much! I like it because we decide what goes into each day (allowing us to minimize the amount of chocolate he gets, LOL!). The first day we gave him “Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas,” which is one of his favorite Christmas movies so far. The second day he got a Spiderman candycane that I found at Christmas Tree Shops (so cool — a red and blue cane with a nicely decorated Spiderman gummy attatched). Today’s was “the big one,” though… one I’d been waiting for, really, since last year: the Playmobil Nativity Set.
I currently have a glass Nativity and I’m hoping that for next Christmas I’ll save enough to have the Willow Tree set, neither of which are good for little kids to play with. At the end of last Christmas season I thought about this little cloth set that Hallmark had, but some lady grabbed the last one before I got to it. It’s just as well because this set it so much fun! We had a great time putting it together and setting all the people up. Plus, it’s a good way to tell him the story behind the Nativity (this year we are really trying hard to stress the religious aspect of Christmas and drive in that it is *not* just about presents).
Of course, Jake if four and is incredibly imaginative and loves role-playing. So after we had gone through the Biblical story I left him to play with the Playmobil Nativity as he saw fit. He decided they all were going to be Jedi Knights. (Virgin Mary was even weilding a light sabre!). Yup. Jesus was a Jedi. Makes perfect sense to me 🙂
No wonder everyone is getting sick, the weather did a complete 180-degree turn. Earlier this week is was in the high 60s, and today it certainly feels much more like December — chilly and very windy.
I had planned on buying and writing out my Christmas cards today, but I couldn’t find any cards at Walmart (WTF?), and I just was not going to brave Target and the mall. But I did get some good grocery shopping done. The boys have been devouring clementines all afternoon (only $4.99/box!), and I bought some chicken cutlets with which I’ll make chicken piccata tomorrow. We had a bottle of Rabbit Ridge sauvignon blanc, and while it was not fantastic for drinking, it’ll be fine for cooking. I haven’t made that dish in months, and it’s a family favorite, so I’m looking forward to that. While we were grocery shopping at Walmart, Santa Claus made an appearance (“See”, I told Jake, “He knew you were shopping with mommy!”). Heh! Jake asked Santa if he could visit the North Pole. Santa replied, “You’ll have to ask your mom!” Nothing like passing the buck, big guy! They were also doing free photos, but by the time we were ready for check-out and such, the kids were just ready to go, and I don’t think any kind of photo would have turned out well. Still, I thought that was really nice!
We then hit Stop & Shop because Walmart’s produce looked terrible, and it turned out to be a worthwhile detour. They had a bucket with bouquets of roses (10 stems) marked down to $2.99! They might have been a day old, but they looked really good, so I bought two bouquets. I haven’t bought myself fresh flowers in probably two years even though I love having them in the house. (When I lived in Boston, I’d buy myself a bouquet whenever I was having a bad day. There was a woman who sold them at the Davis Square T-stop for, I think $5/dozen. A small price to make yourself feel like a million.) Anyway, they are deep red and gorgeous here in my kitchen.
I should probably go and vaccum the living room. Last night Drew and I moved furniture around to accomade the Christmas tree, and as anyone with little kids can imagine, we unearthed ungodly amounts of old Cheerios, corn flakes, and popcorn kernals. I need to get it all cleaned up before we decorate tomorrow. (Oooh, but then I can reward myself with a Rice Krispie treat, made fresh by Chef Jake earlier this afternoon! Scrummy!)
It’s kind of a lazy Friday over here: quiet, grey, waiting for rain or thunderstorms or some kind of “weather” to make it’s way. We never did put the Christmas decorations up last weekend, so I think that is going to be this weekend’s priority. I also hope to set up the tripod and get a family photo to include with Christmas cards (which means that I should probably go ahead and buy some cards!) My shopping is basically done. There are a couple things I still have to order online, but I’m not stressing out over anyone’s gifts. I am, however, a little stressed that some of the knitting projects I’m working on will be done in time. Yikes! I might be giving people partially complete-projects and I.O.U.’s.
We’re also having just a couple people over on the 10th (people D. works with) for a wine tasting party-type-thing, so I really need to come up with a pairings menu. Nothing crazy, but still. (He should probably let me know what wines he wants to taste first!) Actually, I think one of the wines is going to be this chamomile infused grappa. I know, sounds odd, right? But it’s really quite amazing, and I’m not a grappa drinker or a fan of chamomile. Once I learned the correct way to taste grappa, it made an enormous difference. You can appreciate something, even though you don’t really care for it, if that makes sense.
The Santa Claus photo-op was a semi-success last weekend. J. was incredibly excited this year and we got a great photo of him with the big guy. N., on the other hand, was absolutely terrified as soon as we got near the North Pole set-up. I am not one to take photos of my screaming child with Santa, so J. went up by himself. I know some people think it’s funny and all, but I don’t like it one bit. It’s not that important, you know? Anyway… The photo of J. is over on Flickr, but if you weren’t on my friends list and didn’t see it, e-mail me or comment and I’ll add you.
I should get some knitting done but I am feeling so lazy today. Maybe another cup of tea will help 🙂
I’m fairly certain I have a cold. It’s no surprise, really, considering I have next to no downtime and the craziness of holiday travel just added to my weariness. I’ve been going to bed so early the last few nights — like 8:30 early. Today I have a runny nose, scratchy throat… this is not good. I had a glass of Airborne and have been trying to drink a lot of water (as well as tea) today, hoping to ward off the germies. If only the wee ones could understand that mommy really doesn’t feel like crawling all over the floor today, nevermind being used as a jungle gym. Oh well. It’s just as well that I can’t take a couple minutes to rest because then I’d be done for the rest of the day and I need to run to the grocery store, plus continue cleaning up mess after mess after mess. I will be very happy when it is 7:15 and the boys are both in bed and I can just collapse. Of course, it’s not even noon which means I have a very long day ahead of me. Crap.
Although I didn’t hear it at noon on Thanksgiving, I found “Alice’s Restaurant” on the radio and am currently listening to it. Thank goodness, because it just ain’t Thanksgiving without Arlo Guthrie. The version right now must be a more recent recording because of the stories he’s telling. I love it!
We had a nice turkey day up in Massachusetts. I didn’t stuff myself silly yet I enjoyed pretty much everything we had. The kids had fun playing, watching Over The Hedge, and being indulged 😉 I successfully dragged my brother out shopping yesterday, though it really wasn’t that early. We got to Circuit City around 8 I think. I was up at 4:30 (thanks to N.), so I was ready to go! In fact, I had already been to a couple other stores before he swung by to pick me up.
Originally the kids and I were going to stay until Saturday (D. left Thanksgiving night because he had to do some work on Friday), but I could tell that the boys were wearing my parents out, and after N. ripped up their wallpaper border when he was supposed to be napping I decided that it just might be best to head home last night. And thank goodness I did because our poor cat had mistakenly been closed up in our bedroom. The poor thing! She must have snuck in there before D. closed the door (to keep her out of the bedroom, ironically). She bounced back easily, though. Cats are like that.
Tomorrow I think we are going to attempt to get a photo of the boys with Santa. D. took them to the mall today (I’m working) and J. was nearly on the floor in tears because he couldn’t get his photo taken. I’m not sure how the little one is going to react, so this should be interesting…
Man, this has been a crazy day. I’m working today, and as you can imagine it’s been rather crazy. Generally people have been in decent moods; not too snappy at least. From what I hear, though, Balducci’s (across the street) is an absolute madhouse. The day has gone by fast, at least.
So after work I’m heading up to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving weekend. And, just my luck, it’s crappy and raining out. Nothing like a 2+ hour drive in nasty weather. Luck is not on my side this year.
Yesterday I had a great time with Lisanne! Meredith is so tiny! And so sweet! J. absolutely adored her. It was cute to watch our boys all play together. What a difference a year makes! I remember having lunch at her house last December and Luke had started crawling and N. was starting to pull himself up. And yesterday they were running around the house, climbing on the table (OK, that was just my kid, ha! Luke has better manners). I made Loaded Baked Potato Egg Bake, a dish that my husband thinks I should rename because “bake” is in it twice. Whatever — he sure liked the leftovers, though! I just threw it together with things I had in my fridge. It was perfect because I prepped everything and put the dish together in the morning, put it in the fridge, and then baked it when it was lunchtime. Lisanne and I had a lovely visit, as always 🙂
I guess that’s about it. I feel like my blog is so boring these days! I really need to keep up with it a little more often. Man, I remember back in the day I’d write three or four posts a day; now if I write three or four posts a week I’m doing well.
Anyway, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving if you’re in the U.S.A. Don’t stuff yourselves, now 😉
Is it wrong to eat T. Marzetti’s Caramel Apple Dip by the spoonful?
Here it is, mid-November, and I am wearing sandals and a short sleeved shirt. I also have windows open in the house, how crazy is that? Truthfully, I could keep the windows shut, but I thought I’d take advantage of this warm weather and let some fresh air in. Usually, right about now I’m clammoring for light dustings of snow, but not this year for some reason. Actually, it could stay this way straight through March and I’d be fine with it. A mild winter could be nice for a change!
So it’s Friday and I’ve swept, mopped, done some laundry which I still need to fold and put away, and I’ve got some stuffed shells finishing up in the oven. I still have one more load of laundry to wash (it never ends!!!) and I’m debating how bad I need to run to the grocery store. Will N. freak out without his beloved apple juice tomorrow? I just really don’t feel like driving over there after I pick up J. from nursery school.
Thanksgiving is less than a week away, can you believe it? I am having a hard time getting into the spirit of things this year. I’m sure it’s mostly because I thought we’d be in a new house for Christmas and that’s obviously not going to happen. It’s so discouraging. I guess I’ll have to hope for Easter! I’m basically done with my Christmas shopping. OK, technically not everything is bought, but I know exactly what I need to buy, and I have a couple things I need to make. Sadly I guess I’ll miss out on Black Friday shopping this year because I have nothing I need to get. 🙁 I love going to the mall at 5 AM! (It’s the only time of year when hundreds of other people are up as early as me!). Oh well. I’m sure I’ll go shopping anyway just to be out. (Though I probably won’t be out at the crack of dawn).
Well, I have a little bit of time left while Noah finishes his nap, so I’m going to get a little knitting done (to hell with my laundry!).