A New Year's Eve to Remember

So I started to take down my Christmas decorations this afternoon and I came across a bit of nostalgia. Every year when I take out my Christmas decoration I have a cheesy red necklace made out of tinsel. I'm never quite sure how I'm going to incorporate it into my "designer" decor, but I alway manage to find a spot for it.

Michael and I got this necklace when we were living in New Jersey and decided (on a whim) to go to Times Square and watch THE ball drop on New Year's Eve 1999. We rode the subway into Manhattan around 7:00 pm and managed to get behind some barricades on 46th st. We were allowed to stay in the box, but if we wanted to leave we weren't allowed back in. Things got a little desperate for some people that were a "little" tipsy and needed to go pee. Let's just say that it's a good thing there's no smell-o-vision. Things look much prettier on tv.

Random people were handing out noise makers and cheesy necklaces to the masses (I'm sure to make people look prettier for tv). I barely remember the ball dropping, but I sure remember all the random bits and pieces that made up a memorable New Year's Eve.

What are we doing this year? Watching movies, playing board games, and drinking IBC rootbeer. I'm not sure that I'll make it until midnight.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I have all the ingredients to make delicious pumpkin pancakes. I don't have milk. I guess I won't have pancakes for breakfast. :(

Scrabble

It's been a while since I've gotten the Scrabble board out. Last night after telling Jack that I didn't want to play Monopoly (too many childhood scars to revisit) he brought me the Scrabble game and very politely begged me to play a game with him. I haven't tried to play with him in a while and I was a little skeptical that we would get very far before we couldn't find usable spaces. Much to my disbelief we used all the tiles and filled the board! We did get very creative with proper names and foreign words, but who's telling?

"Twas the Night Before Christmas

...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring. Not even Lily. It's 6:35 pm and Lily has had such a long day that she went and fell asleep 5 minutes ago. It's way too early for Lily to go to bed, but I kinda figure we're going to be up at the crack of dawn anyhow.

So, the meatballs have simmered and the stockings are found. Aside from a few presents to wrap, I think that we're ready for tomorrow.

On that note, Merry Christmas and Good Night!

Tis the season

So, it is December 17th. We just went tree shopping this evening and came home with a beautiful "life-like" tree. On the way home from work Michael stopped by Home Depot and they didn't have any real trees then he stopped by the one Christmas tree lot in town, but they didn't take plastic. I was kinda hoping this might be the year we "go green." I love the idea of have a tree up the day after Thanksgiving and not having it die before Christmas.

Our trip to Lowes proved to be very economical. They had a display tree for $300.00. All Christmas stuff is marked down 50%. NICE! The display doesn't have a box, so the manager decided to cut us another discount. We have a 10% off coupon and a Lowes gift certificate which brought the grand total for our tree to....drumroll please, $62.08.

Do you think it would be tacky to hang car deodorizers that smell like pine trees around the house?

Nothing a little Pear Crisp can't fix

Me thinks I spoke too hastily when I said I won the war. I spent the entire weekend in bed and I'm still not quite right. (I'd also like to apologize to anyone that got sick from reading the earlier post) My stomach has finally protested and demanded food. I am indulging in a family favorite, Pear Crisp! Oddly enough it's the pears that I'm noshing on and not so much the crisp (see I'm not quite right).

*I feel like I am trying to be funny and falling WAY short. Curse you Keira and Debbie!!!!

My kids are trying to kill me

I'm sure that Jack is trying to off me. The good news is that I fought the fever and I won, however, this sore throat may get the best of me. I swear that we had a "Christmas miracle" last night. A couple weeks ago my Visiting teachers called to ask when I'd like them to bring dinner this month. A dart thrown at the calendar told me that the 13th would be a good night to not have to cook dinner. As it turns out, I crawled in bed @ 4:30 and didn't get out until this morning. I know that pizza would have been just fine for our family, and something that Michael is totally capable of, however it was nice to have a hot meal that wasn't takeout. As my head is starting to spin, I think that it's time to go crawl back in bed.

Sneezes, Sniffles, and Lots of Patience

So, I finally have whatever the kids have had for the last week. I have a feeling that it might be the flu, the measles, or the mumps. Whatever it is I may be under the weather for at least a day. Tomorrow is Friday and who wants to be sick on a Friday. I feel totally prepared today. I've got Strawberry Shortcake playing on the laptop upstairs for viewing convenience and I went to Blockbuster to rent Star Wars; The Phantom Menace. I figure between the two movies I should have a solid 45 minutes to not entertain the kids. Now I just have to find something to fill in the rest of the day.

What's in a name?

Ok, I think this is it. I've found a blog title that I like. I did steal the reference from this particular blogger . In the original title there was the food reference, but it had little significance and frankly I was just trying to get through the setup to that I could post. Baby Steps was an homage to "What About Bob?" I didn't love the title, but it was a step in the right direction. And then the trifecta; a food reference, a well known book, and stealing it from a beloved sister. Does it get any better? At least until I think of the next title.

I'm a dork.

I guess I could just say end it like that since it's pretty true most of the time. I'll explain why I am today though. It's Sunday and I'm trying my best to not look like a schlep when I go to church. I make it through church and back home again when Michael looks at me and asks if my sweater is starting to fray. No...and then I realize that it INSIDE OUT! Yup, I'm a dork.

NPR

I never thought that when I grew up I would listen to "talk radio." That was for old people. My favorite thing to listen to is This American Life. There are tales to laugh at, tales to cry over, and tales that make life seem so unpredictably crazy. I think that I like listening to this show because my life seems so normal. I put this show on my ipod in hopes of listening to it when I exercise. It is pretty distracting to try and listen to when I'm huffing and puffing on the treadmill. Alas I need to find some other entertainment while imitating a hamster.

50 Nifty United States

So, Jack had his second grade "Westward Expansion" program this evening. He informed us before we left that the program would last exactly thirty-one minutes. That was the longest thirty-one minutes of my life! I do have to say that the cowboy/explorer costume that Jack was wearing came together nicely. Thanks to the costume, Jack was able to use his hat to cover his face slightly when he decided to go mining for boogers and when he got hot he used it to fan himself. Ahh, the joys of being a parent.

Please Sir, Could I have more candy?

Identities have been changed to protect the not so innocent. The favorite phrase around our house is; "Can I have a piece of candy?" It is now December and amazingly we still have candy from Halloween. Would Santa be disappointed if instead of cookies we left a bag of candy? Don't the reindeer need sugar to fly?