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December 31, 2007

365
Happy New Year! 2008 seems like a friendly, promising number, doesn't it?

Tomorrow I'm starting the Blog 365 challenge. Per the (very forgiving) rules, content anywhere on the web is acceptable, so mine won't necessarily be here every day. If all goes according to plan, there'll be a little something on Flickr, at VOX, here, or on YouTube. For an entire year. We'll see! If anything, it'll at least keep my crafty side on its toes.
12/31/07 06:49 PM |  Comments


December 30, 2007

Kid Vid
It's been a long, long time since I've used the Handycam, huh? This morning the bub said he'd let me record his wonderful singing for the Grandmas, and so I did. And here it be.

He sings most of the day, usually. What I really need to do is set up the camera and let it go for an hour -- the lyrics he makes up are priceless.
12/30/07 09:07 PM |  Comments


December 25, 2007

Merry Merry
Merry Christmas, all!

I got what I wanted most, which was just to feel healthy enough to really enjoy the day. Thank you, Santa! I hope your day brings nothing but good, fun things too.
12/25/07 11:30 AM |  Comments


December 23, 2007

Blah Blah
We've all had a turn being sick here, hence the long silence. It started with D. (bad cold), and then Daniel (bad cold, one day of wellness, and then an ear infection). I was certain I'd escaped, but no -- the most horrible, flu-like sinus infection I've had in years... and then the bad cold. Daniel and I are both still a little gunky, but I think everyone should be okay by Christmas (phew).

I have to say, there aren't too many things that will make you despise nature, the universe, and Your Deity of Choice more than being fresh off a bad sick, and being awake all night with a fever-sick child. Especially if you're not exactly a spring chicken anymore. It does, however, renew the appreciation of fanatical handwashing.

Oh, it's time for the Mayfly Project again. Let's see:

Inlaw, family, playing tourist. Moving AGAIN? No. Adjusting to close quarters. Mild summer, fall. More inlaws. Reading, reading, reading. Bub in "school." 2008 calls.
Now I'm going to sleep, and hope that my throat doesn't feel so raw in the morning. After all, tomorrow is "Fetch the ham and rolls, and make devilled eggs" day.
12/23/07 09:55 PM |  Comments


December 11, 2007

3.25 Years Isn't Too Shabby
We've managed to stay away from emergency rooms for a good long time, so, even though last night wasn't fun, I'm grateful that our little daredevil has put it off this long (and of course didn't incur any serious injury).

The Dollar Spot at Target was bursting with little wooden trains of all shapes and colors -- a real bub dream. He's been listening very well the past few days and hasn't had any bathroom accidents in a couple of weeks, so he was allowed to pick out two to buy.

Once we were home with them, he got a little too excited, and wasn't as careful as he normally is on the garage stairs. Slip! Off the edge of the stair. Thunk! Chin made contact with the train in his hand, and hard. At first I didn't realize there was a cut, but suddenly there was blood on his face and hands and shirt, and, sure enough, a split on the underside of his chin. Not very big, just enough to horrify a mommy.

Luckily it happened an hour before the nearest urgent care center, fifteen miles north, closed for the night (we have an ER in town, but didn't feel like waiting four hours to see a doctor if that could be avoided). There was no one in the waiting room, and within fifteen minutes we had an exam room. So, very much worth the drive.

He was scared, but never cried with the nurses or doctors (who were all the height of fantastic). After they cleaned him up and finally stopped the bleeding, they applied a few coats of Dermabond (oh, to have had that available as a kid! what magic), gave him a toy and some stickers, and we were on our way. They said he'll probably have a scar, but it'll be small, and given where it is it'll hardly ever be noticeable in any case.

If he were just a little bit older, he'd probably be proudly showing it off at school this morning.
12/11/07 10:11 AM |  Comments


December 10, 2007

Thinking Out Loud
Just considering the holiday menu.

  • Spiral ham
  • Rolls (probably from Whole Foods, too)
  • Creamed peas
  • Roast potatoes
  • Pink overnight fruit salad
  • Stuffing (this is where I really trash out; I'm the only one that likes it, so I never want to put much effort to it)
  • Devilled eggs (???)
  • Rum cake


    • Mmm. I just had polenta, but thinking about this is making me hungry again.
    12/10/07 12:51 PM |  Comments


    December 09, 2007

    More on Decorating
    Last night, we drove around our side of town a bit, searching out the more fantastic holiday displays. We weren't let down -- one cul-de-sac had teamed up with whole-house displays, music, a garage made to look like a giant department store window, house-to-house light ropes, and even decorated lightpoles. In a home just around the corner, part of one of the rooms was divided off with red fabric, making another "storefront" display with animated figures. Novel and charming!

    I was hoping that at least one or two of the folks living on Hogwarts Circle would have done the fanatical thing and indulged in a bit of magical theme decorating, but no such luck.

    The people who live across the street (not our circle street, but the main street past our back "yard") have decorated their roof with cutouts of about a dozen characters from South Park and Beavis and Butt-Head and the like. Odd choice.

    When we go walking near the airport park, there's a large front window that never fails to make me jump in my coat a little, even if I'm mentally prepared for it. It features a nice average tree, and then, to either side, life-sized, costumed Santa and Grinch figures. The Santa is very convincing!

    I'll have to get photos of our decorations up. I'd like to finish one more house for my village before I do, though. Soon.
    12/09/07 01:52 PM |  Comments


    December 05, 2007

    *shudder*
    Am I the only one who gets slightly uncomfortable around the daytime deaths of holiday yard inflatables? They remind me of this television episode that I had nightmares about as a kid -- I think it was a Sid & Marty Krofft production.

    Goodness, but they're gaining popularity, at least in our neighborhood.
    12/05/07 08:40 PM |  Comments


    December 04, 2007

    School!
    Today was the bub's first day of preschool. Or pre-preschool, more accurately. It meets two mornings a week, and it is freaking fantastic. This morning I sat and watched for a bit, just to make sure things would click. He got off to an inauspicious start for circle time, the other three-year-olds essentially telling him to sit down and shut up, already, so we can sing this dancy song and do the crafts with the snowflake sparkles, already, and ohmigod am I going to have that kid because I was the polar opposite of that kid, hole in the floor devour me now, please and thank you. After that, he did mellow out a tiny bit, though I had reservations about how well he'd listen all day. When I returned, one of the teachers (who has been there almost twenty years) told me that he listened more as they went along, so that was a relief. To say the least.

    There was a level of professionalism and investment and sheer staff longevity that, from what I've read, you just don't see in preschool programs. I'm very, very, pleased; as frosting, it's city-run and incredibly inexpensive.

    So, mind at ease, then? Then I went Christmas SHOPPING. Granted, I was just across the street, in case problems should arise. But I was out by myself in BROAD DAYLIGHT. Damn. I hate to say it, but on some level I felt a little bit like a parolee must. It was drizzly, and I had that whole Hermione Granger thing going on, and I was skipping around like some kind of puff-headed dork. It was awesome.
    12/04/07 08:53 PM |  Comments


    December 01, 2007

    Doh!
    So I make it through twenty-nine of thirty days... and then miss the last one by half an hour. Thanks, extra-long Harry Potter RiffTrax.

    Sigh. Guess there's always next year!
    12/01/07 12:33 AM |  Comments