This year I resolve to not move out of the state of Pennsylvania. Okay, I'll be even bolder. I resolve not to move out of this house in Pennsylvania.
Daring. I know. But let's review:
Moved from CA to KY in 2005.
Moved from KY to PA in 2006.
So...NO MOVES IN 2007!!! Enough already. I'm ready to make a home. A permanant home. So that is what I resolve.
Oh, and maybe I'll even hang some pictures up in my home this year. Plant flowers? Meet the neighbors? Or wash the kitchen floor once or twice? Not a month. Once or twice a year. Oh, and I resolve to decorate my kids' rooms. Seriously. How pathetic is it that Andrew is telling everyone that his room has lots of colors. His room is white. Not newly painted white...old beat up paint from the kid that used to live here white. With nothing hanging on the walls. No curtains. No bedspread even. He has to lie to strangers about how cool his room is. Sad.
So THAT is my New Year's resolution. Oh, and to be 140 pounds (let's all have a collective laugh at that one, shall we?). I might as well resolve to grow blond hair or to build a luxury car out of things I can find in my kitchen.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
You wanna piece of me?
Chad taught Andrew a new little diddy. See, in the movie Toy Story, Woody says to Buzz, "You wanna piece of me?" So Andrew's been saying that off and on. Now it goes like this...
"You wanna piece of me, Andrew?"
"No. I want the WHOLE thing"
Okay, it doesn't sound as funny when typed. If you could just hear Andrew's influction, you'd be laughing your a!* off.
"You wanna piece of me, Andrew?"
"No. I want the WHOLE thing"
Okay, it doesn't sound as funny when typed. If you could just hear Andrew's influction, you'd be laughing your a!* off.
Monday, December 25, 2006
The making of Christmas memories
Ah, it was a Christmas to remember. Lily slept from 10pm until 6am...for the 3rd night in a row. What a lovely present from my 2nd born! As I was feeding her at dawn, I was so excited to think that in about an hour, Andrew would be tearing open gifts. Lily fell back to sleep with a tummy full of warm yummy milk, and I soon followed her to dream land.
Cut to me waking up at 8:30. No sounds. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. At 8:45, my MIL comes in the room and tells me that Andrew won't get out of bed (they were sharing a room with him). Was he sick? Passed out?
No. When I went in, he told me that he didn't want Christmas. He just had a birthday, and he didn't need presents. We could go ahead and open our presents, but he didn't want to come out of his room. So I left him to grinch away Christmas morning. There was no way I was FORCING my child out of his bed.
WHAT???? By this time, everyone is up...my in-laws, my BIL and SIL. And we are of course waiting for the fun of Christmas...a little kid that would be crazy for presents. Apparently not at this house. My FIL declared that Andrew would grow up to be a priest. I thought we should all eat breakfast, but it seemed wrong to continue without Andrew. BTW...Lily was also still sleeping. Just weird. Andrew would open the door to his bedroom and peek out, but the minute he saw someone, he'd slam the door shut. He REFUSED to come out.
Finally at 9:15, Jeff convinced Andrew to come out and eat breakfast. No talk of presents or Santa. No pressure. Just one step at a time. Eat a waffle. That's not so bad. Now look in the living room. Okay. Oh look, Santa left a note. That's kind of interesting. Huh! Santa likes his milk cold. Good to know. What? There are presents for other people? Okay. I'll pass those out. This isn't too bad.
We finally cajoled Andrew into passing out gifts to others. He was very excited to pass them out. Jeff would hand him a present and Andrew would ask, "What's this one about?" then call for the person it was to. The cutest was one time Jeff said it was for Andrew and Andrew called out, "Andrew? This is for Andrew" before realizing what he was saying.
Andrew opened a few gifts and then played. We all finished WAY before him, because he had about 4 times the number of gifts. But we trudged through them, and I think Andrew was really having a good time by the end.
So that was Christmas. The other highlight was the gift that Grandpa picked out for Lily...all by himself. It was a huge penguin outfit...with a Christmas hat and scarf. It was on sale at Babies R' Us, and came with a card to fill out for Social Services. Kind of to save you the time filling out the paperwork when someone called them on you for actually dressing your baby in their torture device.
Anyway, it was a lovely day in the end. God bless children for making things unpredictable. Maybe next year Andrew will really enjoy Christmas. Or maybe I should enjoy this...he'll probably have me up at 5 am in a couple of years. ;)
Cut to me waking up at 8:30. No sounds. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. At 8:45, my MIL comes in the room and tells me that Andrew won't get out of bed (they were sharing a room with him). Was he sick? Passed out?
No. When I went in, he told me that he didn't want Christmas. He just had a birthday, and he didn't need presents. We could go ahead and open our presents, but he didn't want to come out of his room. So I left him to grinch away Christmas morning. There was no way I was FORCING my child out of his bed.
WHAT???? By this time, everyone is up...my in-laws, my BIL and SIL. And we are of course waiting for the fun of Christmas...a little kid that would be crazy for presents. Apparently not at this house. My FIL declared that Andrew would grow up to be a priest. I thought we should all eat breakfast, but it seemed wrong to continue without Andrew. BTW...Lily was also still sleeping. Just weird. Andrew would open the door to his bedroom and peek out, but the minute he saw someone, he'd slam the door shut. He REFUSED to come out.
Finally at 9:15, Jeff convinced Andrew to come out and eat breakfast. No talk of presents or Santa. No pressure. Just one step at a time. Eat a waffle. That's not so bad. Now look in the living room. Okay. Oh look, Santa left a note. That's kind of interesting. Huh! Santa likes his milk cold. Good to know. What? There are presents for other people? Okay. I'll pass those out. This isn't too bad.
We finally cajoled Andrew into passing out gifts to others. He was very excited to pass them out. Jeff would hand him a present and Andrew would ask, "What's this one about?" then call for the person it was to. The cutest was one time Jeff said it was for Andrew and Andrew called out, "Andrew? This is for Andrew" before realizing what he was saying.
Andrew opened a few gifts and then played. We all finished WAY before him, because he had about 4 times the number of gifts. But we trudged through them, and I think Andrew was really having a good time by the end.
So that was Christmas. The other highlight was the gift that Grandpa picked out for Lily...all by himself. It was a huge penguin outfit...with a Christmas hat and scarf. It was on sale at Babies R' Us, and came with a card to fill out for Social Services. Kind of to save you the time filling out the paperwork when someone called them on you for actually dressing your baby in their torture device.
Anyway, it was a lovely day in the end. God bless children for making things unpredictable. Maybe next year Andrew will really enjoy Christmas. Or maybe I should enjoy this...he'll probably have me up at 5 am in a couple of years. ;)
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Christmas Eve
I was really excited about this year. I thought that Andrew would be ALL ABOUT Santa and presents, etc. But we're just not quite there. He won't go near the man in the red suit (although all he wanted to get Jeff was a red shirt and red pants...not one or the other...both or nothing). He doesn't want anything for Christmas and he isn't interested in giving anything for Christmas either. I mean, he just had a birthday...he really doesn't need anything.
And as I am watching my MIL unload all the gifts for him after I have already spread presents under the tree and I remember all the gifts waiting back in PA that my parents sent ahead, I realize a few things. 1) I don't need to buy the boy anything, the grandparents (especially Grandma) have got it covered and 2) he really doesn't need anything. It feels like we are trying our hardest to make this boy a greedy, materialistic little thing, but all he wants is a football and someone to run around and play with him. I look at all the gifts I bought him that he doesn't need or want, and I wonder if maybe I've been misdirected somewhere. Why buy all these things? I am setting myself up for greedy Christmases in the future. If he is happy with just a few things, why not set that as the standard? Maybe use the money we save on presents to take a family trip. The memories from that kind of thing will far outweigh the value of these little trinkets.
The problem? He is so much fun to shop for. I get frustrated sometimes at how much STUFF Andrew has...but I understand why he has it. He is just so fun to shop for. It's not fun to shop for adults. How many dress shirts and hankerchieves can you really get excited about buying? But shopping for kids recalls memories of our Christmases in the past. When your gifts were to be played with and cherished...not just stashed in a closet for the next fancy event. So it is hard to limit myself...especially when I'm out shopping. And I would feel guilty forever if I asked my in-laws or my parents to limit themselves...how can I take that joy away from them?
I'm just hoping that next year, the wealth of gifts will be divided between Lily and Andrew...not multiplied by 2. My kids really DON'T need a lot of things...it's the experiences that really count. And hopefully next year the magic of Santa will visit our house. Because Andrew could just care less this year. ;)
Merry Christmas, friends!
And as I am watching my MIL unload all the gifts for him after I have already spread presents under the tree and I remember all the gifts waiting back in PA that my parents sent ahead, I realize a few things. 1) I don't need to buy the boy anything, the grandparents (especially Grandma) have got it covered and 2) he really doesn't need anything. It feels like we are trying our hardest to make this boy a greedy, materialistic little thing, but all he wants is a football and someone to run around and play with him. I look at all the gifts I bought him that he doesn't need or want, and I wonder if maybe I've been misdirected somewhere. Why buy all these things? I am setting myself up for greedy Christmases in the future. If he is happy with just a few things, why not set that as the standard? Maybe use the money we save on presents to take a family trip. The memories from that kind of thing will far outweigh the value of these little trinkets.
The problem? He is so much fun to shop for. I get frustrated sometimes at how much STUFF Andrew has...but I understand why he has it. He is just so fun to shop for. It's not fun to shop for adults. How many dress shirts and hankerchieves can you really get excited about buying? But shopping for kids recalls memories of our Christmases in the past. When your gifts were to be played with and cherished...not just stashed in a closet for the next fancy event. So it is hard to limit myself...especially when I'm out shopping. And I would feel guilty forever if I asked my in-laws or my parents to limit themselves...how can I take that joy away from them?
I'm just hoping that next year, the wealth of gifts will be divided between Lily and Andrew...not multiplied by 2. My kids really DON'T need a lot of things...it's the experiences that really count. And hopefully next year the magic of Santa will visit our house. Because Andrew could just care less this year. ;)
Merry Christmas, friends!
Saturday, December 23, 2006
New beginnings
Due to my previous frustrations with my blog, I have decided to start another. Okay, so it even shares the same name...I just can't be creative twice in one lifetime. But hopefully it will allow me to be an administrator this time. It is my garbly-goop...I should be able to play with it at will.
I meant to start it January 2007, but I am once again having issues with the old blog. So screw it. We're starting a week early.
Enjoy...
I meant to start it January 2007, but I am once again having issues with the old blog. So screw it. We're starting a week early.
Enjoy...
Traveling with a toddler
I decided last minute that we should go back to Ohio for Christmas. Because Southwest has INCREDIBLE deals on flights from Philly to Columbus ($98 round trip), we decided to fly. Andrew was very excited, as his last plane trip wasn't too long ago. He told me we would see Grandma and Grandpa and then Memere and Pepere and then we'd go to Te-tucky. He then asked me when the moving truck was coming to get all of our stuff. Through misty eyes I explained to him that we were just VISITING, and that we would come back to PA to live after Christmas. I'm not sure if he ever really got it.
So Andrew was pretty cute traveling. He is just so interested in the planes, etc, it makes it very easy to entertain him. It helped that the Philly airport has this cool interactive kids area sponsored by the local children's museum. We're talking planes to sit in and drive, and a radio tower to stand in...then the two communicate through a speaker system. Radar to play with, an air tunnel to shoot feathers into the air, etc etc. Very cool...and I can't imagine why more airports don't have things like this. It really got a lot of energy out of Andrew so he wasn't too hyper on the plane.
The flight attendant was doing the safety demonstration as usual. He was putting on the life vest to demonstrate how to inflate it, and Andrew asked, "Is that man going to get off the plane and go swimming?"
We got in no problems. Lily was in hog heaven...she was carried around all day, never put in a swing or a bouncer or a crib. She would probably choose to LIVE in the airport if asked. She did hate the drive back to Grandma and Grandpa's...that awful old car seat. Uncle Chad flew into the Columbus airport just hours before us, so Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Chad were waiting for us outside the gates. Jeff and I didn't know all 3 would be there, and we were instantly concerned with how all 7 of us and our luggage were going to fit into the van. I don't think Linda and Paul realized just how much CRAP a family of 4 travels with these days. Okay, maybe it's just our family. But Uncle Chad saved the day! His luggage didn't make it to Columbus, so we had one less huge suitcase to deal with. All made it back to Mt. Vernon no problems.
Of course, after spending Thursday enjoying each other's company, the plague hit. Whatever I had on Monday, Andrew got Thursday night. Grandma woke up the next morning with it coming out both ends, and by late morning, Jeff was out for the count. Chad wisely quarantined himself into his bedroom, and Lily and I hung out and took care of Andrew. Everyone is feeling moderately better today, and neither Paul nor Chad have fallen victim to it yet.
Oh, and I updated my blog version and now can't even view my old blog. So welcome to the new "Moments of Sanity". Hopefully I won't get blocked out as an administrator anytime soon!
So Andrew was pretty cute traveling. He is just so interested in the planes, etc, it makes it very easy to entertain him. It helped that the Philly airport has this cool interactive kids area sponsored by the local children's museum. We're talking planes to sit in and drive, and a radio tower to stand in...then the two communicate through a speaker system. Radar to play with, an air tunnel to shoot feathers into the air, etc etc. Very cool...and I can't imagine why more airports don't have things like this. It really got a lot of energy out of Andrew so he wasn't too hyper on the plane.
The flight attendant was doing the safety demonstration as usual. He was putting on the life vest to demonstrate how to inflate it, and Andrew asked, "Is that man going to get off the plane and go swimming?"
We got in no problems. Lily was in hog heaven...she was carried around all day, never put in a swing or a bouncer or a crib. She would probably choose to LIVE in the airport if asked. She did hate the drive back to Grandma and Grandpa's...that awful old car seat. Uncle Chad flew into the Columbus airport just hours before us, so Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Chad were waiting for us outside the gates. Jeff and I didn't know all 3 would be there, and we were instantly concerned with how all 7 of us and our luggage were going to fit into the van. I don't think Linda and Paul realized just how much CRAP a family of 4 travels with these days. Okay, maybe it's just our family. But Uncle Chad saved the day! His luggage didn't make it to Columbus, so we had one less huge suitcase to deal with. All made it back to Mt. Vernon no problems.
Of course, after spending Thursday enjoying each other's company, the plague hit. Whatever I had on Monday, Andrew got Thursday night. Grandma woke up the next morning with it coming out both ends, and by late morning, Jeff was out for the count. Chad wisely quarantined himself into his bedroom, and Lily and I hung out and took care of Andrew. Everyone is feeling moderately better today, and neither Paul nor Chad have fallen victim to it yet.
Oh, and I updated my blog version and now can't even view my old blog. So welcome to the new "Moments of Sanity". Hopefully I won't get blocked out as an administrator anytime soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)