Stuff on my mind Sunday

--I cannot stop thinking about The Passage. You know, the book that sucked me in and forced me to read it in 2 days. I even sent an e-mail to my brother in law, imploring him to read it just so I can have someone to talk to about it. Seriously...best book I've read in a long long time. Or at least, the most addictive. And I read a lot (35 books this year so far...yes, I keep track)

-- Andrew's birthday is in less than 2 weeks. He has requested a trip to NYC with Jeff and I as his birthday present/celebration. We have said yes, but not actually planned anything. I think I may need to start researching what we will actually do in said city once the train drops us off. What could possibly go wrong during the busiest shopping weekend of the year?

-- I have had several temper tantrums the last few weeks. Literally stomping my feet when I yell at the kids. -sigh- Time to recalibrate the discipline meter again. I feel like I do this a couple times a year...I get myself to a place where I discipline calmly and without getting my emotions involved...and then slowly slip back to a place where I get frantic and out of control with them. Ditto with tv watching, eating junk for dinner, etc. This will be a reset week. Maybe someday I'll just stick to my guns instead of slipping?

-- Today after church, they had some advent activities for the kids. We made an advent wreath out of fresh evergreens, the kids painted ornaments, and at another table they got to ice and decorate Christmas cookies. Despite myself, this made me get excited about the season. Today made me actually want to decorate cookies with the kids. Which is clearly evidence of a mental illness.

--Grandma B. is now in the hospital with pneumonia and other ailments. That makes both my grandmothers in bad shape. On one hand, they are almost 91 and almost 93 years old...so practically inevitable. On the other hand, it stinks that it is happening all at once. And my grandpa's birthday is tomorrow...he would have been 92. Another tough week for my dad. And mom.

-- One of my Christmas presents for Mike isn't going to work now that we're going to Ohio. Which is a bummer, because it was free ;) It's simply too big to transport. Luckily, he is simply delightful to shop for, so I won't have any problem finding something. My wallet will not agree that this is lucky ;)

-- Jeff and I need to go out. There is the annual tour of historic homes in our town next month that we'd both really like to do. But that would entail finding a babysitter for the whole day on a Saturday. Just the thought makes me want to crawl back in my house for another 10 years. And we simply don't have very many in the youth group at our church. I've inquired and gotten no responses. And Mikey is such a bear with strangers. Ugh. Those historic homes aren't going anywhere...we'll catch it another year.

-- Not much on my calendar for the week. I'll enjoy the quiet before the holiday crazies start. ;)