Stop the insanity
I’m as guilty as the next person, but whose idea was it that every other newspaper headline has to be catchy? And don’t get me started on magazine headlines.
Witty headlines can be refreshingly delightful, but most of the time, they are cliched and cheesy. But every editor and writer seems compelled to write them.
Can we just please stop?
PS – yes, I intended for my headline to be ironic. Just so you know. 
Dogs
We’re looking for a dog. Was supposed to be my Christmas present, but Jay wanted my input on picking one out.
I want to take my time making this decision, because I really want this to be another member of the family … so I’m going to do lots of research on what breeds are good with kids, etc.
All indications so far seem to point towards Labrador Retrievers. We’ll see, though.
If you have input, please let me know! I’ve never owned a dog, so this is new territory for me.
So long, Saddam
They say (they sure do talk a lot, don’t they?) Saddam is going to hang this weekend. I’m sure there will be sadness, joy, and more bloodshed. So it goes in the middle east. Remind me why we’re over there again?
I know, I know … I think we went into it with the best of fairly good intentions. Everyone thought Saddam had WMDs, even the democrats, who like to pretend now that they never said that. But now, we’re locked in a damned-if-you-don’t, damned-if-you-do situation, and I agree with everyone that says there’s no easy way out.
Don’t you wish you could fast-forward into the future and see how this one’s going to turn out?
Still recovering
Oh, where to start? Jay and I worked (okay, well, mostly Jay) feverishly last week to get the kids’ Christmas presents together, including Gabriel’s custom-built train table, a ‘castle’ – themed bedroom, and a mountain of toys.
Gabriel’s train table turned out pretty nicely – I think Jay did a good job on it. I can hardly pry the child away from it, so I think it goes without saying that Gabriel likes it as well.
The castle room wasn’t in our plans until about a week ago. One of our harebrained ideas, but I think it turned out okay. It was fun putting it together. Jay made decorative corner shelves that looked like castle walls, and we made some shadowbox art as well. The rest we purchased from Target, Michael’s and IKEA. All told, the room probably only cost us around $150. Not too shabby.
Anyway, Christmas went pretty well. We have been talking about the true reason for the season, but I don’t know how much our kids “get” yet… probably not much. We read the Christmas story from a kids’ picture book on Christmas Eve, but Gabriel kept interrupting and Mikaela kept trying to get up and walk off. Sigh. Maybe next year they’ll understand a little more…
Adventures in Christmas Shopping
I went to several stores tonight to find some things we needed for the kids’ rooms. We have decided to make Mikaela’s room into the bedroom for both kids, and Gabriel’s room into a playroom. They’re still so young, I don’t think they’ll mind, but we’ll see.
Part of the reason for this change is the gi-normous train table that Jay built for Gabriel’s Christmas present. It is going to take up half the room, and that + a bed = nowhere to play. So, the giant train table and the rest of their many toys are all going to get shoved into one room, and hopefully the other will stay clean (ha).
Anyway, I went to Wal-mart tonight to get paint for the train table. What an ordeal. The first time the guy mixed the paint, the color didn’t come out right, so he had to re-do it. After he re-did the color and handed me the can, I walked back the the back of the store to continue my shopping. All of a sudden, the can fell out of the cart, hit the floor and popped open. I skated around in a pool of black paint while an employee called a janitor. The janitor gave me a dirty look when he arrived. I SAID I was sorry. The lid probably wasn’t on good, anyway. Hmph.
So, I hurried and finished my shopping and headed for the door. On my way home, I stopped at Walgreen’s drug store. I wanted to find a decongestant and a back massager for my aching back. I found a cute small one called “the atom” or something like that. When the cashier rung me up, she couldn’t stop smirking. I wanted to tell her I wasn’t going to use the massager for any perverse reasons, but why bother, she probably wouldn’t have believed me anyway.
Now I’m back at home, and my son – who has had a cough all day – is burning up. I hope he gets better by Christmas. Poor guy.
Family Christmas
My husband and his three older sisters, all together for the first time in ages. Heartwarming.
So, Jay’s oldest sister, Melanie (far right), threw a birthday/Christmas party tonight. There was a huge spread of food, Christmas caroling, and lots of kids and animals. It was the kind of chaotic family fun that memories are made of.
Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland
Tonight we walked the Trail of Lights, a 1-mile-long Christmas lights/scenery display winding around paths in Austin’s Zilker Park. It’s free and the kids love it. See pictures of the displays here.
This was our 2nd year to go. I have to say, this year’s unseasonably warm temperatures made it much more enjoyable than last. The temps were in the high 50s or low 60s when we made the walk at 9:00 this evening.
On Tuesday night, we went to a Christmas party for our church “home” group. We ate a delicious potluck meal, sang carols, and had a “white elephant” gift exchange.
The home group is comprised of young couples with lots of kids between us. My kids always act like monkeys when we’re at someone’s house and Tuesday was no exception. I had to fish Mikaela out of their bathtub twice, and I kept having to tell Gabriel to stop jumping on their son’s bed. I don’t allow these things at home, so I’m not sure why they get out in public and act like they’ve never heard of rules before? I hope people don’t think we just let them run wild. Oh, well, I’m sure I’m not the first parent who’s been embarassed by my kids’ antics.
Oh, goody.
Rumor has it that Rosie O’Donnell is leaving The View.
Great, now I can return to boycotting the show because I find it boring, rather that my current boycott of the show because of O’Donnell being on it.
There are few people that make me dive for the remote, but Rosie is one of them. I imagine many others feel the same way. I’m not sure why the network thinks we want to watch a fat, loudmouthed Christian-hater who loves stirring up controversy?
But maybe it’s just me. I guess if viewers didn’t like obnoxious people, Gilbert Gottfried would’ve never had a career.
A way to vent frustration at my kids
After a REALLY long, really frustrating day last week, I was at my wit’s end. The kids were driving me nuts. Gabriel, especially, was being really obnoxious. So, I beat him…. with a pillow. He giggled hysterically, and when I finished “beating” him, he sighed and said, “Mama, I pee pee inna pants.”
Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.
Speaking of gas…
My 21-month-old daughter was making “zerbert” noises the other day while playing with her doll house. Upon closer inspection, she was making these noises while sitting her doll on the toilet.
Not even 2 yet and she’s already crude. I have NO idea where she got that from, other than observation.
Sigh.
I was just thinking
If I wasn’t so concerned with offending people, this blog would be a lot funnier.
Only in Texas
One of our top news stories here is … the cold.
Not a snowstorm, not ice on the roads … just cold weather.
It is amazing, though – yesterday was 83, today we were in the 30s, with a wind chill in the 20s. My sinuses are threatening to revolt.
Poor Jay had to drive home in a car with no heat today. Hopefully the temperatures are back in the bearable range soon.
