My Favorite Christmas Elf

I have been planning to write this post for a day or two now about my favorite Christmas elf. But today I knew I had to do it after I saw pics on FB from a "tacky Christmas sweater" party. And it made me sad. Because my favorite Christmas elf, MY MOM, loves Christmas shirts, sweaters and jewelry. And what is wrong with that? She is celebrating the season. And looking quite fetching while she does so. I have a few. And I must confess, now that I work somewhere new, I did question whether or not to bust mine out this year. The real reason I didn't is b/c I was too lazy to take them out of the special wash hamper and take the time to wash and DRY them, which takes forever. And I know my friends aren't fans of them. But here is my take on it: If you don't like them, don't wear them. But don't mock those who do. Let them celebrate.

And now to the real reason for this post. My mom has always loved Christmas. It has always been special for us. She has always made sure the focus was on Jesus, yet she has always worked to make our house decorative and merry and to plan lots of fun things during the season. Now that they are more financially stable than in past years, she has been able to decorate her house to a T. Not that it wasn't decorated before. But she has been able to do it more to her taste. And it is so fun for not just the kids but for all of us. So thank you, My Christmas Elf, for teaching us to enjoy the season to its fullest. And keep on wearing your sweaters!

Wedding Wonderland

Well, after 7+ years, Liz and JP have finally tied the knot. A beautiful ceremony, a beautiful reception, a beautiful rehearsal dinner, and most of all, a beautiful bride. Cliches aside, it is the most beautiful she has ever looked. Perfect dress, perfect hair, perfect veil, perfect flowers, and most of all, perfect smile of happiness. It was a wonderful day. There was no drama, no imperfections, nothing to tarnish their day. She had an amazing maid of honor who I believe would have moved a mountain for her on Saturday. Sara, you were awesome. Ellie and Kayla were dazzling bridesmaids. All the males were dashing. The mothers were just the right combination of emotional and composed. And dang, that flower girl should run a boot camp for future flower girls -- she was the best I've ever seen!

Congratulations, newly Mr. and Mrs. May your married life be a continuation of Saturday's goodness. And may your sister and brother be blessed with the same in the coming months. And I hope they don't trip over each other on their way to the alter.

MoneyMom AngryPants

As anticipated, the gray sweatpants were a no go for Tuesday night's program. But the gray jeans are really nice, and fit decently, so I was ok with that. And I was really excited about returning those ~$7 pants. Forgot them yesterday, the day I planned to do round 2 of errands. And this forgetfulness proved to be detrimental. When Mom and I returned from the Penance Service last night, I heard her saying, "Well I see you got all comfy in your sweatpants." And I thought, why is she talking to Doug in that tone of voice? She is so lame. And then, E danced on over to see me....wearing the blankety-blank sweatpants. The sweatpants I was so excited to return. The sweatpants my CHECKBOOK was so excited to have returned. And I looked at Doug and said so pitifully, "I was going to return those." And that irritating man said, "Well, I was determined I was going to get him to wear them." Thanks Dad, thanks for taking a stand on those really important issues. When the bank calls, I'll transfer them to you for an explanation about winning the pants battle.

A Very Somber Jingle Bell

Well, last night's daycare Christmas program wasn't a disaster, but it also wasn't the heart warming performance of last May. Of course last May we were just so shocked he participated. This time he stood there, very somber, and rang his jingle bell as instructed. No more, no less. Well, except that he accidentally dropped it at one point and just waited calmly for Ms. Tina to hand it back to him. Like he could care less if he had to go on ringing that bell or not. Only to be matched by Corgan's equally somber tree ornament performance, though she did sing a little.

The award for best Jingle Bell goes to Dalton. No surprise there. :) Positioned front and center, he wiggled, he jiggled, he even kicked out a leg at one point. The star of the show and a delight to watch. And I am very excited to preserve these videos to torture all of them with when they are older.

Oh, and of course, the award for cutest baby goes to Riley. She looked so curious as to why so many people were staring at her.

The Tale of a Jingle Bell

Anticipate a good story tomorrow regarding E's daycare program tonight. It might go well, it might go badly. Either way, I'm sure there will be a pant story worth telling.

Gray Pants

During the lunchtime errand run, I remembered that the kiddos have to dress in gray shirts and pants for tomorrow night's daycare program. Do you happen to know what kind of pants they make in gray for toddlers? SWEATPANTS and WINDPANTS. Both are on E's forbidden list for wearing outside of the house. Which I knew before I ever stepped into the store. But, I now have a backup plan as well. I found some size 4 (not 4T, regular 4s which length wise will be ridiculous on him) dark gray jeans to hold in reserve in case I cannot manipulate him into wearing the gray sweatpants. $20 at Penneys and all this mental anguish over a 5 minute singing performance...which he may or may not participate in. He better be the best Jingle Bell I've ever seen. Stay tuned.

Coming Out of the Dark

This post will be much more inspirational if you will sing the Gloria Estevan song by the same title to yourself while reading.

Priss was the first 4-legged baby to join our family, and she did so in late Nov/early Dec 2000, right before we moved from Stk to WP. So for a few days she lived with Jero and Penny at the little house, then for a few days she lived with us on Ward Drive, then we moved to the apartment. We lived there for the next year and a half, but that's also where we introduced TWO dogs (Lucy then Molly) and another cat (Poco) into her life. You would think all the moving and new siblings would have made her like change -- wrong. She hates change. She must be related to my side of the family. When we moved to our first house, she stayed in the carrier traumatized for most of the first day. She only came out at night for her first look around. So I shouldn't have been surprised that this move was so traumatic for her. But I guess the move at her age coupled with Elliott and Carl Wheezer (SAD, still so SAD) was just too much for her. For 5 months she has not left the laundry room/master bedroom area. Her kingdom was limited to 2 rooms. But finally, as of this weekend, she has decided that CW must really be gone, and that she can still run really fast from Elliott -- which is good for her weight issues. It was like the return of the former Priss. Or, in Harry Potter terms, she has been reborn from the ashes.

And the Award for the Smartest Dog Goes to...George?

I know, I'm still stunned that the words "George" and "smartest" could be combined in the same phrase. For those of you who know him, you are still scratching your head because you realize George barely even made the canine designation in the classification system. Sweet as he can be, but not very bright. And whipped, oh how that poor lone male is dominated by 2 of the 3 females who cohabitate with him. So with the very cold night approaching yesterday, I made sure Doug got some wheat straw once and for all. At the old house we let them in the shed and put down either wheat straw or cedar shavings. At the new house there is an old greenhouse lean to on the shop that has been designated for them. Except they didn't get that memo. And they are not utilizing the 2 dog houses. What a bunch of weirdos. So Doug goes out there and spreads it out in their shelter and then calls them in. Lucy burrows through like a mole, then LEAVES. He picked Ava up and put her in there, and her uber bitchy self growled at him and ran out. Molly, naturally, watched all this from the safety of 5 feet away. But good ole George got in there and did the turnaround before bedding down in the warm wheat straw for the night. Alone. I think I heard him sigh and whisper "heaven."

When I Get Bigger

Famous line of little kids: "When I get bigger..." And it can be followed by a huge laundry list of items. It can change daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. It's so funny when they hit this stage because you can see a comprehension of bigger ideas and -- dare I say it -- some logic starting to form. I can't do that until I get bigger, Mami said so. So I've been very tickled to hear my newly 3-year-old begin his personal use of this phrase. I'm pretty sure his first was "When I get bigger, I go hunting with my daddy and kill a big buck." CRINGE. Not loving that, just gotta say. But what's so funny is his second declaration: "When I get bigger, I spit out mouthwash." HAHAHAHAHA! Who knew that the privilege of using, no apparently spitting, mouthwash was a huge indicator of maturity? And Kitty has made it in his eyes to Bigger-ville because she is allowed to spit mouthwash. Congrats, Princess.

The Transformation of Chicken

Elliott and I love that Armstrong flooring commercial where the little Harry Potter wannabe is mixing a potion which spills on the floor turning the cat into a chicken. Very fitting now that my Chicken has transformed. Let's see who guesses correctly as to which animal he now identifies himself as. Go to the comments...

Let Them Drink Wine

Last night at the last minute I was talked into going to a social with a small group of ladies from church. Now, you must remember first and foremost that we are Catholic, so these get togethers are fun. We walked in and the hostess asked me, "Red or white?" Gotta love a party that starts off with the wine choice.

Before leaving home I had to explain my whereabouts to E. I told him I was going to a GROWNUP LADIES party. When he insisted he wanted to go, I explained that he was neither a grownup nor a lady. And somehow this worked. But when I got home he wanted a rundown of the night. And he said, "You go to party?" Yes, I replied. "They have cake?" Ok, MY KID. He knows that it's not a party without cake. And he was very disappointed, yet relieved that he had not missed out, when I said there was no cake. I'm pretty sure he noted all these details in his tiny steel trap mind: "Never attend a party at Mrs. Kim's house -- she doesn't serve cake."

E is 3!

The 3rd birthday was a success! A mostly clean house, most of our loved ones, and mostly not scorched spaghetti noodles. Elliott was a super birthday boy, sharing the icing licking as well as his new presents. And boy were there presents!

• Spiderman scooter and helmet set and a Molly train...and all the Cars vehicles on the cake (Mami and Daddy)
  
• Recliner (Grandmommy and Big John)
• Spiderman backpack with a vest, Spiderman jacket, and Spiderman on motorcycle (Granna and D-Daddy/Big Daddy)
  
• Percy train and track set (Papi, Aunt Penny, Kitty and Corgan)
• Spiderman on four-wheeler (Uncle Terry, Aunt Shea, Jackson and Carson)
• "Daddy" shirt and Frosty DVD (Uncle Grady, Aunt Norma and Uncle Kyle)
• Mac loader with 3 cars (Granny)
• Cars racing set (Uncle Brock, ET, Dalton and Riley)
• Cars fleece blanket (Uncle Jack, Aunt Kathy, Jack III, William, Daniel and Augustine)
• "Don't Wake Hulk" game (Uncle Jeb, belated this weekend)
  

Whew! I think I got them all. I'm still trying to incorporate them into his room, and now Christmas is coming!

And a HUGE shoutout to ET for the awesome digital camera for Mami!! I love you!!