Christmas Cookies with Grandmama and Emma 

The Car-Eating Monster Under the Refrigerator

I spent a good amount of time this morning trying to find something thin enough and long enough to get a small matchbox car out from underneath the fridge. Who thought to make the space under there large enough for a toy car to go under there, and who didn't see that the car was small enough to fit? I have to say that there certainly was not a person with a toddler in mind when either of those things were designed. As well, there are few tools (except a yardstick, which I could not find) that are thin enough to fit under the refrigerator. Here's a list of the things I pulled out from under there:

• A dust bunny who could have been a small cat
  
• 3 marshmallows, now turned to stone
  
• A spoon
  
• A magnet
  
• A dime
  

After a while and the creative use of a swiffer duster and flashlight, the car came out too. Unfortunately Emma thought the flashlight was WAAAAAAY more interesting then that car had ever been, despite the earlier separation anxiety that occurred the minute the car disappeared.

Well after that I needed cookies, so I finished making the Christmas cookies. I know full well that Christmas cookies are intended to be made before Christmas, which we did. My mom came down one day and we rolled out cookies and used cookie cutters and sprinkles with Emma'[s help. After 2 1/2 hours we had only made 10 cookies and everyone, including Ernie, was covered in flour and sprinkles (you can see Ernie's hands sticking out from behind Emma in the picture). It was a blast, but we did not use up all of the dough before I surrendered and had to clean up the floor, the counter, the doors on the cabinets, the stool, the toddler, her favorite doll, myself and my mom. So I figured it should not go to waste. Amazingly enough, cookies went a lot faster (and neater) without Emma's help. She still enjoyed eating the warm sugar cookies when they came out. Now I just need to get as creative about dinner.

Won the Battle but Lost the War

Well, this is what I got done:

• Vacuumed up crackers
• Restored dining and living room to former glory
• Made and sent out 8 thank you cards
• Put away 1/3 of the laundry
• Sorted through toys and moved them to basement or nursery, accordingly
• Filtered in new toys
• Cleaned up from lunch and cleaned sink
• Cleaned floor

That leaves dinner. I was thinking of empanadas since I have pie dough waiting to be used. We made these before and they are good (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/230748) . Then again, pizza is good.

Mary has rolled over exactly 3 times in the past week. Each time no one is watching. The first time was due to playing stickers with Emma. The second time was during a bathroom break, and the third was when I went upstairs to get Emma from a nap. I think it could be Charlie pushing her over when no one is looking. Well, I must go play catch with the bouncy ball per Emma's demands.

Never Ending Story

Ok, both girls are down for naps. My house is trashed. Remember how I said weekends were like a business trip? Well, imagine a business trip with Christmas gifts everywhere. These are the things I have to do post-holiday, preferably today:

• Put away 6 loads of laundry
• Send thank-you cards (they will be the cards I was going to send as Christmas cards, which means I have to finish making a handful)
• Sort through Emma's toys and remove unused, ignored toys to basement
• Filter in new Emma and Mary toys
• Clean up from cooking lunch
• Cook dinner
• Clean floor from Macaroni and Cheese debacle and where Jim walked with snowy shoes
• Vacuum crushed gold fish crackers with new hand held vacuum
• Restore Living room and Dining room to pre-gift receiving glory (ie remove all piles off of floor and tables)

That's pretty much the short list. I did run downstairs and finish 8 cards to write and send out today, hopefully before the mail gets here. I have exactly 1 hour before Mary wakes up screaming to be nursed. I'll check back and let you know how it goes....

Christmas

I thought I would recount Christmas before I forgot all of the details. Let me just say, it was a wonderful time and we received fabulous gifts that we are all very thankful for. Emma and Mary got some beautiful clothes that I have already put them in. They were cute beyond reason and Mary initiated a couple of outfits by spitting up or getting baby cereal on them. Emma received some great toys, which included a sit and spin (we haven't tried that out yet) and peek a boo blocks, which she loves. She also got a potty training doll from Santa, and her and I spend a lot of time feeding Dolly and helping her use the potty. Mary received some great plush toys, including a Ladybug plush book, which she finds very tasty and entertaining. Both girls got soft suitcases that say "Going to Grandma's" on them along with their names. Emma will get to use hers later this week. Christmas morning was fun to a new degree, since Emma was excited by all of the things Santa left her. She said "oooooooo" and "What's that?" and ran from toy to toy. Santa seemed to bring a lot of the things she got the night before, but she didn't care. Santa also didn't wrap her gifts, so Emma could see right away what the cool toys were. On Christmas Eve we visited Aunt Karen and Uncle Rob's house and Emma enjoyed playing with Bobby and Bella. She really liked trying out their beds with their new fancy Buzz Lightyear and Hello Kitty bedding. Mary got a lot of Aunt Karen time!

We then trekked over to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lisa's, where a grand dinner for 25 or so people was going on. What chaos! The food was incredible and the people were a lot of fun. By the time we got to gift giving, my dear Emma was turning into a pumpkin a la Cinderella's coach and Mary was stressed out from not napping. Emma opened gifts, while cousin Katelyn tried to pry them away from her, using dubious toddler methods of hair pulling. We packed up the kids and any remaining unopened gifts and headed home. After the kids were in bed, Jim and I got to open our gifts from the family. Jim got a new meat thermometer (remote!) and more camera memory. I got a scale and a hand held vacuum cleaner. We were so excited about these gifts! Yes, it is true, we asked for home appliances for gifts. But when you need a hand held vacuum, what better thing then to receive it as a gift? I also got a Xyron machine for my crafting and a stamp pad organizer as well as many other wonderful presents. We were all so pleased and happy about the holiday.

Running the Caverns in Java

Have you even ventured in the caves of Java? Ann told me I really had to see them a few days ago, so we embarked on family land skif and offed to a remote and bazaar land. We were greated by two non-pluses natives and charged an entry tax. Then we entered their strange land and before I could tell Emma to beware the pythons, she had shimmied up and over a padded log and into the "toddler zone"; an area which includes all the padding the any parent of a toddler wishes they could incorporate into their own homes.

While Emma played with the stuffed serpent and aligater, we procured nurishment to help us recover from our journey and set up camp in an abandonded native village of some sort. The darkened jungle lay north of us and sounds of the native wildlife beckoned to our daughter who soon loosed herself from her relative safe confines and dashed into the caves.

Ann told me that she wanted to play on the slide... I had no idea what I was in for! Emma led me across a mote (with a conveniently located sliding bar so the naive can glide across to the other side) and into a maze of chambers where we encountered a group of natives engaged in some sort of religous experience. We then climbed up a craggy hole in slid down a bumpy slide. Emma was delighted and dashed back in with Daddy in tow (Ann told me someone needed to watch Mary). This time I spent twenty minutes crawling (you can only stand if you are less then 40 inches tall) after her trying to keep her from getting stuck or worse.

At the end of this, I felt like I had been through the obstacle course at basic training. My wife looks at me and says, "Try doing that while carrying a baby!" I can't wait to go back to the office...

Peer Pressure

Well I suspect you are reading this to find out how our Christmas went with the girls. You will just have to wait until I have more time - that would not be right now when I am waiting for the freshly mopped floor to dry while the girls are napping. Right now, I want to write down that I cannot stop laughing due to my former nemesis. Really! See, I saw Lydia's blog and made my own, then Derek saw my blog and made his own. When will it stop!?! You can check out his ramblings at :http://warmincarolina.blogspot.com/ . I really like the unassuming title. Although, he did catch on that this was a great form of not having to repeat your emails about recent updates. I am sure I will get a kick out of his opinions. As for him being able to do it if I could (his whole supposed reason for doing a blog), well I don't see many add-ons on his blog such as a quote of the day (although he does have a counter). Also, I don't see any changes to the template, slight or otherwise. I am not worried about the competition.

Where She Stops

Emma has no idea what is going to happen in the next two days. Of course, Mary is completely oblivious. I relish the idea that this Christmas is one that I can sit back and watch without the stress of Santa. I also realize that this might be the calmest Emma will ever be during this week of December. The problem with that is, she has been a monster these last few days. On the up side, she is starting to say some more words. Tonight she nearly knocked me over when she said 'pajamas' as clear as day while I was changing her. She has also started calling me to get my attention when I don't seem to be looking. For example, she will say 'uh-oh' and if I am not paying attention she will say 'Mama! Uh- oh!' until I acknowledge her (and whatever crisis has occurred). I am sure it is not a good thing that she now knows how to demand my attention.

Mary has discovered her voice. The problem is, she discovered it at 4 in the morning. She was so fascinated by her ability to make noise that she kept herself up, exploring her new talent, for the rest of the morning. Since she is still in her bassinet next to our bed, this was not received with the greatest happiness. Jim did not have to go into work and I had until 7 to sleep. So much for that. Mary really liked to end her elongated squawks (that is what it really sounds like) with a crescendo into a squeal. This delighted her, and she continued doing that until it was time for me to get up. I am really beginning to wonder if I will ever sleep well again.

Candy Cane Bark

Godiva has risen in its status. I never liked chocolate before, even Godiva's. But Jim brought home a gift from a colleague from Godiva called Candy Cane Bark. It was a slab of white chocolate mixed with pieces of candy cane and swirled delicately with dark chocolate. I have no way of politely expressing my reaction to this candy on a public web site. Let me just say, I now understand why other women like chocolate. I just hope I respect myself the next morning.

Mall Madness

I took the girls to the mall today. We met my parents at Somerset Mall in Troy - it took me a solid hour to get there and I thought traffic was light. I mostly went just to get out of the house and get Emma some exercise. We had been inside for two days straight and she was beginning to climb the walls. Mom and Dad had Katelyn for the day, so that was fun. She is walking (at only 9 months!) like a pro and is curious as ever. We ate lunch at the food court and I was wholly disappointed that I paid money for the food I got. I went to a place called Stage Deli and ordered a sub - they called it a 'grinder'. I asked for it grilled and was told the meat was grilled. So I ate the stone cold sub that wasn't very filling. I also paid $3.95 for a hot dog for Emma, which she did not eat. On the lunch scale of things, it was definitely on the low side of left a lot to be desired. Next time I'm just getting Hagen Daas or Mrs. Field's and calling it a day.

The Toddler is Winning

I wanted to make Eggs in a Window for Emma. I think that is what it is called - a piece of bread with the center cut out and an egg cooked in the middle. I was so pleased with my little window and she didn't want one thing to do with it. Surely she had never seen anything like this before and it should not be taken lightly - or eaten for that matter. The dog really enjoyed Eggs in a Window. Then I thought it would be fun to watch her new Rudolph movie together. She sat on my lap for 0.3 seconds and then went and turned the DVD player off. I am not sure whether it was a comment on the specific movie or watching something altogether. When she turned the DVD player back on it defaulted to a Baby Einstein (which she loves). So I let that play. Even Mary was enjoying it, cooing and getting all excited about the colors and movement. Emma turned that off as well. We tried using the child-protection cover on the DVD player, but Emma just took it off and handed it to us, as if to say, 'this was in my way'. I finally turned on the DVD that is housed in our TV, which she cannot get at or turn off. Mary is enjoying watching Baby Van Gogh and Emma is poking around in the desk drawers where she knows she is not supposed to be. I sense that it is going to be a long day.

8:00 and All is Well

This is a real change. I am typing from the main computer, while SITTING down. Both kids are in bed and quiet (not necessarily asleep, but I will take what I can get). Usually I am standing at the kitchen counter typing on the laptop while Emma and Mary are within sight and immediate sprinting range.

To recover from the busy weekend I had to hire a babysitter for an hour and a half so that I could shower and put away laundry. This was the first time I had to pay someone so that I could have time to shower - I don't see this as a good trend. And don't get me started on the Sisyphean task of laundry in this household. Speaking of endless tasks, I don't think I will get my Christmas cards out for the 2nd year in a row. I am not even done making them. Sure, I could be doing them right now, but then I wouldn't have this therapeutic journaling occurring. I'm just letting the card thing go for a little bit. It might be easier if I didn't try to make them every year. After I finish this bunch (which I started last year) I may do something different. I just can't imagine having more time when both children are mobile. Cards with family pictures on them are looking better and better.

Business Trip

What a long weekend! We were back and forth with the kids across the town on both days. Weekends for me are not relaxing. A weekend for a stay at home mom is much like a business trip for any full time office job. You spend the time before preparing, the time during the trip is all chaotic and nothing is like the normal schedule. Your whole pattern in thrown off and, most times, you end up working longer hours and working harder than if you had just stayed at home. Then the trip is over, and you spend a few days doing all of the regular work that was supposed to be done while you were gone. The only difference is that business trips are not usually every 5 days. I never thought I would look forward to Mondays like I do right now.

Saturday we had Christmas with Jim's Dad's side of the family. A wonderful dinner that I didn't get much of, due to the fact that I had 3 teeth drilled that morning. Thankfully, Linda sent home many leftovers and I have been anticipating them eagerly! There is nothing like leftover ham and sweet potatoes for an easy, tasty dinner! It was fun to see Bobby and Bella with Emma. And Karen got a good dose of baby holding time with little Mary. Mary is happy as long as she is being held, so it was a good Christmas celebration time for her! Both the girls got classic Christmas movies - Rudolph and Frosty - and the singing characters to go with them. Jim already hid Rudolph because it was driving him nuts to hear the song OVER AND OVER AND OVER again (ah, the power of toddler fixation). Emma watched the Rudolph movie and is fascinated every time she sees Santa on there. I think she is starting to get the fun of Christmas time. Next year will begin the excitement for her.

Blog Hacker

So I am sitting on the kitchen floor and playing with my new blog. Jim is trying to figure out why our new digital camera will not be recognized by our feisty computer. Once he gets that working I can upload some pictures, such as one for my profile.I am using my laptop - which, in an endearing way, can only be used while connected to its powersource or plugged in. Some may think this defeats the purpose of a laptop and they would have more money then I would and would just go buy a better computer. So, instead of standing at the counter, which I do during the day as I breeze by and check e-mail, I am sitting on the floor. And in exploring this web blogging site, I find out that they have single handedly tried to redefine 'hacker'. To put a good spin on it, they say anyone who messed with the page to alter it is hacking it. But they try to say this is a good thing. Well, that would make me a hacker. I added the quote of the day into the code (and managed to figure out where to put it as wells as center the darn thing, and the counter on the bottom. This all makes me think I am pretty cool - like I am the ONLY person that can understand and manipulate HTML! Fingering the code is about the extent of my knowledge. Anything else I just pretend to ignore. Then I look at Lydia's site and I realize that there is a whole other level of computer manipulation out there. Ordinarily that would piss me off and I would have to make a BIGGER and BETTER site. But right now I am pleased as punch to have a flower counter. That is just what my life has come down to - no motivation for healthy competition. However, I think something may be wrong with the counter because it still reads zero. Of course, it may not count me, and I may be kidding myself to think that I have an audience that checks this regularly. I know that my former nemesis checks this site, but that is part of his stalking requirements that never expire no matter how hard one tries to resign or retire from that position. But I digress.

Well it doesn't look like the evening is panning out to include a movie or putting away miles of laundry. As a matter of fact, I think I am going to bed now. Maybe Mary will sleep all night tonight. And maybe I'll have a monetary windfall tonight while Mary sleeps soundly. I could also get hit by lightning while in my bed - while Mary sleeps soundly.

Many Mommies

My mom came over today (well, last night, really) so that I could pretend that she was my clone and get TWICE as much work done. So I wrapped ALL of the Christmas presents for everyone I've ever known, mailed out many of them, and participated in a long laundry marathon. I guess that would be 26 miles of laundry. My mom watched Emma and Mary and did dishes and made cookies. By the early afternoon we were feeling like one enormously successful person - adding up our accomplishments just so that we could be smug in how much got done. I don't know how the laundry got so far behind, but now I have to put away the 26 miles of it. I'm going to wait until Jim gets home, since my Mommy clone has run away. Then I think we will put the kids to bed and watch one of the 3 movies from blockbuster online that are just collecting dust. Tomorrow is another busy day, with a dentist appointment at 10, a baby shower at 12, and Christmas Dinner at Jim's Dad's at 3. At least I have all of the gifts wrapped!

Mary turned over today, precisely while I was collecting laundry and my Mom was reading with Emma. In other words, while no one was watching. She just ended up on her stomach and puked. I guess it was from motion sickness and she hasn't done it again. Who can blame her?

Sleepless Training

This sleep training thing is NOT working. Of course, Mary's cold is back and I think that causes everything to be different. Poor baby cannot breathe very well from all of the congestion. It makes it hard to fall asleep under these circumstances. I also think we have to put her to bed early, like 7 pm. So tonight, we will start over. I never knew it was so hard to learn to stay asleep.

On an interesting point, Emma has begun to understand the atmosphere of shows. Yesterday, whenever the 'bad guy' came on in a show, she would get slightly upset and say, 'uh-oh!' with increasing alarm. This was the first time she has shown that level of understanding.

Twelve Stresses of Christmas

The Journey of 1000 Miles

12 gifts not purchased
11 cards not sent
10 days left to shop
9 meals to make
8 credit card bills
7 loads of laundry
6 rooms to dust
5 dozen cookies
4 bathrooms to clean
3 floors to vacuum
2 children not napping
and 1 remaining stocking to hang

Mommy, Emma, and Mary exploring a book 

Sleep Training

5:47 AM
We are trying to sleep train Mary. This involves strict adherence to a bedtime or naptime ritual, early bedtime, and a nap after 2 hours of being awake. This is the child who used to get up at 5:30 and stay up until well past noon, then be up from 3:00 until 10 or 11, when she finally passed out. And, she used to do 1-2 feedings at night. It was so stressful! The baby NEVER slept. So I borrowed a book from a friend, Happy Child, Healthy Sleep Habits , which seemed to have some sound philosophies. The first two nights we tried it, Mary slept soundly all night. I will not go into details about how engorged I was from suddenly skipping 2 feedings, but I did wake up at her normal times, expecting to hear her awake. The last 2 nights have not been quite as successful. Last night she woke up at 1:30. We did not pick her up or comfort her (part of the program is letting then get themselves back to sleep, AKA “crying it out”). This does not seem hard until you remember she is sleeping in the bassinet next to my bed. OY! Jim and I had mumbled discussions about where we could move her so we could get back to sleep. The balcony was mentioned…. She finally fell back asleep, to wake up at 4:30. I fed her then and I couldn’t go back to sleep. The naps are hard to keep up with right now, since she only sleeps about an hour. But the book says once she starts sleeping longer at night her naps will be longer, too. I think we will move her to the guest room (I don’t want her in the nursery with Emma until she can sleep all night). I have to wait until later this week, otherwise my Mom will be sleeping with the baby!

Snow!

Snow! We had about 1” of snow last night and it is still coming down in those big, soft flakes. We dressed Emma up in her snow suit for the first time and Jim took her out to experience her first hands on snow time! When we came down stairs this morning and Emma saw the white covering outside. We went to the window to see what she thought of it - of course she said, “uh-oh!”. After explaining (again and again) that it was snow (“What’s that? What’s that? What’s that?”), she lost interest. The purple snow suit was a little big on her and she found it hard to walk at first, bringing back images of the little boy from “The Christmas Story”. With her hat and mittens on (and Elmo tennis shoes, since I haven’t bought winter boots yet), Emma began to think there was a trap and cry. She couldn’t get the hat off with her mittens on her hands! Jim took her outside and she began to explore (“ooooooooooo!!!!”). She saw her playhouse and had to go check that out. Her main concern was that snow was covering everything, so she started dusting it all off. Jim made snow balls and tossed them at the house. Emma had to brush off the resulting snow in earnest. This was her mission for anything she saw - cleaning off the snow. After 20 minutes of compulsive dusting, Daddy and Emma came back inside with rosy cheeks and a bright red nose!

Jungle Java

I went to “Jungle Java” today with the girls. It is a cross between Starbucks and Chuck E. Cheese’s. A coffee house with a huge play area (the jungle) and places for moms to sit and talk. That is, if your child will let you sit. Emma did not want to stay in the toddler play area. We had gone to meet Liz and her newly adopted 18 month old son, Roman. Roman stayed in the toddler area and Emma would not. I felt bad because I am trying to give Liz some support but had to follow Emma. In an odd turn of events, I met another mom with kids about the same age as mine. I don’t know if there is mom pick-up etiquette, but there were mom pick-up lines. Like, “Do you live nearby?”, and, “Do you come here often?”. Imagine that! So I gave Gaby (mom to Abby, 20 months, and Adam, 5 months) my phone number and we promised to call one another so the kids could play together. So here is my conflict - I came with Liz but hooked up with Gaby. Does that make me a bad play date? Liz left before I did and I tried not to talk to Gaby too much before she left. It was all too weird.

So there were a ton of moms there, just sitting and talking. Sitting! Why couldn’t I be sitting? How did they get to sit? I did not even see kids approach them. I am even a little suspicious that they even had kids. They could be on witness protection programs and be pretending to have kids. Sitting! I wonder if I will get to a point where my kids can run off into the ‘jungle’ and I can sit and drink some fancy hot drink. For today I climbed through the big kid’s play structure with Emma and went down the slide while holding Mary and Emma at the same time. Mary found Jungle Java exhilarating, Emma found it liberating, and I found it noisy and exhausting. But I did pick-up another play date.