Friday, December 26, 2008

The latest in "Bluetooth" technology...



Gingerbread men decorating took a colorful turn last weekend, when the boys got carried away with the blue icing. (And, so it appears,... green.)

What I envisioned for the evening was holiday music on the radio (check), freshly-made gingerbread men (check) and three boys still slightly damp-headed from their showers ready for some wholesome, Norman Rockwell-esque holiday fun (check). Then I realized that giving two 9-year-olds and an (almost) 7-year-old free reign to decorate said gingerbread men AFTER bathing was a completely insane idea. Luckily, a majority of the tinted icing affected only hands and mouths. Hands are always easily re-washed, and the teeth needed brushed before bed anyway. Crisis averted.

We ended up with some fairly, um... shall we say, uniquely decorated cookies. The boys also found it hilarious to actually name each cookie, based on its decoration. Example: the cookie completely covered from its head to toes in icing and then chocolate sundae sprinkles was named, "Brownie." No face. No cute, little buttons down the front. Just solid sprinkles. Whatever. They had a blast doing this, and that's what it was all about. Even Tyler (nearly 17) took part in the fun early on, decorating about five cookies, then retreating to his room to play xBox360. One of his gingerbread men wore sunglasses; another was a cyclops. Hilarious.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Busy, busy, busy...

Nothing hilarious or earth-shattering going on. Unless you count the ice storm that hit last Thursday night, the affects of which are still lingering. There are still several thousand people without power here. We barely had a flicker of the lights, and some people are resorting to shelters or hotels. Yikes. Our only casualty was the van -- now sporting a hefty dent in its roof thanks to a large tree limb. At least it wasn't as bad as I originally thought... at first glance it appeared to have gone through the windshield.

Yesterday, upon getting home from work and relaxing for a few minutes with a good book, my WH (shorthand for "wonderful husband," because "DH" can have some pretty unsavory connections) came to sit down next to me. He gestured toward my ever-growing belly, asking how the baby was doing today. All I could think to say was, "Busy."

This child moves non-stop. I'm sure there are momentary rest periods, but for the most part it feels like he wants out. Now. Which is waaaaaaaaaay too early for my comfort zone. Honestly, sitting at work yesterday, I felt like I had a bag of microwave popcorn under my shirt, with the various pokes, punches and kicks that were visible through the fabric.

I'm not complaining about the little tyke's seemingly high activity level -- just amazed. I hardly remember any of the other babies being so busy in there. Then again, the first two were packed in together, and I spent all my time chasing two 2-yr. olds when I was pregnant with the third. If memory serves, I had barely enough time to notice if my head was on straight most days.

So, with the baby being busy in his own world, it parallels the level of busy-ness we've got going with preparing for Christmas. Shopping is, for the most part, done; I have a few things still on my To Do list, but those should be taken care of today.

If posting doesn't happen again before Thursday, Merry Christmas to anyone who's reading. :) Have a wonderful time with your family and friends, and take a few minutes to remember what the season is all about!