Archive for December, 2008
16 Dec
Tis the season
I’ve had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. I’ve tried decorating, putting up the tree, listening to Christmas music and subsisting on a steady diet of baked goods and White Russians. Still, the stress of work and traveling and shopping has gotten the best of me.
There are a few things that are helping, though–the first is snow we’ve had this week. I was probably the only one on our street happy to see shoveled walks covered again in a matter of minutes this morning. Maybe it’s the six years we spent in Wisconsin talking, but I think it should be cold and snowy come December.
In continuing a long-standing family tradition, we bought our tree from a retail store parking lot. It was rather dark that night, so we didn’t realize it had been spray painted a lovely shade of aqua until we got it home.
Bryan anchored the tree to the wall in two places, but we decided there was a still a good chance someone would pull it over so we didn’t use the glass ornaments or the tree topper this year. It’s rather sparsely decorated thanks to some busy elves. I wonder if we’ll ever locate all of the ornaments missing from the lower half.
And speaking of the elves, the highlight of the month has been Ava bopping around in a Santa hat. Though she’s still not posing for photos much these days, I did manage to snap one quick shot.
I am getting there.
15 Dec
Overheard: Billionaire edition
We spotted Warren Buffet in Borsheim’s on Saturday.
As he strolled by, Bryan noted, “There goes the richest man in the world. He made more money in the time it took him to walk through this store than we made all year.”
15 Dec
Wyatt’s One!
We made a very quick trip to Omaha on Saturday for Wyatt’s first birthday party.
I thought I grabbed my camera (which oddly enough, is working just fine now), but instead I picked up the one Katie lent me. It’s still out of batteries, so I had to rely on my phone–that’s why these photos are blurry(ier than normal).
Here’s the birthday boy…
…and his partner in crime.
Debbie and Jason had an adorable gingerbread man theme.
Wyatt was a huge fan of the cake, and he liked the attention that came with it, too.
Doug had his camera at the ready, so I’ll post a link to his online gallery when it’s live.
His shots may even be in focus!
13 Dec
Ava Fix
Ava’s making good use of the 47 catalogs we receive in the mail each day.
She’s cutting out photos and pasting them on new sheets. Basically, it’s assisted reproduction, and the mail is multiplying.
10 Dec
And, just like that, I’m cured
I have a longstanding distaste for the dentist. I have hated going since I was very young–and once semi-annual check-ups became my responsibility, they became far less frequent.
As an adult–who is trying (at least on occasion) to set a good example for her children–I am going in every six months. I’ve found a hygienist that I like, and the dentist is quite nice, too.
At my last appointment, they discovered that a filling I’ve had since junior high was cracked and needed to be replaced. I have pretty strong memories of obtaining that actual filling–and it was not fun. After they assured me that it really did need to be fixed before it caused problems, I relented.
I arrived at my appointment this morning to find a heated chair, flat TV screen and wireless headphones. Not bad.
Then, the hygienist asked if I’d like nitrous. I’ve never had it before, but I will tell you this now: If you are ever posed this question, the answer should be an emphatic YES.
It’s not without side effects, though, as I found myself in several exchanges like this:
Dentist: You’re doing great. The hardest part is holding your mouth open so wide for so long.
Me: Well, I work out. (Laughs hysterically.)
I’m pretty sure they shut it off when I declared myself a “big fan” and asked if I could take the tank home with me. Since that won’t work, I’m going to cut down on my brushing a bit so I can spend another morning with Dr. Justin.
9 Dec
Olivia Fix
Olivia’s modeling the sweet sweater Liana made for her for her first birthday. Lucky girl–handmade sweaters, dresses, quilts and birth samplers! She has some talented friends and family members. Must be why she’s so happy here.
9 Dec
Overheard: Thanksgiving edition
I nearly forgot about this exchange Ava and I had about her homework project a couple of weeks ago. I shared it with many of you over Thanksgiving, but here’s a quick recap:
Every week, Ava is sent home with a brown paper sack to be filled with something that either starts with a specific letter or is a specific color, etc. At first, we helped her with this pretty extensively; now she wants to do it by herself most weeks.
As I was checking through her assignment for the week of the 24th–a collection of things for which she was thankful–this is what I found.
Me: Ava, what is all of this?
Ava: It’s my homework.
Me: It’s a bag of random stuff. Let’s find some other things.
Ava: NO! This is what I want to take.
Me: Ava, these are silly things. We should find some photos of Olivia or your family or things like that. Things that you are thankful for.
Ava: I am thankful for all of these things, Mom.
Me: You’re thankful for this orange sack? Why? It’s just a sack!
Ava: I got it at J.J.’s birthday party, and I’m thankful that he’s my friend.
Me: Oh. Wow. Okay. But, what about this ball?
Ava: I’m thankful that I get to play ball with Olivia.
Me: …I see. But why the phone? This is actually Olivia’s toy. It’s not even yours.
Ava: But I am thankful for phones because I can call and talk to my family.
Me: Okay, good point, but the puzzle pieces–
Ava: I am thankful for Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. And Minnesota.
Me: Explain Maine, then.
Ava: There’s a lobster on that one. I am thankful for lobsters.
Me: Well, who isn’t. The pager and block?
Ava: I am thankful for playing doctor and for building.
Me: And the duck there?
Ava: It reminds me of swimming, and I’m thankful for swimming with Olivia in the summertime.
Me: Wow. Okay. But seriously, the chip? Why is there a chip in there?
Ava: I just like chips.
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