It's never to late to start again, right?

Four years later...



This guy is almost 11 and is turning in to the very best person I know.

Lucky mama...and I know it.

2/365

"I'm just gonna shovel this tiny bit of snow..."

Misunderstood

I excitedly told my four year old tonight that if he can stay up until midnight tomorrow we will toast to the New Year and watch the ball drop together. He is now thrilled that I will be making him toast with extra butter tomorrow at midnight. Might have just created an odd new tradition for our odd little family.

There's Always Tomorrow...

I have a To Do List a mile long and absolutely no desire to get started on it. I am embarrassed to admit how late I slept in this morning while my kid ran around our home in his birthday suit scarfing down fruit-by-the-foot in record numbers. Because he's a lovely little boy who wants his mama to get her rest.

I know it's just like with exercise, in that I'll feel better after I get started, but oh! The getting started is the hard part!

But! Tomorrow is a new day...albeit with a very long list of things to do, and if I can get through a load of laundry and setting up the tree I'll be a happy camper. I have half a mind to post my phone number here so you can all call me every 5 minutes beginning at 9am and tell me to get my lazy behind off the most comfortable couch in the world. (I'm lazy, but not crazy...I'd like to get a little sleep! If you do know my number please don't call me before 9am...I'll be sleeping.) ;)

Winter Wonderland

It's snowing so hard that it's a total whiteout. First whiteout of the year. Feels much more like Christmas now. Off to start wrapping presents...

Brrrrr

It's only October 22nd, and it's snowing here. Hardly seems fair.

Sent to his Room

Oh, the tears. And the drama. Did I mention the tears?

We were having a perfectly lovely day puttering around the house when I realized that the plow man, who doesn't normally grace us with his presence until 2pm on most days, decided to whip through our complex a few hours early...while I was in the shower. Since I didn't hear him coming, I didn't move my car out to the other side of the lot so that he could plow out our parking spaces (which would have been really really swell since we're in the throws of an ice storm and it's, well, icy). Great. Not wanting to tick off my neighbor, who also didn't get his parking area plowed thanks to me, I dressed Lucas and myself, (I was wearing capri pajama bottoms, orange and pink flowered rain boots, a sweatshirt and damp hair...thank you for wondering) and we headed out to do what the plow man did not. I didn't realize that any part of shoveling involved pitching a right fit, so I was unprepared for what came next.

My shovel touched his snow.

And then all hell broke loose and world ended. So if you felt like there some sort of cosmic shift today but you couldn't really put your finger on it? That was totally my fault and I'm sorry.

The tears wouldn't stop and the whining got louder and I tried to explain to him that, hello!? There is PLENTY of snow to go around. Like actual metric tons of snow. Take your pick...how 'bout some of this snow, or maybe some from that pile over there? No? How about if I take that tiny bit of snow that my shovel touched and put it back into your pile there and then never look at your snow pile or your shovel ever again? Still no?

I couldn't take another second of the screeching so I pointed my finger at him and then at our front door and I demanded that he GO. TO. HIS. ROOM. I have never sent him to room before. I wasn't even sure after I ordered him to go that he would know what to do. Which sounds silly, I know...but...still. I let him struggle a little with the door and he made his way in and closed it behind him. I continued to shovel until I was done (or mostly done) and I went inside to survey the damage. Heh. I had to try REALLY hard not to laugh. There inside the door were his boots, right where they belong and his jacket was hung on his hook. So even in the throws of a good tantrum he had the presence of mind not to track snow through the house. Good boy. He heard me come in and hollered down the stairs from his bed that he was "wicked sad and needed a hug." And then I felt like a big dirt bag but at least he wasn't flipping out. We hugged it out and all was good, but he did feel the need to remind me every hour or so that I shouldn't have put my shovel in his pile of snow.

Lesson learned.

We Made It

We made it through another holiday in one piece. Everything was wonderful. My little brother called around dinner time on Monday night wondering where we were...he thought we were sleeping over and I thought were staying home. He won. We packed up everything and headed over to my Mom's so that we could all wake up together on Christmas morning...which happened to be 6am. That's a painful hour to a girl that works nights. Bleary, tired pictures to follow...

Lucas loved everything that Ben (my little brother) got for Christmas and also the four sets of "Thomas pieces" (legos) that he asked Santa for. Everything else was either unwrapped and played with again hours later, or not unwrapped at all. I do, in fact, have a garbage bag full of unwrapped Christmas gifts from me to him that sit wrapped in all their Christmas glory in the middle of my kitchen floor. He walks by them a hundred times a day and doesn't inquire about them or even try to peak in the bag. This happened last year, too. You'd have thought I would have learned my lesson...but no. So, once again this year, I will sneak down to the basement and rewrap all those presents to be regifted on his birthday. Luckily for me, his birthday is right around the corner.

The boys stayed glued to the xBox all day, except when I pried it out of their little white knuckles to jam out to Guitar Hero III, myself. The whole day was just fun and relaxed and the food was really good and the company was great.

And then we went out on Wednesday like crazies and hit all the sales...I love a little after holiday sale...until I see all of the things I bought on sale in November (all smug and early) on uber clearance Wednesday. It presents a strong argument for holding Christmas on Thursday the 27th every year...just for the cost savings. Oh well...it was still fun!

Just Keep Shoveling

I got some great photos today of Lucas next to the snow piles...piles that soar several feet above his head, several feet above my head if we're talking about the pile outside my living room windows. It's a lovely view, really. The folks that plow the driveways in my neighborhood were nice enough to wait until almost 2:30pm this afternoon to actually plow us out...because you know, it's Monday...who has any place to be? But then today? Today was beautiful. Really cold but with clear blue skies, bare roads, sun shining. I would take a nighttime blizzard anytime when you wake up to day as pretty as this.

Any survivor fans out there? I was so so so so so happy that the producers gave Denise the Lunch Lady that surprise $50,000...can you believe all she wanted to do was go back to work as the lunch lady and the school she worked for fired her because she was considered a distraction? I mean, come on, how many people are banging down their door for the lunch lady job? Pure craziness! I applaud you Mark Burnett...a small drop in the bucket for you changed her entire life.

Just one more day 'til the work week is over...yippee! One day closer to Christmas...hooray!

Snow Day!

It's official...we are buried in the white stuff with no end in site. Everyone at work is freaking out about the drive home and getting back to work in the morning. I could really care less. My mom lives close enough to walk home if I have to...I've got boots and mittens...and I'll just crash on her couch.

On a different note...Lucas made me dinner today. All by himself. Tuna sandwiches and cookies. My little love! I am positive that tuna will have never tasted so good. Plus I watched him put a good amount of salt in it, and I do love me some salt...so, how could it be bad? He LOVES to cook in the kitchen, and he wants to be part of every step. Of course, he's still only three, so his efforts do have limits, but he is a scrambled egg and mashed potato professional. Sometimes both of those things at a single meal. Every day. Yes, I know, we do eat fancy around here when left on our own.

I'm Back!

I must say...although my job isn't really fun or glamorous, I get to work a lot of hours in a short space of time, and then I get a lot of days off...and we had ourselves some FUN in all of our days off this week.

Let's start with the fancy schmancy dinner party we got invited to on Tuesday. I think YUM! sums it up. We were all served a delicious salad as the first course, and I wondered if Lucas would touch it...not being a big bowl of iceberg lettuce and all. But he dug right in and ate his endive and well as some of mine. He was a little disappointed that the potatoes weren't mashed until he tried them...so tasty! He raised his glass and toasted the table to good behavior at dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed many, many, many glasses of ice water out of some very fancy crystal. I was so incredibly proud of him at the party. I think he did a very good job keeping all of his energy in check, the food could not be beat, the other party guests were wonderful and the hostess outdid herself with food and drinks and decorating. We do not often...lets say never...get invited to such grownup occasions, and we loved it!

I got all of our Christmas cards done and mailed...this is a very big deal for me. There have been years past where I've gotten everything written and stamped and then never mailed, so...yeah! Done!

My Christmas shopping is all done...but not wrapped...and is currently sitting all over my kitchen in a gazillion store bags...even the ones for Lucas...because he is not a snooper, something he definitely did NOT get from me! *wink*

I went to a cookie party in a blizzard on Thursday night, and even though my poor old car couldn't make it up a very steep drive covered in very deep snow, I had a blast and came home with some seriously yummy cookies.

I made a killing on Friday at the mall cashing in the rest of my Black Friday $10 free gift cards. I got Lucas a pair of Vans sneakers, the only brand that really fits his wide feet well, for the low low price of just $2.00 with tax. You can't beat that...really, I'd like to see you try! ;-) Also, three free Disney cars...brand new hard to find ones...'cause the eleventy million we already have just aren't enough...no sir...must buy more.

AND...the best, most awesome moment...I was walking through the lobby of the hospital with Lucas and he saw Santa. Apparently we have a volunteer on staff that looks like the best Santa in whole wide world. He was sitting behind the reception desk with a red sweater on and snow white hair and gold rimmed glasses (and a volunteers vest) and as we walked by Lucas caught sight of him and stopped dead in his tracks. The man said "Ho, Ho, Ho young man, have you been a good boy this year?" All Lucas could do was whisper, "I want Thomas pieces." over and over again. Poor child. He was starstruck. He has never let me take him up to the mall Santa, or the mall Easter bunny for that matter...so it was big deal to see this man so close after watching a string of Christmas specials this week. So fun!

Typical Male

We live in New England. It's been snowing for a least a couple of weeks now. Yet, everytime we get in the car to go anywhere, Lucas looks out the window and says, "Hey! I think it snowed here!" All shocked and suprised. I'm not sure what clues him in, really. It could be the mountains of snow that are currently everywhere. Or maybe the fact that it's actually snowing as he says it. Who knows. It's terribly cute.

He also announced today that his birthday is March 1st, and he wants a new car, because ours goes bump, bump, bump, bump, bump. I agree with him completely, both that he should get a brand new car for his 4th birthday, and that ours go bump, bump, bump, bump, bump. I mean, I only got a banana seat bike for my 4th birthday, but the times are changing, I guess. And if a car is indeed his birthday present, I think that gets me off the hook of buying him anything else, wouldn't you agree?

He Gives a Good Compliment

My Mother got Lucas all bundled up this afternoon in his snowsuit and boots and hat and mittens to go shovel out her drive, and then put on her own Carhartt jumpsuit to keep warm along with her hat and mittens. Lucas looked up at her and exclaimed, "Oh 'Amma! You look so handsome!"

HA! Sometimes he just comes out with the sweetest things!

Not His Christmas Pic...But Still CUTE!

The View From Our Porch

I jokingly call our street the snow belt...because even when it isn't snowing ANYWHERE else in the state, it looks like this at our house. Winter has officially begun!

Our Tree is Up

This is the first time in my entire life that I've used a fake tree. It makes me a little sad...but this one given to us for free...which, you know, is right in our budget so...fake is the new real at our house. Lucas doesn't know the difference...he's just super excited that his train runs along the base of the tree. We put it up together on Thanksgiving night, and he read the directions and handed me all the color coded branches while I broke a sweat shoving them all in. When we (finally!) finished he threw up his arms and squealed "Let's do it again!" Yeah...maybe next year.

A Week in Pictures...and Yes...All We've Done is Shovel.

Winter is finally here, and Lucas couldn't be happier. Shoveling is apparently his life's passion.