Perfect Day...

This is my favorite type of day. There is a blanket of perfect snow on the ground, the fire is blazing in the house, the Christmas decorations are and lights are up, gifts are wrapped, and I don't have to go anywhere. I can stay home and actually enjoy it all. What a perfect day.

Until next time...

When Did She Grow Up?

I was sitting at dinner tonight and watching Lydia eat her food when I started to wonder when she grew up so quickly. Here is a list of a few things she does lately that just blows my mind.

1. She tells me what she wants for supper - "cracker, cracker, cracker".
2. She is actually able to tip her sippy cup up to drink. (She used to just lay on the floor when she wanted a drink. LAZY!!!)
3. She hands me the bath toys before she gets out.
4. She can climb on the rocking horse all by herself.
5. She has to eat with a fork and spoon or she refuses to eat

All of this within the past few weeks.

Some funny stuff she has started just this past weekend.

1. She'll walk up to the Christmas trees, touch the lights and ornaments, and whisper as loud as she can, "pretty, pretty, pretty".
2. She will stick her finger up her nose and laugh.
3. She'll lift the potty seat and sit down completely dressed. Sit there a little while and then stand up, put the seat down, and walk away proud as can be.

Thanks for listening.

Until next time...

Christmas Survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I'll do a gift bag if it's just to awkward to wrap, but not usually.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I'm all about artificial. We had a real tree one year when I was little and I had the job of cleaning up the needles. I wasn't good at it then and don't want to do it now. The one we have Gail got for me our first Christmas as a married couple. It is pretty.

3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving weekend or the weekend before. Thanksgiving is so last this year that I may put it up tomorrow.

4. When do you take the tree down? Before school starts back

5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it and really don't want to.

6. Favorite gift as a child? I got a little radio one year and I thought I was HOT STUFF!! I would steal batteries from other places and walk around with it on my shoulder. I was such a dork!!!

7. Easiest person to buy for? Lydia. She likes everything and too little to have an opinion yet.

8. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Each year I get Lydia a new pair of pajamas that we open on Christmas Eve. That way she is wearing nice new pajamas for Christmas pictures. I read it somewhere and thought is was a good idea. Feel free to steal it if you want to.

9. Do you have a Nativity scene? I bought one several years ago at Dollar Tree. (Don't laugh.) It is actually really cute and won't break.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail and hand them out.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't remember any bad ones. We were happy just to get whatever we got.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? National Lampoons Christmas Vacation is an all time favorite. I also like the classics like Frost and Rudolf.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I usually get some books at the BOGO free book fair in the spring at my school. The summer is when I get my list made and start getting the rest. I also one to add that I bought my last gift this morning before school (2 dog collars and a gift basket). I'M DONE!!!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Are you kidding. I'm a teacher who can only use so many coffee cups, candles, and bottles of lotion. I recycle all the time.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My grandma makes these fried cake things that are wonderful. She tried to get me to take over making them one year because I'm the only one who likes them. However, I have yet to start. I don't think I can make them as good and why mess with perfection?

16. Lights on the tree? Clear on my big tree, Lydia's tree, and two other small trees that I have. I bought some more little trees last year that I want to put colored on this year.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Any that I remember the words to.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? The weekend before is Christmas at my Grandma and Grandpa's house. Christmas morning is at home then we usually go to my parent's house. This year my brother-in-law has to work so we'll have it the day after. Gail's mom never decides when to have Christmas. I refuse to figure it out either. We typically just wait for the phone call to come over.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sure can! Just ask me!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Last year I had a cowboy hat on top of my tree. Now I have a star to put on top.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? That Christmas isn't even here and I've already see Valentine's stuff out, that kids get really hyper and don't want to listen in school, that people are rude, and the cold weather.

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color? I like my western style trees and the ornaments that Lydia made last year at the sitters.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Noodles and mashed potatoes

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I got a vacuum and a food chopper (things I needed). I want a new phone for the house (ours is hard to hear on) and for Lydia to have fun.

26. Santa packages wrapped or unwrapped????? When I was little it was just the same paper. We never thought about it. Last year with Lydia we just used the same paper. This year I got pretty Tinker Bell paper to use.

All Is Right Once Again...

Last night when I got home Lydia was sleeping peacefully all cuddled up in her warm footed jammies and fleece blanket. It was the most beautiful thing I'd seen all day. And this morning when I woke her up she got a huge smile on her face and kept giving me kisses and hugs. It made everything OK again. Thanks for listening to me yesterday. It is hard for me to not be home at night. Not that I don't trust Gail or think he is going to forget something. That isn't it at all. We just have a routine and I don't like to change it for anything. It was only the second time since she's been born that I haven't been there to tuck her in and get kisses.

Sniff, Sniff

I consider myself luck to not have many night activities for my job. I teach an after school homework help class, but that it just a couple nights a week that I've signed up to do. Other than that we only have a few after school required events. One such event is the Fourth Grade Music and Art Program. This event is being held tonight. Why and I talking about it you ask? Well here it is: The program doesn't start until 7:30. Only lasts 30 minutes (thank you!!). Then we have to wait until the kids with their parents before we can head out. I won't be able to leave until pushing 8:30 and won't get home almost 9:00. Lydia will be fast asleep by that time. So this morning when I told her good bye at the sitters (after only seeing her for about 30 minutes) and also had to tell her good night because I won't see her until tomorrow morning. Sniff, sniff. Makes me wish that I worked closer to home so that I could go home on nights like this.

Until next time...

I Couldn't Take It Anymore...

I couldn't take the pressure anymore. I had to do it...

I put up Lydia's Christmas tree. It is the cutest tree ever. It has clear lights, Disney princess lights, silver balls, pink feather boas, silver bracelets, a big silver curly ribbon on top, and a pink and white receiving blanket wrapped around the bottom. When she first saw it she smiled really big and tried to touch it. I was thinking ahead and put in on top of her dresser so she couldn't reach it. This should tide me over until after Thanksgiving, but then Christmas will explode all over my house. I can't wait.

Until next time...

Thank You Lancaster Women...

Thank you Lancaster women for your comments to my "venting" blog. I would love to get together and get to know you all better. I think Bree said it all. Gail had his friends already when I moved here and now he is even too busy to spend much time with them. I work out of town so it is hard to met people. If you do start to scrapbook again let me know. I love to scrapbook although I don't get to do it very often.

Lydia's Sick

My baby girl is sick. Makes me sad to see those big watery eyes, red runny nose, and hear her terrible "I'm a pack a day smoker" cough. She has also had to be going to a different baby sitter this week. The regular sitter's father-in-law has been really sick. He has been living with them since right after Lydia starting going here because he was dying and couldn't live by himself anymore. Her father-in-law just passed away today, but she has taken off the last week because he has been getting a lot worse. It makes me sad because he was such a nice person who seemed to really care about Lydia. He was always sneaking her snacks, taking her picture, and playing with her. Because of all of this, she has been staying at my friend Courtney's. This has been a big ordeal for Lydia this week and last. The only places I've ever left her are with Tina, my mother-in-law, and my sister. (I don't leave her that much.) So it was been hard for her. Now she is cutting 2 more teeth (top eye teeth) and she is sick as a dog. She's been to the doctor once already this week, but I've got to take her back. The didn't give her anything!! Not a happy mother was I.

I am also glad that I got the guts to write my last post. It was hard to me to put into words how I felt, and I'm also guilty of keeping my feelings inside most of the time. Anyway, thanks to everyone who commented about it. I hope that I'm able to become close with some other fantastic women in the Lancaster area.

Until next time...

Strange Feelings

I'm going to blog about something that I will probably later regret and delete. I have an empty feeling inside where I wish I had some girlfriends. I love my husband and we have a great friendship. My daughter is my world. I work with creative women whom I love to have conversations with. However, I long to have a true best friend or group of friends (besides my sister) to do things with and hang out. In high school and college I had a lot of friends to do things with. However, I moved to a new town where I didn't know that many people and I still don't feel like I fit in. It's been almost 8 years that I've lived in Lancaster and I know a lot of people, but not to the point or level I would like to. The church I'm a member of doesn't have a lot of young women like myself that I feel comfortable around so I get no friendship there. I guess I'm just feeling sorry for myself. Thanks for listening.

Until next time...

Good Fall Pictures - Enjoy!

Trick or Treat

Halloween was so much fun yesterday. We left our house at 6:00 and didn't return until 9:30. 8:00 was my plan, but that didn't work out. With 3 and a half hours you would think that we have visited everyone is town, but no. We only went to 6 houses. Gail, Lydia, and I spent more time talking and playing than anything else. I didn't actually get pictures of Halloween night because my camera was at my sister's house, but we went to Hayden's birthday party today which was a costume party so I still was able to get some good pictures. She ended up going as an MU cheerleader. She wouldn't wear the spider costume and it was a bit chilly the fairy costume. Here are some pics.