I was heading to my favorite second hand kids' store when I noticed a party supply/dollar store advertising 50% off everything. My kiddos' birthdays are coming up in the next few months so I decided to see what I could scrounge up. Here's what I got:
Emmett's Party
-a "4" candle
-2 candles shaped like hot wheels
-2 packs of party invitations
-a red plastic tablecloth
Seth's Party
-"Baby's 1st Birthday" napkins and plates
-party hats
-a big bag of balloons
-2 packs of streamers
And for all of that I only paid $10!! I would have bought more but it was already pretty picked over. Still, I love it when I get a good deal like that!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Associations
I consider myself a pretty tough chick...not much scares me. I can suck it up and get through anything if I have to. I've given birth twice, the second time with very little pain medication. However, I'm a COMPLETE baby when it comes to having a sore throat. Despite as much rest as I can manage and a healthy dose of Cold FX, I've finally succumbed to the cold that's been running rampant through my house. I've got a very sore throat and can't sleep. Everytime I get sick I pray for the sore throat part to end...I'll take a nagging cough and being plugged up over the throat thing every time.
I think it all goes back to the worst sore throat of my life...it was St. Patrick's day when I was a young teenager. I remember waking up that day and decided to microwave a chocolate St. Patrick's day cupcake for breakfast...eating that thing was like choking down broken glass. Later that day we went to this Eastern Star thing of my grandma's - it was a dinner and they had Irish dancers performing. I told my mom I was too sick to go but I think she figured I was playing it up like a teenage drama queen to get out of going to my grandma's thing. So, I had to go. I think my mom figured out that I really WAS that sick after getting down a couple of teaspoons of jello for dinner and then basically curling up in a corner for the rest of it. I clearly remember watching the dancers and praying they would finish so I could just go HOME!
Anyways, to this day I can't eat a St. Patrick's day cupcake or watch Irish dancers. Maybe one day one of my grandchildren will offer me a delicious cupcake with a jaunty leprechaun sitting on top, and I will start telling them all this and they will be thinking "Great, Grandma's telling another one of her stories that doesn't go anywhere." Like, that time I took the ferry to Shelbyville to get a new heel for my shoe...
Well, at least Emmett seems to be doing better...it's 3:30 am but he's literally jumping up and down beside me shouting "Dance dance dance!". At least one of us is feeling good right now!
I think it all goes back to the worst sore throat of my life...it was St. Patrick's day when I was a young teenager. I remember waking up that day and decided to microwave a chocolate St. Patrick's day cupcake for breakfast...eating that thing was like choking down broken glass. Later that day we went to this Eastern Star thing of my grandma's - it was a dinner and they had Irish dancers performing. I told my mom I was too sick to go but I think she figured I was playing it up like a teenage drama queen to get out of going to my grandma's thing. So, I had to go. I think my mom figured out that I really WAS that sick after getting down a couple of teaspoons of jello for dinner and then basically curling up in a corner for the rest of it. I clearly remember watching the dancers and praying they would finish so I could just go HOME!
Anyways, to this day I can't eat a St. Patrick's day cupcake or watch Irish dancers. Maybe one day one of my grandchildren will offer me a delicious cupcake with a jaunty leprechaun sitting on top, and I will start telling them all this and they will be thinking "Great, Grandma's telling another one of her stories that doesn't go anywhere." Like, that time I took the ferry to Shelbyville to get a new heel for my shoe...
Well, at least Emmett seems to be doing better...it's 3:30 am but he's literally jumping up and down beside me shouting "Dance dance dance!". At least one of us is feeling good right now!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I was just on the radio!!
Didja hear me? Huh? Huh? Didja???
Yeah, probably not. ;) Anyhoo, I usually listen to Dave Ramsey's radio show in the afternoons while I'm cleaning (read: scraping who knows how old applesauce off the wall that I just noticed) on a local Christian radio station. Sometimes I keep it on that station afterwards and listen to this call-in talk radio show...I'm an opinon junkie and I love reading/hearing other people's opinions (even if the opinions on this show are usually a little too far right for my tastes).
The show called a bunch of stores and asked them what the policy was this year on being allowed to say "Merry Christmas" (for the record, 4 out of 5 stores were OK with Merry Christmas or didn't have a policy). He brought this up because apparently James Dobson (a big name in the evangelical Christian world for those not in the know) has been suggesting for a few years now that Christians not patronize stores that won't allow their employees to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Uh, OK.
So, I called in during a commerical break and I got on right away when they came back on air, which was pretty cool! I told the host that I was a Christian and that I didn't care in the least what a store's policy was, because Christmas is NOT about presents and shopping. Sure, those things are nice, but that's not why we're celebrating! I pointed out that we are a multi-cultural and multi-faith society and that it doesn't make sense business wise to cater to one religion, and I respect that. I suggested that instead of worrying about what the cashier at Zellers says to us we could perhaps spend the season doing charity work and setting a good example. I also said that I was trying to teach my children the true meaning of Christmas and that I wasn't going to focus on what the STORES are doing.
The host basically agreed with my "Christmas is not about presents" thing, and didn't say much else. After I got off the phone I turned the radio back on and he was saying that my call reminded him of a sound clip of some comedian he had heard...cue some "comedian" frothing at the mouth about how THE FOUNDING FATHERS were Christian and that THIS COUNTRY was founded on the BIBLE and if YOU don't like it TOO BAD because HE is going to say MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY CHRISSSSSSSSSTMAS!!!!!
Yeeeeah. Totally not what I was saying at all. My point was about businesses, not individuals. But hey, I got to have my say...and maybe someone out there agreed with me!
Yeah, probably not. ;) Anyhoo, I usually listen to Dave Ramsey's radio show in the afternoons while I'm cleaning (read: scraping who knows how old applesauce off the wall that I just noticed) on a local Christian radio station. Sometimes I keep it on that station afterwards and listen to this call-in talk radio show...I'm an opinon junkie and I love reading/hearing other people's opinions (even if the opinions on this show are usually a little too far right for my tastes).
The show called a bunch of stores and asked them what the policy was this year on being allowed to say "Merry Christmas" (for the record, 4 out of 5 stores were OK with Merry Christmas or didn't have a policy). He brought this up because apparently James Dobson (a big name in the evangelical Christian world for those not in the know) has been suggesting for a few years now that Christians not patronize stores that won't allow their employees to wish you a Merry Christmas.
Uh, OK.
So, I called in during a commerical break and I got on right away when they came back on air, which was pretty cool! I told the host that I was a Christian and that I didn't care in the least what a store's policy was, because Christmas is NOT about presents and shopping. Sure, those things are nice, but that's not why we're celebrating! I pointed out that we are a multi-cultural and multi-faith society and that it doesn't make sense business wise to cater to one religion, and I respect that. I suggested that instead of worrying about what the cashier at Zellers says to us we could perhaps spend the season doing charity work and setting a good example. I also said that I was trying to teach my children the true meaning of Christmas and that I wasn't going to focus on what the STORES are doing.
The host basically agreed with my "Christmas is not about presents" thing, and didn't say much else. After I got off the phone I turned the radio back on and he was saying that my call reminded him of a sound clip of some comedian he had heard...cue some "comedian" frothing at the mouth about how THE FOUNDING FATHERS were Christian and that THIS COUNTRY was founded on the BIBLE and if YOU don't like it TOO BAD because HE is going to say MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY CHRISSSSSSSSSTMAS!!!!!
Yeeeeah. Totally not what I was saying at all. My point was about businesses, not individuals. But hey, I got to have my say...and maybe someone out there agreed with me!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Christmas Time!
(or "Christmas Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!" in baritone , if said by Emmett ;))
Well, it's official...I can now break out my Christmas spirit without fear of judgement from my husband or brother (Grinches!). My shopping is DONE, and I couldn't be happier...I tried really hard to pay attention when people mentioned "I like _________" and then store it away in the ol' memory banks...hopefully I did well. Now I've just got to wrap it all, and avoid all unnecessary shopping trips until January. Crowds really stress me out...James could happily spend all day at West Ed mall weaving in and out of the crowds, whereas the thought of doing that (especially doing that with 2 small children) is enough to give me heart palipitations. Thank you amazon.ca!!!
Emmett is really into Christmas this year...I got him a chocolate advent calendar, which he happily attacks each morning. He then spends most of the morning asking for more chocolate and trying to reach the top of the fridge to sneak some more of his calendar. I don't think we'll be hanging advent calendars on the wall like I remember doing for a few years yet. We also put up our "Beary Merry Christmas" calendar, which has a little bear that moves all around his house looking for Christmas. He likes it, but doesn't really get it yet - he just wants to take the bear off and play with it. I'm holding off on decorating and putting the tree up until next weekend...hopefully this will give the tree better chances of survival. Last year wasn't too bad except I noticed ornaments kept disappearing and then reappearing all over the house!
December itself isn't looking too jam packed, which is nice...I want to be able to relax a bit and just enjoy the holiday rather than run around all over the place. I'm going to try to focus more this year on the true meaning of Christmas...on Monday for family home evening we started teaching Emmett the Christmas story. They must be talking about it at nursery, or he's just picking it up super quick, because he could point out Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus right away. He also LOVES it when we sing Away in a Manger (he calls it "Baby Jesus song"). That really warms my heart, because I remember my grandpa singing that to me all the time to me when I was little, especially at bedtime when I would sleep over. I'm pretty sure he sang it all year round...maybe that was the only song he knew all the words to! That song will always make me think of Grandpa, and I'm so glad my little man loves it too.
Well, it's official...I can now break out my Christmas spirit without fear of judgement from my husband or brother (Grinches!). My shopping is DONE, and I couldn't be happier...I tried really hard to pay attention when people mentioned "I like _________" and then store it away in the ol' memory banks...hopefully I did well. Now I've just got to wrap it all, and avoid all unnecessary shopping trips until January. Crowds really stress me out...James could happily spend all day at West Ed mall weaving in and out of the crowds, whereas the thought of doing that (especially doing that with 2 small children) is enough to give me heart palipitations. Thank you amazon.ca!!!
Emmett is really into Christmas this year...I got him a chocolate advent calendar, which he happily attacks each morning. He then spends most of the morning asking for more chocolate and trying to reach the top of the fridge to sneak some more of his calendar. I don't think we'll be hanging advent calendars on the wall like I remember doing for a few years yet. We also put up our "Beary Merry Christmas" calendar, which has a little bear that moves all around his house looking for Christmas. He likes it, but doesn't really get it yet - he just wants to take the bear off and play with it. I'm holding off on decorating and putting the tree up until next weekend...hopefully this will give the tree better chances of survival. Last year wasn't too bad except I noticed ornaments kept disappearing and then reappearing all over the house!
December itself isn't looking too jam packed, which is nice...I want to be able to relax a bit and just enjoy the holiday rather than run around all over the place. I'm going to try to focus more this year on the true meaning of Christmas...on Monday for family home evening we started teaching Emmett the Christmas story. They must be talking about it at nursery, or he's just picking it up super quick, because he could point out Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus right away. He also LOVES it when we sing Away in a Manger (he calls it "Baby Jesus song"). That really warms my heart, because I remember my grandpa singing that to me all the time to me when I was little, especially at bedtime when I would sleep over. I'm pretty sure he sang it all year round...maybe that was the only song he knew all the words to! That song will always make me think of Grandpa, and I'm so glad my little man loves it too.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Be careful what you wish for.../kid update
So far this "Suck-vember" has been flying by...I'm so busy I feel like I don't know what's what. It's a good thing though, as Martha would say.
The Seth-meister is pulling up on everything now...he is just SUPER proud of himself, it's so cute. James and I always say that Seth "really thinks he's somethin' somethin'". Which he *is*, of course, but it's always better to keep that ego at a reasonable level.
Emmett is really getting better at telling us what he wants, and he's not afraid to try and "trick" you to get it. For example:
Emmett: Yogurt?
Me: No, you've had enough yogurt today...how about an apple?
Emmett: (Thoughtfully) Apple....aaaaaaaaaaand yogurt!
Because hey, maybe mom won't remember she said no to yogurt five seconds ago. It could happen!
We've also started having him do some chores around the house...we get him to help pick up his toys, and he's sort of getting the hang of setting the table (which consists of everything just sort of getting plopped on one spot because he's still too short to really see over the table, but he gets an A+ for effort!). He even put his own laundry away yesterday (after much tears and complaint, according to James!).
He's also started talking about his feelings, which is SO huge for him...the other day he came up to me and said "Mommy, I SO HAPPY!" Talk about a heart melter! He is talking a lot about Christmas as well...he's loving all the Christmas decorations in stores. DO NOT bring up Santa though...Santa is a creepy, evil old man and not all the presents in the world could persuade Emmett otherwise. We went to the holiday light up downtown, and even though we were approximately 300 feet away from Santa that was NOT far enough. It's kind of weird, but at least it gives me a great opportunity to focus on teaching him the real meaning of Christmas instead. I'm going to try and find an unbreakable nativity set that we can play with together...I think he's old enough this year to grasp the basics of the story.
The Seth-meister is pulling up on everything now...he is just SUPER proud of himself, it's so cute. James and I always say that Seth "really thinks he's somethin' somethin'". Which he *is*, of course, but it's always better to keep that ego at a reasonable level.
Emmett is really getting better at telling us what he wants, and he's not afraid to try and "trick" you to get it. For example:
Emmett: Yogurt?
Me: No, you've had enough yogurt today...how about an apple?
Emmett: (Thoughtfully) Apple....aaaaaaaaaaand yogurt!
Because hey, maybe mom won't remember she said no to yogurt five seconds ago. It could happen!
We've also started having him do some chores around the house...we get him to help pick up his toys, and he's sort of getting the hang of setting the table (which consists of everything just sort of getting plopped on one spot because he's still too short to really see over the table, but he gets an A+ for effort!). He even put his own laundry away yesterday (after much tears and complaint, according to James!).
He's also started talking about his feelings, which is SO huge for him...the other day he came up to me and said "Mommy, I SO HAPPY!" Talk about a heart melter! He is talking a lot about Christmas as well...he's loving all the Christmas decorations in stores. DO NOT bring up Santa though...Santa is a creepy, evil old man and not all the presents in the world could persuade Emmett otherwise. We went to the holiday light up downtown, and even though we were approximately 300 feet away from Santa that was NOT far enough. It's kind of weird, but at least it gives me a great opportunity to focus on teaching him the real meaning of Christmas instead. I'm going to try and find an unbreakable nativity set that we can play with together...I think he's old enough this year to grasp the basics of the story.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
This just in...
Parenting little kids is hard. They don't sleep when you want them to (and they're too little to be left to their own devices when awake so YOU can finally get some sleep), they make messes faster than you can clean them up, and going anywhere with them involves so much packing and planning you sometimes wonder if you're actually going on a week long trip rather than just running a couple of errands.
Case in point: my oldest is a FANTASTIC shopper. You could run errands all day with him and he'd be happy as a clam. My 9 month old, however, can't stand more than about 20 minutes in a shopping cart. Going to more than one store at a time is absolutely out of the question. The longest I'm ever out with him is for the weekly grocery shopping trip. I'm always very prepared...I always go right after nap, feed him first, bring toys and have a detailed list organized by section of the store. Still, by the time I hit produce a certain someone is throwing himself back in the cart in true "drama llama" fashion and sobbing like his whole world is ending. Usually while I'm bagging up the groceries Emmett finally gets sick of his brother's shenanigans and starts punching him in the face. Oh yeah, I'm sure Superstore just loooooooooves it when we show up.
Yesterday I had to do a HUGE shop (I'm putting on my big lunch this Saturday and had to buy all that stuff as well as our groceries), so I brought James with me and put Sethers in the sling my sis in law gave me (thanks Brit!)...this solved the cart conundrum (all he really wants is to be held while we shop, but good luck doing that while pushing a full cart with a 33 lb preschooler in it), but I was so weighed down by the chubster I could barely pick things off the shelf. And today my shoulders are killing me...I can't win! I guess I'm going to have to add grocery shopping to the list of stuff that has to wait until James gets home to help me. Seth, you are about to be banned from Superstore.
Sorry this is so long and ranty, I'm running on way too little sleep and just having one of those "baby for sale" mornings. I really do love my kidlets (and tell them so everyday), I just need a hot bath and a 3 hour nap. Neither of those things appear to be forthcoming, so a ranty blog entry will have to do. ;)
Case in point: my oldest is a FANTASTIC shopper. You could run errands all day with him and he'd be happy as a clam. My 9 month old, however, can't stand more than about 20 minutes in a shopping cart. Going to more than one store at a time is absolutely out of the question. The longest I'm ever out with him is for the weekly grocery shopping trip. I'm always very prepared...I always go right after nap, feed him first, bring toys and have a detailed list organized by section of the store. Still, by the time I hit produce a certain someone is throwing himself back in the cart in true "drama llama" fashion and sobbing like his whole world is ending. Usually while I'm bagging up the groceries Emmett finally gets sick of his brother's shenanigans and starts punching him in the face. Oh yeah, I'm sure Superstore just loooooooooves it when we show up.
Yesterday I had to do a HUGE shop (I'm putting on my big lunch this Saturday and had to buy all that stuff as well as our groceries), so I brought James with me and put Sethers in the sling my sis in law gave me (thanks Brit!)...this solved the cart conundrum (all he really wants is to be held while we shop, but good luck doing that while pushing a full cart with a 33 lb preschooler in it), but I was so weighed down by the chubster I could barely pick things off the shelf. And today my shoulders are killing me...I can't win! I guess I'm going to have to add grocery shopping to the list of stuff that has to wait until James gets home to help me. Seth, you are about to be banned from Superstore.
Sorry this is so long and ranty, I'm running on way too little sleep and just having one of those "baby for sale" mornings. I really do love my kidlets (and tell them so everyday), I just need a hot bath and a 3 hour nap. Neither of those things appear to be forthcoming, so a ranty blog entry will have to do. ;)
Monday, November 2, 2009
Suck-vember
Well, it's that time of year again...the pumpkins are slowly rotting on their doorsteps, my jeans are tight following a major Halloween week (yes, I said week) candy binge, and Christmas is still like 7 weeks away. November just sort of sucks any way you look at it...I mean, there's Rememberance Day, but that's not really in the category of Fun Festivities, now is it? I'm sure all of the stores are in full on Christmas mode, but I know if it I start getting into the holiday spirit now I'll be fully burnt out a full week before Christmas actually arrives. I always feel like I'm just trying to get through November so the good stuff can start.
I'm changing my strategy this year...I'm going to cram November so full of stuff I won't even notice it flying by (I hope). Looking at the calendar, my strategy looks promising. This week we've got to deal with the flu shot fiasco (whenever they decide to open up the clinics again), then next week I'm putting on lunch for 50 at a church thing (if you're going to quarterly enrichment...hope you like chili! ;)). After that I'm planning a hawaiian luau themed preschool activity, and somewhere in all of that will be Christmas on the Square - fireworks and the big Turning on of Downtown Christmas Lights. Doing this in November totally goes against my policy of no Christmas until December 1, but Mayor Mandel isn't taking my calls. So, I'll have to once again make an exception.
Also on the docket this month...finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I'm right in the thick of it right now...sorry Langstons, I broke down and borrowed a copy from the library!), do some knitting, finish my Christmas shopping (oh yeah, that's right, I said FINISH) and hopefully sneak a date night in with James, too. Anyone feel like babysitting? ;)
I'm changing my strategy this year...I'm going to cram November so full of stuff I won't even notice it flying by (I hope). Looking at the calendar, my strategy looks promising. This week we've got to deal with the flu shot fiasco (whenever they decide to open up the clinics again), then next week I'm putting on lunch for 50 at a church thing (if you're going to quarterly enrichment...hope you like chili! ;)). After that I'm planning a hawaiian luau themed preschool activity, and somewhere in all of that will be Christmas on the Square - fireworks and the big Turning on of Downtown Christmas Lights. Doing this in November totally goes against my policy of no Christmas until December 1, but Mayor Mandel isn't taking my calls. So, I'll have to once again make an exception.
Also on the docket this month...finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (I'm right in the thick of it right now...sorry Langstons, I broke down and borrowed a copy from the library!), do some knitting, finish my Christmas shopping (oh yeah, that's right, I said FINISH) and hopefully sneak a date night in with James, too. Anyone feel like babysitting? ;)
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