#%@#%&% Christmas Cards!!!

I can't get my printer to print the envelopes for our Christmas cards without jamming! I know I am very late sending them, I dont' have time for this. Actually thought about not sending any this year, but got some really sweet ones that I just had to respond to. No time for a christmas letter or anything. I hate the generic no message card, but thats what I'm sending this year.

Have to finish cleaning for my friend, her partner and their new baby to visit this evening. Thank goodness I still had some soup and corn bread in the freezer that a friend made us when Little Bit arrived. I have that in the crock pot and hope it will make a good dinner.

Now, to scrub the toilet and mop the floor because the cleaning lady didn't show on Friday. She better come this week (craig talked to her and she said she will) or I will have to be committed!

Christmas To Do's

I'm freaking myself out with this list. Hopefully it will help me stay focused and organized instead of spinning my wheels. I set the bar a little too high last Christmas with all the things I had the boys make. Getting a late start this year. sigh.....

Christmas Cards

• Download Pictures
• choose picture
• edit pic if necessary
• create card - costco?
• order card
• pick up card
• address envelopes
• stamp
• Mail
  

Dining Room

• Clear Table
  
• Build File cabinet table - Craig
• Clear top of Armoire - Carol
• Move Printer - craig
• wash valances
• Empty boxes
• move buffet?
• empty file cabinets?
• move file cabinets?
• keyboard - move?
  

Living Room

• decorate mantel
• decide final furniture configuration
• empty "toy" bench
• back packs in toy bench
• boxes for mittens/hats in toy bench?
• borrow coat tree?

Presents
Gifts to Teachers

• What boys give to teachers?
• Purchase supplies for gift to teachers
• make gifts to teachers
• package/wrap gifts to teachers
• Card for Miss P?

Gifts to Family

• Boys to make gifts to family?
• Decide on gift for Gwen
  
• Wrap Gifts to Debbie, Dan, Dale, Mandy
• Wrap Gifts to Boys

Baking
Sugar Cookies

• check for ingredients
• purchase ingredients
• mix dough
• cut out and bake
• frost

Peanut Brittle

• find recipe
• purchase peanuts
• purchase other ingredients if needed
• find thermometer
• make candy
• break and box candy to give to teachers

Ghiardelli Cookies

• check for additional ingredients
• bake

Plan Meals - to go in separate doc

• Shop for meals and begin prep by end of week

New Friend


A neighbor a few houses away has a son Maestro's age. She used to work and has an older son, so we had a hard time spending time together. Now she is not work and our older kids are in school. Maestro and P play fairly well together and R. and I really enjoy each other's company. Today I actually invited her in for coffee. It felt so grown up. We've only lived her 7 years and I finally had a neighbor in for coffee.

YAY!

Rough Day

This is one of the days I dreaded when thinking of having a 3rd. Very tired and drained today. Long trip to Grocery store pushing cart full of groceries and pulling along a cart full of car seat yesterday was a killer on my back. Then baby had a rough night. I had things to do though, so I motored through it. I think I scared dh. I was so hungry and desperately searching the fridge for mayo so I could make lunch before Little Bit cried AGAIN! As I was looking, the bag of meat that still needed to be put away got jostled and blood ran out of the bag into the cheese drawer! It was so gross and cleaning it was so NOT what I wanted to be doing then. Only good thing is that in the process of cleaning it up, all the meat got put away and that was one chore I could stop thinking about.
I was hobbling around muttering and cursing and nearly in tears at one point. When I got out my chef's knife to prepare dinner he looked ready to run for the hills!

One good thing was the pedi apt. today. Dr. Charlie lifted the isolation restriction. Acted a little like it was strange I was asking about it. He was off his game though today I think. Told me I should go off dairy to help the reflux and yet wanted him to stay on Neosure mixed with breast milk until he was 8 lbs. HUH? Neosure is a dairy formula. Plus I told him he is finally nursing. Not sure how I am supposed to open my breast and pour in the powder before feeding.

Later, when Little Bit needed to nurse the millionth time when I was trying to get something done, I gave up. He keeps nursing for 5-10 minutes, falling asleep and then wakes up 20 minutes later wanting to eat again. I couldn't take it anymore. I finally grabbed the bottle of premixed Neosure that we had gotten from the NICU and put it in a bottle. I didn't even want to take the time to thaw breast milk. I just wanted to feed him and get him settled all ready. I hope that doesn't make me a bad. mom. Anyway, unlike the time I tried to give him powdered formula, he drank this right down. Then he slept for 2+ hours right during the homework, cook dinner, 3 year old melt down over "NO TV" hour. It was almost heavenly. Made me want to quit nursing and just do formula.

Me of all people. Looking forward to nursing was one of the things that sustained me through my pregnancy. I'm sure we'll get through it, but I will have a bottle in a cooler next to the bed tonight. If he starts the nursing every 20 minute thing, I am giving him a bottle. Hopefully we will both get some good sleep tonight. I need it if I will survive until Christmas.

On a positive note, a mom from Maestro's class brought me Irish Soda Bread. I had a slice for Breakfast after Little Bit's apt. It was so yummy! I think I will end my day with a piece of it too. Best part is she agreed to share the recipe. It is honestly the best Irish Soda Bread I have had.

When we go to Africa.....

Amidst the holiday madness, I must remember to write down the cute things the kids say. The discussions of the winter holidays really has Galileo's mind churning. Last week he wanted to know why we weren't Jewish. Yesterday we had this dialogue while decorating the tree.

Galileo: Have we ever been to another country?
Me: No, you and Maestro haven't yet
Galileo: (Thinks a minute) Well, when we go to Africa, we will be African Americans
Me: Well, no. Afican American is a word for some Americans who have darker colored skin. They are called that because their ancestors came from Africa.
Galileo: (looks confused)
Me: (thinking of all the political and historical info that is way over his head) Honestly, we should be called European Americans because our ancestors came from Europe.
Galileo: What?
Me: Our ancestors came from Europe.
Galileo: NO, MAMA, what did you call us light skinned people?
Me: European Americans, cause our ancestors, our great great great grandparents came from Europe, right.
Galileo: Right, European Americans. (all is right in his world again and goes back to decorating)

I wonder what he is going bring home to stump me with next

Finally



After visiting 2 targets and calling all the targets in the known universe (ok, just all the ones in this part of Jersey) I gave up and came home to order one from Amazon. My mom agreed to order the other one since Amazon had a 1 item limit on this toy. Well, I logged on and it is now out of stock until Jan 9 or later!!!! rrrgh!

I did a search and finally found it for $4 more than retail at a site I have never heard of. I hope its a legit site and they actually get here.

Just got back from taking Galileo to school. Now, I need to get some breakfast and coffee before the babe wakes up and then get to work. Luckily Galileo has enrichment today so I don't HAVE to be anywhere until 4:15. Maybe Maestro and I will go to the grocery with childcare so he can play and I can buzz through the store.

Strike Out!

Grrrrr! I have been all over the place IRL and on the web trying to get the one toy that both my kids asked Santa for. Mind you my shopping for them has been done since Sept., but they both really want Mega Mask by Cranium. Noggin only shows a commercial for it every 6 minutes or so! The marketing is working because it is sold out everywhere. I could have gotten it online last week, but decided to get it in a real store. STOOOPID! Now its sold out on line and at Amazon I can only get one. Only problem is I have 2 boys. One target about 45 minutes away from me has them available supposedly, so I may try there.

Hey, that may be where the grocery store is that I can shop online and then just drive in and pick it up. Hmmmm! Me sees a drive in my future.

SCORE!

I managed to score a gift I had long ago given up on getting. There was a cart full of TMX Elmo's in the middle of an aisle at Toys R Us today. I couldn't believe my luck. I watched many other people approach the cart and investigate in disbelief. I snatched one fast! Don't really have a kid its appropriate for, but we have gotten an elmo every year for the last 5 or 6. It is as much for the adults to laugh over as anything. I think Santa will give it to Little Bit and then the big boys can play with it.

I also finally found a gift for my hubby. I had to go to three different stores and then had to go back to the first store and buy the one I orignally bought that wasn't right. Then I had to go to the bank and redeposit the cash that she gave me for the return. Did all this plus Target and Toys R Us while Maestro was in preschool and still managed to pick him up 30 minutes early and get home to nurse Little Bit. Amazing what an unencumbered mom can accomplish!

Live, Love, Laugh: Back to Blogging

I stopped blogging here when I created a weight loss page and blog elsewhere. Then I got pg and that blog didn't seem like the appropriate place to be posting and yet for some reason I didn't come back here.

I wish I could back date posts here. I would love to be able to compile posts to web communities I visit along with the posts I made to the other blog and have them all in one place. If anyone knows how I can do that, please let me know.

Baby has another cold. I have a million errands that I was hoping to get done today while his big brothers are in school, but I hesitate to take him out while he is sick. I'm so tired, I think I may go nap. I have a million and one things here at home I could be doing too, but sleep sounds so good....

Think I'll go do that and then maybe get up in time to do something before I pick Matthew up from his playdate.

Wow, what a boring first entry.

P.S. I figured it out! I will copy things that I have posted elsewhere and back date them.