This is December 2005. Baby Charlotte is sitting in a rocking chair I have for one of my porceilan dolls my Grandmother made me in high school. The other two are my girls under our tree (obviously). My family LOVED the picture (the last one) as I made wallets & included it in my snail mail Christmas cards this year. I usually send a pic of Liz (Char's first Christmas this year) with Santa. Since we had been sick & had yet to visit Santa I included this one instead.

The kids Godparents visited on Christmas Eve morning & stayed for about 1 1/2 hours. It was the first time the Godmother had seen Charlotte. After they left Bob & the girls took a nap & I cleaned carpet. My parents showed up about 3pm & much to my surprise were very well behaved. There were no snide remarks about my house not being perfect, no gossiping about others either in out out of our family & no telling me how I do things wrong, blah, blah, blah. They always love DH's cooking though. They even complimented our tree this year! WOnders never cease do they!

As for Christmas Day, DH & I woke up to the oldest next to our bed crying. She came into our our room & says "Mommy, Daddy I feel sick!" Then proceeds to vomit all over herself, us & our bed. Keep in mind she is still 1/2 asleep herself. We start to open gifts once she begins feeling better & she vomits again while opening them. We finished once she felt better. After that I changed the bedding & her & Daddy laid down & watched tv, falling asleep. We arrived at my folks & my brothers about 3pm. Opened gifts, had dinner & were on our way home by 7:30pm. Mom bought a pre-cooked ham this year & it was the first time in years that I had seconds at dinner. Maybe she actuaaly considered my suggestion & just did it a cheaper way. Once again, all in my mom's house were very well behaved. It was a big surprise to expereince that.

I got my Christmas wish of a holiday with NO DRAMA! WOO HOO!

Is Christmas over yet?

GEEZ! It seems like I hove SO much to get done & not a prayer of finishing it all. My parents are comming over to our place on Christmas Eve for dinner. I was also informed tonight when DH got home that the morning of Christmas Eve the kids Godparents are stopping by. I need to NOT be sitting on the computer tyoing but this will help me keep my sanitiy.

The laundry has piled up because dryer was broken & the Maytag man only comes out to the middle of nowhere once per week. The thought of dealing with 15 loads of piled up laundry & two little kids at the laundrymat was just TOO much.

I can say that at least my Christmas shopping is finished. The wrapping of gifts isn't, but I can do that in my spare time. Right, like I even know what spare time IS anymore.

I am stressing out because althought I love my parents dearly, she is anal about housework. SHe thinks that because she was a SAHM of 4 & her house looked near perfect, that mine should as well. I stress out everytime she is comming for a visit. I still have boxes in my livingroom & kitchen from our move in mid October. She also enjoys talking about people I don't know & trying to create drama between family members. She bad mouths my DH on the phone & everyone else she can think of. For awhile she stopped doing that, but she is back to her old self.

We are going to their house for Christmas Day. Going so we can watch my Dad play on the computer & be anti social, listen to my parents & brother argue & eat overcooked, bland food. I would like to skip it but we don't live far enough away to do that. I even asked my mom what she usually spends on dinner & she replied about $75. I mentioned that she could save herself a ton of work & just pay Boston Market to make dinner, pick it up & heat it in the oven. She was absoultly completely opposed to that idea. She got down right bitchy with me for even suggesting it. I didn't even hint that I think her food sucks. Saying it sucks is putting it VERY mildly. I also offered to bring a couple of dishes to eliminate some of the work. Somehow THAT was offensive as well. I give up trying to help or please that woman. You cannot help someone that doesn't want it. I just don't want Christmas to be a replay of Easter. If it is, my DH will never return to my folks for another holiday again.

I am in the process of creating a soundtrack of my life. I saw someone do it on the My 43 things website & since I love music, I am doing it as well.
I will probably break it up into sections, but it will be interesrting to look back & see what I've choosen for my soundtrack. Will I list it? Maybe, but I have to complete it first.

My "break" has lasted long enough.

Here's to hoping Christmas goes without any drama this year.

What have you done?

( ) smoked a cigarette
( ) crashed a friend's car
( ) stolen a car
( X ) been in love
( X ) been dumped
( X ) shoplifted
( X) been fired
( X) been in a fist fight
(X ) snuck out of your parents' house
( X ) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back?
(X ) gone on a blind date
( X ) lied to a friend
(X ) skipped school
(X ) seen someone die
( X ) been to Canada
(X) been to Mexico
( X) been on a plane
( ) purposely set a part of yourself on fire
( ) eaten sushi
( X) been skiing
( X ) met someone from the Internet
( X ) been at a concert
(X) taken painkillers
( X ) love someone or miss someone right now
(X ) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
( X ) made a snow angel
( ) had a tea party
( X ) flown a kite
( X ) built a sand castle
( X ) gone puddle jumping
( X ) played dress up
( X ) jumped into a pile of leaves
( X ) gone sledding
( X ) cheated while playing a game
( X ) been lonely
( X ) fallen asleep at work/school
(X ) used a fake ID
( X ) watched the sun set
( ) felt an earthquake
( X ) slept beneath the stars
( X ) been tickled
( X ) been robbed
( X ) been misunderstood
( ) petted a reindeer/goat/kangaroo/deer
( X ) won a contest
( X ) run a red light/stop sign
( ) been suspended from school
( ) had braces
( X ) felt like an outcast/third person
( X) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
( X ) had déjà vu
( X ) danced in the moonlight
( X) liked the way you looked
( X ) witnessed a crime
( X) questioned your heart
( ) been obsessed with post-it notes
( X ) squished mud through your bare feet
( X ) been lost
( X) been on the opposite side of the country
( X) swam in the ocean
( X ) felt like dying
( X ) cried yourself to sleep
(X ) played cops and robbers
( X ) recently colored with crayons
( X) sang karaoke
( X ) paid for a meal with only coins
( X ) done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( X) made prank phone calls
( X ) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( X ) caught a snowflake on your tongue
( X ) danced in the rain
( X ) written a letter to Santa Claus
( X ) been kissed under the mistletoe
( X) watched the sun rise with someone you care about
( X ) blown bubbles
( ) made a bonfire on the beach
(X ) crashed a party
( X ) gone roller-skating
( X ) had a wish come true
( X) jumped off a bridge

Holy crap! I didn't think I would have checked THAT many items! It made me laugh & remember things I haven't thought of in a very long time.

Thanks Carolyn F.!

Pity Party. Needed to vent.

It's been awhile since I posted anything here. I haven't been neglectiong the blog. I have been sick. I still am sick. In fact, I have a raging fever as I type! Unfortunatly for me, my two gilrs are sick as well. We all know what that means...Momma doesn't get any sleep. The week of Thanksgiving my infant daughter got a cold. Since my MIL was visiting from Illinois, just staying home with the baby wasn't really an option. Well. her cold turned into a nasty ear infection. We take her to the Dr & just as she gets better then the 3 year old gets sick. No Dr required, just had a nasty cold. The 3 year old WAS feeling better but got the baby & I sick again. In the meantime the 3 year old has gotten sick again herself! Last night I was up SIX times between the baby, the 3 year old & myself. Tonight has been no better. I LOVE my DH but he actually YELLED at me because I cried while trying to open a childproof cap so I could take some medecine. Yes I KNOW he's worried about getting sick himself but guess what...I am sick & I am still caring for the girls, cleaning, cooking & trying to get better. He needs to get the F@*! OVER IT! He said he is tired of hearing ONE of cry all of the time. GUESS WHAT! I HAVEN'T BEEN CRYING...our two small children have. I'M TIRED OF IT TOO! I deal with it TWENTY-FOUR SEVEN! EXCUSE ME if I had a WEAK MOMENT & shed a few tears MYSELF! Gee, can you tell I am not myself today? Tonight he can eat leftovers, care for the girls after he gets to eat & watch two hours of TV & I am going to bed. VERY EARLY I AM GOING TO BED. Speaking of bed, my fever has broken so I'm going to try & catch what amounts to yet another cat nap.

More pictures from 2005

Bob & Liz March 23rd 2005 at the Zoo. My sister thought it was a backdrop at first!




November 23rd 2005. A display at the Santa's Village amusement park near the freeway.
Liz & her "Grandpa" Ron. Ron is my MIL's "boyfriend" of many years. Liz just started calling him that on the last visit.
August 2005. This was the photo I submitted to Human Clock for 3:54 PM.

Summer 2005 in Lizzys "old" room at the old house. The teddy bear was made by my mother for my Grandfather in the late 1980's. My Grandparents said they had to buy a ticket for the Teddy bear to get it on the plane back to Illinois with them!

These are just various pictures taken of my kids recently. The last one was taken an hour before I had to take my beloved German Shepard Mix to be put down. He was the BEST dog in the world for 11 1/2 years. I adopted him at the age of 8 weeks from the local Humane Society. We bonded instantly. He was so BEYOND good with the girls. I miss him terribly.