My Snow Monster

I woke up this morning to my mom yelling for me from upstairs. When I got up there I noticed my mom and Jayke were outside in the snow. They had already made a snowman. We got just enough snow they were able to create a Jayke-size snowman. She said he was all over the yard in the snow. At one point he yelled "Look Oma!" and when she looked over he threw himself down and started making snow angels. After I saw his creation he decided to practice some kung fu on the poor thing and kicked it until it fell over in a slushy heap. The snow didn't last long but at least he got in one good outing in the white stuff before it disappeared.

SNOW!

It started snowing at around 11 p.m. this evening. It is technically still Christmas so I guess in a way I got what I wanted, snow on Christmas! They say we may even get a couple of inches. I will have to go buy Jayke some boots tomorrow if that happens. Last year he got to play in the snow one time and loved it. I had to drag him in the house kicking and screaming. He wanted to stay in the snow. I think he will enjoy it even more this year if it sticks around long enough to get out in.

Merry Christmas to All!

Christmas at the Zoo

I've lived in this town for 33 years and had never been to Me's Zoo. I finally got to go this Christmas eve. I was surprised at how many animals they have there! You could pet a lot of them or feed them corn. You could get peanuts to feed the bears and corn for the goats, zebra, cows, and deer. Jaykeb loved it! He was a little afraid of the goats when we went in with them. They were surrounding him looking for corn. He finally got his nerve up and started feeding them. He wouldn't pet the camel, Omar but he tried to pet the zebra. The lights were really pretty as you can see in the picture above. I think this will have to be a new Christmas tradition for us. Maybe next year it will even snow a little while we are there. You can check out the zoo here: http://www.meszoo.com/xmas.html

Christmas number 2

Santa must have arrived at my father's house as depicted in this picture. We were told he was cutting back this year but the piles of gifts stacked all the way across the room didn't appear any smaller. We were even missing half the family! Jaykeb was extremely excited to get his new big wheel and his Go Diego go things. He also got a robotic dinosaur and the new Tickle Me Elmo. I think half way through the marathon gift opening he wanted to go take a nap. He made an excellant Santa passing out all the gifts to everyone and even collected all the wrapping paper and empty boxes as we went and put them in the trash. When we were all done he told me he wanted to go to bed so to bed we went. We had to rest up for our 3rd go-round tomorrow.

Love It!

I'm sure I will make half of my family mad with this post but I couldn't resist! Found it on one of my favorite blogs http://weighing-in-without-the-cookies.blogspot.com/

How Rude!

I decided to brave the holiday shopping crowds today to buy my final gift for our Christmas tomorrow morning at my dad's. It is amazing the difference in people here from the people in the South. They are so rude here! I guess when you live here you don't notice it as much, but after living down there where everyone is so nice and polite it is very noticeable. I wrote in an earlier post that everyone living in the South should have to spend a winter north of I70 to learn how to cope with winter weather, I now think everyone living north of I70 should have to live in the South to learn how to be nice! Me included!

Poor Santa

Looks like Santa needs some help! This is from a display in Colorado, fitting after the blizzard they had a couple of days ago. I told you Kelly, I'm worried Santa won't find you in all that snow! photo: Foxnews.com

Surprise!

Tomorrow is Christmas number 2! I can't wait. Jaykeb is so much fun this year! He likes everything and his excitement is contagious! Tomorrow morning we will have Christmas at my dad's house. There won't be as many people there this year and no other kids for Jaykeb to play with but I know we will have fun anyway. After my dad's will be Christmas at my mom's then up to Mike's parents for Christmas where there will be lots of cousins for Jaykeb to play with. Mike surprised us yesterday by showing up a day earlier than expected. Jaykeb was so happy to see him and just as happy to see that he had our dog, Simon with him. Simon is his best friend and I think he was missing him. He went outside immediately to play with him and got very upset when I tried to leave him in the back yard. We had dinner at my dad's then back to my mom's for the evening. The boys were tired so they went to bed and I headed out to visit with friends. It was a good day.

The Cut

It is done! Jaykeb finally got a haircut. You could only understand why I talk about the haircut the way I do if you witness it firsthand. Tonight Angi got to see what I've been talking about. We both took our boys to get their hair cut thinking they could both convince the other to do it. I was at a disadvantage from the beginning. Matthew is much older and doesn't mind getting his hair cut, he just hasn't wanted to lately. He was fine with it on the other hand Jaykeb was not. I thought we were going to get lucky because he didn't cry on the way in and went willingly to the chair. It wasn't until the first snip of hair hit his neck that he began to freak out. There was crying, yelling, and attempted escapes. There was gagging and spitting as he would rub his face and get the hair in his mouth. I tried holding his arms down but they always crept up there. There was a lot of begging and promises that it was almost over. There were a lot of attempted distractions and even a neck massage from Angi which helped a little but in the end we were all just happy it was over and Matthew could take his turn in the chair. While Matthew quietly got his hair cut I stripped Jayke's shirt off and tried to get all the hair off of him, his shirt, his coat, my sweater, and anything else that was within 10 feet of us while the cutting was going on. Then I spent the next hour trying to cool off from our ordeal. I must say that this girl did a much better job on his hair and he looks adorable. He is very proud of his hair cut now that it is over. Afterwards he got to go play with Matthew and Maci and soon forgot the torture his mother had just put him through. I am more than ready for this phase to be over. His dad is so taking him to get the next one!

Blizzard out West

Blizzard in Colorado! Hope you guys are staying warm and safe out there. Kelly, I know I owe you an email. I will soon, I promise. Could you send some of that snow this way for Christmas? I sure hope Santa can find you! Make a snow angel for me okay?

photo Foxnews.com

STOP IT!

Stop It!! My dad and my uncle, John, think it is funny to run up my blog counter. They keep clicking on the refresh button to increase the number. They think they are funny. I wondered why that thing kept going up and up. Now I know. Just stop it! So, obviously I can post. You don't have to worry about me going through withdrawal Kim. There may not be any interesting pictures but I can write which I will have to do later because right now I have to get ready to go try to get Jaykeb to get his hair cut with my friend, Angi and her son. Wish me luck!

On The Road Again

Well, I'm off to the great frigid North this morning. I really hate leaving the beautiful weather we are having here but Santa calls us home. I will not be able to put any new pics on of my own until I return but I will try to post if time. Hope everyone has a wonderful safe Christmas and a very Happy New Year! We will see some of you soon!

Christmas Number 1

Jayke got his four wheeler from Santa. He was so excited about it but a little afraid of it at first. It was in the 70s so we were able to go out for a test drive.

Santa also brought him a bicycle! He was just as excited about his bicycle as the four wheeler. He still can't pedal very well though so it may be spring before he is really able to ride the bike well.

Mommy lost her mind and bought Jaykeb a drum which also came with a harmonica, and tamborine! We had lots of music to entertain us all afternoon.

Jaykeb was so excited aobut Santa coming that he wanted to go to bed at 5 o'clock the night before. We managed to keep him up until 8:30 though so that he wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night. He still got up at 5:30 wanting to know if Santa was there yet. At first when he saw all his stuff he was a little shy and didn't quite know what to do but he soon dove in and went through his stocking and opened all his gifts. Because it was still dark out and kind of chilly he didn't actually discover that Santa had brought him a four wheeler until later in the afternoon. He went back to bed on his own after playing with his toys for a while and took a nap. After that he found the surprise waiting on the porch. We had a really busy day, we rode the four wheeler and bicycle. Played card games and Rock em Sock em Robots. We drove cars, played music, and took a bath to play with all the new tub toys. We also finger painted and read all his new books. When bedtime came he was more than ready. Now he has a few days until we have 3 more Christmases in Indiana. He is going to think Christmas is a month long event by the time we are finished. And when we are finished with Christmas it will be his birthday!

Just Silliness

Twas the night before Christmas (at least at our house since we have to go back to Indiana and don't want to haul all that stuff with us) and all through the house not a creature was stirring except...me of course since I really only sleep between the hours of 4 and 10 a.m. The stockings were lost (so we are using stocking caps) the caps thrown on the floor (because we don't have a mantle) and I'm just hoping the four-wheeler fits through the door. (I will attempt to rhyme when convenient) Child and husband snuggled up in bed while visions of monster trucks dance in their heads. (All Jayke ever asks for) I just settled in to write on my blog when out on the lawn I heard such a clatter oh wait it's just the dog, he couldn't hold his bladder. I ran to the door to call him in quick, he barks so much it makes me sick. Now back to my blog I really must post, I don't know why seems silly to most. I should be wrapping gifts but here I sit, trying to write I might throw a fit. I should stop this nonsense and go to bed, my mother keeps telling me I'm out of my head. All of a sudden a thought comes to light, and I sit and type well into the night. I post pictures of this and pictures of that, my blog is really becoming quite fat. With a few more keystokes the end is in sight, I bid you adeiu and wish you goodnight!

Yankee Rant

With the arrival of the winter months upon us the wonderfully helpful news stations have begun prepping us southerners for the impending doom of forty degree weather and a possible dusting of snow. ( This is my second winter here and I have yet to see a flake but that could be because I don't get up early enough in the morning.) The weather forecasters continually remind us folks that we need to shut off our spinkler systems, leave the cabinet doors open over night so pipes won't freeze, and make sure our outside animals have a shelter so they won't be dogcycles in the morning. ( I looked outside and my dogs are on lounge chairs with sunglasses on.) I think it should be a requirement for all southerners to have to spend one winter north of I70. In doing so they would learn to do these things on their own so the evening newscasts won't be filled with stories of people wrecking their cars on black ice caused by the sprinkler system left on. I read a story somewhere that a guy always orders pizza when it snows because the local pizza delivery guy tells him to come get it and he can have all the pizzas they have because they aren't going out in this s**t! I need to find that pizza joint! I don't think I need to find it anytime soon though, it was 67 degrees today. I was skimming blogs this afternoon and came across one written by someone who lives in SC. He had the same musings regarding the news and left the following advice for us cold-weather challenged southern folk.

*Stay calm.

*If you are driving over a patch of ice, slam on your brakes to make your car stop moving.

*Don’t cry because your tears will freeze your eyelids shut.

*Maintain at least one working helicopter and a snow-mobile in case road conditions become absolutely impossible to navigate.

*A Saint Bernard's time is very precious and should not be spent responding to hoaxes.

*Set aside space in your basement to store fallen family members in case you have to eat them to survive... like in that movie “Alive

List by kickassmedia.blogspot.com

Christmas Cards

The Christmas cards are finally starting to appear in the mailbox. I love getting Christmas cards. Every day I eagerly await the arrival of the mail person so I can run out and see who I will be hearing from. It shows people still take time out of their busy schedule to think about you and don't take the easy way out by sending one over the internet. I like snail mail too, but I only ever get that from my cousin Kelly anymore. It seems the most popular Christmas card this year is the photo card. The one you have printed off in mass at the print shop or if you are computer savvy enough, on your own printer. I like receiving them to get a glimse into people's lives I may not have seen in a long time. I have sent these before and they are very easy and save time. I've received a couple of the traditional cards and to date only one "Christmas letter" otherwise known as the brag letter. You know, the one that tells all your families' accomplishments over the past year. I'm guilty of writing these once or twice as well but only sending them to a select few. My mom likes to write the "anti-Christmas letter" and read it at our Christmas gathering at her house. It is a letter that makes fun of each and every one of us and exposes all our mishaps over the past twelve months. Very enjoyable until she gets to the part about you. This year I chose to take my own photo, print it off on my printer, and place it in one of those cards made to put your own picture in. I did this because I thought it would be less expensive than going to get his picture taken at JC Penny and having the photo cards made. In the end it took a couple of days to do. I had to go buy another box of photo paper which was fifty dollars because you have to buy ink too, I nearly pulled my hair out trying to get Jayke to sit still and smile for the picture, and I had to send out at least 4 emails to collect addresses that were either changed or somehow missing a zip code. I haven't decided my reasons for torturing myself with this task year after year yet. Is it because I want everyone to see how adorable my child is? Is it because I just want to wish everyone I know Merry Christmas? Or, is it because I am hoping that by receiving my card they will in turn remember to send one to my family? I guess it is probably all of the above but next year, I'm going with the photo card printed for me at JC Penny.

Oh yeah...if you sent us one of the cards mentioned above thank you! We love it! We are so glad you thought of us!

sculpture

This is my Mexican bird sculpture that I hauled all the way from Mexico, or rather Mike hauled. I love it! It is perfect on my deck next to my new fountain. I was super shocked when Mike volunteered to carry it for me. We had to carry it through the market and then in and out of the condo and on and off airplanes. It made it though (I had my doubts)! The bird actually rocks on it's base, they had a bunch of them in the restaurant we ate at several times and I loved them so when I found them in the market I had to have one. Just a LITTLE souvenir.

I've Never been so Proud to be from Muncie...

'Armed & Famous' paying money to people arrested, some offered T-shirtDec. 11, 2006 MUNCIE -- Armed & Famous producers are using T-shirts and money to persuade criminal suspects to sign waivers that allow the show to broadcast their faces.

The Star Press

Claus.com

Get your Naughty or Nice rating and your elf name here!http://www.claus.com/index.php

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Yesterday we went to Sonic for lunch. Jaykeb had a Sonic Blast of his very own. He did pretty well eating it all by himself but at one point he told me, "This sticky icky gunck is NOT cool, Mommy". The things the child says...

For Kim!

A happier looking gingerbread man? His mouth is open too and if you stare at him long enough he begins to look like he is terrified of something. Maybe that is just the way gingerbread men are supposed to look.

White Christmas

Okay, I admit, I want to see some snow. I miss it a little bit. I'm sure it is only because it is Christmas and I love snow at Christmas time. I don't want it to snow here though, just in Indiana. Ha! I want it to snow when I come home then after Christmas it can all melt and go away. I am perfectly happy with my mid to upper sixty degree weather here. It is a little strange though to have the door open and be wearing short sleeve shirts less than two weeks from Christmas. I may never get used to that. It should be snowing on Christmas no matter where you live in the world, it just should. I don't think you ever outgrow that tiny wave of excitement you feel when you hear there is a big snowstorm coming. When you see those first flakes start to fall and you just want to go out and stand in it, at least, I do. The way the quietness surrounds you as the falling snow somehow muffles all the noises we don't realize we hear constantly until they are silenced. The beautiful white landscape and crystalized trees. The wispering wind playfully swirling the flakes through the frigid air. It is true the first bit of a snowfall is beautiful but it quickly fades as brown slush starts to replace the white fluffy snow, the perfect white landscape begins to be marred by footsteps and tire marks. The annoyance of having to scrape car windows and having frozen fingers and wet feet starts to wear on your nerves. Navigating slick icy roads causes you to dread leaving the safety of your warm dry home and all of a sudden you just want it all to go away. So, yes, I want some snow for Christmas but only for a day. Only long enough to feel the excitement and enjoy the beauty. Watch my child discover snow angels and sledding. Watch him try to catch snowflakes on his tongue. Have a snowball fight with him. To see the excitement in him that we all felt as a child when a snowfall brought endless possibilties of adventure and fun. Please let it snow on Christmas.

See How He's Changed

Jayke's first Christmas

2nd Christmas(this was our Christmas card picture)

3rd Christmas

Okay, he doesn't look that much different from last year but he is taller, I know because he can turn the lights on now.

The Artist

Jaykeb colored this picture for me. I thought for a child not even 3 years old yet it is pretty good!

Jayke's New Wheels

Santa is bringing this for Jaykeb this year. He will be able to ride with his friend Micah now and keep up. Guess I will be spending more time outside!

Way to Go, Opa!

This was in the StarPress in the Around Yorktown section of the paper on December 10th.

James Krause, Bookout Builders recognized

The Town of Yorktown Building Department has initiated a new program to recognize developers and contractors who have made the innovative contributions to erosion and sediment control.
James Krause is the recipient of the 2006 MS4 Contractor of the Year Award, and special recognition is given to Bookout Builders. Both have incorporated new best-management practices into their job sites and set an example for cooperation and compliance.

Yikes!

......this mom kicked it up a serious notch: South Carolina mother has son arrested for playing with Christmas present...it wasn't me! I promise! Just thought I better clear that up after the previous post, Ha! [via Drudge Report]

Tell Me about That Bag, Mommy

Our test run was a sucess! Jaykeb got his picture taken with the Gingerbread Man today. Next up, Santa Claus! He wouldn't sit on Santa's lap last year but I think he will this year. He wasn't afraid of the Gingerbread Man at all and as you can see, he was a little scary looking. Not really smiling, kind of looks like he is screaming or shocked or something. Anyway, he was happy and I got my picture for the blog and the scrapbook! My child is bloggerific! We had a conversation today about one of the gifts under the tree, it went something like this.

Jaykeb: Mommy, I want you to tell me about that blue bag under the tree.

Mommy: What about it?

Jaykeb: Tell me about it Mommy.

Mommy: Did you look in that bag Jaykeb?

Jaykeb: No

Mommy: Jaykeb, tell Mommy the truth, did you look in the bag?

Jaykeb: No, I didn't but I want you to tell me about it.

Mommy(to Daddy): Jaykeb looked in one of the giftbags under the tree.

Daddy: Jaykeb did you look in the bag?

Jaykeb: No.

Daddy: What is in that bag, Jaykeb?

Jaykeb: A Monster Truck, tell me about it.

The one and only gift I wrapped using a giftbag was tucked clear in the back behind the tree and taped shut. I can tell (because I always stategically arrange my gifts under the tree to look as if it on display in some fancy store) that he has not touched any of the other presents, just the giftbag. Upon further inspection I find that the tape which was holding the bag tightly closed to prevent prying eyes from discovering the contents was torn. What I don't know is when he did his super secret sleuthing. It wasn't today because we were gone most of the day and I would have noticed if he were poking around under the tree before we left. He had to have made his discovery yesterday sometime and kept it a secret all that time. That is what shocked me the most. I wasn't shocked that he looked in the bag just that he kept it a secret after discovering the treasured contents. He has been talking about that monster truck for days. We got the same thing for his exchange gift at school tomorrow. In fact, that is how I managed to convince him that the truck was not for him. I told him it was the one we are taking to school to give to his friend. He then disappeared into his room for a long time. I don't know if he was in there pouting because the truck wasn't for him or if he just didn't care and went in to play. When he came out he was fine and never mentioned it again. So tomorrow we will give one of the trucks in the exchange and the other one will have to be rewrapped and put back under the tree for Jaykeb on Christmas. Santa is so good!

Don't Adjust Your Screen

Yes! It is an upside down Christmas tree! Genius! Since I used to work in an interior design store and I was responsible for the Christmas Trees this caught my eye. My dad needs this tree for his house because after they wrap all the gifts you can barely get all of us in the living room and you can't see the Christmas tree anymore. This tree would solve all his problems. More room to stack mountains of presents. I should have done this in our store! I'm sure the guys Jim sent over every year to set the 9 trees up for me would have been thrilled when I told them to hang one upside down from the ceiling! This will be the first year I haven't had a client to decorate a tree for in a long time and although I am a big fan of the theme tree, my tree doesn't have one anymore. I decorate it for Jaykeb now. But, since my dream is to one day open a similar store down here, I'm keeping this picture handy. Great displays sell more merchandise! By the way, this tree is suposedly available at Home Depot but I haven't checked that out for sure.

Strike a Pose!

The following is a Christmas photo montage. What can I say, he likes to have his picture taken and most of these poses were his idea. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page after the last post and see the final picture posted there. We have rockin Saturday nights here!

Family Photo

Merry Christmas

From

Wendy, Mike, and

Jaykeb

Christmas Party!

I'm so excited! Monday is Jayke's first school Christmas party! I've been waiting for this! I got to go out and buy an exchange gift for a boy. (Any reason to shop ya know!) Jayke went too and helped pick the gift out. He picked a Monster Truck of course and I think he understands what is going on but he did say something about getting one for him too. I snuck one in the cart for him from Santa. I'm a little nervous about what he will get for his gift. I'm scared he won't like it and try to take the Monster Truck back. He even told Mike he was going to get a Monster Truck at school. I think I will have to have a conversation with him before he goes. We also are taking a little gift bag for each child in his class. I ordered some stuff from Oriental Trading.com and Jaykeb helped me fill the bags. He is really excited about giving a gift to all his friends at school. I want him to learn early it is just as fun to give as it is to receive. For me, it is almost more fun to give because that means I get to go shopping! Yesterday we were out picking up a couple of small gifts and I decided it was a great time to also start teaching him about helping others. I gave him a bunch of quarters and wheeled the shopping cart up to the bell ringer outside Walmart so Jaykeb could make his donation. He was very excited to get to drop his change in the red bucket and the bell ringer was excited about Jaykeb donating as well. He made a big fuss which thrilled Jaykeb even more. Tomorrow we will take our canned goods to the Gingerbread house to donate them so he will get another lesson about "giving". The next lesson I will have to teach him is not to tell everyone what we are giving them for Christmas. He has already tried that once, luckily he was telling the wrong grandparent what the gift was for him. I will either have to stop telling him or not let him talk to anyone until Christmas morning.

Puppy Love

Jaykeb and Simon watching cartoons. He likes to shut the dogs in the bedroom with him while he watches his shows. I hear him in there talking to them, scolding them, and laughing with them. They are his best friends and clearly they love him too.

Gingerbread!

Here is the Ginger Bread House that we are going to this weekend to get Jayke's picture taken with the Gingerbread Man. Our new grocery store made this gingerbread house for a food drive collection point. On weekends the Gingerbread man is there and there will be games for kids and stuff. I hope he isn't afraid of him and will get his picture taken, if not we will just get pics of him in the house, etc. Pretty clever advertising! I will try to get a picture from the other side this weekend, it is a lot bigger from the other side but it was too crowded over there to get a picure. It looks really neat at night all lit up.

Lazy Dog

You've heard of a pig-in-a-blanket, well this is a beagle in a blanket! How pathetic! She loves to be under the covers.

Those Darn Carts!

A new grocery store opened up here in the spring called Bloom. It is by far my favorite grocery store ever so I go there all the time. On weekends Mike likes to run to the store to pick up a few items now and then too. He also loves Bloom because of their awesome sales. He often takes Jaykeb along on his little outings and Jaykeb loves that. Like all grocery stores they have those couple of carts (in the South they are called buggies) for kids that are a big truck which the child can ride in and pretend to be driving while the poor mother carefully navigates the beast through the aisles and around other shoppers. Jaykeb insists on riding in the truck cart everytime. Mike has told me in the past that they never get the truck when he goes, but somehow I always do. The trucks are constructed so that if you have two children riding in them they can both pretend to drive since there are two steering wheels. Not long after the store opened though I noticed that one of the truck carts was missing a steering wheel. I only have one child so it didn't make any difference to me but Jaykeb always wanted to talk about that missing steering wheel. As I am trying to pick out the best fruit in the mountainous piles stacked strategically around the produce department he is down in the truck mumbling something about breaking the truck. I explain to him (every time) that some little kid broke the other steering wheel off and that is why it is not there. I make a mental note to try to get the truck that isn't broken next time so I don't have to have this conversation again. After a while he seems satisfied with my explanation and moves on to pointing out things he wants, mostly cookies. That is how most of my shopping trips go. After doing my Thanksgiving shopping I was sitting visiting with my mom, Jim, and Mike and the grocery carts came up in conversation. I don't remember how or why but they did and I said how I have to remember to try to get the cart that isn't broken from now on. Mike then tells me that Jaykeb is the child who broke off the steering wheel the very first time they ever went. Imagine my shock to find out that my precious child was the one I have been talking about all these trips to the store when I've had to explain that "some kid" broke the brand new cart! It was my kid and he was trying to tell me that all along. Now everytime I go to the store I am worried that the people working there are thinking here comes that woman and her kid who broke our truck. I know they probably have no idea it was him but I can't keep the thought from crossing my mind.

The Elf

Here is my elf and his trusty reindeer!

Holiday Flicks

Meet Me in St. Louis is my absolute favorite movie! I have no idea why. I also don't know why it is considered a Christmas movie because the winter vignette is the shortest of the four. It is the second most successful movie behind Gone With the Wind of all times though and it is shown at Christmas every year. I don't watch old movies throughout the year, only at Christmas. I am on a roll this year though. I watched Holiday Affair the other night and I'm waiting for White Christmas, Holiday Inn, and It's a Wonderful Life. Because I started watching my old movies already I have all my Christmas cards done, the decorating is done, and all the gifts I have so far are wrapped and under the tree. Jaykeb has seen It's a Great Christmas Charlie Brown or whatever that thing is called. I don't like that one but he did. We have all the other tv specials on dvd and he has been watching them too. No Christmas would be complete without watching Rudolph, the longest running, highest rated tv special in history. And of course, we can't get away with Christmas at the in-laws without watching the all day showing of A Christmas Story. Mike and his family watch it every year. Mike really likes it. I insisted that I hated it when we were first married but now I find myself sitting and laughing right along with him and saying "You'll shoot your eye out kid!" My Christmas routine changes almost every year with having to go to so many different places but my perfect Christmas eve will always be the same no matter where we are spending it and that is to be sitting on the floor wrapping last minute gifts while watching It's a Wonderful Life and to have it snowing big flakes outside like it does in the movies.

Technical Difficulties, Presents, and BUMPS!

I am having trouble with my blog. I can't post any pictures right now. I have contacted them and I'm just waiting for them to fix it. I've heard of other people having this problem so hopefully they will fix it soon.

I can still write though! Woohoo! I was all prepared to post an entry on my favorite Holiday movies but it will have to wait until I can post pictures. I wrapped Christmas presents last night and for some reason I always want to watch old movies when I do this. So I turned on my old movies, stressed a little about the wrapping paper not coordinating with my tree decorations, and started wrapping. This morning when Jayke got up he was so excited to see presents under the tree! The only problem was he couldn't open them. He wanted to know who put them there? Why were they there? And then when could he open them. I don't even have an answer for that. I don't have any idea if we will have Chritsmas at our house at all or just take it all to Indiana. Anyway, I had to count the gifts about 10 times for him as he danced around the tree clapping his hands. I think he is really going to be fun at Christmas this year. He is just the right age to WANT to open his gifts and not get disinterested half way through. I hope.

This morning as I was sound asleep in my bed I heard a little voice saying, "Mommy I'm hurt. I have bumps, Mommy." I opened one eye to see the boy with his feet sticking right up to my face. He kept talking about his bumps. I took a couple of seconds to sit up and get my eyes clear enough to inspect his "bumps", the whole time listening to him counting his bumps, 1, 2 , 3, 4... I finally asked him to show me these bumps and he gingerly pointed out one bump on each side of each foot. The "bumps" were his ankle bones. Apparently he had never noticed them before. One was a little red like he had been sleeping with his feet together which more than likely caused him to feel that he was "hurt". I did my Mommy routine and rubbed his little ankles for him and told him he was okay that it was just his bones inside his skin. My "cure" and explanation must have been satisfactory because he was ready for pancakes and chocolate milk. Guess I was done sleeping.