Christmas, Glazed

We spent Christmas in New York and Canada with James' family. On Christmas Day, we took the boys to see Niagara Falls. It was cold, cold, cold. Dressing for the occasion included a collective total of at least 56 items of clothing: five shirts, six pairs of pants (one got icy wet), five jackets, five hats, ten mittens, one scarf, twelve socks (two wet from the same ice that got the pants), and ten boots. After seeing the Falls, we headed into the touristy part of Niagara Falls and had donuts (for all) and coffee (for me, James and Wesley) at Tim Horton's. After a bite or two, all three boys managed to have glaze smeared across their hands, faces, shirt fronts, and the hand-wiping portions of their pants. I was tired and burned out from traveling and visiting, but at that moment I saw my family for who they really are -- the sweet, messy, happy ones I love.

First snowman of 2009

James' new van

No, he hasn't become an air conditioning guy - that's the old name on the van. It's outfitted with shelves and holds James' tools.

So Done

I'm so done with Christmas shopping. I finished all my extended family gifts last week, and then headed out to Michaels and Toys R Us for my boys today. I got everything I wanted for them - stamps and stamp pads, sidewalk chalk, stickers, colored pencils, and hex bugs.

I also got what I didn't want - a view of the ugly side of my society at Toys R Us. There was arm-pulling, hissing, cart-ramming, glaring, and eye-rolling -- and that was just the moms. The kids were, well, doing the same things. That store is beyond redemption, but they sent me a "20% off any one item" coupon in the mail. I got $2 off one of the hex bugs. Was it worth it? Actually, yes, it was. I need that $2.

I know I'll miss out on good savings on Black Friday and thereafter, but by not shopping at all until January (other than groceries), I'll save something even more valuable: my sanity.

Maybe

"Mommy, I want more milk!", says Max.

In fetching more milk for Max, I turned my back on the dinner table for thirty seconds. When I returned, my Diet Coke ("ale" in twinspeak) was half gone.

"Who drank my ale?", I asked.

Silence.

"Who drank it?"

With an expression of total innocence that may well have been sincere, Wesley offered, "Mommy, I think that maybe I drank it. I think it was an accident."

Lake Erie in August

boys at a park on Lake Erie

Oliver isn't overjoyed with nature -- he's pulling other campers' trash out of that tree stump.

visit to western NY in August