December 25, 2005
December 24, 2005
How to Burn Enough Calories to Warrent Icecream
So I get this phone call, " Do you want a Christmas tree?" the wonderful man asks..and I think YES! We want a tree! We hadn't bought one so far because we have no stand, but at this point I am so desperate for Christmas surroundings for my bambino that I figure I'll just lean it against the wall or something. He delivers the tree, all wrapped up. A beautiful TALL Douglas fir. He loans me a hatchet ( what a sweetheart!) .... I chop and chop away at the bottom branches. Why? Because you're supposed to cut the bottom branches, right? I drag my wrapped up tree into the house and onto the folded sheet I have in the corner, and lean it against the wall. Well, I lean it against the wall after cutting the top foot off of the tree with a bread knife because it is too tall. So there is my huge tree, bottom all hacked off, leaning against the wall.. I think HEY, when I unwrap it, those branches will flop down, cover the bottom a little, make a pretty tree for me to put presents under. I fail, at this point, to see all the needles in a trail from the door to the trees resting place.
Key point, that.
SO, I get out my scissors and start cutting away at that thread... Cut... Cut... Cut. Last thread. Cut. I pull away the string and carefully start smoothing down the many branches. All the branches are down. It is at this point that I stand back and look at my creation..... A hugely tall tree with no top, just a blunt stump pointing at the ceiling...... And comparatively few needles.... Where are all the needles?? Oh wait, that HUGE pile of brown stuff under/around/anywhere near the tree must be the needles. Um, OK. Not a problem. Was expecting this, as tree has had no water for weeks. So I vacuum up the mess ( I overt my eyes from the still ugly bottom of hacked up tree.. We'll just wrap some fabric around it, I think). Get out the vacuum, and at this point realize that maybe I should have spent the extra $20 for the one with the huge suction powers.... Just get all needles around the house cleaned up, change to hose attachment, and have a go at the sheet and mammoth pile of needles directly under the tree.
I suck here, I suck there, I ignore itching on arm. Sucking some more, itching some more. Take the time to look into that itching AND THERE IS A HUGE SPIDER JUST CHILLING OUT ON MY FREAKING ARM!!!! So I drop everything, scream/squeal, do the creepy-spider dance, arms flailing. Raegan cries to see Mom freaking out so much, Mom cries because OH MY GOD that was a big spider! And it was ON ME!!
Flash forward to 10 minutes later. Rae and I have calmed down a bit. I put her in front of a movie in her highchair and tip-toe back into THE ROOM. I plan to finish my vacuuming. Needles everywhere, additionally spread due to the lovely dance of death I had so recently performed. Squat down, grab vacuum hose, and am just reaching through to the other side of the tree for a suck when I see it. A nest. No, maybe two nests. Spiders. Huge, mammoth spiders. In my house. Inches away from my face. Lots of them. Moving.
So, another ( silent, don't want to scare the baby again) long freak out dance into the kitchen. WHAT THE HELL????
Flash forward another 10 minutes. I peek in. I actually see one of those giants on my WALL. THEY ARE ESCAPING THE TREE!!!!! Oh my GOD! Matt is at work, Frances and hubby are at Christmas eve party, Davinie and Steve live far enough away that the spiders would be answering the door by the time they got here. Crap. No one to rescue me.
SO, armed only with elbow-high welding gloves and Oxy clean.. I approach the tree. I squirt furiously as I grab the bottom thick branch and give a yank. Tree slides down wall and onto floor. I don't look back. I drag that monstrosity out the front door and onto the lawn, then sprint back inside. Do another heebie-jeebie spider dance. Force self to calm down. Look down. Needles.... Everywhere. And look.... 3 HUGE spiders, building a fort in the middle of all of it. Ugh. Empty the vacuum, un-curl toes... And head into the mess.
Needles: Gone
Oxy-Clean soaked spiders: DEAD, baby!
Huge tree housing spider vacation homes: Outside ( and I will never go out the front door again) Gee, thanks for the tree delivery!
Heart Rate: Elevated... Will have IceCream to calm self.
Vacuum: Living in Garage till Matt can empty it and sanitize container.
Grocery List: now contains several lethal forms of spider killer for the nasty creatures that may have gotten away.
Merry Freaking Christmas.
Next year we buy a fake tree.
(And Matt, just because I delt with these bringers-of-death this one time in order to spare our child from a potentially fatal Christmas, it does NOT relieve you of any and all future spider-dealings.)
Key point, that.
SO, I get out my scissors and start cutting away at that thread... Cut... Cut... Cut. Last thread. Cut. I pull away the string and carefully start smoothing down the many branches. All the branches are down. It is at this point that I stand back and look at my creation..... A hugely tall tree with no top, just a blunt stump pointing at the ceiling...... And comparatively few needles.... Where are all the needles?? Oh wait, that HUGE pile of brown stuff under/around/anywhere near the tree must be the needles. Um, OK. Not a problem. Was expecting this, as tree has had no water for weeks. So I vacuum up the mess ( I overt my eyes from the still ugly bottom of hacked up tree.. We'll just wrap some fabric around it, I think). Get out the vacuum, and at this point realize that maybe I should have spent the extra $20 for the one with the huge suction powers.... Just get all needles around the house cleaned up, change to hose attachment, and have a go at the sheet and mammoth pile of needles directly under the tree.
I suck here, I suck there, I ignore itching on arm. Sucking some more, itching some more. Take the time to look into that itching AND THERE IS A HUGE SPIDER JUST CHILLING OUT ON MY FREAKING ARM!!!! So I drop everything, scream/squeal, do the creepy-spider dance, arms flailing. Raegan cries to see Mom freaking out so much, Mom cries because OH MY GOD that was a big spider! And it was ON ME!!
Flash forward to 10 minutes later. Rae and I have calmed down a bit. I put her in front of a movie in her highchair and tip-toe back into THE ROOM. I plan to finish my vacuuming. Needles everywhere, additionally spread due to the lovely dance of death I had so recently performed. Squat down, grab vacuum hose, and am just reaching through to the other side of the tree for a suck when I see it. A nest. No, maybe two nests. Spiders. Huge, mammoth spiders. In my house. Inches away from my face. Lots of them. Moving.
So, another ( silent, don't want to scare the baby again) long freak out dance into the kitchen. WHAT THE HELL????
Flash forward another 10 minutes. I peek in. I actually see one of those giants on my WALL. THEY ARE ESCAPING THE TREE!!!!! Oh my GOD! Matt is at work, Frances and hubby are at Christmas eve party, Davinie and Steve live far enough away that the spiders would be answering the door by the time they got here. Crap. No one to rescue me.
SO, armed only with elbow-high welding gloves and Oxy clean.. I approach the tree. I squirt furiously as I grab the bottom thick branch and give a yank. Tree slides down wall and onto floor. I don't look back. I drag that monstrosity out the front door and onto the lawn, then sprint back inside. Do another heebie-jeebie spider dance. Force self to calm down. Look down. Needles.... Everywhere. And look.... 3 HUGE spiders, building a fort in the middle of all of it. Ugh. Empty the vacuum, un-curl toes... And head into the mess.
Needles: Gone
Oxy-Clean soaked spiders: DEAD, baby!
Huge tree housing spider vacation homes: Outside ( and I will never go out the front door again) Gee, thanks for the tree delivery!
Heart Rate: Elevated... Will have IceCream to calm self.
Vacuum: Living in Garage till Matt can empty it and sanitize container.
Grocery List: now contains several lethal forms of spider killer for the nasty creatures that may have gotten away.
Merry Freaking Christmas.
Next year we buy a fake tree.
(And Matt, just because I delt with these bringers-of-death this one time in order to spare our child from a potentially fatal Christmas, it does NOT relieve you of any and all future spider-dealings.)
December 23, 2005
Flappy & Friend Revieved for a Review
I have joined a forum where the big topic of conversation is Breastfeeding, and all that goes along with it. Out of curiosity, I have a Q for my readers...
1.-If a mother chooses to breastfeed, what consideration does she owe society, if any?
2.-What do you think society's role in support of breastfeeding mom's should be, if any?
For example:
A. Does a breastfeeding mother have a modesty obligation when feeding her child in public? Where would you draw the line?
B. Is there an age limit where public breastfeeding ( or breastfeeding in general) is frowned upon? Where do you draw the line?
C. Do you think stores and public areas should be required to provide space for breastfeeding mothers to go to out of public view?
D. If such an area were provided, should breastfeeding mothers be required to use them?
I am very interested to read the different opinions in my circle if influence! Will be neat to see the differences!
Nursery Ideas I Like
I was surfing and came accorss this web site..started browsing and came accross some ideas I LOVE! There are 2 girl, 1 either, and 2 boy ideas. Fun stuff! In a month we will know who to shop for! I am SO excited!
Which one(s) do you like?
Girl #1
Girl #2
Either
Boy #1
Boy #2
December 19, 2005
December 16, 2005
Babes on the Beach
Below are a few pictures we took on our Christmas vacation on the coast this year... I just got home so I will post more and a full detail of our time there tomorow... But you get a good idea of how the trip went!
December 12, 2005
Toof Issues
Raegans mouth hurts. She couldn't just go along with the crowd and get teeth from front to back, filling in as she goes... no, she wants some front teeth, some molars, just bottom teeth, etc. Makes life here fun. Right now, she is working on 4 teeth. Yes, FOUR teeth, one of them a bottom one year molar. This will make a total of 7 teeth on the bottom...... two on the top. Not much fun here right now. Not eating, vomiting while sleeping, fever, owie mouth, cranky baby... and LOTS of Motrin. Poor wee thing.. I'd do it for her, but then how would she chew? Plus, all that money was spent on braces for me so I don't think there is really room in my mouth for all of her teeth... well, as Moms, we do what we can.... Here Honey, let me get you a Popsicle..
December 11, 2005
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