Bye Bye 2010

I've been known to get sentimental as the new year rolls in, even when I was young and had no idea why I was being sentimental. This year, it feels like any other day to me. With 2 small children and no party to attend or throw, I'm not experiencing any excitement about tonight. Sad, jaded, but true.

However, in honor of 2010, I will post my list of memorable events from the year. These are national/international events, not personal, that made an impact on me this year.

1. The Gulf oil spill
2. The withdrawal of thousands of troops from Iraq
3. The passing of Elizabeth Edwards
4. The trapped Chilean miners
5. The WikiLeaks
6. The conviction of Elizabeth Smart kidnappers
7. The Christmas blizzard of 2010
8. The continual rise of unemployment
9. The smoking Indonesian baby
10. The final season of The Oprah Winfrey Show

Here's my list of personal events from 2010 that have made an impact on me:

1. Baby boy started walking and talking
2. I am making more of an effort to be neighborly
3. The 4 year old really likes his preschool
4. We refinanced on our house
5. I increased my blogging efforts
6. I got rid of a lot of kids' toys
7. My mother is still alive after her 80th birthday
8. We got a Wii for Christmas
9. I am beginning to make a dent in my reading collection
10. I am making better use of the kitchen I am stuck with

Happy and Healthy New Year. Hope to see more of you as we turn the calendar.

Crunch Art Giveaway

This is the first time I've heard of or seen Crunch Art by Little Kids, but it definitely sounds like something my 4 year old would enjoy. He LOVES anything crafty. Every day I'm hunting online for new crafts for us to do. This would be a fantastic addition to our craft box. This is mess-free with no paint, no markers, no glue. The set comes with foam fabric pieces and a tool to punch shapes out of the foam. Fantastic because the tool is re-usable and you can buy those foam sheets at any craft store. LOVE IT! Thanks again to Familylicious for this awesome giveaway.

Pillow Pet Giveaway

My 4 year old has been asking for a Pillow Pet since the first time he saw them in the mall. I thought for sure someone (grandma, grandpa, aunt, Santa) would have brought him one for Christmas but no such luck. He says he likes the monkey the best but I think that puppy is pretty darn cute. Needless to say baby brother will be fighting over it with him. Thanks for running this awesome giveaway Familylicious and Pillow Pets.

Where Has All the Patience Gone?

I find I am seriously losing patience with the boys. It's probably cabin fever because I haven't ventured out of the house in . . . 6 days. OMG it's almost a week that I've been in the house with the kids. No wonder I have no patience left. I feel like I'm screaming at them all day long. And, by the way, the baby gets no reprieve from the screaming anymore. He gets yelled at just as much as his big brother. He's 1 1/2 already - he can take it. I just feel like I'm going to at least be nominated for worst mother of the year award if not win the title. I don't know how these women do it - these women with more than 2 children. I cannot do it with 2, obviously, since I'm losing my voice from the yelling. And then there are days when I actually consider having another child. Temporary insanity I believe. We have a friend who just had her 3rd daughter and, I think, she's older than I am. I thought I was over that little tug occurrence but, apparently not. It's the girl thing. I want the daughter. If I seriously attempted to have another child, I know I would be blessed with a 3rd boy, who I would love to death but would leave me with an even worse sore throat.

Golden Opportunity

Blah blah blah, trying out my new golden opportunity

A great euphonious in every box

Apples and Oranges

Why are my boys so different? My 4 year old never plays by himself. He always needs me to do somthing with him - play a game, play Wii, do a puzzle. I just don't understand the clinginess. Now the 1 year old can occupy himself for hours. He plays on the train table, he rolls trains on the floor, looks at books, he explores new toys and figures them out. He checks in every once in a while to make sure I'm still where I was before and to tell me what he's doing. "Thomas!" he'll walk over and exclaim to let me know he's playing with a Thomas train. It's so frustrating that the 4 year old can't seem to occupy himself. If I don't play with him, he'll veg in front of the TV. He needs to learn some lessons from the little guy.

Holy Snowstorm!

Uhm, we've got ourselves a blizzard here this morning. It snowed all day yesterday and overnight through to this morning and there is something like 3 feet + piled up out there. Here's a pic from my front door:

My 4 year old is dying to go outside but I'm afraid he's going to sink! Add to that the 20 degree temperature and I really don't think he should be going out there. He's under the impression he's going to help hubby shovel us out. It would be nice to make a path to the cars but let's see a pic of hubby's car:Methinks a path to the street is also required. I don't think we'll be going anywhere for a while. I say start a fire and pop in a movie. It's going to be a looooong day.

Merry Christmas Weekend

Well, we made it through Christmas unscathed. I woke up on Christmas Eve worrying one of the kids would be sick. I imagine this is not uncommon for most mothers. Other than the 4 year old still coughing after a month, all were well. We went to my Mom's for Christmas Eve and had a pleasant time until baby boy started to have a melt down at about 7:30pm. It was the excitement of gifts plus being tired plus just being out of his regular routine. Honestly, he just wanted to go home. Once we were all in the car and on our way home, he was completely fine. Meltdown over. Then there was the panic of waking up on Christmas morning with one of the boys, or me, sick. Again, all were well. Family came over for a wonderful afternoon. The cooking was under control and so was everyone and everything else. Today we woke up to blizzard warnings and, sure enough, it's snowing up a storm outside. A beautiful end to a lovely weekend. Hope your holiday weekend was just as special.

Oh Books, How I Love Thee

I'm starting to get into these giveaways by fellow mom bloggers and am seriously thinking about getting into reviewing products and giving them away myself. Until then, I support my fellow moms out there and blog about their giveaway. I just came across another one this morning by fellow mom blogger Feisty Frugal and Fabulous (see button at left). Today she's giving away a Literati eReader. I have to say, I am soooooo opposed to eReaders and have specifically informed everyone I know that I will NOT give up my books. I just love books. The cover, the feel, the intimacy (that's right, it's intimate holding a book, in bed, at night, under the covers.) But I have to admit I am incredibly curious about these new-fangled technological advances. So, I am willing to give one a try. I still say I won't give up my books, but we'll see . . .

Stuff This

I'm stumped as far as stocking stuffers go. I've never really done stocking stuffers before. When I was young, my brothers and I just got a chocolate Santa each in our stockings. Hubby's telling me to get a bunch of stuff to put in the boys' stockings, and I'm kind of lost, especially for the 1 year old. What am I going to stuff in there? He doesn't get it yet. His head is going to explode as it is with all the new toys we got for him. Somehow I don't think whatever I stuff in his stocking is going to matter much. The 4 year old's stocking will be overflowing for sure. I went way overboard with him, but he's easy to buy for. Everything I see in stores would be good for him. Little dinosaurs, Toy Story anything, slinky, crayons, puzzles. He's at the perfect age for little stuff that doesn't cost much. Hell, I even bought him a pair of Iron Man gloves and matching hat I found in Target. The little guy - how many trains can you stuff in a stocking? That's about all I have for him, and a Thomas DVD, and some socks. Woo Hoo! Who am I kidding? He'll be playing with big brother's toys anyway. Or at least trying to . . .

Despicable Giveaway

Wow - Feisty Frugal & Fabulous has another great giveaway going on. Lots of cool prizes in the Despicable Me giveaway to be had. If you haven't checked out this site, click on the button to the left and see what all the fuss is about. There's a lot of great stuff out there and I'm here to help you find it. Despicable Me would be a great gift for the whole family. It would make a nice selection for movie night. Thanks Feisty Frugal & Fabulous - you really are fabulous!!

We Love the Backyardigans

Thanks to Feisty Frugal and Fabulous for running this great giveaway. My 2 boys love the Backyardigans, and this Christmas DVD would be a welcome addition to their collection. I love finding out about all the deals and giveaways from my blogger friends. Makes me want to join in the fun and run some giveaways myself.

Little Bit of Wine Just in Time

Sometimes, you just need a glass of wine. I've come to that realization in the past week. I've been feeling so stressed and overwhelmed and I'm not even sure why. Somewhere around 4pm-5pm, I pour myself a glass of wine and sip it while I'm making dinner. I start to feel better in about 30 minutes. I'm not one to condone drinking to help deal with your problems, but I think it calms me down. Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT big drinker. Never have been, never will be. I never really drank much in college either. It's this whole "out of control" thing that bothers me. I need to be in control. If I drink too much, I have no control over myself. Same thing with anaesthesia - hate it because I have zero control. Anyway, my point is when I'm feeling like I can't take anymore, a few sips of wine seems to slow me down and relax me. Nothing wrong with that, right? Plus I hear a glass of wine is actually good for you so I'm saving myself a trip to the doctor by self-medicating. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

SuperMom Does Not Live Here

Anyone else feeling run down? Towards the end of the day, oh who am I kidding, by midday, I am wiped. I could literally take a nap. Sometimes I think something is wrong with me - seriously wrong. Maybe I should have a physical. It doesn't help that it's freezing here this past week and I'm trying to get everything finished by Christmas and the kids are up my butt all day long. I am not SuperMom. I never thought I'd be this tired. And I still feel like I accomplish nothing. Maybe if I was doing something I truly enjoyed, I wouldn't feel so exhausted. I would be excited to wake up in the morning and thrilled to get things done during the day. I need a goal. I need a focus. I need something to make me feel useful. I need . . . a glass of wine.

You Oughta Be In Pictures

Ugh - I'm so busy trying to get ready for Christmas that I keep forgetting to post. Good news is the Christmas cards are finished and mailed out. That was weighing on me for days. Actually writing the cards wasn't that bad but getting a picture taken of the boys was a nightmare. It was easy getting the the big boy posed for a picture but the little terror would not sit still. He was ALL OVER the place. Then one would look at the camera and the other would look at the floor. I finally understand what Moms mean when they say they can't get a good picture of the kids. This is the first time it's happened to me, and I'm sure not the last. Then it was deciding on what kind of background to use. I like a traditional Christmas picture - the tree, the fireplace, trains. Dear hubby is of another ilk. He wants musical instruments or superheroes with Santa hats. Really? Is this what I'm subjected to for the rest of my life because I have sons? It's bad enough every birthday has to be a superhero, does Christmas need to be tainted as well? Anyway, here's the pic we finally decided upon:

I wasn't thrilled with the fact there was a drum set in our Christmas picture, but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. Both boys look good even though they're not looking at the camera. In essence, I gave in and approved this photo. I wanted to be done and I couldn't bear another photo shoot. So this is the photo that went out to 50 friends and family members this year. And I'm finally finished! Now for the wrapping of the packages . . .

Crafty Projects Every Day

Feeling hectic lately and I'm not sure why. It's probably the kids. They get very restless and excited because the tree and outside decorations are up. Every day, the 4 year old wants to do another crafty project. It's a battle all day long with him. He does not know how to occupy himself. We've been making ornaments for the tree or jingle bell bracelets or something else I need to come up with. Here's a sampling of today's crafty project. We stuck jewels on this clear ball ornament and stuffed it with some cotton:



The problem is he's done in less than 5 minutes and wants to do something else. I have things to do. I'm still trying to finish the Christmas cards. I need to wrap the gifts that I have. I don't have his teachers' gifts yet. And I don't have time to blog. Baby boy is doing his own thing - watching Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs and playing on the train table. It's the bigger boy who's making me crazy! I can't seemingly spend the entire day doing craft projects and playing games. Can I?

A Spoonful of Sugar . . .

Feeling a bit sad about now. My 4 year old is still coughing after 2 weeks. He is prone to bronchitis so I took him to the doctor last Friday to have him checked out. His lungs are clear but he does have this horrible bronchial cough. He's not coughing constantly but he sounds terrible when he does cough. He's not running a fever and he's basically acting normal, but that cough. The doctor has him on antibiotics and a nebulizer in addition to his usual allergy meds and nose spray. I feel so bad for him, although I don't think he's really suffering. In fact, whenever I tell him he needs to take his medicine or use the machine, he starts yelling at me, telling me he's sick of me or he hates me or I'm no fun. I realize that he's 4, but these words cut me to the quick. I'm sick-to-my-stomach worried about him and praying to God that he doesn't develop bronchitis or pneumonia, and he's telling me how much he can't stand me. No mother wants to hear these words and I suppose the exhaustion caused by my constant worry is making me even more sensitive. Am I a bad mother? I'm sure I have my days. But I think I try to do my best, especially what's best for my children. I'm just looking for some sugar to take with that dose of medicine my son gave me.

There's a Word for People Like Me

Been a while since I posted. I've been crazy busy. The tree is done. I waited over a week for that last damn box of ornaments to come out of the attic, but it's finally finished. My village is done and already I have 2 casualties thanks to baby boy. It's inevitable that things are going to break so I guess I'm just stupid for putting it out. I figure he has to learn early on not to touch the village under the tree. Guess it might be a little too early. The nutcrackers are all out - 80 total. Crazy you say? Yes - decidedly so. The only thing left for me to do is the Christmas cards. We don't send out those picture cards so I have to pick out and write each one personally. What was that you said again? Crazy? Agreed.

Decorate, Decorate, Decorate

Happy December! Don't know why I feel happy when I've been feeling nothing but stressed with all this decorating. Tree is still not done. There's one more box I'm waiting on hubby to get down from the attic. Still have about 10 more nutcrackers to put somewhere. Not sure I mentioned it earlier, but I collect nutcrackers. I have about 70 out of boxes right now. It's insane because I'm running out of room. I just love the way they look all lined up 3 deep on the hearth. They're like my protective soldiers guarding the house. At least that's my little fantasy. Here's a sampling:

Then there's the Christmas village that goes under the tree. I was postponing putting that out because I had a feeling baby boy would do damage. Sure enough, Destructo got his hands on 1 of the 5 pieces I decided to put out today and broke something. It was unavoidable I guess. It all looks so tempting to touch. So it's been stressful because I can't say I'm done with anything. I'm almost done with a few things. Oh and I still didn't start the Christmas cards yet. Ahhhhhh!!!!