12 Days of Christmas

Melissa from Suburban Bliss has been counting down the days until Christmas with a featured drink everyday. She's on Day 3. You should follow along.

(The link is to her blog, scroll down to see the Drinks.)

One More Checked Box on our Holiday To-Do List

Any guesses on where we went last night?

Vaughn cried halfway there. Vance was whiny, tired, and at one point told us that his head was too heavy for his neck.

Not exactly the picture I had painted in my head.

When we got to the lights, spirits lifted, and we all enjoyed themselves.

(This little trip may just add fuel to Vance's fire. For weeks, he keeps telling me that, "We're not quite ready for Christmas yet. We need more stuff out." I believe these are the types of displays he has in mind.)

24 Hour Drop

For Justin's birthday, we went to Madison for a one-night visit.

Here's a view down a street in our old neighborhood. I was glad that there was snow on the ground for our visit. Unfortunately for our old neighbors, the only scenery change they'll get is the arrival of more snow. I miss the excitement before a big snowstorm, how pretty it looks when it's falling down, but don't miss the long, cold winters.

Before dinner we stopped into The Claddagh for an appetizer and a drink. It was early in the evening and yet the holiday party in the adjoining room was in full swing. We found 2 seats at the bar and it was nice to sit by ourselves and observe the chaos. (Usually when we're out, our family is the one providing the chaos.) I would have been happy sitting there all night.

We then met friends and headed for dinner. Food was great, but dessert was so-so. In the morning, I met with friends and their kids for coffee. It was nice seeing everyone.

We were only away for 30 hours, but we had a great time and didn't seem rushed at all. Thanks to my parents and aunt for watching the kids!

Happy Birthday Justin! Maybe we should go somewhere a bit warmer next year???

(My mom and aunt tried taking the kids to Breakfast with Santa. The kids wanted nothing to do with The Big Guy. I'm surprised that Vance wouldn't even go up to him - Jack was even there to help show him that there was nothing to be afraid of! Needless to say, we're not going to try it again, so no pics with Santa this year.)

Happy Birthday Justin!

Hope you had a good weekend! We love you!

Project of the day: Cinnamon and Applesauce Ornaments

Look what mixing equal parts of cinnamon and applesauce will get you!

Cinnamon applesauce ornaments!

I'm having some issues packing for a quick overnight trip.

My problem is that where we're going just had a foot of snow dumped on them yesterday. The high today, without windchill, is 8. While Big Furry Boots! and Big Puffy Winter Coat! seem the way to go, our dinner plans seem more of the Cute Black Heels! environment. I only want to take a small, overnight bag. Hmmm.....to freeze or not to freeze?

Decisions, decisions....

Lesson for the day: Readers

I've been using Google Reader for a long time. I read lots of blogs and using a Reader saves time. This is a great video on what a Reader does and how to set one up.

Forking stain.

In keeping with our tradition of "Nothing Gets Done Right the First Time" one of the replacement blinds in the kitchen came in as the wrong size. Or maybe it was just defective. One side is about 2 inches shorter than the other and it's looking (wink) real nice. So, it must be reordered again. Grrr....

In winter garment news, Vance's coat arrived yesterday. The one that I ordered online and it was supposed to take a month to get. I mentioned how I went out and bought a different one on Sunday because it was too cold to not have a coat. He wore it to a friends house on Monday and came home with a stain on the front. A big, grease looking stain up top, in the front. I washed it twice and it did not come out. If I knew the original coat was coming on Tuesday I wouldn't have bought him one on Sunday. He doesn't need 2 winter coats. I can return the one that we just got yesterday, but it's hard BECAUSE THE OTHER COAT HAS A FORKING STAIN ON IT!

In Vaughnie related news, she says, "Ho, Ho, Ho" now.

Bob Bob and Daden

I've Tweeted about Vaughn's love for Bob the Builder and Diego, but have never mentioned it here, until now. Her love for both has grown and it's getting serious.

When she sees them her face lights up and smiles from ear to ear. It's hilarious to watch. She calls Handy Manny "Bob Bob" too, so maybe she's just got a thing for construction workers.

She's now taken to carrying around the case for Vance's Diego Wii game. Yesterday she totally dropped her baby and reached for the case instead.

She's a funny bird.