Monday Snapshot: Toddler Drama

Hey Humble Readers...

So it's been a long while since I did a Monday Snapshot post, but I'm wanting to get back into my bloggy groove, so here I am. 

And wouldn't you know it, but Ginny gave me some fodder for today's post. 

See that little cut below her lip?  Yeah, that happened this morning. 

We have these little bins that we use to organize the wee-lings' toys, and every morning we bring out one or two bins full of toys for them to play with.  Ginny likes to take the toys out and try to stand on them.  And being a safety concious obsessed mummy, I always try to get her to 'keep her feet on the floor' and at most, sit on the up-turned bins.  Well, this morning when I wasn't looking she tried standing on one, and of course she fell. 

Face first.

Right into the coffee table. 

*sigh*

There was a lot of blood.  A LOT of blood.  (Why do they always bleed so much?)  She's got the cut below her lip, and a gash on the inside of her lip where her teeth went through the skin.  And there were a lot of tears too.  She was trying to figure out how to move her tongue around and not bump the cuts, and was freaking out everytime she touched the cut inside her lip. 

Of course we needed to call Auntie and Mama to give them the play-by-play, about how Ginny was "cwyin' and cwyin'" and about all the "bwud".  And she didn't fight a bit when I suggested a dose of 'ty-nen-ol' to help her lip stop hurting. 

She managed to eat a bit of lunch, and then fell asleep listening to her U2 lullaby cd.  Thank heaven for small favours. 

Poor wee girl. 

*****
This was posted as a part of Pail Bloggers Monday Snapshot series.  Click over and see what others are sharing today!

A Hobbit-ish Christmas

Good Evening Humble Readers...

It's been a bit of a busy day around the hobbit hole.  But things are quiet now.  The wee-lings are asleep and my Beloved is working on his course-work.  And I am snuggled under a warm blanket watching the Call the Midwife Christmas special and chatting with you fine folks. 

So... our busy day.  First up, we skipped church this morning so that my Beloved could watch the Canada vs the US hockey game.  With the NHL lockout dragging on, this is the only hockey my Beloved may get to watch this winter.  While he did that, I worked on reorganizing the wee-lings plethora of new toys in the continuing-to-shrink nursery.  I was able to weed out a few things that were too well loved by Ginny to move on to Pip, and a few other odds and ends. 

After the hockey game was over (2-1 for Canada!  Yay!), I sent my Beloved out to run some errands and I began the depressing task of de-Christmas-ifying of the hobbit hole.  Now our living room and kitchen look stark and bare, but I feel a little less claustrophobic.  I love love love Christmas, but it seems that I can only handle the clutter of Christmas decor for a brief period of time.  December 1st to the day before New Year's Eve is about all I can take. 

I have to say though, even with the ridiculousness and drama of my family, we had a nice Christmas.  The wee-lings were spoiled rotten, and so was I... a programmable slow cooker with a temperature probe for larger cuts of meat, a plus-sized apron (so that both b00bs are covered at the same time... lol), and some movies (Downton Abbey seasons 1 & 2... with season 3 on pre-order, and Pillars of the Earth) from my Beloved and the wee-lings.  A creme brulee torch and ramekins from my Mom, and the most bizarre popcorn maker.  I had it on my wish-list, thinking that if she chose to get us that it would be an ordinary popcorn popper, but instead she gave us this...

Just a little random, as neither my Beloved nor
I have ever been interested in soccer.

It's hilarious.  I have to keep it just for the laugh.  :)

And because SRB demanded... ;) here's a slew of pictures of the wee-lings (and other random Christmas stuff). 

Not smiling, but they aren't screaming. 
I call it a win.

Our first Christmas with our scout elf, Hermie.



 

Mini Cinnimon Loaves with Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments
(for my Beloved's co-workers)

Mini Cinnamon Loaves

Peppermint Melt-Aways... sooo yummy!

In his Christmas Eve jammies

After Santa's visit

Ginny's first look at the tree on Christmas morning

Once she discovered her little kitchen,
Ginny lost all interest in her other presents

Surrounded!

Opening more gifts with Daddy on Boxing Day

Ginny & Pip with Mama, Oscar, and Felix
on Boxing Day

Mistle-toes: Ginny & Pip's footprints

My newest nativity - need to find some straw for the manger
next year.

What The Heck Happened There?

Hey Humble Readers..

Are any of you still out there? 

I know I just sort of dropped off the face of the planet this month, and for that I apologize.  I had grand plans... so many grand plans for battling my now traditional December-equals-no-blogging situation. 

Seriously, what is it about December?  Last year I was pregnant, diabetic, dealing with a major stomach flu and a carbon monoxide scare (which resulted in having to replace our hot water tank)... and I was traveling.  Ok, so that explains last year.  And the year before I was adjusting to a newborn and breastfeedings struggles.  So that explains 2010. 

But what happened this year?  The year when I actually succeeded in getting a huge amount of my Christmas prep done by the end of November?  When I had a plan for blogging all about developing family traditions?  And what about that December photo challenge?

I honestly don't know.  It wasn't one specific thing.  But there were a lot of little things and some gunky things that just sucked my ability, inspiration, and inclination to write. 

First, there was the anemia.  Why is it that you can struggle along for months just dragging your sorry ass out of bed and through the day, but as soon as you get a diagnosis that explains the fatigue, you just let it take over?  Oh, wait... that's just me?  Yup... that confirms my pathetic-ness.  Seriously, most days I need to at least snooze a bit and I'm in bed and asleep far earlier than I ever have been in my adult, non-pregnant life.  Things are improving.  I've gone back to taking my daily vitamins, my B vitamins, and have added iron pills.  It's going to take a while for my iron stores to build back up, but I'm getting there. 

Second, the situation with my parents went from bad to hellacious in a heartbeat.  Multiple times a day, for more than two weeks, I was getting texts, emails, and phone calls from my Mom and my sister detailing the new and despicable horrors that my dad is subjecting my Mom to.  Seriously, my dad and his 'girlfriend' (do you have any idea how gross it is to say that?  And how hard it is to not use some other nasty word?) harass my mom constantly.  She has changed her home number, bought a new cell phone, and has had a friend move in with her just for security.  My dad is pushing her to sign some papers that he printed up himself, and until she does he's making all kinds of threats, including moving himself and his piece of tail back into the house.  His primary goal throughout the whole month of December was to ruin Mom's Christmas... demanding that she give him all kinds of household items, primarily things that Mom would need to cook and serve Christmas dinner (of course, knowing that cooking is one of Mom's favourite things to do, especially at the holidays).  I know that sounds ridiculous and petty (and it totally is) but my mom does not have the emotional reserves to deal with the constant bullying.  Thankfully, my dad agreed to a truce for a week or so over Christmas itself.  Mom finally has found legal representation, so hopefully things will move forward soon and we can be done with him and his skeeziness.  I never would have expected that he would treat Mom this way, EVER.

Not everything has been bad news... My Beloved has been offered a new job!  There were several interviews this month, and while the process was stressful I think ultimately this will be a good fit and an improvement in our financial situation.  The job is with a publicly traded company that owns several hotels and casinos.  The salary is a modest step up from where he's at currently to start, but the big BIG thing is that this company is more than happy to pay for his CGA fees and courses!  That a $15K bill that we don't have to pay!  He starts his new job at the end of January. 

Ginny and Pip are both doing really well, and growing like stinkweeds.  Pip has two teeth now, with another two ready to pop through anytime.  Ginny is talking up a storm. 

I've managed to lose close to 20 pounds in the last couple of months, by not doing much of anything except upping my water intake.  I'm hoping to add some more physical activity to that soon, but it's been so freakin' cold here on the flatland that I have no interest in being outside for anything longer than it takes to walk to the car.  Seriously, the daytime high on Christmas Day was -25C... BEFORE THE WIND!  Yikes, that's cold. 

I was able to accomplish some pretty cool crafting this month.  And my Beloved really enjoyed his Christmas countdown that I made for him.  But I'll be back tomorrow with a bit about Christmas in the hobbit hole.  I hope you all had a great holiday season.  I'm looking forward to re-connecting with all of you!

A Busy Day At The Hobbit-Hole

Hey Humble Readers...

I fully intended to get here earlier to post for the Monday Snapshot, but it just didn't happen. 

Considering that I dozed a bit this morning while Pip napped and Ginny watched Sesame Street I still managed to get a lot done today.  (yes... I am a bad bad mummy.  In my defense, she was on the couch with me the whole time beating on my legs so I knew where she was.)

All of the usual morning stuff (shower, beds made, dressed) for me and the wee-lings went smoother than normal, and by 8:30 I was able to be working on folding laundry!  Will wonders never cease?

I cleaned the kitchen, top to bottom. I even cleaned the oven.  It sooooo needed it.  Set off the smoke detectors three times while making dinner last night. 

Made a pan of some yummy treats for my Beloved (as a part of his Christmas countdown... he gets to take them to work tomorrow.  Smores Bars - think rice krispie treats only made with Golden Grahams, chocolate chips, and a few extra marshmallows).

Made some yummy Chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot! 

Fixed the Christmas tree... It only took about an hour.  I ended up just leaving the defective string of lights on the tree and adding new ones.  But I still had to remove the garland and a whole bunch of ornaments.  Glad it's done now.  It looks great.

I finished a craft project that I started a while back.  A felt Christmas tree, with felt decorations, on the wall, for the wee-lings to play with.  I'm not great with fabric crafts, so I'll just say that the results of this one was a tad rustic and leave it at that. 

Overall, I'm proud of how things went today.  I'm pooped now and I'm going to bed pretty darn quick. 

Here's today's installment for the photo challenge... the theme is "gifts".

This is the only gift under the tree for us, between now and Christmas Eve.  Part of the reasoning behind it is practical (keeping a two year old away from wrapped presents all day gets tiresome) and the majority of it is for spiritual reasons. 

This little box contains four smaller boxes.  And inside each of those boxes, there is a a short devotional reading.  On each Sunday in Advent we read the devotional at the dinner table and then hang that week's little gift-box on the tree. 

I love the magic of the Christmas season.  My kids will know about Santa and Rudolph and the Grinch.  I love the shopping, the wrapping, the food, and the anticipation for what is in those pretty packages. 

But it is, for me and mine, first and foremost a time to reflect on the gift of the Christ-child. 

Sunday Night Chit Chat & A Photo Challenge

Hey Humble Readers...

I'm feeling a fair bit better than when I posted earlier today.  I'm still going to have to deal with the tree because it irks me every time I look at it, but I'm going to leave it until tomorrow afternoon while Ginny is sleeping. 

In other news... I burned my arm whilst making dinner tonight, and yesterday I found out that I am borderline anemic (at the blood donor clinic... hence I didn't donate blood).  Fun times!  Iron pills here I come.

A while back I came across this photo challenge, and even though it's from last year, I think I'm going to play along for this month. 

Of course, I'm starting late, but here's my interpretation of "lights" and "decorations". 

I made these little "sparklers" earlier this fall to help
magnify the lights in our tree.

 

Santa's key... for homes without a chimney.
One of my favourite decorations

And now onto the Chit Chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading: I'm embarassed to say I'm still reading the Hobbit.  *sigh*  I love it, but I just can't stay awake to read more than two or three pages at night. 

Watching: Once Upon a Time and later I'll watch a bit of Downton Abbey while my Beloved and I play scrabble.

Listening to: My Beloved doing the dishes and Pippin snarffling and gruntin in his sleep.

Cooking/Baking:  Did a roasted chicken with a bit of a new-to-me technique tonight.  I melted some butter in a saucepan, added finely diced onion and garlic, some thyme and a few slices of lemon.  Then I soaked a piece of cheese-cloth in the mix, and then draped the cloth over the chicken and roasted it.  I took the cloth of for the last 10 minutes to crisp up the skin.  It was great!  And I used the leftover butter/onion/garlic mixture as the base for my gravy (added the chicken drippings when the chicken was done).  Served it with mashed taters, green beans, and yorkies.  Yum!

Happy you accomplished this week: A special Christmas countdown for my Beloved.  See below.

Took a little longer than I expected to decorate the envelopes

Each envelope contains a surprise (albeit simple) for my Beloved.

Looking forward to next week:  Finishing up a couple of crafts and getting my gifts wrapped.

Thankful for today: A cozy hobbit-hole to snuggle in while it snows... and snows... and snows.

*Bonus Question* You receive a clothing gift from someone who is very close to you, but you absolutely HATE it. Yet you KNOW that they're going to expect you to wear the item & "can't wait to see you in it!!!" What do you do?  I say, "Thank you so much.  It's beautiful, but just not my style."  I have to say this a few time to my MIL when she finds random things at her local thrift store for me.  (Not that I have anything wrong with thrift store shopping... but my MIL and I have very dissimilar tastes, and she doesn't understand that). 

*****
This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Click over and find out what others are chatting about tonight.

Christmas Crazies

Oh Humble Readers...

I'm so frustrated I'm ready to cry. 

We put up our tree yesterday and it ended up being rather drama-filled.  And all the drama was centered on the lights, or rather our suspicious lack of lights and my Beloved's efforts to go buy me more lights to put on the tree. 

Finally, ten hours after we started (remember, there are to wee-lings in this hobbit-hole who needed looking after and feeding and putting to bed), we were finally done with the decorations, and the tree looked great. 

Fast forward to now...

A strand of lights on the front now only has one in three bulbs lit up.  They were working fine one minute, and then they weren't.  I've isolated the offending strand, but in order to attempt to fix it I would have to remove the beaded garland, and all the ornaments on the front two thirds of the tree. 

(Of course, my immense emotional response to this situation has been coloured by the fact that Pip was up half the night with teething pain.)

I'm tired.  I'm frustrated.  And I'm not feeling the Christmas spirit just now. 

Ugh!