December 27: Little Jacket

Day 231

Not much new to report. Oh, I did forget to mention that at Christmas Eve mass, the organist played "The Snow Lay on the Ground" (without lyrics) before mass started. It was just like every Christmas Eve I've ever gone to at Rosati. Who ever knew that I'd get nostalgic for that song?

Today I'm purging a little jacket that Peter never wore.

December 26: Sick as a dog, but having the time of my life

Day 230

We're all sick. Peter and I both have colds and I don't know exactly what Clint has, but he's had headaches the last couple of days. Poor Petie. He woke up last night and was pretty inconsolable...I think laying on his back made his nose clog up and he was just generally uncomfortable. Clint rocked him back to sleep. He's also having trouble keeping food down. It doesn't bother him and he isn't running a fever, but he's so congested that I think it's affecting his ability to keep food down. Poor little pooper. I hope this cold runs it's course and leaves us alone in a day or two. My nose is itchy and congested and I don't have much appetite...which is not a terrible thing over the holidays...it keeps me from overeating, but still - I'd rather be healthy.

My little sickie.

Back to work today and tomorrow.

Today I'm purging a book.

December 25: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Day 229

Merry Christmas everyone!

Church was packed last night. It took FOUR songs to get through communion. We barely got a seat.

The chicken wings were good, but not as good as mom's.

Our day started pretty normally. We got up and got Petie started, then we opened presents. Clint got a movie and some game controls he wanted. I got an activity tracker and some books I'd requested. Petie got books, a DVD, a new sleepsack and a big tub of A&D. We ate cinnamon rolls, watched our DVDs, took naps and played Jeopardy on the computer with Clint's new controls. Later we went to Jess and Tim's house for dinner, which was  wonderful way to end the day.

In the Spirit of Christmas, I gave Zoey the tin foil that had all the chicken drippings and left-over marinade from our Christmas Eve wings. We've done this before and she always licks the foil, which we later pick up. Today, she ate the foil. She ATE it. I was really afraid she was going to
ie, but in fact, she's never seemed better. She's a right jolly old elf, but I will never again be leaving her tin foil treats unsupervised.

Peter is now an official whirling dirvish. Most of our time is spent keeping him away from danger or prying objects out of his hands. He loves to eat paper. It's basically impossible to get a non-blurry picture of him anymore. Here are some blurry shots of him this morning before we opened gifts. 

Today my purge is another fancy handsoap.

December 24: Christmas Eve!

Day 228

Today is Christmas Eve and this is my generally my favorite part of the Christmas holiday. Back in MO we'd all gather at my sister's house for oriental chicken wings, chicken salad and pigs in a blanket. Then we'd open our Caring Center presents that mom had so diligently picked out for us the whole year long. We might play a game, then we'd all head off the the Mass at Night.

This year, we four siblings are scattered to the four corners, each spending the Christmas holiday separately for the first time in our lives. Abby is doing a modified version of our traditional Christmas Eve with mom and Dad. Mary is with her husband's family. Sam is staying in STL tonight before heading to IL to spend Christmas with his fiance's family and Clint and I and Peter are staying snug in our home for Christmas this year.

Today I made cinnamon rolls for tomorrow. I also made 7-layer dip for tonight and I'm prepping oriental chicken wings. It just isn't Christmas Eve until the smell of O.C.W. wafts through the house. We're going to go to Mass at 5 PM, also a first for me.


Today my purge is a bottle of fancy soap.

December 23: Almost Christmas!

Day 227

Sure enough, Peter and I both woke up feeling pretty puny this morning. He's congested, I'm congested and it was a struggle to get out of bed. After giving Petie his bottle, I put him in bed with me and it wasn't two seconds before he'd manuevered himself in such a way that he could kick his dad and bang his head against my arm at the same time. In short order, he had most of the bed to himself. Time to get up.

I've finally got all my presents wrapped and I'm hoping we can drive around to look at Christmas lights tonight. We'll see how we all feel.

In other news, Clint bought a new mower. My dad had suggested that the end of the year was a great time to buy a mower and less than 24 hours later, Clint had picked the one he wanted. It's a Dixie Chopper, zero turn mower and it was marked down 35%. Clint was surprised when I gave him the okay to buy it, but we need a new mower and I want him to get something he can use for a few decades (like the ol' Yazoo) rather than something that he'll need to replace in five years. Since our yard is so big, too, a zero-turn will make it go much faster. Happy Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary/Father's Day Clint.

My purge today is a shirt I'd bought for my Grandma. Turns out, it's see-through. Yikes.

December 22: Recovering

Day 226

I spent today recovering from Christmas with the Bains. It was a wonderful weekend and we all loved spending our holiday in the new house. However, it was exhausting! Between the activities, the kids, the food, the fresh air, the food, the late nights and did I mention the food? - it was an exciting and busy weekend. I spent the better part of today watching TV shows on DVD and napping. So did Peter. Every time I gave him a bottle, he would fall asleep. Poor kid. We're not used to so much stimulation. There were several sick family members over the weekend, so I'm afraid our household is going to come down with what my mother would call the "creeping crud." Stay tuned.

Today I'm purging a red button-down sweater.

December 21: Happy Birthday Mom!

Day 225

Today is the winter solstice and my mother's birthday. My mom is not one to make a big deal about her birthday, but this year she is turning 60. My mom stayed home with us when we were little and when I went to kindergarten, it was only for a half day. I can still remember getting excited when I noticed her green coat outside our classroom one day. She had come to pick me up when I thought I was riding the bus home. To this day, that is one of the best surprises I've experienced in my life. When I'd get home from school I remember almost always eating a grilled cheese sandwich cut into four skinny slices and mom would sometimes let me eat while watching TV. My younger brother is not present in any of these memories, just me and my mom. Mom sacrificed a lot to be with us when we were young and I know all of us were very glad she did. I love you Mom! From Petie: I love you Grandma!

My purge today is this yellow shirt.

December 20: Farm Fum

Day 224

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera to the farm this weekend, so I have zero fun pictures to share of Peter, his cousins or the new farmhouse. Or the four dogs. That's right, when we all get together there are four dogs carousing around: Zoey (ours), Maybelle - a yellow lab (Matt's), Pally - a German shorthair (Matt's), and Rusty - a yorkiepoo (Tim's). Rusty stays indoors while the other three dogs run wild outside. Zoey and Maybelle are both very young dogs and have been a part of the family for about the same length of time. They always greet each other like long lost BFFs. If you look out a window at the farm when all the dogs are together, you'll see Zoey and Maybelle streak by over and over. They never stop running and it takes Zoey a few days to recover.

Tonight is the family picture, Christmas Nativity play and present opening. May God give us strength!

Today I'm purging this plant stand which until recently was my nightstand. It was a bit tricky balancing my cell phone, carmex, and water glass on this every night! Good riddance.

December 19: Spatastic

Day 223

Today was a half-day for me because my husband's family's Christmas begins this weekend. This afternoon, the female, adult family members are going to a local spa for pedicures. I haven't had a pedicure since my sister got married over 6 years ago. After that, we're off to Ness City for our first ever Christmas as the farm!

I picked up this little book for Peter, and sadly, it's now on the chopping block.

December 18: Chomp Chomp

Day 222

Today my purge is a baby book about bugs called Chomp Chomp. I'm just running out of space for little books, so I need to purge a few.

December 17: The blahs

Day 221

I've got a case of the blahs. The weather is blah. Work is blah. The end of the year is blah. This blog is blah. I've got things to look forward to, but first I have to make it through this very blah week.

I'm sort of losing steam on this blog. I've been forgetting about it most days and I'm glad to be more than halfway through because if I wasn't I'm not sure I'd have enough downward momentum to keep me going!

Tonight is the last night of CCD for the semester and we're playing a review game. I'm anxious to get through tonight so I can have a couple of weeks off!

Today I'm purging an old long-sleeve t-shirt of Clint's.

December 16: Khaki Pants

Day 220

Have you ever had a pair of pants that makes you want to rip your hair out in frustration? If you have, then I can commiserate.

Dad's visit was swell. We ate sushi, put up the Christmas tree and watched Home Alone...all of dad's favorite things rolled into one day!

December 15: Drs. Visit :(

Day 219

Today was Petie's 9 month well visit. He is almost 10 months old and since he was two months early, that puts his adjusted age at about 8 months. For this visit, I had to fill out a questionnaire. Apparently, Peter is behind in several areas, which is not a surprise since he was early, but since Peter is not yet pulling up on things, the Dr. has recommended a developmental screening. I am confident that there is nothing wrong with Peter. He does everything a baby should do, just a little bit later. At any rate, we'll have the screening done and go from there, but I'm not worried because I know that Peter is fine and healthy and strong. He can army crawl from here to eternity.

Today I am purging a pair of old brown shoes that look remarkably like the new brown shoes I just bought this year.

December 14: Red Turtleneck

Day 218

Today's been a great day with my dad. We went to Mass, ate some donuts, played some cards and while I went to work for a cooking class, dad watched Peter while Clint got some things done around the house. Clint has been super-helpful around the house lately. He'll do dishes, laundry and take care of Zoey more than what he usually does and it's been extra nice! I feel like I'm Santa and Clint is my elf.

Today I'm purging a long-in-the-tooth red turtleneck.

December 13: St. Lucia!

Day 217

Today is my feast day and I am receiving a wonderful gift - my dad is coming to visit! When I was little, my dad worked and traveled a lot, but my brother and I always enjoyed special time with him on Saturday mornings. He would take us to town with him while he ran errands. Our visits to town almost always began with a trip to McDonald's where I would get two plain biscuits with grape jelly. Then we'd go to exciting places like the lumber yard or the barber shop. If we went to the barber shop, Sam and I would take turns spinning around in the extra barber's chair. As we got older, we'd race around the block or run over to the Casey's general store for some contraband candy. My favorite place to go on Saturday mornings was the local craft store. I would look over all the trinkets and doo-dads, usually settling for some felt, pipe cleaners and maybe a scrap  of leather. I have no idea what I did with these materials, as I don't own a single thing made from felt or pipe cleaners. These Saturday mornings are highly prized memories and when my dad comes to visit, I feel a glimmer of what I felt back then.

I'm looking forward to the weekend and I'm glad that dad will get some one-on-one time with Peter.

My purge today is a vest that I still like, but that I wear so infrequently that it doesn't make sense for me to keep it in my closet.

December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Day 216

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is a big week for feasts, especially to Mary! Speaking of feasts, tonight is my work party and we're having a potluck. I love potlucks. Potlucks are like salad bars. You get to mix and match and take more of one thing than another. At the end, you have a glorious cacophony of delicious treats. I made lasagna, but I hear someone is bringing fried chicken, so that's pretty exciting.

Today I'm purging a turtleneck that has sadly gone the way of so many sweaters by shrinking and becoming too short.

Peter has been a pretty fussy lately. It's been a hard week for this little guy :( I snapped these pix this morning right before I picked him up.

There is no longer a semblance of order in my house. Peter is like a miniature tornado. Whatever comes into his path is immediately chewed up and thrown off.

December 11: Tikka Masala

Day 215

Last night Clint made me dinner. He was very mysterious about it all week. He secretly went grocery shopping and then banned me from the kitchen while he was assembling the dinner. At one point I went into the kitchen and it seemed every cabinet was open, every spice was open on the counter and every burner on the stove was going. "What could he be making?" I wondered. As it turns out, Clint was making me Tikka Masala which is a popular curry dish in India (or at least in the Americanized version of Indian food). I had never before had Indian food, but I was excited to try it. It was delicious! It had a lot of layers of flavor and the chicken, which had been marinated, was super-tender and tasty. We have some left over and I think I'll serve it to my dad when he arrives this weekend. I think he likes Indian food. If not, more for us!

The best part about Clint cooking dinner was actually not that I had an evening off, but that as he was cleaning up he said "I don't know how you do this every night." I consider it an early Christmas gift.

Today I'm purging a dress that I haven't worn in a long time. It's just a little too costumey for me anymore.

Groovy

December 10: Vest

Day 214

Today I am purging a rather hideous vest. This was something I recently purchased for twenty five cents at a thrift shop. Don't ask me why I bought this vest because I can't explain it. I have not worn it and I will not wear it!

December 9: St. Juan Diego!

Day 213

Today is the feast of St. Juan Diego, my brother's patron Saint, so I have to give Sammy a special shout-out - SHOUT OUT SAMMY! Is that how you do a written shout out? St. Juan Diego was the peasant Aztec boy who saw the Virgin Mary in present day Mexico City and received the imprint of Our Lady of Guadalupe on his tunic. We're going to have tacos for dinner and read Petie the story of St. Juan Diego.

My purge today is an old plaster picture of Jesus knocking at the door. This was something I took from my grandma's house before my parents sold it, but it really isn't that visually appealing. If any of my siblings want this plaster, they should let me know.

My face on Clint's head.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Peter is now scooting. It's not really crawling and it's not just rolling from one place to the next. He can cover a pretty large area just by scooting around on his hands and knees!

December 8: Freezer Cooking

Day 212

My whole house smells like garlic. Today I've done some freezer cooking. My family loves the Pioneer Woman's lasagna, so I made a couple. This is a major undertaking. The first lasagna was for my work party this Friday and the second I divided into two smaller lasagnas for Clint and I this winter. I'm like the squirrel who hides nuts all year so he can dig them up to survive the winter. Sometimes when i get home from work, my motivation to cook is low...as in nonexistant. It's then that Clint and I find ourselves ordering pizza or going out to eat. This is not good for our health or our wallets, so I've decided to proactively pursue freezer cooking to help get us through this winter without too much eating out.

Clint was disappointed that we didn't actually eat the lasagna last night...but we'll be having it at my work party, so he shouldn't get too worked up!

My purge today is a picture frame I bought at a yard sale but never used.

December 7: The Perfect Day

Day 211

We had such a good day today. It was the first time we'd had a normal weekend at home in a while and we took full advantage of it. We went to Mass, watched Pride and Prejudice, took a long walk (the weather was gorgeous) and then went to town to do some Christmas shopping and eat some Taco Bell. We even watched some Downton Abbey before bed. I can't remember the last time Clint and I spent so much quality time together with Petie.

I'm purging a book I just finished reading. This young-adult "beach read" was awesome. I loved it, but now I'm done with it and I'm discarding it.

This picture makes my wrist/hand look fat.

December 6: Frost Fest

Day 210

Today is Frost Fest, which is basically just secular code for "Christmas Parade." The library goes all out for FF, so I arrived at work at 7 AM. My jobs included setting up "stroller parking" for breakfast with Santa and picking up the catered items from Golden Corral. I never knew until today that GC has a breakfast buffet. Trust me, just being near it was enough to make you gain weight. Yech. I was also in charge of Bingo, which is a program I run occasionally. There were more than 60 people (mostly children) in attendance. It was noisy and crowded, but people love Bingo - whether or not they win.

This week has pretty well zapped me and I'm looking forward to taking a long walk this afternoon and then making a big batch of vegetable soup. This weekend I'm going to do some freezer cooking. We tend to eat out a lot when my schedule is wonky or when it's cold/dark in the evenings because I don't feel like cooking. I'm hoping to remedy this by making some go-to meals that I can freeze.

Speaking of meals, today I am purging a cookbook that was given to me by a library patron when I got married.

December 5: Happy Birthday Dear Jude!

Day 209

Today my little nephew Jude is turning 1! He's so sweet and gentle and mild...and he's got two extremely good parents. I hope he has a very happy birthday party tomorrow with lots of presents, kisses and cake! I hope he has very happy year too!

Cheer up Jude! It's your birthday!

My little man was in fine form this morning.

Happy Birthday Jude - I look up to you because you're my big cousin!

Today I am purging my old cheese grater. I found a smaller one that I like a lot better.

December 4: Ugly Sweater

Day 208

I am a huge fan of ugly Christmas sweaters. This year at the library, we are having "Ugly Sweater Fridays." This is very exciting for me as I have accumulated multiple ugly sweaters. Last year, I was quite pregnant in December and I wore this little beauty, which I am now passing on to a very pregnant coworker:

It's got jingle bells and everything!

December 3: Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Day 207

Today is my parents' anniversary: 37 years together! Congratulations Mom and Dad, we love you!

I'm purging this basket today. The day my mother purchased Peter's changing table from the local thrift store, my niece Greta was in the store and she kept putting baskets inside the table's little closet area. When the table arrived in KS, we discovered a couple of baskets still inside! I've used this one for a few things around the house, but now it's on its way out!

December 2: More Baby Clothes

Day 206

My purge today is another baby outfit. Peter never got to wear it because it was already too little for him when it was given to us.

Now for a series of random photos taken over the extended holiday:

My glamorous sister, Mary, and my little lady bug who is really a boy.

Kevin, Clint and three baby boys.

Who me?

I go fishing while Dad and Petie watch.

I get stuck, so dad works to get me unstuck.

Still working to get my line unstuck

Me and my boy by the water.

Boys in blue.

This could be Sam and Ellen's engagement picture...

...or this. Apparently this is Sam's favorite dance move.

Sam is one with the bull.

The bull doesn't care.

Well. See you later!

December 1: Jiggity Jig

Day 205

"Home again, home again, jiggity jig." We survived another eight hour trip and arrived home safe and sound. It's good to be home, but now that we are, there's no way to ignore the sheets that need washing, the messes that need cleaning and the trash that needs burning. Petie loves being home. He went to bed at 7 PM and didn't wake up until the morning. He knows that he's home.

Mercifully, Peter sleeps a lot when we're on the road!

Today I'm purging one of Peter's onesies. I don't think he ever wore it.