White Christmas

10:32 p.m., Christmas Eve

I wish I could say that not a creature was stirring, but alas the cats are on the prowl. They know something is up and are keeping tabs on everything. Perhaps they have some kind of feline Santa radar...

Kirk is sleeping in Suzanne's room tonight--he wants to make sure that they get up at the same time, run downstairs, and open their presents together. I fear for him sometimes--I think that his vision of how things should be will not match up with reality. Which is exactly what will happen if I don't get the last of the wrapping done.

11:10 p.m., guess I dozed off for a few minutes...

Greg is busy eating the Santa cookies, but he's taking a pass on the milk. Kirk insisted on helping me decorate the sugar cookies. I frosted them and he was going to do the sprinkles. He sprinkled 3 and decided that those were for Santa and, therefore, he was done. Now that Greg has polished off his favorite cookies, he is settling in with the cat. I suspect he'll be packing it in shortly.

I'm happy because I don't have anything to put together this year. All Kirk wanted were games for his Wii and Suzanne is getting a Hannah Montana with stuff, so I dodged the bullet. I suspect we'll be getting the HT dream house later, but for tonight it is just regular wrapping.

It's been a strange week. We have had a lot of snow, which is so unusual for our area. The song here goes, "I'm dreaming of a Wet Christmas!" White Christmases just don't happen in soggy Washougal, so the 3 feet of snow in the yard looks a little strange. It is very much like Christmas used to be when I was a kid. I've been driving neighbors to the grocery store for the last few days because I was proactive and did not let the snow pile up in the driveway. Most of the neighbors didn't shovel because around here it usually melts the next day. Not me! I shoveled and shoveled and now I am not trapped in my home with my kids. Those little trips to the store are what keeps a mother sane!

Suzanne doesn't really care for the snow. It is deep enough that it's over the tops of her boots and she got some down her neck, so she is not too impressed with the cold stuff. It was hitting her in the face and she kept saying "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

11:40 p.m., still no wrapping

Greg is still awake and has turned on "A Christmas Story." We've never seen it, so at least I'll have something to entertain me while I get finished with the wrapping. Santa should be here in about 20 minutes, so I should probably get to it.

11:45 p.m., still snowing...probably need to shovel again tomorrow...

Holly & Jolly

Yippee! It is December, time to play Christmas Carols and...ugh...put up the tree. Don't get me wrong, I love the tree. But between Suzanne and Oscar, it is an event. Suzanne is curious and loves shiny things and Oscar is just an oaf. He thunders around the base of it and you're always holding your breath, hoping it will stay upright.

We had a few bad moments last Christmas because Suzanne took most of the ornaments off the bottom and broke a few. She didn't get any of the good ones, though, because those were all near the top. The red ones in particular took a hit. I'm interested to see if she does that again this year or if she has grown out of this particular annoyance. Guess I'll have to gird my loins and hope for the best...

Thanksgiving was nice, except for when it was a pain. I'm pleased that my folks recovered enough from our two-week stay in August to let us back in the house. I kind of thought they might change the locks before we got there! It was an eventful weekend. Suzanne had a massive cold, which she gave to everyone. She also got bit on the toe by my sister-in-law's puppy (not his fault--she stuck her toe in his face and he thought it was a snack). Friday night my mother the nurse got to lance her toe--poor grandma. Funny thing--after cleaning her toe with an alcohol swab and having a little juice and a good night's sleep, she was much better and her usual happy self. She still kicks me when I try to look at her toe, but she's fine and dandy now.

Dinner was marvelous, even with that brussels sprout thing that my sister made. I don't think I've had a brussels sprout since about 1968, but it was actually quite tasty! Suzanne had an entire plate of mashed potatoes and creamed corn--the good kind with the cream cheese. You do not want to stand between Suzanne and a plate of mashed potatoes....very dangerous...

Kirk got to go skating with his cousins at the Bill Collier Ice Arena at the Running Y Ranch. He had a great time and is really getting the hang of it. He never got too far from the wall last year, but as you can see, he is out in the middle now and one foot is off the ice. Yay Kirk!

Well, writing this blog is an act of procrastination, so I'd better get on with things.