Merry Christmas!

Get Down Chewie!

Our little one's newest noises remind us of Chewbacca - from the trilogy of our childhood ... which, in turn, has me thinking of Chuy's creamy jalapeno dip ... mmm.



- H

Post Edit - I did employ the Wisdom of the Internet (oooh, aaah) to determine the proper spelling of the short form of Chewbacca. I guessed it was spelled more like Chuy's, and I was wrong. Now, I am thinking about Tex-Mex yumminess again. Drat!

Christmas is coming ...

The goose is getting fat,
Please do put a penny in the old man's cap.

I have recently discovered that many of the songs I remember from my childhood are not actually, well, correct. The monkey did NOT stop running 'round the mulberry bush to tie his shoe. Which is neither here nor there, really ... but may someday explain why Olive sings some of the words that she does, er, will.

Things are going well around here. We all had a busy, but pretty good, week. A matter I've been working on settled, favorably for my client. (Woo Hoo!!!) Kyle's building continues to come into physical being, and his trips to TN are suspended until after the New Year, which has been really nice. The city even got a lovely dusting of snow last night!

We are almost ready for Christmas. Most of our gifts are purchased, but none of them are wrapped. We'll get it done sooner or later! Our travel plans are set, and Zoe is appropriately cared for. We'll spend Christmas first with family and friends in Texas. Over New Year, we'll celebrate with family and friends in Kansas. Then, we'll settle back here for some travel-free and shopping-free weekends. I'm really looking forward to visiting family, but I am also looking forward to the calm, well, after the travel storm.

Today is a typical Saturday - errands, chores, a bit of work for Kyle (tomorrow promises a bit of work for me), and a bit more cooking than we get to do on weekday evenings. We're having pork steaks and turnip gratin for dinner tonight. Maybe, we'll have a salad for some green vegetables. This fall/winter we've gotten quite a few turnips from our CSA. I am not a turnip fan. They do nothing for me - no matter what cooking method I employ. If the cheesy, gratin-y goodness doesn't change my mind, I don't know what will!

This week will be another busy one. Kyle and I both have things to finish up at work before our offices close for the Christmas holiday. And there's packing and wrapping and cleaning ... and sleeping and eating and breathing ... whew!

Have a great week ..

H

Super.

So, in one of my first school photos my hair is visibly tangled, my clothes are rumpled, and my grin is wobbly and unsure. This morning I felt like that little girl.

No matter how much I would love to be the smooth, collected, well-dressed (and well-coiffed!) career girl *slash* wonderful, attentive, loving mom, there are mornings when I feel like a rumpled, tag-a-long little girl—straddling both worlds, barely, and not doing either very well. More often than not, I am the bumbled sidekick and NOT the superhero I aspire to be.

Last night, the cats (we strongly suspect) unplugged our alarm clock. We woke this morning to Olive’s murmurings and realized that it was one hour past our standard alarm ringing time. On any other morning this would be mildly annoying but fine—completely manageable. However, THIS morning I had a conference call scheduled and had planned to be at work bright and early to finish prepping for it. (Bright and Early. Like not too far off from the time Olive woke us up. Fab.)

So, we scurried. Kyle popped in the shower, I fed Olive (who decided she only wanted half of her meal), Kyle took Olive, I popped in the shower … there was more frantic scurrying. My hair was rumpled, my make-up slap-dash, my pants have three safety pins holding them up … and Olive decided she wanted the rest of her meal as we were bundling her up to get out the door. Fab. Fab. Fab.u.lous.

Everything poured out at once. Olive lost it. I lost it. Getting our gear to the car and us out the door just seemed impossible. Thankfully, Zoe and Kyle sprang into action. They wagged and helped and staunched the flow of tears.

And I found myself sitting in the car. Surrounded by people I love and who love me. My tears were no longer flowing, but were not yet dry either. And, while frustrated and embarrassed, I knew that we would make it through the day ... that we may not individually be more than disheveled, well-meaning sidekicks, but together we make a pretty super family … we survived the morning and will go on to fight crime (and morning discombobulation) another day.

- H

P.S. – I got to the office and was able to find the info I needed in plenty of time for my call (that went quite well, thank you very much!).

P.P.S. – I cannot imagine doing this with more than our little Olive in tow or without Kyle. (Some days I CAN imagine it without Zoe, but then I come to my senses.) Whew!

P.P.P.S. – Kyle wanted me to clarify that Zoe was the one wagging (primarily) and he was the one helping. Zoe, much as we love her, is not very good at the helping. She IS a champion wag-er.

We win!

There are two stores we target (neither is Target) when we are out and about running errands ... because they have comfortable nursing areas. Neither is exactly on our way anywhere, but each is near some of the stores we frequent. Having a place to stop where we know Olive can get a meal without doing crazy acrobatics in the car or exposing myself in the mall is really comforting.

One of these stores is the store from which we buy Olive's diapers--Cotton Babies. We were there yesterday to feed Olive, and they were having a special event. We received raffle tickets when we arrived to put in boxes for different prizes. As we were preparing to leave, the designer of our diapers (and owner of the store) drew one of our tickets from a box! We won a package of their new diaper system (Bum Genius 'Flip' - Their promo shirts say "Bum Flipin' Genius.' Cracks me up.) ... We have plenty of diapers already but were excited to win and are excited to try out these new diapers! Maybe we won't be doing diaper laundry quite so frequently ...

And today we did normal things: went to church, went to lunch, did some Christmas shopping ... and some not so normal things: we played with Olive on a highway! The highway near us has been closed for construction for the past *almost* year. Tomorrow it will open again. So, today the road was open for St. Louisans to ride bikes, jog, walk, roller blade, and skateboard. We strapped Olive into her stroller and outfitted Zoe with her leash and walked through the neighborhood to the highway. It was fun and funny to be walking along the paved road and see only people rather than cars.



Also, Olive has finally outgrown the bassinet stage of her crib. So, we Rubix-Cubed the bassinet into the crib and outfitted it with the great bedding Rae made for us. Here's hoping that Olive adjusts well to the change!



Happy Sunday.

H

How is it December already!?

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We spent the holiday with Kyle's family enjoying wonderful food, great company, much hospitality, and tons of hugs and kisses for our little Olive. We had fun seeing Olive and her cousin Charlie playing together. They are two days (and two pounds!) apart, and (we think) they enjoyed chillin' on Olive's fuzzy orange blanket and watchin' the craziness of the weekend pass by.



After the turkey festivities, we pointed the car back to St. Louis. Our first task upon return was dropping Kyle off at the airport. He spent a few days in Tennessee before joining Olive, Zoe and me back at home.

Olive had her four month check up on Tuesday. She weighed in at 12 lbs 3 oz and measured 23.75 in long. Her head circumference is still in the 75th percentile! Her pediatrician is pleased with her development, especially after watching Olive put on her very best wiggling and kicking demonstration. Olive got two more shots and another oral immunization, all of which she took like a champ (a crying, unhappy champ, but my champ nonetheless).

Now we're enjoying the first snap of downright cold weather, finally admitting that December is actually upon us and gearing up for Christmas celebrations with family and friends.

Have a great weekend!

H