Two Cute Videos For A Thursday Morning, And Some Chatting

Goose says pumpkin pie:





She calls it monkey pie!



She also says I love you:





We're doing well in this house. It snowed last night, and so after school I will take the kids sledding. It will be great fun for about 15 minutes, until I'm too cold to enjoy it. I really do not enjoy cold weather. I like looking at the snow from inside my house. But it will be fun to watch them explore it. We're also making gingerbread men this afternoon. They will be gluten free, because I need to take one in for Bee to eat at school tomorrow. His class is baking gingerbread men, and he can participate in the baking and then eat his own cookie from home.


Yesterday I toured a charter school in town. There were so many things I loved about it, and a few things I didn't like at all. I loved that the kids didn't have to sit at desks, could read whatever interested them, and had very little homework. The biggest thing I didn't like was the 7.5 hour school day. I really don't want him to be gone for that long every day. Is that my own issue though? He already thinks his 3 hour day is too long, even though he loves his school. I would miss him. I wish there was a half day option for first grade.


Tomorrow my dad is coming and we are going Christmas shopping. We do it every year, and I always have a great time. We are going to the donut shop with the misspelled name that drives me nuts--The Cresent Donut. But the donuts are delicious so I will ignore the name. Then we will power shop for 3 hours, pick Bee up and have lunch out somewhere.


That's the news around here!


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Tired Whine

I have been so very sleepy lately. Exhausted deep down into my bones. So tired that the world looks slightly out of focus.

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Before I found out that the lump in my breast is nothing to worry about, I worried that I probably had cancer and that's why I was so tired. But that's just because worrying is what I do. I'm very good at imagining the worst.


Now I suppose it's just because of the 6 years of broken sleep I've experienced. My daughter has been teething molars for what has to be 4 months now. We have colds and no one is sleeping well.


My guy has mentioned to me that he wonders why I don't occasionally go to bed when the kids do, if I'm so tired. It's because then I would have zero time for my brain to fully relax. It's also because I think I should be treated to a sleep-in day on weekends. I only get that if I ask for it in a desperate plea of morning insanity.


So last night the world was feeling particularly off tilt, and so I took both kids to bed with me at 7:00. Usually Goose falls asleep in a snap and Bee takes hours. Last night Bee fell asleep in 5 minutes with his hand in mine, and Goose took an hour. So at about 8:00, I slept. Goose did wake me up about 4 times over the course of the night, but we didn't get out of bed until 6:30.


This morning I feel much much much better. I might make this a weekly ritual.


Perhaps in 6 more year, I will be caught up.


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Nursing Baby

I took Bee to a friend's birthday party this afternoon. It was nice to have one on one time with him. My guy stayed with Goose at home, and when I got here I was greeted with these sweet, sweet pictures.


Seriously, I'm not sure my heart can take it!





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The Tree Is Decorated

We put the tree up this week! When I'm not stressed to the max about travel and gift buying and wrapping and baking, I love all the cozy things that Christmas brings. One of my very favorite things to do is sit on the couch with my feet up on the footstool, sip a hot beverage, and have both the lit fireplace and the glowing Christmas tree in my sight. Frequently this is interrupted by a waking baby or a 6 year old who can't get to sleep, but the moments I steal in between fill me up.

My right hand is awkwardly covering up a hole in my jeans.

Today we visited Santa. Goose didn't want to sit on his lap, so we took a family shot so that she could have a picture and feel more comfortable. She did take a candy cane from him though.


Bee told me he didn't feel nervous at all this year. He also said, "I hope Santa retires someday, because I want to be Santa when I grow up."



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That's An Odd Baby

I don't have much time to post today, due to various goings-on, including what was supposed to be my first mammogram! I was kind of excited. I wanted to experience this thing that I had heard about from such a young age. But when the doctor found out I am still nursing my 19 month old (the shock!) he said he would prefer to do an ultrasound instead. So anyway, the lump that I have turned out to be nothing to cause any worry. Likely just an enlarged milk duct. So that's good.


So yes, between the doctor and the kids and the house and the shopping I am very busy today.


But I found this picture that I took a while back and had to post it.


My Goose girl will treat anything like a baby, be it a toothbrush or a pencil or a bowl. She is such a good little mama. One day her babies were a ball and a grape.




They got the royal treatment: a ride in her stroller! Buckled in and everything.



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All In A Pocket

I always check my son's pockets before I wash his pants. He is a tissue stuffer. He will grab a new tissue, swipe at his nose, and cram the thing into his pocket. In a nose running emergency, he might pull it out and use it again later. He can't stand a nose running emergency, and wants to be prepared. I fully support this, because otherwise I end up running past a cemetery in the dark while carrying a 20 pound baby and a blanket and a lawn chair in order to make it to the car before the terrible horrible "nose water" makes its appearance.


What was I talking about?


Oh yes. On an ordinary day, there will be at least 2 tissues in his pocket. When he has a cold, it wouldn't be surprising for me to pull out 10 tissues. Occasionally I find other things in his pockets too, such as bits of paper or small toys. It's oddly exciting to see what's in his pockets.


There was a banner day last week however, and here is a picture of what I removed from one pocket of his pants.



It's 2 tissues, one marker cap, a blue plastic bracelet, a penny, a piece of curly ribbon, a green cardboard triangle, and some sort of green metal snap. Quite amusing.


All this leads quite nicely into my not so amusing confession of the day: I do not check my husband's pockets, and today I washed his flash drive. Arg! At least I didn't run it through the dryer too.


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No Cohesive Plot

I cannot believe it is the first of December. Just last week the weather was warm and we were at the park, and later this week it will snow. That's Indiana for you. Bee can't wait for the snow. Myself, I like snow through December, then I'm ready for spring.


Thanksgiving was wonderful. I made a meal here at home for the 4 of us, and we ate on my grandma's china. Later that day we had dessert with friends. Saturday we left and spent 2 days doing nothing but eating and talking and more eating at the homes of our parents. I'm still stuffed.


Yesterday was a stay at home day at the request of my son. After school, that is. I think he was pretty tired. When I took him to school there was a typewriter set up for sign in. Each child got to type their name as they arrived. Bee waited in line, then took his turn. He typed his name, missing one letter. He got so frustrated and upset. He is really hard on himself if things don't go exactly as he plans them. He is a perfectionist and there doesn't seem to be anything I can d0 to convince him that mistakes are okay. Being a happily mediocre person myself, I do not know the right things to say. Mostly I just hug him and tell him I love him. But anyway, we stayed home all afternoon. Staying in the house so long meant that the kids had plenty of time to argue. These days they mostly argue about floor space. I came up with some ideas they can try, so today we'll see if those work. But really, the low point of yesterday was when I found a ladybug in my leftover green bean casserole. Those things are everywhere!


Goose's refrain today is "Holdie mama!" and so she's been on my lap all morning. There isn't much upright stuff I want to do today anyway.


That's pretty much it around here. A cozy, partially lazy morning which will lead into a very similar afternoon.


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