Merry Christmas-ish

Okay so I know I'm a little late with the Christmas post. But! Merry Christmas! I took this week off to spend with the kids (Chester is home) and we have been crazy busy just having fun. I showed much more restraint this year in the gift dept. Toys R Us did not explode in our living room as it did last year. Dreamsicle did receive an annual membership to the local zoo, childrens museum and a local garden/sculpture park that she adores spending time at. Add to that the books, puzzles, and assorted little gifts she received and that girl still ended up with quite a haul.

I, in my usual manner, ended up pulling an "Oops I did it again" incident. Friends of ours came over on Xmas eve. They gave me two beautiful (think expensive) wine glasses as a gift. I went to grab a bottle of wine to open to pour into these beauties and the wine bottle hit the glasses and sent them flying. Shattered wine glass everywhere. Right in front of the givers. Oh my. I do have class, don't I?

Chester informed us that he will be visiting Iraq again in 2008. I stopped at Macy*s today looking for a heavy duty wrinkle reducer....I'm going to need it.

And! I'm inked! I know-whodathunk that me, at my age, with the personality that I have would actually get tattooed but I did. I have wanted for a very long time to come up with a way to honor Angel Baby. I decided that a tattoo would be the perfect way. Once I shared my thoughts with the family there was no turning back. U*Haul and Pixie begged me to have it done before their wedding and Chester insisted that I get it done while he was home since Angel Baby was his twin. Chester stayed with me the entire time I was getting the tattoo and now I'm sporting a puffy heart with a halo over the top with a banner that has his name on it wrapped in angel wings resting on puffy clouds on my right shoulder. I'm very happy I did it.

We are now gearing up for the wedding so we're firing on all four pistons getting everything in place for the "destination wedding".

Picture will be added soon. McGyver got me a zippy lil' camera to throw in my purse for Christmas but I haven't loaded the software onto the computer to allow me to download the pics yet.

Bah-Humbug-ers

Those of you that know us in real life know that we will give the shirt off of our backs if you simply ask for it. Here is the key point to take out of that sentence. Ask. For. It.~Ask for help. Don't just take.

5 days before Christmas someone broke into U*Haul and Pixie's home and stole from them. Their camera, i-pods, video games, gaming system, video camera-all gone. Those things can be replaced. But the dirty rotten scoundrels also stole family memories when they walked away with things given to the kids by my Dad (now deceased), Chester (from Iraq) and their Grandma M (also deceased). And they stole a young woman's sense of safety and security.

Karma-watch for it-

Dreamsicle

Christmas preparations are in full swing at the McGyver house. Last year Dreamsicle happily sat on Santa's lap and we have photographic proof to prove it. This year, not so much. We happened to run into the Jolly old fellow and his wife while they were doing their shopping. In Walmart. In full Santa suit. They happened to be checking out one aisle over from us at the same time that we were. Santa spotted Dreamsicle and bee-lined over to her. She froze in fear as she sat in the shopping cart. He didn't seem to notice as he tried to banter with her. She would not make eye contact, looked directly at me, finally covered her eyes and began wailing-NOOOOOOOOOOO!! At this point I scooped her out of the shopping cart as she was becoming more upset by the minute. The fat guy in the Santa suit would not leave her alone! I finally had to be rude and ask him to leave her alone. It was so bad that three lil old ladies that were behind me threatened to start beating him with their purses if he didn't get out of their site! Anyway, anytime we bring up the name Santa, it is not met with joy but with fear now. Sigh. Oh the joys of being two. Before this encounter I had taught her to hold her belly and say HO-HO-HO when I asked her what Santa says. Now she covers her eyes and yells NO-NO-NO instead.

Here's hoping you all have a HO-HO-HO holiday with no NO-NO-NO's.