Christmas In California

Yes, it's true. The Haskell Rascals spent Christmas in California! It was amazing---COLD, but totally amazing!
We flew out on Christmas Day. The flight was very easygoing, considering we were flying with 3 children who hate to stay still for very long. :) My mom (Mimi) went with us, which was a wonderful plan. That way there was 1 adult per child. It made crowd control much easier.
We arrived in Los Angeles, rented a Dodge Durango, and headed out toward our hotel at the front gates of Disneyland.
Did I mention it was raining like crazy when we arrived??? My gosh, it was a downpour! Trying to rent a car and get all of us and our luggage in the Durango was quite the feat. We took our Garmin (I highly recommend you own one) and it was perfect for helping us navigate the L.A. area. Before we got to the hotel, we attempted to visit Venice Beach--or any beach for that matter. We drove to Santa Monica and tried to get to the pier, but the rain was too hard and wouldn't let up. The beaches were closed and the waves were huge, so it was a big no-go. The drive from Santa Monica to our hotel was pleasant and virtually traffic-free.
Once we arrived at our hotel, we unpacked and enjoyed the view of Disneyland while we found something to eat. Then it was off to bed--not that we were going to sleep a whole heck of a lot with all of the excitement building.
The next day, we got up and were at the front gates of Disneyland at 8am. It was SO NICE to be able to ride whatever ride we wanted without waiting. The 1st one we did was It's A Small World. Too fun! Caroline and Christian were completely amazed by it. Then it was on to the teacups, Dumbo, the carousel, and much more. We did most of the small kids rides in record time. We then visited Toon Town. That was the most fun! We got to have our picture taken with Mickey Mouse--something I'd always wanted to do.
After Toon Town, the 2 smaller ones were getting tired--by this time it was noon. Mimi and I took them back to the hotel for naps while John and Caitlin stayed and rode the big rides with long waiting lines. By this time, the park was completely packed!
Did I mention it was freezing??? Oh my gosh---I had on 5 layers of clothing---3 shirts, a hoodie, and a fleece jacket---and I was still an ice cube when we went to the hotel for naps.
Mimi, the 2 smaller C's, and I returned to Disneyland around 4:30pm. John and Caitlin had had a blast while we were gone. We went over to Adventure Land, Tomorrow Land, and much more--we were there until 9:30pm. Let me tell you, I was pooped!! We got to see everything we wanted to see and ride all of the rides we'd hoped for. It was great!
Caitlin's favorite ride was the Indiana Jones. Christian's favorite was the flying Dumbo. Caroline's favorite was Winnie the Pooh's ride. I didn't do the teacups or the Matterhorn--I wasn't in the mood to throw up. :) Other than that, I did pretty much everything they did. Caitlin and Mimi stayed to watch the fireworks, then we all passed out sometime around midnight.
The next morning, we made our way along the coast looking for a beach to visit. It was much more sunny, but not very warm. We were headed to San Diego to visit the zoo, but we were able to find a cool little surfer's beach on the way. We stayed just a short while, but it was fun. The ocean was cold, but there were still probably 100+ surfers in the water.
Now on to San Diego Zoo---we arrived in downtown San Diego around noon and found a Wendy's to eat at. What was weird about the restaurant was we had to PAY to use the restroom! Mom put a quarter in and all 4 of us girlies went in at once. 4 for the price of 1. Heehee
Anywho, we got to the zoo around 1pm, and folks, there was NO parking. We circled the huge parking lots for about 45 minutes and found nothing. Mom decided to drop me, John, Caitlin, and Christian off at the front gates of the zoo and she offered to circle around until she found a spot. Caroline was asleep, so it worked out great. Those of us that got right into the zoo had a fun time looking at all of the neat animals. It literally took Mom 2 hours to find a spot--yes, she drove around for that long! Not only that, but she didn't park in the zoo parking lots....she had to park 2 miles away in a residential area! It was insane.
After we visited the zoo, we found our hotel that was very close to the bay area, and we hunted down a tiny seafood restaurant for dinner. It was SO COOL--right on the bay where we watched fishing boats and the fishermen come in and out. The food was out of this world and the atmosphere couldn't have been more perfect. After a great dinner, we went back and zonked out for the night.
Sunday morning, we got up bright and early, returned the rental car, and flew home.
Oh yeah--we had even more fun on the return flight. The pilot was from Happy, Texas--and he was a hoot. He kept cracking jokes and talked to the passengers much more than any other pilot. When we stopped in Las Vegas to drop off passengers and load others, the pilot got off to go get some coffee. Meanwhile, the co-pilot saw Christian in his seat (we were in the 1st and 2nd rows) and asked if he'd like to come sit in the cockpit for a bit. Christian ran up there and made himself completely comfortable in the pilot's seat. He even got to touch things and push buttons! The co-pilot told me to go get my camera, so I snapped some pretty cool shots of Christian before we had to remove him and finish the flight.
All in all, it was a TREMENDOUS vacation. Thank you to Mimi for coming with us and being such a huge help! We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas as well.
Now, we are soon to be off to Dallas/Fort Worth for New Year's. Can't wait to report the happenings from there when we return!
And, as promised---the SLIDESHOW!

Anonymous Napkin

*Before I begin this post, I just want to let you all know that I AM working on getting our vacation photos together. It takes time to sort and fix any red-eye issues on them, and I plan on making a slideshow instead of downloading each and every one I want on here. That being said, it's coming--I promise!*

Now, on to the post:
There are times when I wonder what's going through another person's head when they do things that aren't what you'd consider "kind."
For instance....
John, the kids, and I went up to the hospital this evening to visit the Crum family who just welcomed a beautiful baby boy into this world. His name is Joseph Grant, and he's as cute as a button!! I visited him earlier today, but wanted to give John a chance to hold him as well--and to say hi to his wonderful parents, Steve and Jill.
John was in his car and I was in my van--since we had just come straight over from the gym--so we were having to circle the parking lot of the hospital to find 2 places. Let me just tell you that the parking spaces were few and far between. Anywho, as I was rounding the front of an aisle, I saw a pickup pulling out further down. Knowing that John had already parked, I gunned it and put my blinker on. There was another car with the same idea, only she was coming from the opposite direction and around a corner--with her blinker on too. We both came to the spot at the same time as the pickup was backing out. Fortunately (for me) he backed out and drove off in the other direction, giving me clear access to the spot...blocking the other car from having a chance at it.
Let me just say it was a spot WAY at the back of the parking lot, so it's not like I took a prized spot.
Well, the lady in the other car was furious. She was so mad that she parked her happy hiney right behind my van after I'd pulled in to the spot (yes, out in the middle of the driving area), watched me unload my 3 children, and glared at me the whole time. Not only that, but she drove very slowly next to me as I met up with John and walked along the long sidewalk toward the hospital. John had seen the whole thing and had waited for me, knowing the driver of the other car wasn't happy with me.
Folks, she followed me the whole way to the front of the hospital (driving very slowly as to keep right by my side) and watched as we all went in. She didn't take her eyes off of me...no words...no gestures...no rolling down of her window....just stares. I made no gestures or said words either--I just shrugged my shoulders and looked straight ahead.
We went up to visit the Crums and joked about how weird that lady was being about a way-in-the-back parking space. I was secretly hoping the she hadn't hurt my van.
As we left the hospital and found our cars, John walked all the way around mine and saw nothing out of the ordinary. I breathed a big sigh of relief, got in the car, and turned it on.
The I looked up and noticed something stuck under my windshield wiper.
Apparently she was hacked enough to leave me a note.
Great.
I got out, pulled it out from underneath the wiper, and got back into the car to read it.
It was written on a white napkin.
Here is what it said:
(if you can't read it, click on the pic and it will make it bigger
I just sat there thinking, "Wow."

I called John and told him about it, and he told me not to give it another thought. His take on it was this:

The woman was obviously weird, just from the fact that she followed me around the parking lot and took the time to leave a note. He didn't believe a word of what she had written because, if indeed her grandfather had died, she would be in a much bigger hurry and wouldn't have thought twice about messing with me. Also, the hospital offers valet parking---all she would have had to do is drop her car off at the front door and run up to wherever it was that her grandfather was staying. John said she was just being rude herself, and that she was trying to put a huge guilt trip on me.

Maybe so.

Still, it hurt, and I felt bad.

I never meant to be ugly. I wasn't trying to cause her grief. I don't consider myself a nasty-acting person. If I would have seen that she had small children or was elderly, I probably would have moved on and let her have it.

To me, it's just not worth the trouble.

I can tell you this: next time I am in a situation like that, I will definitely re-evaluate and make sure it's totally worth it to park there.

Nothing like an anonymous napkin to make you think.

So There's This Lotion

And it smells AMAZING.
That's not all I wanted to say--there is a story to go along with it.

About 6 months ago, my mom went to Austin to visit my brother. While there, she had lunch with my bro and his girlfriend at a very cool restaurant that had a gift shop. Inside this gift shop, she found a great smelling lotion and decided I might like it.
She brought it home to me, and I put it up in the cabinet near my kitchen sink to use after I wash my hands.
Somehow, it got pushed back behind the meds and vitamins up in that cabinet.
Roughly 2 weeks ago, John found it hidden in the back. I'd never had a chance to use it because--like I said---it had been hidden this whole time. So he grabbed it and took it to work.
Apparently the man gets dry hands while typing on the computer. Whatever.
On the first day he used the lotion, he came home from work and I smelled something unusual on him. It was very....floraly...vanilla...yummy....
I accused him of seeing another woman (in a kidding sort of way, mind you).
He laughed it off and called me crazy.
Perhaps I am.
Anywho, I discovered that the wonderful smell was coming from his hands, and he admitted to stealing my lotion from the cabinet.
Not only was I shocked at just how amazing it smelled, but I was also embarrassed that I couldn't quit smelling my husband's hands.
Sure, go ahead. Call me weird.

I asked for my lotion back, and he explained that it was not possible for him to return it. Apparently the entire day staff of the fire department came through John's office and had to use some of the lotion for themselves.
He has that effect on people.
All he had was this one 4oz. bottle, and he said it was almost 1/2 empty already.
Sheesh.
So he asked me to order some more of it. Sure honey! One bottle for you, one bottle for me. Works great in my book!

Here's the funny thing: one of the day officers went home the night after John let him borrow some of this hand lotion and his wife accused HIM of seeing another woman too! Hahahaha
I laughed outloud over that one.
Apparently I'm not the only weird wife around here.
Seriously, this stuff smells AWESOME!

Soooooooooooooo, I ordered the bottles of lotion and they arrived. I quickly popped open the lid and tried it out on my own hands (being as I've only been enjoying the smell on John's hands now for 2 weeks). You know what? It actually smells better on HIS hands than it does mine!!
I still like it though, and it just may be good enough to use instead of perfume.

Ok---so it's called Sandal Wood Vanilla lotion. It's only found in Austin, TX, so if you want some you have to order it. It's made by SOAP (South Austin People). Google it if you're interested--it's on sale!

PS: I'll have pics up soon of our vacation!!

Goodnight folks. I'm off to bathe myself in "lotiony goodness."

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Much love from the Haskell Rascals to your family!!

It's Building!!

The excitement around here is building like crazy! Besides the pure joy of Christmas, we are packing to go spend some time in California. YEAH! :) We will be going to Disneyland, San Diego Zoo, the beach, and much more. Man, I can't remember the last time I had a good long vacation that didn't involve driving with 3 small children---and that was out of the state of Texas.

*side note*
For all of you weirdos that roam blogs looking for information as to when people are leaving town so you can attempt to cause trouble for them--BEWARE. Not only am I not telling exactly when we are leaving and when we are returning, I have a guard dog named Charlie. Don't let his fluffiness and sweet nature fool you; he's a killer.
Oh--and then there's my dad. He'll be in and out making sure all is well.
And he owns many guns.
And he's a cop.
Nuff said.

Ok, where was I?
Now, it's been forever and a day since I've packed all 5 of us to go somewhere (technically John packs his own, but you know that I, being the anal person I am, check in on his progress from time to time). We don't have to take a pack-n-play or stroller which eliminates 2 bulky items, but then there's 2 car seats.
Then there's clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, toys, hats, rain ponchos, more toys, cameras, cell phones and their appropriate chargers, swimsuits, more toys, jackets, Dramamine....you get the idea.
Whew! I'm tired already! :)

I am SO EXCITED--really!! I know once we get on the plane and get going, it will be a breeze.
(Now, if I can keep from passing out from nervousness during the flight, we'll be doing great--oh, and then there's the driving portion that I might possibly need a tranquilizer for. Sheesh.) We will have our last of 3 Christmas-present-opening-and-food-eating celebrations this evening with the Haskell side, so I plan on chilling out today and enjoying the final hours before we take off.

All of you in bloggerland have a FABULOUS Christmas and we'll post pictures as soon as we can!

Just So You Know

I finally tackled the storage closet under the stairs.
At 10 o'clock at night.
When everyone else was sleeping.

I'm sure you can all rest better now knowing that I, Momma Haskell, have completed the Great Cleanout of 2008.

Thank you....thank you....
*curtsey*

I Want To....I Need To

My wonderful house...
I love it to pieces and feel almost guilty for wanting to move into something else. After all, I had always dreamed of living in a 2 story with plenty of room for family/friends to come visit. This house has great sized rooms, a nice layout, and an abundance of storage--exactly what a young family needs. We, however, have decided that it's time to move on to something else. I've been getting very anxious about this place selling (or the lack thereof) so I had a plan.
I decided about 2 weeks ago that this house is not going to sell unless it's cleaned out. I seriously doubted that I'd have much to clean, being as we've only lived here 3 years. After all, how much stuff can 5 people accumulate in that short amount of time?
Oh goodness--TONS.
So I went room by room, starting with Caroline's. After about an hour of rearranging and bagging up donations/trash, I moved on. Christian's was the biggest breeze--the boy is very neat and tidy. On to Caitlin's, whose room looked like a trash can threw up in her closet, under her bed, and behind everything that didn't move.
Seriously.
Ok, so after a few days of working on Caitlin's room, the laundry room, the linen closet (who would have thought THAT place would hide such useless junk?), and our master bedroom, I only had 3 strongholds left:
1. the garage (it made me nauseated to think about cleaning it)
2. the master closet (let me point out it is JOHN who is the packrat)
3. the storage closet under the stairs (I open the door to it, gasp, hold my hands out to keep from getting crushed, and slam it shut again to make sure the exploding contents stay put for just...one....more....day)

We FINALLY broke down and cleaned out the garage last Saturday when it was nice, warm, and sunny. It took about 3 hours, which caused me to miss my nap, but it was totally worth it! I can't believe the difference it made--and the fact that we can get to our cars without serious bodily injury is amazing in itself.

1 down, 2 to go.

Wednesday night, John and I decided to tackle our master closet. We had put it off long enough. After sorting, laughing at old things we found from like 10 years ago, putting Christian back into his bed at least 3 times, and packing things back in neatly, we had it finished.
Ahhhhhhhh, such bliss!

*Let me add here that we now have approx. 10 kitchen trash bags and 3 huge black outdoor trash bags filled with donation stuff. WHERE DID IT ALL COME FROM????*

We were pleased as punch with our work and were able to sleep soundly.

2 down....1 to go.

This brings us to the here and now. All that's left to clean is that darn closet under the stairs. I know the kids have tons of toys packed in there, as well as shoes, picture frames, important documents, etc. It's going to feel SO GOOD to get it cleaned out---if and when I get up the gumption to just do it.

I want to....I need to.....

I know it will make a world of difference. Really, I do. And I want to be finished--I mean COMPLETELY finished cleaning out this wonderful house that we are really wanting to sell.

Maybe tomorrow.
Or the next day.
Or....
*deep, long sigh*

Friday Fess Ups

It's nice to be able to sit down while the kids are running around like crazy apes being such angels so I can play the crazy game I like to call Friday Fess Ups. Won't you play along?

1. I certainly did not finish off the 2 smaller kids' bowls of breakfast cereal. That would make me piggy, and I am nothing like that. Sheesh.

2. My husband did not stress me to the max yesterday by calling at 1:20pm and asking me to pick up a Christmas Gift Exchange gift from World Market (definitely NOT a kid friendly joint--and I had 3 small children with me) and have it wrapped and ready to be gifted....and brought out to his office by 2:30pm. Of course I didn't feel like pulling my hair out and disowning him for the added stress. He isn't still in a ton of trouble either.

3. I don't enjoy watching Hannah Montana with Caitlin, and---sometimes at night when John is working---I don't watch it by myself and laugh my pants off. Nope, not me.

4. I most certainly did not purchase my 1,000th tube of chapstick this winter just because it was something new and looked cool. I also didn't wash a tube of Caitlin's chapstick today and then dry it in the dryer as well. Oops.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

The Verdict Is In

We can officially continue the plans to go to Disneyland for Christmas! YEAH!

I took Caitlin to the orthopedic doc this morning, and here is what he said:

She definitely has a fracture, but it's not a bad one. Basically, the sling she is wearing is for her comfort only--she doesn't need a brace or any further intervention. He believes she'll be back to full strength before the next appointment (that's in 4 weeks), and the pain will lessen with each day. He said she's perfectly fine to go to Disneyland and ride the rides--she just has to be super careful and choose rides wisely. He told us that her only restrictions were NO GYMNASTICS for at least 6 weeks. Not a problem!

I was totally relieved to hear that she was, indeed, going to be fine. I think it boosted her confidence as well. She seemed to be in a better mood when I dropped her off at school after the appointment. Besides, she only has 2 1/2 more days of school before she gets several weeks off for break.

1st Day

Today was the 1st day in a very long time that I have actually shopped by myself. I know, totally amazing huh.
I still had about 1/2 of my Christmas shopping left to do, and with Caitlin at school and Christian/Caroline at MDO, I was able to roam around the mall, try on things, shop for the gifts I needed, and get in and out in record time. It was pure bliss!
Seriously folks, when did it get so darn COLD??? That's my only complaint. My nose still hasn't gained feeling back. I think it's frostbit (is that a word?).
Ok, so back to the discussion at hand:
It's very freeing to not have a single other person to worry about--even if it is just for 5 hours during 1 day a week.
*heaven opens up, angels begin to sing*
It's crazy how much I can get accomplished when I'm sitting around in my pj's watching tv or playing on the computer focusing on the tasks at hand.
Embroidery machine, here I come!

Nothing Says "Happy Birthday" Quite Like...

A fractured clavicle (collar bone)...

Caitlin turns 10 today!!!! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

I feel so sorry for my firstborn. She's never been a sickly/accident prone child. Seriously folks, she's been such a breeze to raise. :)

Last night, just an hour before her small family birthday party, she hurt herself. She and Christian were showing off their summersaults, cartwheels, and handstands in the middle of the living room. Caitlin yelled, "Watch the Amazing Caitlin!", took off to do a magnificant handstand, overcorrected it, and fell directly on her left arm/shoulder. I heard a yucky "pop" and Caitlin lost it. She was in a lot of pain, and we went ahead and took her to the ER for x-rays.
Sure enough, the ER doc found a small fracture in her clavical. He put her in a sling, gave her some pain meds, and gave us a referral to an orthopedic doc.

She was bummed to say the least---we didn't get to order pizza or eat cake like she wanted to do. You know what though? She did get to open presents! :)

I'll update later on the findings at the orthopedic doc's office.

For now-HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY-WE LOVE YOU!!

He's Mad

Christian went to bed last night with a whiny, grouchy, frustrated attitude. He woke up the same way today. I tell ya what, he's been a jewel this morning. He's mentioned a certain irritation of his to me at least 1,000 times since he ate his cereal at 7am. In fact, I don't think he's going to let this irritation go anytime soon---or at least for another 13 days. He is so mad about this certain thing that he woke up from his afternoon nap---you guessed it---grouchy. Seriously, it's getting a bit overwhelming to give him the same response each time and watch him pout, cry, and stomp off into the other room with his arms crossed. I continue to tell him that if he will just be patient, he will have his questions answered soon enough.

What is it that my darling #2 C is so mad about you might ask?

He wants to know what's inside his Christmas presents under the tree and neither I nor his Daddy will tell him.

:)

F-I-N-G-E-R F-O-O-D

Those 2 simple words can make or break my holiday season.

It seems that everything we attend or are invited to have those 2 words included:

"You are invited to.....Please bring a finger food."

There are even times that I break out in a small rash just hearing that sentence (my right eye began twitching as I typed it).

How much "finger foods eating" can one person take??
Why not just say, "Please bring $10 to chip in so we can order pizza."
That would appeal to anyone with a desire to make it through the holidays without added stress.
Or you could say, "Eat before you come--we will not be feeding you or your small children. We are getting together to have fun, and we'd rather not burden you with the need for finger foods. Cider and coffee will be available for your drinking enjoyment. Possibly some candy canes."
That would be just fine in my book.

I am a worrier---I find myself getting worked up over the finger food I choose. Is it the right size? Is it REALLY a finger food? Will it be a crowd pleaser or a disaster? Should it be sweet, hearty, hot, cold, spicy, layered, multi-colored, all natural, vegetarian, meaty, dippable, store bought, homemade...????
I just never know.

Do I even have the right plate or serving bowl for this??
Oh jeez. I'm already sweating.

Anyway, I love finger foods as much as the next person. Really. I just am not the best at bringing them. You wanna know the truth? I haven't wanted go to holiday parties simply based on the fact that I didn't want to bring a finger food. Isn't that so silly?

Who invented them? Who sat down and thought, "I am so tired of using a spoon/fork. Let's make up something that can be eaten without them. I think I'll call it Finger Food."
A simple observation: 50% of "finger foods" actually require the use of a utensil.
Amazing.

All of that being said, I'm off to the store to find a darn finger food for a party. Wish me luck.
*deep sigh*

Makes You Think

For the 1st time in several months, I decided to skip the heart healthy oatmeal and opted instead for the yummy kids' cereal. John went grocery shopping while I was gone the other night, and apparently the 3 C's talked him in to some sugary-teeth-rotting squares of goodness in a bag.
Whatever.
So I poured myself a big bowl--topped it off with whole milk (not the tasteless 1% milk that my darling husband bought a gallon of, thinking he'd change me) and sat in my chair.
I thought to myself, "MAN! That is some wonderful cereal! Wonder what it is called? Don't think we've ever had it before..."
I wandered back into the kitchen, fetched the bag from the top shelf, and read the name.

I wasn't terribly impressed. After all, I think the cereal company should be reprimanded for naming a cereal something that might give the adults in the house the feeling of guilt for having some.

The cereal's name is: Muffin Tops

Seriously?

Thanks alot, Cereal Company, for giving me a complex at 8am.

Still tastes good though. And that's all that matters.

FYI:
From Webster's Dictionary:

Main Entry: muffin top
Part of Speech: n
Definition: flesh that falls over the waistband of a garment
Example: muffin tops hanging over tight jeans
Etymology: 2003; for its resemblance to the food

Cleaning And Independence

I woke up this morning with a "need" to clean.

It hits me every year--the day after Christmas is usually when it comes along. For 2008, it was early.
I just HAD to get this house de-junked (is that a word?). It was driving me crazy, and I figured today was as good as any. At least I would have it all finished before the day after Christmas when I will spend half of an afternoon trying to find places to put all of the new toys and goodies.

6 bags of trash and 7 bags for donation later....

I tell ya what, it felt good to have the upstairs completely cleaned out.
You read right----all of those bags JUST from the upstairs.
Sheesh.
Anyway, I am starting on the downstairs this evening. I have a feeling that the closet under the stairs may swallow me up alive. I told John that if I don't come out in an hour, call for backup.

Usually this cleaning spurt hits me in the spring--you know, the traditional "spring cleaning" time. Not this year though. I let it get to the unruly point, and I just got fed up.

Caitlin wins the award for packrat of the year. I swear, that child did NOT get my cleaning jeans. It took me almost an hour and a half on her room/closet. It was crazy. I threatened her with her life if it ever looks that way again.
I give it a week.

The 2 smaller C's had fairly clean rooms, it was just the massive amount of donatable clothing, shoes, and stuffed animals that concerned me. I transfered Caitlin's barbies, ponies, and misc. little girl items to Caroline's room since she has kind of outgrown them. After all, she will be 10 in 7 days. I can't believe my baby is gonna be in the double digits.
*deep sigh*

Of course I had to tackle the mountain-o-laundry today as well. Oh--and then there were the bathrooms. All 3 of them.
You know what though? Caroline and Christian were so busy with the "new" toys in Caroline's room that I was left to get all of my chores and cleaning out done--they played by themselves for 2 1/2 hours!!

Quick question: Have any of you finished your Christmas shopping yet??
I used to be right on top of that, back when I only had 1 child. In fact, there were several years where I had all of my buying finished by late October.
This year? Ummmm.....haven't even really started.
Ack.

I'll leave you with a fun pic for the day. In this one, Caroline decided to dress herself--top to bottom. Gotta love my little independent one.

Friday Fess Ups

Man, I've missed my fess ups--I think it's been at least 2 weeks since I've done them. Yikes!
A reminder: if you participate and do your own fess ups, make sure to let me know. I'd love to give your blog more traffic and let others see that you are playing along. :)

Here we go folks!

1. I certainly do not let Christian go out of the house in the 20 deg. weather with flip flops or tennis shoes without socks. And, he doesn't ever go out without zipping his coat up either. Nope.

2. I didn't buy 3 large bags of candy (sweet tarts, gummy bears, and gummy life savers) at Target yesterday and let the kids eat what they wanted until the felt like puking. I didn't have a handful of sweet treats either.

3. Of course I did not go to Target twice this week. That would be silly.

4. The lights on the very top of my tree (roughly the top 1/4) aren't out--and I don't refuse to figure out which lightbulb it is and replace it. I'm not that lazy.

5. I most certainly did not use the sleeve of John's hoodie (that I happened to be borrowing since it's like 60 deg in our house) as a kleenex for Caroline. Yuck.

6. The bathtubs and backs of the toilets don't seem as if they are growing their own hair because I refuse to clean them. Not me.

7. I didn't make a deal with John to let me get some bangs cut in exchange for growing my hair out. I don't barter with beauty and I most certainly didn't schedule to do the bangs cut without reminding him that I was doing it. He didn't act a bit surprised when I showed up in the gym with the bangs---and he didn't remind me later that I had agreed to the growing out of the hair. We don't keep tabs on stuff like that.

8. We aren't going to Disneyland for Christmas. :)
*small squeal of excitement*

Hope you all have an awesome weekend--enjoy the holidays while you can!

The Post Office

Today was "one of those days."

I had a chaotic morning--everything seemed to be bugging my darling 4 year old. His shirt sleeves were too short, his winter jacket was too bulky, his socks were too small, and his shoes wouldn't buckle right. Oh--and then his seatbelt got twisted. Sheesh.
After making it out of the house just in the nick of time, I was able to down my coffee and relax a bit.
Deep breaths, Melissa. Deep breaths.
*inhaling*
*exhaling*

Ok---and I recovered.

I spent the entire rest of the morning running around. Drop Caitlin off at school, go visit Mimi and Pappaw, drop Christian off at school, go get a haircut, run home and lay Caroline down for a nap, eat my lunch, clean the house, wake Caroline up and go pick Christian up....

This is where it gets interesting.

After putting Christian in the car, I decided it was in my best interest to go mail some packages. It was 2pm, and I didn't think the lines would be too terribly crazy. I wasn't looking forward to this trip, simply because I knew my 2 smaller C's were very impatient. I crossed my fingers, unloaded the kids, and took my 2 heavy boxes in to the post office. To my surprise, there were only 2 people in the line! Of course there was only 1 lady open at the front, but it shouldn't take too long. I hopped in line and began the waiting process.
(Let me just insert here that YES--I do know about the 24hour mailing kiosks at the front of the post office. I used them regularly in fact. The only downside to them is that they do not let you mail stuff to military addresses or overseas. For those types of boxes, you must stand in line and be helped at the counter.)

10 minutes later....

I noticed the man being helped at the counter (now there was just 1 lady waiting in front of me) had over 20 small packages. Each was being scanned individually, and he was having to fill out customs forms for EACH one.
Jeez.
Caroline began to get antsy and wanted down off of the counter where I sat her for safe keeping. Christian was starting to slip out small whines every now and then.

15 minutes later....

A couple who had gotten out of line to get another form was allowed back in at the front of the line now, so that still left me and the woman in front of me waiting. The man with 1,001 packages was now gone, and---lo and behold! A man comes from the back and opens up a 2nd register.
Amazing.
Caroline is to the angry point. She wanted down and she wanted down NOW. Christian was in full whine mode and wanted to be held. Momma was sweating profusely and wanted out like a cat in a bathtub.

10 minutes later....
(Are you keeping count of how long this is taking???)

I FINALLY make it up to the desk, minus the 2 C's. I had let them go so they could wander around and look at the fascinating postcards, stuffed toys, and packing boxes. I just needed 2 minutes to give the packages to the lady and pay.
Or so I thought.
I was then informed that I needed to fill out customs forms.
*Rolling eyes*
Ok, so that set me back a few minutes. When I had finally completed those stupid forms, I turned around and noticed that not only was the line to the door now, but my 2 C's were pulling down displays. Nice.
I ran to grab Caroline. I scooped her up and barked at Christian to follow me. Seriously, folks, I was losing my cool. Tears were but a moment away, and I wanted to chunk my darlings out the window. Just as I made it back up to the counter with Caroline shreeking in my ear, I heard a voice say something about getting my kids under control.
I whipped around to see who said it.
Could it be? My sweet, awesome, amazing, wonderful, LIFE-SAVING friend Tina was the one who had jokingly said those words. She was at the back of the line, and left her place to come help me.

I am most certain that God sent her just at the right time. She saved me from a complete scream-fest in the middle of the post office.
Tina scooped up the 2 C's and left me to my business of package-sending.

I turned to the lady behind the desk, and before she could ask me if I wanted delivery confirmation on the boxes, I started to cry.
Not just small tears, but big mascara-running ones. I sniffled and tried to stop, but they flowed too fast.
The poor post office woman didn't know what to say or do. She just kept on scanning and typing my information in. Then---she reached across the desk and patted my hand.
"It will be ok. After all, it's the holidays. You have very sweet children, and I'm sorry they had to wait so long."
Me too lady, me too.

I sniffled again, wiped back enough tears so that I could see the debit machine, punched in my pin code, received my receipt, and left. The line of people was outrageous at this point, and I was super embarrassed that everyone was watching me pitifully retreat to my vehicle.
Tina was so sweet---she helped me load the 2 C's into the car, and then sat with me for a few minutes to make sure I was okay. I love special friends like that.
Tina, I owe you BIG TIME sister!! :)

45 minutes after entering the post office, I was on my way to get Caitlin from school.
I felt much better after leaving the parking lot, and my meltdown was over.

Lessons learned:
1. Do NOT go to the post office without the spouse---both for moral support and for kid-wrangling.
2. Don't sweat the small stuff. Children are huge blessings, even when they are on your last nerve. They aren't small forever, so enjoy them while you can.
3. Thank the Lord everyday for His love and provision. After all, He sends us angels when we least expect them to show up.
4. Love on your friends and make sure they know how important they are to you.

Man, nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a meltdown in the post office. :) Althought I was embarrassed and it was totally uncalled for, I admit it felt good.
Good to let others see that I was human.
Good that I was able to see the post office lady was human as well, and that she didn't really slow everything down just to push me to my breaking point.
Good that I don't have to step foot in the line of the post office again for at least another 6 months--possibly another year if I play my cards right. Ha!
Good that I can blog about such silly things, get a bit teary-eyed when recalling the events, and then laugh about it afterward.

*deep, cleansing sigh*
Wow--ok, so I'm now looking forward to tomorrow's blog--it's Friday Fess Ups time again! Yeehaw!