We Wish You a Merry Christmas

I love Max! My son sort of resembled Max this morning when he saw the Christmas Tree. He loved all his toys except for the two shirts Aunt T got him and the boat. He loves boats. We have no idea why he took one look at it and said "No." Once bath time rolls around and he sees that it floats in the tub I think he will change his mind. The Geo Air set is his favorite. We unwrapped the box and Rory said "OOH! OPEN!" He loves his GeoTrax trains and now that the company has integrated planes into the mix Rory is just in heaven. His last present was a Power Wheels Harley Davidson Motorcycle. Not that he can really use it since the weather is so nasty. We had it hidden under a blanket. The unveiling was very exciting not to mention just plain adorable to watch.

Lorelei was getting sleepy towards the end so she was not thrilled with her Cabbage Patch dolls. She is a bit young for them but really it is a doll. How old do you have to be to hold a doll? Right now she is passed out on my bed with her new glow worm. Little girls can only keep it together for so long. This big girl is waiting for nap time after lunch so she can pass out as well! The family nap is one of my favorite parts of the holidays.

Its Panto Phobia Charlie Brown!

According to Lucy on the Peanuts Christmas Special panto phobia is the fear of everything. Who said cartoons are not educational? Our dog Linus is named after the Peanuts Character. Besides the animals he is the only Charlie Brown character I like. All the others annoy me. I was always hoping that Peppermint Patty would take Lucy out to the playground and kick her...well you know. Pig Pen sure did have a lot of friends for a kid that never bathed. Where was child services? We are going to watch A Christmas Story this evening as a family. J has never seen it before. How can you say you have lived if you have never felt Ralphie's pain? It boggles the mind. My favorite Christmas movie is Scrooged with Bill Murray. It is like I strive to be abnormal. I promise is just comes to me naturally.

Aunt B, Mom, and GG arrived on Thursday evening. It was raining. What happened when rain hits concrete in below freezing temperatures? It freezes! Aunt B stepped out of the car and kissed the pavement. Mom followed her lead with David the cat in her arms. I rescued the cat while managing to stay completely upright the entire time. Yay me! J tried to run out to help GG with her walker. Lord know that is all we need this Christmas, a new hip for GG. Barefoot J hit the ice, fell, and then slid down the driveway. No broken bones but he will most likely loose the nail on his big toe. All he wants for Christmas is a new toe nail. Oh that was bad. Even for me.

Repackaged Television Nonesense

Television networks are continuously trying to introduce new ideas to the public. Every year we are bombarded with so many options that we employ DVR's in every room of the house just to have the chance to sample them all. Most of them will fail and need to be replaced by the next season continuing the cruel cycle. Why did they feel the need to bring back 90210? It was dead, buried, and decomposing in the ground. Who signed the exhumation order? A great series has a shelf life. By allowing this atrocity what will we be forced to endure in the future?
Saved by the Bell: The Suburbs. Melrose Place Retirement Community. M*A*S*H* Afghanistan.
If you are out of ideas, that is okay. Please don't punish us.

Christmas Pictures 2008

Mother and Daughter.

J cracks up Rory while Lorelei wonders what is so funny.

Rory Age 3 yrs. Christmas 2008

My pretty babies.

Lorelei age 8 mos. Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

PO'ed at the PO

Yesterday I finally got the last of the Christmas presents shipped off. I walked into the post office and took a number like I was told to. I pulled #26. The clerks were on #3. I settled in for a long wait. Several people got fed up and left. Do they think tomorrow is going to be a better day at the PO? Not likely. When #25 got up to the desk I was so ready to be next.

I had not been paying attention to the little old man with the cane. A cane I might add that never touched the floor. It just sort of hovered in midair. Maybe he uses it for a counter weight. Little old man believed that his advanced age provided an excuse to cut in front of the 30 people already in line. Four little old ladies that had waited for a turn might disagree.

He argued with the clerk that all he needed was some stamps so why should he have to wait. Well for one thing we all did. He didn't just want a few stamps, oh no. He wanted ten books! It was taking longer to argue with him than just sell him the stamps so the clerk asked if we minded. We grumbled but gave in.

This man who was in such a hurry proceeded to stand outside the PO in 20 degree weather to smoke two cigarettes. So really he was just selfish and impatient. I had my own personal mini Scrooge. It took all I had not to yell "Bah Humbug!"

Welcome to the neighborhood.

The WWF (World Wildlife Federation or is it Fund?) are reporting more than 1000 species discovered over the last decade. Read the whole article here.

"...Mekong River, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan."

You can add the locations above to places I do not plan to visit. They were never all that high on my list. Among the treasure trove of new discoveries was a hot pink millipede laced with cyanide. He is very fashionable in the spring and summer but come fall he is so not in style. The color is to warn predators that not only do I taste bad but I will make you go toes up!
Plenty of lizards, fish, and snakes including this pit viper. Very pretty color but doesn't look friendly. He looks like he does not appreciate his picture being taken. As a photographer how do you snap a pic of that comfortably without a thick sheet of glass to between you. Do any snakes look friendly? Can some one find me a pic of a happy snake?

What is an expedition without spiders the size of dinner plates! Call me old fashioned but I prefer to travel sans arachnid. Lucky for the WWF the spiders were game for a little social interaction. Obviously he is not a relative of the Itsy Bitsy Spider. If this big boy had sat down next to Little Miss Muffet she would have had a massive coronary instead of just running away. Few spiders in this world earn my respect. I am a specist. I will admit it. I discriminate against certain Phylum. This arthropod I would have to his due. If I find you in my house, you can keep it. Just forward my mail.

Everything they found was not creepy crawly. Some new bats, rats, and flowers that are very pretty. My favorites were the annamite striped rabbit and the Laotian rock rat.
The tiger stripes just scream "I'm fierce, rowr!"

He reminds me of a chinchilla. I can overlook the part about him being a rat.

Missing my Lottery Tickets.

I am listening to XM 822 holly. Macy Gray is butchering the song This Christmas (Hang the mistletoe). Inigo keeps walking over to the TV and doing the famous pug head tilt. This is when a pug want to know "What is that?" You can see a demonstration here. I am very picky about my Christmas music. I prefer instrumental classics. I fond that too many singers want to put their own spin or signature on Christmas carols. That bugs me. Don't mess with the classics. Reminds me of Britney Spears doing a cover of the Rolling Stones. Sacrilege I tell you. I do like Kelly Clarkson singing My Grown Up Christmas List and Whitney Duncan - All I Want For Christmas Is You.
I like tradition. This Christmas my traditions are missing by half. We are not going to TX so we will only have my family instead of both families. On the one hand I am happy I will get to stay home for a Christmas. We have made the 620 mile drive for the last 5 years. It kills. With one kid it was torture. With two I feel like I need to pack a noose in the suitcase. I am sad that we will miss seeing all of J's family (dad's side).
The Christmas eve celebration is always a blast. We have great food to munch on and it is BYOB. Gotta love that! I get to sit and talk with relatives I rarely get a chance to catch up with. J has one cousin that I am especially close to. I hate that I will be missing out on her this year. There is this one wacky tradition they have that I think is truly unique to them. J's Aunt Taylor always buys gobs of lotto scratchers to divide among the family. There are almost 20 of us and we usually get 6 or 7 tickets a piece. No one ever wins much more than few bucks but it is hilarious. We never seem to have more than one or two coins amongst us so we all have to share them. The family that gambles together...