busybee

15 minutes well spent.

A:  The horse pictures I colored today were called Clydestails.

Me:  Yes!!  They were!!  But I actually think they are called Clydesdales.

A:  Clydetails?

Me: Clydesdales.

A: Clydedales?

Me: Clydesdales...  Clydessssss!

A: Clydestails?

Me: Clydes...

A: Clydes...

Me: Dales.

A: Dales.

Me: Clydesdales!

A: Clydestails!!

This went on for literally 15 minutes.  We were both giggling so hard by the end, it didn't really matter anymore...

I love being a Mom.  And suddenly, I am craving a Bud Light!!

 
(photo stolen via google images...)

orangey goodness!

I have a problem.  It's a big one and I am slightly embarassed about it. 

The other day, I grabbed what I thought was a life-saver mint out of the candy dish at the front desk where I work.  I peeled off the wrapper and put it in my mouth to discover that it was not minty at all.  It was orange!  AND IT WAS SO FREAKEN YUMMY THAT I IMMEDIATELY ATE FOUR MORE!

I found myself trying to be sneaky about it.  I knew the little round orange bits of heaven were just sitting out there, mere footsteps away!  I didn't want the front desk people to know that I was taking so many.  I rationalized my guilt by saying that the next time I was at the store, I would buy a replacement bag...

This morning at approximately 7:50am, I stopped to pick up the replacement bag, and also bought my own bag so I no longer had to sneak-attack the candy dish...

 

It's 10:55am right now, and I have already eaten half the bag!!!

I CANT STOP!!!

HELP!

the best day.

In the wee hours of the morning, Steve and I finished up our "duties" and called it a night. 

It might just have been because I was beyond exhausted.  But as we set the last few pieces of train track in place, I was having a hard time holding back the tears...  When you are a kid, Christmas is very exciting...  But when you are an adult who is about to absolutely BLOW two little minds clear out of the galaxy, it's a whole other feeling that goes straight past exciting without even glancing back to think about it.  I was beside myself to the point that I could barely sleep...

The tree was set up like this...

 

Steve arrived back at the house bright & early, and the kids came down stairs at just around 7am.  Keegan waddled himself right up to the tree and grabbed a gift as though he had been training hard for the 100-meter-present-snatch event in the Olympics.

 
 
 
  

We finished opening presents, and the kids were THRILLED.  Alyza has been asking for EVERYTHING SHE SEES lately so I tested her (a little bit) by asking...  "did you get everything you wanted?"  Her response surprised me...

"I did Mommy!!  I got everything I wanted, and I am SO happy!!!"  I patted her on the shoulder and we started cleaning up the mess of wrapping paper...

Suddenly, Steve noticed a piece of paper tucked into the top of the Christmas tree...

"What's this??" he asked...  The littles were VERY curious.  Keegan even shoved his sister out of the way to get a better look...

Together, we crowded around and read the letter from Santa.  It said he was so proud of how good the kids had been all year, so he had left them one more present.   To find it, they had to go upstairs and look in their playroom...

  
When we pushed open the door, Alyza SQUEALED at the sight of her new friend, and Keegan muttered a little "wow" and made a beeline for his new train table...  As much as parenthood has taught me to expect surprises...  I could never have imagined how emotional it would feel to watch your little girl hug a robotic pony.

Alyza stopped playing at one point to ask me if we could write Santa a thank-you note.  They are most certainly spoiled, but they are most certainly not rotten, and that makes me so proud of them.   

The four of us spent the afternoon with my parents, who came bearing even MORE goodies...  Including a chocolate cake that was so yummy, I had 2 pieces.  Shhh...

  

And if they were to ask me, I would tell them that I had the best day today, because of them.

I hope you all had the most wonderful Christmas...  

12:34am - Christmas Morning...

It's the weeeeeeeeeeeeee hours of the morning.

Santa has come and gone.

Stockings are stuffed, cookies are nibbled, everything is in it's place...

The littles climbed out of bed at least 8 times before finally falling asleep.

I am running on absolute fumes...

 

But oh-so-worth-it...

Photos tomorrow!!  Have a WONDERFUL Christmas (or holiday), everyone!!!

the busyness of the season.

Everyone gets busy at the holidays.  That is not breaking news to anyone.  We get busy, we get chaotic, we get frantic...  We spend countless hours shopping and stay up past our bedtimes to get everything sorted and wrapped and organized...  Though this time of the year can be wonderful and magical, it can also suck the life right out of you...

Last night, after returning home from a wonderful dinner with my girls...  I sat down on my living-room floor with gifts and wrapping paper - fully intending to get to work.  And then I glanced over and saw my lonely little couch, with all those new throw pillows and that extra soft fleece blanket.  And before I knew it...  The busyness of this season had finally caught up to me...  After it caught up to me, it proceeded to run me over with it's new snow tires and then it shifted into reverse and made sure I was really dead. 

Yes, I absolutely hit the bottom of a very empty tank last night, and once I got there, I deflated like a sad little pool floatie. 

Although I had agreed to help Jeff wrap some of his presents too, he was kind enough to let me sleep on the couch for a couple hours, before waking me just long enough to point me in the direction of my bed.  I imagine that watching me stagger up the stairs and maneuver around the hallway in my temporary-vegetative-state was like watching a child play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey after spinning around for 15 minutes.  When I woke in my bed this morning, I had no recollection of how I had gotten there.  I verified with Jeff that I had in fact brushed my teeth, and then went back to sleep for at least an additional half-hour.

I'm pretty certain that one of the girls slipped some date-rape drugs into my single glass of wine at dinner...  But that's to-be-determined...  Fess up, ladies!!  Did Jeff pay you off??

Time to summon up my second-wind and make this Christmas one for the memory books!!!  I hope you all make it through these last few days!! 

Go spread some joy!!

little bits.

My kids are currently rocking out to Hannah Montana while cleaning the play room.  True story.  I mean...  If Hannah Montana will make them clean, I will have an intercom installed and we will pipe it throughout the house 24 hours a day.  I'm seriously considering it.

If you came here looking for a reason to giggle today, perhaps I should share with you the snowman ornament that Alyza colored this morning...

 
When I asked her why the snowman was brown, her response was...

"Sometimes snowmen are brown, just like people."

I wasn't exactly expecting that explanation...  But it sure made sense to me...  And since we definitely encourage equality for all in this house, our new snowman is hanging happily on our tree! 

Aside from coloring ornaments, we baked cookies, worked on crafts, finished our Christmas shopping, cleaned up the house, and started wrapping...  There is still so much to be done...

A little peek into the busybee habitat... 

 
Realized today that the tree wont be up for much longer, which makes me so sad.  I love peeking through my dining room and seeing the tree out there...

 
New shelf in my dining room was a hand-me-down swiped from my parents house!  It took me 3 hours and a LOT OF SWEARING to hang it, but it was worth it...

 
  
It's amazing how some new throw pillows and a bowl of pine cones can really snazz up a room.  My livingroom is a work-in-progress, and that progress is about as fast as a turtle on sedatives.  But inch by inch it is coming together...  (Someday I may even finish hanging the frames, AND put pictures in them - imagine that?!)

And... If you need incentive to come visit, well I will just leave you with this...

still breathing!!

Hi. 

Well, it wasn't very nice of me to just disappear in the midst of such a brain-dead moment as the one posted below, now was it?  Nope.  Not nice at all.  My apologies.  It was also not nice of me to think that cannibalism meant eating people.  I also feel much better knowing that the polar bears are eating EACH OTHER, instead of us humans...  Dear Guest Blogger...  Global Warming is much less important to me now that I know polar bears are not eating people.  (joking, obviously.)

For those of you who have written in the last few days wondering if we were preserved in a huge block of ice from the ice storm, or sitting in the fetal position without electicity...  Fret not, we are fine.  Just very very very busy...

Speaking of the ice storm...  What a sight it was...

  
 
 

Alyza made note that the trees looked very sad that day...  Under all that ice, they certainly did...

 

That's about all I have time for today...  Update coming soon!

Polar Bears

After watching a WWF infomercial on the topic of Polars Bears and Global Warming, the following conversation took place between the Busybee and the Guest Blogger:

GB:  "Screw the Polar Bears, they will just have to adapt to a changing environment, just like every other species."

BB: "But didn't you hear, the Polar Bears are now reverting to Cannibalism."

GB:  "So what?"

BB:  "That means that they are eating people because they can't find any other food."

GB:  "No Busybee, that means that they are eating other Polar Bears because they can't find any other food."

BB:  "No it doesn't.  Cannibalism means that the Polar Bears are eating people."

GB:  "Ummm.....no it doesn't.  Cannibalism is when an animal eats it's own species."

BB:  "Are you sure?"

GB:  "Yup, I am sure busybee."

      Or am I????????????

-Guest Blogger....out!

watch, por favor?

Instead of Greys Anatomy tonight, I will be watching this...

[I tried to embed a snazzy video here, but typepad is being all poopy and not cooperating, so all you get is a lame-o link instead...] 

CNN SPECIAL:  A PLANET IN PERIL

I am watching it mostly because I care about our planet (which Alyza informed me today is just a BIG circle made up of grass and water - we will be tackling that one soon) but also maybe a teeny tiny bit because I do enjoy me some Anderson Cooper.

So now if you will please excuse me, I need to go set up my DVR.  Because although tonight I will be spending quality time with Anderson, tomorrow night I will need to answer to McDreamy...

Carry on.

oh holy night...

Oh Holy Night is definitely my favorite Christmas song!  I love that song.  I really do.  Doesn't matter who sings it, and it could be the sappiest version, or something set to techno, I would still love it.  I would still burn holes through my iPod while listening to it on single-repeat beginning the moment the turkey has finished digesting in my belly.   When I was little, I totally remember making up ridiculously dramatic dance routines in my bedroom to this song while twirling around with my cabbage patch doll and pretending it was baby Jesus.  Yeah, I definitely needed a hobby back then. 

(What's your favorite Christmas song??)

Christmas crafts are in FULL swing around these parts.  This weekend the kidlets go with their Dad, and that means I need to get serious.

GET SERIOUS STEPHANIE!! 

YOU. CAN. WILL. FINISH. THESE. PROJECTS!

OK, breaktime is over, the coffee is kicking in, I am off to get this show on the road...