Thursday Thirteen #20 - What I plan to do on my vacation

Thirteen Things about my vacation/days off/freedom from work!  :) Today is my last day of work this year.  Unfortunately that's not quite as good as it sounds since the year only has 11 days left...  But being on this end of a vacation is wonderful - I love the anticipation of being able to sleep in, not having to rush kids around to school and daycare, staying in - or going out - but either way being able to decide for ourselves. I know it'll go by way too fast and I'll be back at work before I know it, but I'm going to enjoy every last second! So here are 13 things I'm going to do on my vacation. If nobody gets sick or hurt, that is. We don't have a great track record for staying healthy over Christmas, so I've got all of my fingers and toes crossed that this year will be an exception. Day 1 - will be spent alone with Becca in the morning since the big girls still have school tomorrow. I'm looking forward to some good one-on-one time with her. We'll pick up Hannah at lunchtime and then Abby after nap/quiet time and probably make cookies later in the afternoon. Day 2 - pretty much a 'normal' Saturday since Ron will be working. We have no plans - except to sleep in (as much as the kids will allow me to) and probably make more cookies.  :) Day 3 - church in the morning, and then getting together with Ron's family to celebrate Christmas in the afternoon. Day 4 - Christmas Eve. Actually we have no concrete plans for this day at all - and Ron has to work. We may get together with Kristi and her kids and do something fun like bowling. My mom and brother will be here sometime in the evening to spend the night. After the kids are asleep, Ron and I will be (frantically) wrapping gifts and being Santa. Day 5 - Christmas Day. After a (way too) early start, we'll be opening gifts the girls and my mom and brother. Ron's parents will be down for a while as well.  In the afternoon we'll load up and drive 2 hours to Detroit and spend the evening with my mom's family at my uncle and aunt's house. Then we'll drive the 2 hours home. Day 6 - will be spent at home, with me (hopefully) relaxing and the girls tearing into all of their new toys. Which will probably take all day.  Ron has to work, so I'll get to referee supervise by myself. Day 7 - no definite plans but will probably get together with friends and I'm thinking by then the kids will need to get out of the house for a while. Or at least I will - in order to have any kind of chance at keeping my sanity. I'll also be packing to take the girls away for the weekend. Day 8 - Abby and Hannah have dentist appointments in the morning and we'll leave for Mary's house after that. After the 2-hour drive, we'll probably hang out there and let the kids all play together. Day 9 - still at Mary's and I have no idea what we'll be doing, except attempting to keep Becca out of everything she's not supposed to be getting into and enjoying Mary's last few weeks of life without a newborn in the house.  She's due on January 21st (Becca's birthday) but will probably be induced early since nobody trusts her to make it to the hospital on time - with good reason.  Let's just say that her 4-year-old was born at home - and it wasn't a planned homebirth...  :) Day 10 - hanging out at Mary's and then we'll head home at some point, probably either at naptime or we'll wait until bedtime so the kids will sleep in the car. We'll play it by ear. Day 11 - New Year's Eve. No concrete plans yet except for relaxing at home and trying to get the last bits of enjoyment out of vacation since the end is looming... Hopefully getting together with friends that night, but that depends on the guys' work schedules. Day 12 - New Year's Day. As of right now we have no plans except for mourning my last day at home. And enjoying every last second of it, no matter what we end up doing! Day 13 - Well, it's really Day #1 of back to work... The kids will be at daycare full-time for the rest of the week since school won't be back in session yet until the next week. They'll probably be ready for the change of scenery though, although I won't be. Happy Holidays to everyone! Links to other Thursday Thirteeners:

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Works for me Wednesday #16 - Photo calendar

I'm running a bit late with this today, but I've been trying to finish up this year's calendars tonight so I can get them printed tomorrow - read on to find out exactly what I'm talking about!

About 10 years ago, I got my first scanner and discovered the wonder of putting my photographs on my computer. This opened up a whole new realm of ways to display and share them, even before the days of affordable digital cameras. That year, for Christmas, I made a calendar for myself and my friends, using photographs of us.

Since then, the photo quality has improved, photos are now taken digitally instead of scanned, online photo sharing sites are popular and personalized gifts are everywhere. But, I still sit down at my computer and put together a calendar every year - now with photos of my children. And all of the grandparents get one as their Christmas gift.


I know that there are sites where you can do this much more easily, but there's something about designing and personalizing a calendar - I take the time to really make it special and unique. Most pages include anywhere from 4 to 10 photos, arranged in a collage fashion. I use fun, funky borders on the photos and tasteful clip art - basically like a digital scrapbook. Many of the pages have a theme - I use photos from the 4th of July for July, Halloween ones in October - and for each girl's birthday month, I include photos of their last birthday and cake. Even though the pictures are up to a year out-of-date when the calendars are actually used, it's fun to see how the girls used to look. My mom especially loves her calendar and looks forward to changing every month.

Ok, this is where having a hubby who's a graphic designer comes in handy, and why it's worth it to me to do it my way and not use one of the many websites out there. Ron's (former) employer prints them out and binds them - for free. Obviously doing a calendar from scratch like this won't work for everyone, but I know there are sites where you can do something similar and I think the costs are pretty reasonable. I love this especially since it takes the stress out of holiday shopping for my parents and in-laws - it definitely works for me!


Check out more Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!

Technorati Tags: Works for me Wednesday

Differences

The differences between my 3 girls always completely amaze me.  Here are three children  of the same gender, from the same gene pool, raised in the same environment - and in so many ways they are completely and utterly unlike each other.

Take getting up in the morning for example... 

Abby wakes instantly and is immediately ready to get out of bed and go hunting in search of sustenance. Food is always on this child's mind and breakfast is no exception. My little huntress arms herself with her beloved blankie (which can't just be left alone in her bed) and is ready to face her day - after a large bowl of cereal, of course.  By mid-morning she is begging for snacks and asking when lunch will be, every 5 minutes. Now that she's learning to tell time, she'll ask how many hours until lunch. Or dinner. Or snack time.

Hannah awakens slowly and only under protest. She curls up underneath her blanket, thumb in her mouth, hand tucked securely against her belly button, and ignores all attempts to prod her awake. She'll open an eye and peek out until she gets your attention, and then quickly shut it again.  When she finally does decide to emerge, she slithers slowly over the side of her bed until the tips of her feet touch the floor. Then she'll quietly collapse back into a boneless puddle of Hannah mush that requires the creative use of bribery, threats, and if all else fails - just picking her up and carrying her out of the room seems to do the trick (for now, but I have this vision of carrying a 16-year-old out to the living room to get dressed...). She'll often forget to eat breakfast - conveniently remembering that she's hungry about 30 seconds before we need to leave the house.

My little Becca seems to be closer to the 'Abby' version of waking up. Many mornings she'll hear us up and around before we come to get her and will begin fussing and calling out 'Mommy' or 'Daddy' incessantly until one of us goes to get her. Even now that she's in a toddler bed, she will sit there and cry and call us until we open the door. Then, she's all smiles as she begins her busy day. This little girl is always on a mission and rarely stops moving. She'll collect her stuffed animal friends and head out of her room - to eat  breakfast, watch tv, see her Daddy, or whatever else catches her fancy. And she's a determined little thing - any attempts to detour her from her chosen path are quickly, vocally and completely ignored or protested. At least she tries.   :)

I will be curious to see how each of them changes or remains the same as they grow older. As I think about it, the way they each wakes up in the morning is so very indicative of their personalities in general. Abby, the matter-of-fact, everything in black-or-white, no middle ground child. Hannah, the drama queen, always looking for attention and how to be in the spotlight. And Becca - well if she holds true to form, then I worry about our ability to handle this little one. She is our most stubborn, determined child and rarely lets anything get in her way or distract her. But she enjoys everything with a childlike abandon that I hope she never outgrows. She is a girl of extremes and will be the one to give us gray hair and heart attacks, I think.

Three little girls. Three individuals. And each of them special in her very own  (and very unique!) way.

So how do your kids wake up in the mornings? If you have more than one, do they wake up generally the same way or are yours as different as mine are?

Wordless Wednesday #23 - First snowfall fun

Check out more Wordless Wednesday here and here!

MamaBlogga's December Group Writing Project

The December Group Writing Project at MamaBlogga has ended, and it looks like there's a great line-up of posts to explore and read on the topic of "The best time of the year".  Here is the final list:

• My Favorite time this year by Heather
• He’s Everywhere! He’s Everywhere! by Mama Zen
• The best time of the year by Candace
• The Best Day of the Year by Janean
• Nobody Does Christmas Like Germany by Kate
• I’ll be home for Christmas by Brooke
• There’s no place like home by Ursula
• New Style by boogiemum
• The Best Time of the Year by Jennifer Hitchcock
• Of Seasons by Summer
• It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year! (Not Christmas Or Back To School) by Ivy
• The best time of the year… by Deb - Mom of 3 Girls  (Me!)
• A Time to Reflect by Vanessa
• is there a best time of year? by phyllis
• A Lost Tooth. The Smell of Freedom… and Cheese. A Best Christmas Ever! by Tracy Connery
• Christmas is . . . by Dawn

And I'm excited to say that I won the $30 Amazon gift card in the random drawing this month! That will come in very handy for last minute gifts, so a huge thank you to Jordan!  :)

Photo Assignment - Favorite Ornament

Ok, well so I already posted my 13 favorite ornaments last week. But I just had to participate in Kailani's photo assignment, so I thought I'd repost a link to my list and also take this opportunity to show you 3 wonderful new ornaments that I added to our tree the other day.

I was paired up with Jennifer for Kailani's ornament exchange and on Saturday I received a box in the mail. Inside the box were not one, not two, but three new ornaments! And a couple of other goodies as well - thank you so much, Jennifer!

Here's what she sent:

I love snowmen, so the two she sent are welcome additions to our tree. And I love how she sent the peppermint candy which matches the glass snowman ornament - you can't see it too well in the photo, but it's really cute. And the snowflake picks up the tree lights wonderfully - I love all 3 of these and they certainly are now some of my favorites!

And my dry, chapped hands are very thankful for the lotion as well - I love Bath and Body Works...   :)

And in case you missed my 'favorite ornaments' post last week, here's a link to it as well!

I hab jut beed to de dentibt

Ma mowf id vewy nub so I caddot talk too wewl ribt dow...

Ok, ok - yes I know I'm typing, not talking - so it doesn't matter what my mouth feels like! But yikes, I hadn't had my mouth numbed for dental work in years so this whole feeling (or lack of) is very odd right now. I keep thinking that I'm drooling down the left side of my mouth... LOL

I had a filling replaced this morning. It's amazing how in less than an hour, the little silver area that I've had on my lower left molar for oh probably 20 years is suddenly and amazingly tooth-colored again. Wow, tooth-colored fillings - who would've thought, huh! :)

So the filling wasn't replaced just out of vanity though - there was a new cavity right next to it, or maybe the original cavity had escaped from it's silver confinement - who knows... But the old filling was just that - old, so the dentist needed to replace it anyway.

And he used one of my girls' favorite words - but not one that I've ever heard in relation to my mouth before. Crown. Now I've been lucky enough to not ever have needed any major dental work (well other than braces and that's a whole different issue), so this is a new one for me. Why do I suddenly feel like I've failed my teeth just because I need a crown? Most everybody I know has a crown or two, or had a root canal or other such things, but other than a few stray cavities here and there, I've had very healthy teeth up until now.

Oh yes, and there's the 'b' word as well. Yes, over 20 years since I had them removed, I apparently need braces - again. This time to correct jaw issues - and with the amount of jaw, neck and head pain that I get, I know it's something that is going to need to be done. Just what I need, a mouth full of metal. Didn't I already go through this in middle and high school? Hey, wait a minute though - maybe braces will make me look younger? Ok, maybe not.

And then there's the amount of dental work that Ron needs - unlike me, he's had crowns and root canals and other fun stuff done before and several more that need to be done now. The dentist told me this morning that he mentioned to Ron at his appointment yesterday that he should get me something very, very nice for Christmas this year because he (Ron) is going to cost a lot of money next year. Just peachy.

Uh-oh, I think that I'm starting to get the feeling back in my mouth. The 'drool' feeling is starting to change to a 'your cheek is blown up like a balloon' kind of thing. But when I reach up and touch it, it feels perfectly normal. Very strange!

Ok, so I'm amused by the little things today... Maybe they snuck a bit of laughing gas to me when I wasn't looking, because I'm feeling very giggly all of a sudden.

I think it's going to be a long day.

A memorable gift

I've received a few very special gifts over the years. Some have more meaning than others, some I've even forgotten. But what comes to mind when I think about a 'memorable' gift is what my brother and I used to receive from our mother (and still do, although not in the same way).

My parents separated and then divorced while my brother and I were in college. Suddenly we really had no 'home' to come to over Christmas and during other vacations. We would spend Christmas Day going between our dad and stepmother's house and my uncle's house, where my mom's family gathered every year. But we no longer woke up in a house of our own on Christmas morning since my mom's tiny house did not have the room to hold us.

Faced with having to shop for teenaged children turning into young adults, my mom grew increasingly at a loss to know or be able to guess what we wanted. This was before the era of the gift card phenomenon, so she settled for just giving us a hand-picked, heartfelt card and cash.

That's not the memorable part, however.

Every year, my brother and I would go out shopping with our mom, usually on Christmas Eve. We would hit a mall, discount outlet stores, department stores, wherever our fancy took us. And my brother and I would buy our Christmas gifts using the money our mother had given us.

What I remember most about those years, isn't the gifts that I bought. What comes to mind is the experience of shopping, spending the day with my mom and brother. After college, neither one of us came back to the Detroit area - I moved several times, ending up in West Michigan, and my brother lived in San Francisco for many years before moving back to Michigan last year. Those shopping days were for many years, the most amount of time that the three of us spent together - the best quality time we had together as a family.

My mom always fretted over the fact that we had no gifts to open on Christmas morning - no fancy wrapping or shiny bows awaiting us under a sparkly tree. But what we did have were memories, and those are something that we'll have for the rest of our lives.

Check out other Heads or Tails posts at Skittles' Place.

Christmas Tour of Homes - Welcome!

Welcome to this stop on your tour! I hope you enjoy your stay. :)

If you happen to be stopping here at night, you'll be greeted by our outside lights...

They're lovely, especially when the snow is falling...

So please, come inside out of the cold. Our front door is always open for friends...

You can sit for a minute by the Christmas tree...

You may want to take a closer look even...

And enjoy some 'plush' company if you like...

There's more to see in the living room as well:

We are eagerly counting down the days until Christmas on this beautiful advent tree that a friend made for us - every day the tree looks a little more festive - and then on Christmas, Santa will come!

As you move through the hallway, you'll notice the girls stockings are hung with care - but on our coat closet door, since we are unfortunately without a fireplace. This is something that's caused my two older girls a bit of stress, but we have assured them that Santa doesn't let a little thing like no fireplace deter him. Poor Becca still needs her name put on her stocking though.

The kitchen is a bit festive as well - take a look for yourself!

And last, we'll end the tour at our staircase - I apologize that the basement is not fit for visitors right now. We've put up all of the girls' Christmas portraits in place of our usual ones along the staircase wall - except for Becca of course, since this is only her 2nd Christmas and we don't have nearly enough photos to fill her row yet.

From bottom...

to top!

You can head out through the garage door beyond the stairway and please take a Christmas card on your way out!

Thank you for stopping by and visiting - please come again! :)

Deb

Christmas Hoopla and other fun

Ok, I was tagged for the Christmas 'Hoopla' (love it!) by Shana over at My Three Wisemans. I also was tagged over e-mail for another Christmas meme by my sister-in-law, so I figured that I'd do that one here as well. :)

Here are the rules for the hoopla:

1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas.

2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word

3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.

4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.

5. If you want to -- please give me, Andrea, some link-love as the 'Hoopla-Creator'. I love new blog-traffic.

Yikes - twelve things? I'll see what I can think of... Here goes:

1. The first church service I ever attended (I was in college) was a Christmas Eve service. I loved the singing, the scripture and the candlelight.
   
   
2. We always had real Christmas trees while I was growing up. My dad would take us to go pick out the tree, bring it inside, get it upright in the stand and then disappear downstairs to watch sports while my mom, my brother and I decorated it.
   
   
3. My mom told my brother and I the Christmas story every year, otherwise we pretty much celebrated it as a secular holiday since my dad was very uncomfortable with the whole idea (he's Jewish).
   
   
4. I have all of the ornaments that went on our tree when I was growing up but I didn't put any of them on the tree this year - between having a toddler and 2 cats, I didn't want anything to happen to them.
   
   
5. I think that was a smart move - I don't know how many ornaments I've picked up off the floor and re-hung on the tree already... The tree's probably been re-decorated a couple of times over at least though if you added them all together. :)
   
   
6. My mom and brother have come up to visit on Christmas Eve every year since Abby was a baby. They stay the night so they're here on Christmas morning to watch the girls open their presents. Then we all drive over to Detroit in the afternoon on Christmas day to spend the evening at my uncle's house with my mom's family.
   
   
7. We've gotten together with my mom's family every year that I can remember. When I was a kid, my mom hosted it at our house every year. Helping her get everything ready (setting the table, making pies and cookies for dessert, etc.) was a big part of my Christmas every year. My aunt took over hosting it after my parents separated during my first year of college, and she's hosted it ever since.
   
   
8. Other than assorted weddings and showers, Christmas Day is usually the only time during the year that we get together with my mom's family. My aunt and uncle who live in Chicago don't usually come but there are 4 'grown-ups' (my mom, my aunt, my uncle and his wife - is she an aunt-in-law then? LOL), then 7 of us 'kids' - my brother and I and five of our cousins (kids of the aunt and uncle mentioned above). And now our spouses, so that's 5 more people since my brother and one of my cousins have never married. Then two 'young adults' - my cousin Karen's kids who are in graduate school and college right now (her third son doesn't come). Hmm, we've got one teenager now (my cousin Leslie's daughter), and 5 little kids as well (my 3 girls, plus my cousin Gwen's 3-year-old daughter and my cousin J.R.'s little girl who's a few months younger than Becca). Hmm, if my math is correct, that's a grand total of 18 adults, 1 teenager and 5 kids.
   
   
9. Every year for the past 10 years, I take Christmas ornaments for everyone at my uncle's house (well, the adults anyway). The first year I made them - crocheted snowflake ornaments (yes, I was still single and had loads of free time!), but I've bought them every year since.
   
   
10. We're getting together with Ron's family this coming Sunday to celebrate Christmas together. We all used to get together every year but it's been several years now (Abby was a baby) since the last time we've managed to get everyone in one place. My in-laws have generally made the rounds on Christmas morning and I think they'll still do that as well this year too.
    
    
11. Ron and I generally wrap all of the girls' presents on Christmas Eve. Not for any particular reason, except that we procrastinate and end up running out of time. I want to try to do it earlier this year since I lost track of what I had bought for which girl and I have no idea if everything will be anywhere close to 'even', so I want to sort through it all - soon. Just in case.
    
    
12. We're still tweaking our ideas of which presents the girls get from Santa and which from us. Now that they're getting older and remembering things from previous years, we really need to stay consistent. I think last year we had a 'big' present and a few smaller ones be from Santa (all wrapped in a separate wrapping paper) and the rest be from us. Stocking stuff is from Santa too, of course. Not that the girls really care what comes from who though - if it's wrapped, they'll dig into it. We could wrap their presents in birthday paper or even newspaper for all they really care. They just want to see what's inside.

So I'm supposed to tag people specifically for this one, not just leave it open. I have no idea who's already done it or not, so if you have just consider this some extra link love coming your way! :) Um, how about Karen at Write From Karen, Jean at Working Momma 247, Carrie at Three-Girl Circus, and Jen at One Mom's World.

Ok, so I was sent this meme from my sister-in-law over e-mail and I've seen it on a few blogs as well, so I figured I'd answer it here and send her the link - nothing like extra incentive to get her to check out the blog, LOL. :) So this is for you, Terri!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? For the girls' presents, always wrapping paper. For teachers, daycare provider, and other people usually gift bags.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. I hate to think of what the cats would do to a real one.

3. When do you put up the tree? We usually do it Thanksgiving weekend but for the past couple of years we've had Hannah's birthday party that weekend so have put the tree and decorations up the following weekend.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually the weekend after New Year's.

5. Do you like eggnog? Nope.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My Barbie townhouse, probably.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? We have the Little People one and a small porcelain one that the girls were given at church. I love my mom's too much to buy a different one - hers will always be what I think of as a nativity scene.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Abby. The child doesn't really play with toys, but she wants to get them as gifts, so it's hard finding stuff that I know she will both like and play with after the first 5 minutes.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Hannah. If it looks like, acts like or is in some way related to dogs, she'll love it.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A very furry, fuzzy, colorful hat, scarf and glove set that I got one year from my (former) stepmother. We had completely opposite taste in things and she tended to buy gifts me that she liked. This one was horrendous.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? 'Snail' mail!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? The original Miracle on 34th Street.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually on Black Friday.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yep! But I'm not giving any details... :)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas dinner at my uncle and aunt's house. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes - all the fixings. And fudge, cookies and pie afterward. My aunt is an awesome hostess!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored, always.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Anything off of Amy Grant's first Christmas CD. And my favorite carol is Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? We're home in the morning and then drive 2 hours to Detroit that afternoon. And the 2 hours home afterward at night with the kids in their pajamas, sleeping in the van on the way.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yep! Let me just say that Abby and Hannah's favorite Christmas song right now is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so I could name all of them backwards, forwards and in my sleep probably.

20. Angel on the tree top or star? An angel - it was a gift from my mother-in-law.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning. Sometimes we've opened one on Christmas Eve, but I honestly can't remember if we let the girls do that last year or not.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Feeling obligated to buy for people. And how hectic and crazy everything is - it's hard to just stop and actually enjoy the season.

23. What I love most about Christmas? Seeing the girls' joy on Christmas morning when they realize that Santa did come. And watching them open their presents. Abby wants to open present after present and Hannah wants to actually open each package and play with the toy. It's hard to keep them opening at the same pace so Abby isn't done while Hannah still has a pile of presents left... I'm curious to see how Becca will do this year.

Ok, so I won't tag anyone specifically on this one - feel free to do it if you want to though! :)