Goodbye Christmas

Twas the night before New Years
And all through the house
The remnants of Christmas were all strewn about.

The stockings were flung on the sofa without care,
Emptied of goodies and abandoned there.
The children have played with all of their toys,
And lost half the pieces just being boys.
And I in my sweats with Ducky by my side
just want to rest and leave Christmas behind.

The family room would soon look very bare,
The chair would replace the tree that once stood there.
Away to the closet I flew like a flash,
To bring the boxes and bags for the trash.
The Christmas lights tangled, a big ugly mess.
I cursed as I prepared them to rest.
The ornaments were all removed from the tree,
And piled on the couch to await the decree.

Out of the boxes, the tissue spilled forth.
Ready to wrap ornaments, decorations and other holiday cheer.
Each ornament was then wrapped up with care,
To be safe and sound until next year.

The snowmen and Santas,
The reindeer and creche,
Were all wrapped up in tissue,
And packed in their Christmas storage box.

The tree that once filled our house with a glow,
Was dropping needles on the tree skirt below.
Out into the slush the poor tree did go,
Cut into bits to fit in the yard debris bin.

The boxes were packed up
And put in the closet.
The mantle now empty,
The room seemed so bare.
I collapsed on the couch
With a big sigh.

It took me all day
To remove all the clutter.
Our house has returned to its previous state.
In time for the new year I say,
Happy New Year to all and to all a good night!


I am looking forward to another wonderful year filled with family, friends, fun times and more ups than downs in 2008.

New Friends

Meet the new family members. We went and picked them out last night. The boys got to hold them on the way home. And who knows how late they stayed up last night watching them. They seem to be happy little fishies.

The funny thing about them is they seem to match the boys personalities. Somehow they picked out their fish equivalent. SweetP chose the "go with the flow" fish. Didn't seem bother by being caught in a net. SweetE chose the "not if I can help it" fish. He zoomed and hid and wiggled and avoided the net. A very independent fish.

We are currently on the second set of names. Last night they were Jr. (Indiana Jones) and Fishy. Today they have been renamed to be Darth Fishy (gold one & sweetP's fish) and Bobba Fishy (white one and sweetE's fish). I told you I can't escape Star Wars.

We also got a snail. We named him Shelton, but the boys call him Gary. If I never see Spongebob again, I will be so happy. He is a speedy little thing. It is fun to see how far he has traveled while we have been away from the tank.

So those are the new family members and friends. The boys love watching them. And they make a nice addition to their room.

Once Upon a Time

My first full time job was at a motel. A dive motel. Not unlike the one pictured above. That is not it, but it had a similar look to it. I had recently graduated from high school and moved into my own apartment with a roommate. And I needed a full time job and full time pay to afford my extravagant life style. If you can call driving a 6 year old beige Ford Escort and only having one chair in the living room extravagant. The roommate is another story for another day.

The best part of this job was the hours. It fit perfectly into my circadian rhythm. I was the front desk clerk from 3pm to 11pm. I would sleep until about 11am. Then get up, do some chores or errands and then head to work. After work, I would go out with friends and then go to bed about 2 or 3am.

As the front desk clerk, there wasn't much actual work. I answered the phone, checked new people in and sat around. In other words, it was boring. I read, a lot. There was one night when no one called or came in for over 5 hours. I nearly lost my mind. Especially since I had run out of reading material. There was no TV. There was no computer. Nothing to do. Nothing!

I never had to feel unsafe while working there. It was one of those motels with an apartment behind the lobby that the manager lived in. So I always had someone to call on if anyone was acting strangely. No one ever did. At one point, a U-haul backed into the lobby and we had to move into Room 1. Nothing that exciting ever happened on my shift. The problem with Room 1, was that it was a motel room. And motel rooms are never that bright. And I worked at night and spent all of my time reading. In low light, with the book propped up right in front of my face. And then I needed glasses. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I met Ducky during this particular job. The GameBoy had recently come out and he had one. He loaned it to me to play while at work. I got really good at Tetris. He worked graveyard too, so we got to spend a lot of time together.

I have never been good about packing food. So most of the time I wouldn't manage to pack any dinner. Sometimes it wouldn't matter. But other times, mostly out of boredom, I would call Dominos. They deliver and it is human contact. Unfortunately, it was kind of expensive and I didn't have much extra cash. But I do love a pepperoni pizza.

Bottom line though, this job sucked. The manager was moody. I swear he had PMS, constantly. He managed another motel and if things didn't go well there he would come back and gripe at me. One time he blamed me for something that happened there. Not sure how I managed to be in two places at once. And I was so bored. I am too social for solitary work. So I put in my notice, asked my old boss for my old job back and settled in for two more weeks.

My two weeks went right over Thanksgiving. Way back in May or June I had asked to have it off. I was the first to ask for it off and the only one that didn't get it off. Another reason I gave notice. Then, I asked if I could trade shifts and was told how rude and inconsiderate I was to even ask. This was after I found out the new girl who had worked there a grand total of two weeks was getting the day off and she asked 3 days before Thanksgiving. So I came in and worked my shift. And the next morning I called in and quit. The manager was such a twit that he called me two hours later and told me I didn't need to come in for my shift. Two hours later! After I had already quit.

The hours were the best though. Now I might only sleep until 8 or 9 in the morning. The rest of the world just doesn't work that way. Bummer.

Life Post Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas. Very laid back and casual. It was just our little family. And that meant we got to do everything our own way.


Our Christmas starts out on Christmas eve. We made cookies for Santa. The boys got into their new Christmas jammies (they had gingerbread men on them) and then opened their Christmas eve gift. I get them an ornament every year that shows some big part of the year. Then we decorated the cookies. Or decimated the cookies. SweetE put the entire contents of sugar confetti on one small cookie (that is the one with the circles on it). SweetP had frosting, then sprinkles, then icing, then more sprinkles and then more icing and sprinkles. It is a good thing that Santa has a strong stomach (or he knows how to use the insinkerator). There was no actual cookie visible. And the boys put out magic reindeer food on the lawn and carrots for the reindeer.

Fast forward to Christmas morning. Ducky's alarm went off at 4:30 in the morning, five different times. And not on purpose. Then my sweetP came in at 5:30. I had given them very specific instructions that we don't go downstairs until it is light. It was not light. I sent him back to bed. At 6:10 he was back. We cuddle until almost 7. I know he is excited, but I am so tired. But off we go to see if Santa came. And he did. Of course. And brought the boys exactly what they asked for.


And then we had a leisurely morning opening gifts after breakfast. SweetP got to play Santa and pass out the gifts this year since he can read now. Just as the boys were getting ready to get dressed to go out and fly the new remote control helicopter. It started to snow. We had a white Christmas. For about two hours. Which was still really cool. I haven't seen a white Christmas in years. So they went to the school to ride their scooters under the covered play area. And I made dinner.

And they played. And played. And played with their new toys.


And today we had to go to the pet store to outfit the new fish tank. That's right, new critters are joining the clan. And the boys want a shark. And Velcro doesn't mind, since fish don't have fur. We got gravel, plants, a treasure chest and skull. And we set it up in their room and they are so excited to get fish. And then they played and played some more.

And now we are back to the mundane part of life. We got sweetE a new booster seat. His had expired. It was 7 years old. And the new one has a cup holder. Now he can put his own drink away! And laundry and life. But I still have 11 more days off and I am so thankful.

Happy Birthday Velcro!

Velcro turns 11 today. So I thought I would devote today to him. He was our first child. He has his own scrapbook to prove it. Ducky made it for me. He was spoiled rotten from the day we got him.


We got Velcro when he was 7 months old. We had been living in apartments and family housing that didn't allow us to have pets. So as soon as we could we moved to a house that allowed pets. And we started hunting. I had fallen for Corgi's almost a decade earlier. And we were trying to find one. We tried Corgi rescue. They had one, but he needed surgeries and we had just graduated from college. We tried the pounds, but all they had were big dogs. I scoured the newspaper. And one morning we spotted the ad. I called as early as I dared and we had an appointment to see him after work. But I had a gut feeling that if we didn't get out there and see if he fit, someone else would get him. So we headed right over. I would be late for work, but it would be worth it. We fell in love on the spot. We paid for him and they agreed to keep him until we could take him home after work. And the big bonus, he was already house broken.


He was and is spoiled. He went everywhere with us. He got taken on long walks. He has his own stocking. We bought him his own kiddie pool. After a long walk on a warm day, he would hop in. And then roll to the left, and roll to the right. And lay there and drink his pool water as happy as any dog could be.


He was allowed on the furniture and the bed. He slept with us every night. We bought a lower bed so it would be easier for him to jump up. Then we had sweetP and he hurt his hip and stopped sleeping on the bed with us. And we discouraged him from jumping on the furniture, because it only seemed to make it worse.


I taught him tricks. He says hello. He shakes. He rolls over. He will wait (even with the treat right in front of his nose). He takes treats gently. He is a wonderful dog. He grew a little leery of sweetP, he pulled his fur too much.


And sweetE came along. We still adore Velcro. And sweetE adores him too. He would go over and just love him. And Velcro realized that the boys loved him too.


And even though he has been demoted twice. He is still one of the boys and adored by the entire family. We have promised him that he will be the only furry child. Velcro for his part tolerates all kinds of abuse without grumble. He is learning that as the boys get older, they become more fun.


He is a good sport. Although I did have to convince sweetE just this morning that Velcro did not want a Santa hat costume. So we hope that Velcro continues to be happy and healthy for many years to come.


So, Happy Birthday Velcro. The most wonderful dog a family could have.

And to everyone else, a Merry Christmas!

The Bane of My Existence

Once upon a time, I knew nothing about Star Wars. I had managed to have a childhood that excluded having any part of Star Wars. And that is saying a lot since all three of the original movies came out during my childhood. In my house, if it didn't have a horse, what was the point? My mother and brothers opinions that were inflicted on me.

So when I met Ducky, he was shocked and dismayed that I had never seen it. And he quickly rectified the situation. I was indifferent to it for a very long time. I cannot remember how many different versions of those movies we have owned over the years. And I could have lived quite happily that way. But then we had children. Boy children. And from day one, he was quoting Star Wars lyrics to them.

And now they are obsessed too. I cannot get away from Star Wars! The boys go around singing or humming the theme song almost constantly. They act out Star Wars. They talk about Star Wars. They want to play Star Wars Lego game on the wii. They know all the characters. Now instead of one Star Wars fan, who I could shoo off to talk to like minded people, I have three.




Not even the Christmas tree is safe. Darth Vader is front and center of the tree. One of the few ornaments that the boys put on the tree. He just exudes holiday spirit doesn't he. They are battling with light sabers as I type.

I know that plenty of girls like Star Wars too. But they don't get into it nearly as much as these boys do. When sweetP was five, he was Darth Sidius for Halloween. He wanted to be Darth Vader, but I told him that was too hard to make. In our house, we eat, breath, sleep Star Wars. And I just want a little variety.

I think I will just put it in the category of "Y, it is the question and the answer."

Oh, Happy Day

We have been living with the construction stairs since August. We have tried twice before to get treads on there. Now on the third set, they are in. The Renovation Gods smiled upon us. It took most of a day, but the results are spectacular. Unfortunately, that means there is work for me to do now. But who cares! The treads are in, the treads are in, the treads are finally in. The blessed stairs are nearly done. So here they are.



Final pictures will be posted soon. I want this project DONE!