Birthdays

I love birthdays - not just mine, but anyone's! It is that one day of the year that is your day. I've tried in the last few years to really remember to acknowledge birthdays for family and friends (if have have been forgotten, I apologize! Send me your birth date so I can be on track this year!).

We started the year out with a month of birthdays! First is my brother-in-law, Herb (Jan.7th), then my sister-in-law, Becky (Jan. 13th). My birthday was Jan. 20th - very low-key but nice; my brother was in town and we had a nice day with family and friends. To finish out the month, my nephew is turning one on the 29th!

I made an observation several years ago about my husbands family - all of them - Duffy, his parents, and siblings - all have birthdays within a 4-week period of time (Late May-Mid June) and all of the new kids (myself, Herb and Becky) all have our birthdays in January, in a 2-week period of time. I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean, but I thought it was interesting.

Life

We've had some interesting things happen in our family these past weeks and it has made me realize that there are so many "unexpected's" in our life. Kid's get sick, people make poor decisions, grandparents age and family members are dying, new jobs open up - Life happens. No matter what you do to plan and prepare, things will happen that you just were not ready for. Makes me rethink how I handle situations and the unexpected...

House

So, my sister-in-law (Kari, Duffy's older, wiser sister) and brother-in-law, Herb - got the girls the coolest Christmas gift: a cardboard house!

They love it and it is so much fun to listen to them playing house and interacting, until the screaming starts, at least.

Thank you Auntie Kari and Uncle Herb!

Routine

Wow - it has been awhile since my last post. We have survived Christmas - 4 versions of it - and are getting back into our routine. We thrive on routine. Zoe askes everyday what we are doing, where she is going, etc. I find it very interesting - she is definately my child!

My mother-in-law sent me the greatest calendar where there is a space for each person and what they are doing on a daily basis. Duffy has finally learned to use it - to actually look at it and see what we have going on instead of asking me all the time or saying he didn't know. I'm sure some people find it annoying that I'm always planning ahead, but when you have large extended families, friends, kids, work, and just plain old life, how can you not? And I know, as my kids get older, it will get busier and busier!

So, thank you to all who put up with my need to have things on my calendar - you are making my life more organized and helping my routine!

I should be...

I should be wrapping presents and sorting through my growing piles of stocking stuffers, but instead, I have the burning desire to write about doing these things!

I should be finishing my shopping (online of course - Darah, I'm talking about your stuff!!! I keep changing my mind on what to do for you guys!!) but I get side-tracked by stuff that I want! Hmmm, maybe that is because my husband, gotta love him, decided to buy himself a present yesterday - a new gas bbq. It was on sale you know! So I in turn bought him some shoes he is going to wrap up and put under the tree for me!

I should be finishing the chicken stock I have simmering on the stove but I so don't want to right now!

I should be figuring out my grocery list so I don't have to make 5 trips to the store in the next week!

I should wrap my book for my book club party tomorrow night; hmmmmm, what book am I giving away? Maybe the cookbook I got last year that I just never cracked open.

I should find out if my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew are coming up next weekend with my in-laws. I really want them too but I don't know what they are doing.

I should just wave my magic wand and everything will be done. Oh wait, I don't have one yet! Damn!

Christmas Packages

We had this bright idea to ship 3 Dungeness Crab (that Duffy got himself) to his sister and her husband for Christmas. We thought this was a wonderful idea because it would be something they truely wanted and would enjoy and could have before the holidays!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What were we thinking???

I stood in line last Friday, paid $45 to ship a small cooler to Cleveland that the guarenteed would be there by 12pm Saturday. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. Duffy called his sister late Saturday night and left a message. She called back Sunday - no crab! I went online, tracked the package and it looked like it never left the Northwest!

So I stood in line at the post office on the busiest mailing day of the year to find out what to do and get my money back for postage. The guy was friendly but didn't do much other than tell me the Post Master would call me later. He never called.

I went back to the PO today, got a bit more information and they still have no idea where my crab are!!! SO, if it is ever delivered or returned, it is sure going to smell good!!!!

Decking the Halls

We decided this year to go on a Christmas tree adventure. Instead of paying $50 for a 5 foot tree at the local tree farm, we bought a permit to get our in the forest. It was a snowy day (doesn't happen often) and the girls were excited to be in the snow - Zoe wanted to eat it and Teagan just kept playing with it. We found a great tree that we knew was too tall but brought it home anyway. Little did we know, after some trimming, it is now as wide as it is tall! It looks nice though - for the most part, if you look at it from far away!

Zoe was a great help with decorating. She asked daily for a week if she could help me decorate the house! Three year olds and decorating are a lot of fun! She wants to help with wrapping but I'm just not that patient these days!