Merry Christmas, my dear blog friends.

Last minute crazies

I go through this every year... in the last few days, especially the last few hours, before Christmas, I start to panic. It never fails. Yesterday I was feeling so smug -- got my presents wrapped, got some cookies baked, got the meals planned and the food purchased.... and today, my head is spinning. Last night I remembered I'd bought a Curious George stuffed monkey and book for Brayden, and I don't remember wrapping it. That means I've hidden gifts in the house and have no idea where they are now. And THAT means I'm also missing two gifts for my daughter that I bought at the same time! So today, the search is on... Then I realize I haven't really planned a dessert for Christmas dinner. Hmmm... do without or slug my way back to the grocery store this afternoon? Wait - we do have the cookies that Brayden and I made.... good enough for Christmas dinner dessert? YES! GOOD ENOUGH! OK, last panic - did I buy enough presents for Jeff? We always set a spending limit with each other and I stuck to the limit. The problem - he never does! That man is a long-lost relative of the real Santa Claus, I swear. He hates shopping, but he loves giving nice presents! So, will my presents compare to what he gives me? Panic.... OK, deep breath. Reality check -- no, they probably won't. LOL But it's his choice to go over the budget, right? It is what it is... Today I'll be spending most of the day cleaning the house -- just vac'ing downstairs, dusting here and there, washing the kitchen floor (you should see all the flour on the floor from baking cookies with Brayden yesterday), giving the downstairs a good picking-up. My daughter is home sick so I have no idea if I have Brayden today as planned. Guess I'll take advantage and get everything spruced up and ready... Plan out my cooking strategy for Christmas Eve dinner... The menu is baked ham, homemade macaroni and cheese, three bean salad, baked beans, rolls and salad. We've always had either turkey or roast beef, so this year we're doing something different -- and I'm hoping that Mr. Fussy Eater Brayden might actually eat the macaroni and cheese, unlike the Spaghettio's he had for Thanksgiving... Ever onward. It is what it is... Now where ARE those presents???

Christmas around my house

Joey, the Killer Cat, taking a snooze under the tree.

From my heart to yours

Christmas always seems a time to be thankful...even more so than Thanksgiving. Aren't we lucky that we can afford to buy or make gifts for the people we love, that we are about to enjoy a bountiful Christmas Eve dinner, and that Santa will soon make his appearance to light up my grandson's face. We're fortunate to have a fireplace to warm us, a car to drive for last minute shopping, warm coats and hats and mittens to wear during this cold weather. We should be thankful for the blankets or quilts that cover us at night, the furnace that runs non-stop during this cold weather, and for a stove that is instrumental in creating soups and stews to nourish us. Though my electric bill is climbing every month, I'm thankful that we even have electricity when my friend and family in parts of the country don't due to ice and snow storms. I'm also thankful that my grandson lives so close by and loves to spend the day with me. I know so many grandparents who have family living across the country and aren't able to enjoy the day to day activities of their grandchild. I am truly thankful, even on the days I don't want to get up at 6am to get ready for his arrival. And though it may sound silly, I'm thankful for every blogger friend who takes minutes or even just seconds out of their day to read what I have written, or to share their thoughts, ideas, and daily life with me by writing their own blog. Christmas scenes from around my house today: This balancing act may not be so Christmas-y -- but it's funny! Look what I found when I walked around the corner from the kitchen to the family room! From my house to yours -- from my heart to yours -- Merry, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you. Thank you for sharing this little corner of blog land with me. You touch my heart.

Conversations with a 3 year old

Brayden's almost 3 years old (March 1st) and conversations with him just amaze me. Here are a few examples of what's been going on around here: Brayden: Where's Umpa? Me: He's still in bed. I think he's being a lazy boy. B: You're probably right. (I swear he said that! LOL) B: I was lazy too. Me: Oh, when were you lazy? B: Last night. Last night I was very lazy. Me: What did you do? B: Nothing (pronounced Nuzzing). That's because I was lazy. LOL Brayden loves my husband's NASCAR video game. He sits in his Umpa's lap and they play together. He doesn't really know what all the buttons on the controller do, but he likes to watch what happens on the screen when he's pushing buttons. Jeff had a hole in the knee of his jeans yesterday. Brayden kept sliding his hand into that hole, and Jeff would laugh and tell him to stop. (No 3 yr old is going to stop if he can get you to laugh!) Then Brayden discovered he could reach over while Umpa played the NASCAR game and push a certain button to make the game rewind, which of course, made Jeff laugh and tell Brayden to stop. You could see this little mind put two and two together. So he would put his hand in the knee-hole, make Umpa laugh, and before the laughter had died down, reach over and push the rewind button. Knee, rewind, knee, rewind - over and over again. Jeff started seriously telling him to stop and he kept it up - knee, rewind, knee, rewind... I came into the room and said, "Brayden, what are you doing?" B: I'm aggravating Umpa. LOL! At least he's honest :)

From 0 to 60 - Ready for Christmas!

This was a wild week. I went from Monday's pity party with almost nothing done for Christmas, to today (Friday) where I am done done done! Packages are mailed, gifts are wrapped, tree is decorated, house is decorated (enough). What would I do without lists? I simply sat down and made a list of everything I needed to get done (prioritizing so the wrapping and mailing of gifts got done first), broke it down by days, and then simply went through the list each day and didn't stop until everything on the list was checked off. I've mentioned my favorite book on organization before -- Brian Tracy's Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. It is THE book for focusing on a goal and getting things done. How do you eat a frog? One bite at a time! How did I get a handle on how far behind I was on getting ready for Christmas? One mini-goal at a time. I can't recommend it enough. Although it was written for getting business-related things done, I swear you can apply it to every area of your life, including getting things done around the house. My grandson arrived this morning at 7:30am, and saw the Christmas tree. He said, "Umma, I LIKE it!" He didn't say, "Hey lazy, there's no wreath on the door and I'm not smelling those 50 dozen cookies you usually bake!" That was the lesson I needed to learn. The thought of decorating my house to the hilt was stressing me out, but when I allowed myself to just enjoy the spirit of the season and decorate ENOUGH, I was fine. And look at that... it's six days until Christmas and now I can just enjoy my time with my family and attend some community events. No more stressing. I even had time to make these little monkey slippers and a wallet (to hold his McDonald's gift card) for my grandson yesterday: So if you're not ready for the holiday, grab a cup of coffee, a piece of paper and a pen. Make a list. Then look at the list and cross off those things you really don't have to do. Get the things done you MUST do (buy gifts, mail gifts, wrap presents) and let the rest go for now. Divide your list by the days left until the holiday -- and focus on your goal (list) each day until everything gets done. You may find you end up with extra time to actually enjoy the holiday!