Holiday Construction

Our gingerbread house is assembled and ready to be decorated. Just pay no attention to the drunk, naked builder propped up on the side of the house! We are gonna have to fire him. The first house he built collapsed into a pile of gingerbread, so the brothers will have to share a house now. You just can't find a good contractor these days.

the smell of Christmas

Ahhh. I love the smell of Christmas. Ginger. Cinnamon. Cloves. Pine. The kids and I are making gingerbread houses. We are taking our time because it is a long process. Last night, I made the dough and cut the patterns. Tonight, we rolled out the dough, cut the pieces and baked them. We all snuck a gingerbread bear, and they are delicious! Tomorrow (hopefully) we'll make the icing and construct the house.

We also have a playdate in the morning to make cookies at my friend's house. Yum. I don't like the commercialism of Christmas, but these home-y traditions make me remember why it's such a wonderful time of year. I hope my children will remember this and hold it dear.

Getting back on track

G and I decided to get ourselves a new treadmill for Christmas. I have missed aerobics so much since Tiki got too old and I had to quit. I did worry, though, that it would sit down there unused like our bowflex has for the past couple years.
It came in last week, and we have really enjoyed it! It has a t.v. screen built in and great speakers, so we aren't just staring at the wall, and we didn't have to put it in the living room. I've only used it twice, but G has used it every day! I'm so excited to finally get to work out again. And I've found that it encourages me to do other things while I'm down there like abs and upper body. Maybe we'll finally get some use out of that bowflex.
I've noticed I really feel better on the days I get to exercise. Let's face it, I need all the endorphins I can get! Now, if I'll make time to start doing yoga again (haven't done since having Tiki), I'll bet I'll start feeling like my old self again. The aches and pains of parenting is something nobody warned me about. Having a 27 pound 9 month old who insists on being held all the time is no easy job. It's so important for moms to take care of themselves too, but it's so hard to make the time to do it. Maybe this will be my new year's resolution.

I got the last one!

Awhile ago, I made a wish list on amazon for the grandparents. I thought I'd buy the items that were left about 10 days before Christmas. On the list was a WowWee Lion cub for my 3 year old. One day, I noticed the price had jumped from $49.00 to about $150! It was going out of stock. Next thing I knew, it was nowhere to be found. So, I compromised and selected the tiger cub instead. Of course, this morning, when we decided we'd better buy the gifts, it was out of stock most places, and listed at $162.00 at amazon. Because a similar thing happened last year, you'd think I'd have this Christmas Frenzy figured out by now! I remembered seeing several of the tigers (no lions) at Target, so I rushed to the store, and I got the LAST ONE! It was ten dollars more than the original amazon price, but it was a bargain compared to $162!

I called my husband to exclaim that I had gotten the last one, expecting his shared excitement! He sighed and muttered something about "I can't believe you got yourself in the position of having to get the last one of anything." So true. I wonder if I'll have learned to shop early by next year?

I can relax.

The open house is over, and I'm so relieved. I've done nothing but stress about it for a week! We just knew nobody came when I picked up the phone to call the agent when it was supposed to be over. We were so happy to hear that she had been busy the whole time. My husband dropped me and the baby off, and we let the realtor go. I stayed another hour and a half until the Tour of Homes was over, and I got two more couples. In all, we had 14 to 16 visitors. It was all worth it!
Now, these people were not in the market for a house. But you never know who they know, and it can only help to have people come see the house. One of the women that came while I was here said the reason she came was because she heard other people talking about how beautiful my house was at one of the houses on the tour. I thought that was great. Many people took fliers and said they would spread the word for us. I guess only time will tell. Still, we accomplished what I was hoping for.

busy week

I have so much to do this week in preparation for the open house. Sometimes it feels like trudging through mud to do stuff with these three kids, though. The baby pretty much demands to be held all the time, and when he's sleeping I have loads of other chores to do. Like right now, for instance. This internet is not gonna browse itself!
That mostly leaves the time after my husband gets home from work. It seems like a mad dash of dinner, dishes, bath and bedtime most nights, though. Tonight, we have an art show. I'm very excited about this one, as it is at my son's elementary school. As a fundraiser, every year they have a show with your child's art framed and displayed. You have the option of buying your child's art. If that is any option at all. hehe. This year, I think it is gonna be quite good. I have a tree with fall colors that he did earlier in the year with sponge paint that turned out so beautiful that I had it matted and framed. He's becoming a pretty good little artist. He is left handed, so if there is any truth to the myth, he'll turn out to be the creative type. My little temperamental artist.