First of Our Two Moves...Comin' Up!

     This year we aren't only saying goodbye to "the old year" and hello to the new one, but we're also saying goodbye to the home we've had for 5 years (as of February 2nd). Although I've been pining away over various houses for the past year and felt as though I might wither away if we didn't move, I am a little sad to be leaving this house. Its significance certainly isn't lost on me. Never again will the biggest, most monumental life events occur for me all while living in the same residence.
The arrival of this baby made moving seem all the more real:

     The Pack Rat representative said it will hold up to 4 rooms' worth of stuff, but...when I look at it, it just doesn't seem all that big. The inside may resemble a sardine can by the time we're through with it. Lucky for us that a portion of our belongings is coming with us to our temporary housing locale. The stuff going into the Pack Rat we won't see again until we move into the house we're buying. In other words, I have to be parted from my piano and Victrola until March! Sad, I know. :(
     Yesterday I was actually able to venture out into the world, with Mr. Wonderful and Junior. We went Christmas shopping...for Junior, who, although he was wide awake the entire time, isn't likely to open the books "Santa" got him and say "Hey, wait a minute...you got these at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday--I was there!"

We then went in search of a Sophie Giraffe--ever heard of these?

Apparently they're all the rage and chewing, teething kiddos everywhere adore them. We wandered through the Plaza in Kansas City, MO over to Pottery Barn Kids and they were sold out. The sweet lady who helped us (sweet because she oohed and ahhed appropriately over my darling boy) told us there'd been a run on them recently. All they had was the bath version, which Junior already has, thanks to his Aunt Sarah Craft.
The last stop we made was Target. Mr. Wonderful is a huge fan of Dunkin Donuts coffee--every flavor except Original. And Target was having a pretty terrific clearance sale (for those of you interested--Leslie Camara!) so we found Dunkin Donuts coffee on sale...for over $2 less. And we came home with good ole' Hazelnut...and this:

     I needed photographic evidence to show you, otherwise you may think I'm more creative than I really am. Strawberry Shortcake coffee. Depending on your viewpoint, it may or may not be a surprise that this (the last bag left) was marked down even more than the other coffee flavors. Suffice it to say, strawberry shortcake being my all-time favorite dessert, this little beauty came home with us. When we made coffee this morning, Hazelnut didn't stand a chance of making it into that pot. The verdict? Different...but good...but takes some getting used to (that particular flavor first thing in the morning).
     Today I'm off to take Junior shopping, visit a dear friend and drop off a Christmas gift. For those of you from "back home" who may even now be scattered around the entire southeast (and in one instance, Colorado), you are sorely missed this Christmas season. Love you all dearly and cannot wait to see you again. Have the merriest of Christmases!

Matthew 1:18-25

Bah-Humbug

Today is December 16th, as you're probably aware. Typically at around this time I have forced myself to put up our Christmas tree, grumbling the entire time, only to be pleased to have it up once it's done. (And no offense to Mr. Wonderful, but this is almost always done by myself. Hoping Junior will help when he's older.) Also at around this time, I have put into rotation my Christmas 78's on my 1921 Victrola. I've also at least attempted by now to make some sort of Christmas cookie/baked good/treat. Baking doesn't always go so well for me, as you may know.

However, this year is...well, different. There is not and will not be, a tree in our living room. Currently Junior's play pen is sitting where the tree would go anyway, and if his play pen can make him happy for just 5 minutes a day...it's staying right where it is. My Victrola motor is at the repair shop. I should be receiving it back soon, but it probably won't be much before Christmas if at all. That was Mr. Wonderful's push present to me--getting it repaired.
This less-than-convenient move, forced on us by less-than-considerate people (or so I think in my less generous moments) has taken away every single bit of anything slightly Christmassy around our house. And although I have battled Grinchiness off and on for about a decade now, having the option to indulge in the commercial Christmas trappings is something I never wanted taken away.

That being said, the older I've become, the more disgusted I am with certain aspects of the Christmas Season (and yes, I mean the Christmas season, not the holiday season). Pardon me as I rant for just a moment.
You see, I'm a stickler for that little phrase "The Reason for the Season". I even contemplated circumventing the whole Santa Clause thing with Junior because it truly takes away from Christmas' entire purpose--the remembrance of Christ; the marking of His birthday. After consideration and discussions, we are going to do Santa Clause with Beau but once he's old enough to really question...I won't be going to huge lengths to re-persuade him.
So, feeling that it's unfortunate that so many, when you ask them the meaning of Christmas, choose to say "It's about getting together with family and friends..." it's not going to be too difficult to skip all of the commercial trappings of Christmas this year. Every single one.
Besides, we have the following distraction:

What on earth did we do before Junior??

Boy Oh Boy

     Today my dear friends learned that they are expecting their first boy, thus providing for their gorgeous little girl, a little brother. To them I say: Welcome To The Club! It's a fun-filled, joyous membership with tons of perks. Not the least of these is sloppy boy kisses (i.e., where your son licks your face and you call it kisses), super-loud gutteral noises emitting from his windpipe, the noisiest poops imaginable, little stinker smiles and particularly for us mamas--a bond that's really difficult to put to words. Even for someone as wordy as myself.

Junior and I, pooped out after his baby dedication and luncheon this past Sunday. Geez I look mad when I'm alseep!


     In short, there's nothing in the world quite like a little boy. Which was probably what prompted me, when Junior was roughly 24 hours old, to look at Mr. Wonderful and say "I want 10 more just like him." Lucky for Mr. Wonderful that there was a chair behind him to fall into. :) After all, I was the girl who never really wanted children until about 2 years ago!

But Mr. Wonderful changed my mind...man, am I ever glad he did--look at the super-cute guys I get to spend my time with now! (Sorry, Mr. Wonderful, for cutting part of your head off in this photo!) Imagine the frustration when you have the World's Smiliest Baby--until someone points a camera at him. This photo, taken, last night, was one of a few attempts to capture his cheeseball grin...no luck this time!

All this to say, I never knew what kind of excitement would be involved with expanding our family before we brought Junior into the world. I can only imagine the excitement my friends are experiencing today, with the expectation of their second child.

Note: I am a reckless boy-diaper changer. I do not lay a cloth, diaper or anything down on his little anatomy while changing his diaper. I "wing it" every time and hope for no whizzing the best. This is reckless, reckless behavior and is not recommended!