Dear Santa

I have tried really hard to be a good wife/mom/friend/sister/daughter this year. I know, I know, tryin' is lyin' or for the birds or whatever but it has to count for something, right? So, anyhoo, back to me.


Material things are nice, and there are a few I've got my eye on so let's just get those out of the way quickly.


I would love some black cowboy boots. And one of those holster thingies for my ipod or iphone so when I'm at the gym I don't have to hold it while I work out and look pretty geeky. Because I run now, you know. Did you hear? But that is really all I can think of.

My real list would be:

• the ability for all of our children to sleep until 8:00 on Saturdays
• snow on Christmas Eve again this year because last year? Spectacular.
• the knowledge and security that Duncan would be in a good school next year for first grade, that we felt good about, where he would be challenged and could make real friends that he could actually play with after school
• that we lived in a neighborhood with kids
• for me to find something I can do, that is kind of creative, that would also generate some income
• for me to continue to run, and perhaps participate in a half marathon by this time next year
• for my MOPS group to have a solid steering team again next year (I will be lead coordinator)
• that my chin hairs will magically stop growing

Thank you, Santa.

~Christie

Weekend Recap

Iain left town on Friday, which is rare, and difficult because it causes me to do weird things like sit in front of the television on a Friday night thinking "Saturday Night Live comes on in about 15 minutes" then thinking even weirder things like "No! I am crazy! It's Monday!" Except, it's Friday. Sadness at the crazy.


On Saturday, my father in law came over to pick up Duncan to take him to a koi pond and to lunch. This was great not only in a grandson-grandfather bonding way, but in a Mommy-is-sick-and-needs-a-nap way, too. As soon as they were out the door, I put Claire and Finn in bed and curled up on the couch myself. I think we all slept a few hours, but I really can't remember. It was fleeting, but it was glorious. Duncan and Grandpa came home about three hours later, with soup and cornbread for me. Grandpa stayed for a cup of coffee, then headed out. I can hardly blame him because it was about 4:00 at this point and we all know what that means in a house with three small children. The rest of the evening is a blur, but I think everyone went to bed early enough that I was not a complete crazy person by bedtime. I am sure I spent the remainer of the evening doing constructive, worthwhile things like catching up on blogs and seeing how many Maroon Albeo Amfractus I can breed in Pocket Frogs. Why, when Iain travels am I completely brain dead by the time I get all the children asleep? Oh, I think I just answered my own question.

Sunday came and I was still feeling really bad so I called my sister and asked if I could just bring the kids, dump them on her and sleep. Well, not really in that way. I did, however, go over there mid-morning and as soon as Claire and Finn went down for a nap, my sister took Duncan with her to a street fair and I went to sleep...for three hours, ya'll! Duncan had a great day and I felt alot better when I woke up. Got all of them home and in bed at a reasonable hour. Whew! Weekend? Survived. And it's only Wednesday when I'm getting this all typed up.

Eating from the pantry

Iain left town yesterday morning, so naturally I came down with a cold last night. And am low on milk. And help. My mom and sister have lives, and are busy so plans to go out there to leave babies and get my shopping done were thwarted. Today, I had hoped to go out there after Grandpa and Duncan go on their outing (more later) but my mom has things to do and my sister is going to a concert in Fort Worth. Again, thwarted.



Today, however, I might have a decent plan B. Grandpa is coming to get Duncan to take him to feed the koi at his health club, then to McDonald's. I'm hoping I can convince him how fun and special it will be to go to the grocery store, too, with his grandson and get me some milk. If I have milk, I can make it. We will eat from the pantry and be just fine.



For breakfast? Frozen peaches for Claire and Finn and cinnamon toast for Duncan. Only about half a loaf of bread left, but we do have tortillas. Finn does not eat bread OR tortillas, so we should be fine. I have 3/4 of a jar of peanut butter, apples, Cheerios to beat the band, one organic frozen bean burrito (that baby is mine), some soup, Tater Tots, and some organic frozen green beans. What am I worried about? Heck, I could have company!

So, lunch and dinner went fairly well. Dinner was baked potato and green beans...Claire and Finn eat them like candy and Duncan is no slob either. In fact, I began to wonder why I was so worried about not being able to make it to the grocery store today in the first place. In for a penny, in for a pound, though so I shall forge ahead. Part of my worry, I think, is that there is nothing sweet in the house. This is not entirely a bad thing, since I am trying to lose some weight but sometimes it's nice. There is leftover Halloween candy, but it's all the non-chocolate kind so it may as well not exist as far as I'm concerned. As a side note, I did bake all of the potatoes in the oven and plan to make a big pot of baked potato soup with them at some point. The weather is finally chilly enough for soup. I ate a plain one for dinner and it was yummy. Duncan ate two of them.

On a food side note, I'm watching Julie and Julia and am finding myself wanting to bake something. And have a dinner party. We need a better dining room table, honey.

~Christie

Good vs. Bad

Some fashion decisions are good:

and some are bad:

School Lunch

So fun.

This will be one of those cop-out, random thought, list blog posts. But secretly, I love reading them because my attention span is pretty short most days.

• I love the show Parenthood.
• The house next door has an offer, which makes me very super excited because maybe, FINALLY, things are turning around in our neighborhood. Hey, people with no kids! Come live over here! It's beautiful, close to the lake, lots of mature trees, creeks, and unique 1950's homes that all look different. Just crappy schools.
• Claire and Finn are both napping. The past two days? Not so much. So today, I am super grateful.
• The sides of my calves are sore, but I am on week 6 of my Couch to 5K program.
• Duncan is doing so much better in kindergarten. He can't wait to leave the house in the morning and is proud of himself when he does well on homework and tests. We are bursting.
• We are starting to look at different schools for 1st grade. We toured one yesterday that we both like...alot. Makes me nervous how much I like it.
• I have watched seasons 1-5 of Weeds on Netflix on demand and now need Season 6 badly. It is not on Netflix. Help me.

~Christie

Happy Day of the Dead!

Okay, so technically it's tomorrow but I can't really say Happy Halloween anymore, like I wanted to, so Happy Dios De Los Muertos.

We are home from school, and already have homework done which puts a little pep in my step considering it's Monday and Iain is out of town again. One less battle to fight tonight. One less egg to fry.

Randomness:

• I bought my husband a navy blue, waffle weave, long sleeve shirt at Big Lots for $7 and I just put it on myself...and I love it. Might have to go back.
• Our next door neighbor is mowing his lawn in the dark. They have their house on the market and showed it today. My fantasy is that they are going to have a second showing and sell it, which would be good news for us since we also want to try to sell ours again. I will subscribe to the old "if they can, we can" theory.
• Roasted red peppers and feta cheese are really good together.
• I am on week 5 of the Couch to 5K program. I have not skipped a single run, nor have I stopped running during my sessions before I am supposed to. I am shocked at, and proud of myself. My first goal is to complete a 5K, perhaps in December. My favorite song to run to is Hey Ya by Outkast.
• I am once again emotionally invested in a team I paid no attention to until the playoffs. What does this say about me?

We had our second annual Halloween party last weekend. I cut the guest list back this year just because Iain was traveling so much and I felt a little overwhelmed, but still wanted to have it, mostly for Duncan. It was great! We had 9 kids, 7 adults, 1 cat, at cupcakes, cake balls, chili, veggies, fruit kabobs, and Fritos, drank Pimm's, beer, water, fruit punch, and coffee, went ghost hunting, decorated pumpkins, played football and watched the Rangers beat the giants. I can't wait to have it again next year and hope we are finally in a new and bigger house, and can expand our guest list.

Duncan has done a real 180 when it comes to school. This morning he could not wait to get out the door and when he came home he told me he wished he could "stay at school all day and learn." Prayers? Meet answer.

Now I am going to get my eager to learn boy off to bed,

Christie