13 posts tagged “christmas”
I am sick. Hazel is sicker. Amos is not (lucky dude!). So this will be quick fast like lightening!
That's right bro - it's officially Christmas season up in this mother!!! Why? I'll be happy to tell you! I made full-on caffeine coffee today!!!
- We live in NY.
- Most of the people I buy gifts for do not.
- That means each gift involves extra time & money for shipping and strategic (wrinkle-free) packing.
- That also means we travel every Christmas.
- We don't like the snow.
- So, we leave ASAP in December and come back ALAP.
Our holiday trip was a master undertaking of ginormous proportions. It went pretty smoothly, though, if I do say so myself. We left out around 3 am Sunday, December 14th, and drove straight through to St. Louis, which took about 18 hours. We had originally planned to stop somewhere for the night, but Hazel surprised us and slept for most of the trip, so we just kept on. She definitely cried, this kind of wimpy, sleepy whine, but would fall asleep within 15 or 20 minutes after each stop. We got to St. Louis in high spirits.
First post of the year!! Too bad it's going to suck, lol.
Imaginative title, I know, but things have been hectic for the past two weeks, and I have no brain cells left to dedicate to creativity. Mommy brain + the holidays = mental spasms.
So we made it to St. Louis in only 20 hours! We woke up at 1.30 am two Sundays ago, and by 3 we were on the thruway headed away from the snow. We took turns sleeping and driving, with me creatively nursing the baby in the backseat (both of us still in seatbelts -- figure that one out!!), and we just kept on until we got here. I imagine we'll try for that kind of return home as well. Hazel was a super trooper; she didn't really wake up until we hit Cleveland (7 hours), and after then she just couldn't stay awake in the car. We sat with her and tried to comfort her as best as we could, but really how do you tell a 4-month-old that everything will be fine in just a few hours?
Our time in St. Louis has been fun but a little nuts, which I guess is just par for the course now with a baby. We've been around, not as much as in the past, but we haven't stayed at home by any means. I got to visit two yarn shops, which was awesome, and we hit up the Loop, different stores, all kinds of stuff. Hazel is so attentive and focused, and she loves being around people, so she was fascinated with everything going on around her. In the yarn shop she was amazed by the riot of color yarn brings, and in Whole Foods she seemed to really like the aromatherapy section. Now that she's a bit older we let her touch things, smell things, and that seems to really enhance her experiences outside our house. Of course Grandma & Grandpa Confer's house provides all kinds of different experiences for her; she is getting used to everyone's faces, I think, plus all the music here entertains her. I guess tons of attention from 7adults doesn't hurt either!!
Today we are opening gifts & eating the holiday meal, and tomorrow is really low-key at the Confers'. On Friday we leave for Alabama, and my family is celebrating on the 27th so that we could be there also. Plus, as a super awesome fun special Christmas miracle, Laura and Sally are driving up to see me and Hazel, and then later in the week we get to visit Amy!!! I'm so happy that I get to see my oldest and best friends this year.
I'm going to get downstairs, maybe have a cookie or two, and I'll write up some more gibberish later. The holidays have really affected my brain, because this barely makes sense! When I get back to NY I'll have tons of photos and ancedotes, but for now Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!
No matter how much you prepare for it, December is just going to be hectic! I have one major half of my work behind me, though - all my gifts are bought, made, wrapped, and shipped! This is a big accomplishment, especially because I tacked on a few extra made gifts right at the end there. I just have one present left to give to a friend here and then I am DONE! I also made, printed, & stuffed all our Christmas cards. I still do have to get stamps and actually mail them, but that won't take long at all.
For the first time in my life I've been contemplating going to Sears or JC Penney to get a portrait done. Not of me, but of Hazel. My grandma, Hazel's only great-grandma, gave us a beautiful white dress & bonnet with adorable satin slippers to match. I suppose one would wear this type of thing to a christening or baptizing; since we don't believe in that, it's been hanging up in our room, making me happy when I look at it. My not-very-subtle grandmother has been hinting around that she would like a photo of Hazel wearing it, though, which brought to mind having her portrait taken. That, plus it's her first Christmas, and I would like a nice reminder besides the zillion crappy snapshots I'm sure we'll end up with.
I have been running around like a little whirling dervish lately, doing all kinds of things to get ready for the holidays. I've been putting ol' Amos to work too (and if Hazel could work, I'd be setting her to it too!!).
You might not know this, but I look forward to Christmas as much as a six-year-old. I love the lights, the tree, the buying and wrapping of the gifts, the eggnog. Tinsel, angels, gingerbread, all that stuff gets my blood pumping. I've already taken Hazel to Target just so she could see the twinkly Christmas tree display (so far it's the only one up, except probably Wal-Mart, but you know I refuse to shop there). I have bought all the gifts I'm going to, I'm finishing up with knitting a few, and almost all of them are wrapped up and ready to ship out to the respective family homes. I just can't wait to put our tree up, and I'm thinking I'll bully Amos into doing that this weekend.
