Teaholic not quite anonymous

Boy is it blowing here! Whew!! No snow though and still 70 so I'll take it!

Maddy had a bit of a rough morning. She kept falling over! Don't ask me why. She's normally quite stable but this morning she was all over the place. After her nap she woke up much happier.

I still haven't been able to get the scanner working. I'm not going to go into everything I've tried to get it to work, but it's still not. Don't know what I'll do about that, but maybe Matt can figure it out when he comes home.

I took some pictures of Maddy for the first time today in a while. My camera has been on the charge in the family room so it wasn't readily available. I took some video and pictures of Maddy with our Advent Calendars. Every year my parents bought us calendars and this year Maddy got one too. Plus she was playing with the snow globe and snowman she received after her pictures with Santa last night.

People have started receiving my Christmas cards! That's so much fun! I had such a nice time making them!

Well, not a whole lot new to say today. I need to go wrap Christmas gifts. There's not a lot on the agenda for this weekend so I'm hoping to finish up some random chores, wrap all the gifts, and maybe precook a couple meals. Next weekend is Matt's work's holiday party so Matt's parents have kindly offered to come up and watch Maddy so we can go out to it! They will be coming up Friday to have her adjust to them by Saturday when we need to leave. Matt's mom even took off work. I do hate making her take off of work, but I know she enjoys seeing Maddy so I'm guessing it's not too much of a hassle for her. But the drive up and back--no fun!

Ok, well, I'm off to wrap gifts! Have a good one!

Tea of the day: Ahmad Blackcurrent Black Tea and Adagio Berry Rubios Tea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical, eating a 4

Maddy had a hard time going to bed last night. She didn't want her teeth brushed after her bottle and because it upset her she had a hard time falling back into the routine. Matt didn't want me to continue to try to brush her teeth, but I reminded him that this is the new routine and she NEEDS to get her teeth brushed after the bottle. It's not good for her to go to bed with milk on her teeth. Plus, a one-year-old doesn't get to decide when she wants her teeth brushed. It's hard to change routines though, I know this. But, it's necessary. After a few nights of the routine she'll get used to it and it will be fine.

This morning I went out for breakfast with Rosanna! It's always nice to go and talk with her. We went to Silver Diner and I got what I always get--the Maryland Crabcake Eggs Benedict. It's one of my favorite breakfasts and definitely not something I make at home. I hate getting things out that I can make at home. Matt makes the best omelets so we don't get those when we go out. But crabcake benedict?!? oohhh good. We stayed for two hours. We are never at a loss over what to talk about. I miss working with her and seeing her every day!

Matt's working on getting the scanner working for Maddy's picture with Santa. It's REALLY been a pain. I am hoping to NEVER have to scan anything again!!

Well, sweetie pants is up! I'm going to run. Maybe I'll write more tonight!

Tea of the day: None, two cups of Silver Diner coffee with splenda and cream
WO of the day: none, eating yesterday was a 2

So after the misery that was scanning. We finally did get it to work! Mainly Matt fixed it but I helped some, too.

Again, she wasn't scared of him or excited to see him, just very curious. She wanted to study him! She was very annoyed with us trying to get her to look at the camera. She didn't want anything to do with that! She just wanted to stare at Santa! So here's her, "What the heck do you want? Can't you see I'm busy here?!" face! hehehe... So with no further ado, here's her picture with Santa! (Given, definitely not her best picture!)

Maddy was so good tonight! Matt, Maddy and I took the drive down to Ikea to pick up a wall shelf for our DVD, HD Tivo and receiver. It's a simple flat shelf that matches the light wood paneling we have down there. It will look nice under the TV. But yes, she was SOOOO good. It was a pretty long drive down there because we stopped at Arby's to pick up sandwiches which we ate in the car on the way there. And we missed almost every light, too. Normally it's a 30-40 min. drive. She didn't fuss at all and was content as could be!

We did pick up some neat stuff while we were there. I bought a skinny 5 1/2 foot Christmas tree for only $12.99! We also bought Maddy a treasure chest toy box for only $12.99 too! It's fabric with hardened edges to keep its form. But it's collapsable too. It's red with grey trim and matches the living room almost perfectly. We truly should have bought two, but we didn't! We may go back for more. I bought some play pots and pans for Maddy. They had a really cool mini tea set, place settings and things like that as well but they were real glass!! She won't be ready for those in a long time. The pots and pans are real metal though. Also bought her a block set inside of a wagon and a crane set wtih magnetic wooden blocks. I am still so surprised at how inexpensive these REALLY NICE sets were. WOW.

She did better going to sleep tonight. We fed her the bottle in the living room and then took up a warm bottle of water. So we brushed her teeth (which she liked tonight) and then fed her the warm bottle of water. It seemed to work pretty well!
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Updated: Well, unfortunately, the shelf won't work for the wall in the family room. So we'll most likely need to look into something else. So, do you know what that means?! ANOTHER TRIP TO IKEA! Whoot, whoot! I see another toy box in Maddy's near future!!

Well, this morning I ran back over to Ikea to return the shelf that didn't work. Matt stayed with Maddy during her nap while I went. I did pick up a few more of the toy boxes! I have ideas of who to give them to. I picked up a few other toys as well for gifts and for Toys for Tots since Matt's work collects for that. I also picked up a couple gifts for my neighbor back home. I purchased some really cute shaped bendable plastic ice cube trays. We already have some, but I bought a couple more--triangles and puzzle piece shapes. I bought a red throw that I'm using for Maddy's couch as a slip cover. (I like Ariel and all, but she can get a bit annoying.)

On the way home, Matt called and wondered if I wanted to meet him and Maddy at BJs. So that's what we did. We didn't buy TOO much there. It wasn't even that crowded at BJs either. Now, Target, Walmart and the Toys R Us parking lots were crazy. They all share the same shopping center.

After we got home, we laid Maddy down for a nap and I went immediately to wrapping presents. I packaged up three boxes for friend's, too. SHEESH! I'm ALMOST done. I am waiting for a few things to come in the mail that need to be wrapped as well.

After Maddy got up from her nap, Matt ran out and mailed the packages at the automated USPS machine. I love that thing. I love mailing at 5 pm on a Sunday! We all ran out to the grocery store quick, came home, watched an episode of Dharma and Greg while Maddy played, then off to bed she went. Now I'm here finally sitting down for one of the first times. WHEW! I'm tired.

I'm still waiting for Dad's birthday gifts to get here via mail. I'm also waiting for a couple Christmas gifts. I'm still waiting for my ring, but that should be here any day. I hate waiting on mail. It can drive me crazy.

Maddy showed Matt just what she's made of tonight. He was giving her parts of cookie and she opened her mouth to have him feed her. Well, he wanted her to take it in her hand and she threw a FIT! She thought he was teasing her with cookie instead of having her take it in her hand. OOooohh.. did she bawl! All she did was turn and cry and look at me. WHEW WHEE! I told him to put the cookie piece on his knee, point to it and get her attnetion. Once she finally figured out what was going on it was hunky dory from there on in. But Matt was in SHOCK. His eyes were as big as saucers and his mouth was hanging open. He couldn't believe what he just saw. I told him that my explanation is that she's really sharp, very smart and aware. So when she doesn't get something she wants when she wants it, or views something as not fair to her, she throws a fit. She is only one. Of course, that doesn't mean she can have what she wants, when she wants it all the time. But--well, she'll learn that over time.

Ok, well, I think Matt and I are going to go and hang out in the family room. But I wanted to check in. Hope everyone is well! Given I can find the camera (it's MIA right now) I have some cute pictures and video to upload tomorrow from yesterday. So check back in then and it should be up!

Yesterday was busy, busy! No chance to really sit down and blog at all. I was planning on it last night, but I tried on my party dress for Matt's work's Holiday party this weekend and decided I wanted to get a jacket to go over the top. I also decided I wanted to get new shoes as well since all my other dress shoes are sandals. So after Maddy went down for bed, I hopped in the car and ran to Target. I didn't want to spend a fortune on either thing since I probably won't wear either very much. I found a cropped fitted jacket that was just perfect for the dress. Here's the jacket. I also found really cute pumps. Here's the pumps.

During Maddy's first nap I worked on wrapping gifts and putting together some stuff for Christmas. I can't say too much, but it took me forever! I kept goofing up. But it was fun and it got done. I still need to wrap some more, maybe if I finish here fast enough. I worked out during Maddy's second nap. So I was sitting around in work out clothes all morning long. That's a weird feeling!

Tonight is St. Nicks! I don't know many people who celebrate St. Nick's anymore. But our family always did. (My mom actually 'combined' St. Nicks with Easter and used to HIDE my stocking. No that was not common practice, it was just something she liked to do.) As a matter of fact, I'm using the same Christmas Stocking that I used as a child. What's St. Nick's you ask? Here's the Wikipedia definition. I stuffed Maddy's stocking about two weeks ago. So she's getting cookies, a slinky, a mini see-and-say, slippers and...something else, but I can't remember what--oh, a ball! So tomorrow morning after Maddy is up, dressed, and finished eating she will find her Christmas Stocking laying in the middle of the living room floor. She'll need some help unpacking it since I jammed it all in there pretty good! I'll take some pictures since this is her first St. Nicks (that we're celebrating, anyway)!

Well, I have a story about a ring that came in the mail yesterday, but I will wait until my next blog to post it. It deserves it's own entry!

I think I'm going to package up a box or two! Have a good day!

Tea of the day: Coffee, splenda, Pumpkin Spice Creamer
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 min., eating a 3

So... a while back I told you that I was looking for a Garnet Heart and Sterling Silver ring to match a set of earrings, necklace and bracelet I have. Here's the set. Well, let's start with that story first. Matt bought the earrings and bracelet for me from Red Envelope. I really like the set, red is my favorite color and they aren't overpowering. Well, I decided I wanted to get the necklace to go with. So I went to Red Envelope and this is what I found. Well, I think we can all agree that necklace does not match! It's setting is completely wrong and none of the other pieces have graduated sized stones. So I looked around for a while and while randomly shopping one day I went to my favorite jewelry, Fire and Ice, and found the matching necklace. It wasn't that expensive either! It's a bit bigger than the earrings and bracelet, but it works really nice.

So then I decided it was time to find the ring. So, I started on the internet. Much easier to do than shopping around! So, I googled, "Sterling Silver Garnet Heart Ring". I looked and looked--to no avail. All the settings weren't right. Well, I finally DID find one. I found this one. Hey, the setting is right! It's simple, nothing too crazy.... it may just work. Plus, it was only $40 with shipping! So I gave it a go. There weren't many discriptions on the page about the ring and sales is not this businesses main goal. So, after over two weeks of waiting, it finally arrived. Here's the ring with the bracelet in comparison. The stone is much smaller in the ring than the bracelet, but you can still tell it's a match (sorry for the bad picture). So, I think I'll keep it and call my search over.

So what's the funniest part about this story? Here's where I got my ring! Don't believe me? here's the direct link to the ring. So yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, this mom of one, happily married woman, has officially purchased a 'Purity Ring'. Google is pretty cool that way. I would have obviously never looked on that page (or FOR that page for that matter) for a sterling silver garnet heart ring. But there we have it! They have what I wanted and besides the long wait, they have a happy customer. So I will wear my 'purity ring' with pride. Just don't ask me how the 'pure' part is going. :)

Have a great night!

So, I'm up to my eyeballs in unfinished projects today. Everywhere I go and look in this house there is something that needs to be picked up, put away, cleaned or finished!!! It's driving me nuts. So just a short blog so I can go get the majority of this stuff taken care of.

Maddy enjoyed opening her St. Nick's gifts this morning. She liked the cookies best! She also loved her See and Say Junior and bubbles (which mommy blew). Joe loved the bubbles too and Maddy loved to watch Joe play with the bubbles. It was a fun morning! I did put up St. Nick pictures and you can find them here.

I've been browsing the news a lot today. Milwaukee had a major explosion in their Falk plant. I'm pretty sure dad heard it since he was on jury duty downtown today. Mom may have as well since she's not THAT far. As soon as Maddy is up I will give a call. I'm also watching the news about the guy out in Oregon who's family was found alive. They found his pants though, that's not a good sign. They've shut down part of the beltway here for a suspicious package. It's at a really large intersection so I'm wondering how that's going as well!

Oops, Maddy is up! She had a couple of firsts today! She actually ate a whole bowl of baby cereal with whole milk and fruit warmed up. She also left on her slippers/shoes! They are really cute and she seems to like them. I will get a picture later and post them up. I've heard good things about these but this is the generic Target brand. They're pretty nice!!!

Tea of the day: Ahmad Black currant tea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical, eating a 4!

Not much to really say today! I think I'm finally done wrapping and sending out all my Christmas presents. WHEW! I still have a Hannakuh card to send out, a thank you card and a birthday card (which will be late). That will be tomorrow.

I worked my butt off around this house today! It REALLY needed a thorough organizing and cleaning. Matt helped a ton by going grocery shopping with Maddy and taking care of her A LOT while I cleaned/organized. The organizing was the hardest part really. Putting everything back in its place or finding a place for everything. Once that's done it's easier to clean. But man... it was a LOOOONG day!

Anyway, Matt's reading over my shoulder since he wants to go and watch a movie. So I better go. Have a good night everyone!

Tea of the day: None, I had coffee with splenda and pumpkin spice creamer
WO of the day: None again, never quite worked it in. And eating yesterday was QUITE POOR. A 1!!!! (French fries will do ya in everytime.)

It's so nice to have a clean and (relatively) clutter free house. I must say!

I have a nice beef roast in the crockpot for dinner and baked banana bread yesterday!

My last gift that I purchased online for Christmas came today! I need to wrap it up and put it away downstairs. After sending out 90 Christmas cards you'd think I'd have covered all my bases, right? Nope!!! I received a card today from someone I didn't mail one to! So I will get that out in the mail tomorrow.

Maddy as been so cute today. A few new little things... She has letter links and loves to hide them in the front pocket of my purse. I never put anything in there because it doesn't zip, but she loves to hide things in there! I find them when I'm out shopping! LOL! Also, she's taken to using the word 'this' (although it comes out more 'dis'). She points to what she wants and labels it 'this'! She understands cookie now because she'll point to the kitchen cabinet if I ask her if she wants a cookie. She's learning to ask for help by handing me the things she wants help with or pointing to what she wants. She's toddling around furniture QUITE nimbley now!!! And she stand on her own for a few seconds at a time. You can tell she's testing out her balance. She's been enjoying pressing the Tivo buttons and the TV button. She also enjoys helping me open the mail. She helps me turn off her white noise machine and helps me turn on and off (and on and off and on and off) her light in her room too. She also loves to throw balls over the kitchen gate now, too. Daddy will play ball with her that way, but I'll be honest, I'm not as readily willing to do it otherwise I will start having ALL her toys over the gate.

Well, I should go wrap that gift and mail that card!

I won't be online much tomorrow so don't expect the usual blog. I will most likely have time on Sunday night. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Tea of the day: Ahmad Black Currant Tea then Bolthouse Perfectly Protein Mocha Cappuccino drink (since the due date is tomorrow)
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical, good overall, a 4

Well, we had a really nice weekend here! Matt's parents came up on Friday night and we all hung out and played with Maddy before her bedtime. We were able to show them the new routine Maddy has for bed so they would be able to copy it on Saturday night while we were out. Friday night was exhausting for me though. I had slept so poorly the night before that I went to bed and crashed.

Saturday we spent hanging out with Maddy. Maddy woke up really late on Saturday morning! 8:30!!! I couldn't believe it! Boy was it nice to sleep in though. Matt made grits with eggs and cheese for breakfast. We got ready for Matt's work party about 4 ish and left the house about 4:30.

Funny that, Maddy, the girl who NEVER wants her mommy if someone else is in the room, WANTED me Saturday after I was all dressed and ready to go! Of course I held her, but it was hilarious that the one time grandma, grandpa and daddy are alternatives she wants me! We did get a couple pictures before we left. You can find them here.

The party was held at Light Foot Restaurant. It was pretty crowded in the receiving area, but they had nice appetizers and drinks. Matt and I went on the carriage ride and that was really pretty! It was my first carriage ride (covered carriage which is good in December!). You'd think after all the times I've been to NYC I'd have gone on a carriage ride! But it was really enjoyable. After we got back they sat us down and we had a really nice salad, main course of Filet and crab cake and then dessert bar afterwards. We sat with Matt's other IT coworkers. They gave us a nice stainless steel thermos with their name printed on it for the party gift. It makes a great water bottle for me, but I guess I'll have to share with Matt since it was his party! :)

We stayed over close by last night and we had a really nice corner room on the top floor. Yippee for Matt's Hilton Honors status, can't go wrong with free upgrades! In the morning we stopped over at Walmart to get pans for my cookies I plan on making tomorrow for my cookie swap and headed home to our Maddy. She immediately started fussing as soon as she saw us. I think seeing us reminded her we were gone! So after a few snuggles she was much better.

Matt's mom took Maddy for a walk but as I was going to drop Matt off at the airport for his flight out Maddy started to cry since we were both getting in the car. It was the first time i've ever left her crying! I was only gone about 20 minutes dropping Matt off, but I just felt horrible. They did distract her enough to settle her down when they brought her inside, but... I can't go anywhere without her the next couple of days. I don't want to maker her paranoid that I'm not coming back!

Matt's parents offered to stay another day and I quickly took them up on that! I was able to get a load of laundry done and dishes without needing to try to preoccupy Maddy. Can't go wrong with that!!! And she loves Grandma and Grandpa so it's good for her to have different faces.

OK, well, I'm off to bed! Have a great night all!

Tea of the day: Hotel Coffee with splenda and Cinnamon Hazelnut creamer (really like this creamer!)
WO of the day: none, eating a 2

Maddy started making noises at 6:30 this morning which is quite a bit earlier than she normally gets up. But now she's stopped! So... I think she fell back asleep. I won't try to fall back asleep since I'll just wind up more tired if I manage it. There's not a whole lot new between last night's post and today.

My heel is feeling quite a bit better this morning. I started to have an issue a couple days ago. And then I'm pretty sure my heels I wore for the work party perpetuated it. By Sunday morning it was really hurting! So, I took two doses of three Advil every four hours. I also rubbed it last night while we sat around watching a White House Chrstimas and Holiday Windows 2006. This morning it's great! That's good because it's Monday and it's a work out day!

But I better get a move on, I hear Miss Maddypants again! It's an early-up day here. She probably knows Grandma and Grandpa are still here and doesn't want to miss out on the action! I was so proud of how well she went to bed though. Daddy normally does a lot of the bedtime routine and Maddy went down without a peep last night and slept all the way through!

Tea of the day: Coffee, splenda and Gingerbread creamer
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical, eating a 1, I did way too much snacking last night!

It must be the holiday season, but everything is so busy! I haven't had much time to blog lately, nor really think about anything new I want to say.

A few new Maddy things:
-She drank her first cup of cold milk today! She normally likes only warmed milk. But she handled it really well. She didn't drink it the same way she normally would, straight down! She had to sip this since it was cold.

-Maddy answered three of my questions in a row today, "Where are the cookies? Where are the cherrios? Where is outside?" She pointed to ALL the right places. It was really neat to see her little brain work so efficiently! It was also neat to ask her a question and have her answer back!

-Maddy has a set of foam puzzle books that she loves. The puzzle pieces are REALLY hard to pull out and very tight. Well, today I decided to check on her (since she had been quiet and preoccupied for so long) and she took them all out on her own. No help from me!

-She's learning to give kisses and loves to give Nosey kisses.

-She's balancing a lot more on her own now, standing without any support for 2-3 minutes at a time.

So much fun! I love it when she does new things! I was able to finish my cookie bars today for my cookie exchange. They are chocolate chip cookie dough with Mint M&M's replacing the chocolate chips, with a layer of mint icing and then a layer of chocolate icing. I had two to try them out and they really are great! I need six dozen for the exchange, but I think I should have more than enough to bring down to Chesapeake this weekend for our trip to see Matt's parents. They are in the fridge now. I still need to cut them but I will wait for the day of so they don't get dried out before then. I do want to put some plastic wrap over them because I don't feel like these lids are very air tight and I don't want them to dry out.

Update on the cookies! One pan of cookies makes THIRTY FIVE cookies!!! They are good sized, too! So I only needed 2 pans and 2 extra cookies for my exchange so I have a TON left over. I may take some to my Bunco night tomorrow night and definitely some to Chesapeake for the weekend. I think I will freeze a few too. I'm actually freezing some now to take out tomorrow to see how well they defrost.

Ok, well, I'm off to get a few things done before she's up from her second nap!

Tea of the day: Ahmad Black Currant Tea
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 min. Eating yesterday was pretty good, I'd say a 4!

WHEW!!! Well, it's been a couple days since I last blogged. Life has been fast and crazy here! Matt was out of town Sunday through Wednesday. Matt's parents were very sweet and stayed through Monday to help me out. I spent the majority of the time they were here Monday making the cookies I last blogged about. Monday night went pretty well. I had to go up and see Maddy after I put her to bed, but really, she did pretty well. Tuesday was just a blur. It went well though and Maddy let me get a lot of stuff done. She and I had a great time playing and snuggling. Tuesday night she went to bed better.

Wednesday Matt came home! It was nice to see him about 1pm. Maddy just LOVES her daddy. He walked in the door and she wouldn't stop hugging him!!! Not even enough to get his coat off! I was exhausted from not sleeping well the few nights before that (ok since Saturday night) and he was tired because it was a long onsight and he didn't sleep well either. So Maddy went down for a nap and we did too. I slept like the dead! However, Maddy woke up about and hour and a half later and neither of us were ready to get up!

Last night I had Bunco night. That was fun! I met some nice people who I really didn't know but heard a lot about. I took some of my cookies with me and they went over pretty well. Bunco was easy to play too. That's also nice. I brought along some gifts for my friend's son since I didn't know when next I'd see them. I went grocery shopping on the way home.

Today Matt got Maddy up from bed while I quick got dressed. I went in to relieve Matt so he could get ready for work and she started bawling! I think she thought he was going to leave again. So I took her in by daddy and she stopped crying and they snuggled. Well, when I took her back in her room she started crying again. Well, she just had to live through it while I fast got her dressed and diaper changed. Maddy had her morning bottle and breakfast and was A-Okay from that point on! She even waved bye to daddy when he left.

Today is my dad's birthday! Unfortunately, the sweaters I bought didn't fit! Well, they did but they won't fit with a shirt underneath. So I need to send him the receipt. I will do that tomorrow. Tonight after dinner Matt took Maddy over to his friend's Jon's house to deliver cookies to them. I packed my little heart out while they were gone. They got home and we put Maddy down to bed. She's made a couple of noises but I think she'll fall asleep.

I was supposed to have Mom's night out tonight but I wound up not going. First I thought Matt was going to work late and then when he got home I just realized I just have too much stuff to do to prepare for this weekend. Now I have a TON of cookies and a white elephant gift floating around here. But, I can give the cookies away as gifts or freeze them. And I guess I can use the White Elephant gift as a present some other time.

So we're off to see Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow for the weekend. (Don't think about breaking in, we'll have the alarm system on.) I hope Maddy sleeps while we're there and has a good car trip up and down. I need to pick out some toys that she'll enjoy in the car and while there. We're going to put Jacks Big Music Show, Oobi and The Upside Down Show on Matt's laptop or mine to take with us. It does just as good as a portable DVD player. Better actually since we have a plug in for it that attaches to the lighter.

Well, that's it for now! I need to prep the cats so they are ready for us to leave tomorrow, too. Poor babies. They never get any attention anymore! See you back Sunday night or Monday! Goodnight!

Tea of the day: I had coffee again! Coffee with splenda and ID Cinnamon Hazelnut creamer
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical (I'm proud of myself, even though I've been really busy I haven't missed a work out. The scale shows it, too!)

...to grandmother's house we'll go!

Have a great weekend everyone! Wish us luck with Maddy on the drive down and sleeping while there! We have one FULL car!!! I'll talk to you all when we get back. I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures!

Tea of the day: Ahmad Black Currant Tea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical

Hi everyone! We're here at Grandma and Grandpa's but will be home tonight. Maddy did great on the trip down and is sleeping pretty well here. She's down for a nap right now. Well, I'm not going to stay, but I wanted to quick post a little blurb that I received from a friend of mine (thanks Tina!). I thought it was quite cute and apt for this time of the year! Enjoy! I will update more either tonight or tomorrow after unpacking and laundry.

Christmas Carols for the Psychiatrically Challenged:

1. Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear?

2. Multiple Personality Disorder ? We Three Queens
Disoriented Are

3. Amnesia - I Don't Know If I'll Be Home for Christmas

4. Narcissistic - Hark the Herald Angels Sing about Me

5. Manic - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and
Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and
Buses and Trucks and Trees and Fire Hydrants and . . .

6. Paranoid - Santa Claus is coming to Get Me

7. Borderline Personality Disorder - Thoughts of Roasting on
an Open Fire

8. Full Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, I'm
Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll tell You Why

9.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells . . .

10. Agoraphobia - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day but
Wouldn't Leave My House

11. Senile Dementia - Walking in a Winter Wonderland Miles
from My House in My Slippers and Robe

12. Oppositional Defiant Disorder - I Saw Mommy Kissing
Santa Claus So I Burned Down the House

13. Social Anxiety Disorder - Have Yourself a Merry Little
Christmas While I Sit Here and Hyperventilate

14. Depression--- I'll Have a Blue Christmas Without
You.......(Elvis pretty much summed up depression with that
song!!)

Well, we made it home safe and sound! Maddy was WONDERFUL the entire car ride home. She slept at least half the way! I can't say as much for my arm since I held her teddy bear up to her face the entire time since she was using it as a pillow. (Note to self, buy three more of these teddy bears because she loves them so much. Good to have extras on hand.)

95 was MOVING today! It was crowded but there weren't too many stupid people on the road. But average speed was 80+!! WHEW! Even the right lane was doing at least 75!!

I'm all but unpacked. I have a ton of laundry to do, but that will get done tomorrow.

One new Maddy thing today! She took a bath in the regular bathtub tonight and seemed to like it!

I will talk more about our trip tomorrow, but for now, it's off to Dirty Jobs and then BED!!!

Goodnight!

Our Christmas with Matt's parents went really well! Maddy was fabulous for both the drive down and the drive back home. The drive down was a bit stop and go in a couple places. But the drive back home was really fast. She slept pretty well both nights. She had a hard time going to bed the first night--there was a lot of crying and carrying on. But she did go to sleep after about 45 minutes of Matt and I periodically rocking her. The second night she went to sleep on her own just fine but woke up at 1 am crying. After a bottle she went back to sleep fine again.

Maddy loved Grandma and Grandpa's house! It's all one floor (basically) so she was able to crawl down the hallway and into the bedrooms. She had a great time exploring. We saw the neighbor's bunnies but I was careful not to let her touch them since I know she'd pull their ears or something like that.

We also saw Maddy's great grandpa and Matt's aunt Kim, uncle Ron and his cousin's Dustin and Clay. It was nice to get together with them and it was fun to laugh with them again. Matt's mom and dad went all out and made potato salad, sweet potato casserole, ham, turkey salad--the list goes on! WHEW! It was all delicious. Kim brought along fabulous cookies as well. They were great!

I had shrimp and grits for the first time on Friday night and if I do say so myself they are pretty darn good! Matt's mom makes GREAT grits. Don't let the name fool you, it's not JUST shrimp and grits. It also has sausage, tomato, onions and chicken stock. I'd gladly have that again any day!

Matt's parents and us opened gifts on Christmas morning. They really seemed to like the pottery set I bought for them from People's Pottery. Although I found another piece of it here! I knew I would! I thought I was missing one! They enjoyed the grandma/grandpa sweatshirts we got for them as well. Maddy received a really cool farm and piggy bank from them. She loved playing with them and has been all day today (you can see it on our photo gallery). Matt received great speakers and headphones from his folks. We already have one pair and I use them all the time to play music in the kitchen with our Airport Express. It'll be nice to have another set! I received gorgeous Vera Bradley travel accessories, a french press and also girlie spa stuff. I love girlie spa stuff and now is just the time of year that we need it!

Speaking of I'm going to need to use them later on tonight since it's been a busy morning today. I've done two loads of laundry, ran the dishwasher, emptied the diaper bin and the kitchen trash, dusted the dining room table, took around the trash, paid the bills, balanced the check book, cleaned Maddy's high chair and cover, worked out and showered!!! Whew! I still need to pack up some stuff for the post office, go grocery shopping and wrap a present! Girlie stuff is just what I'll need tonight!

Well, the munchkin is back up! I need to vamoose!

Tea of the day: I had coffee with splenda and mint mocha creamer
WO of the day: 25 min. elliptical (Maddy woke up 20 minutes into it, but then fell back asleep.

I heard it this morning on Holly on XM. Here's the link to the song! It was a busy day here. Maddy and I did some chores this morning and then after her first nap we ran over to Walmart. I hate Walmart--even moreso this time of year! But it went fairly quickly and I was pretty surprised at how well mannered it really was. I needed diapers and more Nuby Straw sippy cups that Maddy loves (since I'm trying to replace the bottle with them).

After we got home she wanted to snack so I gave her some Goldfish crackers. I think I have a Goldfish addict on my hands. When I tried to put them away she started yelling at me and crying. I knew she wasn't hungry, but man, did she want more goldfish!!! She went down for her nap and I called my mom while I packaged up her package for the post office. I have two packages to mail tonight. I don't expect either one to be there by Christmas but I will try. Mom's package is a gift I absentmindedly forgot to put into her last package!

I lit some Pecan Passion Home Fragrance oil in the basement. That stuff is heavenly!!! Ok, well, Maddy is up. So no more time to blog! Time for dinner and then more playing!

Have a gret one!

Tea of the day: Had more coffee today in my new French Press! Cinnamon Hazelnut with Cinnamon Hazelnut creamer and splenda
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical. Bad eating yesterday--Hunky Dory caramel corn is to die for! Thanks Pat!

Matt, I love the TV set up in the family room. I really do. I use it every day when I work out. The flat screen is attached to the wall by an arm. The arm swivels 180 degrees. Well, my elliptical machine is in the corner of the room, but the way the TV is set up I can watch it if I swivel the TV 90 degrees from center. I have tivo'd 'Small Spaces Big Design' and 'Design on a Dime' on that Tivo unit and I watch an episode and a half every time I work out now! Working out is a nice stress reliever for me and really gets my blood pumping. But now it's turned it into 'me' time as well by being able to watch programs I like at the same time. Pretty cool, hon!

Well, Maddy woke up late, late, late today! Almost 9:15!! I couldn't believe it! I guess she had a bit of a hard time going to bed last night. Matt had to go up once and hold her. I was out at the Post Office and Babies R Us. I finally mailed the two boxes that needed to go out. I highly doubt they will get there by Christmas. One is going to Richmond, so that MAY just get there in time. The one to my parents in WI probably won't. Fortunately, that was just a misplaced present and not the whole shabang! The line was NUTS at the post office. It was still open at 8:15. But even the Kiosk was crazy! So I just weighed the packages myself and bought stamps through the vending machine and mailed it that way. It saved a lot of time in line!

It's time to start baby proofing the kitchen. It's time to let Maddy have more free reign of the house. So, I bought latches for all the kitchen drawers and cabinets. They need to be screwed in, but it's simple enough. We'll put them in this weekend. I need to find a place to put the cat food cause I just DON'T think Maddy will take no for an answer. I may try it out for a while and I'm assuming she'd lose interest. But until then, I'll be on top of her telling her no and redirecting her everywhere else. If worse comes to worst I can put the cat food in the dining room.

She won't be allowed in the dining room outside the high chair for a long time!! The china cabinet is not attached to the wall and it's REALLY not safe for her to be near that. I'm not adverse to her playing under and around the table now that her balance is better, but that china cabinet scares me to death. Maybe if there's an easy way to attach it to the wall without having to take it apart I'll think about it. But really, there's not much room to play in there anyway, so what's the point?

It's almost time to get rid of her exersaucer! I can't believe it! She's getting too big for it now and tires of it easily. But it came in good use for 5 months. I think it was smart to only use it for times when I needed to get things done--cook or eat, 20 minutes tops. I'm glad we bought it used! Time to store it away soon!

Ooh! I think I hear her! She'll have a late afternoon nap today. It's already 12:40 and she's just now getting up from her MORNING nap.

Have a good one!

Tea of the day: Ahmad Mango Tea and Ahmad Black Currant Tea
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical

One of Matt's coworkers went to his onsight last week sick. Not just, sniffles and a cold sick, but hacking up a lung kind of sick!!! All the guys told him to get out, go back to his hotel room and sleep it off since they would need him the next day. Did he?? NO! He insisted on 'playing too' as he called it. He completely blew off their concerns. Well, he's out sick with pneumonia this week! Then his other coworker (Ha...I just typed coldworker) emailed Matt saying he wouldn't be at their meeting since he has either a cold (not so bad) or the FLU (ick!). He also was at the onsight. So Matt spent three days stuck in a conference room with these sick people. He feels good so far and has been washing his hands constantly and getting lots of Vit. C, but... man. Tempt fate much? I swear, I don't want us to be sick over Christmas!!!

So, if you're sick, do everyone else a favor at work and STAY HOME!!!

Wow, she really is starting to become a little toddler.

A few new developments:
* She wipes her own face off with a washcloth after eating.
* Maddy wipes her hands with a washcloth if they get dirty.
* If I wind up with crumbs on me (cookie, gold fish or cherrios) she wipes off my lap from the crumbs.
* She helps me take off her shirt and helps me put on her coat.
* Maddy says /p/ and points to the pillows on top of the couch when she wants one.
* She says /c/ and points to the cabinet where the cookies are when she wants one (but doesn't always get one of those). She can say coogie too.

I realize these are all things kids just do. But they've all come around in the last few days or become very pronounced in the last few days. I'm just so impressed with her skill development. She's really growing up fast!

Oooh, Maddy was in a mood this morning!!! But now she's taking a good nap. I think her teeth hurt. I gave her tylanol before she laid down.

So today I did 30 minutes elliptical without using my arms! WOW! That's quite a difference. It really promotes core balance and is just like walking up stairs for 30 minutes without using your arms. It was a great workout! Tomorrow I think I'm going to do weights while I try the same thing. I've also been doing full situps on the carpet with a pad under my tailbone instead of crunches on the balance ball. Both are good, but I find I work a different group of muscles with full situps. My pushups have evolved, too. Now I do my pushups like this instead of the normal way. I still do girlie pushups though. My upper body strength just isn't enough yet to do them the normal way.

OK, well, I have stuff to do before Maddy is up. Just wanted to check in.

Tea of the day: Ahmad Mango Black Tea (gone)
WO of the day: Elliptical 30 minutes.

That would be me. This is my official 100th blog entry. Hmm.. funny. When I started this I was wondering if I'd ever blog at all since I didn't have much to say. So congratulations (to you, not me) for putting up with my ramblings for 100 entries!! You deserve some sort of medal.

Now I find myself at a lack of words and a bit embarressed that I can post 100 posts.

We bought Maddy more shoes last night at Target. They are SOOO cute. They are much like the cupcake ones she has but with flowers on them. She LOVES them. She picks them up and puts them by her feet as if they are magically going to go on. She's also taken to SCREEEAAMING with delight when things happen that she enjoys. She knows her links go together but can't quite figure out how to put them together. So she'll hand me two and I'll put them together for her. She screams at the top of her lungs! She loves it!

She had part of a fried egg this morning for breakfast. She really ate well this morning. She had her milk, cherrios, cereal with fruit, plain fruit and part of an egg! I was so excited. She's been a bit off food the last couple of days and I've been trying to give her whatever she'd eat. So this was a welcome change from the past days.

I can't stop thinking about my friend and her husband who are taking their 14 month old daughter on a plane to France tomorrow! I am excited for them because they get to go and see her inlaws and Chloe's grandparents/family from his side of the family. But I do NOT envy her on that flight. I'm hoping she'll sleep through for their sake. At least there are two of them to take care of her and neither are going with her alone. WHEW, that must be a long flight though.

Well, have a good one, everyone!

Tea of the day: No tea! More coffee today.
WO of the day: Elliptical for 30 min without arms, pushups, situps and stretching--the norm.

101 of my favorite Christmas things for my 101st post:

1. Snow on Christmas
2. Christmas eve service
3. Eggnog (mom's pineapple is great)
4. Bob's mint candycanes (especially the mini ones)
5. Watching people open their presents
6. Packing up pretty gifts in a box with nice wrapping to mail in a plain brown box. It's fun to open basic boxes to see pretty wrapping inside!
7. Finding the perfect gift for someone.
8. Finding the perfect Christmas card (Matt's card is that one this year)
9. Making our holiday photo card and seeing how it turns out
10. Writing the holiday letter
11. Stuffing Christmas cards! (Yes, I am a freak)
12. Getting mail in December. I love getting Christmas cards.
13. Putting out the Christmas tree with all the old ornaments and new ones as well.
14. Using the same stocking I used as a kid for Maddy.
15. Watching her learn that paper is meant for tearing off gifts.
16. Drinking hot chocolate with coffee
17. Holiday creamers!
18. Mom's snow white sugar cookies (OK, Great-aunt Mable's recipe, but there are great)
19. Watching Maddy drink eggnog from a cup! (That kid can down some eggnog!)
20. Hearing from people you only hear from once a year.
21. Pictures in cards. I love getting pictures.
22. Buying gifts for Maddy. It's fun to anticipate how she'll like them.
23. Taking Maddy to see Santa. What a tradition!
24. Opening presents Christmas eve
25. Using decorations that my great-grandmother used.
26. Santa magnet on the fridge. It's as old as I am.
27. Sleeping Santa bank from 1949 (there are imitations, do not be fooled)
28. Hearing Christmas bells outside of stores.
29. Christmas candles
30. Christmas dress for Maddy
31. Christmas shoes for Maddy--love the patent leather!
32. Having a big breakfast Christmas morning.
33. Driving around with hot chocolate looking at Christmas lights
34. Mall decorations at Christmas
35. The hustle and bussle of a mall at Christmas (as long as I'm done with my shopping)
36. Starbucks Christmas Blend and other drinks.
37. How festive the house looks all decked out.
38. Christmas dinner.
39. Watching Maddy assume every box in the mail is for her (and normally they are!)
40. Wrapping Christmas gifts (ok the first 2 or 3)
41. Christmas Carollers although it's been a long time since I've heard one!
42. Bath and Body Works Holiday Scents (Yes, that's the girlie part in me)
43. Christmas socks--the more outrageous the better!
44. Red! It's my favorite color anyway, so to see more of it is nice.
45. Christmas cookies-cherry winks/blinks are great!
46. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
48. The Night Before Christmas clay animation movie
49. Snow Globes
50. Garland
51. Mistle toe
52. All I want is a Hippo for Christmas
53. Santa Baby
54. Santa Hats!
55. Christmas Towels
56. Watching Maddy figure out a new Christmas toy
57. Turkey with stuffing
58. Sweet Potato Casserole
59. Stars on Christmas eve
60. Finding a parking space at the front of the mall
61. Listening to people say, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
62. Snuggling in a blanket on Christmas eve
63. Hot Christmas Tea (Constant Comment is one of my favorites)
64. Celestial Seasons Sugar Plum Spice Herbal Tea
65. Using the good china for tea or dinner
66. Christmas mugs
67. Feeling a little less guilty for eating sweets.
68. Giving
69. Brisk cold air
70. Watching little kids talk about Jesus
71. Watching little kids talk about Santa
72. Reading the Christmas story
73. Baby Jesus in a nutshell orament
74. Maddy's first oraments
75. Our first home ornament
76. Matt's and my first ornaments
77. Christmas bells on the tree from Great Grandma
78. Gift Certificates--not very thoughtful, but a nice gift to give.
79. Taking walks midday all bundled up in the brisk air
80. Gabbing with friends about Christmas toys!
81. Hiding the glass pickle ornament on in the tree. First one to find it gets a present!
82. Watching Maddy point to Christmas lights out of the car
83. Finding a great deal on a wonderful gift.
84. Pretty wrapping paper and bows
85. Pretty Christmas bags and tissue paper (even easier!)
86. Candy canes dipped in hot chocolate
87. Apple cider
88. Dark night and beautiful Christmas tree lights
89. Watching the Santa at the mall interact with all the kids (most of the time)
90. Watching the kids interact with Santa!
91. Watching kids give out presents to others
92. Watching kids share new gifts with each other without prompting
93. Hearing people say 'Thank you'
94. Hearing people say 'It's nice to see you'
95. Memories of Christmas past
96. Hopes for Christmas future
97. Enjoying Christmas present
98. Christmas with loved ones
99. Remembering why we do all this!
100. Seeing how simple it should be on Christmas eve (nothing needs to be this complicated or materialistic)
101. Jesus is the Reason for the Season

I love Christmas eve. I love Christmas eve even more than Christmas day. It's the specialness of the evening, the stillness of the dark, the promise of the baby born this night.

No matter where you are or who you're with, I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas eve. Remember why we celebrate Christmas.

Luke 2:1-20

The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all are having as nice a day as we are. It's been peaceful and quiet--enjoying everyone's company. Maddy is having a good time with her new toys and snuggling a lot. It's been just hanging out here--a very pleasant low key day.

We had cherry cheese crepes for breakfast and they were delicious as always. Maddy loved them too although she only wanted a little. We never really make them, not because they are hard, but because they are so rich. They are a bit time consuming, but not too bad. We are having chicken ala king tonight for dinner.

We opened gifts last night and it was fun to watch Maddy enjoy her presents and get the hang of opening her gifts! She got a bit overwhelmed and then had a hard time going to bed. Not too bad, but just overstimulated. She was fine after I rocked her for a while. She fell asleep in my arms and it's been a long time since that's happened. Normally she falls asleep on her own now without any help at all. So it was kind of sweet to rock her to sleep on Christmas eve.

Today she was quite the snugglepus as well. She's been really cozy and sucking her thumb. Her first nap was a bit short, I'm hoping she sleeps well for this one!

Ok, well, I need to go start thinking about Chicken Ala King (need to boil that chicken). And then I may even nap. We'll see! I hope all of you are having a very Merry Christmas with loved ones and enjoying the time spent. Christmas 2006 is only here once, make the most of your time with family. Because remember, the rest is just 'stuff'. (If you've been reading For Better or Worse in the paper you'd agree as well.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's grey and rainy here today--the ground is just mush and completely saturated. Maddy was fussy this morning and I'm pretty sure it's her teeth. She refused about four different foods for lunch, so that was frustrating. But she was a lot of fun after that. We played and colored (something new for her) before she decided it was a good idea to eat the crayons before I took them away from her (which made her quite mad). But she's giving hugs lately, which is really cute and just melts my heart. She loves to be chased and to chase me in return. She's been snuggling her stuffed animals a ton, too.

It surprises me how many words she understands because when I ask her where things are she goes straight to them, "Pillow, lamb, milk, cherrios, outside, cup, teddy..." And she understands basic directions like, "Come here. Don't put that in your mouth. Can mommy help?" She's growing so fast!

I've done two loads of laundry, cleaned all the bathrooms, took around the trash cans and back again. WHEW. It's fun to have a holiday but it's a pain to catch back up with all is said and done.

I received a cute present in the mail from my friend and her daughter Chloe! I got a cute stationary set and I'm not sure what Maddy received yet because I will let her open it when she is up from her nap. Thanks Joy!

Well, I have some more stuff I want to get done before Maddy is up. Adios!

Tea of the day: Two cups Ahmad English breakfast with Gingerbread creamer and splenda
WO of the day: 30 min. elliptical

I haven't really figured out all of mine yet. I do know that I want to use up my remaining stash of tea. I have made quite a dent in the tea i used to have. I had a TON of it. I had an insanely huge amount. Well, I've cut that by 75% I would say. I still think I have enough to last another 6 months at least, though. I am hoping to not buy a single ounce of tea until I have used up what I already own.

I'll figure out the rest later.

Well, we went grocery shopping today. I don't like going grocery shopping all that much although Maddy is always wonderful at the grocery store. I went to Wegmans instead of Giant today for a change in pace. Well, a change in pace and an increase in time. Wegmans always takes forever for me to get though and I don't like that part.

I don't have a whole lot to say today. I will think on my resolutions and get back to you!

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast with Gingerbread creamer and splenda
WO of the day: 30 minutes elliptical, eating was bad yesterday (I keep forgetting to post this.) since we had the left over cherry cheese crepe filling with the left over cherries last night for a snack... not exactly healthy and DEFINITELY not low fat!!

Maddy sure has been snuggly today. She's also been sucking her thumb a lot. I think she's feeling just fine but maybe a bit tired. She just seems relaxed. I took a lot of pictures today since I've been lacking lately in that department. This one and this one are two of my favorites from today.

I was able to make chicken salad while Maddy was in her high chair eating lunch. She will do anything for Goldfish crackers. I hate having her sit that long while I cook at the same time. I especially hate falling back on overly processed foods to get her to sit still for a while so I can cook. I don't like using crackers that much. They aren't natural and I try to stick with natural foods for her. (A lesson I've been lacking myself. Maybe that's another New Years resolution--less processed foods. I used to do great at that, but not lately.) But it wasn't for too long and soon enough we were out in the living room playing and having a good time.

Maddy has been coloring lately! That has been fun to watch. She likes it when we take turns coloring. Now and then she'll stick the crayon in her mouth and try to chew it, but she understands she's not supposed to, so that's good. It's fun to watch her color and see the marks on the page.

Maddy tried her first drinkable yogurt today. It's from the makes of Yobaby yogurt. I put a regular straw in the bottle and she really liked it. She drank about 1/3 before I put it back in the fridge. I don't want her getting too used to something so sweet that she passes up on her milk. I don't think that would happen, but I don't want to chance it either.

Ok, well, I have a few things I want to get done during this nap cycle! I hope you all are well.

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast with Gingerbread creamer and splenda
WO of the day: The usual, 30 minutes elliptical, situps, pushups, stretching.

The clutter in this house is driving me insane today. I don't know what it is about today, but we normally have a little bit of clutter laying around (besides baby toys) but not too bad. TODAY, it is driving me nuts. I've walked around cleaning up a room at a time, but even then I don't know where to put everything. Of course, then my brain moves into, "If I cleaned out this cabinet or that cabinet, I'd be able to put this in there. Then I'll need to call Goodwill to come get what we don't need." And before I know it I'm overhauling the entire house. I DON'T want to do that (although it does need that). Matt is breathing a sigh of relief, I can hear him. :)

I've made my list. (Uh-oh, Matt's thinking, a list? Never good.) So I have a lot I want to accomplish this weekend around here. I highly doubt it will all get done, but at least some of it can.

At last count, I have 270 teabags. That is not counting the very large canisters of loose tea I have as well. I would say I definitely have enough tea to last me all of 2007 if I drink one cup of tea a day. I may finish early if I drink more than one cup which I do on occasion. So I guess I have my work cut out for me on that resolution! No more buying tea for a year! That's ok though, since I love all the kinds I have now.

I didn't work out this nap cycle because Maddy was making a lot of noise at the beginning of it--lots of sighing and snuggling her teddy bear. There's nothing I can't stand more than being interrupted in the middle of a work out. It really sets a bad tone for the rest of the day. Plus, it doesn't allow me to get a shower. There's nothing I want more after a good work out than a shower! So I will work out her second nap.

She slept very poorly at the beginning of last night. She woke up three times between 8:30 and 11:15. Matt and I stayed up later so we didn't get woken up by it, but she finally did sleep through the night at 11:30ish. She woke up late this morning, 8:30! It was nice to sleep in that long!

Last night I had a very enjoyable time making a beaded elastic band for my 'new' Ipod (Matt's old Ipod). It took me about 25 minutes or so, but it was nice to get away into the bedroom, shut the door and focus on something for a while and just relax. It's cute, I must say. But, I'm not sure I'll be able to use it since this Ipod may have a battery issue as well. We charged it all night last night and this morning it said it was fully charged. So I'm leaving it lay unplugged today without playing music to see if it loses its battery charge. I didn't use it at all for 2 days and it was DEAD on battery. But I'm not sure I completely charged it before that. So we'll see what happens today.

Well, Maddy's up! Gotta run!

Tea of the day: Ahmad English Breakfast with pumpkin spice creamer and splenda
WO of the day: Will be 30 minutes elliptical with pushups, situps and stretching.

Well, I had to wait for Matt to get home to do my workout. I made it about five minutes before Joe started mewing the way he does when he's alone in a room. He's neurotic when we aren't in the same room with him. We need to bring him up to our room with us at night when we go to bed. If we don't, he'll sit in the living room and meow pathetically calling for us to come and get him. He knows where we are, but won't come to us. There have been times when we bring him up but he goes into the kitchen to get a snack and then sits at the stairs and mews for us. This wouldn't be such an issue if we weren't sure it would make up Maddy.

So anyway, I'm about 5 minutes into my workout when he starts doing his mewing thing. I whisper up the stairs to let him know I'm in the basement and to basically shutup. Well, about a minute later Maddy starts making noises. But I keep working out hoping she would fall back asleep. But nope, she's up! So I had to stop midworkout. I know I just talked about how much I hate that.

Fortunately, Matt being as sweet as he is was on his way home anyway since they let him out early today. He gets home while I was feeding Maddy with two surprises for me. One, my plum 650 thread count sheets for the bed came today! Second, he brought home chocolate covered potato chips for me. Oh my gosh, if you haven't had them, they are utterly amazing. Of course, they are void of all nutrients and EXTREMELY bad for you (they didn't come with a nutrition panel, but you can only imagine). So, I get done feeding Maddy while I snacked on chips. I go upstairs and change out the matress pad, sheets, blanket and put the down comforter and duvet on top. I didn't dive in (although I wanted to) since I still hadn't showered from my half work out and was planning on finishing it. But I did make the bed up with all new bedding.

I did finish my workout and I got a shower.

After that we had mushroom, garlic, spinach white pizza from Freshetta (which isn't ALL that bad for considering it's pizza). Maddy LOVES this pizza. I think she ate at least 1/4 to a 1/2 a piece on her own. Then bath and now off to bed.

FUNNY thing about the bath! Tonight I added some lavendar bath to her bath water so it creates bubble bath. She was scared of it! Hahaha... I put her in, she looked around her and jumped straight up and held on to me while she looked down at all the bubbles floating around her feet. I had to call Matt in to empty the bathtub and refill it with regular water while I held her. I have to say, I love holding a naked baby. There's something about her skin on mine that is just so sweet. And I love her little butt, too!

Ok, well, I'm off to hang out with Matt. It suffices to say that I had a VERY bad eating day today with the chocolate covered chips. I even had spaghetti o's for lunch. EAK. Talk about overly processed unhealthy food. (But, damn, they tasted good.)

Have a great weekend everyone! I look forward to crawling into my bed tonight!

Well, Maddy slept ALL night last night!! She even slept until 9:30 this morning! So did Matt and I. I couldn't believe it when I woke up and looked at the clock!! I actually slept quite poor last night. I was awake from about 1:45-3:30. Argh. I hate that. But I was able to get some extra sleep in the morning so I can't complain. As I thought, the sheets and bedding are just heavenly. It gives going to bed a whole new meaning.

I threw together a batch of banana bread first thing this morning and also ran the dishwasher. Maddy loves my banana bread although I need to avoid nuts and chocolate with her. But she loves it. She also loved the whole wheat bagel and light cream cheese this morning for breakfast as well. I think I may whip up another batch of bread since one of the two loaves are already gone and my other bananas are getting a bit over-ripe. I'll just freeze it.

Maddy and I ran to the post office today and then to Kmart. It's amazing how many nice people there are out there. So many people who are willing to hold the door, talk nice to Maddy, (the postal carrier even tried to sneak me in past noon, but I was there to use the kiosk anyway, but it was much appreciated), in general, being helpful. I think it helps that I take Maddy out when she's in such a great mood and wanting to interact with people. It's hard not to like a kid who is being nice to you.

I took Maddy to Kmart to pick out a new toy with the Gift Certificate that Aunt Sandy and Uncle Fred gave to her. She decided (with no persuasion on my part) that she wanted a Sesame Street MP123 toy. Maddy's was on sale for $10. She got the concept immediately and continued to play it as I finished shopping through the store. She danced to it in the chair and that was really cute. Everyone who wandered by us smiled or giggled at her and over half commented on how cute it was that she was dancing to the music. She LOVES to dance and LOVES music.

But back to people who are nice. Again, at Kmart I had so many sales clerks cooing over Maddy. I ran into so many customers smiling at her and letting us go first down aisles. The Kmart I sometimes shop at (I don't shop Kmart that much, I'd rather shop Target) has very tight check-outs. So tight that there is about 1 inch on either side of your cart when it goes between them. Well, without thinking, I pushed in the cart and then myself. Well, I can't reach the basket over Maddy who's sitting in the seat! So I was going to push my way out past the checkout and then back the cart back in with me by the basket. But the manager who was talking to the check out clerk wouldn't hear of it. He insisted on getting my stuff out of the basket for me while talking and playing with Maddy the whole time. Then, what I purchased was $35 (a little over) so he reached over and gave me a $5 off coupon for buying $35 or more. Then he continued to talk with Maddy while I finished checking out. It was really neat! It's fun to see people enjoy Maddy as much as I do.

When we got home we found that Matt was almost done installing the drawer and cabinet locks. That means that Maddy can now go into the kitchen once we remove the cat food and put that in the basement by their litter box. She'll be thrilled to have another room to wander through.

She went down for a late afternoon nap (given the time she got up this morning that's understandable). I need to get her up in a couple minutes, we'll all eat dinner and then head out to the grocery store. We're making shrimp and grits for New Year's Eve dinner. We don't have any big plans. I'm sure we'll be in bed by midnight. We aren't really the 'go out on New Year's Eve' type people. Never have been. We will buy a bottle of champagne and have boiled shrimp as well. Other than that, same old kind of evening! But that's never boring with Matt and Maddy around. :)

Ok, well, time to wake up that sleepy head so she feels like going to bed at a decent hour tonight! It's almost 5:15!

Well, it's official. I asked Maddy tonight, "Can I have a kiss?" And she came up to me with an open mouth and pressed her lips against mine. Matt asked her for a kiss later and she gave Matt a kiss then turned around and gave me a kiss. So yes, my daughter has won over my heart for the zillionth time since I first met her a little over a year ago. Add that on top of her newfound skill of hugging and I'm a mommy in heaven.

So we baby-proofed the kitchen tonight. We installed locks on all the cabinets and drawers that Maddy can reach. Well, Matt did it all while Maddy and I went shopping. And I should say, we TRIED to baby-proof the kitchen. As soon as we let her in she went to the drawer under the stove and started to pull that out. So now it's taped with masking tape for the moment! Ha! She always shows us exactly what we miss within seconds. She loves being able to go in and out of the kitchen. I think she went from the kitchen to the living room and back again about 30 times in two minutes just to experience it. She's loving it right now.

Well, I had to mention the kissies. Have a good night all!

As you all know, Saddam Hussein was hanged. He was a very, very bad man who did very, very bad things. I was pretty glad when they caught him in that fox hole he was hiding in. I was glad he was going through a court hearing. I was glad he was convicted. But I'm not really glad he's dead. I can't find happiness in people being killed. I'm not saying it wasn't justified. I'm not saying that he SHOULDN'T have been killed. I'm just not happy about it, that's all.

I don't understand people who stand outside of jails cheering when death-row inmates die (unless you are a loved-one of the victims. I think I can understand that). It's sad, really. It's another life gone. Another life that could have had purpose, meaning, being a meaningful part of society. It's just the culmination of the drain on society. It's not that I don't believe in the death penalty. There are instances where I believe that someone has done something SO WRONG that they deserve to die. But, does that mean I will be 'thrilled' or 'happy' when it happens? No. It just means that the person had done to them what they had coming. Really, the sadness starts when the person starts doing all those horrible things that culiminate in the death penalty sentence. It's just closing the book on a life that was bad, mean, illegal, hurtful, and wrong. It's too bad that lives come to that--being a drain on society and having done crimes against humanity. But I'll never be one to be 'happy' the person has served their (well deserved) sentence.

We've had some very pleasant weather here in Northern Virginia. It was so nice midday yesterday that Maddy didn't even need a coat to go to the store! I made sure she put a hat on, but she was warm enough in the onsie, sweatshirt, jeans, socks and shoes.

I taught Sunday School today. I really enjoy teaching. Today I taught a lesson on the New Adam and how it compares and contrasts to New Years Resolutions. I had New Years Party hats and noise makers as props. First we talked about New Years Eve. What are some of the actions and things associated with New Years. Then that lead us into resolutions and what they are. After that I went into our Old Adam and original sin. Of course, that led to Jesus' sacrifice and putting on the New Adam in thankful praise and how it is renewed and supported through the Holy Spirit. In the end we wound up drawing the New Adam and taping it to our Party Hats to remind us that we should put on the New Adam every day and that it is more important than resolutions that only happen once a year.

The roll reversal was weird this morning. I got up and got ready for 'work' and Matt fed Maddy and got stuff ready for me to go to church. It was nice to get dressed this morning. I even put on jewerly. I can't tell you the last time I did that! Maddy likes to pull at all my jewelry. Wait, yes, I can tell you the last time I wore jewelry. That was for Matt's Christmas party for work. So it's been about a month.

Happy New Year if I don't post more later! We are staying in tonight, obviously, with Maddy. But we're making Matt's mom's shrimp and grits. I am excited for them. We bought a bottle of champagne as well. I highly doubt we'll make it 'til Midnight!

Well, Maddy is up! I need to go change, eat lunch and then maybe all three of us will go for a walk! It's cool, but sunny and not windy outside!