Christmas Tradition

Christmas is on its way! The count down has begun, and for those of you keeping track, 8 days counting today. John and I finished our Christmas shopping for the boys on Saturday, and it was thrilling! The crowds, the jerks in the parking lot, the fist fights in the toy isle! Yes, the Christmas spirit was in full swing!
I say every year that I will shop earlier, but it always works out that I am doing the shopping the week before Christmas. Fortunately, I am a week in advance kind of girl, and not the day of kind of girl. Can't imagine the stores on Saturday the 23rd. Not my idea of a good time. However, I still need to get some grocery shopping done, or we will be eating canned corn, and rice for the next two weeks. Not my idea of a great Christmas Day meal.
I love Christmas! I love buying gifts for people and the decorations and Christmas music. I love Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Colorado Christmas. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I feel sorry for you. It's one of the best Christmas songs ever, and for a Colorado native, it's perfect!
"The closet thing to heaven on this planet anywhere, is a quiet Christmas morning, in the Colorado snow." I know all the words by heart and if asked will sing to you for fun! Maybe. My list of favorite Christmas tunes includes, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, Percy the Puny Poinsettia, and All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, by the Chipmunks, of course! The list is much more extensive, but I'll stop there.
I can remember every Christmas pulling out the Christmas records at our house. Elmo and Patsy (Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer), Ray Coniff, Kenny Rogers, The Chipmunks, Beach Boys, and others.
All of these were the sounds I grew up with each and every Christmas. I can still remember the album covers for each one! Each year when we set up the tree and put out Christmas decor, these records would spin for hours. My mom made hard candy every year, and the house would be saturated with smells of cinnamon and peppermint, and in the background was the Beach Boys singing Merry Christmas Baby.
I love the Christmas music! It reminds me of home and where I came from and each year I torture my husband and now my boys with sounds of my holidays past. One of Joey's favorites is, Run Run Rudolph by Chuck Berry. And Nick dances to all of them, especially Holly Jolly Christmas.
It's funny how things change from year to year, and each year looking back on all that has happened and how much things change, yet so much stays the same. Each year, until I die, my Christmas music will fill the house when I decorate the tree, bake cookies, and wrap presents. My boys are learning all mine and John's traditions, so it's almost as if nothing has changed. Granted, I'm the parent now, and I'm the one filling the stockings, but the feeling is still there, and I am very glad I was given wonderful little traditional gems to pass on to my kids. I may not have a ton of money or a million dollar home, but I have been left with wonderful pieces of tradition, which means no matter how old I am, or how old my boys get, they will always have a piece of me, a piece of my mom and dad, a piece of their parents, and a piece of John's mom, a piece of John's grandparents, and so on. It makes all these little instances become so important.
So tonight, I'll pull out my Christmas CD, which is every piece of my childhood music I could find on the internet, and play it again and again, until my kids remember each word and they can't wait for the next year to come when mom pulls out the CD again to start the tradition all over again.

Mom Extraordinaire has a Co-worker in Life

I have been busy lately and haven't had much time to actually quiet my mind and body long enough to come up with a random thought or two. So here it goes....
John has been sick the past week and I have had the pleasure of being a single parent. My heart goes out to the single parents out there, the second you have more kids than you do parents, life becomes more complicated. He spent most of his time the past week at work, on the couch, or in bed. I am sure there was a day or two that I or the kids didn't see him awake and conscience.
My days as a single mom started out the same way, getting up too early, getting two kids ready, and out the door to our respective places. However, it was the evenings that killed me. Leave work, pick-up two kids, get home with two whiny kids in tow, try to occupy them with a snack or some horribly annoying toy, while I manage to make dinner.
This is not an easy task. As you start to make dinner, both children whine uncontrollably, because they are starving. If they are not starving, they are just tired, and want all of your attention. So despite burning chicken, just a little, I managed to stumble thru.
Joey normally has a small attitude problem and usually keeps it in check when dad is present, however, when dad is M-I-A, Joey's control of his mouth, attitude, and general disapproval of everything I say, goes into high gear. Nick, of course, feeds off of his brother's need to push his limits, so not only do I have my hands full with Joey, I have Nick following along at top speed.
From feeding to bathing, to homework, to playtime, and bedtime. I was a woman on a mission. Keeping things in line with the kids, then on the other hand having laundry, dishes, and general clean up in constant mid-process. Talk about multi-tasking. While the kids were in the tub, I emptied the dishwasher, ran a load of laundry, and managed to wash their hair, and make Joey brush his teeth, all in a 15 minute span of time.
I have been tired before, but this week felt like each ounce of energy was squeezed dry, and I still had to keep going. It's my job. Mom extraordinaire right?
After what seemed like a week straight in bed, John actually was functioning enough last night to have dinner with us, and help out with the boys. Not only was I glad he felt better, but I was ecstatic to have even a smidgen of help.
I have been known to complain about my job as mom and the lack of help I get, but God has a strange way of letting you know what you really have. Without John, I would be a complete and utter mess. Not only is he my rock, my support, my husband, he's a great dad, and a good man. Even though he doesn't do things to my high standards, and I complain about his lack of attention to detail, he's still there for me, and the boys. Nothing made that more clear than the days I had to make it on my own.
Blessings come along in such strange ways. I got the message God, loud and clear. Thanks for sending me my co-worker in life, John.

Common Sense: Don't Sharpen Your Finger

The curiosity kids have is amazing. It is also funny.
It's almost like kids have to learn common sense, it's not something they are born with. Curiosity on what might happen dominates the common sense factor.
For example, Joey is an artist. He colors on every piece of paper he can find. Whether it is notebook paper, construction paper, blank paper, or sticky notes, he will color on it. He loves pencils, pens, markers, crayons, paint, and anything that will make a mark on paper.
Joey has several boxes of pencils. Pencils in every pencil holder, cup, zipper bag, crayon holder, everywhere, is a Joey pencil. Superman, Halloween, Easter, and plain old No. 2 pencils. If it can be sharpened, he has it.
Last night, after he sharpened his pencil to do his homework, he found it necessary to sharpen the other 45 that were unsharpened in his box downstairs. Of course this was all an effort to not have to clean up the mess he had made the day before with all the toys.
After what seemed like 100 reminders of what he supposed to be doing, not coloring, but picking up, he comes over to dad, saying he is bleeding. The way he approached dad made you think it was serious. I'm bleeding, I'm cut, on and on. Of course, to our amazement, he has hardly a nick on him and presses us for a band aid. To no avail do we give him a band aid, so he wraps his tiny finger with a tissue. Of course, he can't possibly pick up all the toys with one hand. His finger hurts and he can't use it.
What did you do to your finger Joey? Paper cut, did you poke it with the pencil, what did you do?
"I tried to sharpen my nail with my pencil sharpener." Yes, that's right, my 4 year old tried to sharpen his finger with his pencil sharpener. Now common sense should have said, don't do it, it's a SHARPENER, but the curiosity of turning his finger nail into a pencil point shape was too overwhelming.
Still wounded, still whining, still holding the massive kleenex on a gaping wound no bigger than an eyelash, he managed to get over it and pick up the toys with one hand. This morning, as we are getting ready, he kept pointing out that his finger was hurt. "I shouldn't put my finger in the pencil sharpener." Joey said, while he delicately held his mortal wound to his chest.
Good idea! Common sense here we come! Joey has many "what were you thinking" moments, and I am sure we will see many more, I just hope the little common sense lessons he learns while sharpening his fingers or putting snow melt rock salt in his mouth, stick with him!

Work-day Blues

I am sitting at work today, trying desperately to be a productive member of the corporate domicile I work in, but I am finding it difficult to maintain a constant level of productivity. My mind is elsewhere. Plus, it has been so quiet in here all week, it makes it a perfect environment to nap. To top it off the weather is cold and snow packed, so staying home is much more appealing than working.
One of my co-workers has been out two days due to illness, so without her here, I have less email and I don't have anyone looking over my shoulder. Making it even less likely that I will be working to 100% of my normal capacity. Another co-worker of mine has been trading secrets with me, on how to close your eyes and type at the same time. I will probably try that after lunch.
Holiday's do two things....make you eat more, and make you wish you could be at home the months of November, December, and January. I am not sure if an entire country-wide shut down of all business for 3 months will be economically beneficial, so I guess we need to suck it up. I have noticed a lot of people not here lately, I think that since you have to use your sick time by the end of the year or you lose it, makes many people call in "SICK". Cough, Cough. I still have one and half days of sick time. I am thinking I need to call in and soon!
Maybe it's the tryptophan from the turkey I ate last week. How long does that stuff stay in your system? 30 days? It's making me tired and lazy. Next year, I may have to cook chicken instead of turkey. Maybe I should drink more coffee. Double shot in my Starbucks...maybe that'll kick me into high gear. Maybe I could try eating more spicy food, then I would being going to the bathroom a lot, but at least I'd be up and moving, people would think I am busy.
So I have found no cure for the common work-day dreariness. I could ask for a new project? Ok, ok, I know that was funny, but it would break the monotony of this ever-so-stimulating office I inhabit. What are those energy drinks called? Mega shake, Monster, Red Bull, Caffeine Express, Jittery Nerve Drink.....not sure, maybe I should invest in a case of that stuff. Then again, I don't want to look like I am overly excited to be here. That may land me getting added to some horrible committee that strings Christmas lights around the building, or makes cookies for African children, or collects toilet paper for needy hunters.
Tomorrow, I will try taking a vitamin. Maybe that'll work, if not, I'll try Starbucks again.