Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Matt and I don’t see movies in the theater.  Before kids we made it to a movie about once a year, twice if it was an exceptionally good year for new releases.  Since Little was born, I think we’ve been to a theater once, to see the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  We’re Netflix subscribers so we see plenty of movies, just a few months (or more) after most people. [as an aside, I really like the Netflix service; if we weren't members, we'd never see movies!]

Last night we decided to watch a movie after the kiddos went to bed.  Our movie-on-hand was Juno.  We’d seen the previews and heard good things about it, but I wasn’t really prepared for how much I would like this movie.  Granted, there are many things in the movie that I don’t condone – teenage pregnancy, divorce, bad language – but I laughed so hard that Matt was laughing at me. I have a bit of an odd sense of humor, and Juno is one of those quirky comedies that fit it perfectly (like The Princess Bride, Monty Python, Rushmore, for other examples).

In fact, I liked it so much that I considered watching it again today before I sent it back to Netflix.  I think I might have to add it to our DVD collection.

I’ve been intending to blog everyday this week, but I keep getting sucked into this crazy video game.  I actually have things I want to write about and everything.  Maybe I can evade the siren song tomorrow during naptime.  Stay tuned…

I’ve had this cute little “Babywearing Bloggers” button in my sidebar since before Boo arrived.  Now that he’s four weeks old (really? already? wow!) and I’ve worn him on several occasions, I feel like I’m officially part of the babywearing community.

On the recommendation of Lu, I decided to start my babywearing career with a Sleepy Wrap.  I’m so glad I chose this carrier; we both love it!  I pop Boo into it and he is usually off to sleep in no time riding along all snug and cozy against my chest where he can hear my heartbeat.  It is so nice to have him close and not to carry the huge (and heavy) infant seat everywhere we go.  I’ve worn him at the mall, at the park, in church, out to dinner, at the bookstore, and playing outside.

I am officially a babywearing Momma and loving every minute of it!

Yesterday Matt and I received a new toy. 

For the last year or so we’ve been using an Apple laptop that Matt brought home from work.  This arrangement has worked well, but now Matt needs the laptop back at the office.  This left us with a dilemma – either buy our own laptop or go without.  Now I do realize that it is a luxury to even have this dilemma; we have a nice Apple desktop, so we wouldn’t be without a computer.  However, Matt is an IT guy, we’ve had 2 computers for several years, and we are often using both at the same time.  It is also very nice to be able to sit on the couch and use the computer!

A few weeks ago we received a refund that has been owed us since last July and decided that since those funds had been out of pocket for several months already, we would use them to fund our laptop.  After much research and deliberation, Matt decided on the one he wanted and placed the order. 

I was a bit disappointed that it isn’t an Apple, but I’ll survive.  And here I sit (on the couch) typing happily on our nice new laptop and trying to remember how things work in Windows OS. 

At the beginning of last week they were predicting a “substantial” snowfall in our part of Tennessee for Friday. Now, we don’t get snow often, so when we hear this prediction, at least once a winter, we usually go on about our business and expect rain. But this time, as we neared the end of the week it looked as if the moisture and cold air would indeed be here at the same time and that we might get some of the white stuff.

Friday, the city was in panic mode – schools were closing early, streets were being salted, people were packing the grocery stores – before a single flake had been spotted. Oh yes, these are the ways of Southerners when threatened with winter weather; even if the prediction is only for a 1/2 inch this is how we react, but now they were saying we could get 4-6 inches.

About 1:00 Friday afternoon the snow began to fall. This wasn’t our usual half rain/half snow slushy accumulation type of winter weather, this was full-blown all-white, all-the-time snow. It snowed consistently for about 10 hours, and we woke up Saturday morning with approximately 4 inches of snow.

This was the scene in our backyard….

Later in the morning we took Little out to play in it. She was not overly impressed and even seemed a bit frightened at times; I guess that is only to be expected, though, since this was really her first experience with snow. She did walk into it when coerced, but for the most part she preferred to stay on the patio, driveway, and sidewalks where most of it had already melted. Her biggest concern was that the snow was getting on our shoes; she would point at her shoes (or mine or Matt’s) and say “shoes” with a very worried expression on her face and tone in her voice. It was like she thought the snow was eating our feet or something.

Here’s a picture of her “playing in the snow”…

(Please disregard the fact that she isn’t wearing mittens or a hat. I tried, but she kept taking the mittens off and her hood kept falling off her head. We weren’t out that long, and she never actually touched the stuff, so no fingers or ears were lost in the making of this post.)

I enjoy watching it fall and seeing it lay prettily on the ground, but I think Matt enjoyed it most of all. He was able to make snowballs (which Little thought were pretty funny), and even had plenty of snow to build a small snowman.

And today, the temps are in the mid-60s, and that is more than fine with this Southern girl. A bit of snow is fun every now and then, but now that I’ve seen some this year I’m ready to move on. Bring on Spring!

This weekend a group of 13 ladies (including me) were able to get away from everyday life and take a little retreat. It was a weekend filled with girlie activities, girlie food, girlie conversation, and staying up way past my bedtime.

We were fortunate enough to be able to stay in a lake house owned by the parents of one of the ladies. I wish I had pictures to share of this beautiful house, because my words will not do it justice. You entered into the main level of the house which included a living room, dining room, kitchen, and powder room. The floor throughout the area was gorgeous tile, a huge gas fireplace with stone hearth and chimney anchored the living area, and the kitchen was filled with granite, tile, and stainless. Upstairs to the right were 2 bedrooms and a full bath; upstairs to the left was a “grandkids bunkroom” with 4 sets of bunkbeds, a full bath, bookshelves, toy boxes, a game closet with about 150 board games, and lots of room to play. The downstairs (3 stories total) had a nice big television viewing area, a pool table, an air hockey table, and a theater room with a 400 disc DVD changer. Other amenities included beautiful views from the back deck, a hot tub, and lake access (though it was a bit chilly to be on the water this weekend). And one of the neatest things about the house was the scripture used throughout the decor; there were scripture tiles in the floor inside the front and back doors, scripture in the wall decorations, and scripture on knick-knacks all over the house. It was truly an amazing house and such a blessing that we were able to stay there.

We spent the weekend watching movies, gabbing as only a group of ladies can, and eating delicious food. On Saturday my friend Lindsey set up a “salon” area downstairs and did haircuts for several of us and practiced wedding hair with our soon-to-be-bride. A group of us stayed down there pretty much all day watching TLC (What Not to Wear and Miss America Reality Check), watching others get their hair done, and making bead crafts (the lady of the house makes bead jewelry and has a bead collection so big it overwhelmed me just to look at the boxes); others stayed upstairs and worked on scrapbooking; and still others just enjoyed good company. That evening about 10 of us piled into the theater room to watch the Miss America Pageant on the projection t.v. It was such fun to watch the pageant with other women – we talked about the contestants, we critiqued, and we laughed hysterically at the lipstick all over Miss America’s face when she was crowned.

It was so wonderful to have a weekend like this where we had no agenda, no plan, and no commitments. We were free to spend time together, spend time alone, and spend time with God. I am grateful to Matt that he was willing to stay home alone with Little and allow me to go. It was refreshing and relaxing; and even though I came back tired from the late nights, there is a feeling you have after a time like this that transcends the tiredness.

Sometimes it is good to have a break. And as Lindsey told her husband, “it was so girlie it would have made you gag.”

I’m not sure it is accurate to refer to it as a party when only two people were involved, but we did get our Christmas tree up and decorated on Saturday. Friday night Matt, Little, and I ventured into the wilds of Target and purchased a new tree (yay! I wasn’t expecting a new tree this year). On Saturday, after I returned from my cookie swap and Little went down for a nap, Matt retrieved the Christmas decor boxes from the attic and we set to work.

Now, I don’t know about you, but for me the actual trimming of the tree is not my favorite part of the holiday season. For some reason it stresses me out a bit – all of that branch fluffing, and stand leveling, and ornament placement – I love to look at the tree once it is decorated, but actually getting to that point, not my cup of tea. Those couple of hours each year are not the “hap-happiest season of all” in these parts, but we survive and move on.

The best thing about decorating the tree and mantle this year was seeing Little’s reaction when she woke from her nap; she looked at the tree and stockings in wonder and amazement. We spent most of the remainder of the day telling her to “look don’t touch” the tree, but watching her discover this new thing and be amazed by the lights and “bah”s (anything round enough to resemble a ball) was just one more neat step in this parenting journey.

It feels like Christmas around here now. Just don’t tell the weather, I enjoying the warmer days.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend time with three of my girlfriends. Time with friends is one of the good things in life.

Little and I started the day with a trip to the mall and a play-date with Lindsey and her son and Michelle and her daughters. It was fun to sit and chat while the children played on the playground. Lindsey and Michelle were meeting for the first time, but we were all able to talk easily and had a good time.

Lindsey and I then continued our talk as we did some walking in the mall.
Exercising is much more enjoyable when you have a friend along for company and distraction!

After Little and I came home she went down for a nap and my friend Diane stopped by to visit for a while. We enjoyed coffee and conversation while the house was quiet. It was so nice to have a couple of hours to spend together without the children underfoot. We had a chance to talk over and through many things we’ve had on our minds, to laugh together, and to encourage each other.

Friendship is definitely a blessing, and I was blessed yesterday by the time I spent with each of these ladies.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are happily gearing up for Christmas.

Christmas is my favorite holiday. I’m not sure exactly why it ranks above Thanksgiving or Easter or even Fourth of July, but I’ve always loved the Christmas season. There is something about the lights and the decorations, the wrapped packages and spirit of giving, the music and the traditions that make me smile.

Matt and I try not to get mired in the stress that the season can bring, and we try to stay focused on the real reason for Christmas instead of focusing on the consumerism that society fosters. Now that Little is getting old enough to participate (although still very limited participation) it is time to begin creating family traditions that she will carry through life just as we carry those of our families. What exactly will this entail? I’m not sure yet.

We started with a decision to stay home this year for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (we’ve traveled to family every Christmas since Matt and I began dating); we will miss celebrating with our extended family, but this is what we want for the future of our family (and what better time to start than the present?). We will attend a Christmas Eve worship service either at our church or another church in our area. We will try to begin instilling in her from an early age an appreciation that Christmas is a season set aside to reflect on the birth of Jesus and what that means to us as individuals, family, and beyond. We will decorate our Christmas tree and our home. We (or at least Momma) will bake goodies for us to enjoy and to share with our friends and neighbors. We will attend and host Christmas parties. We will give and receive gifts. We will incorporate traditions from my childhood and from Matt’s childhood with new ideas and activities to create a Christmastime that is specific to our family.

This is a new phase we are entering into with the holidays, and it will be fun to see how our ideas, activities, and traditions unfold through the years to come. Now we’ve just gotta get the tree up so the season can truly begin!

I would love to hear some of the special Christmas traditions that your family has created if you would like to share in the comments.

I haven’t written about baseball this season even though we are huge fans of the game. However, a trip to the World Series for our favorite team warrants a few words.

On Sunday night, the Boston Red Sox completed a come back from a 3 games to 1 game deficit in the American League Championship Series to defeat the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 and win the AL penant and a trip to the World Series.

In celebration of their win, Jonathon Papelbon, the Sox closing pitcher, danced for the fans. This video isn’t great quality, but it is still pretty funny to see a baseball player dancing Riverdance.

The World Series begins Wednesday night featuring the Boston Red Sox versus the Colorado Rockies, and you better believe that we’ll be watching. Go Sox Go!!