The Boy With Three Christmases

 
 
Here are some scenes from Alec's Christmas with Dad's family in the L.A. area. When we got home, we opened some presents here (yay Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). Tomorrow we leave for Yreka so Alec can be spoiled by Grandma. I have a cold, so Grandma will be spoiling me, as well. 

Car Lag

Eight hours of driving, no nap and the next day (today) Alec is fit as a fiddle having the time of his life with his cousins. I was SO not in the mood to ride in the car yesterday, although for some reason my lifelong inability to read in the car without barfing has disappear, so I was able to sit in the back seat and enjoy a terrifying mystery novel (with kidnapped and killed babies--why must they hurt babies; these books never bothered me before!!) while Alec basked in the sweet glow of the DVD player. What did families do before DVDs in the car? Play games? Communicate? Engage in educational activities? All I know is I'd have gouged my eyes out without that blessed DVD player. It is getting a little harder, however, to put Alec off when, invariably, he asks, "Nemo Mom OK?" Um, no. Nemo's mom was eaten by a shark. In the world of Disney, Mom is never OK. Sorry.
The saddest part of leaving home was when Tom was taking Jody out the door in her carrier to board her at the vets. Alec started crying, "Jody back?"

He Found Us Out

Last night, Alec didn't want to go to sleep so I tried just leaving him in bed, like I guess a lot of parents do and how they do it on those nanny shows. A few minutes later he hadn't come out. So I was eating some M&M's and Tom was watching the Oddball segment on Keith Olbermann (which happened to feature some monkey shenanigans) when Alec came wandering out. He looked shocked and betrayed: Here's what the grownups do when he's asleep--eat M&Ms and watch monkeys on TV. He'll never sleep again.

It Was Fun Anyway

 
I've always been cooking-impaired, but I usually manage to do OK when it comes to baking. But after I messed up some cupcakes last month (too much water, I think it was) I should have steered clear from the holiday star cookie-making set--including cookie cutter--at Target, even after my coupon brought it to only $1.48.
I used an egg that expired five days ago, my rolling pin was encrusted with polymer clay from a craft project and I don't own a rolling mat thingy so I just sprinkled flour on the table (The flour-on-the table thing worried Alec a bit: "Mess? OK?" I think we're making him OCD or something.) But it was my lack of math skills that ultimately did me in on this one. I should have known better, from my vast experience with Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, but for some reason I thought two stick of butter was half a cup. Double the butter made the dough too sticky to roll, so I added flour but it still wouldn't cut, so I rolled it into balls. Then I tried to add the icing and sprinkles (Alec loved that part), but apparently that comes after the baking.
It was quite an ordeal, and the cookies weren't really edible, but Alec dug it. 

Bad Santa

 
We were the first in line for Alec's first mall Santa. But the jolly one must have been taking a nip of the Christmas cheer, because he and his grumpy "elves" were about 10 minutes late, and by then Alec had lost his excitement to "see Santa. Gick presents. Eat candy." Oh, well. Saved us $12.99, because we didn't buy their photo. This will have to suffice. 

Am I Just Being Overprotective?

 
Alec came home from drop-in day care, which he loves, with this cute work of art. The beads are already falling off. My thought is, not only are these beads a choking hazard, some of them look like candy. Not exactly the best craft project for a kid who just turned 2? Or maybe I'm just being freaky. 

Party Planning for Dorks

The company Christmas party is tomorrow night, and I was just going to find something to wear in my closet, but all the hot girlies at my office were showing off their $200 dresses, new ho shoes and freshly painted nails. So I decided to make more of an effort and hit Kohl's and Target this morning. I was trying on stuff at Kohl's when a nylon sock fell out of my shirt--must have gotten stuck in the wash. I thought this was funny, because the girls in my office don't seem to wear the same thing twice whereas I'll wear the same thing twice in one week. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find a cute non-party outfit, bought it and headed to Target. I was trying on shoes but they didn't have any of those disposable nylons but then I remembered the sock that had fallen out of my shirt back in the Kohl's dressing room. How serendipitious! I put that on and tried to walk in heels for awhile before my sensible side took over and I selected some nice flats I would actually wear more than once a year. Now I'm good to go, though dorky as ever.

States I've Been In

Besides confused, har-de-har. Jane did this on her blog so now I have to. I kinda think I went to Idaho, too, but I have to ask my mom.


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Coupla Guys

Today I scrapbooked all day and all night (well, until 11 p.m.) at a crop at the scrapbook store, with the exception of a couple of hours when I came home so Tom could watch the USC/UCLA game. Know who won? UCLA Bruins. Tom was so excited; he kept talking to the TV and Alec would ask, "Daddy OK?" And when Tom would cheer during a play, Alec would stand beside him yelling, "Go, go, go--hooray!"

Baby, It's Cold Outside

 
 
 
  

Pony Up

Here's Alec on the same horsie my baby brother used to ride, taken the day after we went to the same parade I used to go to as a child.
  

'Outside Mom'

So, the billboard is up from the Big Brothers Big Sisters Big Event, at which I was named "Big Celebrity" because I raised more dough than my big-fish, small-pond counterpart at the radio station.
Tom took Alec to see the billboard the other day and he got all excited, and then sad when they drove away. (He kept asking for me.) Later, Alec referred to the billboard as "outside Mom."
  

This Is Not A Baby; This Is A Little Boy

This picture was taken before Alec and I went to Christmas Preview downtown and he proceeded to eat three cookies and a mini candy cane and then bounce off the walls until 9:40 p.m., at which point he slumped over in my arms and fell asleep.

  

First Ocean

Alec kept saying, "Find treasure."  
 
 
  

Bloggin' from SLO

 
 
  

Knows Where His Bread Is Buttered

Today, we were at Trader Joe's ("Dad store") and I picked out a loaf of bread. We haven't bought bread in a long time, and when Alec saw it he got so excited, given what he thought was its intended purpose: "Feed ducks? Geese eat? Bread! Bread!" Poor guy.

There's A Monkey In My House

 
 
 
  

Pumpkin Love: Hug, Kiss, Lick

 
 
  

Only 5 Days Left...

 
 
... on our free Photoshop trial. And at $600, we're not going to be buying it anytime soon. 

You Break It, You Bought It

Today Alec and I were at the fabric store (I have to make a zig-zag for his shirt because Dad insists on a Charlie Brown costume for Halloween. I wanted Curious George. So we're having two costumes). I always give him merchandise to hold and play with in the store because, well, I just want to. Anyway, I gave him this squirrel figurine that I thought was made of resin or some sturdy material. Alec starts calling it "Jumpy," like the squirrel on Curious George. All of a sudden he dashes it to the floor: "Smash!" Tail off. I relate this story because my first instinct was to hide the darn thing; pretend it never happened. Then I wished he were a little older so it would be a "teachable moment" or whatever crap regarding you break it you bought it. Anyway, I told the checker we broke it and she said we could either leave it or buy it for 75 percent off, so we did the latter. It was only 24 cents and now we have our own Jumpy squirrel with a broken-off tail.

More DigiPages

 
  
These pages were made using a digital template by the talented Anna Aspnes of www.fotoscrapix.com.

All This For Me?

  

Digital Scrapbooking--Could It Be The Answer?

 
The irony: Before I had a child, I kept running out of things to scrapbook. Now that I have a child, there's little time to scrapbook. The ideas still come, but the photos pile up.
As a reward for finishing a grant writing project, I downloaded a digital scrapbook kit. We have 17 days left in our free Photoshop trial. This is going to be fun! 

Best Birthday Ever

 
 
 
 
Breakfast with Dad at Golden Waffle.
The park with Dad.
Curious George on DVD.
lunch & playtime
Mom home early from work
Nature Center (turtle, owl and "eagle" friends)
smoothie
park with Mom and Dad
"mocha" (Dutch Bros. milk)
dinner on birthday plate
cheesecake with candle
presents
playtime with Star Wars Mr. Potatoheads