December Photo Project: Day Twenty-five

I just watched my mom pull out of the driveway and head home and commented to Mondo that this has been a really great two days. We had such a good time in Muleshoe last night with his family, playing cards, unwrapping presents, eating and laughing. Then today it was a three part wave of gift opening, more food, a visit to the movies and then dinner over here. The family, the fun, the memories have all been things that make me warm and fuzzy inside. I'm sad to know that it's over for another year and almost can't wait to see what next year brings. Having Christmas with a child brings a whole new element to the holidays and each year, seeing Matthew understand things more, makes it more memorable and more fun for us as well.
Gift giving was done in waves because of the huge amount of presents Matthew had to unwrap. After opening three or four, he stopped to play with the Imagitex jungle he got. We had to explore all the animals, various levels of jungle and buttons and put all the spiders, snakes and the parrot in their appropriate places. When he was done exploring that it was time to move on to the wireless computer system he got. That sounds fancier than it really is -- it's a Leap Frog learning system that has a wireless keyboard and mouse that work with a console that plug into the TV. The game cartridges teaching letter recognition, number recognition, shapes and patterns, most of which he can do without too much trouble, but it's all done using a computer keyboard so he also learns how to use a mouse and a keyboard. He navigated his way around things without too much trouble and quickly found his favorite games, which occupied the better part of his day.

Part two of the gift giving took place at my mom's right before lunch and also involved play time with the new treasures. After opening each present, he investigated what it was, opened it and played with it when necessary and then was ready for the next gift. We also are blessed with a child who seems to understand that he is lucky and thankful for what he has because he stopped several times today and offered a heartfelt thank you to us and to my mom for the gifts.

Tonight saw round three of the gift giving and this round brought about the gifts that will stretch his imagination and exploration. Mondo and I got him a doctor's kit and a fireman's kit, both of which contain all the necessary goods to make work easier -- a stethascope, thermometer, blood pressure cuff...fireman's helmet, axe, fire extinguisher, all of which come in handy and work extremely well with the fire truck Santa brought.

I don't know where we're going to store all the goods Matthew got this year, but it has been so much fun watching him play with everything. Blessings, blessings, blessings.

December Photo Project: Day Twenty-four

The weather reports said we had a 60% chance of snow yesterday and just when it seemed like we were going to miss out, the rain turned to sleet and the sleet turned to snow. It's not much, only about an inch, but it has blown and blown and blown all night and made some pretty significant snow drifts in places. This morning Matthew and I headed out to get goodies for Santa and when I opened the front door and saw a snow drift as big as my child I decided an alternate route needed to be sought out. After we returned and got the baking out of the way, Matthew and I headed out to play in the drifts. Matthew started out very tentative, not really wanting to do much, but the more we played the more adventurous he became. I'm really enjoying my Christmas break with him this year, lots of memories and good times being had by both of us. Merry Christmas!

December Photo Project: Day Twenty-three

I watched Challenge on the Food Network last night and they were making gingerbread houses. Contestants were all ages and the gingerbread houses took all sorts of shapes and forms. I watched, impressed that even young children could fashion such masterpieces out of things edible. Today Matthew and I tried our hand at a gingerbread house and for the first attempt I'd say it wasn't bad. We're a long way off from even considering entering the Food Network's next competition, but it was still fun putting it all together. I don't know what we're supposed to do with it now that it's finished, but it was fun putting it up anyway.

December Photo Project: Day Twenty-one and Twenty-two

Inspiration has taken a back seat and my excuse is that the last two days of my vacation have been spent working my tail off. Yesterday morning I began cleaning the walls and base boards of the kitchen, a job long over due and quite disgusting. I was then offered a much needed break to go and look at beds for Matthew. My mom, Matthew and I all headed over to Portales where we found a bed and found that my car was too small to transport it back to town. I then drove Mom and Matthew back to town, traded vehicles and went back to Portales. By the time I got home and did some more housework, the day was shot and pictures weren't. Yesterday's picture is a couple of days old and is all about Mother Nature. The first picture is of Matthew playing outside in the 60 degree weather. We started out playing golf and then moved to a game of baseball, except the bat was his putter and the baseball was one of the golf balls. I love baseball no matter how we decide to make it happen. The other picture is of a flock of geese that make their way over our house every evening around 4 p.m. I love to see them and hear them as they go off to parts unknown.

Today has been somewhat of a repeat of yesterday. I took Matthew to school and ran a few errands this morning and then fought with the bed frame and tried to set up Matthew's new bed. When this failed I began working on my dossier, which was also a failure for most of the day. My picture from today is of Nero, our husky-mix dog, who got to pay the vet a visit this morning. His nose has been peeling for months now and I kept thinking and hoping it was going to get better. When I bonked him on the nose the other day on accident and it started bleeding I decided it wasn't getting any better and it was time to see the vet. She said he has some sort of auto immune disorder and sent me home with $80 worth of medicine for him. I may be playing the fool here, but I hate to think that Nero is suffering, his nose looks really painful. I have to give him these pills 3 times a day and I think he'd be just as happy eating them with his meals, but I spruced up the first batch with some peanut butter. He was thrilled to have the treat and to choke down three pills.

December Photo Project: Day Twenty

I can't believe there are only 5 more days until Christmas, where has the time gone?! This holiday season, and every holiday season for at least the past 16 years, I am thankful for family. Christmas Day 1992 my sister and I flew to England to be with my Dad who was very sick. Three weeks later we lost him and the holidays have been tough ever since, especially for my mother. I am blessed to have a Mom who is always there for me and who is supportive. She is always there when I need her and is always eager to have Matthew. Last night she sat with Matthew while Mondo and I went to his Christmas party. When we got home the two of them were snuggled in watching a movie and soon after our return, they enjoyed some books together. My mom is an avid reader and I hope that's something Matthew picks up from his "Baba" because Mondo and I aren't readers.

I am also thankful for my sister, who always keeps us guessing about where she's going and what she's doing. Secretly there's a part of me that would like to be the adventurer like she is. I am thankful for my loving and supportive husband. I don't know how he puts up with me some days, but I love him more now than I did when we met. He's amazing, strong and so fabulous to watch with Matthew. I love sneaking moments when he doesn't know I'm watching and seeing him and Matthew interacting together.

And finally, there aren't enough words to express my love and feelings for the amazing miracle that blessed us nearly four years ago. Matthew is everything I hoped for and more of what I didn't know I wanted or needed. His amazing smile, wonderful personality, keen sense of humor and pleasant demeanor make him the bundle that I call son, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

I am thankful for what I have and miss what I have lost. Merry Christmas to friends and family near and far. I love you and I'm glad to have you in my life.

December Photo Project: Day Nineteen

We spent part of our Friday night going to the annual Christmas light/nativity scene at the zoo. Last year was the first year we went and we really enjoyed it. This year they added to it and allowed viewing at more of the exhibits. It's kind of hard to see the animals in the dark, but there is enough light to see them moving about in their cages. It's actually fun to go at night and see the animals because they are more active. The event is free and they offer hot chocolate to everyone, which makes it even better. After we were done we headed out and looked at Christmas lights. It was so much fun to have Christmas music playing in the car and to drive around with the ones I love looking at the lights. What made it even more fun was the excitement Matthew had for every house he saw decorated with lights. At one point I was driving and the little voice in the back said, "slow down, you're driving too fast." So followed orders and slowed down so he could see the lights. Then he said, "when I tell you to stop, you stop." Of course we had to stop outside the next two houses and analyze everything they had in their front yards, but it was entertaining to hear Matthew and my mom point things out, so it was worth it. Christmas is so much this year because Matthew gets it!

December Photo Project: Day Eighteen

Today was Matthew's Christmas party and I was lucky enough to get off of work early enough to attend the festivities. The kids had a gift exchange, well really a gifting to the classroom and then sat down to enjoy WAY too much sugar. After the kids were sufficiently stuffed they began making their way in my direction and asking me to read the books they received from one of their teachers. Before I knew it I was swarmed by three and four year olds coated in cookie, candy and chip residue. Within about 30 minutes of all of this I was ready to go, but couldn't convince Matthew. Finally, an hour later he was ready to go. Now I'm happy to be home, but ready for a nap!

December Photo Project: Day Seventeen

It would seem that my DPP pictures run in themes. First I did the two part series on icicles, now I'm working on sleep. Yesterday's photo showed Mondo trying to enjoy a nap on the couch, but the three year old in the house doing everything he could to make sure Dad didn't sleep. Today's picture shows the three year old asleep in the chair thanks to Dad (see how it comes full circle).

When I got up this morning I made my way through the living room and saw the quilt in the chair and began wondering when Mondo had gotten up in the night and why because the quilt wasn't in the chair when we went to bed. As I reached for the light I realized that there was a person under the quilt and after my initial shock, realized it was Matthew. I sat and enjoyed my ritualistic cup of tea and Good Morning America and Matthew never stirred. Okay, he stirred once, but only to reposition himself into a comfier position. During the first part of the stir he put his hand under his chin and reminded me of Mondo, that's how he sleeps. Then Matthew slung his hand over his head and there was me, that's how I sleep. He looked so cute I couldn't help but take a picture.

Even with the TV going, dryer on, computer starting up and mom flashing pictures in front of him he stayed asleep. When I woke him up and asked how he had gotten into the living room he explained that Dad had taken him in there because he was scared of the monsters in his room. Those darn monsters have been disturbing sleep for all of the Del Toro's for about a week. It's time for some monster busting so everyone can enjoy a full night's sleep.

December Photo Project: Day Sixteen

December Photo Project: Day Fifteen

Sunrise this morning from our office window.

December Photo Project: Day Fourteen

I am on the ball this morning. I'll probably be late to work, but it's worth it to know I have posted my DPP picture before the day is done! Last night Matthew took his first candy off the advent calendar that my sister and I used to use. My grandma made it and has been around for as long as I can remember. It was always a treat, literally, to be able to pick a candy of the calendar as we eagerly counted down to Christmas. Of course my favorite advent day was Christmas Eve because my mom always put a small package on the calendar for me and my sister and I was excited because we got to open something. I'm surprised my mom cut loose with the calendar, but thrilled to have it in the house and to pass on the tradition to Matthew. Now to find something for the 24!

December Photo Project: Day Thirteen

Matthew officially decided he was a big boy yesterday afternoon and threw his "higher" (pacifier) in the trash. He told us that he wanted to be a grown up and that he didn't need his higher anymore. We have been trying to get him to give this up for months and months, Mondo trying harder than me, with no luck. Then all of a sudden, out of the blue Matthew makes the decision and throws not one, but two of them in the trash. He went to bed without one and I convinced him that he was a big boy and didn't need one at nap time today. To celebrate this milestone Dad said he could get a toy while we were at Walmart. I'm not thrilled with the decision, but it's what he really wanted -- a giant machine gun complete with lights and sounds. The gun is almost as big as he is, but he goes and finds it every time we go to Walmart. He also explained that he wanted to be a grown up and pay for it, so I handed him the debit card and he made the transaction. My baby isn't a baby anymore and I'm having a tough time coming to terms with all this growing up in such a short amount of time!

December Photo Project: Day Twelve

Matthew woke up sick yesterday and has done a whole lot of nothing the last 24 hours. His day has basically centered around juice and cartoons. He doesn't have much of an appetite and doesn't seem too interested in getting dressed and doing anything. I guess boredom caught up with him after nap time today, though because I caught him sprawled out in the chair, watching cartoons and casting and reeling in his practice lure.

December Photo Project: Day Eleven

Today's picture is not the most exiciting picture I've ever taken, but it pretty well explains my life right now. The state of New Mexico requires teachers to submit a professional dossier before the completion of their fifth year of teaching. Basically it's a VERY detailed and lengthy paper on your teaching practices and it includes references and work samples. There are three sections, each requiring different information, different work from students, work with colleagues, blah, blah, blah. I have been working on this since September and at any given point since then it can look like a trash can threw up in our office. Papers, documents, resources are all strewn about in an effort to get to the finish line. While there is no set deadline, I have a self imposed deadline of Christmas, so I have taken a couple of days off of work this week to try and make the mad dash to the end. The end is in sight, but it still isn't complete. Today's effort was a little lacluster, but I have officially finished the first section and made the corrections. The next two sections should be easier to finish and my Christmas vacation should be dossier free. Now if you'll just send good vibes my way and pray that state says the ENTIRE dossier meets expectations so I don't have to redo anything.

December Photo Project: Day Nine and Ten

Okay, I missed yesterday, but I have a good excuse. I am taking a master's class so the district will let me keep my job. :-) Our school district has made it mandatory that everyone have a master's degree within five years or something along those lines. So I had class last night and no opportunity to take or post a picture. So the first picture is of Matthew writing his first Christmas letter to Santa. It's an old photo, but still cute, I think. I also like how we arrived at the photo.

One night recently Matthew said to me, "Mom, I can ask you a question?"

I wasn't sure where we were headed and just assumed he was going to ask for something to eat, but this is what came next: "Santa is coming to town?"

So our conversation centered around Santa and how he was going to get in to deliver the presents. I then asked if he wanted to write a letter to Santa so that he knew what to deliver. Thus our very first Dear Santa letter. For the record, Matthew has asked for a red firetruck for himself, a yellow firetruck for Mom and a jungle for Dad. I have it on good authority that all of that is going to happen. ;-)

The photo for today is of the ice on the window of the car this morning. The afternoons are shaping up to be quite decent, but the mornings are frigid. Yesterday we were in single digits, negative 1 with the wind chill. It was slightly more respectable today with a balmy 19 when I left for school this morning. I wish the picture was better, and like to think it would be if I shot it with my 35mm, but it's the best I could get with my digital.

December Photo Project: Day Eight

The sun is out right now for the first time in days. I think this may be a weather tease because rumor has it that a storm is going to hit tomorrow which is going to make the bottom fall out of the thermometer again and perhaps leave some snow. I don't know if it's true, but I am glad to finally see the sun and temperatures above 30, even if it means the wind is going to blow 90 mph today. Here are some pictures from this morning, before the sun made its appearance.

December Photo Project: Day Seven

Once again I found myself with a cool photo opportunity and no camera, and once again it involved birds. I'm starting to smell conspiracy! We had an assembly at school today that was the coolest thing ever. Usually I find assemblies to be a waste of time and they're pretty lame generally. When I heard that we had one today from the Fraternal Order of Eagles I couldn't imagine that it would be anything worth getting out of class for. I WAS WRONG!

This group was from Georgia and is part of SOAR - Save Our American Raptors. They brought a variety of different raptors, owls, hawks, eagles, falcon and a turkey vulture. Not only did we get to see them up close and learn all about them, they flew a couple of them right over our heads. I mean like within inches of your head! It was so cool!!

Okay, but that's not my photo, just thinking about how nice it would have been to talk about it and have a photo, but no camera. We did have a camera for our visit with Santa, though, and that is today's DPP entry. Matthew got to visit with Santa and let him know that he wants a red firetruck for Christmas. While we waited for the photographer lady to get the camera ready Matthew and Santa also talked about other things including the Texas Tech Red Raiders, which is when we were able to capture Santa and Matthew Gettin' Their Guns Up! Apparently Santa is a Tech fan too.

December Photo Project: Day Six

Last night we kept with our annual holiday tradition and camped out in my mom's shop window and watched the Christmas Light Parade. It becomes more fun each year because Matthew gets it and he enjoys it, which makes it more enjoyable for me too. Last night's parade was scheduled to start at six and I would have just made it in time after our trip to Lubbock, but I got a call when I was about 10 minutes outside of town informing me that the parade had already started. I didn't get to see much of it, it was about half way through when I got to town, but it was still nice to see and fun to hear Matthew's reactions. Christmas really is more fun with a little one in the house.

December Photo Project: Day Five

Today has been one of those days that has been spent mostly in fits of laughter as I enjoyed a shopping trip to Lubbock with a couple of friends. There probably should be some sort of law about the three of us getting together, but sadly no one has made or enforced such a law yet. And sadly, Lubbock probably paid the price!!

Our trip started with a trip to University Medical Center and with three Master's Degree having women getting lost at said hospital. We went to visit a friend who recently had a baby who was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit, more on that in a minute. We walked into the hospital, which at that point was more like a ghost town. The only people we saw were the people who walked in ahead of us and then for the next 10 minutes we walked around with not a clue about where we were, where we were going or how to get there. At one point I even said we should have left a trail of bread crumbs because I wasn't so sure we were going to make it back to the car. Not only did we find the car, but we were able to get a hold of Stephanie who directed us to the correct entrance and then walked us to the NICU.

This was my first trip to a neonatal intensive care unit and in all honesty it's a trip I could have gone my whole life without making and been just fine! Stephanie had her baby on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week and soon learned that Zachary has Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex, a disorder that causes blisters to form on his skin if anything rubs on it. We stopped by the hospital to see mamma and baby Zachary and getting in was also an experience unlike any I've ever had. Stephanie literally had to teach me how to wash my hands before going in to see him. We stood and washed our hands for 3 minutes and if you don't think that's a big deal, stand at your bathroom sink and scrub for 3 minutes and see how you feel. After scrubbing and scrubbing I was sure we must be about done and when I looked at the timer on the sink it flashed in red numbers: 42 seconds! Seriously?! I've only been doing this for 42 seconds?!! I won't have to wash my hands for a week now because they are so clean.

When we walked in the babies were in their incubators and I tried not to gawk, but this was all so new to me it was hard not to. There were some teeny tiny babies in there and I just wanted to hold and love on all of them. After rounding a couple of corners we got to Zachary's little nook and I watched as Mom talked and cleaned and loved on him. He's such a sweet little boy with gorgeous eyes and I'm sorry he's going through this, but he seemed to be taking everything in stride. He was warm and dry and Mom was about to feed him, just what every baby needs. So today's picture is of Zachary -- the little trooper of the day. Stay strong Stephanie and you keep being cute and cuddly Zachary, it was nice to meet you!

December Photo Project: Day Four

I've been looking at other blog sites that are participating in the December Photo Project and I have to say that I'm really impressed by the talent people have. It was nice to see the variety of pictures and the creativity. I also think that this project may have given me the opportunity or the excuse to get out and work on some more creative photos, something I really haven't done in a while. During my newspaper days creative photography was something I did on a regular basis, but since I left that world I haven't done much. Most of my photography these days centers around my favorite subject, Matthew. The other thing I've relized in the four days since the DPP started, is that I have to carry my camera around with me so I don't miss those impromptu photo opportunities, which is what happened tonight when I picked Matthew up from school. There were about a bazillion birds circling, dancing and diving south of his school and I loved how they all looked, but had no camera with me. So note to self, put the camera in your purse so you're prepared!!

Tonights picture is a continuation of the icicle theme from yesterday. While much of the snow melted today, it didn't get warm enough to get rid of it all and the icicles are growing, looming overhead as we come and go from the house. I liked the humor and perhaps a little bit of the irony that we have icicles on our icicles.

December Photo Project: Day Three

I was a little surprised to find snow on the ground when I woke up this morning and even more surprised to see the blizzard-like conditions that quickly followed. We have had snow ALL day today and I'm really hoping we'll at least have a delay tomorrow. It was tough being out with all that snow. All I could think about was my warm house, my slippers and a blanket. It was still snowing when I got home and I really wanted to get a picture of Matthew catching snowflakes on his tongue, but an itty bitty tongue and itty bitty flakes made that a no go. While we were out freezing things off though, Matthew found some "ice cubes" on the picnic table that he had fun playing with. I always enjoyed playing with the icicles too, knocking them off the house was my favorite part. I don't so much enjoy snow and icicles now because it means that it's cold and I really don't like the cold. My ideal weather situation would be 80 degrees year round. I wouldn't mind the snow so much if there were a way to enjoy the beauty of it while also enjoy the temperatures of the tropics. At any rate, here's today's picture, Matthew knocking the icicles off the picnic table while framed by the icicles on the lawn chair.

Photo Project: Day Two

Okay, finding things to take pictures of may be more challenging than I thought. My life involves a two mile stretch of road that takes me from my house to school and back. Grading papers, playing stupid Facebook games and spending time my guys pretty well takes care of my day and if I photograph that, the 24 days leading to Christmas are all going to look the same. I had the camera with me today when we got haircuts and while that isn't groundbreaking news, I did manage to capture some cute photos at the beauty shop, so I'm going to cheat a little bit and post a few pictures because trying to decide which is better and which to post is too hard, especially since I'm sitting her shivering and longing for the electric blanket. Hope tomorrow brings about something exciting to shoot.

Joining the fun

Last year a friend of mine posted pictures on her blog every day as part of a December photo project. I loved looking at her blog to see what she was doing and was envious that I couldn't participate because my blog site didn't allow pictures unless I paid for the premium package. Haley turned me on to this blog site and now I'm going to make it my goal to participate as well. The photo project as that participants post a photo a day until Christmas and more information can be found here http://www.tredways.org/december-photo-project/ For my first picture I'm cheating a little bit and posting a picture of the snow we had on Sunday. Snow days are few and far between around here and I have to show the snowball fight between Matthew and his dad. I'll make sure and post new photos each day from here on out. I look forward to the challenge and seeing what everyone else is posting.