December Photo Project -- Day 23

December Photo Project -- Day 22

When I woke up this morning the temperatures were quite different from yesterday's and it was foggy. On my way out to take Matthew to school I noticed a lone tree in the field by our house and the fog added an element of interest prompting me to run home and grab my camera.

December Photo Project -- Day 21

December Photo Project -- Day 20

The joy of having two weeks off of work isn't just being able to sleep late (theoretically), or lounging around the house. The joy is being able to enjoy time with Matthew without having to worry about getting papers graded or lesson plans done, or cleaning the house, or running errands. It's nice to just be in the moment and enjoy having a great kid.

Today was a flashback to my childhood. I don't really know why we did it except that it was fun, but we used to take all the cushions off my mom's couch and chairs and build forts with them. This activity provided hours of fun as we built the forts and then played as many games as our imaginations would afford us. Today Matthew returned the favor. The couch cushions came off and became diving boards, leaning tables of piza and finally a table for a tea party..."Well really I'm going to have a Coke party because I don't like tea" party. Matthew set up one of the cushions as a table and arranged two of his chairs so he and Dimples the bear could enjoy a Coke party. He has never done any of this with us, so I immediately grabbed the camera so I could document our first ever tea party. Excuse me...our first ever Coke party.

December Photo Project -- Day 19 (late)

Another post that's a day late and a dollar short, but for a good reason. Last night we all drove to Lubbock to ride the Polar Express. We did the trip last year as well and enjoyed it, so after some convincing, Mondo agreed and we booked our tickets. I'm glad we did because it was a much more enjoyable trip this year, more bells and whistles this year, and Matthew seemed to understand what was going on even more this year. He took every opportunity to tell everyone 1) he was going to ride on the Polar Express, 2) he had seen the movie the Polar Express, or 3) he had ridden on the Polar Express. His excitement over the whole process made the trip worth it's weight in gold!

December Photo Project -- Day 18 (late)

We spent Friday night at the zoo enjoying their annual Christmas celebration. Although it's always really cold, it's still nice to see the animals at night because they are so active. The hyena's were up and moving and the wolves were howling at whatever wolves howl at, and the bobcats and cougars were playing chase with each other through their cages. After the trip to the zoo we made our way around town looking at some of the Christmas lights people had put up. I always enjoy making the trip to the zoo and to see the lights because of Matthew's enthusiasm; I know that's only going to last for a short time.

December Photo Project -- Day 17

Mondo and Matthew were busy baking in the kitchen and there Betty Crocker-ness was too much to pass up. Matthew was helping me make pinwheels for school and Mondo was making muffins for Matthew's Christmas party.

December Photo Project -- Day 16

Today was Matthew's Christmas program at school. The kids entertained with a few Christmas songs, some catchy tunes about the vowels and some stuff about Thanksgiving. Afterwards it was time to get the kids amped up on sugar with heavly iced cookies and juice. We capped of the afternoon's events with a trip to the coffee shop for some hot chocolate with the grandparents.

December Photo Project -- Day 15

December Photo Project -- Day 14

One of the nicest things about Christmas is getting cards and letters from friends you only hear from once year. Today was a busy mail day for us; lots of cards and letters to read through tonight when I got home from work. After catching up on everyone's year I realized that I better get on the ball if I was going to get our letter and cards out before the new year. I started the letter on December 4, but have procrastinated since then. Tonight I sat down and finished it and it's ready to go. Now I need to get copies made, and cards addressed and mailed. This mean you should be getting your Christmas card around January 22 or so. It will be a nice surprise when you check the mail that day and realize that not everything in the mailbox is junk or bills. Hiding way in the back, hidden under the electric bill and Christmas credit card statement will be our delightfully late Christmas card. It's the thought that counts!

Top photo: Matthew waits for our annual Christmas letter to come of the printer.

Bottom photo: Matthew signs the Christmas letter. This is the first time he has actually signed his name on our letter, which was exciting for me anyway. He go a little lost as he was writing his name, but it's cute to see his letters adorning the bottom of our letter.

December Photo Project -- Day 13

Sometimes the pressure of realizing I need a photo for the day's photo project post results in some last minute creativity and sometimes it results in just plain old garbage. I'm not sure where this one fits in, in that mix. Tonight I headed out with the idea of getting some timed photos of cars passing through the neighborhood, but all's quiet on the western front tonight! In my attempt to not look like a creepy person hanging out on the front lawn in the dark of night I started playing with angles (nothing exciting), zooming, and timed exposures. Here's the result of some last minute, "let's try this and see what happens."

December Photo Project -- Day 12

My mom always says be careful what you wish for because it just might come true and I found that to be the case today with the family advent calendar. As a child we had a long-standing tradition of getting a small piece of candy about 30 minutes before bedtime. We got a piece of candy, then brushed our teeth and headed off to bed. At Christmas those candies were put on an advent calendar my grandma made and on the 24th there was always a small package for us to open to help curb the question my parents were being bombarded with, "Can we open a present now?" After I bought my house I remember asking my mom if I could have the advent calendar, but was always told no. When we had Matthew I asked again and was told no. Last year, without asking, my mom brought the calendar over and gave it to us. To Matthew really, but he won't get it now until he has a child. Last year I don't remember getting it in time to adorn it with candies and packages, and this year I've been very slow in getting the days filled with goodies. So today I sat down and started placing Tootsie Rolls on each day, quickly learning that this was no easy task. I don't know how my mom did it for so many years, and how she managed to get two pieces of candy on the calendar AND keep her sanity. It took me far longer than I anticipated to get everything on there, but it's done and Matthew's anticipation in getting a piece of candy tonight is hard to deal with. Every few minutes he asks if its time to have his Toosie Roll yet. We know also have regular conversations about when Christmas is going to be here and when he gets to open his presents. And by regular I mean, when he's not talking about Tootsie Rolls and eating them, he's asking about Christmas and presents. I may be ready to clear off the calendar by the end of the night. Despite the challenge of affixing candies to a calendar and the never-ending stream of questions, I'm thrilled to be able to pass this tradition on to my son. And secretly I can't wait for Santa to get here either!

December Photo Project -- Day 11

Today I made the annual shopping trip to Lubbock with the girls. This is a tradition that was started many years ago with so many of us going we had to take two cars. As the years have gone by, so too have the number of people making the Christmas shopping trip. This year I went with my two very good friends and enjoyed a full day of laughter, some great lunch from Olive Garden and some shopping. It was nice when there were car loads of people making the trip, but it's way nicer when it's just us laughing and having a great time. I am so thankful for my friends, the laughter and the stress relief that they provide.

Tonights picture isn't very good because I was laughing so hard that it affected the focus, but it's too good to pass up posting it. After a long day of shopping we were making our final stop at Academy Sports and my friend Misti told me to drop her off at the door because she was tired. Instead, I found parking spot waaaaay out and parked there. As the three of us piled out of the car and prepared to hike across the parking lot, Misti found a shopping cart, climbed in and told us to push her. My friend Jody began pushing, and laughing, and about that time I remembered the camera. So here it is, our moment of acting like we were 16, caught on "film" for all to see. Don't judge, it was funny and you would have laughed if you had been there too! :0)

December Photo Project -- Day 10

Ingredients: Take 1, 100-pound dog, add in a four-year-old, mix in some strong New Mexican winds and you have yourself a recipe for fence picket destruction!

Several of the fence pickets on our backyard fence have come down because of one of the previously listed reasons. While it doesn't look so great to have part of your fence coming down, it does make watching the neighborhood a little easier if you're the resident guard dog!

December Photo Project -- Day Nine

I think I had a post like this last year too, but when the sky is so beautifully painted pink, I feel compelled to take a picture (and apparently post it!).

December Photo Project -- Day 8

Nothing spells fun like a sucker and some sidewalk chalk!

December Photo Project -- Day 7

Tonight at the library's open house, Santa was in a hurry to get the kid's Christmas lists so that he could move on to the next kid in line. No lap sitting, no orders greater than one toy, no lolly gagging, he was a man on a mission! Until Matthew came along! Santa asked Matthew what he wanted; Matthew proceeded to tell him. The conversation went like this:

Santa: "What do you want for Christmas?"

Matthew: "I want a light saver (lightsaber) that comes apart and you can put it on your arm."

S: "Okay, I think I can handle that. Here's your..."

M: "...And I want a Buzz Lightyear that moves his head."

S: "Okay, here you..."

M: "...And I want a Bullseye that you push his tail and he goes like this (shows how he rears up) and a Woody that doesn't do anything."

S: "...."

M: (nothing further)

S: "Okay, here's your bag."

I think Santa was a little taken aback by our son and I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed because he wanted to get his whole list in, or proud of him that he didn't let Santa run him off before he was done. Matthew is so excited about the Christmas lights, the tree and especially Santa, so I'm going to lean more toward the side of being happy that he got stuck to his guns and got his list in. The REAL Santa is more patient and understand than the library Santa anyway!

December Photo Project -- Day 6

My mom bought these cool Crayons for Matthew that you can use to write on windows and he has used them to do all sorts of things on her picture window: write his name, to spell words my mom has taught him and to decorate for holidays. Last night after dinner he felt the urge to decorate and announced that he was going to make a snowman. Much to my surprise, he did it, complete with stick hands, a carrot nose and a top hat. This is the second time in a week that my son's newly developed drawing abilities have surprised and entertained me. I know I sound like an idiot, commenting on his drawing, but I didn't know he could do such things and to see him sit down and work so diligently on these projects, and then to see the finished product warms my heart.

December Photo Project -- Day 5

Last night's Christmas Light Parade had about 70 floats, according to the paper, which makes it WAY better than the parade we saw in Muleshoe! I think the best part about going to the parade every year is sitting in the window of my mom's shop and watching the parade and the people go by. Last night a man stood in front of the window and told his wife, "they look so real." When I waved at him, he jumped and said, "they are real!" It's hilarious seeing people's reaction to us sitting there. The other part of the tradition is the hot chocolate afterwards. It's good family time and a tradition I look forward to every year!

This morning we braved the cold temperatures and drove to Muleshoe to watch their Christmas parade. To call what we saw a parade is laughable; a traffic jam with candy is a more appropriate description. A mere 5 or 6 floats made their way up and down two streets tossing candy to those of us brave enough (or dumb enough) to brave the temperatures. Afterwards we went to Mondo's parents and hung out for a while. It was nice to sit and visit because I haven't been able to spend much time over there lately for one reason or another.

Tonight we brave even colder temperatures as we head out for the annual Christmas light parade here in town. Every year this parade gets bigger and it's always fun to see the floats all lit up. I look forward to this parade every year, just dread the cold. A hot cup of hot chocolate will be a great treat afterwards!

December Photo Project -- Day 3

Living in the desert, we enjoy mild temperatures in the winter most of the time, but today has been especially warm, even for us. Also, in the world of normal, keeping shoes on Matthew is a constant battle and it doesn't usually matter what the temperature is outside. Hot, cold, warm or freezing, he will shed his shoes and socks and leave them spread across the front yard while he plays. Tonight I came home from work to find him barefoot and driving like a crazy person up and down the sidewalk in front of our house. It's hard to enforce a shoe and sock rule when it's 70+ degrees outside today, but it will have to be followed tomorrow because our spring like temperatures are coming to an end. Tomorrow -- 40s and a chance of snow. I much prefer the no sock kind of weather to the ski boot and hat kind of weather!

December Photo Project -- Day 2

Day 1 -- December 1, 2010

I have always known that I wanted to be a mom, but I never knew, or expected that it would be as great and rewarding a job as it is. Just when I think I can't love my son anymore than I already do, he says or does something that makes my heart feel like it's going to explode with pride and love. Lately that feeling has multiplied as Matthew is discovering the world of reading and writing. I am so proud to see him grow and blossom into the young man he is becoming and each day he amazes me with the new things he's learning at school. Today he wanted to help me grade papers and when I told him that he couldn't read so he couldn't help me, he quickly corrected me and informed me that his teacher had taught him to read at, bat, and sack. To prove his case he asked for paper and a pen and proceded to spend the next 30+ minutes writing the word bat on a piece of paper and drawing the most adorable pictures of bats I've ever seen. Today's photo shows Matthew hard at work on one of his many drawings of bats -- daddy bats, baby bats and a mom bat. And for those of you who just said, "Oh! That kind of bat!" That's what I did too; bat the animal, not bat like in baseball!

December Photo Project revisited

Last year my friend Haley posted a link for the December Photo Project on her blog and I decided that I would give it a shot and participate. It was a challenge to come up with a photo, especially one that was worth a darn, every day, but a fun way to document our life and the days leading to Christmas. This year I am excited to take the challenge again, but find myself with sweaty palms and heart palpitations as I realize that tomorrow is the first of December and the first day photos have to be taken and posted. I don't know what I'll shoot, but let the blog posts and pictures begin!

Dust bunnies BEWARE!!

I have a friend who is pregnant, like due any time pregnant. She is a self professed neat freak at the best of times, but it becomes even more OCD when she's pregnant. She has blogged throughout her pregnancy about all these obscure places that she has cleaned so that she's ready for the babies arrival. I say obscure because it's not a secret that I'm not the best housekeeper in the world. Much of my housekeeping is superficial. If it appears clean then it must be, that's my philosophy. Would I pass a white glove test? NO WAY!! But that's okay with me, most of the time.
I stepped outside my cleaning zone at Christmas when I followed Haley's lead and I wiped down all the walls with bleach and water. I noticed a difference, but knew that anyone walking in the house would never know that I had spent two days wiping walls from top to bottom. It didn't matter, though, I felt good about the state of the house. The refrigerator followed suit shortly after that, then I cleaned behind the stove and last week I took down the curtains and washed them. Ahhh, spring cleaning at its best!
With all this new found stuff that needed to be cleaned I sat back and enjoyed that fact that I now had a clean house and that I could get back to my usual superficial stuff. NO WAY!! An innocent visit to facebook and I learn that Haley is cleaning under her bed. Now I know that it's a bit dusty under there, but my feeling (until now) has been that you can't see under there so why bother?! Since Haley's post I've done a lot of thinking about the dust under the bed and then the slap in the face came when I dropped a pair of Mondo's black socks under the bed and they came back as a brown pair.
This morning I have torn apart our bedroom so that I could vaccuum and dust under the bed. Suffice it to say that it was beyond disgusting and my new plan is to never let it get that gross again. At one point I was afraid that my husband and son would return home from their Sunday jaunt and wonder where I was. "Where's mom?" Matthew would ask. "I don't know," Mondo would reply. Meanwhile the herd of dust bunnies would be hauling me out to the nearest open field and proudly displaying their latest sacrifice. Luckily I got them before they got me.
I'm proud that my house is clean, even if no one else will really notice, but mostly I wish that Haley would hurry up and have her baby so that I can stop learning about all the places I should have been cleaning all along!