the eyes have it

Pink eye, that is.

I--not Bug (so far anyway)--had pink eye this week. It complemented my allergies nicely. The upside: I had a doctor's note forcing me to stay home from work because I was contagious. The downside: our computer crashed while I was home.

Just because Easter is coming I didn't need to look like this...

P.S. I love that when I hit spellcheck "work" came up as incorrect...the option given was: "woe." Seems about right.

Happy Easter...

it's the most wonderful time of the year...

and I'm already feeling pooped. It's December 1. I need to get some energy going...

I'm trying to make the house look festive for HONKA (as Bug says) and Christmas. I go to SD this weekend to visit my mom and I would love to return to a home that looks and feels like the holidays. Not sure that will happen (see missing energy above).

Do you have a real or fake tree? We've usually had real trees but had a small fake tree for a couple of years. Now I'm feeling the need for a full-size tree. I'm leaning toward a fake one just because the real ones can be so expensive year after year and getting a pre-lit artificial tree sounds pretty easy. I figure if I have some greens in the house I'll still get that real tree smell.


My mom fell and broke her pelvic bone a few weeks ago. The other day on the phone she said she was just sitting on the floor of her room and didn't know how she got there. Obviously, she fell. Nothing broken but she did have some bruises. She doesn't understand--or more accurately--doesn't remember that she can't walk on her own. My heart goes out to her. I know it's frustrating for her because she wants to do more and her body is betraying her. I don't expect this to be an easy trip. When I'm visiting her, I'll pick up gifts for the family so we can have a little wrapping party in her room to bring a bit of the Christmas season to her. After all, it's the most wonderful time of the year...

And I've done poorly on tests ever since...

When I was a child our priest was from Ireland. I wonder now how he felt being sent to a small town in South Dakota. He was a kind man. I grew up with Eucharist Prayer One, Two and Tree. I never knew it was actually “three” until I learned to read.

Before first communion each child had to meet with Father P privately. He wanted to be sure that all second graders had been paying attention at CCD and could answer basic questions about our faith.

Of course I was nervous. It didn’t matter that Father P was a regular visitor at our house. He came for Christmas and Easter dinners and sometimes stopped by to play the accordion. (For years I thought all people in Ireland played the accordian.) But being in a room questioned by a priest was suddenly very, very scary.

My first communion was on Thanksgiving Day but I often think about that meeting with Father P at Easter. We talked about Jesus and communion. He asked me if I knew how Jesus died and expected to hear the answer that I had been taught as a young child.


I panicked. I looked around the room and saw pictures of the Virgin Mary, a crucifix (or twenty) and a painting of the Last Supper. That’s what caught my eye. To me that long white table looked like a hospital bed and I sat up a bit straighter looked the priest in the eye and confidently said, “Jesus died in the hospital…of old age.”

Passover + Easter = Passter/Eastover

We've been reading The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah for a few days at our house. Bug gets a kick out of it and Donnie can give the right inflection to all the Yiddishness in the book. Tomorrow is Passover so we'll have a mini Seder (is there such a thing?) with just Donnie, Bug and me. I'll make the dinner that Donnie requested continuing the tradition of his family holidays growing up. Which reminds me I should really start looking for his mom's recipes...


By the end of the week we'll be getting out the Easter baskets and looking for the fake grass. Donnie's always a good sport and gives up something for lent so we're both looking forward to Sunday morning and having some chocolate and other sweets. (Sadly, Target was out of my favorite Easter candy this weekend...I wanted to stock up.) We also gave up Chinese food and I'm thinking our Easter dinner will be egg rolls, fried wontons and crispy beef! I just hope this Easter isn't a replay of a few years ago when I had so much chocolate that I watched The Sopranos with a heating pad on my stomach. Then again if it happens this year I'll just call it a family tradition.

Party Time

Today is Bug's Valentine's Day party...late because of the snow storms last week. It's his first school party and he had to make a Valentine's Day box. I put construction paper on a shoe box and let him decorate it. He made a couple of lines with a marker, used lots of glue with a few decorations attached (but more glue than decorations). I wrote his name on the box and he decorated that, too.


He was SO proud of his Valentine's Day box. While he was gluing things he paused, looked at me and said, "the kids at school are gonna love this." It was so cute to see him strut around because HE made the box. I know that if I were at the party I would see several boxes made by parents that are beautiful and creative but my favorite would still be the one made by my little boy.


I decided not to make cookies last night for his party which gave me more time to eat chocolate before lent started today so this morning I was working double time to get them done. As Donnie was heading off to work, I was in the kitchen with a mixing bowl in my arms and cookies cooling on the counter. He kissed me goodbye and said, "Bye, June, have a good day, dear." We're far from the Cleaver family but for just a moment it felt like Ward, June and the Beaver (there's no way Bug could be Wally).


Then Donnie was out the door and Bug refused to get dressed, I nearly burned the last batch of cookies, our babysitter was late...and clearly I was no longer June.


I can't wait to ask Bug about the party but I'm sure I'll get the answer that I usually get when I ask about school: a little boy has the same shirt as me.

My plan allowed practically begged for procrastination

Pathetic or brilliant? (Wait, don't answer that...)

Somehow I knew that I wouldn't be organized this year to get cards out before Hanukkah or Christmas so I opted for New Year's cards. It seemed like such a good idea and a simple one.

I could write cards at my leisure anytime in the month (of course that would also mean that I had ordered them early enough, ahem). Unfortunately, I must have placed the order the same day as half of the world because the cards took longer than I expected and I didn't receive them prior to our big snowstorm. That would have been perfect...a nice cup of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, a holiday movie and a stack of cards...instead I helped shovel and shovel and shovel.

All I needed to do was write them and mail them prior to--oh, say--today. Well, most of them made it in the mail but I missed the mailman this morning (since when does he come in the morning?!) so I hope our happy new year greetings reach their destinations by December 31 at midnight. (Just in time for me to come up with a resolution for next holiday season...)

'Twas the night before the Eve of Christmas

It was just a typical pre-Christmas kind of day. I didn't work so I planned to spend the day running errands--braving two grocery stores, having lunch with Donnie, possibly a smidge of last minute shopping, delivering holiday cards to neighbors while on a walk with Bug, wrapping gifts to take to the nursing home...all good stuff...


...until Donnie started feeling really tired and went to lie down. His nap lasted about five hours so I think it's more than just being tired. My fingers are crossed that he'll wake up 100% tomorrow (but I think I know better). I fully expect that I'll have to call our guests and cancel both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. Here's hoping for a Christmas miracle.

Bug told me he wanted to make Donnie "MAN COOKIES." It took me a minute but I figured it out so I think we'll be making gingerbread cookies sometime over the next few days.


I was going through some holiday stuff and came across my favorite gift tag of all time today. We received it maybe six years ago when Donnie and I were visiting my mom and brother's family in SD for Christmas. None of the kids call me Mary or Mag...I've been Mooie forever. They go to a catholic school so the only time I hear Mary is if they see a church called St. Mary's and mention that it's my real name. So there was a gift for us under the tree with a glitter-filled sheet of paper that said;


Merry Christmas

To Donnie and Mary [followed by a big black marker that scratched out other words]


I hadn't seen the gift but after a couple of glasses of wine my sister-in-law and brother started talking about it and chuckling. They brought the gift over to show me then told me the scratched out part said;

(NOT THE VIRGIN)

My brother made my nephew cross it out. Oh, how I wish it were still readable. I'm thinking I may re-gift it and embarrass my nephew at some point.

White (House) Christmas

My brother had tickets to see the Christmas decorations at the White House and invited us. He sent his photos to me (my pix are still in the camera because I'm not that efficient). Some of the photos are a bit dark but the White House was beautiful, festive and fun. And the smell of Christmas trees was great (our artificial tree doesn't come with that Christmas scent...).

This is dark but it was lovely...the matching trees by the fireplace with Abe Lincoln's portrait in between. Side note: I took a photo of Dolley Madison's portrait in the Red Room. She's always been a favorite of mine for a few reasons: 1) I read a book about her in fourth grade; 2) she took Washington's portrait out of the White House when the White House was burning and 3) those Dolley Madison treats that were advertised during the Peanuts specials that I've NEVER tasted and still long for.


These roses are in a magnolia leaf vase...

The White House made of white chocolate. It's a good thing there was a rope between it and me. That smell was pretty good, too!

A pretty mantle...

Maybe we should just celebrate Festivus...

You know it's Christmukkah when your three-year-old:

• wants to light the menorah while wearing his Santa cap
• tries to blow out all the candles on the menorah each night
• walks around singing "Let my people go" in a variety of voices
• tells you "You're not on the same team as Daddy and me"
• thinks that Santa Claus is called "jingle bells"
• wants to sit on Jingle Bells' lap
• thinks that he should get to open a present that's under the tree every night
• wants to make Christmas cookies for Daddy
• thinks that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is his brother (I don't even want to know where that came from...)

Warming up and a winner

He's a little bit Jewish and I'm a little bit Catholic so our house is beginning to look a lot like Christmukkah. I'm finally getting out our decorations (other than the new menorah that we've been lighting) and trying to make the house festive. Bug did his part by sporting a Santa cap although as the day goes on and I untangling Christmas lights or trying to remember when I put something from last year I feel like I'm playing Scrooge while trying to be cheerful. Ho ho humbug.


I had a good trip to SD and am still amazed that I didn't get stranded in Minneapolis for a day. Those first few blasts of cold air upon leaving the airport are rough. It was 1 degree when I arrived and the windchill was minus 16 or 20 (does it really make a difference if you have to say "minus" before the number--it's all just cold, right?). I was convinced I wouldn't have feeling in my toes until I returned to DC. It was so cold that we decided my mom shouldn't go outside. Mom wasn't happy but after hearing the temps a few times she agreed she would stay put.


Thursday and Friday mornings I did some holiday shopping for Mom and finished everyone on her list. We spent the afternoons wrapping presents in her room. On Friday there was a heatwave break and the afternoon temp hit 20 so Mom and I went to the mall. We were there for four hours and only hit two stores. She was thrilled. We had dinner at the food court (Taco John's anyone?! Yum!) and by then she was exhausted. It takes us a bit of time to adjust to the wheelchair, getting in/out of the car and I always feel like we're channeling Lucy and Ethel with some of our movements but we manage.


While I was back I got to see several people I knew. I had a lunch with four classmates while Mom had physical therapy. (One of them even visited my mom--how nice is that? Of course, it was Russ and he's pretty much the definition of a good guy.) While we were at lunch, I saw my cousin and his family then ran into other people from my hometown. (Everyone in my hometown goes to the town where my mom now lives to shop because it has the nearest mall [42 miles away] so it's not uncommon to see people you know.)


There's something very comforting being back there. Of course I get to spend time with Mom and see my brother and his family (and drink wine with my sister-in-law!). These trips are so different from past visits now that Mom is in the nursing home but it's great to be there for/with her and nice to see friendly faces and have people ask about Mom or stop by to visit her. Many of them know her from their childhoods. It's true there's no place like home...and no matter how cold it gets the hearts are always warm.


Dee from Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House is the Santa cake pan winner. Happy baking, Dee! Email me and let me know where I should send it.

Ho Ho Ho...Cough Cough Cough

If you want to make/win this...

click here for the Santa Cake(pan) giveaway...

Onto other things...

Apparently watching our lovely snow on Saturday gave me a cold/cough. If Hollywood is looking for a new face for a cold medicine commercial or possibly an unknown to play the role of a woman suffering from consumption, here I am. As a bonus the make up crew could take the day off...I'm sick and I look it. This pale shade of blah isn't a really good look for me.

If my coughing kept any of you awake last night, I apologize. Even Bug gave me a pass on telling him a story because I was "coughing too much." I'm now in the fuzzy world of cold medicine and hoping it all kicks in before I get on a plane Wednesday to visit my mom. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't get the "wintry mix" that's in the forecast Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. I'm leaving my house at 4:45 am (as in MORNING...yawn) and would prefer to actually get on a plane if I'm going to be up and ready at that hour.

Side note: It's going to be single digits when I'm in South Dakota with the lows below zero! Welcome home!

So because I was lazy under the weather I did NOTHING to get ready for Christmas or Hanukkah this weekend. There's not tree in our house yet (well, it's there but not up or decorated--we're doing a fake, small tree this year because Bug seems to be channeling Curious George these days and I don't want my little monkey climbing a real tree and then me cleaning up the mess when he, the tree and crushed ornaments are on the floor. I never had a real tree until I met Donnie. I still find it funny that it took a Jewish man to get me to buy a real Christmas tree.) On the bright side, I do have a new peace sign menorah this year and can put that out immediately to feel somewhat festive:

The photo makes it look like a hamster wheel but in person I like it. We've yet to get Bug a menorah of his own. We have a few in the house. One that Donnie received when he was younger so that's the one we really use. He gave me one years ago and when Bug was born we got one made by an artist I like. Bug saw one that he wanted because it was a truck. It was also $118, handmade in Israel and is one of a kind. Yeah, that's not in our house.

When I return on Saturday and thaw out, I'll try and get the house ready for the holidays...none too soon since Hanukkah starts on Friday night! I'm thinking this isn't the year to make potato latkes from scratch. One of these years I'll give it a shot but not this year.

AND...I used the random number generator and Bea from This Wonderful, Crazy Life won the infant holiday tee giveaway. Bea, email me and let me know style and size.

Santa Cake(pan) Giveaway

Here's a giveaway for a baker...or a gift for a baker. I gave a couple of these cake pans as Christmas gifts before and found them at the Williams-Sonoma outlet last week so I bought one for a giveaway. The cake pan comes with a recipe (I think it's for a peppermint cake).

I can assure you if someone saw this cake on my table the question would be "where did you get that?" because no one would think I made it but I do think it's adorable...



Leave a comment if you want to enter the giveaway. You'll get two chances if you're a follower (leave a second comment) and three chances (three comments) if you mention the giveaway on your blog and link back to this post. I'll pick a winner on Monday, December 14.

Dear Someone/Santa Knows...And Remembers

Click here for the oh baby holiday tee giveaway.

Dear Northwest Airline Pilots,

Please don't overshoot the Minneapolis Airport next week. My trip to South Dakota is short enough without getting re-routed.

Signed,
An infrequent frequent flyer

Dear Snow,

I heard you were falling from the sky last night in South Dakota. Will you still be around next week? I'd love to say hi.

Signed,
A Midwestern Girl at Heart

Dear Santa,

My list is short this year...I'd like some sleep.

Love,
Mag

PS...and world peace, of course

For more Dear Someone letters check out Amanda at Family of Shorts.

I saw the 31 days of goodness on JennyMac's blog, Let's Have a Cocktail. (I'm sure you all saw it, too, because who doesn't stalk follow her?) I emailed the list to several friends. It's been fun to get responses from people commenting on the list...what they want to do or what they've already decided to do this holiday season.

One former classmate emailed that he's adopted a local family in the town and will make a trip to Target so there will be gifts under their tree. He's also being Santa again this year and will show up at local daycare centers as well as homes in my hometown and another nearby town. He then added this to his note:

One thing that most people do not think about is that we have time, talent and treasures. A person does not have to give much of any of them to those who need it to get the warm fuzzies.

This ties in with Pseudonymous High School Teacher's blog featuring Travel Tip Thursday. Today I'm taking her advice and traveling to a Christmas in the past.

I wrote back to Russ and reminded him of a Christmas when he was the town Santa and I was back for the holiday. My mom told me for $10 you could have hire Santa to make an appearance at your house on Christmas Eve. You simply left a small gift for each child in your car and Santa would come to the house with gifts. (Side note: I had lived away from my small town long enough that I asked if she gave Russ keys to our car. She smiled and reminded me that people often DON'T lock cars there...right, I had forgotten.) My nephews were young at the time so I couldn't wait to see their faces when Santa walked through the front door (yes, I know he should have used the chimney and, believe me, I would have paid much more than $10 to see Russ pull that one off!).

So...Santa enters our living room and the kids squeal before they're stunned into silence. Russ Santa looks right at me says, "why there's little Mary Ann" (using my REAL name not what everyone calls me!) and says he remembers things I did as a little girl. Then he shares a few stories about me. (I went to first grade through senior year with Russ so he certainly had plenty to tell.) He then gently reminded my nephews that Santa remembers all of the children he's seen over the years and called my mom, brother and sister-in-law by name as well. The boys were thrilled to see Santa but that night--at that moment--they not only believed in Santa but that he truly sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake...

oh, baby...a giveaway

So I'm lining up a few giveaways for the holiday season and I'm starting with this one because it's easy. I'm giving away an infant/toddler holiday tee. The real reason this is so convenient...I designed them and they're on my website for my little (as in teeny tiny) side business.
Before Bug was born I created a few women's tees (it was a nice outlet/distraction from the wait...). After Bug arrived, I started making tees for him then decided to put them online. The first tee for babies was inspired by my little bald Bug: Hair is Overrated. I haven't done much with Charming Maeve in the past year although in 2008 four of my infant/toddler tees were carried on Target.com (Yes, that Target! Crazy, huh?). These tees are currently sold on a couple of sites.

Anyway, I did a giveaway over the summer for one of my women's tees so I decided to now have a giveaway for the infant tees. Sizes start at 3 months and go to 18 months. (Note: all tees are currently available but there's a chance that I might sell some between now and the end of the contest so I hope the winner will be flexible if the style/size is unavailable.) Here are the options (sorry the photos aren't too clear...I'm not sure what's up with that). All are long-sleeve tees and 100% cotton.

Silent Night (I don't think so)
Available for Holiday Parties
Boy to the World
You get one chance for one comment. A second chance (with a second comment) if you're a follower. A third chance if you post about the giveaway on your site. I'll draw a winner on Monday, December 7. I'll post other giveaways later this week or early next week assuming I can get my act together.

Oh, Boston, you're my (wannabe) home

We'll be spending Thanksgiving in Boston with Donnie's family, which has become our tradition. We'll see some of Donnie's--and now my--friends and please oh please oh pretty please we'll get to spend a chunk of time at my favorite bookstore, too.


On the list of things to be thankful for...you should add this:


Be thankful you aren't on our flight. Bug told me several times that he wants to "drive" the plane. I expect to hear screams when he learns he's not really a pilot.

Circling Childhood

A friend gave Bug It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown DVD. If you’re interested it’s usually running every 25 minutes or so from 7am until 8:30am and again from 6:45pm until 8:15pm at our house with various demand performances throughout the day. Meals and/or snacks along with free diaper changes are available. Stop by.

Obviously, Bug’s taken with it. What surprised me is how quickly I was taken back to my childhood. I feel as though my present self is hovering above the scene from long ago with my much younger self, mom and brother watching the Great Pumpkin in the kitchen, which meant my father was watching something else in the den. As a little sister I always related to Sally. I can remember dancing along with Snoopy as Schroeder is playing the piano. I wanted Charlie Brown to come to our house for tricks-or-treat so my mom could put something other than a rock in his bag. Oh, and I can clearly picture the Dolly Madison commercials that always ran during a Peanuts program and how desperately I wanted to try one but they weren’t sold in my town so that made them even more exotic.

I feel like this has been a full circle week from being a mother myself, to going back to a very vivid moment in my childhood to trying to be a long-distance caregiver to my mother who’s back in the hospital. Thanks Snoopy for bringing it all together.

Ghosts of Halloweens past and future

I'm not crafty or creative so Bug's Halloween costumes have come from the store. The first year he was a monkey and I was an organ grinder.
Last year he was a dragon, or as I like to say, a fire-breathing toddler. (Notice the port-a-potty in the background. Road construction started in August of last year. They hadn't done much by the end of October.) But I digress... This year the plan is for Bug to be Super Why. It should be easy...I bought the cape set this summer complete with mask and Whywriter. I need to find green sweats or thermal underwear/jammies. Who knew that would be difficult? I think I'm going to stop short of making Bug wear a blue Speedo over his pants. I'll put the book image on his chest and be prepared to explain at each door who he is...

Sssshhh, I'm wishing I were reading

Sign up for the giveaway to win a Save Second Base tee here.

I'm thankful that I still have a job but today am tempted to jeopardize it. I have a sign on my door that says: Leave me alone, I'm reading! Oh, I wish I brought my book to work so I could shut my door and put that sign to good use. I'm reading The Help and feeling addicted to it. There won't be much reading time this weekend. Donnie's parents are coming to town for Rosh Hashanah. Donnie's Jewish and I'm Catholic so we celebrate lots of things at our home. My mother-in-law read The Help (and--like everyone else I know--loved it) so I think she'll understand if I say good night a little early and read.

Any thoughts on what should be my next addiction, I mean book?

Like a boy scout I'm prepared

Enter the giveaway here through July 27. Winner will be announced on July 28.

Yesterday while running errands I found a Super Why! costume for Bug. I hid it immediately when I got home and will pull it out for him to wear on Halloween or possibly some random rainy day between now and then.

The problem? I hide things all the time in an oh-so-perfect spot only to realize later than I can’t remember what was so perfect about the hiding place except that it’s perfectly hidden—from me! So…this time I think I did something brilliant and actually wrote on my calendar where I hid his Super Why! costume.

Now I just have to make sure I can keep track of my calendar for a few months...

Happy Mommy on Father's Day

I explained to Bug that today is a special day for Daddy. Bug announced that Daddy gets to change all of his diapers because it's Daddy's Special Day. Nothin' like a little gift for Mommy on Father's Day!