Fifteen things about this Christmas

Between the Christmas gluttony and general busy-ness of this time of year, I have not been good about the blogging! Everything has been so wonderful, I just am bursting at where to start with the memories I want to maintain about this Christmas season!

1. Just to prove how behind I am-- here was the beginning of Christmas with the city's tree lighting ceremony. A wonderfully warm night made for a fantastic tradition I hope we can maintain!

2. If I learned ANYTHING this Christmas, it is to NOT BUY PRESENTS early. If I learned TWO things, it is to NOT GIVE THE GOOD IDEAS TO GRANDMA. As much as I am not a part of this Santa business, I am emotionally distraught that he definitely disappointed this year. But, as this photographic evidence proves, Hudson

 asked for Hot Wheels, not a Hot Wheels track. That request came around closer to the Big Day. Thankfully, he got one from grandma and adores it!

3. Tucker did not open one single present. Both lack of interest and his willing personal assistant Hudson made this a favorable condition for everyone involved. Thankfully Santa did not wrap his circus tent, new zippy, or new phone. All three were being used immediately.

4. Playing in the snow is awesome when you have a buddy to join you! Preacher Man's granddaughter and Little Man played outside multiple times, built a snow fort, and taste tested the newly fallen snow.

5. Tucker loves to sweep and his new broom will go to good use as soon as we eat a meal at home!

6. New Christmas jammies are just how we roll in this house. And Mama got a new wireless remote for her camera. I hope to be in more pictures in 2013. (Not really, but I did want the remote!)

7. We may or may had a meltdown or two when we had to share.

8. Those toy makers need to get their act together and figure out that when you make a chainsaw (or leaf blower, we got both!!) toy for a 4-8 year old, you better make the safety goggles to fit that size head!

But "safety first, or in the top five" as Dirty Job's Mike Rowe says. Hudson dealt with the pain of the present to be sure to utilize all parts of the gift! This makes my ears hurt!

9. I will admit that one super wonderful thing about my kids lately has been how well they are sleeping. Especially considering this time of travel, hotel beds, and related chaos. At the Hughes Christmas, Hudson came up to me at 4 o'clock and said, "I'm tired. I'd like to nap now." Say wha???? Good thing Poppa Bear is always up for a cuddle buddy.

10. As always, you just gotta go. with. the. flow. It monsooned on my wedding day. I had an unplanned c-section. Rolling with the punches is the way of a happy life, people. So when it blizzarded (my new word) on our scheduled turkey deep frying day, December 26, we went to plan B. Uncle Davey did not pass up the opportunity to inject the bird with his giant needle. God help me if he ever has to take MY blood.

11. The best sweets I ate all month (and I had a ridiculous amount) would be those imperfectly iced moments I gobbled down at 11:49 p.m. December 24th. I love how bossy Little Man is even in his writing.

 12. Indianapolis 500 festivities are not limited to May if you are members of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Kids Club-- as we naturally are! Hudson chose his own facepainting moment here. Remind me not to veto his future choices. This was hilarious!

 Tucker only wanted to do one activity: ride those bikes. He is determined, which makes up for his lack of height and balance!

13. Cosmo, the neighbor's cat, officially relocated to the swanky igloo Hudson, Josh, and David built during the blizzard. Needless to say, we now have a pet.

14. Mama did not brave the Jolly Days at the Children's Museum alone this year! Whoop! Dada joined in on the chaotic fun and was overwhelmed by the noise and commotion that is the joy of our grand facility. Both boys really liked having him around and I especially was happy to have an extra set of eyes as both dudes love to run from exhibit to exhibit without much concern if I follow.

15. Sweet T was able to have his first sledding experience on the same hill (at my dad's) and in the same sled his big brother experienced three years ago. Hudson is seriously sledding obsessed and even went once at night! Grandma Janet loves night walks in the snow, so a couple of runs by the moonlight were an added bonus.

That is not everything, but it is enough! I call it a wrap. 

Too much to say!

So many things to write about! So many things to say!
I will just start with this picture as I upload my camera shots. Wonderful life!

These PJs are the best!

Screamer

Which came first the screamer or the scream? It is my birthday. Well, almost, and I am looking through pictures I have taken of the boys over the past couple days. I am just trying to kill time until 12:08 when I can play my birthday song and go to bed. 

Maybe one of the reasons why I like pictures is they are quiet. They just let you feel without a jumbled mess of chattiness. I'll admit, my ears are tired. As I look onto the horizon of my 38th birthday, I will tell you the most aged part of my body right now, as a mother of two boys, is my ears. No kidding.

Here is the irony: I remember thinking that I felt genuinely bad for a friend whose child would scream their way through stores, church services, and playdates. I would just die if this was my kid, I thought. 

Well, guess what? God is a fair guy. So he did not just give me a screamer for my second child. He morphed my first into a screamer as well.

I don't even know how this happened. Or better yet why I have not written about it before now. I guess it is just becoming so genuinely irritating I don't know what to do.

Hudson never screamed before Tucker was born. But now he does. All. the. time.

I blew dry Tucker's hair today. Gorgeous golden curls appeared everywhere.
Seriously, a boy who loves books and has curls? I die.

It is not like I blame Tucker, he was a baby trying to get some attention. So he has spent the majority of the past 17 month squawking out to get some reaction. And I assume that Hudson naturally figured out that Tucker was getting attention from his hollering, so he joined in. Now, I can not get him to stop. He will scream when he is happily being chased. When he is being told something he does not want to hear. When he is happy. When he is not. Sweet T sees his big brother screaming and then starts in. Yes, earplugs are on the Christmas list.

I swear I don't know where they get it. Oh, crap, it is my birth minute. {SCREAM}

Wordless Wednesday: Dada's Home

This is just the best.

Dear Santa

Everyone --and I mean everyone-- keeps asking Hudson if he has talked to Santa yet. And his answer is this blank stare. I am not one to ever, ever, ever take him to some crowded mall to sit on some weirdo's lap. Funny how I have absolutely no judgement for those who push this sort of December agenda. But a lot of people (and it actually feels like everyone) thinks that I am some sort of Scrooge for not participating in the Santa visit.

I am really sorry that I just don't get the whole going to see Santa thing. Although I am not confident it is just a religious thing, I just know that I don't want him to think that this whole season is about the big man in red. NOT to mention that "Santa" has already done HER shopping and I am not going to run out to Toys R Us if he thinks up yet another item that he "needs". 

All that said, we did write a letter to Santa and we mailed it at the town lighting celebration. This was mostly a reconnaissance move so I could align his wish list to what Santa was buying. And I did not begrudge my child the opportunity to talk to a nice free Santa that happened to be at his school after his Christmas program.

 Hudson had MANY things to explain to him about what he wanted.

 There were hand motions and lengthy descriptors.

 I finally had to cut him off. There was a line.

Tucker, thankfully not screaming, but not amused.

On Saturday we went to another Christmas event at the IMS track. That Santa was about 30 years older than THIS Santa. We did not sit on his lap. Regardless, Hudson made note of the differences. And he had questions.

Where's Waldo?

We made it through another one of Hudson's Christmas programs. I appreciate the tradition of ...well, just about everything that has a tradition(!), but these little moments of my life are sorta painful. Tucker, absolutely has no interest in waiting for the show to start and hearing sweet Christmas music butchered to pieces is so sad. But Little Man looked so sweet up there in the throngs of other little people it did make my heart melt a little. Okay a lot. When will I stop crying at these things in public? Gah.

 Can you find him?

 Speaking of heart melting, it is late Sunday night and Josh, true to his personality and sweetness, is watching both the football game and Toy Store 3. I holler from the office for him to turn off Toy Story 3 before he starts crying and a muffled, weepy, "Too late" is mumbled.

Yep. We are saps. 

Wacky Moment

Here we are at Imagination Station toy store at 12:12 p.m. on 12/12/12

Add it up

I spent the weekend in Heather Hell: I was doing loads of math.

As we close in on business year's end, I needed to figure out my income for 2012 so I can make sure I spend it before December 31st. The spending part will be a breeze, but the adding it all up made me dizzy.

The good news is, I get to go shopping! The bad news is I figured out what also was being added up this year while I was working.

 Tucker today just looked old. Like too old. I nearly did not recognize him walking down the hallway at church. Holy my gracious sake's, as Hudson would say, we have had some big changes this year!

And not all of it was in Mama's checkbook.

We have a dog.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Save me the story about how you/ your husband/friend/cousin/brother has a dog named Tucker. You can almost see it on stranger's faces: they say, "You have such a cute baby. What is his name?" I say, "Tucker" and then they exclaim, "My brother has a dog named Tucker!" And then nearly immediately, if they have any sense at all, their face contorts and they realize that this kinship that they were trying to foster has been completely destroyed because they just told me that my son's name is great for A DOG.

Moments after the attack.

I'm not really upset. It is mostly amusing to me. I guess I am the only one who keeps it to myself that when you tell me your Aunt Betty died, I don't immediately say, "I had a cat named Betty."

And, it turns out Tucker is a great name for both a dog and a boy because our non-dog Tucker likes to tear apart foam footballs just like his canine named friends. The bad news is we have to buy another football. The good news is I don't have to watch Hudson play both sides of a football game where the sole goal is to score as many touchdowns as possible by knocking down his littlest fan.

Evidence.

Sick of doctors

Before the meltdown.

What is more painful than going to the dentist? 

Going with two kids under four.

So, I have been sick and naturally my mom wants me to go to the doctor's office immediately. Trouble is going to the doctor's office lately has made me only more irritated. We've had two really bad experiences recently with waiting at the doctor's office.

At the dentist office two weeks ago they scheduled Hudson and I with back to back appointments. I guess I should have known that taking both kids was going to be impossible, but I am a fool and believe that I can do it all. After getting called back within seconds of our arrival, we waited back in the chair room for twenty minutes. I texted my step mom who worked in a dentist office years ago and she suggested letting the kids scream all they wanted. It helped! We had a tech working on Hudson's teeth in minutes! But, it was really of no use. We had already waited so long, Tucker was only amused for a couple of minutes by the lady in the mask. By the time it was my appointment time we had been there an hour. I let her work on the top half, but with a squirming screaming one year old on my lap, we left. I did not reschedule.

I don't know why they feel like they want to put you back into a little waiting room with kids. The main waiting area in both offices has a ton of toys. Keep us in there! Until the second when you are actually ready to see me, and then take us back. But, I do not rule the world.

A similar experience happened to me with my regular doctor. I have seen her three times in the past three months for all these blood tests and the like and my wait times have been 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 1 hour. The first time, I had Mariya with the kids in the waiting room. And even though Mariya thought I had died, I know the kids were entertained. The second time I had just Tucker and that was more manageable. This time, I got up and left. I opened the door, made eye contact with the doctor in the hall, and said, "We are outta here." We went to the checkout station and when I told her we left after not being seen, the receptionist did not even flinch. She just softly said, "Oh" and I asked for my latest mammogram results and we left. Are my standards too high? Even if the office was dealing with something much worse than my own needs that day, don't you think after 30 minutes they might come let you know? Thankfully I never received a bill for that visit either.

So, I am sick and I am not going to the doctor. (My med-head brain is churning....) Unless I don't have any kids with me, then I WILL go to the doctor and take my pillow and blankie. I think I could at least get an hour's nap that way!

Powerball

Well, I didn't win the 4th largest Powerball jackpot last week. Probably because I forgot to play. I always have the best intentions of accomplishing amazing things once Josh gets home at night, but in reality after serving us all dinner and cleaning that chaos up, I am usually just riding the wave until bed time.

This is how we roll.

Like last night, I am wiping down T after our meal and turn slightly to the left towards the stove and Josh says, "Not even close." That is a true parenting partnership when your hubs knows you were looking to the stoveclock to see if it was even remotely near bedtime.

So last Wednesday like most other nights, once Josh arrived home and we were all together the thought of a million dollars left my brain. Frankly when he gets home I feel like I have won the lottery because the attention can be directed onto someone else. Dada gets to hold some while he eats and someone else gets to break up wrestling matches and someone else gets to "watch this".

Of course once I start working at 9 p.m. and keep working until 1 a.m. I am pretty aware that we have nothing near a million dollars in the bank.

So I decided that today I would make up my own Powerball game. And I bet that by midnight I will have a million dollars! How?

I will get a dollar, just a single $1, every time:
- Hudson says, "Watch this crash"
-Tucker throws a fit and puts his head on the carpet.
-Hudson says, "Do you want to watch my football moves?"
-I say, "Leave your brother alone!!!"
-Hudson says, "Can I watch another show?"
-Tucker wants a snack.
-Hudson asks to go to Orange Leaf.
-Or Pizza King
-Hudson says, "Don't let Tucker touch my _____________."
-Tucker plays with the Christmas tree.
-I change a diaper.
-Or wipe a butt.
-Hudson steals one of Tucker's toys.
-I kiss a forehead.

Jackpot!

The feast of favorites

Hudson's school hosts a feast of favorites meal on the last day before Thanksgiving break. Each kids told their teacher their favorite food and a letter was sent home requesting parents bring that item to school. Funny thing when kids are asked what they like with no one parents around. Hudson, of all things, said watermelon. I am really glad he picked a fruit, but finding a decent watermelon in November was impossible. The light pink, tasteless fruit he brought in resembled nothing of the sugary, juicy thing he and his brother ate all summer. However,  the mismatched bounty of donuts and macaroni and cheese and PopTarts and chicken nuggets was an adorable representation of the mind of four and five year olds.

Tuck-a-tuck (Hudson's new nickname for T) and I went in to participate in the feat. I about cried as Tucker sat like a big boy right next to his brother. Where does the time go? Oh my. Soon after the meal was finished a new favorite was figured out by all the little girls of Hudson's class: Tucker. About six little ladies took Tucker off and walked with him hand and hand all around the cafeteria. I was laughing too hard to get a decent picture.

Hudson was less than amused. Especially when his best girl started showing interest in Tucker. She is to the immediate left of T in the picture below. Her name is Nora and Hudson is completely smitten by her. Thankfully she has triplet little brothers so she did not pay attention to T for too long.

Other favorites in our home right now...

Hudson loves the show Alaska: The Last Frontier on the Discovery channel. And reading! Hudson is really into sounding out words. I am excited and daunted.

Tucker loves building blocks towers and eating apples. Today he built a block tower seven blocks high! Also, know that he wants the whole apple. You cut that baby up and you have destroyed it.

Josh loves that he has finally taken the lead in the Harris Family Football picks. Hudson doesn't read enough of the sports section to know about injuries and a couple of weeks of really bad picks. :)

Heather loves Jayne who brought her chicken for soup and Sprite for drink so that she could write this blog and get off the couch! (I have the nastiest cold and feel like a brick hit me in the face.)