I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

And in despair I bowed my head:

"There is no peace on earth," I said,

"For hate is strong and mocks of the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, (vs. 3 & 4)

A Stocking Story

The first Christmas that my husband and I were married, I decided to sew our stockings. This would be my first sewing project flying solo without the aid of my mom (i.e. hovering over her shoulder while she sewed for me). I bought my fabric, cut out my pattern, and started. It was a beast! I constantly ran into problems, my techniques were amateurish, and my fabric was way too thick to easily fit under the sewing foot- we're talking about 6-8 layers of velvet and batting here, folks (a combination of ignorance and insanity). Due to blood pressure concerns, I abandoned the project.
Two Christmases later, and with a little more experience under my belt, I finished one of the stockings (the other was honorably discharged) and sewed two more with thinner/easier fabric. Mistakes were made along the way, but they were completed in a week or two.
This year, I had need for a new stocking. I am proud to say that this stocking was completed in two nights (and with 4 days to spare till Christmas Eve)! I am quite proud of myself. While others could probably have completed it in a few hours, I have obviously set a new personal best. It is truly a Christmas miracle.

(Obviously, I got a little carried away with my son's stocking- the one exploding with Christmas joy- but he loves it still the same. I plan on redoing that one and my original Deluxe stocking sometime in the future.)

The First Cut Is The Deepest

The other day, I decided it was time to trim my baby girl's bangs/mullett. Now she looks like this:

Poor baby. Thank heavens hair grows.

Oh, Christmas Tree

Last Saturday we put up and lighted our Christmas tree. I should say, my husband lighted the Christmas tree. I tried to hold my tongue in critiquing his work. Lighting the Christmas tree is one duty we both expected the other to handle after we got married. It's a debate that still continues each year. But, honestly, does it really make sense for the short person to light the tree? This is one task that a tall person can not relegate. But I digress...

Nothing makes your home feel more like Christmas than a Christmas tree. I love it. And as you can imagine, my baby girl was elated by this curious new object in our living room. On Monday we put on the ornaments. When we were done, I swear I heard her say, "Game on." Now, a large part of my day is spent keeping her from chewing on the cord and batting at ornaments.

Not seen: my baby is actually behind this tree.

Only 11 more days of this cruel game... 

Reality Relief

A conversation recently held in our car...

My Son: "Mom? What does 'sooki' mean?
Me: "Sooki? Use it in a sentence."
My Son: "Hello. My name is Sooki."
Me: "Where did you hear that name?"
My Son: "In 'The Saggy Baggy Elephant' the elephant's name is Sooki."

This conversation brought me great relief as 1.) It was a question I could answer, and most of all, 2.) My son's school friends were not exposing him to tales from "Jersey Shore" (think Snookie). How much longer do I have to be fielding questions from Golden Books?

My feeling is, not long enough.

Under My Skin

If I hear another sentence begin or end with the phrase "In this economy," I might just go drive my car off a bridge.

Not really... but it's getting old. Is there change in sight?

You'd Better Watch Out...

Santa Claus is Coming to Town.