~Yesterday was spent taking down all the indoor Christmas decorations. That made me sad for two reasons.
1) It is a lot of work-work that I didn't feel like doing.
2) It leaves my house PLAIN looking once again. I would gladly keep up all that sparkle and shine all year long. I just LOVE glimmer!
~Before Christmas, nearly every night included a SKIPBO tournament between Matt and I. After Christmas, with the addition of THREE games, a rotation is played of ZIGGITY (a Cranium card game) and BOGGLE. The last few nights we have played BOGGLE. Matt never liked that game before but I think he is hooked. He is getting very good at it and is coming close to beating me. Coming CLOSE. ;-)
~I have been to town TWICE this week (for necessary but ridiculous reasons) and have been disgusted to see all the wonderful DEALS everywhere without the fundage to have a shopping spree. That kills me. Grrrrrrrr. I hate winter expenses. HATE them. HATE THEM!
~Of all those sales-I DID manage to buy Corynn a pair of rubber boots for $3.00 (they are size 9/10 so she swims in them-but that was the ONLY size they have and HEY! Maybe she can even use them TWO years!) and a pair of pants. She DESPERATELY needed a pair of pants.
~Foo Foo eats up all his food faster than we can give the little guy pellets and his water gets frozen every night. Poor little guy-his little rabbit counterparts are snug in warm little burrows and he is left to fend for himself in a wire and wood hut. I try to give him lots of food and straw-maybe getting him FAT will give him more INSULATION and the winter will be easier on him. :-)
~Pictures start to make HUGE piles in my craft cupboard, over my desk, and on the dining room table. Avalanches start to become a distinct possibility. I look forward to scrapbooking them all-but can not seem to find the time to do it so they continue to pile up, coming dangerously close to threatening our very lives.
~My mending box is starting to swell up with need-to-repair clothes. Now is the time to do it or it will soon POP leaving our bedroom covered in clothes that truly SHOULD just go to Salvation Army and be forgotten about. But, back to ~3, replacements cost more than repairments. :-)
~I have two winter jackets. One that is for BLIZZARD conditions and one that is more 'fallish' both of which are threatening to pop their buttons with my growing Peanut. (On a side note: Corynn informed me the other day of the gender of Peanut. We were sitting on the couch with my shirt up watching Peanut's kicks deform my belly in alien-like ways when she looked at me and said, "Mama-Baby Peanuts' girl. Peanuts' Crynnie Sister. Yes! Crynnies' sister!" So there you have it. She is reliable one. I have trained her not to lie. Peanut must be a girl. You can trust a two-year old. :-)
So goes January. ONWARD HO! And a Boggle competition awaits...
Dear Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI should ask you b/c you're a queen of decorating etiquette. I took down the lights, the Christmas sleigh, the red candles, etc., but I haven't yet had the strength of will to store the berry wreath and pine branch. Are there acceptable "wintry" decorations that double as Christmas decorations that one can leave up all winter?
Please help.
- A Flummoxed Housewife
#2. I love Boggle! Now that John's home, we've been playing board games, too. He loves them and has been especially enamoured with German board games for the last few years. He seized the opportunity this Christmas to buy himself some out-of-the-ordinary board game treats, and he surprised the girls and I with some, too.
Come visit! We'll play the whole night through! :)
#3. Christmas deals. I've never gone shopping after any holidays; I don't even think of it because I was raised in a shopless environment. THIS year, though, we walked past a section with 75% off Christmas things, and I spent some of my Christmas money on decorations that I've wanted for a few years now but never could bring myself to buy. I got a cool tree skirt, a cloth Christmas tablecloth, and a few other things, and that one little taste made me crazy! I told John that it's a good thing I'm relatively unused to shopping (apart from boring stuff and groceries) b/c it's addicting!
#4. Remember the coat I was straining into when we last visited? You should see me now! I really hate the fact that maternity coats never show up anywhere for a good price. The only other options are to slouch around in a coat four sizes too big in the arms and chest or to squeeze into a coat that makes one's voice squeak! I'll keep my eyes peeled now for TWO maternity winter coats, one for a long-legged girl and one for me. Here's hopin'.
Rebecca, Corynn might just be able to wear those boots for several years! John is just over a year older than her and he wears a size 7 or so right now!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have you girls over for a game night! My hubby is NOT a game person! I guess I'll have to wait until my boys get big enough to play with me! Sigh.
If the Lord blesses us soon with another baby blessing, I won't have to worry about winter coats!!! Ah, how sweet it is! Summer, 'twill soon be here!
Abby, I'd leave the wreath and pine branch up at least for a little longer!
My mom and I went out shopping EARLY the day after Christmas! Everything was 50% off. We can get a much bigger tree now so we didn't have enough ornaments! I was able to buy some really cool ones along with some wrapping paper and a few other things! We have fun! We were home by about 10:30AM!
Are winter clothes on sale yet? I need to get some long underwear and some winter boots. We're lacking fundage right now, too, so I'll probably settle for the long johns.
Millie's a size 9! That girl needs to be a farmer's daughter...
ReplyDeleteRebecca,
My mom said to count her in for the quilt block fun. I just have to remind her to make it in time. :)
And, Leah, the decorations will probably stay (b/c our apt. is pretty lackluster even WITH them). It's very cool that you found ornaments. That's one thing I couldn't find when I looked; the shelves were stripped pretty bare (of course, we were out the week after Christmas.) I guess next year, I should join the early bird bargain shoppers!
What size are your feet? I might have an extra pair of boots you can have.
Dear Flummoxed Housewife-Definately keep the extra stuff up. Winter DEFINATELY deserves some specialness too! :-) I always keep my wreaths up all winter and I am even keeping the pine boughs and small alpine trees out. :-)
ReplyDeleteAbby-(I am pretending you are not the above mentioned housewife so that I can feel like I got an extra comment....)
To both Abby and Leah...
on the subject of GAMES:
Yes-we all need to play together. Although, I may lose my championship title at Boggle with you ladies...am I willing to give that up for good company??!?! yep!
2) Christmas Deals
This year I am not even LOOKING at decorations or anything 'frivolous' since, basically, we have a lot already. (Because I have bought them at after-Christmas sales in years previous-that is the way to go. Sounds like you both got some GREAT stuff!) The sales that are KILLING me to walk past are the toys, puzzles, books, and clothes that go more than 50% off right after Christmas. Now they are at 50-80% off. All those things not only are great fill-ins for necessities (clothes for us) but also as gifts for next Christmas and birthdays throughout the year. Yes, Leah, now is when the sales are-though they will only get BETTER as the weeks progress. The end of January has a LOT of super duper sales but by then, you may have to get what you can get. Variety and stock is limited because not many people will wait out that long.
WINTER APPAREL and the LIKE:
Abby-don't you dare look for a coat for me! If you don't stop being ridiculously generous-I will never feel I can post anything I might need for fear you will see that I actually GET it!
Leah-the joys of pregnancy in summer include lack of winter coats-but EVEN BETTER is the opportunity to avoid bending down low to tie your shoes because you can go barefoot or wear slip-on sandels! So, here's to being pregnant in summer! (As opposed to me who will be just giving birth and thus carrying around extra baggage during the months where all the skinny-mini's flaunt more than their fair share of skin. Talk about a complex (since I already had one before!)
Oh-one more thing! I am SOOOOO excited that your mom is going to make me a square too. That is super-nice of her...but I think that is all she is CAPABLE of being! (BTW-Are these GIVEN squares or EXCHANGED squares? ANd if exchanged...are they exchanged just with me or with any other willing ladies?)
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of games, we here love to play all sorts of games, although my husband is more the type to play long-drawn out ones like Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe should all get together and do this!! We are always pestering my mom and stepdad to play games. We did play Scattergories the other night and it was so much fun!
John is a size 7?! I didn't think Matthew had boats or anything, but he is a size 9. Abby, don't feel bad! LOL The nice thing is, with my two boys being born in April and May and being about 2yrs apart, my youngest is able to wear the oldest one's things. I don't know how long that will keep up, but it's nice now! :)
Until we get some more closets or shelves built around here, I am not even going near sales. I don't care how great they are! Our families already pile us with tons of things every Christmas and birthday. I just hauled 2 huge bags of things to Salvation Army yesterday...
Rebecca, the good thing about having a baby in the spring is that soon the weather will be beautiful and you can get out and take walks, etc, to lose some pounds. I have to rely on a treadmill and exercise tapes 'cause I'm not skating around these cold, blustery hills with three little guys! :P
It's so good to see everyone posting again!!!
ReplyDeleteRebecca, I'll check out the sales the next time I'm in town!
Michelle, I'm trying to think positively about possibly having a late summer/early fall baby. John was born in July and I got a bit swollen and uncomfortable toward the end. I think spring would be perfect! Like you said, then you can get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and work on losing the baby weight!
Abby, I wear an 8 1/2 usually. I've not been out shopping the day after Christmas in years! In fact, I may have never gone before! It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Although this subject has almost been exhausted, I'm going to put my 2 cents in. I loved having Samuel the end of April. I enjoyed taking him on walks and to the park pretty much all summer long. I looked and felt pretty darn good during the summer (not tooting my own horn or anything, it's just that after Samuel was born I weighed less than when I got pregnant in the first place!) I gained my baby weight back and then some, when the weather got cold, and I had 2 babies to lug in and out of the house, in snowsuits and hats etc..
ReplyDeleteAs for games, I am hoping to organize a game night sometime soon. I wanted to do it in January, but with a few parties I will be helping with/ organizing, I think I will have to put it off till the middle of March. Maybe all of you game enthusiasts would be interested in coming?!?!
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI'm "game!" (Hee hee) A game night sounds wonderful! I'll be sure to be there!