Season might be over but......

that doesn't stop us!

Don't worry NASA it's only our house!

Ben was at it again last night! Adding Frosty the inflatable (not a fake frosty but the "real" frosty) to the yard and MY NEW GIRAFFE!!!!!

I came home from work and was totally shocked to see a jolly jingle giraffe sitting at my back door all plugged in waiting for me to love him. I screamed like a little school girl went bouncing into the house to quiz C on it (I already knew him and my mother were up to being the little elves!) the second thought immediately was "oh crap Ben is going to kill me and we have NO where to store this after Christmas". Oh well, I love giraffes and have never seen a Christmas giraffe before, maybe the little elf who delivered it will also allow for storage????

I can say our house this year isn't as bad as it normally is. I'm thinking as the hubby gets older NASA is safe from seeing that from the international space station...hehe!

~danine

The Christmas tree has sprung

Well our Christmas tree has made it's arrival today. Ben and C dug it out of the shed and carried into the house and assembled it. Yes we have an artificial pre-lit tree.



Ben grew up with an artifical tree and I grew up with always have a real tree but since I'm allergic to evergreens and the allergy keeps getting worse as I get older, our household has an artificial tree (I must admit, I really like not having to climb under the tree to water it and not have to pick needles out of the carpeting for weeks on end!).



As you can tell, C got into his usual spirit and decorated himself up too! I can't even say he got into too much eggnog all I can say is.....that's my boy, lol!

Friday night Santa arrived in town here. This year, our little boro decided to start a kinda of winter festival. They had a little parade and tried to get the local business owners in on it. One of C's best buddies' mom owns a shop right down town and she got C and her son (we call him Eggie) to dress up in a snowman costume she designed and made herself. The boys had a blast! They ran around main street for about 3 hours entertaining the traffic and the kids, adults too (and by C's accounts I think him and Eggie had as much fun has the kiddies!!).



Unfortunately I had to work that night but I asked Ben to go down and take pictures. Here's one of C in the snowmen costume with Eggie and another one of his buddies. Rumor has it that C and Eggie have requested to do it again next year and have asked Eggie's mom to make a penguin or a gingerbread man costume also so they can both go at it together. God help the town next year!!


~danine

Hoping the roots stick!

The world is a great mirror.

It reflects back to you what you are.

If you are loving,

If you are friendly,

If you are helpful,

The world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you.

The world is what you are.

A wonderful co-worker and friend (thanks again Lisa, boy it's seems like you've been saving the day alot lately!) posted this on her blog and it really touched home. We've tried from day one to teach C to treat others how you'd want them to treat you, not judge the book by the cover, and all those wonderful things BUT as we all know no one is perfect and WE ALL have our down times. Again another lesson for C (and this one he's come to realize fully!) Karma comes around. I pray in the years to come that C can reflect back on these words, in tough times and in difficult times and keep to who he truly is, not who society, friends, family, his job, etc..want him to be.

Keep being you C, remember our talks and the promises made. Remember your roots and alot of times the bum on the street has more in life than the millionaire in the mansion. 143, mom.

~danine

Catching up

Things in the household have calmed down in a sense.  We're not running around as much since soccer season is done and 6 of the 7 days of the week are not taken up with soccer.  I think C and I are both lost sometimes with having time to do whatever!  Ben on the other hand, I think is happy that the home cooked meals are back and we're not scrambling for left overs and take out so much.  I'm also thinking he's glad to have his wife back in the house hold (and the house back under control again) more often than not!

I'm still working the second job (note to remind myself to take a break during soccer season next year so my house doesn't explode!) and with the holiday season in full swing the mall hours are longer so hence my hours are longer but just think of all the male bonding time that C and Ben get to have (yea right, it's more along the lines of who can stink who out of the computer room with the farts!).

Snow and cold weather has settled in upon us, making me wonder why I still live here (I hate, hate snow).  But I'm trying to get through it with getting back to photography and I also have a photo buddy too (thanks Lisa!).  C has been over to a couple friends houses to hang out and sled ride, etc.  Hopefully we all can make it up to Aunt JoJo's house for our annual sledding competition to see who can make it the furthest and to see if anyone can finally make it out into the horse pasture (I'll promise to take pictures!!).

School is still going well for C.  The girlfriend is still illusive for him but there are some prospects in the future.  He's become more confident and "adult like".  I'm loving our conversations that we have.  He's always been my best friend but now he's really my best friend!!  You all might think it's funny but I'm trying to brace myself for the upcoming college days when he's not going to be around so much.  It's not that I haven't cut the apron strings, it's that I truly LOVE spending time and talking about life, social, music, history, reality, THINGS with C.  I love to hear his perspective on issues.  I guess all I can say is thank goodness for unlimited "in calling" and free nights and weekends!!

~danine