Wild Child: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Seattle

I cannot believe it is December. Where did this year go? It is sort of cold here, but raining like CRAZY every week. I'm not talking small rain showers, I'm talking FLOODS for the past two weeks, and this week's forecast is no different. I feel like I live in SEATTLE. UGH. If it is December, and there's precipitation, can it please be snow? And really, I hate cold, so I would actually like a warm 72 degrees.

As you know if you read my last post, the house is decorated. Did that BEFORE Thanksgiving since I found my little loophole this year. And Thanksgiving...that was easy! We literally got a meal from Cracker Barrel and ate in our sweatpants.

Pretty table for such a casual affair, huh? We really were in sweatpants. It was incredible. We actually ended up spending the night at my parents' house (there was a bit o' merriment after several pitchers of sangria...). My mom, the genius she is, got Lucy this cardboard playhouse thingy. You've probably seen them, as they are in all the stores. Anyway, if you need a good 6-8 hour break, just get your kid one. Lucy was entertained ALL DAY LONG and it was MAGICAL. Mommy had lots of wine and was wearing her sweat pants-could life have been better?! Well, perhaps if I'd been on a beach in the Caribbean... but anyway, it ranked way up there.

After all our merriment, we made REAL Christmas cookies with Lucy.

See how proud she was?! We didn't take too many pictures, as there was lots of flour, sprinkles, dough, and well, they didn't look so great. I'm more from the school of "Nestle Tollhouse" where you just open the pack, plop 'em on a pan, and you're done. For some reason my mom and I thought she needed the experience of using real dough and cookie cutters. It was not something I'll do again any time soon.

After cookies were done and we all settled into bed, we woke the day after and went to the Fantasy of Trees. If you aren't from around here, it is a HUGE event that raises money for Children's Hospital (which we have donated to quite a lot this year ourselves:-) Anyway, local businesses, churches, schools, etc. decorate trees and gingerbread houses to be auctioned off. There are TONS of activities for kids to do, including SANTA and a CAROUSEL! Yay for Santa, and the carousel...well, if you've ever read my blogs, you know how this is about to go.

We had fun. Lu did every craft she could. She LOVED Santa! I got some great pictures-it is quite helpful that she's such a diva and loves to "pose." She psychotically loved the pink Christmas tree, and due to that love, she now has a small version of the one we saw in her room. She's quite proud of that too. Her grandmother convinced her to go on the carousel. She made it a half-lap around before the screaming started. After A LOT of coaxing, my genius (different, more sarcastic tone now) mother and I convinced her she was ok. you can't really see the fear in her eyes in the picture, but I assure you, that isn't a smile. SHE HATES THOSE THINGS. WHY DO WE KEEP TRYING?!?!?

After the Fantasy of Trees and our big holiday weekend, we've just been keeping quiet (and trying to stay dry). Nobody is sick, and yes, as I write this I am knocking on wood. Lucy hasn't actually been on antibiotics since her last dose on Halloween. It is unbelievable. That is why I am convinced I'll get a call from her school this week telling me she's barfed. Oh well. It has been a nice few weeks!

I've also found myself a new hobby. Bryan is ALWAYS studying (which I am glad he's doing so well and about to be DONE-YAY!) and mama needs something to do after 7:30 p.m. Yes, I know I could exercise. I do look 4 months pregnant, but in fact, am not. I have been obsessed with banners lately. You might have seen them in magazines, or maybe you have one. If you do, I was very jealous of you. If you have no clue, they look like this:

You can hang them seasonally, and they look great on mantles, on vaulted ceilings that aren't too high, on mirrors, in doorways, the list goes on and on. SO, I've been obsessing about them. I can't find them in stores, so I looked on etsy. If you don't know etsy, wow, it's a bit like pinterest. If you don't know pinterest, sorry, we can't be friends. BOTH VERY ADDICTING. I know ya'll already know we're dirt poor. I can't be buying stuff on etsy!!!! So after hours looking at stuff yesterday, I decided, much like the quotes on canvases, I CAN DO THAT! So, a quick trip to Michael's and I had me some stuff (being careful not to spend more than the cost of one etsy banner mind you). Four hours later, I had me FOUR banners.