Mr. Fix It

Ish was quite the little helper over the weekend - helping daddy put together a new toy shelf for the basement. Naturally, Manny's tools were the right fit for the job.

Oh right, I didn't do a Thanksgiving recap

I'm a little bummed that I didn't get a bunch of pictures this Thanksgiving. But even without photographic evidence, I will certainly remember this one!

Somewhere around 5AM Ish woke up. So Matt went and got him out of his crib and brought him into our bed, in the hopes that maybe we could all snooze just a little while longer. Then Matt turned to me and said "Do you feel cold?" And yes, I did feel cold. So he went to investigate why our normally blazing hot bedroom was stone cold. And he found the answer: we were out of fuel.

We have a plan with our oil company - we pay them a flat monthly fee and they make sure we are always full. It's called the "Automatic" plan. It's actually quite convenient for us - we don't ever have to think about our oil level, when we're getting a fill up, etc. It just happens. But apparently, the last automatic fill didn't happen.

So Matt called the emergency number for the oil company and got voicemail (of course). The house was somewhere in the mid-60s and getting colder. With no heat or hot water the best course of action was to leave the house. So I dressed Ish, packed a light bag for me and Matt and we headed to my mom's house somewhere around 6:30 in the morning. We were headed there for Thanksgiving dinner anyway, but certainly not that early! And in my haste to pack a few shower/clothing essentials, I forgot to pack my camera.

When we got to my mom's house we showered and dressed and just hung out. Matt had to deal with multiple phone calls to the oil company (who at first tried to blame us for this problem before they realized THEY screwed up). After several hours of promising us they would be at our house asap, they finally arrived to give us 10 gallons of emergency fuel somewhere around 6:30PM. About 13 hours after our initial phone call to them.

Needless to say, it was an eventful day. Matt ran to the house at one point to check on things and grabbed my camera on his way back, but I just wasn't in a picture mood. Sad to say, I only took a handful of pics.

Here's Ish enjoying a pre-meal snack of olives. He insisted that I pick them out of the salad that was pre-made for dinner. He ate about half a can of olives on his own!
And here he is using his new Tinkerbell doll as a seat. He insisted on getting this stuffed doll when he took a run to Sears earlier in the morning with Matt and my dad. He uses it as a pillow, a chair, a weapon, you name it.
And that's all I got. Cute, but there were so many other cute moments I wish I captured. I'll be sure to do better on Christmas.

Black Friday is Overrated

Seriously, I remember when it used to be fun. We used to get up "early" (the earliest the stores opened was 6 - not this 10PM-2AM, 3AM stuff). I actually attempted to go to Toys R Us last night for a Buzz Lightyear deal. I drove up to see a packed parking lot and a line extending around the building. It was cold and there was a bit of a freezing rain falling. So no thank you. I drove right on by and went home.

I think the bulk of my shopping will be done online this year. And where you ask - where else but CSN stores! They certainly have everything you can think of for gifts - toys for the kiddies, cookware for the chefs, leather messenger bags for the working moms and dads in your life, etc.

So I think I'll stay in my nice warm house with my cute little kid and shop from home this year.

What are your shopping plans?

Wordless Wednesday: The Santa Pics

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

On Saturday Matt and I decided to start our holiday decorating (after seeing Santa on Friday it seemed fitting). Ish was creative director this year. Here he is telling daddy exactly how to construct our tree.
He didn't let daddy forget he was in charge - he never took his eyes off the tree.
His hands seemed to be on the tree a lot too - even though we kept saying "no touching!"
Eventually Ish got bored and decided to lay down on the job.
He felt that the whole project was just taking way too long.
And then there was a light malfunction that delayed the project even more.
So Ish abandoned the tree project and decided to model his reindeer antlers for us.
When that got boring, he insisted on a snack and Toy Story dvd break.
So I finished off the decorating projects on my own. I started with decorating the tree.
I picked out all my favorite ornaments.




Then I put out all our cute little stuffed decorations (there's Ish in the background, eating an apple).
I put up our stockings.
And put "old time Santa" in his rightful spot in front of the fireplace.
Matt hung the lighted garland on the staircase.
And the final touch - the Santa Christmas countdown statue.
Now, on the the outside decorations!!!

Better than expected

I feared this day since last year. The day we would head to the mall to see Santa again. Since Matt and I were off on Friday afternoon we decided to try our luck at seeing the big guy. We tried to hype up Ish all week - and even he seemed excited to see Santa that day. We started out the trip with a ride on Ish's favorite mall attraction - the escalator.
It was a different Santa this year. Very nice. Very patient. Ish was not impressed.
He tried his best to escape. I was ready to just give up on this attempt.
Then I told him that Santa would bring him Toy Story toys if he was a good boy.
Then he realized he needed to be nice and let us take some pictures. We actually got a few decent shots. I'll have to scan in the pro pics for Wordless Wednesday.
After Santa we hit the food court for some coloring and some lunch for me and Matt.
Then we decided to push our luck and see if Ish would sit by himself in the barber's chair for a quick cut.
He surprised us by willingy sitting alone and letting Danny cut his hair.
Ironically enough, ever since Friday, Ish has been insisting on going back to see Santa again this year. I **think** we might be over our Santa aversion (now that he understands that Santa = toys!).

My Christmas List

Dear Santa -

I've been good this year. At least I think I have. Most people would agree with me. I think. If you agree, I would like to request the following items stuffed somewhere alongside the 1000 presents Ish will be getting (and let's be honest, he's been good, but not exactly 1000 presents good).

First and foremost, I'm still waiting for an I-Pad. I've hinted to wanting one on this blog before, but apparently Steve Jobs doesn't read my blog, therefore, no free I-Pad from Stevie. I could blog on the I-Pad and also answer emails and keep in touch with dear family and friends - so really it benefits everyone if I have one.

Secondly, Wii Fit please. You make fat and jolly work. I'm more like fat and cranky. I do better as a skinny person. Come summer 2011 I plan on committing myself to be skinny again. I need a fun way to do that. I heard Wii Fit is all about the fun. Plus, Matt and Ish could play along too (not that young Ish needs to lose any weight, but maybe we can tire him out enough to take a nap). So, again, everyone wins if I get this.
Third, remote start. It's getting really cold here. And every morning I watch Matt click on his remote start from the warmth of the guest bathroom and then happily skip off to the kitchen to make his lunch before getting in his toasty car. I have to try to time out running outside in the freezing cold 10-15 minutes before Ish bellows for me to come get him out of his crib. Then, if I don't time it right, I have to try to wrangle a toddler and my work stuff into the car without letting whatever precious little heat that built-up out of the car. No one's happy about that. Me and Ish really need this.
And last, but not least, I'm going to need a large denomination gift card to The Container Store. As Ish grows I have to find new ways to store his clothes and baby toys and TCS really has the best bins for under house storage (think: mice).
So there you have it. I don't think that's too much to ask for, is it? If it is, I'll give you an IOU for being good in 2011.

Love,

Me

Wordless Wednesday: Big Pretzel Love

Not that he needs any more toys...

I mean really, you've seen the playroom, he already has a few thousand. But, he's cute. And he really really really really loves all his toys. So I might have to indulge his new obsession: Toy Story.

I'm not really sure how he got into Toy Story, but here we are. All he wants to do when we get home is watch the movie and play with his little action figurines. He loves talking about Woody and Buzz and making dinosaur noises whenever he sees Rex.

So, being the enabler I am, I've been checking out the latest Toy Story toys on Amazon.

I'll have to get him a talking Buzz - he's his favorite.
He has a real love for Woody as well.
I'm a Slink fan, so this one is more for me than for Ish, but he'll still get a kick out of it.
No collection would be complete without the RC car.
And they have some cute little playsets that I think Ish would love (he's into playsets now).
I guess we'll have to wait and see what Santa brings.

Thankful Thursday

It's Veteran's Day once again. A day to honor those who serve and who have served. My dad and both my grandpa's served with the US Navy. Matt served with the US Army. Matt seems to think Ish is West Point material, but at the moment he screams and runs away from his 11-month-old cousin Maryann, so we'll just have to wait and see if he grows up to be Army material. I think he'd be a better fit at my Alma Mater personally, but we have time to figure that out.

So, Happy Veteran's Day to all who served and serve. I am thankful for the freedom I have and I know that sacrifices have been made for me to be this free.

And a special Happy Veteran's Day from Ish too - Iona College, class of 2030 ;-)