hope your list is getting done.  i'm sorry to hear about your cold - 'tis the season! 

 

well it took a little longer than i thought but i'm done so that's good.  i'm moving really fast.  i hope i can keep this up although i know i will hit a wall eventually.  i'm tempted to run errands now instead of later but i know later i will be sleepy so getting out will help perk me back up.  i think from now until 12 i will just do as much as possible and still leave here right at 12.  i will need all the errand time since i want to get a new blouse and i KNOW that will take a good long time - blech.  i have nothing but summer shirts so i have to get something for christmas eve instead of wearing one of my same 2 sweatshirts i wear everyday (which would be too hot anyway since i'll be cooking).

 

so before i check in at 12 i will:

• do a 100 pickup which may or may not include the dishwasher, we shall see!
• sweep
• reboot laundry
• hang 25 shirts (i washed all the winter stuff and folded the shirts but i like them hung so that needs to be started!)
• finish my den gifts
• wipe off the top of the cabinets (just enough so dust can't be see against the lights)
• put up one strand of lights in the kitchen

well now, i am a little down but not super depressed like i would have probably been pre-medicine.  our blow-up santa we bought yesterday, 6ft tall and adorable, was stolen.  ahhh.  what is this neighborhood coming to?  i turned him on around 9:30 and he was gone by 11:30.  i should have left him off except at night.  he was tied to the house and rain gutter to keep him from blowing away and there's no damage plus his cord was plugged into an extension cord that was inside the garage and the plug part was pulled outside the garage thru the weatherstripping at the bottom of the door so he was definitely stolen..  i called the police but of course they can't do anything.  i just wanted it on record.  first my birdhouse the summer before last, my beautiful birdhouse, and now this.  the kids will be very upset.  they kissed him and hugged him when he went up.  i may go get a new one before they get home.  we'll see.  i don't feel like it tho.

 

man i smell major cat poop down here!  i'm gonna check the box - if there is no uncovered one than maybe one of them  pooped altho i can't really see that happening.

 

so i got a few things done but not the shirts or sweeping and not the den gifts.  i did do the 100 pickup, the laundry, wiping the cabinet tops and stapling up some lights.

 

before i come back i will:

 

pick up 50 more things

look at my den gifts

get dressed! (my only decent shirt is in the dryer)

 

then i'm leaving for errands.  man it stinks down here!

Ok, i gotta get out of here. Our snack turned into pb and banana sandwiches so our lunch. Timmy fell asleep on my lap while I ate (he did eat some too though) and is now sleeping so I hope he stays asleep as I transport him to the van. Gotta hope my birth cert. is in the van with our passports though I think I can still use my passport as ID (you have to have 3 pieces of ID to renew your health card. craziness!)

 

My nose has a constant tickle that's driving me up the wall. Plus, my lips are super cracked. I can't wait to see what my picture will look like for my health card! lol Oh yaeh, throw in mega bags under my eyes from being sick and not sleeping well because Timmy hasn't been sleeping well.

 

I'm thinking I'll be back around 1 as I'm really hoping to go to the Bulk store after, even if Timmy is sleeping, cause I'll have the stroller. I need to make a double batch of the Snickers fudge cause it was so stinkin' good and if I get it done ASAP, I can freeze it in batches and bring it out for the various Christmas functions we have and not have to worry about making it the night before. Yay! I'm tackling procrastination!

 

Yikes, off I go! Hope you got your list done and have fun running errands! Hopefully you're not dealing with the same rain and STRONG winds we have here. I just hope the temp doesn't drop until tonight so then I don't have to deal with ice when walking to the school. Plus, we wanted to take care of some christmas shopping tonight before dh has a meeting at 9.

post that snickers recipe!  sounds so good.  we have strong winds but no rain right now.  it's relatively warm here.  50's or 60's i think.  feels downright cozy after saturday which was frigid.

 

off i go

We're back. Augh, I spent $12 on milk chocolate chips. I have to compare the weight, etc but I'm fairly sure I could have bought the same amount at the grocery store for half the price. Sometimes the bulk stores are just a huge rip-off. I find if I need to buy a big amount of something, it's usually cheaper to buy it at the grocery store. Spices are much cheaper at the bulk store though and if I'm looking for specialty stuff, the bulk store is good for that too.

 

Timmy was bad in the store though. augh I didn't dare try any more errands.

 

So, an hour and 15 mins or so left... what to do, what to do. I think I'll try to get Timmy to nap again. Gotta call Andrea's mom... what to say, what to say. It'll be a message, I'm thinking. I guess I'll just say I was just wondering what was going on in regards to care for Andrea and that I'll have to give them an invoice for the days Andrea used care after Nov. 26th since they aren't covered under subsidy anymore. I'll also ask if she needs care for the Christmas holidays. And, we'll see what happens there.... I won't say anything about not watching her yet cause I want to know what their response will be for that.

 

Ok, first things first, grab Timmy and get him to sleep. Then hopefully I'll be back with a drilling list!

found my santa in the back yard ROFL  i'm so glad!

 

that sucks about the bulk store.  we only have bulk candy and nuts at our grocery store but i used to go to one in maryland that had spices - boy that was nice!  if you only needed a teaspoon or whatever.  i do like buying one or two pieces of candy for decorating cakes or special desserts, like buying one hammerhead gumi shark for my pirate cake and only paying 6 cents but i don't know if a bag of them was cheaper or not.  you'd think just the word "bulk" should mean cheaper per pound!

 

the snickers fudge looks really yummy.  i think i may try it after christmas altho by then hopefully i'll be eating better.  i'm not a huge fan of snickers but the fudge sounds good. 

 

speaking of eating better, i had to buy a SACK to cover my huge body today at fashion bug.  man oh man. i'm the biggest ever.  sigh...

 

good luck calling andrea's mom - it is nice to be able to leave a message instead of talking to her directly - then you can read from a script or whatever.

 

i got my errands done except the bank but i'll just ask scott to take care of all of it at work thru the credit union instead.  my cleaning job checks i usually put in a separate local account which we use for vacations and christmas or whatever but i need to get these checks deposited - i have a very bad habit of holding their checks for months which makes me look really bad and careless (and it is bad and careless).

 

i also didn't go to hallmark yet.  hate going to the mall!  and once i bought the fashion bug hefty bag shirt, i no longer needed to go to jc penney so to go just to return that ornament didn't do it for me - especially when i'd have to turn left out of giant's parking lot and the parking is very poorly designed so everyone going left was all bottled up and the line was about 30 cars long - the light only lets about 5 through at a time.  easier to just come home and i did okay anyway.  didn't get the presciption either because they hadn't called it in yet but i called afterward and they are doing it now.  don't need it 'til 12/22 so that can wait.

 

got my socks for puppets.  i so do not have energy to be creative with my sock right now - i will probably just wait and try to do mine with the kids but i doubt i'll be able to - they are all going to need help gluing with the hot glue guns.  crap i just remembered i need to find my other hot glue gun but at least i remembered to buy glue sticks.  my puppet will have gold curling ribbon for hair and i was hoping to glue some false eyelashes i have to ping pong balls to mimic my large protruding eyes hee hee.  and a little blue neckerchief with a bling-y slide holding it together.  this would be fun if i had time and energy to actually do it!

 

no more chatting for me.  back to work!

my headache is starting to subside. 

 

i'm making a dent in the many many shirts.  it's probably about 50 or 60.  i sorted them by kid, then by play or good, then by short or long sleeve.  got all chane's good short sleeves hung.  that was 17 shirts so i have about 40 left.  UGH

 

also got groceries put away and some other things done.  lay down after taking a sinus pill for about 5-10 minutes and that helped my head.  i feel like i am still cruising.  marinated chicken and it's in the oven now.  it's going to be for sliced chicken sandwiches so i'll get it out of the oven by 4:45 or so, let it rest 20 minutes, and have it sliced and ready to go at a decent time so we don't end up rushing afterward to scouts like usual.

 

before i come back at 4:30 i will have:

 

finished hanging shirts

swept

put my stinky jeans in to wash

 

woohoo!  85 shirts hung plus all the play shirts i stuffed in one of their playshirt bins.  that's not even including what was already hanging and the hoodies i need to wash yet.  lots of clothes!  but i should be better now - it was only like that because of getting all their winter stuff out of the attic and washing it because it had a funky stale perfumey smell.

 

also swept the dining room and kitchen and put my jeans in the wash (did the rest in a sweatshirt, underwear and socks and shoes - very pretty!)

 

oh yeah and changed chicken to broil - need to go flip it now, timer going off.

 

i think i need to start scout stuff now but it shouldn't be bad.  we are not doing any requirements tonight, just making puppets but i do need to pack some things for that plus make an agenda.

I missed your post at 11:49 about your santa. When I read your newest post about the Santa, I knew I missed something!! How in the world did it end up in the backyard and unplugged?! I would be hugely disappointed as well if it was stolen :( SO glad it was found!

 

Yeah, I don't like snickers either but this fudge was so stinkin' good.

 

I didn't call Andrea's mom :( So, looks like I'll be doing that tomorrow when she's home. argh Man Actually, I'll probably put it off again because I have an ultrasound at 11. So, maybe then I'll call Wed. when she's at work again. lol Anything to avoid talking to a human on a phone!

 

Aw man about the shirt :( Maybe we both can help out each other. I'm using the pregnancy thing as my excuse which I can do, within reason. But, my butt is HUGE. My maternity pants are not going to fit me for very much longer because of my stinkin' butt... not my belly. argh. I can't remember the last time I did real exercises :( Nor, can I really remember the last time I had a craving or something and denied myself it.

 

Good job on the errands! The sock puppets sound great! I hope everything goes well tonight.

 

Woohoo on the shirts!! that's huge!

 

Timmy's sleeping in my arms and he'll likely wake up if I put him down so I'm going to make up a menu for the week so I can hopefully go grocery shopping tonight or tomorrow morning before the ultrasound. I'll check the movies I downloaded too to make sure they are the right ones. I should start looking for songs for dh's CD that I'm hoping to put in his stocking.

 

 

 

 

that is really nice about the CD for his stocking.  i always have homemade gift ideas but rarely do them.  you would think being unemployed i'd get to them!  i was going to make a whole year's worth of pictures in an album for each person in my family but decided to just make albums from last christmas instead for just scott, meemaw, and a small one for erik.  the kids would probably like one too but i still want to do a whole year for them.  maybe i can get it done by their birthdays in january (yeah right!).  i'll see their reactions to the christmas ones first.  i just finally uploaded them to yorkphoto.com last night and am hoping to get them soon.  then i'm going to put them in tiny albums for a quick homemade gift.  i also have two photo pens i need to put pictures in for scott and meemaw.  i was supposed to do those LAST year!

 

that's so sweet you can work and do stuff with a sleeping child in your arms.  i'd be trying to figure out how to put him in bed.  that's part of myself i don't like - my inability to just enjoy my kids while still doing other stuff but i can't pay attention to two things at once.  sami just sat on my lap for the first time a minute ago and i couldn't do anything with her there.  and she's just a cat!

 

my butt is what outgrew my maternity clothes too sara.  and that is when i was thin like you.  i would like to wear a decent top to the banquet in february that is also on my birthday.  we'll see.  i'm going to try!

 

that's too bad about andrea's mom.  i'd probably wait to get the machine again!  you can't send her an email?

 

that's good to know about the snickers.  it sounds good but i was hesitant since i'm not a snickers fan.  i like all the elements, just not together.  not that it stops me from eating them! lol.  i have everything for them already except marshmallow cream, cream, and caramels.  hmmmm, maybe i will go ahead and make them?  another we'll see...

 

i need to put pants on and start getting ready for scouts.  i'm proud that i  managed to do everything on my list so far (not including what i have planned for later) except the puppets and theater.  i really do need to do those soon tho - i don't want to deal with something like that right before christmas!  i am proud of my den gifts.  for about $10 i have gifts for 22 kids - they each are getting a slide around a candy cane in a bag with some candy.  it looks nice and it's more than candy so i'm happy.  no way could we afford the $3 per kid i usually spend!

 

i'll try to check in before we leave. 

Ah, I always have big intentions of doing this or that. Actually, the past few years, I've given up on doing anything homemade for Christmas minus crafts with the kids. This year, I'm not even going to bother getting them to do something for their parents for Christmas. Is that bad!? They've already done foam snowflakes and had a blast. Maddie wants to wrap those up for her parents. I'm going to get them to do foam stockings that they put their name on it and then hang it on their door or anywhere at home. I also want to do gingerbread men. I bought them a book from the book orders... the older ones will get Mad Libs and a pen. Laura is getting a book on animals but I should buy her a pen or she'll feel left out. The Mad Libs (with candy cane pen) were $3 or $4 each adn then Laura's book was $2. Now, I have one for Andrea but I decided not to give it to her once I knew her term date was ending but now that she's back (and not really by my choice), I'm not sure what to do. I don't think I'll have her over the Christmas holidays so her last day before Christmas will be this Wed. I'll be giving all the kids their stuff on Friday. Maybe I'll just do a card for her family... is that bad? I have her less than an hour/day, Mon and Wed. So, it's not like she's here a lot.

 

Those are great gifts for your scout kids... how did they like them?!

 

Aw man, Emily just came down and there's a spider in their room. Geez. So, I gotta head up there and kill it or they won't sleep. Soo, that's the end of my computer time for tonight. my knee is REALLY acting up for some odd reason so the stairs are giving me issues.

 

TTYL tomorrow!

If you tell the kids not to open anything 'til they get home would that help?  I do that with goodie bags for parties sometimes so if I have to make them different because of running out of stuff nobody knows.

 

I got up right at 6, no snooze, because Scott woke me up at 5:45 to ask me to help him find the credit card.  Turns out it was right where I had told him but he didn't see it so that was good.  I hate when I actually lose stuff that he needs!  But that woke me up and when my alarm went off 15 minutes later I managed to get busy right away.  Before I took the kids to school I fried bacon for a potato dish for Christmas, measured out all of the ingredients for 2 different kinds of cookies (choc chip and pb blossoms, my first time making the pb blossoms) and made a batch of salsa.  I even cleaned as I went until the salsa but the kitchen is a little messy now.

 

Going to make a schedule and start working.  You around yet Sara?  You've probably already done twice as much as me but for me this is pretty good!

got caught up and missed my deadline.  i did everything on my list and then started the cookies.  have a rack of pb blossoms cooling now, one in the oven, and am mixing the choc chip.  i'll try to be back and done everything incl cleanup by 10!

oh man cookie baking always takes so much longer than i plan!

 

i'm tired and don't feel like heavy cleaning the family room.  i think i'm going to rework my list so that i'm cleaning when i feel like it.

 

the pb blossoms taste like crap.  i don't know if it's me or if i did something wrong.  i did use butter flavored shortening instead of regular.  shortening in cookies kind of grosses me out anyway but i usually lose pb blossoms.  maybe i've had them made differently than the recipe?