'Twas the Night Before Christmas

And all through the house, there was a little boy who loved Christmas trees and presents, even though he didn't know what the presents were supposed to do.

Okay, maybe there's one present he's not too sure about yet...

We've been really busy this last week with all of our Christmas tree fascination and with having my sister and her son here to visit. My dad got here tonight and we had a great Christmas Eve Cassoulet--perhaps a tradition in the making?

And now I'm off to bed and visions of sugarplums. Not that I can eat them, but you know, I can dream!

More Great Gifts for Christmas or whenever

Woot woot! It's my hundredth blog post today! Whoopie!

Also, just came across this:

Maybe some of it is too late for Christmas, but these gifts are truly great, and you should check them out and see if perhaps you might want one for yourself! I would just LOVE a subscription to Brain, Child magazine, and while I know that most likely won't happen, if you'll go look at it you might find out that YOU'D like it too!

And just maybe I'll win a t-shirt. A girl can always hope. =)

Recipe for Disaster

Gather these ingredients:
one child, spirited, speedy, and curious
two parents, overtired and distractible
one Superstore, Huge and Evil
a million shoppers, firmly packed, slightly crazed

Combine in the Vat of Life. Mix well. Add a discussion between the two parents over which groceries are currently needed. Fold in an egg display, preferably at eye level for the toddler.

Cook for just about 15 seconds.

Yield: 12 individual servings of SPLAT!

Sprinkle with two parents who can't help but laugh, and serve immediately.

(Note: this recipe works well at any time of year, but is especially likely to yield results on a Saturday morning two weeks before Christmas.)

I Know Why You're Here

And you are, apparently, entirely motivated by pictures.

I have noticed over the past month and a half that I can be incredibly wordy. And it's been too long since I posted some juicy delicious toddler cheeks. So here you go:

I know I shouldn't be doing this, but...it's just so much fun!

Daddy naps are the BEST!

You're welcome.

NASCAR Native

I am from North Carolina.

Okay, I've only lived here since last September, but today I had an epiphany: I am starting to fit in.

Should I be scared?

This feeling of belonging is mainly based on some of my recent driving experiences, as I've been "commuting" to a distant postpartum doula job a lot lately. One thing I learned about North Carolina drivers is that most of them (us?) like to pretend that they (we?) are constantly competing in a NASCAR event; apparently NASCAR is a big deal here, which is another thing I never knew before I moved here. Anyway, today I was driving home from my job, and I was driving something between 70 and 75 mph in a 65 zone. I saw a police car and didn't even flinch, because I have learned that the acceptable speed to drive around here is understood to be 10-20 mph over what's posted. This is in direct opposition to where I learned to drive, in a town that didn't even have stoplights, and my whole life I have rarely driven more than 2 mph over the speed limit...until now, when that speed can be dangerously slow in many cases.

So I'm "speeding" along and suddenly there's a car that comes up behind me from out of nowhere, that has to be going at least 90, probably more like 100, mph. He swerves around me at the last possible second (completely unnecessarily) and zooms on by. A few seconds later, another one does the same thing, and I'm thinking maybe I'm stuck in an impromptu drag race or something...until the second car puts on his flashers and pulls the first guy over. Justice! And at last I know what does constitute unacceptable behavior on a North Carolina road, as that is one thing I've had trouble figuring out with all the hijinks that I see on the road on a daily basis.

Another common driving practice around here that is technically illegal has to do with left-turn lanes. See, the other day, I was in the left-hand "go straight" lane of a 4 lane road, coming up to a clearly green "go straight" light, and in front of me was a car with Arkansas tags that was stopped. WHAT? I thought to myself. Then I noticed that he was trying to turn left, but he had about 2 or 3 more feet of road before the actual lines painted on the road gave him a left turn lane to get into. In North Carolina, THIS DOESN'T MATTER. When you want to turn left, you just drive in the median until you get up to your lane. I have seen people doing this for over a block during rush hour. But this guy...he wasn't from here, so he didn't know the rules. And I DID! I was so proud. This was my true ah-ha! moment of belonging, that I was actually confused when a "ferriner" obeyed the traffic signals.

People run red lights here like nobody's business. As in, at just about every red light I see, I can guarantee that at least 2 people will run it....probably 3 or 4. At first I was shocked by this, but now I realize it's because the lights are often timed and not timed well, so if you don't run the light occasionally you might just be sitting there until your first grandchild is born. Not that I've done it...yet...but I get it now. Because I'm from North Carolina. ;)

I don't even blink at the scream of tires on my street corner where there is a small wreck just about once a month. I no longer find it strange when I'm driving down Road A and it intersects with Road B twice in a mile; I realize that Raleigh roads are all circular or U- or S-shaped now.I'm completely used to the fact that so many roads have two or more names that there have to be two signs on every stoplight, letting you know that if you turn left, you'll be on Northclift, but if you turn right, you'll be on Sandy Forks, or whatever...there are actually several signs like this that say, for example, left is King Charles Road and right is...King Charles Road. Because it would be crazy to just assume that the road's name will not change.

So, I've assimilated somewhat. Ben, however, is still shocked and somewhat upset that, when we put up the tree a few days ago, it was warm enough for him to be wearing a T-shirt and shorts. It was 81 degrees that day. To his Wisconsinite blood, this is sacrilegious, and Christmas is not Christmas without snow and/or freezing temperatures. To my inner Oklahoman, this is not an adjustment at all, just ordinary, everyday life.

Also part of ordinary life for me: laughing at the guy who had a license plate that said "ACURACY." Because I love me a good dose of irony.

I'm glad a few things about here and home are the same!

Mommy Guilt

Well, I really enjoyed NaBloPoMo and all, and then December hit, and my good posting juju just went out the window. So today, I decided to use a prompt to help me limp along and keep bloggin'. While randomly searching the internet and reading everyone's blogs (you are so right, Tara, it is fun but can be a colossal waste of time, like when I could be doing dishes or even taking a NAP), I found this website that does something called Flaunt it Friday and this week's topic is Guilty Pleasures.

So here we go. Here are some contenders for my top guilty pleasure:

1. Obviously, blogging and browsing blogs on the internet is a great guilty pleasure for me. I sort of feel like it's wasted time because of all the other things I could be doing (see above) but I must admit, it makes me feel connected with the world in a way that I can't really get otherwise. Therefore, it's worth it. My husband may not agree, but he might change his tune if he saw how cranky I'd be without it.

2. Chocolate. Yes, I'm diabetic, so it's not like I eat it a lot, or a lot of it. But still...ever since I got pregnant with James, just the thought of chocolate brings me mental images of decadent desserts and of me alone in a Godiva store with my choice of any and everything I want. This is funny because I never used to have much interest in chocolate. Crazy hormones! But since I don't indulge much, for diabetic reasons, that probably doesn't count.

3. Grey's Anatomy. I really don't think it's good writing. I don't think it's a show that's reflective of real life. I really can't stand how the storyline is so predictable sometimes. But still...I love getting caught up in the (fake) drama and all the fun and funny medical-ish-ness that I can enjoy. And of course, my favorite part about it all is that I can enjoy it with my husband, who loves to sit and watch it with me and make fun of the bad writing. So since it adds to my relationship with my husband in a fun way, this probably can't win either.

4. Sleep. I could do it just about anywhere, anytime, for any length of time, at least at this point in my life. When I think of things I'd rather be doing, sleep is always number one. On the rare occasions that I do get to sleep in, I feel like I've won the lottery. At the same time, even when I'm sleeping in I'm thinking about how I don't want to get up when the time comes...I just want to stay in bed a leetle bit longer. But I'll be honest, I don't feel so bad about that. We have been through sleep torture the last few months, and it's sort of a biological necessity, so that's out.

4. Reading. When I started writing this post, I really thought this one would win. I can read through just about anything, anywhere, and I have a way of getting caught up in the book such that I can have entire conversations with people and have no idea what was just said because I was busy focusing on the lines on the page in front of my face. But...reading is my escape, similar to blogging, but with more happy endings. (Not that blogging is sad or anything, just that books tend to have an ending, period, whereas blogs don't.) And I can't see that it's particularly bad for me as long as I can tear myself away from my latest trashy romance novel or weighty parenting tome and pay attention to my family.

Hm. So what is my biggest guilty pleasure?

I think my answer is going to be pretty boring, now that I've decided: alone time. This is the Big One because whenever I get it, I'm so relieved, I feel so great, I get to CHOOSE FOR MYSELF WHAT I'M GOING TO DO! I don't have to be touched! I can pee all alone! I can THINK without being interrupted! But...I always feel guilty, because I love my husband and son more than life itself, and how can I enjoy my time alone so much when I know it's just cutting into the time I get to spend with them? So, I usually go rushing back to them, because I do miss them. But I still need that alone time.

Anyone else want to share your guilty pleasures?

N.B.: It's funny, the blog where I found this topic suggested that most women's guilty pleasures are things that we know are bad for us, but ultimately, most of mine are things that I probably need but still feel bad for. What's that about? I'm thinking it's the Mommy Guilt Complex talking....needing to be everything for everyone and not taking anything for myself in the meantime. We need to work on that, ladies, and get rid of it! Let me know if you have any suggestions.

He Might Have a Point

Since I started doing NaBloPoMo, Ben has gotten increasingly irritated with the amount of time I spend blogging and thinking about blog stuff and blog topics and reading other peoples' blogs. And now, thanks to Tara, he has "proof" that I have a problem.

72%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Yes, this post is fairly pointless. But someday soon, when I can get my husband to let me have the time to blog it, I will post some new cute pics of J-man and some updates on our sleep issues.

But for now, I'm going to bed early! G'night all!

Happy December!

I admit, I'm a little sad that November is over. It's not just that I enjoyed providing you with a very lengthy, wordy, extensive, prolonged, protracted, extended post every day. It's also that I cannot now depend on everyone else to post and provide me with daily reading material!

So, good job, NaBloPoMo'ers, and keep on blogging. I know I will be. I doubt I will post every day, but I will be around. And I will be watching you. And I'm counting on you to be reading me!

And yes, there will be more pictures.

Wow, I'm tired. Good night!