Christmas in July

Please note that it's 5:47pm on Friday, 20 July 2012 & I am wrapping Christmas presents.  

Sunshine is all gung ho American Girl.  Especially Felicity & Elizabeth, both of whom are retired, I beg your pardon, archived

Archived is fancy speak for "no longer sold in stores or on our website therefore you must pay ridiculous secondary market prices for these items."  But this year I learned something interesting.  There's a "summer slump" on ebay.  Makes sense---people are away on vacation or enjoying more time out of doors with their families to sit home & scour the internet for goodies.

This has paid off to my advantage, as you can tell.  I've managed to scratch 5 retired, nay archived items off of her wish list.  And at very.reasonable prices.  So, this afternoon I'm wrapping these gifts in anticipation of being able to ship them off to VT prior to the holiday season.  One of her presents (Kit's bed) is already up there, only with the old bedding.  Hence the box with the new bedding.  Luckily that won't have to be wrapped as Santa doesn't wrap at our house.  Or at Memere's.

You might be asking yourself why do I have Christmas presents in my living room.  In broad day light.  While we were in VA visiting his family, Hunter decided he'd like to go back up to help out with his dad whose health isn't great.  Sunshine decided (the day before he left) that she'd like to go up too & spend some time w/ Grandma & Pappa.  So, it's Risky Business 2012 here.  Sunglasses, button down shirt, dancing in my foyer & in front of the fireplace.  You know, the usual.

I'm enjoying getting things done & having my quiet time but I miss my little family.  Hunter & I have spent so much time apart in our marriage that I find myself falling into my old deployment routines of staying up too late & sleeping in.  But I've only ever been away from my sweet Sunshine when we went to Paris a few years back.  And I've never been alone in this house.  It's weird looking toward her side of the house & seeing her bed still perfectly made, toys on the floor but no pitter patter of her feet or the squeal of her giggle.  *sigh*  Luckily they'll be home in a couple days & I can get hugs!

This weekend I've got plans with some girlfriends which should be fun.  Yesterday, I met up with the Uber Bookatarian to do some knitting & then was joined by another friend to go to Opelika to an antique mall & then to World Market.  Great day & I was completely wiped out when I got home!

Have a great weekend & promise not to laugh at me 5 months from now when I'm scrambling around trying to find Sunshine's Christmas presents that I wrapped today!

3 Years

October '67.  My Dad carrying me in the bassinet with my brothers & sister at our camp.  

It's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since my Dad died.  Sunshine & I had spent two weeks in VT with him & my Mom, knowing it was truly a "good bye" visit.  Truth be told, I always thought each visit prior to that was our "good bye" visit as his health wasn't good for years.  This time I knew it really was good bye.  

The day after we left VT, he went into the hospital.  Three days later he died.  We'd been home in Georgia for a day & had been out grocery shopping when my Mom called shortly before 2pm to let me know he was gone.  I can still see my kitchen as it was on that day.  And I remember leaving groceries out on the counter for hours afterward.

No matter how much you prepare for news such as this, you're never truly ready to hear it.

I miss you, Daddy.  I miss you every single day.  Father's Day is so hard without you.  I know we have Hunter to celebrate on that day, but he's my husband, not my Daddy.  Your birthday is another hard day to get through.  I try to focus on Sunshine & the rest of our family on Christmas but yeah, that's a hard day too.  I know you're in a better place where you're not in pain & can think clearly but it still hurts to be without you. I love you & miss you.

Dear Girl H8rs

You know who you are.  You're the woman running through American Girl saying "I'm SO glad I have boys!"  And you're the sales associate in *okay, I'll be nice & not give your store name* who said "wow, thank goodness I have a boy!"

You know what?  You stink.  You stink & you're mean.  Who the H would say something like that within earshot of A GIRL?!!  My girl, to be specific.

So you stink, you're mean & guess what?  I think you're a big ol' pootie-head.  Which is what my husband calls me when I'm being well, a pootie head.

As the mom of a girl, I happen to love them.  I love the obsession with all things pink even if means I have to be the bad guy & insist that there IS a limit on the number of pink items our house can old.

I love that my daughter gets all squealy & giggly.  Didn't you do that when you were, you know, A GIRL yourself?  You know you did.

I love when I'm getting ready to go somewhere & Sunshine will come into my bathroom & ask if she can put on a little lip gloss or a little perfume.  I love blow drying her hair & planting a little kiss on the nape of her neck.  I love that she's just as excited by Bonne Bell Strawberry Lip Balm as I am.

I love that she insists that she has her own "fashion" & when she runs into her room to add a necklace or bracelet.

It thrills me to no end when she dances or does little gymnastics moves.  I know she's at the age where the gymnastics bug is biting.  I swear, if I could get the kid to watch ice skating with me, she'd be perfect.   I nearly burst with pride when she said she wanted a pink Boston Red Sox hat & a Red Sox tervis tumbler.

I love that we can take Girls Only trips together.  Or have a girls afternoon---go to lunch, get mani/pedis, get our hair cut, etc.   I love when she tries on high heels & works the cat walk in the middle of the TJ Maxx shoe department.

Does your son do that?  Probably not as you'd stroke out if your son wanted a mani/pedi.  Or if he insisted on getting the Hello Kitty Sleep Mask from the end cap in Target.

I'm not down on boys---I'm married to one.  I love boys.  Well, I love MY boy.  Man.  You know what I mean.  But I don't get the never ending "I'm so glad I have a boy!" spiel I hear from some moms of boys.  It's smug & it's meant as a put down.

Who do these women think their precious princes are going to marry??   GIRLS, that's who!

I'm really glad you're happy with your child.  I'm really happy with mine.

You know, because she's a GIRL!

I swear, I'm alive

I know, I know, I've been away FOREVER!  How did you ever manage to get by without me?  We're home after our annual trek North.   Here's a few of our stops:

We went here (hint:  Generals Grant & Lee met here)

                                     And we went here so Elizabeth & Felicity could have a homecoming!

                                              The Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg.

    And here.  One of my favorite cities in the whole wide world.  Hint:  they speak French.

                                                          Aw, I just gave it away!

So, that's been the last three weeks in a nutshell.   I'll tell you more later.  I promise!

Blue

I've loved hydrangeas for as long as I can remember.  They're second only to peonies.  Which just so happens to be one of my favorite words to see in print or written:  peony.  

When we were looking at houses, I told people that I'd know the right house because it would have blue hydrangeas & a mimosa tree.  We found what I thought was the right house for us---4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths.  It had a formal living room, formal dining room, large L shaped family room, in a cul-de-sac, 2 stories & there was a large mimosa tree in the back yard.  And it was a great size yard.

Unfortunately, I was too busy looking at what was right with the house to see what was wrong.  The master bedroom & en suite bath were tiny.  Really tiny.  Our bedroom furniture wouldn't have fit.  Well, it would have but it would have been a tight fit.  And the master bath was the size of some apartment bathrooms I'd had.  There was no option of knocking out a wall to enlarge it as it backed up to the stairwell.

And the yard, well, it had holes in it.  They might have been made by the tenant's dog, or by a critter creating tunnels underground.  Or other things.  There were issues that our realtor pointed out to Hunter that I have since blocked because I was convinced that we were meant to have THAT house.

The more I raved about the house, the more Hunter would make faces & express his concerns.  Hindsight being 20/20, our realtor did us a favor.  We went on to bid on a different house & were outbid.  Two days later we looked at this house.  It was the first house out of 9 (I think, 9? Maybe 10.) that actually had him smiling.  "This house, I like!" he said as we walked up the driveway & into the garage.  There were negatives, of course, but he pointed out what minimal things they were, that the owner would pay to have them fixed & again, "this house, I like!"

But there was no mimosa tree & there was no hydrangea plant.

Or so we thought.  Our neighbor, Miss Jane, gave us a blue hydrangea as a housewarming/welcome to the 'hood gift.  Hunter's parents gave us a mimosa.  I was giddy when they both bloomed our first Spring here.

And I was positively bursting with joy when I realized that at the end of the hedge row in the backyard, there was a hydrangea.  And it was blue.  And it was magenta!  Two different color blooms on one plant.  Now, I'm not sure what kind of soil is going on in that part of the yard, but I'm glad it's wonky!

A week or so ago I was in the sun room when I noticed something blue & purple in the yard.  My hydrangea had bloomed.  Blue  & purple.  

I knew this was the right house for our family!  

An Open Letter To Insomnia

Dear Insomnia~


I feel we know one another well enough for me to speak frankly to you.  You suck & I am severing our relationship effective immediately.

I know this must come as a shock to you considering our history.  Yes, we flirted all those years that I was a night owl.  An "early" bedtime of 12:30 isn't early & it's much too late to go bed when you have to be up at 6, but we made it work, didn't we?  Oh! And the old weekend/going clubbing & getting to bed around 3 to be up at 6 back in my retail days---man, that was nuts!  Remember my "get me going for the day" breakfast on Saturdays?  Yep, McDonalds Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit, hashbrown & a large orange drink.  You'll excuse me for a moment while I contemplate the carbs in that one meal alone.

I also know that you had a hand in Sunshine's sleep issues her first couple months of life.  It's okay, admit it.  New moms are fun on 3 hours sleep.  Not fun for them, but for you.

Then something happened.  Your arch nemesis Mr. Ambien came onto the scene.  I was SLEEPING.  Granted some nights I was babbling incoherently to Hunter as Mr. Ambien did his work.  And there was that famous incident where I was on the phone w/ AM, crafting beaded earrings in anticipation of Hunter's homecoming.  It's okay to laugh.

You HAD to know something was up during Lent when I decided that rather than give something up for Lent, I would DO something instead.  And that something was get in bed by 10 each night.

Admit it, you didn't think I could do it, did you?  You thought I'd fail miserably.   But I did it.  And I continued to do so after school got out (for the most part).

And that little success of mine made you mad, didn't it??  And when I decided "hey, it's summer vacation---I don't need to be up at 6 so I'm not going to take anything to help me sleep.  I'm going to do this ON.MY.OWN" you became crazy mad.  So mad, in fact, that tonight (last night?) you decided to exact your revenge upon me .  "Oh, she'll be all wired from the season finale of Mad Men" you thought.  "She'll get in bed after 11, want to read a little, want to play backgammon on her Fire & that's when I'll show up"

Two can play at that game, sir.

So Insomnia, our destructive , no--single sided relationship ends.   I WILL get in bed at a reasonable hour on most nights.  I WILL beat you at your crazy little game that leaves me in dire need of caffeine.  (I'm not giving up caffeine here---let's not go crazy!)  I WILL get a decent night's sleep.  So HA!

Go find someone else to bug.

Signed,

Laurie

Two weeks into summer vacation

and we've settled in nicely.  There's much sleeping in, general laziness, swimming, thrift/antique store scouring, crafts and trip planning.

I've finally finished the training "program" for caregivers for the VA.  Yes, "program" in quotes.  It consisted of having a conversation with a VA rep on Hunter's condition and what level of care did he need.  There was a training "program" that could have been in person (thank you, Jesus that it wasn't) or online.  The online was bad enough.  The majority of it was common sense but there were a couple modules that did provide good info on support for caregivers.  Hunter had to submit a form saying that I have access to his medical records and yesterday we had a home visit from one of their reps.  Now we wait to find out which tier he falls into and what the monthly stipend will be.

We're also trying to plan our trip North.  We're hoping to bring Sunshine to Williamsburg as 2 of her American Girl dolls lived there (Felicity & Elizabeth) and are looking forward to Hunter's father's family reunion.  It'll be nice to see them again as we haven't been to one of their reunions since 2006.  We're also planning to bring Sunshine to Montreal.  Hunter has only been in the winter which makes sight seeing tricky as he may or may not had a wife in high heeled boots clinging to his arm for fear of wiping out on icy sidewalks.  Hopefully my mom will agree to watch our dogs overnight while we go.  If not, we'll make a day trip out of it. The American dollar is doing much better than it has been and is now worth more than the Canadian dollar.  Basically we'll get better rates on our hotel room & while shopping!

Today Sunshine & I are going to see Madagascar 3 this afternoon and then tonight I have a girls dinner with some friends.

Have a great weekend!