Christmas Shenanigans

Last night as the boy and I were climbing into bed I reminded him to enjoy his slumber a little extra because the next three days are going to be insane for us. Tonight we trek two hours south to celebrate Festivus with a group of our high school friends. Tomorrow will be split amongst our two families, with multiple stops to his parents, my grandmother's, church, and finally my Mom's. I have a large extended family so my grandmother's will be packed with peeps, young and not so young. My Mom's house will be filled with tiny footsteps, it's Christmas tradition my brother and his family spend Christmas Eve at Mom's.

Christmas day we have a full line up as well. The gift giving will commence as soon as the little one's open their eyes, followed by a HUGE breakfast at the boy's aunts house (hello sausage pinwheels!!), and then dinner at the boy's parents house. The pending snow might derail our Sunday plans to spend Christmas with my Dad in Virginia but I guess we'll play that by ear Saturday night. As much as I love SoMar, I would much rather be snowed in at my own house.

The boy and I already exchanged gifts (we do Christmas early every year) and I must have been extra good this year...or maybe extra naughty...because he definitely outdid himself. He replaced my stolen Tiffany's ring and I'm the owner of a brand new Flip camera. I scored a signed Redskins helmet for him and a couple other small things.

I hope your Holiday travels are less stressful than ours!! Merry Christmas!

First Snow

Our first snow fall started this morning around 11am. We didn't get a ton but the one or two inches we did get makes the the trees look very christmasy. It also created chaos on the commute home, a 12 mile trip took almost an hour and a half. And I wasn't even in rush hour.

I'm getting a little more into the Christmas spirit. I finished up the boy's gift today and have just a few more things to pick up before I can say I'm done for this year. My Christmas work party is tomorrow and I still have to pick up a gift for the chinese gift exchange. Looks like I'm going out on my lunch break tomorrow.

Saturday I'm headed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The boy and I are going ice skating at the Mall and then to the White House (along with everyone else and their Mom) to check out the Christmas decorations. Good times.

And now to curl up on the couch with a white fluffy dog to enjoy the Big Bang Theory.

She's 1

A year ago yesterday I was pacing back in forth in a hospital room, complaining about terrible cafeteria food, and arguing with my brother about who was getting the last piece of the only edible food in the room; an orange. My sister-in-law was laying in a hospital bed scowling at us both because the only thing she was allowed to "eat" was ice chips. A couple hours later a dark haired, very tiny baby, was born. She was rushed away before we could hold her. She was born with Down's Syndrome and inherited the usual complications of a Downs baby. Tubes were hooked up and nurses and doctors swarmed her little incubator. We were allowed to touch only her hands and feet before they flew her to a hospital with a more established NICU.

A year later, we have a happy, mostly healthy, thriving baby. She laughs (especially at her Daddy), coos, can roll from front to back and back to front, loves to play with toys, and looks super cute with with her hair in a pony tail. Happy 1st Birthday Alexis! We love you more than you could possibly imagine.

A whole year old!!

7 months old

3 months old

A day or so old

Holiday Unspirited

This is our first Christmas in our new house. I envisioned lots of decorations, fresh baked cookies and a huge tree...ya know, all things that most people cringe over. The time came to christmasify our house and I was totally lackluster about it. Our tree is nice but it's not huge. It's in our basement because it doesn't fit in our living room and the boy and I bickered pretty much the whole time putting it up. We have a few decorations stuck here and there though there's no real flow to them. The boy refuses to put lights outside which is a total bummer, even though his reasoning makes sense.

It's just definitely not how I pictured our first Christmas in our house.

Oh another note, I'm hoping to escape down to Florida for a few warm days, if my budget allows, after Christmas to spend some time with a girlfriend.

Happy Hours

Happy hour is one of my favorite activities and not because of the drinking. I love the camaraderie that happy hour spurs. People from all walks of life drop into bars for cheap drinks and inexpensive appetizers as they're passing through from one destination to another. One large team looking to wrap up their day at the end of a tall drink.

A pair of gentlemen to my right were chatting about his impending engagement, discussing the different rings he looked at for his future (hopefully) wife. A group of girls in the corner were giggling about God knows what, but promptly left at 7 when happy hour ended. The older gentlemen to my right, a former FBI agent turned liaison for the Maryland State Police, chatted my coworker and I up for the better part of our happy hour(s). Unfortunately, my friend and I did most of the talking, and I know little about him. Get a few drinks in me and I'll talk myself silly.

As I was driving home, I reran the montage of people I've met (or observed) at happy hour over the course of my...happy hour escapades. There is always one or two individuals that look like they're trying to drown their sorrows from impending doom, another couple looking too friendly at a private corner table, and the one or two strays that are at the bar by themselves, looking to pass time before heading home, alone or otherwise.

My blue moon was flat tonight so I had to settle for an old school Coors Light in the bottle. Boy, have my beer tastes changed. But that's for another post I suppose.

Rainy Tuesday

As I sit my lazy ass on the couch, I have laundry that needs to be washed, floors that need to be vacuumed, toilets that need to be cleaned, and linens that need to be changed. And I'm doing none of that. I'm watching crappy television, surfing the web, and sitting in pajamas.

I should be at the gym working out, organizing the mass chaos in my spare room, or at the very least working on a Christmas gift I'm assembling. But I'm not.

I had an uber productive weekend, full of wedding planning and yard work at my Mom's, followed by a day of Christmas shopping and an evening in the rain watching a terrible football game. My productivity went as far as the tuna sandwich I made for dinner.

A far as Tuesday's go, this one's been pretty lousy.

Self Reflected

I just returned from a two day work conference. A conference that entailed team building exercises, personal challenges, and tons of reflecting. A particular segment targeted stress--mitigating factors to alleviate stress and stress producers. The speaker touched on our personal reactions to stress and specific exercises we can do that will reduce stress in the short term. To paraphrase this portion of the conference would be to say that I am the only one that can control my how much stress is in my life and my reaction to stress. What I allow to affect me and to what extent is solely in my control. A symbiotic relationship exists between my level of stress and my quality of life.

I can't reduce the stress in my life overnight, nor can I improve my quality of life overnight. So the presenter asked we set goals, baby steps if you will, that will enable a greater balance between the two. The number one attainable goal on my list is to go to the gym more often. I NEED to start going to the gym on a regular basis again. The gym is a huge boost for me-- both mentally and physically.

The runner up on my list was spending more quality time with the boy. We share so much space together, but a lot of our interactions have little to do with our relationship. Much of our relationship exists with me on one end of the couch with my computer and he on the other end with the remote or video controller. Very little talking exists after 5pm in my house. I'm going to institute dinners at the table again, sans my blackberry (or his).

I walked away with a handful of other personal challenges. I, of all people, know I have growing to do. In my personal relationships, work relationships, and relationship with myself. This conference gave me the motivation to start the ball rolling in trying to achieve a few personal goals that were on the back burner. I'm anxious to report back in a three months or so my progress. I hope to have chipped more than just two goals off my list, but then again I'm taking baby steps. So any achievement will be recognized as that and not chastised for the size of the accomplishment. I'm on the warpath, but it's a good one.