FYI, my mil's dog needs to be shot and buried deep, deep into the ground.

K went over to T's house yesterday and Z came over to mil's to play with C while S was building our basement (why he chose between Christmas & New Year's Eve to start this project, I cannot understand) and mil's dumb chihuahua bit Hammer not once, but twice and apparently nipped Z.

This isn't the first time the dog has bit someone and likely won't be the last.

Anyway, rant off

K had a good time at T's however they did have a bicker here and there - typical of those two and clearly not any deep wounding as they are already clamoring for another play date. As are C & Z.

Um. I had more to say but now I have to to work now. So basically: kids had good time, dog needs to be shot.

S got me awesome stocking stuffers this year, including a box of bobby pins with a magnetic opening so they don't fall out all over the place, the best hairbrush in the universe, a box of Lindor chocolates, and a 2-disc Christmas album featuring most of my favorites - Sinatra, Cole, Fitzgerald, Martin, good ol' Bing - the list goes on.

The kids loved their gifts from Santa - for C, I managed to pull a miracle out of my ass and find one of those little 5 dollar dolls she was looking for. This pleased her beyond belief, and C was just as pleased and hasn't parted with her mp3 player (we only got it for 29 bucks! Talk about a steal). K has set up and pulled apart his Dino Attack Lego more times than I care to mention (mainly because yours truly got to be his "helper" the whole time), and enjoyed his little plastic Army Men immensely.

Both our sets of parents showed restraint this year when it came to gift-giving and this makes us very, very happy. S got a new cordless drill & bits from his folks and I got a bunch of Sudoku puzzle books and a Cranium Turbo board game, among little things here and there. The kids only got two big toys each and then books and things. C got Bella Dancerella Pop Star from S's parents and she just loves it - it's basically karaoke and dance game all at once. She can't wait to show her friend Z. She also got some Littlest Pet Shop thing - I don't know, I find it hard to keep up with all the new kid things! K got a Fur Real pet cat which he has been lugging around and loving because it isn't like his real kitty that doesn't let him hold her for long. He also got a dinosaur and truck thing which is pretty cool - the T-rex roars and everything.

We all love the Wii and I especially like that it gets the kids up and moving. Today we caved and purchased The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and for yours truly, Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Rogers video was giving out coupons allowing for 20 bucks off when you purchased two games. Hoorah! The Trauma Center game is wicked - you are more or less an OR surgeon and get to perform operations - from making the incision to stitching the patient up again - removing bad body parts, the whole deal. This appeals to me because I am especially geeky & macabre, I guess. I bet Hammer's daughter would like it since she keeps saying she wants to be a doctor - heck I bet C would get a kick out of it. It is rated T though so I'm going to see how bad it is before suggesting she play it.

Ok, that's enough product whoring for one post, non?

Hope everyone had an awesome holiday. I'll post photos later maybe.

RIP, James Brown. You've certainly earned it.

Charlie Brown Christmas
Originally uploaded by sadsilliness.

Merry Christmas to you all. May you all be safe and happy and at peace. Lord knows we need more of it nowadays.

The kids love the Wii and are playing boxing - one little problem though. K keeps yelling "Punch him in the weenie!"

Which is hilarious, actually...

My brother & his girlfriend came over for Christmas today, as did my Uncle M & his wife & my little cousin. My kids just adore her so they all had fun and it was a nice, peaceful visit.

My mother and father called from Portugal and they are living it up and having an excellent time. I'm sort of jealous but also sort of homesick for them. Christmas Eve is *our* time, you know?

Ok all, be safe, happy and whole.

xoxox

So V is here - due to a date mix-up she came a day early, but we had fun nonetheless. My mother did her usual guilt&martyrdom dance of "your house better be clean, this girl is sleeping over, bla bla bla and also here are all the things you did wrong with regards to your children and their Christmas concert". I don't want to get into it because I'll just get angry or cry.

I have to work today which totally sucks but V is sticking around until I'm done and then we'll spend another evening together and I'll take her home.

Christmas is only in a few days and I could care less at this point - and it makes me very sad to say that.

The kids are going to be happy though.

S bought a Wii. That is our gift to each other. I still got him stocking stuffers though.

Ok. I'd better go.

Office Christmas lunch today. So guess who gets to go in early and set up the whole damn thing? That's right.

I'm sure it'll be fine, and fun, and fun and fine. But still.

3 more sleeps till my V comes to visit. 5 more sleeps till Christmas. Where the hell did the time go??

So we had a Christmas gathering at my parents' house last night since they are going to Portugal on the 22nd. There was a metric fuckton of food and booze and whatever you could possibly think of. The kids got a LOT of clothes and new snowsuits and only 1 toy each from my parents (my mom actually *listened* this year when I asked her to slow down on the toy purchases). My vavo gave them each new pajamas and then my brother & his girlfriend gave them both the Harry Potter Scene It game and ten dollars each. Overall, they were pretty content.

My parents loved their gifts from me which is a huge relief as I'm always struggling to find something they will love and/or actually use. I gave my mother this porcelain statuette of a mother and daughter holding hands and it looks like they might be playing ring around the rosy or something. My father I gave a big bucket with wine and some glasses and a martini shaker and then a DVD of choice episodes from Welcome Back, Kotter. He's big on nostalgia so he was all over that.

My brother and I have stopped exchanging gifts - what we do instead is all go out for dinner sometime before or after the holiday and spend our money on food and time together rather than gifts we may or may not need.

The kids' Christmas concert is next Wednesday. As class rep I'm supposed to call parents to remind them about it and about what they need to bring - in all honesty I just don't have the gusto to do it... plus I seem to have lost my call list. Hmm.

So there's exactly one week until Christmas. It still feels surreal to me - the year went by FAST.
My brother celebrated his 29th birthday on the 11th. He isn't looking much forward to thirty - I told him 30 was probably the best birthday I had, and I'm sure it'll be the same for him.

Ok time to go.

Happy Birthday Jackie!

Haven't slept too well the past few days. I think things are piling up too much in my brain.

We went to S's bank to talk turkey about our mortgage today, at the new banking officer's request - new acct manager = meet the clients time.

It went over ok... she was happy to talk to someone who knew what she was talking about.

I have more to say on it but this isn't really the forum for it.

One of my friends is due to have her baby any day now - keep waiting for the phone call, but I'm not surprised I haven't got one yet. It's her first baby, after all, so of course it'll probably go past the due date.

My kingdom for a Dr. Who Dalek knitting pattern. I would love a soft cuddly toy that cries "exterminate!"

But that's just me.

I may just have to make one for my own damn self. I bet it would be easy - just use the bobble pattern for the base and knit a tiny skullcap for the top, then knit on a couple of limbs... hmmm...

I bet a get a lot of google hits now for mentioning "Dr. Who Dalek knitting pattern". Betcha five bucks even.

Ok time to go wrestle with my hair again.

Holy crap I want to do this .

I realize it's all about how he's shaking the cup around to get the dice to the top but it's still pretty damn cool.

Also, I've always liked that letter to Virginia.

Christmas is almost upon us and frankly I'm nervous.

Ok. So. My friend from the UK is coming to visit on the 22 of December - this makes me absolutely giddy. My cousin Lo is coming on the 29th so I'm twice as giddy. It's going to be a good holiday, in spite of having to work a few days through it.

C got in trouble - she kicked a boy in the back. All because some girls told her that some boy had hit her on the butt - but she didn't even feel it. Then this other boy was laughing with his friend at her. She got all mad at being made fun of, so she kicked him in the back. She didn't even want to tell me what she ended up doing was saying "sign this and don't read it ok?" So naturally I read it and was even more upset because she tried to hide it from me. S decided to tell her she wasn't going to Brownies tonight, though it was the Christmas one. We had a long long talk about how she should be dealing with her anger, and what she should do. To drive the point home we also added that this boy's parents must be pretty angry, and probably wanting to see the principal to see what happened and be assured it would never happen again. We reminded her about how many problems we have had with K being picked on, and how it made us all feel, and then she goes and kicks a boy in the back while he is sitting and certainly not expecting it.

In the end we agreed she could go and instead, her punishment is going to be that she has to scrub the upstairs bathroom - I mean really scrub. She is going to do her regular chores as well and NOT get allowance for it this week. She is going to apologise to the boy and mean it. There were some other things discussed but you get the point. The only reason we relented about Brownies was because for one thing, it was the Christmas event and she had already missed last's week's festivites, and she didn't kick up a fuss when we told her she couldn't go - she took it in stride and just went to her room when we told her. She was terribly upset but she didn't pull a tantrum or anything. S had actually given her the choice of either missing recess for 2 days (her punishment if she didn't bring in the signed note) or missing Brownies. She chose missing Brownies, even though she was desperate to go, because missing recess would be too much.

In a way I feel like I copped out, but on the other hand, the kid is eight, she's never really lashed out at anyone before, and she was reasonable about her punishment. Plus, there's nothing like scrubbing at a tub to make you realize "gee... I really, really hate this chore" and maybe she'll think "perhaps I will behave better next time".

Any feedback on my terrible parenting skills will come upon shut ears. You've been suitably warned.

A little hungover today. The Christmas party was decent but there was something off, I don't know.

Brotherinlaw & his girlfriend K are very cute together. S looked dashing in his suit as always. ME & JG were pretty mellow - probably because ME was pregnant and not in the mood to dance or anything, while JG was doting on her so she didn't feel out of the loop or whatever.

The meal was pretty decent too.

Too much vodka though.

Head a little hurty

Also it takes about a damn hour to straighten my hair because my hair straightener is crap. I will have to invest in a better one if I wish to pursue this.

Ok time to go nap before we get the kids from my folks' house.

I got a haircut today. I kinda like it!



Took the day off work as it is a PA day and I had one left to use for the year. If you don't use them you lose them.

The kids also got their haircuts, and are looking pretty snazzy I must say.

Tomorrow is FIO Christmas party. I have to remind S to get his stuff from the drycleaner. I also need to see if I can find my red skirt as it will match S's shirt super awesome x1000.

Christmas is starting to stress me out. When having to choose between paying bills and getting gifts, bills are winning at the moment. I get a bonus from work but not until December 22. Eek. The kids' main Santa gift is taken care of though, so the grownups can wait till the 22 no problem.

I have a big roast in the oven with chorizo and potatoes in a hot tomato sauce. I know it sounds weird but trust me... it's soo soo soo delicious. Oh hey cousin Lo do you want a jar of my dad's pepper sauce? The stuff we put in roasts etc? Let me know I'll keep you a couple jars!

Now on to more silly things - should I paint my nails? They're too small and I can't afford a full on manicure at the moment, but I do have home stuff and have done them often and long enough to know exactly how to make them look pretty in spite of their smallness. I'm thinking I should.

Wow. Sometimes vanity just up and creeps up on me. It bugs me out, man.

Hmm, auto-fill tells me I've already used the above subject line. Watch me give a darn.

Today is my cousin's birthday, so happy birthday Stolenswan! There's a link to her blog on the right over there. (Stick a Fork in Me).

I don't want to.

Snow is piling up and piling up and piling up. Stupid snow. Grrr.

The kids are happy about it though.

We all have appointments for hair cuts on Friday. S actually booked them which could just knock me over with a feather. I must remind him to take his suit to the dry-cleaner if he wants it done for Friday.

Christmas party this weekend. I'm actually looking forward to it, and hoping not to make an absolute git of myself once again by getting drunk on 3 bottles of wine and having to hold the wall up by the end of the night. ME is actually hoping I do so, as she heard all about it from JG last year and she being pregnant (!!! I know! this makes FIVE! FIVE children!) she will be sober and able to witness my ridiculousness firsthand.

Ok. I don't have anything else to report as I now have to trudge my way to work. Bleh.

Did I mention I hate snow?

Tonight was last meeting for yr 2006 for parent council. It was also the Brownies Christmas party for the whole lot of them. S was working afternoons this week; I tossed a coin. Council won, as I slacked off from the last 2 meetings in deference to Brownies. Besides, there's another party next week for them with just their unit. I doubt C will be very much deprived. The kids went to my sisterinlaw's to be babysat while I went to the meeting.

As a treat for bringing home spectacular report cards, the kids got to choose supper tonight. Wendy's it is then. However the guy totally forgot C's fries which upset her but sisterinlaw to the rescue, she made some up in the oven for her.

There was a pretty big accident on one of the streets on my way to sisterinlaw's from Wendy's - I hate seeing all the flashing lights and firetrucks come zooming by. It just makes my heart lurch like you wouldn't believe.

There's a parent at our school who is incredibly ill right now. We're talking terminal, may not live to see Christmas type ill. I used to work with her husband and I'm just devastated for him, because I know how important his wife is to him.


My thoughts are all disjointed tonight because I have a bunch of parent council crap running around in there.

Apparently one of the political platforms of the upcoming Provincial election in October is the disintegration of the separate school board and having one, faithless school program across the board. Some believe even if there was just an "all faith" sort of school, this would be more acceptable than abolishing religion in the classroom altogether. The platform against the separatist ideal that comes part and parcel with Catholic education is of course smattered with half-truths, but it also has some very good points. Weighing in the pros and cons though, even if I wasn't Catholic, I would rather my kids go to Catholic school - in general it teaches them things that just aren't provided in a public system, and if some have their way will never be provided. Faith is important but along with that comes the typical social mores and graces that are extremely lacking in modern society - compassion, kindness, respect, et al. S is not Catholic in the least and even he was all for signing them up.

I don't know. It will prove to be a *very* interesting debate.

Blah di blah blah. I think the playground fundraising crap is almost complete. Which will just lead to future fundraising and budgeting debates. I keep reminding everyone that my job as treasurer is volunteer-based and requires me to do nothing further than disburse and deposit. If they want sound financial advice I am not available for comment; anything I would suggest would be rebuked anyway... or maybe not. The tides seem to be turning council-wise, with more parents of young children showing up and less "old guard". I'm hoping this establishes a trend of tossing out old systems and looking forward to new ways of improving things, but I won't hold my breath.

Ok enough typing for me. All you fuckers that aren't returning my emails - boo to you. Those of you who are going crazy at work trying to put out fires, or vacationing, have reprieve from my booing. Which is pretty much everyone probably.

Ok. Um. Also would miss bagohammers please provide me with Suzuki phone number? I seem to have lost that info - I know it was published in the newsgroup, but I did a massive cleanout of mail the other day. I suppose I could just email you to ask but I'm too lazy to open my email client. It's been that kind of day.

Woke up to SNOW! And the kids were EXCITED! Because LOOK MOM, SNOW!

You know why I was excited? Because my car was in the garage and I didn't have to clean it up or heat it up. Bwahaha! I'm very, very glad that my hubby [who I am from this point forward going to label just "S" for his name rather than SO which initially meant "Significant Other" (we've been married six years, I think the term has outgrown itself by this point no?)] had the foresight to do a major clean-out of the garage in October so we could fit the car in it.

Mmmm, cappuccino. It's cold outside and nothing tastes better than that first warm drink of winter. The kids are hella excited at the prospect of having hot chocolate every afternoon now. That's their favorite part about getting kicked into the backyard to play - the coming in to warm cocoa with marshmallows.

My sisterinlaw loaned out Donkey Konga to us with a couple sets of bongo-drum-controllers. So I played it for a couple of hours last night and now my left hand is all seized up from the clapping and slapping the drums viciously to prove to S I could out-drum him to "All The Small Things". It was that or "Hungarian Dance #5 in G Minor". I kicked his ass six ways to Sunday. Man has no rhythm. "Turkish March" was surprisingly easy for me too. The only thing that gave me lots of grief was the Zelda medley.

Friday I had a gathering in my home for that book club thing I'm in. It was the Christmas gathering so we had a gift exchange. The girl who got my name got me spa stuff, whee! I'm actually excited about that because it's all vanilla scented which I actually like, plus I'm out of bath stuff anyway. Nothing is better for relaxation to me than a nice hot bath with a book and a glass of something, whether it be wine or water or whatever. It makes me feel all peaceful and sleepy.

The goodies exchange was awesome and I came home with lots of treats on Friday which were put to good use when the ladies came over. We had a potluck so I supplied dessert (naturally) and everyone brought delicious things.

Um. I had more to say but suddenly I'm sleepy and noticed I have dishes to do. Yuck.

Thoughts are going to be a bit disjointed here; I'm still half-asleep.

My dreams keep creeping into me and making me wake up either sad, or disturbed, or more often than not both. What is bothersome about them is, I don't usually tend to have persistent dreams unless I'm supposed to learn or do something. Echoes of things from my past are coming up and I don't know what to do with them.

Someone throw me a lifeline.

The Santa parade is today; we're still waffling over whether or not we'll go.

SO made breakfast this morning, and it was good as usual. I made a pot of Serendipitea, and it was better.

I need a jolt of sorts to wake me up - except I'm afraid to ask the universe - be careful what you wish for, right?

We took my brotherlinaw out yesterday to buy a new suit jacket & shirt & tie for the upcoming Christmas party. His new girlfriend K is a bit of a stickler for fashion and brotherinlaw is pretty clueless. He was happy for the help. SO was a bit grumpy because as a result, brotherinlaw got the very shirt that SO was hoping to get. This wouldn't matter except they work for the same company and SO doesn't want them going as "twins".