Christmas!

Ok, not yet. And really, not even close. But I'm feelin it this year and I'm THRILLED about it.

We'll put up the tree in a week or so - we didn't put one up at the apartment last year, there just wasn't room. But this year we'll have one in our living room and THAT makes me happy. We do simple Christmases. Not a ton of money spent, smallish thoughtful gifts and lots of time with family. I think this year, by the time I'm done, I will have spent about $50 on each kid... and that's enough.

What's COMPLETELY awesome about the whole deal is that w/gas prices down to around $1.45/gallon, there was no budgeting required this year. No scooching of obligations, no credit card purchases. I've gone from putting around $100/week in my tank to somewhere around $30/week. That's HUGE!

I even bought myself something for Christmas, and that NEVER happens. Granted, it's not NEW, it's from Craigslist, and I wouldn't have ever thought I'd go for blue furniture - I've always been an earth tones kind of girl, but I really do like this set, and I NEED a new couch. So yay me. (Especially since the set was $60!)

Bratty kids...

So, Madison texted me from the school bus and asked if she could be sick tomorrow. It's my day, but tonight is her dad's night, so it's really up to him whether she goes to school tomorrow.

So I asked her if she was really sick, and she said "no, but I can make dad think I am."

I got home at about 540 and not 10 minutes later, Walt called and said that when he got home, Madison told him she'd thrown up and that she was running a fever. So she's staying home tomorrow. I almost feel bad because I KNOW she's not sick and I didn't tell him... but hey, if he's THAT easily fooled, she can play hooky.

Date Night

Doug and I had a date tonight - first time we've gotten gussied up and gone out in who knows how long.

We went to Journey Steakhouse @ the Argosy Casino. Seriously, the food was so amazing, I thought I might have a When Harry Met Sally moment while I was eating. We had bacon wrapped shrimp with this amazing spicy/sweet sauce drizzled over it, steak and potato, and I had a spinach salad with the biggest, freshest, most flavorful raspberries you could possibly imagine. Gawd, I ate til I was Thanksgiving full and topped it off with a really nice Shiraz from Australia.

We're packing up and heading out to Manhappiness this weekend - I think I'll go out Hwy 36 and come down through farm country (yes, there's a part of Kansas I consider more 'farmy' than the rest). We'll drive by the farm where my Dad grew up, and it's a much prettier drive in the fall than I-70. I'll be meeting my latest nephew, and checking up on Jerry, and the kids are crazy excited that Grampa is home from Omaha.

We're planning a trip out to DC this summer - any tips from anyone who lives along the way? We're road-tripping since I'm far too poor to fly 4 people out there, and then (hopefully) staying w/relatives in Maryland.

Getting off my ass...

Yes, I know it's been awhile. I haven't even thought about blogging since I got so wrapped up in everything else and here it is 10 months later!

What's changed?

I bought a house with a little assistance from Mom and moved in in May:





I LOVE it. It was 4 bedrooms, but I converted the smaller of the 2 upstairs rooms into a walk-in closet/dressing room for the girls. They're happy as clams up there in their space.

The house is just over 100 years old and has the original hardwood floors and mouldings which are GORGEOUS. I'm just so happy there.

What else?

We have 2 cats, sorry, no pics. Vladimir came to live with us in May and Hannibal joined us in September or so. Both black cats and SO different. But they get along really well and neither of them are terribly annoying.

Twain is growing up faster every day. He's a veritable chatterbox these days, and has started making up stories to see what sort of reactions he gets. Here's him and Doug building a lego tower just today:



The girls are doing awesome. Madison is in SIXTH GRADE! That's the grade I was in when I was so in love w/Shon Rowe that I thought I'd go crazy. Thankfully, she's not so in to boys or any of those social things. She plays basketball and sings in choir and plays the sax and gets excellent grades and loves to hang out w/me watching dorky movies.

Cady is amazing too, though she IS a bit too in to boys. She emailed me the other day - from my livingroom - to tell me all about how in love she is with the boy down the street. So I enrolled her in volleyball and make sure she's really busy with other stuff. Thank all the gods that she's only 8!

Jerry (my step-dad) had a liver transplant in September. He's doing awesome and was released to go home almost exactly 8 weeks post-op. Still doing physical therapy, but he's very glad to be home, and we're ALL so very thankful that the donor's family made the decision they did. He would not be with us now if they hadn't.

We joined the YMCA last summer so the kids would be able to take swimming lessons and stuff. Doug jumped on the membership this past month and we're going to be working out in the evenings. My goal? To start running again. I miss it so much, and am really motivated to start it up - though I know it won't be as easy as it was when I was 10! Madison and I are going to do the 'couch to 5K plan' and hopefully Jerry and Cady will jump on too. The goal? To do a 5K w/the 3 generations in March 2010.