Willpower

Hi, my name is Heather and it has been one week since I last checked my work e-mail.

I've been out of the office since a snowstorm shut down the city on the 19th, and, after a smattering of e-mails to take care of a few things last Monday and Tuesday, I checked out. There's no reason to be checking in, after all. The whole company is on vacation, so no one no where expects work to get done or questions to get answered. This really is a glorious two-week break from work responsibilities. And yet, I've been tempted to check my darn e-mail. As my mouse passed over the bookmark earlier tonight, I almost, almost let go. But I didn't. Though I am able to take time off and not worry about work, I do check in a lot whenever I'm out. I guess I like knowing what's going on. Maybe that means I'm not able to take time off and not worry. Or maybe there's just a time limit to how long I can go without thinking about my job.

This morning, I woke up making a mental list of what I need to do when I go back on the 5th, but I banished those thoughts. No work thinking until Sunday, I told myself. I'm still on vacation.

Time Warp

I only have a couple minutes to post, partly because of this first thing. I'll post about all of our Christmas adventures soon.

I've noticed this phenomenon that affects the passage of time, yet seems to occur only on weekends and vacation days. The morning hours seem long and luxurious while the afternoon hours gobysofastthatohmygodhowisit4:00already?! Have you ever noticed that, too?

And, ugh, while I appreciate that modern grocery store chains are trying to help the hapless parent shopper, the creation of kid-size carts (i.e. weapons to crash into shelves, other shoppers, little sisters) and "car carts" (i.e. an enclosed space where children are virtually guaranteed to push and shove and disagree over who has the better steering wheel) seem to just be creating new and exciting ways for kids to run wild in the grocery store instead of solving the problem. If they were smart, they'd start stocking mini bottles of liquor next to the candy and gum, because some days, mommy needs a treat after shopping, too.

A Wish

Have a Merry Christmas, my friends. Enjoy your loved ones and may the day bring you at least one moment of true joy.

Eavesdropping

The kids have been playing together nicely for the past several hours. I'm wondering if that means a huge spat is imminent.

A little bit ago, they were serving me hot chocolate, milk and pancakes using the dishes and cups Nora received from this past weekend's family gift exchange. Then they were putting Nora's doll down for a nap (and telling me to "shush"). Right now they've moved on to singing Jingle Bells, and from what I can tell, Owen is directing Nora to spin around to the music. Before that, I overheard them counting the days on the advent calendar and celebrating that tomorrow they'll be opening presents. (I told Owen we'd asked Santa to come a day early since we'll be at Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas, to which he responded "how did you call Santa?")

At times, they can be so loving and helpful toward one another, and I love listening to the two of them interact. Course, at other times, like yesterday on the drive home from Illinois, they were purposefully irritating each other. Siblings....

The Adventures of Christmas Shark and Holiday Caterpillar

The Christmas stockings are hung. The tree is decorated. The garland and evergreen-scented candles and stuffed Santas have come out of hiding. But, it's never too late for a little fun with Halloween costumes, is it?

Owen's "Blog"

I was staring off into space tonight as Owen did his homework -- he was writing four sentences using their newest "wall words." (Oh, and by the way, they're writing sentences in kindergarten! Remember when it was about learning the ABCs and how to tie our shoes?) But anyway, my eyes fell upon Owen's bulletin board. He's had it for a year or so and the displays on it are constantly changing. In fact, they're probably a pretty good reflection of whatever is important to him at the time.

For instance:
Wednesday - This paper is one of a set of seven. Owen changes it every morning.
December - This is one of a set of, you guessed it, 12. At the end of November, both months were on display, because we were "getting ready for December." These also represent Owen's recent cardboard phase when he was seeking out any and every piece of cardboard in the house as possible canvases for art.
2t - This is to represent that it's the 2nd. (Though Owen realized, in the middle of supper, that he hadn't updated it to be the 3rd.) I haven't yet figured out what the t or plus is supposed to mean. Tonight, when Jon suggested going back to using a real calendar, because "do you really want to have to write a new date every day?" Owen replied, "yeah, I do."
Season and weather - They're a bit hard to see in the photo, but the small squares on the right side represent winter and that it's snowing. The squares on the left are the other season and weather options.
The triangle - That's a Brewers pennant, tacked upside-down because "the Brewers aren't on until April."
Cutest costume - At a Halloween party we went to, they had a costume contest and Owen's caterpillar won him the "cutest" category. Don't you think Nora' shark should have won the scariest award? Tee hee.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Sunday night it snowed. Last night it got COLD and tonight I'm already sick of winter.

I'm not usually like this. Usually, I embrace the change of seasons. Usually, the no-holds-barred beauty of white snow on tree limbs against a brilliant blue sky is enough to overcome the inconveniences of cold morning cars, wet boot tracks all over the house and frosty nighttime sheets. Brrr! 

I think I've got Arizona on the brain. Or maybe I AM like this every year and it just takes awhile before I settle back into the routines of winter. Before I remember to start the car a few minutes early, keep towels by the door or find where I stored that oh-so-wonderful electric mattress pad. Or maybe, I just need to get the Christmas decorations up because that's what really eases the transition. Well, that and what I'm enjoying right now -- a cup of Ghirardelli hot cocoa. Double chocolate flavor. Hmmmm.