Post Christmas Details

Although I believe that Christmas has become way too commercialized, I still enjoy watching the kids open their gifts and seeing their glowing faces as they see what's inside. Of course Aunt Dee Dee (that's me in case you didn't know) usually gives clothes, which quickly get thrown to the side as the mad rush ensues to find another present to open, which hopefully contains a toy - a toy that will be played with for approximately 2.5 seconds before it becomes old and the hunt begins for yet another gift. Kiara is getting to the age where she actually takes time to look at each gift before ripping into the next. Of course she is such a sweet child that she takes time to thank the giver and usually follows with a genuine hug. She has such a kind heart! Elise on the other hand is still a very sweet girl, but is wild as a buck. She is so full of life and energy and it shows in her drama-like actions. Mark my word, this child will be an actress of some kind! Colin is still a little too young to know what was going on. He did enjoy ripping the paper off, as he gave me the look like "are you sure I'm allowed to do this?" He tasted several varities of paper but in the end decided he'd stick to his thumb. He was such a trooper though both on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. He's obviously his mother's child though because he is so darn nosey that he won't close his eyes for even a minute to take a nap. Oh no he's afraid he might miss something or someone.

My favorite part of Christmas is having everyone together and spending time with family. Since we spend Thanksgiving with Wes's family, we get to stay here for Christmas. Christmas Eve we have dinner at my mom and dad's and then Christmas morning everyone comes to our house for a big breakfast. Of course I spazz out a little in the preparation stage but I thoroughly enjoy the planning, cooking, serving, and of course eating the food! This is the one time of year that we can count on Granny to actually leave her house. She is 93 years young but doesn't like to leave her house or her dog, Zachary. She reminded us at breakfast that this was only the second time she had been out of her house since last Christmas (the other time was to get a flu shot). It sounds sad, but that's the way she wants it and is perfectly content. One thing about Granny, she's hard-headed and there's no changing her mind! I think the highlight of my Christmas this year was seeing her interact with Colin. My Mom takes Colin to her house at least once a week but I don't get be there. Granny has fed him a couple of times (after saying that she couldn't do it) and just loves him to pieces. It's like a calm comes over him whenever she holds him. She just whispers and plays with him and it's the sweetest thing in the world. Wes took several pictures to preserve the memory (see, men are trainable, I didn't even have to tell him to take the pictures!). We reminded Granny that this time last year we told her we were pregnant, to which she replied, "Oh, I wish you wouldn't have done that!" She claims her reaction was because she thinks so much of me and she didn't want anything to happen to me. She now says she wouldn't give anything for him. I knew she'd be fine once he was born. I'm just so thankful he gets to spend time with her.

To me, Christmas should be a time to celebrate life and enjoy the company of family and friends. I hope you had a Christmas that was merry and bright!

Merry Christmas

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
I was afraid with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas that I might forget to post and we can't have that! Poor Colin was subjected to his mother's own version of an Olan Mills photography session. I'll admit I'm quite the amateur but I did manage to snap a few good ones. He was quite cooperative until he hit his head on the totally non-child-friendly, metal sleigh that I put him in. Seriously, the lengths I go to for a good picture! He'll love me for it one of these days...won't he??

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."

Fur Coat

Yes, I realize this is not a fur coat but Kiara repeadedly referred to it as such so it has stuck. Surprisingly enough, Colin doesn't mind this coat. I had a heck of a time finding one but finally ended up finding 2 on Ebay. The first one I bought from a girl named Danielle who lives near Florence, KY! I thought this was so neat that out of all the millions of people on Ebay, I find someone so close and with the same name. Wes wasn't as amused as I was. Nonetheless, Colin hates that coat. Wes said it's because it's Tommy Hilfiger and Colin is showing his dislike to the brand at an early age. True or not, I think it's because the coat covers his beloved thumb - making it nearly impossible to suck! That is a definite no-no in our house. The coat pictured here seems to go over better. Of course that could be because Grams puts it on him like a cape. She puts the hood on his head and just wraps him up in the rest of the coat. She doesn't even put his arms thru the arm holes so that his precious thumb(s) will be readily available at all times. I figure it's serving it's purpose well enough as long as he's wrapped up. If you are familiar at all with South Park, Colin reminds me of Kenny in this picture. If you're not familiar, he reminds me of an Eskimo!

Fertile Myrtle

No, thankfully I'm not referring to myself! I am however talking about poor (figulartively and not literally), pitiful Britney Spears. As I was standing in the check out line at Meijer, I started to read the headlines of some of my old favorites - US Weekly, In Touch, OK, and the occassional Enquirer for the laughable dirt. It's not uncommon to see Britney grace the cover of any one of these magazines on a weekly basis, but when I read the headlines that she is pregnant again, I almost couldn't contain myself. I wanted to ask the couple in front of me if I was seeing things but then I remembered who I was talking about and realized it was probably true. Seriously, when is America going to get smart and institute the parental test that Wes and I think is so desperately needed?! It's easy, once you pass the test you are able to procreate - until then, no offspring! The test wouldn't be one of scholastic fortitude, rather basic common sense. For example, do you give a baby soft drinks? Do babies have to ride in car seats? Do you actually have to pay attention and take care of your children? A ready-parent would know the answers to all of these, but Britney, and many others for that matter, would have to give some serious thought to the answers. Why is she given the same title as Mother as I am? I would certainly hope I live up to the title better than she does, or ever will.
As a side note, I also noticed a headline on one of the covers that said she had been caught shoplifting! Why does someone who is worth millions of dollars feel the need to steal underwear from Hustler of all places? Add that to my list of questions for the parent test! And here I thought I was bad because I hadn't made time to get my daily dose of Hollywood gossip - clearly some things will never change.