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June 2006 Mamas - December Thread

4K views 199 replies 12 participants last post by  sehbub 
#1 ·
Here's our shiny new home.

What are you doing for the holiday season? (If anything)

We're going to the tree farm next weekend with my BIL and SIL to get our tree. On the 23rd we're having a party with some friends here at our place, and then on Christmas day we're going up to my parents' house for dinner.

Anything fun and exciting going on in your neck of the woods?
 
#2 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by sehbub View Post
What are you doing for the holiday season? (If anything)
Oh, for the holidays this year, we are, um, relocating across the country.

:
:

Yes, DH got the job!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beats last holiday season, when we were moving just a few towns over and then dealing with our new house flooding, remember? What is the deal with us NEVER getting to have a nice, normal Christmas?!?!

So we are moving to Arizona. Like, as in NOW. Or probably next month. Holy crap. I am so overwhelmed.

Have to meet with realtor to list our house ASAP. Housing market sucks of course, so it looks like we'll be living in a company apt with all our stuff in storage for a while, since we can't buy a house until we sell ours. Next week, the new company is sending a limo to pick us all up and take us to the airport, flying our whole family out to AZ, and hiring a realtor and a babysitter (not sure yet how I feel about that one, so we'll see....) so we can go out to dinner with the board of directors and then go house-hunting, etc. I was like omigosh....they even set up interviews with the heads of the Catholic schools in Tucson for us (then DH was like, actually, we homeschool....lol) nice idea anyway. Funny how people assume things....

Yesterday I had to tell my LLL co-Leaders and our homeschool co-op mamas that we're leaving.


I am so excited for the opportunity yet so sad to leave....this is how I feel in general:
:


I am SO freaking out.....BBL to catch up on the more "normal" stuff!!!
 
#4 ·
Congrats on the new job and exciting new life


I'm at work with no time to talk about what we're doing for the holidays. Hopefully not getting any new teeth.
 
#5 ·
I hear ya on the teeth, Korin! Jax and Dahdoo are BOTH teething, and most nights I want to run away screaming. Dahdoo seems to be getting all 4 canines and all 4 2yr molars simultaneously, and as such crawls around the house all day moaning with her fist in her mouth. Jax is getting 2 teeth (I think one is a canine?!) and screams, bloody murder, every night, for at least three hours no matter what we do.

Good times!
 
#6 ·
Hi - we're supposedly getting our tree tomorrow, and will be dragging decorations out over hte next week. Will have Christmas here, then go to my parents' house to spend time with family down there. That's about it.

Am very tired. OT has been offered all week for my job, so I'm been working a couple hours when the kids are asleep at night, and am working a few hours each day this weekend. Am so sick of reading medical reports.
 
#7 ·
Hmmmm, this talk of screaming has me thinking that perhaps the problem we've had the last few nights might be teething... though of course he's also pretty constipated and just getting over his bronchiolitis.

One exciting thing for us is that he also had a mild ear infection, and we refused antibiotics for the first time (well, deferred them really), and sure enough, the infection went away on its own!
We are so happy, as we really didn't want to make a bad choice... the doctor we saw when the otitis was diagnosed wasn't too thrilled, but the dr. who checked him out a few days ago thought we'd done just the right thing - we're even thinking of switching to him now that our primary's on maternity leave, as he seems less medicine-happy than the rest.

As for the holidays, we just picked up some cute things for him today, and we're working on the lists for everyone else. We typically don't do a *lot* for Christmas, but we're clearly ramping up now that we're a family and all... We visited my family in Texas for Thanksgiving, so this year for Christmas we get to wake up in our own house (very important to me!), then after we open our own family gifts, we'll load up and drive 2 hours west to my DP's parents houses, to visit with them for probably a few days... then back home hopefully to spend new years eve with friends... we've got teh whole holiday week off, so I'm REALLY looking forward to it!


I'm curious what sort of toys y'all are getting your little ones. I'm trying to think more in terms of what he needs developmentally than just what I think is cute or fun or a good deal, so I'm putting more thought into this than I think I normally do with presents.

So far we've got:
  • Plan Toys Concertina (accordian type thing)
  • Gertie ball (he's obsessed with balls!)
  • Car for a stocking stuffer (also obsessed with cars!)
We plan to get some of the following:
  • Soft dolly and stroller (I like the waldorf-like ones, but DP hates them, so not sure what compromise we'll come up with)
  • plain blocks of some sort - fabric if possible
  • An animal farm (any suggestions?)
  • A truck - possibly one that opens up and he can put stuff inside
  • And for us and him, an ear scope so we can check for ear infectiosn without having to take him to the dr. and pay the copay each time!
I wanted to get a kitchen, but we're going to wait till he's 2, and/or we get a house with a playroom - same thing for an indoor climbing toy, a toy box, and any outside toys...

What's your list?
 
#8 ·
We are staying home for the holidays. My parents are coming here this year, and we're hoping that the cold doesn't deter them from future winter visits. I'm so excited to get a real tree and decorate the house. We haven't in the past, because we never stay home.

Presents: I'm going to sew Katie a cape, and maybe some basic dress-up things as well. I'm also going to buy one of those little foamy chairs because she loves the one at SIL's house. My dad is building her a learning tower type thing (very excited about that).
 
#9 ·
Christmas: We got the babies some big wooden puzzles, and a play cell phone that we can record messages on, and some keys so that they'll stop stealing ours.
My mom is getting Dahdoo a soft doll and a sling for it, so that should be fun, as she's obsessed with babies. I think DH is gonna get Jax a truck or two. That's pretty much it!
 
#10 ·
Sweet story:
We woke up this morning and instead of getting right up like we usually do, I rolled onto my stomach and hoped to go back to sleep. Usually Katie will climb off the bed and start rummaging for things to give me to keep me awake. Today though, she sprawled across my back and gave me a half hour back rub.
Too cute.
 
#11 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbertaJes View Post
Sweet story:
We woke up this morning and instead of getting right up like we usually do, I rolled onto my stomach and hoped to go back to sleep. Usually Katie will climb off the bed and start rummaging for things to give me to keep me awake. Today though, she sprawled across my back and gave me a half hour back rub.
Too cute.
awe!! Dahdoo gives DH backrubs on a regular basis. He'll sprawl out on the living room floor, and all four kids dogpile him and starting rubbing/pounding on his back. It's so cute.
:
 
#12 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by BundleFishMama View Post
Oh, for the holidays this year, we are, um, relocating across the country.

:
:

Yes, DH got the job!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week, the new company is sending a limo to pick us all up and take us to the airport, flying our whole family out to AZ, and hiring a realtor and a babysitter (not sure yet how I feel about that one, so we'll see....) so we can go out to dinner with the board of directors and then go house-hunting, etc. I was like omigosh....they even set up interviews with the heads of the Catholic schools in Tucson for us (then DH was like, actually, we homeschool....lol) nice idea anyway. Funny how people assume things....

I am so excited for the opportunity yet so sad to leave....this is how I feel in general:
Congratulations!!! It seems like he got a job with a nice company! I wish you all the best, and a sane peaceful mind in the midst of lots of decisions!


Quote:

Originally Posted by sehbub View Post
and some keys so that they'll stop stealing ours.

this is us!! I'm trying to collect old keys to put on a key chain I bought for her advent calender.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sehbub View Post
awe!! Dahdoo gives DH backrubs on a regular basis. He'll sprawl out on the living room floor, and all four kids dogpile him and starting rubbing/pounding on his back. It's so cute.
:

that's too funny!

: we bought this for dd.... it's coming only if my dad can get it in a suitcase!
You know, we've been sooo good about not buying toys in excess for Sydney, and suddenly I'm going bonkers wanting to buy TONS of things for her... is this a normal trend when dc gets to the age when they like to play "house" and stuff?

Christmas for us: Pappa's coming the 22nd, so we're heading off to Oerje to the in-laws after picking him up. dh's brothers family and dh's sister will also be there so it will be one full house and promises to be fun!
Then it's back to Oslo or Evje to celebrate New years before sending pappa home.
 
#13 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Klynne View Post
: we bought this for dd.... it's coming only if my dad can get it in a suitcase!
You know, we've been sooo good about not buying toys in excess for Sydney, and suddenly I'm going bonkers wanting to buy TONS of things for her... is this a normal trend when dc gets to the age when they like to play "house" and stuff?
that looks like SO much fun! I want one!


and yes, totally normal.
 
#17 ·
We have a kiddie tramp with a handlebar, and LOVE it. We got it for DS for his second birthday, and K has been jumping on it since she could stand. BIG hit, and great energy burner in the cold weather. That, and those popup tunnels. Big hit up in our attic playspace.

BFM, congrats on the job/move and hope it all goes smoothly - you'll have a "normal" holiday some day - then again, normal is highly overrated, IMO.

DH was in heaven yesterday, K was all about daddy - holding his hand walking in the store, sitting with him at dinner, snuggling with him before bed time. And I totally enjoyed having a small break from my appendage...er....daughter!


Jes, K also uses "no" very apropriately and funnily. I love this age.

She's getting: a doll/stroller, a bathrobe (do you know how hard it is to find a plain - read: non licensed character - terrycloth hooded robe for a toddler??
), a jigsaw puzzle of her name, a new tunnel (our old one is broken and too big), a "dressy bessy" (I had one as a kid), a subscription to Wild Animal Baby, a couple books, and she and her brother will share an AquaDoodle mat and a learning tower. I think that's a pretty decent haul, but not over the top - which is exactly what I was aiming for.

Today, my friend is coming over to try to take some pictures of the kids in their Christmas finery in front of our little fake tree. We get a real tree for the downstairs, but since we're up here in the attic office/playspace so much I like to have a little Christmas up here too, so we have a little prelit fake 4-footer (I originally got about 5 yrs ago when we were in a tiny townhouse). We'll see if they cooperate. Fingers crossed!
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbertaJes View Post
Heather, my mom found a bathrobe for Katie at Gymboree, it's plain green with just a small flower embroidery and it's got a hood. very cute.
Get out. We have one in our mall, too. harumph. I Googled every combination of terry hood robe I could think of and finally found the ones I ordered for the kids Here.

And holy CUTE pictures! I, uh, bribed them.
: I'm normally not a briber, but I pulled out the mini M&Ms and cajoled them both into pictures by the tree. I guess bribes really work when you usually don't use them!
We had a blast with my friend, got some very sweet and some mhysterical pictures of the kids all hamming it up. Will post a few here after I wade through all of them - she has a DSLR and just kept shooting, it was great. SO much better than taking them someplace and having them refuse to cooperate when we're "scheduled". Ahh. perfect.
 
#20 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by The4OfUs View Post
Get out. We have one in our mall, too. harumph. I Googled every combination of terry hood robe I could think of and finally found the ones I ordered for the kids Here.
I guess it's a swim coverup. But I like the zipper because it's easier for me and K likes to undo things and strip.
 
#21 ·
That is totally cute - and a zipper......hmmmmmm.....that soudns like a great idea, actually. Ah well, maybe next year, these are already ordered and shipping. Will add on my running list of stuff, though, to check swim coverups in the summer and buy a size larger. Thanks!
 
#22 ·
Congratulations on the big move, Kerri.

Christmas is fun. Talula is getting a small kitchen. Tania is getting those heelie shoes and star dollars (
. I still don't know what to get for dh. I wanted to get him an iPod, but found out that his mom got him something similar.

I lovvve the Christmas season. We're going to drive into the woods and get a tree sometime soon. We're spending Christmas here, and then going to Arizona on Dec. 30th for a week to see dh's family. We'll meet his dad for the first time. We'll be there for our anniversary (Dec. 31st) so maybe grandma and auntie can watch the gals while we do something. Like hang out in the backseat of the car.
 
#23 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by papayapetunia View Post
Congratulations on the big move, Kerri.

Christmas is fun. Talula is getting a small kitchen. Tania is getting those heelie shoes and star dollars (
. I still don't know what to get for dh. I wanted to get him an iPod, but found out that his mom got him something similar.

I lovvve the Christmas season. We're going to drive into the woods and get a tree sometime soon. We're spending Christmas here, and then going to Arizona on Dec. 30th for a week to see dh's family. We'll meet his dad for the first time. We'll be there for our anniversary (Dec. 31st) so maybe grandma and auntie can watch the gals while we do something. Like hang out in the backseat of the car.

Tora wants Heelies (she's only 11 months younger than Tania) and we're thinking maybe for her 8th bday in January? let me know what you think of 'em!
 
#24 ·
We've gotten more than 6 inches of snow in the last day and a half. And it's still coming down hard. And not only is the plow not attached to the quad, but we are missing a key so wouldn't be able to use it anyway! Oy. It may be time to plug in the truck. We might need it.
 
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