Christmas?! What? Where?!

Whew! This has been a whirlwind of a week as I'm sure it has for everyone- Christmas isn't supposed to be over that fast; it just isn't fair!
So here are some tidbits:

Kids went to work with Mr. FixIt on Tuesday and I did some shopping for a few last-minute items and wrapped a bunch of stuff. Mission accomplished!! One item of the Race to Christmas arrived-Mr. FixIt's Sansa Fuze!

Christmas Eve day was a bit nutty with kids anxious for night to arrive. A beautiful arrangement of white and red Christmas tulips were delivered ~coincidentally, a hem~ as Mr. FixIt walked out the door with Monster Man for an "errand." I almost cried. Joking around that morning, I'd called him a shithead, and even though it was in joking and he knew it...and he DID deserve it, lol, I texted him to apologize. Items 2, 3 and 4 of aforementioned race arrived via USPS- WHEW!! We made some Christmas cookies that evening and checked the NORAD Santa Tracker online during commercials of the Christmas Story movie on TBS Christmas Eve...kids were running off to bed just before 10 pm as Santa was visiting Argentina and heading north! Man I love Santa Tracker! :-D

Kids did NOT sleep in Christmas morning. Yes, my kids are weird and most Christmas mornings they are not out of bed until Mr. FixIt has already made breakfast sausage croissants for he and I to enjoy with some java before the kids stumble upon Christmas morning excitement. This year, both kids were in our room at 6, cajoling us out of bed and down the stairs. I wish I'd had the camera or camcorder ready because Monster Man was hysterical, squealing with delight and announcing what he was finding around the tree. "I got a Hot Wheels Shark Park!! YEEESSSS! I got a Shark Park!!" Repeat that screaming phrase for every Santa item under the tree, lol. The rest of Christmas Day was very relaxing with movies, games, naps and yummy ham for dinner Mr. FixIt made. Mashed potatoes and noodles of course were present. Mr. FixIt was shocked and very excited about his mp3 player! Yes!

Friday started off with me outside doing the lovely chore of poop scoop duty when Monster Man comes running out to me in 20-degree weather in only his PJs and snow boots on saying, "That thing on the wall upstairs is going BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!" WHAT??!! Off I run back to the house, dogs chasing me trying to knock me down thinking I'm playing- nice. My kids are gonna die some horrible death because the 60-pound pup has me pinned in the yard and the grouchy old dog won't let her up off of me because he wants to protect me from her! Jeesh!!! I get the dogs to back off so I can get in the house while I'm grilling Monster Man about smoke, flames, etc, to which he thankfully denies. It wasn't the smoke alarm but the carbon monoxide detector screaming- SHIT! I drug the thankfully still breathing Miss B out of bed who did NOT hear the alarm, started to open up the house, then run to inspect the basement. Furnace was running (only 2 years old) and I just ran past the vents on the side of the house and noticed normal steam/air so it was venting properly, but I clicked it off just in case. Hot water tank not running- check. Dryer not on- check. Neither fireplace or wood burning stove had been used for almost a week. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is going on??? (Thanks, Mon, I stil love that!) The battery had just been changed in the detector but just in case, I swapped it with another one and it's still wailing...until I walk by the open front door where fresh air is moving in and it quits squalling. NOT cool! Call Mr. FixIt to explain the situation while kids are getting dressed "on the double." Send kids to the truck, close house back up, toss dogs outside, run to hardware store to buy two new CO detectors (for $60 bucks), get those bad boys home and working- both gave the "all clear." YAY!! Whew! Apparently 5-year warranty on a CO detector means nothing. Mr. FixIt and I considered the one screaming at me, though only two years old, toast.
The rest of Friday morning was spent scrambling like a mad person to somewhat straighten "Christmas" that was strung throughout the downstairs, vac the house, fold some laundry and B helped me clean bathrooms and mop. Mr. FixIt came home early from work and fixed the chain gang starving kids some lunch. His family arrived just after 2 as I had just finished a shower and was slapping some makeup on. By the skin of my teeth as usual, I know no other way!!

Mr. FixIt's family brought a family gift for us all- Wii!! Woohoo!! I'm still amazed at the stuff this little box can do. I'll post more on that later. So a hysterical afternoon was had by all as "Wii" (sorry couldn't resist) played and cracked up over sports games, only stopping to eat dinner. What fun!!

Saturday Mr. FixIt went hunting for the weekend. Neighbor kids came over and back and forth, playing most all day, mostly with the Wii, until we Moms declared something had to be done for dinner, and it was time for all to go home. Oh and the temp outside was 65....SIXTY-FIVE?? No complaints from me!!

Well, the temps are back to normal figid levels now. The kids are still happily playing with Christmas gifts while I have the wearable items working through the washer and dryer right now. Mr. FixIt came home last night with another nice big doe to process, so we'll be doing that tonight.

Wow--that recap ended up being pretty long in the tooth, hehehe. Hope your holiday was just a crazy and eventful..well without the carbon monoxide scare! :-D

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Frigid. Chill-to-the-bone cold. Freeze the snot while it's still IN your nose cold--MAN!! As I drove home last night from my grandparents' 60th anniversary open house, the outside temp on the truck display started at 13 and dropped steadily as I came closer to home reaching down to 1....ONE degree as we headed down our road. The wind was just wicked- blowing people all over the place along our way home. Thankfully it was late Sunday and not many trucks on the road- nothing like a 20-ton 18-wheeler leaning over and sliding your way! As I pulled into our driveway, our inflatable Santa in the front yard was dancing wildly, occasionally doing the limbo, like a holiday punching bag being repeatedly knocked down then bouncing back up for another chance. He was losing that battle. I told the kids to bundle back up well, gather their things and when I opened the truck door, WHAMMO! That icy blast was a bundle of sharp knives stabbing clear through me. I might as well not even had a coat on!
Fireplace! Hot chocolate- STAT!
I was fighting to keep feeling in my fingers and not lose my grip on purse/bags/hat, cussing NE Ohio weather and making mental note to kick Mr. FixIt in the shins and as if on cue, here he comes out to help me get the kids. In shorts. SHORTS!! Are you nuts??!! It's -15 below with the windchill out here and you're in comfy shorts?!? I had folded 4 loads of laundry before I left, it wasn't like he didn't have comfy pants or a pair of jeans to throw on. He did have a coat on at least, and I appreciate the help in getting the kids, but jeesh man!
Now my neighbors have proof- I'm not the only one who's missing a few marbles in this house. :-D

It's a race

To see what gets here first...the last few gifts I ordered or Christmas! Ha! I was pretty proud of myself Thanksgiving weekend as I did most of my shopping, got some awesome deals and was pretty much "done." The few things I didn't come home with were items I either couldn't find or I knew I'd seen better deals online. No big deal, I knew what I wanted and still have a couple weeks, right?? Well holy snot, those weeks shot by, and I realized last weekend those items in my shopping cart at Amazon weren't going to ship themselves- CRAP! So come on Amazon-don't fail me now!! None of the items being shipped are major gifts for the kids, and truthfully they are only for B, mostly accessories to go with what I already have. Can't help but kick myself for not getting them ordered earlier. One gift is for Mr. FixIt and I had a chance to order it before Thanksgiving at a great price, but I never did - the price went up, waited some more, price went back down, YES! Ordered at the last possible second! Story of my life! For B's few items being shipped as I type, I do have a back up plan: While shopping, I'd found some really good deals on things I didn't need for the holidays, but not wanting to pass up such savings, I bought them anyway to stash for B's birthday in February. So if I'm still eyeballing the driveway on Christmas Eve desperate for a UPS man I can attack before he even gets the big brown truck out of gear, I'll pull those birthday gifts out for Christmas and save the late arrivals for February. ....If I can find them. Hmmmmm.

A little birthday holiday contest

Ok, I know I'm lacking in posts still, but I'm trying to keep up with everyone and look what I found over here:
Lindsey my friend over on At Home on This Mountain is having a contest in honor of her birthday and the upcoming holiday! She's very crafty making quilts, clothes, ornaments, and I don't think there's anything she hasn't baked, cooked, canned or preserved from a garden! I wanna be her when I grow up! :-D She has made the cutest little holiday hair thingys and is giving them away! So go take a peek and leave a comment on her blog to enter! Drawing will be the 12th!

Now I don't feel like such a blog slug. :-D

Pssst!!

Have you ever read I Need a Martini Mom blog?? If not, you are missing some serious gut-wrenching belly laughs in your day! Vodka mom is teacher, mother and hands-down a riot. The post linked above about "boys" is no exception! Don't forget to bookmark her page, she's hysterical!

Go on, check it out!

Beaming!

Don't they look as proud as punch?? Mr. FixIt got this 9-point the first day of deer gun season in the evening. Yes, it was the first day, but he'd seen 16 deer so far that day and this buck was chasing a group of 6. Nice shot. Nice big deer. LOTS of meat!! He's already had a couple processed this year during bow season so we have a good bit of burger, but he does like to butcher some himself for roasts, steaks and stew meat. And of course the loin--oh man, first thing he pulled out, the backstraps- some season-all and cooked them in the cast iron skillet. OH MAN!! is that yuu-uummy!! Can't get a more juicy, flavorful steak than that! Ok, those who don't eat venison I'll quit making you sick. :-D B posed in this pic with him just because she was happy her daddy got a buck. She's been so worried, wanting him to get a nice buck, lol. She was with him in bow season and helped him get a very nice-sized doe a few weeks before. She jkept watch, picked out the doe, told her dad where to aim and when to release the bow. He nailed it so she helped drag it out of the woods. She can be a girly girl at times and knows how to turn on the drama, but she is definitely a hunter which makes Mr. Fix It, even more proud! She's talking about taking a gun safety course in the spring. I'm sure my mother will have fits, but she's about the age I was when I took a gun class and shot a 12-gauge for the first time. Adding fuel to this fire is the fact that our nieces, B's age and a year younger, both went gun hunting this year- one got a doe and her sister "gave one a haircut" lol. So B definitely wants to keep up with her cousins. I know in some families the guys are hunting crazy but I think our girls can give them a run for their deer. :-D Hey, I wonder if hunting with guns will scare off potential boyfriendsin the future or make them more attracted??? Maybe we can work on intimidating those boys and keeping them away....FAR away!!