Christmas Busy-ness
Whew ... we've been very busy the last few weeks.
We're still settling in from Ma moving in - it's great having her here. I know many people would be hard pressed to live with their mothers but my relationship with my mom is great. She needed (her words) a purpose for getting up everyday after my step-dad died in May. So, she's decided that taking care of me, Ryan and the boys is that purpose. She wakes up every day with the boys, gets them ready for school, feeds them breakfast and puts them on the bus. And she's told me and Ryan to STAY AWAY. We're a bit crabby in the morning.
We've actually begun to develop a social life now. We've been out every weekend for the four or five weeks. We haven't gone out that much since before the kids. What a concept.
Last night was my company's Christmas party at the country club in Edina. Whoop dee freakin' doo. I admit I like most of the people I work with but I also admit that I have always kept my work and home life separate. So, spending an evening with these people isn't my first choice for fun. No fault on anyone's part, I just don't know them aside from the miscellaneous comments at the office about pictures on the desk or time spent in elevator together. The only exception to this "rule" is my assistant, Stephen.
I've mentioned him in passing in a few other posts. Basically, he's not someone I would have sought out for friendship (he's straight, formerly Republican, former Evangelical) but that's how it goes sometimes. If you can believe it, he's a bigger geek than me. The great big lovable doofus. I ADORE his wife. She's this cute, little thing that has NO business being with him, at least from the standpoint of appearances. Y'know how some couples just look like they belong together? Not Stephen and Lorri. When he told me he was married, I pictured his wife as Mimi from Drew Carey (Stephen reminds me of Drew so ... ). Nope. Cute as a little button. And he has two sweet, well-behaved little boys about my own kids' ages. The boys really have a great time together. Alas, my kids will be the ruin of them. ::sigh:: Yes, my children are the bad influences. (Not bad bad but they're loud and rambunctious and know how to make every kind of bodily noise).
We're going to Kansas City for Christmas this year. We used to go to Chicago for the holiday but with Ma living with us, that's all in the past. Since we won the "Mom Lotto," my younger brother Michael will be hosting the event - sort of a consolation prize. We leave on Saturday morning and drive to KC. We'll be there through the 26th and then head to St. Louis for a few days before driving back to Minnesota on the 30th or 31st. We might stop in KC on the way back but that's iffy. While we're in KC, I'm trying to wrangle some time away from my bio family to visit with the Lawrence folks - my best bet for availability is Saturday evening after we get in. I also need to find a game store near my brother's house in Gladstone so I can buy the pre-order for the WoW Burning Crusade expansion. Yep, he plays too - he's the one who sucked me into the game in the first place. I'm a dabbler - he's hard core. His wife says he hasn't bought the upgrade yet so it should be a good gift.
Oh ... I turned 40 a few weeks back. My anniversary and birthday are the same day so I tend to forget about the birthday thing. I don't have a problem with the age thing but it was a bad week (I had a conference with the school district superintendent and went to a funeral). I got a call from iriedanym and isaiahwordsmith that really made my day. Not to sound snotty but I pretty much have all the STUFF I'll ever need - I'm an adult and I buy something when I want/need it. What I really appreciate now are the people in my life - hearing their voices really turned a crappy day into a good day. Having said that ... I did get a lot of gifts. Like I said - I don't NEED anything but my mother and my husband think I should have "stuff." Ryan bought me an entire dress up outfit including a black cashmere jacket (very nice ... too nice for me, truth be told), a black dress shirt, grey slacks, black demi-boots and black tie. I refer to it as my Johnny Cash outfit. Man in black, baby. (We had a lot of plans for dress parties and it was a timely gift). I got some silly gifts too. I got a light sabre - one of the good ones that uses neon and a glass tube. I'm not a Star Wars fan but I AM a geek.
Well, that's it for now. Merry Christnas to all.
Peace.
We're still settling in from Ma moving in - it's great having her here. I know many people would be hard pressed to live with their mothers but my relationship with my mom is great. She needed (her words) a purpose for getting up everyday after my step-dad died in May. So, she's decided that taking care of me, Ryan and the boys is that purpose. She wakes up every day with the boys, gets them ready for school, feeds them breakfast and puts them on the bus. And she's told me and Ryan to STAY AWAY. We're a bit crabby in the morning.
We've actually begun to develop a social life now. We've been out every weekend for the four or five weeks. We haven't gone out that much since before the kids. What a concept.
Last night was my company's Christmas party at the country club in Edina. Whoop dee freakin' doo. I admit I like most of the people I work with but I also admit that I have always kept my work and home life separate. So, spending an evening with these people isn't my first choice for fun. No fault on anyone's part, I just don't know them aside from the miscellaneous comments at the office about pictures on the desk or time spent in elevator together. The only exception to this "rule" is my assistant, Stephen.
I've mentioned him in passing in a few other posts. Basically, he's not someone I would have sought out for friendship (he's straight, formerly Republican, former Evangelical) but that's how it goes sometimes. If you can believe it, he's a bigger geek than me. The great big lovable doofus. I ADORE his wife. She's this cute, little thing that has NO business being with him, at least from the standpoint of appearances. Y'know how some couples just look like they belong together? Not Stephen and Lorri. When he told me he was married, I pictured his wife as Mimi from Drew Carey (Stephen reminds me of Drew so ... ). Nope. Cute as a little button. And he has two sweet, well-behaved little boys about my own kids' ages. The boys really have a great time together. Alas, my kids will be the ruin of them. ::sigh:: Yes, my children are the bad influences. (Not bad bad but they're loud and rambunctious and know how to make every kind of bodily noise).
We're going to Kansas City for Christmas this year. We used to go to Chicago for the holiday but with Ma living with us, that's all in the past. Since we won the "Mom Lotto," my younger brother Michael will be hosting the event - sort of a consolation prize. We leave on Saturday morning and drive to KC. We'll be there through the 26th and then head to St. Louis for a few days before driving back to Minnesota on the 30th or 31st. We might stop in KC on the way back but that's iffy. While we're in KC, I'm trying to wrangle some time away from my bio family to visit with the Lawrence folks - my best bet for availability is Saturday evening after we get in. I also need to find a game store near my brother's house in Gladstone so I can buy the pre-order for the WoW Burning Crusade expansion. Yep, he plays too - he's the one who sucked me into the game in the first place. I'm a dabbler - he's hard core. His wife says he hasn't bought the upgrade yet so it should be a good gift.
Oh ... I turned 40 a few weeks back. My anniversary and birthday are the same day so I tend to forget about the birthday thing. I don't have a problem with the age thing but it was a bad week (I had a conference with the school district superintendent and went to a funeral). I got a call from iriedanym and isaiahwordsmith that really made my day. Not to sound snotty but I pretty much have all the STUFF I'll ever need - I'm an adult and I buy something when I want/need it. What I really appreciate now are the people in my life - hearing their voices really turned a crappy day into a good day. Having said that ... I did get a lot of gifts. Like I said - I don't NEED anything but my mother and my husband think I should have "stuff." Ryan bought me an entire dress up outfit including a black cashmere jacket (very nice ... too nice for me, truth be told), a black dress shirt, grey slacks, black demi-boots and black tie. I refer to it as my Johnny Cash outfit. Man in black, baby. (We had a lot of plans for dress parties and it was a timely gift). I got some silly gifts too. I got a light sabre - one of the good ones that uses neon and a glass tube. I'm not a Star Wars fan but I AM a geek.
Well, that's it for now. Merry Christnas to all.
Peace.