A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY...

Outside My Window...Sunshine! It's cool and crisp.

I am thinking...What a blessing it is to be able to have the windows open in late December!

I am thankful for...My husband, my kids, the end of the Christmas season. Have I mentioned I love, love, love my new job? My boss gave me a gift of $100, plus he paid me for the full day on Christmas Eve and I only had to work half the day. What a generous man! I've only been working for him for 3 weeks but I think he and I will get along just fine. In addition, he wrote in the Christmas card he gave me, "Thank you for your positive addition to our team. May God bless you and your family this Christmas and in the New Year." Hmmmm, God? Does he believe?

From the learning rooms...there's no learning going on around here! Well, maybe a little from "Life's Big Book of Lessons."

From the kitchen...hmmmmm, not. so. sure. Well, I do know that I will be hosting my 3rd, yes you read that right, my 3rd turkey dinner of this year on New Year's Eve. That's turkey and all the trimmings. uggghhh! We have LOTS of family here from Canada and my MIL wants to treat them to a turkey dinner. I guess it's good practice...insert whimpers and moaning here.

I am wearing...polka-dot pj's and a pink t-shirt...no slippers!

I am creating...an environment with less stress and more God - which equates to more peace.

I am going...to the kitchen to get my second cup of coffee.

I am reading...nothing, but I want to read "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" maybe I'll start next week.

I am hoping...for a week of mind-renewing peace and happiness

I am hearing...the kids interacting with Dora The Explorer. It's just amazing watching them grow and learn.

Around the house...a little laundry, a little vacuuming, a little tidying-up to be done

One of my favorite things...besides the hot cup of coffee, a good book that just captivates me so much I can't put it down.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...we are hoping to get to go to Boca Raton this weekend to visit Dan's cousin.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...Katie & Sophie playing in the surf at Playa Linda beach...YESTERDAY!

Got It Figured Out!

So, I took the Christmas tree ornament project down from the shelf and got it figured out. My initial "design" was way too complicated for me let alone a 4-year-old. They still need to be embellished with their "ornaments" but take a look... Not bad! They really had a lot of fun stringing the beads in between the tree's "layers". Adam found a skull-shaped bead in the mix and happily exclaimed, "look mommy! I found a pirate bead. I'm going to put this pirate bead at the top of my Christmas tree!" Um, no sweetie. We'll save that "pirate" bead for another project. I finally convinced him that a star would be more appropriate.

On another note, my kids all got letters in the mail from "Santa" this week. They were THRILLED. Santa asked them to remind their mom to leave the "good" cookies and not the "diet" cookies. We have a dear friend who wrote the letters, so he really knows all about the kids and was very detailed about the areas where they've been "naughty and nice" which really floored the kids! Katie was so excited to learn that Santa was going to make our house his first stop this year! Our friend lives in east Orlando, near Christmas, Florida, so He went to the post office there so the letters would be post-marked "Christmas." It was a real treat for the kids and something for the "box o' memories."

The whole Santa thing, I have learned, is unavoidable; and since I've learned to choose my battles in life, I've "allowed" Santa to be a part of Christmas. I am adamant with my kids that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and they each get 3 gifts because the three Wise Men brought Baby Jesus 3 gifts to celebrate Hiss birth. But, how does Santa fit into this? Well, Santa was a very kind old man who wanted to share God's love by giving gifts to little children on Christ's birthday. Yeah! Somethin' like that. I think I'm pretty much done with Christmas shopping except that I need to find something for my dad. He is so hard to shop for. I hate to give gift cards! I want to give everyone something they'll love and they wouldn't get for themselves. Still have 11 days to go. I have to admit, I am more in the Christmas spirit this year than any other year since I've had kids. Although, I still haven't put the ornaments on my tree. I have good intentions to decorate, sing songs, read books, do crafts with the kids, bake cookies, bake and decorate cookies with the kids, etc. etc. etc. But what can I say? Life is out-of-control-all-consuming with just the day-to-day.

The job, AWESOME! The doctor sees about 6 patients a day. I see 9-10 super easy patients. It is so absolutely laid-back compared to my previous job. The assistant and the office manger help in every way possible. I am finally reminded of the definition of TEAM. I could not be more pleased! The doctor and the office manager both say that all of this is "serendipitous" but you and I know that this is God's divine appointment for me.

So, all's well here. I am absolutely going to embellish the tree with ornaments today and hopefully get my Christmas cards ordered - if I can get a picture of these three rascals all looking the same direction and smiling. I have a feeling there'll be some bribery involved...but it's for a good cause.

A Little Progress

Well, I have finally put the lights on the Christmas tree, and while doing so the tree shed about 821 needles! So, I'm thinkin' this is the last year I'm doin' a real tree. Bah Humbug! I've been less than excited to decorate the tree because what goes up must come down. I really am less than thrilled about having to pack everything away after Christmas. Again, Bah Humbug! Anyway, yesterday I attempted to make ornaments with the twins. Uh huh, I'm a little over-ambitious because first of all, the ornament design came from my head (sometimes good, sometimes bad, this time, BAD). Second, I didn't make a prototype, so as I was trying to instruct them, I was also trying to figure out how my design was going to work. Not. So.Good. That little project is shelved until further notice. Maybe on Friday we'll make snowmen ornaments - this idea came from the Internet, not Sue's crazy, over-ambitious, any-thing-can-be-done with 2 four-year-olds, mind. I'll keep you posted. I'm off to the new job, actually looking forward to it. Have a great day...

Sweet Stuff

Well, now that the job situation is under control, it's time to get out of my funk and start doing some holiday baking. I have several new cookie recipes I want to try. Thin and crispy oatmeal chocolate chip are among the first on my list. My dad is always talking about these cookies that his friend's mom used to make way way back. He has lost the recipe, and being the pessimistic fatalist that he is (along with everyone else in my family), he thinks it's impossible to duplicate that recipe. Nothing motivates me more than hearing someone tell me something can't be done (most especially if it's my dad doing the telling). So, game's on! I'll keep you posted.

On another note, we had some discouraging news from Dan's dad's cardiologist. Dan's dad is having atrial fibrillation (AF) and his MD has put him on blood thinners to prevent a stroke. He had a triple bypass 4 years ago. Upon learning of the AF, Dan's dad told him that he knows he won't be here much longer. Scary stuff! The most scary, he's not saved and he doesn't speak english. When opportunities have arisen for me to "gently" witness to him, nobody would translate for me because they said it would just start a fight. So, I'm just praying... It really bugs me that we're now at that stage in our lives that we have to face the unavoidable mortality of our loved ones.

And on a more positive note, I do feel like God could use me to bring this new dentist to the knowledge of His saving grace. I asked a coworker if the doc goes to church, she quickly replied, "no." We'll see where that goes.

I decked some halls today. I put some very pretty evergreen garland with red velvet hydrangeas on my mantle today. I also put some poinsettia garland over the top of my big mirror in my front entry. So, a little de-funking is going on around here. I thought that once I got this new job I would instantly feel better. Well. I. don't. I know things take time, but I'm not sure that I'm still sore about the two (previously noted) creeps. It's just really hard being a working mom. Don't get me wrong, I like to work, it's all the other "details" that need to be worked out as a result of my working. Such as childcare - especially if the kids are sick, housework, meals, baths, etc... It's also very draining to be new-on-the-job. It really requires a tremendous amount of energy to prove myself worthy/proficient/efficient/trustworthy, among other things, the first couple of weeks. Although, these are my rules. Nobody expects as much from me as I expect from myself.

Anyway, stay tuned for a very interesting, but slightly disturbing story about Katie, a dead mouse, & an almost-empty water bottle...