On my mind

#1: For those of you wondering where the heck our Christmas card is... well to be honest, we haven't even taken the picture yet!! Can you say "Happy New Year!" cause that's what we'll be sending. New Years cards. I know that a lot of people send a Christmas card with just a picture of the kid/kids on it once they have them- but for some reason I just can't do that. I like to have a picture of the whole family to send out... and we just haven't gotten one yet. It's on the list of things to do this week....

#2: Christmas Presents... I can't wait for J and B to open their gifts... B is going to be so surprised!

#3: "We need to talk"-- we were in a rut of just living our lives and not sitting down to discuss the big stuff. We've done that and let me tell you how WONDERFUL it feels to have everything out in the open, everything out on the table, everything discussed and resolved and decided on. What a weight off our shoulders. A weight that we had just gotten used to carrying around unfortunately. I love you B! I'm glad to be your wife!

#4: Bad Santa-- We took J to the 25th annual Dillon Family Christmas Party this weekend and

he loved it... right up until the big scary man dressed in red showed up. I had a feeling he wouldn't be a fan since we ran into a random santa at Babies R Us and he freaked- so when this guy showed up, look out! J was sitting on my lap when he walked in and I could feel him start to press his little body into mine- trying to get a little further away from that thing in red! As soon as Santa pulled out the gift for J and I started to get up and go towards Santa, the freaking out began! By the time I got him on his lap- J's whole body was shaking and he was crying and shaking his head no, and flapping his arms and legs to try to escape. From my sister's vantage point- she said he looked like he seriously thought his life was in danger. Since we're all so loving- my entire family rushed to rescue J. Yeah right! We all sat there taking pictures and laughing our asses off! It was pretty funny. Traumatic for J I'm sure, but damn funny.

And just for Aunt D... Here you go! Your blog debut!!!!

#5- We found a church! It's the only UCC church with the "open and affirming" status in pretty much our entire area- and it's about 20 minutes away from our house- but totally worth it. I've already emailed the co-pastor and asked about us joining, and also getting J baptized. She was so incredibly nice and friendly. We're hoping to be able to baptize J before my mom leaves for Kenya in another month, but we'll have to see if it'll work out. I'm so glad we found this church! I want J to grow up feeling connected to a place that welcomes ALL people, no matter who they are or who they love. That's important to me.

#6-- Christmas Cookies! I've never actually specifically baked x-mas cookies- but this year I did! My brother's girlfriend, L was here for a few days and we made sugar cookies and those awesome peanut butter ones with the hershey's kiss in the middle. We had a good time even though we won't be opening our own bakery anytime soon! :) Thanks to Aunt B's advice, we used all the ingredients they had listed. Who knew cream of tartar was so important? We didn't get to decorating the sugar cookies till J had long been asleep, so he got a chance to decorate this morning...

***I put this post on hold for a bit- we ran to Honeybaked Ham to get our food for Christmas Eve... what a ham my kid is! He took one look at the 5 ladies behind the counter and started flirting away! He was smiling and waving and looking down at his hands like he was shy... it was hilarious! Of course they ate it right up- everybody loves a baby!

#7-- I had that dream again last night, the one where I go back to teaching- back to my classroom and class from last year. Everyone is so glad to have me back and I am so glad to be there. Funny how I never dream about report cards, parent emails, testing, meetings, etc. A lady that Brandon works with said her aunt would like to watch J 2 days a week along with the lady's infant son... I guess I should finish that application to sub! We still have to meet her though and decide if she's right for J.

#8-- Mom leaves for Kenya in a little over a month. For 10 months. Finally hitting me I think.

#9-- Midnight Meetings- Friday and Saturday nights found us awake with an extremely angry baby from about midnight till 1 am. He cried and cried and lifted his arms to us like he just needed to be held. Both nights we finally brought him into bed with us where he sat there and "talked" complete with arm and hand motions for about 15 minutes. Both nights I gave him that much time to talk and then I put him back in his crib. No tears, just went straight to sleep till 7. I guess we just needed to listen!

I'm sure there was more... but that's it for now!

Where are the freaking goldfish crackers you promised us? We're sitting still, aren't we?