2008 Goody Swap

Kailani over at An Island Life is hosting a Valentine's Day goody swap. Seriously, folks; check it out. You give goodies, you get goodies (i.e. candy, of some sort or another). Could there possibly be anything bad with this?

I think not.

Participants can join until January 31st, and partners will be chosen February 1st.

Here are my answers to a few questions Kailani posted to help my partner know me (or my goody preferences) a little better:

What is your idea of a romantic Valentine's Day?
*Dinner without the children.

In reality, what is your Valentine's Day really like?
*What's Valentine's Day?

If you could have a lifetime supply of your favorite sweet indulgence, what would it be?
*That's a tough one. Caramels, probably. Or anything sour and chewy. Saltwater taffy, definitely.

Is there any treat you absolutely do not like?
*I'll eat black licorice, but it's not a favorite. I don't really like milk chocolate (the darker the better!), or chocolate bars (I prefer chocolate-coated things to chocolate bars). And candy-coated almonds (think weddings).

If you fell into a pool of chocolate, how would you get out?
*I'm not a huge fan of plain chocolate, so I'd probably swim out of it as fast as possible. If it was dark chocolate, I'd probably go a little slower, tasting it every once in awhile. The darker it was, the slower I'd swim, the more I'd taste.

A Sunday Post

I don't usually blog on Sundays. Lately, I've been too busy watching Prince Charming playing Zelda on the Wii, but most Sundays I spend reading, watching movies, or napping.

Napping is my favorite Sunday activity, by the way.

Today, for some reason, I feel like blogging.

I think it's because I've had a nasty day, and I feel like venting.

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My Sunday started at 4:30 this morning.

Yes, I meant to write 4:30.

It's not a typo.

Sleeping Beauty was having an awful night; she woke up every hours and had a very difficult time going back down each time. She was having a hard time getting comfortable while cuddling, and every time I put her down, she'd curl her little, fat legs up to her chest while on her tummy.

My mommy senses were tingling all over.

At 4:30, Sleeping Beauty desperately wanted to sleep, but she could not get comfortable. Everything I tried failed. She would settle down in my arms, her little eyes closed, her little snores resonating in the room, only to start squirming and squealing minutes later.

After finally getting her down at 4:52, I told myself, "She'll be up in 5 minutes."

I was wrong. She was up in 8 minutes.

Fortunately, Prince Charming awoke from his snoring and offered to rock her.

It didn't work.

At 5:30, I took another turn, nursing and rocking; nothing worked.

I eventually decided, "This kid is constipated."

She hadn't pooped the day before, strained her entire body the night before to no avail, and I figured she was feeling pretty miserable.

So, I woke up Prince Charming, got out the glycerin suppositories, and went to work.

Normally I would use prunes, but this problem needed to be taken care of instantly, not after the 12-24 hours prunes usually take.

Blessed relief!

By 6:30, Sleeping Beauty had done her business several times, and she was back in bed by 7:00.

The most amazing thing about this entire ordeal was that Cinderella never once woke up.

She slept through the crying, the squealing, and the screaming.

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After this ordeal, Prince Charming let me sleep in until 8:45.

Prince Charming had lovingly made sour dough waffles (my favorite). I eagerly grabbed my plate and hungrily took a bite of a plain waffle, not waiting to spread jam on it.

I have only one word to describe that waffle: BLECH!!!!

Prince Charming misread the recipe.

He added 2 tablespoons of salt instead of the 1/4 teaspoon it called for.

Whoops!

They were terrible! It took me all morning to get the taste of salt out of my mouth, and several glasses of juice and water just to replenish the liquid I had lost eating that one bite.

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I had a difficult time paying attention and staying awake during church.

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Now that I'm home?

Sleeping Beauty took a fantastic nap!

I'm watching Prince Charming play Zelda.

And blogging.

Crummy morning. Good afternoon.

Aloha Friday

Aloha Friday!

Friday is a great day! It means tomorrow is Saturday, which means tomorrow I have backup for all the demands Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty make on me during the day.

For my inaugural Aloha Friday contribution, my question is this:


What do you and your man do for date nights?


Me and mine? Well, we don't "date." We never really have.

Unless you count grocery shopping as a date.

Which we rarely do together anymore.

Needless to say, I need some ideas. Help me out. Please?

And They Cried, "Whee! Whee! A Wii!" All the Way Home

My sister got a Wii for Christmas from my dad.

Prince Charming SAID he didn't want one (yeah, right), so he didn't get one.

Am I at all jealous? Not really.

Because I got a Wii for Christmas from my dad (he was lucky enough to buy 2 at one time).

Not Prince Charming. Not Cinderella.

Me.

Of course, I do share it willingly, but I also let it be known that it is my Wii.

So, yes, faithful readers, who are few and far between, I have we have joined the ranks of Wii owners.

We share the Wii Sports and the Wii Play; Cinderella has her own Disney Princess game; and I, being the lovely, tender-hearted, generous wife I am, asked my dad for Zelda, Twilight Princess for Prince Charming (it's my game, but I got it for him, just so you know).

Lord knows I'll never play it.

Seriously. I won't.

It's way too complicated for me.

I do like to watch it, though. I guess that makes all Prince Charming's playing time worth it.

Because he's got a problem. He admits it, too.

Although, I do egg it on, sometimes. As I said, I like to watch Zelda.

Does that make me an enabler?

Works for Me Wednesday--Birthday Parties

Cinderella will be four in March.

I am going to have a four-year-old.

How is this possible? Where has the time gone? I'm not old enough to have a four-year-old!

Regardless of my feelings on this, she will be four.

And this year, she should have a birthday party.

So, my question is this: What are your suggestions for how we should celebrate Cinderella's birthday?

Also: What are good ideas for party favors?

Thanks for your input!

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For more questions you just may have the answers to, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

Wordless Wednesday--The Gourmand

She just ate, and ate, and ate, and...

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For more photos check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Snow Day

After two weeks of vacation,

After two weeks of family time and togetherness,

After two weeks of having Prince Charming underfoot home,

After two weeks of NO BLOGGING,

It's snowing.

And the school district has decided to cancel school today.

Sigh...

Joy to the World

Joy to the World

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

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Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

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No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

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He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

O Holy Night

O Holy Night

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

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Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,

Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friends.

He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

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Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Silent Night

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Christmas Quiz

Check this out!

I suck at it, by the way.

Finished in the Nick of Time

I finally finished my Christmas cards two evenings ago. If it weren't for Prince Charming's willingness to address envelopes (!!!), I probably wouldn't have finished when I did.

Here is the insert:




Isn't that a cute picture of the girls?

Those trees were cut from the same paper that is pasted to the flap of the card.





And here is the fully-assembled, finished product:




I used up every single piece of shiny red paper I owned!

It's a slight variation on the original; I realized I didn't have enough jewels for the 30+ cards I had to make.





Of course, now that I'm done, we just heard from a friend of ours who has finally given us his address. Do I have an extra card for him? No!!!

Guess what I'll be doing this afternoon: designing another card, since I don't have any more red paper.

Tour of Homes

So, I'm a little late getting on board with this, but we are once again sick in our house. That and the week before Christmas is always hectic.

Never fear, however; I am participating at last!

I don't do much decorating for Christmas. 1. We are never home; we always go visit family on the West side. 2. I don't have many decorations. I just haven't seen the necessity of spending a lot of money on them.

Here is what little I do have:



These are our stockings on the red fireplace wall. Yes, the tree stocking holder is a little out of place, but the one with the angel on it had a broken wing.

This is my favorite Christmas decoration! It's my creche from Willow Tree. And yes, it is the entire set!








I love this tree. It also happens to be a kid favorite. They seem to think picking the berries off is loads of fun. My great-grandma made the doily.








These are my snowflake candle holders. They're beautiful when lit!








My mom made this. It's supposed to hang on the wall, but I just drape it on the coffee table.




What I really own a lot of are ornaments. My mom makes a point of giving everyone an ornament every year. The ornaments represent something important or special that happened to that person that year. These are some of my special ornaments (I accidentally forgot to put up any of my husband's this year; then he put the boxes away before I remembered):




This is my genuine pewter Piper Piping ornament. In 8th grade, I had the female lead in the play "The Pied Piper of Hamlin."









This is my silver Family ornament. I got it the Christmas after Cinderella was born.











This is a Viking bear. I got this my freshman year in college; we were the Vikings.










This is my Angel Dog. I got this the year our family dog died.









My mom made this ornament. I got it the Christmas after Prince Charming and I got married. Part of it is made from an unused wedding invitation.






These are some of my more random ornaments:





A pickle, because, apparently, every tree needs a pickle.











And a spider.










This is the creme de la creme of my Christmas ornaments. It's a genuine, one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted, Cinderella original. And it's been displayed with prominence front and center.





Enjoy!

Click the banner above for more decked halls.

Wordless Wednesday--Survival of the Fittest

Even with all the snow and frost, this little guy just isn't giving up!

For more pictures, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

O Come, Emmanuel

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

O come, thou rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of of hell thy people save
And give them vict'ry o'er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

O come, O Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here
And drive away the shaves of night
And pierce the clouds and bring us light

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Who to thy tribes, on Sinai's height
In ancient times did'st give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee O Israel