Before and After

Hubs and I aren't super domestic people. I not only lack crafting and decorating sensibilities, I am also pretty bad about making a concerted effort at celebrating anything; birthdays, holidays... you name it.

 

So it was with nervousness as well as excitement that I contemplated spending our first Christmas in a house with a fireplace and mantle(okay, our flat in London had a fireplace, but we filled it with candles and the mantle had yet more candles sitting atop empty bottles of booze).

 

Aaaanyway, the mantle was very important this year because my mom completed the needle point stocking she made for The Boy and gave me the stocking she made for me 35 years ago.

 

Mom has started work on TheLittle Boy's stocking and I got Hubs a stocking, black of course, so he wouldn't feel left out.

 

Then when it came time to purchase a tree we pulled back a bit from being too terribly festive and bought the biggest of the small trees we found and used it to shield the presents from The Boy.

 

For the first time ever The Boy anticipated Santa's arrival and we had to make an effort stay up later than him, stuff stockings and leave presents quietly. Having a glass of champagne helped while he danced around in his room well past bedtime asking where Santa was.

 

When he finally settled down this was what was left, but less blurry.

 

Christmas morning was a flurry of Lincoln Logs, various toy vehicles and Egg Nog French Toast Casserole.

We were supposed to go to a fancy restaurant for Christmas dinner. My dad made reservations for me, Hubs, the boys, my BFF, his girlfriend, my dad and HIS girlfriend. He found out on Christmas Eve that the reservation was actually FOR Christmas Eve, so we ended up having Christmas dinner at my dad's house.

It turned out really well. The boys were spoiled, dinner was good, we got to spend time with my globtrotting BFF and I got to wear my new plaid trousers that everyone thought were "Christmas pants."

Everybody laughed a lot, The Boy was surprisingly well-behaved and The Little Boy slept a fair amount. I just couldn't believe that The Little Boy's first Christmas has already passed, that The Boy so big and they're both so beautiful and precious.

Makes me all misty-eyed, but these curls make me feel better.

 

Wordless Wednesday

I Love My Babies

And am exceptionally greatful for them tonight.

I'm Still Not a Martha, But I'm Trying

It's card writing, present wrapping season. I'm actually far more organized about it this year then I have ever been but I'm still lagging in the execution of my card sending and gift giving. Among the reasons for this are - stupid MS has weakened my stupid right hand and I am, of course I would be, right handed; my addresses are scattered amongst myriad files, address books and Post Its, meaning addressing my cards takes about 10 times longer than it should; I'm late to the personalized, self-inking stamp and spreadsheet-to-address-label thing. Of course if I took care of the latter issue the middle two issues would be solved.

Lesson learned.

But still, I read posts like THIS and I feel like all the domestic progress over the last few years still amounts to almost nothing. I mean, I've never been  Christmas card person, but shouldn't I be? I've got two cute kids and news and tidings to share.

So it was with that in mind that I set out to send Christmas cards to everyone in my address books. I got a Sharpie and scetched out 10s of cards and chicken scratched my way through envelopes.

Sent.

Then there was the week-long bakefest of sugar cookies, a new kind of cookie for me to be making, and assemblage of cookies and coffee gift certificates into pretty little gifts for The Boy's 6 teachers and the secretary at his school. The process was pretty stressful; being covered in flour when The Little Boy needed a new butt, trying not to lose my cool when The Boy ate all the green icing, allowing my normally far-from-spotless kitchen to descend into absolute filth. All because I'm trying really, really hard to be more thoughtful.

So it was with a huge sigh of relief that I set off this morning with a big bag full of little bags and ferried The Boy to school, with Kitty of course.

It was chilly and clear, his teachers were bundled up and happily drinking coffee as they greeted the children. And The Boy looked so cute bundled up in his puffer vest.

I wanted to get some pictures of him on the olast day of his first semester at school, but he first clung to close to me to get a pic then kept covering his eyes.

Then I managed to get him tolet me take a picture of him with one of his teachers before he wandered off and delivered each of the little presents to each of his teachers, making me so very proud of him.

Sniff.

Wordless Wednesday

Whistle Stop San Francisco

We took The Little Boy to San Francisco for the first time a few weeks ago. Fearful of stopping every 10 miles for a feed or a cuddle, we set out at 10 am assuming the 6 hour drive would get us there around midnight, but it went really, really well. My two little travelers were rock stars and sat patiently in the back seat and we made it up in time for dinner.

 

 

But on the way we stopped at IHOP. The Little Boy was glad to be out of the car seat but unsure of what to make of the place.

 

 

 

We crossed over the Bay Bridge, a 10 minute drive that had always meant so much to me as I dreamed of moving from the So Cal suburbs to  SF, and then continued to make me whistful when I lived across the bay in Berkeley. It's just a bridge, butthat final approach to the city is loaded with symbolism to me.

 

So I tried not to be too disappointed when I exclaimed excitedly to The Boy, 'look! It's San Francisco!!!'

 

'Where?' Was his response.

 

'Up there where all the lights are. Do you see it?'

 

'I see the lights but I don't see San Francisco.'

 

Hmph.

 



 

After checking into the hotel we wandered down California Street to the Ferry Building for dinner. 

 

Back to the Ferry Building in the morning to look at the boats and the bay then it was off to shop for me with The Little Boy and some friends and off to the Cable Cars for Hubs and The Boy. Sadly there are no pictures of The Boy on the Cable Cars because Hubs is loathe to take a picture without being asked.

Then Hubs ordered some room service with the boys while I went to the Tadich Grill for dinner. It's one of the oldest, if not the oldest, restaurants in California and is famous for it's seafood. So, despite not being a fan of seafood I got a crab cake as a starter then whatever this is for my main. Both were fabulous.

 

 

Then the best part of the trip, my mom looked after the boys while Hubs and some friends and I drank at Vesuvio like we did in 1999. Then... my friends left.

 

PDA and my sweet Hubs took this pic.



It's That Time of Year

Holiday season means one thing, okay several things. One of my favorite things about this time of year, however, is the seasonal stuff offered at Lush.

Luuuuush!

I've loved Lush since I was 23 and found myself in London, cough, in 1997, cough cough. 15 years later and I'm not nearly so obsessed with the stuff, but I do enjoy a Christmastime splurge on many lovely things, chief among them my pink, sparkly Snow Fairy.

The Little Boy

 

He's a real little person now. Although I still call him a newborn he's probably not. This is a collection of pics I wanted to post last week but didn't get around to.  Cuteness.

4 months old

Wordless Wednesday

Brothers

I'm an only child. I grew up socially maladjusted and lonely, and though I never yearned for a sibling I'd be lying if there wasn't a part of me that thought my childhood would have been easier if I'd had a brother or sister.

 

It was because I never felt strongly about having a sibling myself that I didn't immediately feel the need to have a second child after I had The Boy. I'm sooooo glad the urge to have a second grew on me, not just for the sake of having The Little Boy in my life, but because I've not only got two little boys to call my own but I also get to watch them be brothers to each other. Even now, when they're wee, it's really special watching them together.

 

Thanksgiving

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

We had a quiet one at our house with my mom and stepdad.

I started working on the meal on Monday. I had been doing most of my prep in the mornings, while The Boy was at school. But I had to pick up the pace on Wednesday so The Boy was my sous chef, sitting in his helper chair. Well, mostly sitting in his helper chair. When narrating my way through the chopping of herbs I got the brilliant idea to let him smell them.

"Thyme smells pretty." He said. Then, "sage smells wet."

"Sage DOES smell wet," I said. Then I gave him the bare stems to smell and he acted like I'd given him a present.

It was one of those all-too-infrequent moments when I remind myself that MOST things are still new to my big boy.

So after a loooottt of chopping, mixing, sauteeing and baking we settled into a lovely dinner. I didn't take any pictures of the food itself, but here are some of us. None of us all together though :(

 

Sunday Out With Grandpa

A few Sundays ago it was actually cool outside. I got to wear my favorite scarf that I bought for 15 Euros 10 years ago, The Boy wore a toasty Union Jack hoodie which embarasses the hell out of Hubs, The Little Boy wore a fuzzy bear suit for the one and only time since he's already outrown it, and Hubs wore the same paper-thin hoodie he'd wear in a blizzard.

 

We met my dad for coffee. Hubs and I sipped our coffee while Grandpa ran around after The Boy. 

 

And after that we went back to our shorts and short sleeved tees.