the more things change..

-the lamp my parents had to replace this week it was older than I am
-the bed I am sleeping in well the bed frame was my parent's when they first got married it had also been mine at one point in time, it is the frame of death if I had a penny for each time I hit my knee or shin on the damn thing I would be a wealthy wealthy woman
-my parents replaced their windows several years ago and at the time just had them fitted with mini blinds. Evidently my SIL was giving my dad a hard time about that recently so he bought new curtains and asked me to help put them up. I was kind of excited to see what he bought imagine my surprise when I walked into the living room to see they were the same EXACT curtains we had growing up oh ok they were a little longer perhaps but the same style & color.
-he did get a cute that had some color & pattern valance for the back door so I suggested he should get something similar for the window over the sink. I am hoping he takes the suggestion

I am a little blue tonight as we are leaving in the morning and I hate living more than 800 miles from my parents! Luckily they will be in K-town in April

a little leftover holiday cheer

-buy batteries before Christmas day it's a pain heading out to Walgreens at 10 pm on xmas eve
-when re-using a gift bag remember to check for gift tags-D spent a few minutes trying to figure out who James & Ryan were, and why they would buy him underwear-in the correct size no less
-It dawned on me at mass on Christmas Eve that one downside to C attending public school over parochial is that he is not learning noels but only the secular Christmas songs
-huge Christmas dinner was good but the leftovers the next night were way better

little boy growing up

most of the time when out in public with C if he need to use a restroom I send him on his way to the men's room. I do keep an eye out on the time it takes and who may or may not be walking in but generally speaking no problem. When flying it is usually just the 2 of us so he just goes in to the ladies with me however we have not flown up north in over a year, past couple of trips up North have been road trips.
On the road Saturday first place we stopped had a single ladies room & a single men's room so no problem I sent him on his way. The second place we stopped was a very busy truck stop/gas station/fast food eatery(I use the term eatery very loosely) as D was pumping gas I grabbed C and took him with me to the ladies and for the very first time I got vehement protest as he hissed "this is so embarrassing" to me.
But you know better safe than sorry so tough noogies kid next time wait for your father then you can go to the gents! Should be fun this summer flying like I'd let him go alone at LaGuardia..

you can go home again

well just for a visit for a week I mean let's not get crazy I'm not about to move back here or anything! Christmas was wonderful-warning a little family bragging about to happen I had a fairly normal childhood no deep dark skeletons hiding in the closet so the holidays were always fun & enjoyable as was this one. I love hearing the shriek emanate from my son when he first gets a look at all the gifts under the tree knowing in particular this is probably the last year he truly believes in the jolly old elf-well he left a thank you note for the cookies and all..
It's is just nice to be home in the house I grew up in. It is nice to hang out with my parents and not have any obligations that need filling, no shuttling C to & fro, no dishes or laundry!
For us this is truly a vacation. I must admit sometimes I wish we do something touristy during time off but we don't really like the whole needing a vacation from the vacation sort of feeling

Merry Christmas!!!

for the little kid in all of us this site is the only one you'll need to visit today!

things I forgot living in the south

-aggressive driving, pick up the pace or get the hell out of the way
-snow while pretty at first becomes a dirty & gross mess
-cars covered in sand & salt don't brush up against them
-no flippin turn lanes?
-people do talk to random strangers in stores, I had a nice conversation in line at Kohl's(forgot C's nice clothes for church really smart of me no?)
-that parking space up front-it's empty because it is full of packed snow...

notes from the road

-when you witness a car wreck and call 911 near a rest stop they will ask you over and over what is the # of the rest stop, how in the hell should I know what number it is? I told you where it was located what more do you want from my life
-beer is not sold at the grocery store in PA
-I should have held onto the Christmas cards and mailed them from Bethlehem PA
-evidently the operation was helpful C does not snore so much anymore
we are safe & sound in scenic Danbury CT home of the groped Santa and in a repeat of the trip this summer it is raining-raining a lot today