And December Starts...

Ok, ok, I am still here. It sure doesn't seem like it has been that long since I blogged. I guess my days have just been blending into each other. Which means I must not be taking reverence for each moment like I should have. Maybe I have too much going on, or I am too lazy? I don't know.

Thanksgiving was nice. We went to my MIL's house, and boy things were different. Not only because my FIL wasn't there, but because the rest of the family came earlier in the day rather than later (they usually all hang around till like 10pm or so), but this year, everyone was gone by 5pm. Which, I guess my MIL enjoyed, she was able to spend some time reflecting on the years past spent with her hubby and unwind. I guess her and my SIL ended up going out at midnight to hit some of the stores. Crazy I think...but I guess they got some good deals. Lots of stuff for Miss J so I am told. All in all, it was odd. Odd for me because it wasn't like it always was. I am not really sure how DH handled it...I think he was a little out of it too. But, the day was just there.

I did feel bad, when we were leaving around 5pm to go over to my extended family's house for dessert (over an hour away by the way), it dawned on me that we were leaving my MIL with a bunch of dishes, and Nani who needed to be driven home still. So about 15 minutes down the road, we turned around and came back. And since Miss J was already asleep in the car (she had a REALLY long day), DH took Nani home while I helped MIL clean up. I felt so much better doing that rather than leaving her with all that stuff to do. So, we didn't go to my family's house, but I know they understand.

The rest of the weekend was nice and relaxing. We got some neat projects done. I made a cork board out of the wine corks we have been collecting for years. I have been waiting for DH to do it for me, but finally I just decided to use a mirror shelf we already had and glue the corks to that. So now we will have a great cork board in the hallway that we can put our Christmas cards and then family pictures after that.

Then I asked DH if he would make this great bookshelf that I saw in Pottery Barn for kids. I thought, rather than buying it for $89, heck, we could make something like this for Miss J. And since DH was looking for a "project" to make something...this would be pretty cool. This is what we are trying to mimic:

Miss J is getting so many books and they are all over the floor, so this will be a nice way to get them off the floor. DH has it put together, we just need to paint it. But that has been waiting all week to be done (he procrastinates when he doesn't like doing something, he hates to paint). Hopefully this weekend we will get it completed.

This week has been pretty crazy, and gone really fast. Miss J was doing great sleeping through the night. Going to bed by 6:30, sleeping until 6:30, no waking up. Then Tuesday night, she was up at 3:30 and wouldn't go back down in her crib. So, we brought her to bed. Wednesday night, exact same thing...didn't want to go back down, screaming at the top of her lungs, so we brought her to bed again. Last night, same thing, but she was up multiple times and didn't want to sleep at all except in our bed. (don't get me wrong, we don't do this all the time...)

I think it is teething. And more molars. We forgot to give her Tylenol last night, so I think she was up and hurt and is consoled when her mom/dad are by her side. Tonight, we are going to try Motrin, and oragel (we need to get some more, I don't know where we put it last time), and put her humidifier on so she is warmer. I also think she is going through another developmental change. She has been transitioning this week to the Toddler room, so she has been overwhelmed with new stuff.

I just hope she gets back to sleeping through the night again, if not sleeping at least in her own bed. That would mean we might actually get a good nights sleep too!!

In other news, my mother just had a knee replacement yesterday. So she is in the hospital until Sunday/Monday, then off to a rehabilitation Center for about a week. Then home, and not back to work until early/mid January. Ugh. Long recovery time. But hopefully since she is young she will be back up to par pretty quickly. And then we can begin our long walks again. I miss that time with her.

Hopefully after Christmas we will take a trip to Oklahoma City to see my grandpa. We are trying to figure out if it would work better to drive or fly. Not sure, but I would really like to see him, he has not met Miss J yet. I think that would make him smile.

Shopping...none done yet...oh, except one gift. I did order my Christmas cards, I do a picture collage online. We did it last year because we were doing a Christmas card/announcement for Miss J. And I really liked the selection they had, so we did it again. Hopefully we will get them in a week or so. But, as for gifts, I think all of us are going to try to do it very simple. Maybe plan to spend more TIME with each other rather than MONEY on each other. None of us can really afford a big Christmas this year. They can splurge all they want on Miss J. But as for grownups, we really don't need anything. So why try to find something? I hope it works out that way. As the date gets closer the gifts get more and more and before you know it you have spent too much. Ugh...that is always how it is for me.

Hopefully this weekend we can decide on a tree. Real or buy a fake one. I always have had a real one since I have been on my own, but it is hard with a toddler now, not to mention they don't last very long unless you cut one down yourself (which may be an option). But they have some good sales on fake ones...so who knows. DH also wants to decorate with lights outside. Never been a big one on doing that...but that might change. Other than that, hopefully relax a bit before the weekends get full of stuff to do and places to be.

Sorry this was so long...but there was a lot of ground to cover.

Enjoy your weekends.