This Winter can't go by fast enough. I know you're not supposed to rush time away because you only have so much, but I am already sick of winter. Luckily, time has been flying by and the weather hasn't been so bad. So far.

Ya, I don't want to hear that I chose to live here. I know, and for the most part I do like it here. I just really really don't like winter weather. Snow is okay but last year we had so many ice storms it was scary. I'll even take sleet over freezing rain because at least your tires have something to grip on.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I had a fun time at the SIL's house. I drank half of the bottle of wine shown below, which is a double size bottle! I would have drank more but I started to get tired.

We played a game called The Game of Things. It was pretty funny. Mostly because everyone was drinking alcohol (there was one relative on parole that couldn't drink). I mean the grown-ups were drinking alcohol. The kids were just smoking pot...JUST KIDDING!

I got the best gifts ever...


a giant wine glass, a giant cheap bottle of wine, home-made book marks-which I had to beg the kids to make-because I'm always losing them and have to use tissue as a page marker-and hand sanitizer.

Tony's favorite gifts by far...


giant plastic shelves to sort his legos, and hand sanitizer.


Em...


got another book.

Papa got an over-sized fluffy blanket. For which he announced that if anyone is caught using it, he'll break their arms! He's vicious. So are we, because we laughed at him.

Happy almost New Year!

Miscellaneous Manure 13

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I love playing tricks on my Hus. A few weeks ago, I refilled an empty bottle of unscented lotion with rose scented lotion. Then I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally I asked Hus if he noticed anything about the lotion and that's when he told me he doesn't use lotion! He uses baby oil after showers and Burts Bee's hand cream. How could I not know this?

Last week, I was doing what I could to prevent my having allergy symptoms. I bought all new hypoallergenic make-up, but forgot to get new face lotion, so I decided to try using some of the regular unscented lotion we had, which said hypoallergenic on the label.

I put it on my face. AAAHHHHH! WTF? I forgot that I had switched the lotion. I'm such a loser.

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Tony has been taking karate this year. He managed to get is orange belt already. He loves karate. Tony didn't like playing baseball because he's the type of kid that needs to know what to do, exactly what to do. None of the 7yo baseball players seemed to know what to do except hit the ball and run. As far as what to do with the ball if someone hits it to you, no clue.

He likes that, in Karate, he's taught very specific moves and routines. It's structured and the Sensei is strict, yet very nice and patient.

When we watched Tony perform for his orange belt, I said to Hus. "He seems to really know what he's doing."

Hus replied "Well, we think he does. She could be teaching whatever she wants and we'll never know if it's really karate or not.LOL!"
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I've changed the kids nicknames to other nicknames we use. Someone (Suzy) complained that Ant-1 didn't roll of her tongue easy enough and that Snemma makes her think of "smegma"! Also Em does not like me to call her Snemma here, preferring her other nickname Em. So Tony and Em it is.
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Happy Hanukkah! Still!

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah! Yes the first night of Hanukkah is tonight, but because I have to work, we celebrated last night. Poor kids, having to get their first night presents early.

I grew up in a predominately non-Jewish neighborhood. The only time my friends were jealous of me was when Hanukkah came early. The rest of the year, I think they felt sorry for me. I felt sorry for me.

Even though my parents had told me a "truth" about Santa at a very young age, I still believed, because kids do that. Some Xmas Eves I would look out the window, searching the sky, and wondering why the fat bastard didn't come to my house!

My kids are fortunate to celebrate both holidays. They don't get more presents than any of their friends, but the gifts are just spread out.

Last night we lit the candles and we said the Hanukkah prayer in Hebrew. At least I think it was the Hanukkah prayer, maybe it was the Sabbath prayer with a "shell Hanukkah" thrown in at the end. Bad Jew.

Grandma always sends eight presents each to the kids, luckily one of them was not a visit from her this year. We just saw her at TG!

Ant-1's gift from Hus and I, although Hus will never know how much I spent on it, even though I saved $30 off retail by shopping Amazon! Lego's are very expensive, but my son loves them. He has many of the Star Wars Lego kits and know covets the Harry Potter ones.



Don't let the quote fool you. She also upgraded her phone, but we had to do it last week when we could bring in her old phone.

For the first evening in a long time, my daughter spent her time, not on FB or Skype, but drawing instead.

I hope, no matter what holiday you celebrate, that you get a present that takes your breath away!