Dear Sleep...I miss you

I am so very tired these days. We have just been so busy and there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. I'm also a bit of a night owl and it seems that Cadence is following my lead. She is a great sleeper but she stays up quite late. On the upside, she usually sleeps in in the morning. However, I rarely get to sleep in anymore. I find it quite difficult to get going on the mornings that Cameron has school but I do manage. With being so busy lately, we've had a few nights where we were out late but there were also a few nights that I just stayed up too late. It seems that the nights I'm up late are the nights that Cadence gets up in the middle of the night. However, when I manage to get to bed at a decent time, she then sleeps in! I guess that's just the way it goes. I really can't complain though because she is a very good sleeper. I think we might just be getting to the stage where she is ready to start eating solids and not just formula. I can't believe that she'll be 6 months old in a week...time sure does fly. Well, it's taken me 3 attempts to get this written so I'm going to end it here. Once again, it is getting late and I think I just need to relax a little before it's time to get Cadence ready for bed...Cameron's already in bed for the night. We have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow :)

'Tis the Season

I must admit, it seemed to take me a little time to get into the groove of all things Christmas this year. I'm not really sure why though. Although, I did put the Christmas tree up on November 29th and completed the rest of the decorating the following week. Our Christmas shopping was also complete pretty early this year as well. I think we have just had so much going on this year and with an extra little person to care for, I seem to be a little more busy these days.

All that being said, I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit now. I have been listening to Christmas music all week long every chance that I get...including right now :) I finally did most of my Christmas baking early last week which included 2 pans of Skor fudge, 12 dozen ginger cookies, and 6 dozen peanut butter balls. The majority of my baking was then packed up and given to our friends. I started this little goodies gift giving tradition a few years ago. I still have to make another batch of peanut butter balls...they're our favorite so we like to have lots all for ourselves! I'm hoping to get them made tomorrow, if all goes as planned. Cory has also requested almond bark but I'm not sure that I'll get to that this year.

I finally wrapped all the Christmas gifts yesterday. I had been putting it off because it is such a big job and I like to be able to do it all at once, if at all possible. I got all of the gifts for everyone except Cameron wrapped before Cameron went to bed and then I had to wrap all of his gifts. It is a job I'm very happy to have completed, although it didn't take me nearly as long as it has other years. I think it helped that we had a budget that we managed to stick to this year so we didn't go overboard. Well, at least I don't think we went too crazy but I may think differently come Christmas morning when it looks like a bomb went off in our living room.

As I mentioned, we've been a little busy. Last week we went to Cameron's Christmas concert at school...it was so cute! He did great but he was a little bit nervous. He got all dressed up in his new suit (minus a suit jacket) that we got him...he just loves getting dressed up. We had two Christmas parties to attend this past weekend, one Friday and the other Saturday. Both nights we said we weren't staying out late...LOL! The first night we got home at 12:15am and the second night we got home at 1:45am, so we were extremely tired but we're starting to get caught up on our sleep.

So, that's what we've been up to these days...busy, busy, busy. I'm sure that is the trend in most households this time of year though.

Sticky Keyboard

Cameron loves to play games and watch shows on the computer. Whether it be PBS Kids, Teletoon, or Netflix, he just loves using the computer. We obviously monitor his computer time and make sure he doesn't spend the entire day on the computer. Not only is this a great source of entertainment for Cameron but he learns so much too. One day he explained everything that he had learned about the solar system to me...I'm pretty sure he now knows more than I do about that one. Another day he told me about how a tadpole turns into a frog. I was also quite impressed when he explained the difference between herbivores and carnivores to me. So, overall it's great that our five year old is learning so much from the computer. However, he always leaves something behind...fingerprints on the screen, crumbs around the laptop from his snack, and often a sticky keyboard. As of now, my M and N are a little sticky and I'm not sure what he did to them. I also had to scrape something off of the A and S before I typing this...LOL! All I can do is laugh though :)

How to Poop at Work...I'm sorry but I think this is funny :)

As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the WORK POOP is inevitable. For those who hate pooping at work, following is the survival guide for taking a dump at the office.

CROP DUSTING: When farting, you walk really fast around the office so the smell is not in your area and everyone else gets a whiff but doesn't know where it came from. Be careful when you do this. Do not stop until the full fart has been expelled. Walk an extra 30 feet to make sure the smell has left your pants.

FLY BY: The act of scouting out a bathroom before pooping. Walk in and check for other poopers. If there are others in the bathroom, leave and come back again. Be careful not to become a FREQUENT FLYER. People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly going into the bathroom.

ESCAPEE: A fart that slips out while taking a leak at the urinal or forcing a poop in a stall. This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of embarrassment. If you release an escapee, do not acknowledge it. Pretend it did not happen. If you are standing next to the farter in the urinal, pretend you did not hear it. No one likes an escapee. It is uncomfortable for all involved. Making a joke or laughing makes both parties feel uneasy.

JAILBREAK: When forcing a poop, several farts slip out at a machine gun pace. This is usually a side effect of diarrhea or a hangover. If this should happen, do not panic. Remain in the stall until everyone has left the bathroom to spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.

COURTESY FLUSH: The act of flushing the toilet the instant the poop hits the water. This reduces the amount of airtime the poop has to stink up the bathroom. This can help you avoid being caught doing the WALK OF SHAME.

WALK OF SHAME: Walking from the stall, to the sink, to the door after you have just stunk up the bathroom. This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone walks in and busts you. As with farts, it is best to pretend that the smell does not exist. Can be minimized with the use of the COURTESY FLUSH.

OUT OF THE CLOSET POOPER: A colleague who poops at work and is damn proud of it. You will often see an Out Of The Closet Pooper enter the bathroom with a newspaper or magazine under their arm. Always look around the office for the Out Of The Closet Pooper before entering the bathroom.

SAFE HAVENS: A seldom-used bathroom somewhere in the building where you can least expect visitors. Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex. This will reduce the odds of a same-sex pooper entering your bathroom.

TURD BURGLAR: Someone who does not realize that you are in the stall and tries to force the door open. This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments that can occur when taking a poop at work. If this occurs, remain in the stall until the Turd Burglar leaves. This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.

CAMO-COUGH: A phony cough that alerts all new entrants into the bathroom that you are in a stall. This can be used to cover-up a WATERMELON, or to alert potential Turd Burglars. Very effective when used in conjunction with an ASTAIRE.

ASTAIRE: A subtle toe-tap that is used to alert potential Turd Burglars that you are occupying a stall. This will remove all doubt that the stall is occupied. If you hear an Astaire, leave the bathroom immediately so the pooper can poop in peace.

WATERMELON: A poop that creates a loud splash when hitting the toilet water. This is also an embarrassing incident. If you feel a Watermelon coming on, create a diversion. See CAMO-COUGH.

HAVANA OMELET: A case of diarrhea that creates a series of loud splashes in the toilet water. Often accompanied by an Escapee. Try using a Camo-Cough with an Astaire.

UNCLE TED: A bathroom user who seems to linger around forever. Could spend extended lengths of time in front of the mirror or sitting on the pot. An Uncle Ted makes it difficult to relax while on the crapper, as you should always wait to poop when the bathroom is empty. This benefits you as well as the other bathroom attendees.

Little Ears Hear EVERYTHING

I would like to think that I do a pretty good job of refraining from saying bad language when Cameron is around. Well, I actually try not to say or talk about anything that I don't want him to hear because he hears EVERYTHING. I am constantly telling Cory to be careful of what he says because Cameron is always listening. I'm pretty sure Cory always thought I was crazy but he is starting to realize that I just might know what I'm talking about. It doesn't matter if we are in separate rooms, Cameron often comments on what he is hearing from the other room. He does this frequently when I'm talking on the phone and telling a story to one of the grandparents about him. Apparently, I don't always get the story just right so of course he must correct me and that is fine.

Now, like I said before, I think I do a pretty good job of controlling myself from saying any bad words but I must admit that they do slip out from time to time. Cory has a little more difficulty but he is definitely much, much better than he used to be. This leads me to a story from the other morning before I took Cameron to school. Cory had to leave a little early for work so he was already gone, Cameron was ready for school and I was just getting Cadence ready to go. I was in Cadence's room and Cameron was standing in the doorway and all of a sudden I hear him say, "Shit." I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly so I of course asked him what he said. He replied with, "I said shit." I asked, "Why did you say that?" He shrugs his shoulders and says, "I don't know." I'm pretty sure he just said it to see what type of reaction that he would get from me. All I said in return was, "Well, that's not a nice word so please don't say it again or I will have to wash your mouth out with soap." In true Cameron/kid fashion he responds with, "OK, I promise I won't say shit again." I try not to laugh and tell him, "Cameron, you just said it again, please don't." And of course I get the same response again, "Sorry Mommy, I won't say shit again." At this point, I just shake my head and tell him to get his coat and boots on so that I can take him to school.

So, of course at suppertime, I figured I would tell Cory that Cameron had said a bad word that morning before school. Cameron was sitting at the kitchen table with us and he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sorry." I reminded him that if he says bad words that I'd wash his mouth out with soap. Part of me was doing this so that Cameron would know that Cory and I are on the same page about all of this and the other part of me was wondering what he might say. When I got up from the table of course Cory had to ask Cameron what he had said that morning. I warned Cameron he better not say it again but he just stared at me and turned to his father and said, "I said shit." As much as we don't want our son talking this way, it still took everything in us not to laugh. Anyway, we haven't heard anymore bad words come out of Cameron's mouth since then but I'm sure it will happen again. You know, maybe he didn't hear this at home after all, maybe it was at school! You just never know what other kids are saying on the playground ;)