Santa??

Late this afternoon, we shopped the pre-New Year's sale at Macy's for some new luggage. (60% off - success!!) I left Macy's to go do some returns and Daniel and Scott paid for the luggage and played in the rug department (which is a great time killer for kids if you ever need one at the mall.) While I was gone, Scott said that a man and a woman started browsing the luggage nearby. The man had long white hair and was a bit round around the middle.

Daniel: "Santa, Daddy. Santa, Daddy."
Scott: (laughs)

The man and his wife start to discuss the luggage.

Daniel: "Santa talking, Daddy. He's talking, Daddy!"
Scott: "That's not Santa, Daniel."
Daniel: "Where Santa?"

We've been explaining that he is now at the North Pole taking a rest. The eaten cookies apparently made an impression on Daniel because he comments daily about Santa eating them.

Not a Creature Was Stirring....

...except for me, who decided to make risotto (see previous post).

It is time to catch up! I can't believe I have not blogged in over two months. But, life got very hectic and although every day one of the kids does something that I want to write down, I don't seem to find the time. So, here it is, Christmas Eve. Elizabeth is soundly sleeping in her bouncy seat after 11 p.m. for a change, and I am up stirring arborio rice and chicken broth. Santa has come and gone, but the ball pit has already deflated. Very disappointing. I keep telling myself that my two year old won't be upset if everything is not perfect.

Life has changed a lot, to say the least! Scott and I are now the lucky parents of two children. It makes me feel like the "real deal" in parenting. Not that Daniel's first two years were a test run by any means.

Here is the email message I sent out to some friends after Elizabeth's birth. There are already so many stories to tell about her first month and a half of life, but this will get us started. And now, I've got to go stir the risotto.

Hi everyone,
It has been such a whirlwind week that I need to bring everyone up to speed! Long story short, I sent almost all of you a "one week to go" email last Wednesday, and then I proceeded to go into labor that night! I had contractions for about two hours, but they went away. I had a doctor's appt on Thursday morning at 9:30, and she told me I was 2 cm dilated, to which I replied, "No, I am not."

I had a scheduled c-section - this was not supposed to happen! No bag packed for the hospital, no grocery shopping to make sure all on the home front was stocked, no mental preparation for what I had begun to call my "surgery."

11 1/2 hours later, Elizabeth Scott was born! I was monitored all day at the hosptial and put in line for the next available c-section. My contractions picked up and became more regular, so around 7 p.m. they came in to tell us we were next.

She was 5 lbs, 11 oz and 19 inches long. The weekly treatments I was doing worked! Her platelet count was very high, not at all life threatening like Daniel's, and she was discharged with me on Monday.

Sorry for the delay with the photos, but I've been a bit shell shocked by the c-section recovery and sleep deprivation.

Daniel is doing great and enjoys interacting with his "sisser" when she is awake.

2007 Christmas Lessons - and it's only Christmas Eve!

1. If you are going to buy something for your child from eBay, do so one month in advance. Otherwise, you won't get it by Christmas and you'll end up buying the best thing you can find, which will be a piece of junk. Little Tikes toys DO sell out.

2. If you are going to buy something inflatable for your child from Santa, do a test run a few nights beforehand in case there is a hole and the entire thing deflates within 20 minutes of inflating. (One of us is going to have to run downstairs to blow it back up while we change his diaper as soon as he wakes up in the a.m. - photo of deflated ball pit to come.)

3. Before you buy all of the ingredients for Christmas goodies make sure of two things - a. that you have the tools to make them (no spritz cookies this year because I think I threw out my cookie press, but do I have a lot of cream cheese in my fridge!) and b. that you don't have the ingredients already (I do NOT need to buy sprinkles for the next five years).

4. No matter how good the photo looks, do not offer to make a risotto of any kind for Christmas dinner at your in-laws. I don't care who wrote the recipe, it does not take only 25 minutes for arborio rice to absorb 7 cups of broth. It's been 25 minutes and I am only on cup four. (Notice the hour of this post. My six week old is actually sleeping and I am not because of this dish!!)

5. Remember to wash the Christmas outfits for the kids.

6. Do not talk on the phone while making a dish for the first time. Mom's sausage balls do NOT work with flour. You must use Bisquick.