Christmas has come and gone already

I don't want to go into detail after boring detail, so I will try to quickly highlights our last few days.

Christmas Day at 1:00 am I felt sick. I didn't feel better till around 7:00 am. I had a gallbladder attack. If you have ever had one, you know that it is absolutely brutal. You can't sit, stand, lay down or anything else for that matter. I kept walking around hoping it would help, but it didn't. Once I was asleep, I knew I had little time before Ping would want to be up opening presents. She did great. We didn't have til get up till 9:30 am.

Ping loved all of her items. Her favorite was her Swan Palace and some beads to make bracelets and necklaces out of. She got a Strawberry Shortcake video which she loves and won't stop playing. She got books and some other things. We gave her a pretty Princess framed print that Bill won at a silent auction. She loved it. I have to say that she was hysterical though. After she opened it up she said "This is a new photo for us." We both said "No honey, it's for you." She said "There is no room to put it." So cute. We told her we had a good spot for it. Then she asked if it would go in her bedroom. I told her it would go right outside her bedroom. She said that the print wasn't the same color as her bedroom, so it wouldn't match. Girl after my own heart!!!!!

After getting ready, we headed to Bill's mom's house. We visited for nearly an hour. Unfortunately, there was a lot of smoking going on in the house. His mom doesn't smoke, but other family members do. Needless to say, we didn't want to expose Ping to that or to smell it ourselves! We headed to Sarah and Brad's new place for 2:00 pm. Their place is beautiful. They have only been in it a few weeks and are still doing a lot of organizing, but they have done an amazing job already. They are living in a retail/residential place. The upstairs is living space. The downstairs is going to be their showroom and shoppe for Fancy That! I will show some pictures as soon as I am able to take some. We had a wonderful time there. I adore seeing her family. I have known them for years. I love sitting down and catching up with them all. Her sisters and niece all gave Ping, Bill and I gifts. They were so very thoughtful. I was so very touched.

After Sarah and Brad's we headed to Donna and Brad's house. We had a wonderful dinner there that Brad cooked and hung out and chatted for awhile. Brad is a great cook and I we got some great gifts. Ping got a sled and Elefun. She was so excited. I have pictures to share. We got home around 11 pm or so. I sat down to watch the news and passed out. I woke up around 7:00 am and went to bed. I was so tired from the night before, I just didn't even know or care that I was asleep in my chair! I slept in till about 2:00 pm. I was on and off awake, but I could not get up. Once showered, I proceeded to de-Christmas. We left the house to go to Walmart for a few things, but other than that, we concentrated on taking down all of the Christmas trees and other assorted decorations!!!! We were up till 3:00 am.

Needless to say that I slept in again on Sunday. I was in and out of sleep for hours. I was still exhausted. We spent the entire rest of the day taking down the rest of the Christmas items. I am so delighted that we are almost there. Just a few more things to do.

Ping and I did errands today. We went to the bank, the jeweler in town, the post office and Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was snowing and very slippery, but we did just fine. We spent the rest of the day at home. I ran out at 5:30 for a quick pedicure. I hadn't had one in months!

Today at the bank, Ping says to me "Come on idiot." I said "Excuse me Ping, what did you say?" She said "Come on idiot." I asked her where she got that word. She couldn't recall. I told her to never use it again, especially when talking to me!!!!! She didn't know that idiot was a bad word necessarily, she just knew that it all went together. She must have seen it on TV or something. It was so funny, yet at the same time I was pretty horified!!!!

I have a ton of photos and some videos to share, so I am going to go post them now and head to bed.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Mama Out!!!!!!

Surveying her gifts while wearing her play dress instead of her pajamas.

Part of Swan Palace.

Opening up her Princess print.

Handing out gifts.

Opening her little purse.

Daddy's Dept. 56 North Pole Village new piece. It's a piece showing Chinese things. Very cool.

Handing out gifts.

Chinese stocking we bought for her when we were in China.

New chairs and table. Too small so we returned it.

Our gorgeous baby ready for Christmas.

New sled.

Donna, Nicole and Michael.

Sled with gifts like Santa.

Entertainer.

Dancing girl.

Christmas Eve

I thought I would check in before scattering some presents around the tree and heading to bed. I couldn't remember the last time I wrote. It was Monday. We did go to LaSaltete that night. It was bitter cold, but we had a nice time anyway. We had dinner at Bliss and then headed home. I think it's the only Bliss still standing.

I didn't have internet or phone for all of Tuesday. To say I was upset is a complete understatement. I am not a fan of Charter. We lose service frequently and I think it's completely unacceptable. I wasn't home for most of the day, so I didn't notice it as much as I would have if I had been home. I went to Ping's school holiday party in the morning. In the afternoon, I took Ping to ice skating and then we all went to do some errands together. We got home late. Poor Ping, she has gone to bed late for the last couple of nights. She is exhausted.

On Wednesday, I picked up my friend Bobby Jo's beautiful daughter at Bobby Jo's work. Bobby Jo needed a sitter for a few hours and I was more than happy to do it. Brooke is a sweetie. We came back to the house and watched a little TV. I had a man come and check out heat in our bedroom. We need a motor for the damper. I had to leave him here so I could run and get Ping from school. I didn't tell Ping that I would have Brooke with me. Ping was so surprised, but she had a hard time placing Brooke because we have only seen Brooke at a playground or at her house! Brooke is very quiet and didn't say anything, so Ping says to me "Does she talk Mama?" It was pretty funny. I told Ping to give her a minute. What a difference between the two. Ping bursts into everything and Brooke is sweetly reserved. As I drove home, Ping said to me "Mama, can we keep Brooke?" I told her that Brooke had a Mommy and Daddy that loved her very much and that we could not keep her. It was so sweet. Broke my heart though. I know Ping wants a sister in the worst way. When I pulled into the driveway, Ping said "Mama, Brooke is really small." It was pretty funny. Ping is so tall. She is only a year older. So she thought Brooke was small. She is small. She is a beautiful little girl. I told Bobby Jo that I was afraid I was going to hip check her by accident!

The two girls played for a few hours and had an absolute ball. When I told Brooke that her Mommy was coming for her, Ping fell apart. She cried that she wanted a friend she could keep. I started to cry too. All we want is a sister for Ping. All Ping wants is a sister. She wants a brother too. We would be happy with two more. As I have said before, that is what I wanted for Christmas. It's not coming though. I need to adjust. It's just hard.

We had a great time having Brooke here. The two get along really great!!!! When Ping came out of school, she had Bear with her. Bear goes home with a child every weekend. He goes everywhere with the child, you read him a book and you journal about him daily. I told Ping's teacher I was going to get her for this. We don't have Bear for the weekend, but for the entire vacation!!!!!! So after I finish here, I will go and journal about Bear's fun times with Ping today.

Today I slept in a little. I went to the post office and bank, but both were closed. I came straight home. The traffic was terrible out there. Bill and Ping went to the dealership to see why our DVD wasn't working. It's fine now. It was just a button. I told Bill that was all it was.

We were in all afternoon doing stuff. Tonight we went to church for 7:00 pm. We were asked to be the Advent Candle Lighting family. So the three of us went up to the alter and while Ping and Bill lit the candles, I read. It was nice to be asked. After church, we came home and fed Ping. Bill then said he wanted Chinese food. Who eats Chinese food on Christmas Eve? We do I guess. Bill went out to get the food and when he returned we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and Ping fell asleep. Now Bill is asleep! I need to wake him and we have to get to bed before precious wakes up!!!!

Merry Christmas my friends.

Mama Out!!!!!


Ping and Julia hugging.

LaSalette Lights.

LaSalette Lights.

LaSalette Lights.

Donkey.

Julia and Ping.

La Salette Lights.

Merry Go Round.

Julia.

School holiday party.

School holiday party.

Singing.

Singing.

Singing.

Pin the nose on Santa.

Ping holding Brooke.

Ping and Brooke.

Ping with Bear dressed up in princess stuff.

Ping with Bear's box on Christmas Eve.

Bear and Ping at church.

Pastor Elizabeth reading Ping a story at church.

We are in the final days before Christmas!

Well as I mentioned in my previous post, we didn't go to LaSalette. It was just too cold to go.

On Friday, I took Ping to dance class. She loves it. I am not a fan of going due to the other parents, but I suck it up for my girl. Again this week it was about having the badge of honor of birthing their children. Get over it people. Not everyone cares.

Friday night was as boring as boring can get. We have a new financial advisor. When my mom passed, I sought help from our bank. That gentleman has moved on and so our accounts have fallen into another person's hands. He feels he can help us manage our accounts better. He is helping Bill with a better 401k profile that Bill has through his work. It's so boring to me, but it's necessary. So we had a meeting on Friday night. He was here for hours. He is a nice guy, but frankly I find the subject matter pretty boring!!! We could manage the accounts on our own, but since I don't really know what I am doing, it's safer to have someone help. He can divvy up a dollar into the best accounts so we don't lose as much as we have due to the economic situation in the world. I always had a 401k through work. I just signed up and contributed. I never gave any thought to it. I did know that I could pick which stocks/bonds and such that I could put my money into, but never had the full grasp of the situation. I still don't, but I will get there hopefully one day.

Could my hands get any drier? I can't stand how dry my hands are. I am not a fan of lotion either. I suppose I wouldn't have this issue if I would just use some lotion. Part of the reason why my hands are so dry is because I al always washing them. Especially when Ping has a cold. Ping has a rotten cold now and I know she is going to be kind enough to pass it on to me. I can already recognize that wonderfully dry nose, etc.

Despite the cold outside and Ping's cold, we left at 2:00 pm to drive to Lowell on Saturday. We met Berj, Marghrit, Armig and Noushig at Santa's Magical Playground at 3:15 pm. I saw this place advertised on TV and thought it would be fun to check out. Needless to say it was basically a carnival centered around Santa in the cold!!!!! The kids had a wonderful time. We agreed that it was wonderful to get together, but we won't be returning next year. I have a ton of photos that I will post. After leaving there, we had dinner at the apple restaurant known as Applebys. Ping calls it the apple restaurant. It was nice to sit and relax and be warm!

On Sunday, Bill took Ping to Sunday School. I joined them at 10:45 am for church. The kids had a pageant in addition to the service. Ping was a donkey. Most adorable donkey I have ever seen. We were then going to go to Meri and Joe's because it was Lucas' birthday party, but the snow that we had started getting after 2:00 am was still coming down. Bill had to clean the driveway. Ping still has her cold. I had to do some wrapping, etc. So we stayed home and got things done. We would have preferred going out, but it was really cold and crappy from the snow. I got all of the wrapping done for the most part. I watched two movies and then it was off to bed for me.

Now it's Monday. I decided to let Ping sleep in because of her cold. 10 minutes later she was harrassing me about going to school. I should have sent her. I ended up wanting to kill myself and her before the end of the morning!!!!! Now she is watching TV and relaxing. I am catching up here and then I have got to get a few things done. We are supposed to drop off our DVD player to Meri and Joe who are borrowing it for their trip to Florida. We are then heading to LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro to see the lights. I think it's too cold to go, but I don't want to cancel our plans with our friends!!!!

Wish us warmth.

Mama Out!!!!!!

We are here.

Armig and Noushig.

Ping and nutcracker.

One of the boards there.

Dept. 56 North Pole Village.

Rudolph.

Candy scene.

My skiers.

Dickens Village.

The girls.

First Merry Go Round ride. LOVED IT.

Berj and one of the girls.

Marghrit and one of the girls.

Berj feeding the animals.

Train conductor.

Ping at the helm.

Marghrit and one of the girls.

Ping loved this Crazy School Bus ride.

Chinese Dragon roller coaster.

Apple spinning.

The Badizbanian family.

Berj and the girls.

Lights.

Eskimo scene.

Santa's fire place.

Big tree with gifts.

Brrr, but I have my fish.

Big stocking.

Letter to Santa.

The big send off.

Letter to Santa.

Blowing bubbles bear.

Entrance.

Snuggles.

Waiting to see Arthur.

New butterfly toy.

Arthur.

Cutest donkey ever.

Our donkey.

At the manger.

All done.

Our silly donkey.