I'm Dreaming of a Muddy Christmas

For the past several years the kids and I have made paper snowflakes and posted them in the windows. We made some stringers of hanging stars out of pretty paper, and the snowflakes used really fancy oragami paper that I was supposed to actually use for oragami, but I never had the patience.

These snowflakes are starting to show their age though, and they will have to be remade or replaced soon.

We have never really decorated the outside of our house. I'm not anti-Christmas spirit. I've just always concentrated on the inside of my house. To be specific, I've decorated the living room. That's about it. Sometimes we put things up in the dining room, or the kitchen. Inevitably, I recognize that I've forgotten to put these decorations away some time around my birthday (March.)

So this year, I've gone the extra mile. I got gel clingy snowflakes in bright blue and white colors for the windows. We got lights for the outside of the house. Not many. There's a stringer around the eaves and some dangly stars by the front door, and some snow flakes on stakes in front. Why now? Well, I've found solar powered lights. I don't have to plug in, and my never-ending quest to lower our electricity bill is still on track.

Unfortunately, the world is fighting against me every step of the way.

The kittens discovered the gel cling snowflakes. We are finding pieces of clingy gel all over the house. I put the clings into the high upper panes of the windows--the ones you can't even see if you're looking at the outside of the house--and stretchy cats are reaching up and pulling them down. They are playing with the sticky snowflakes. They have discovered that these cute little floppy toys will stick to anything, and everything will stick to them. The kittens have lost many under the furniture, and as a consequence I have discovered that I really need to dust under my furniture  I will probably find gel cling in their literbox for many weeks to come.

We're expecting the sod any minute now...

We have part of our front lawn dug up by the gas company. They're supposed to re-sod soon (December? Seriously?) but until they do, I'm not putting out anything on stakes. So much for the standie snowflakes.

Nature is doing her part by making sure we never see the sun. Did I mention that all of my lights are solar lights?  To be completely fair, we get a pretty good charge on the solar panels for the hanging stars, they'll stay lit all night. Those came with a special note saying that the solar cell is so advanced, the lights will even charge on cloudy days (gotta love UV.)  However, the same note wasn't included int the stringer that I bought for our eaves. Apparently, it uses older technology and a less advanced solar cell. We get about three to five hours of light out of the stringer. Seeing as we're averaging sixteen hours of darkness these days, it's not much.


See the stringer? See the grey skies? We'll get about three hours of light today.

I can't wait until Christmas next year. I might be able to see my lights. In the meantime, the kids and I are going to cut out some paper snowflakes and watch the new sod turn rotten and brown in the cold weather.

Dear People's Gas- WHO THE HELL PUTS DOWN SOD IN DECEMBER??????



Thank Heavens for neighbors who don't mind big electric bills.

 

Lord of the Flies and Passive Aggressive notes

I will not dwell on the negative today. I can't be depressed all of the time. That's what the drugs are for.

So Christmas went better than I had hoped. When I finally woke up we opened gifts. I didn't get up until almost 3pm, and only then because the kids were jumping on the bed and telling me that Daddy said they couldn't open presents until I got up. So I got up, and all was well in the world.

George loves his travel guitar and the kids were shocked--positively shocked--that they had gotten the DSis that they had asked for. They also got swim bags, but they weren't as thrilled with those (don't know why.) I got a yarn winder, and my knitting kit is complete. *happy sigh*  Oh, and I got a new quilt, but that's something that George uses too, so it's a bit of a cheat.

But why the title of this post? Ah, therein lies the tale. The kids are addicted to Pokemon. They are poke-nuts if you will. So are most of their cousins...they have a little Poke-kids Club. It's all very cute and organized. It was sooo well organized as a matter of fact, I had to disband it on Christmas Eve. Yup. I was the bad-guy.

You see, the kids had established such a strict hierarchy of ranks that some of the kids weren't moving up. Some were actually moving down in rank. Votes were taken to banish some members from the club. Votes were overturned by dictatorial rule that stated that the Leader could decide whether or not votes counted. Kids cried...I decided to step in, in my infinite motherly wisdom (before they were rolling boulders and playing with fire) and said that this wasn't very CHRISTMAS of them, nor was it kind, and HEAVEN HELP THEM if I caught them playing games that might disrupt familial unity and peace. The club, I declared, would NEVER meet in my house again. (Over the top? Perhaps, but at this point, they hated me not each other. Mission accomplished.)


Needless to say, the Poke-kids Club immediately called a secret meeting to rewrite their charter, I guessed. Since I was getting ready for work I did not take immediate issue with this. What came out of this meeting was not a new charter, but one of the most creative attempts at making me feel guilty over their disappointment. Kids, I hate to break the news to you, but you'll have to try harder. I'm a Mom. Guilt is my job.

Dear Mom, We decided that everyone is the same rank. We don't have a leader, deputy, etc. We really want you to believe that we have changed. It is a holiday and we don't want you to make too many decisions without thinking. We know you are stressed out about losing both your parents are we understand. Love...

Sooo far behind

It's true. I am. I keep getting distracted. I want to make cookies! Decorate the house! Put up a tree! Light the lights!
I'm lucky that I can make dinner, clean the house, keep the garden from looking like crap and pay the electric bill. Oh well. Reach for the stars, I suppose.