Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Looking Back
I see Christmas morning - everything blanketed in snow and a very happy boy giddy to see what Santa Claus left him. (Yes, Santa remembered to bring unnerwears and Gordon.)

We were trapped in our house for 3 days and I wanted to tear my hair out. This was followed by me, our debit card and the mall hanging out for a couple of hours. Ahh, the joys of retail therapy.

Elliot attended Children's Choice Learning Center for the last time. We will miss Ms. Haley more than she'll ever know and are sad she wasn't there for his last day.

We celebrated Christmas, Take 2 with the Seckman/Morrissey families in Tecumseh and as if it weren't already a fact, Elliot now owns more toys than I ever thought possible. Ate a lot, laughed a lot and a good time was had by all.

Looking Ahead
I see us boarding a plane on Tuesday and saying 'Goodbye for now' to the snow and saying 'Hello sunshine' to Walt Disney World. Sure, the forecast is now for 60 and rainy - but hey, it beats -2 and windy any day. I have to be honest as I also see us returning to a foot of snow and being stuck outside of our house when we return.

I think I see Fred surviving the Goofy's Race and a Half at WDW.

Elliot will start attending World of Knowledge as soon as we return - a new school, new teachers and an old friend Nate.

Fred will turn 30 and then Elliot turns 3. Oy.

I see family visits from the Craun's and Wenciker grandparents with a potential visit their direction this August.

I see Elliot growing... quickly. I see Sienna dying (a girl can dream, right?). I see Fred and I sharing more laughs with - and, of course AT - each other. And I see our joy of scaring the crap out of each other rubbing off on Elliot already and I love every second of it.

Oh, Druther.

In re-planning Christmas with Fred's family (thank you, blizzard), Grandma Judy emailed me asking to know what my druthers are.

Which -- side note -- reminds me. Hey, Channel 8 - I don't really care to hear you proclaim that December has been the 'snowiest December' in Lincoln's recorded history and then chuckle. There really isn't anything funny about it. I was stuck in my house for 3 solid days. We missed our family Christmas. Are you offering to find me a spot to stash all of this snow? I didn't think so. Zip it Coskren.

I digress... let's get back to druthers.

Those sound like bad things to me. So, I emailed her back to let her know my druthers are Greyhound buses, Geometry and broccoli.

Seeing how she announced that she's sending a Greyhound to pick us up and doing Geometry before enjoying our dinner of creamed broccoli, broccoli salad and broccoli... I think I had the definition wrong. And I think this Christmas is going to suck.

Happy Monday!

Tooting my own horn:

I made it onto the list of Favorite Etsy Finds in 2009 from Ohdeedoh!

Thank you, mom and dad, for creating my sister as she's the one that started it all with Ohdeedoh so many months ago.

Elliot's Christmas Insanity

Being trapped in the house by the Christmas blizzard weekend is starting to get to all of us. However, I think the combination of being inside for days and the excitement of Santa Claus has blown a fuse in poor Elliot. He has frantically alternated from one activity to another for most of the day, then while we were making dinner he began performing to himself. Using the reflection from the front of the dishwasher he serenaded himself with a song and dance routine that included an apparently new version of "Jingle Bells."

Elliot has made this one of my favorite Christmas seasons ever. He is so excited by every gift and completely in awe of Santa and his "reindeers". This is such a fun stage of his development and it really takes me back to being a kid again.

Sweet, Sweet Snow Day

1. Get a cup.

2. Get a KCup of hot cocoa.

3. Unwrap a homemade marshmallow/fudge stick.

4. Enjoy.

Nightlights and Little-Tiny-House-Lights

Since he was 1, Elliot has gone to bed with at least one book in his hands. Propped up on his elbows, he'd flip through the book - sometimes reading, sometimes singing - and then slip it through the slats in his crib and go to sleep.

Lately, he's demanding the lamp be left on. And by 'demanding' I mean screaming and wailing like someone just hacked his leg off with a butter knife. The first night, Fred obliged and we turned it off when we went to bed. Second night, same. Third night Elliot was stuck with me and I gave him my No Way, Jose - you only get to sucker your dad look and he was okay with that.

Fast forward a week.

Last night, he was wailing again because Fred wouldn't leave the lamp on. Fred's solution? He remembered this tiny little key chain we got from our realtor that is shaped like a house and emits a tiny red light when you squeeze it. This not only satisfied him but made him happy to have a little light of his very own. Finally, he slept.

I got up to him yelling around 4:30 a.m. and went in to see what the problem was. He looked at me and very seriously said "Hep me. Not fine da yight." I looked over and he had his blankets all pushed in one corner and his book open as though he were trying, desperately, to read it. Still in my sleepy-stupor I said "What? You want me to find that dumb little light? Are you kidding me?" (Kind of harsh, I know, but I never once said I was a morning person.) He responded with "Fine da yight mommy?" and I did.

He. Was. Sitting. On. It.

Someone pray for this child. It would be in his best interest to NOT wake me up at 4:30 asking me to find the dumb little flashlight.

Next time, I'll grab it from under your butt and peg it at your sweet little head. Now, MOMMY SAID TO GO TO BED.