holiday blog

Okay, I've just nearly given myself a heart attack twice by mistaking a Curious George doll for Liam's motionless face by the TV... even though I know logically Liam is sleeping. Deep breaths... deep breaths...

So here's my holidays in a nutshell (help! I can't get out of this nutshell!).

Like last year, we decided Santa was visiting our house on the night of December 23rd to facilitate our travels to Tony's parents in New Mexico. We put the kids to bed and set up all the stuff... we got them a little pup tent and some small things, like books and stuff. Their big gifts were a play tool set for Aidan and this activity cube thing for Liam. On Christmas morning, we opened our gifts... I'd gotten Tony two t-shirts ("Meat is murder. Tasty tasty murder." and "Damn it feels good to be a gangsta"), a bunch of books, and some accoutrements for his MP3 player. He got me this here laptop I'm typing on. How do I know that my laptop, despite its age and somewhat heavy weight, is cooler than yours? Because this particular laptop was confiscated by the FBI from an unnamed criminal and donated to the school system, where Tony was able to get it. Groovy. Who knows what nameless deeds have been planned using these very same keys... and if said criminal can type as fast as me (about 108 wpm, thank you very much).

We headed to NM after Santa time and hung out there for a few days. We opened gifts there on Christmas morning: our major ones were two cool lamps for our living room and a giant clock as big as Liam for the living room wall. The boys got way too much as usual, the coolest thing being a giant triceratops... and I mean three feet tall, maybe five feet long or more, plush but animatronic... it chuckles and growls and chews and sleeps. Good old Auntie Annie... the boys will be the most popular kids on the block if she keeps going like that.

We got home on Sunday. I went yesterday with Liam and Carol shopping to hit up a few sales. What do I love about shopping? When I go somewhere specifically to spend an effing gift certificate and get all the way into the final stages of checking out and realize I forgot the effing gift certificate at home. Almost as good as remembering I had the gift certificate AFTER I check out... Candace benefited from that one at Thanksgiving.

Oh, and a last highlight before I close this one out:
Earlier, I was messing around with my computer while Liam played with toys a few feet away. He comes up to me with a grunt and his hand in a fist position, which means, "Here. Take this item I just found on the ground." I hold my hand out, and he slimes something wet onto my hand, then says "Thanks" in his baby way and takes off back toward where was to get "more." I investigate, and yes, he's puked a little on the floor, and is bringing it to me handful by handful.

Thanks, little chugs. The gift that keeps on giving.