Kid and Caboodle

This weekend is very unusual for us; we have absolutely nothing scheduled except for A.J.’s taekwondo class from this morning. I decided to take the opportunity today to go to a craft show where my cousin Tina (of KittyKatKards), was exhibiting her homemade origami cards. Of course I bought some — I had to support the family! (But really, they are very creative, as you can see below.)

Some of my cousin Tina's homemade cards

After I got back from the craft show, I played a game on the computer for a while, then sat on the futon in the sunroom to sort through a backlog of mail and … fell asleep!

What a relaxing day!

Yesterday while shopping for groceries for dinner, I found Giant had a great deal on fresh corn — a dozen ears for $2. A.J. and I especially love fresh corn on the cob; it’s fun to gnaw on the cob, and fresh corn is so sweet we love to eat it straight.

Apparently not everyone feels the same way about corn on the cob, though. After we had cooked several ears, Chris’s stepdad took a knife and methodically cut all the corn off a cob, then covered it in salt and pepper. Horrors! At least he only confined his work to the ear on his plate and didn’t try to prepare anyone else’s in the same way. If I’d known he was going to abuse fresh corn that way, I would have added a few cans to my groceries and saved him the trouble!

Someone once told me that men and women approach stores in different ways. Men supposedly are “hunters”; they go into a store, get what they came for, then leave. Women, on the other hand, supposedly are “gatherers”; they browse through the aisles when they shop and buy accordingly.

Today, with our cul-de-sac finally cleared out from Snowpocalypse, Chris decided to run some errands, including a trip to the store. I gave him a list of supplies we needed such as milk, bread, eggs and ground meat.

Not only did Chris come back with the items on the list, but he also purchased several packages of chocolate (including a Valentine’s Day box for me — aw), several types of ice cream, cookies, goldfish crackers, Cheez-Its and Velveeta shells-and-cheese.

So much for that generalization!

My son, A.J., during a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park in 2009

Back then, I never had to take off work to attend a school play or worry about how to occupy a 7-year-old during a two-month summer break from school. I never had to scramble at 5 a.m. to negotiate child care because snow closed local schools but not my office.

I used to be able to spend my evenings socializing with friends or relaxing at home rather than reviewing my son’s homework. I used to sleep as late as I liked on the weekends rather than getting up before 8 a.m. to feed my son and drive him to extracurricular activities. I used to be able to go on vacation whenever my husband and I liked rather than being tied to our son’s school schedule.

Life was simpler back then, and sometimes I really miss those days. But most of the time I appreciate the wonders of having brought someone into the world and watching him grow into his own person. I love seeing my son’s mischievous smile and answering his questions on everything from biology and weather to the rules of the road and the budget deficit. I like how he sings in the shower and hugs me at bedtime.

Despite all the scheduling challenges, I enjoy being a parent. And work is going well, too!

This post is part of the Fem 2.0 Blog Carnival on Work-Life hosted by About Working Moms.

The past few weeks have been unusually busy at work and at home, and I think it’s getting to me. I haven’t done any personal blogging for awhile, and I’m overdue in responding to e-mail messages, which is very unusual for me. Apparently my parents have noticed my social absence, too; last weekend they actually called to make sure I was ok — something they haven’t done in ages.

At least I was organized enough to send my brother a present in time for his birthday, and I did send him an e-mail message yesterday wishing him a good day, so I’m not completely behind. But I still haven’t gotten around to sending two of my godkids their Christmas gifts because I haven’t been able to get to the post office, nor have I responded to a stack of holiday letters. I have a bunch of photos I took during a visit to the zoo with friends several weeks ago that I still haven’t downloaded or e-mailed. In general, I’ve been neglecting a lot of social obligations, and I’m starting to feel very guilty.

I’m taking the day off Monday. That will make work pile up at the office, but I really need some time to think and get things back under control at home. I don’t want this chaos to continue; it’s stressful.

I’m enjoying a few hours of time to myself this morning because Chris volunteered to take A.J. to his Saturday classes in return for my packing away the Christmas ornaments. Deal! So, while Chris is braving the cold and driving around town, I’m lingering over breakfast before tackling the tree and other housework. Hopefully I’ll have enough spare time to finish off a few blog entries for work and another site, too.

Good husband!

Technically I received a Wii gaming system for Christmas. It was supposed to be a fun way for me to get exercise. In reality, I have spent about 20 minutes using it, hurting my finger in the process. In contrast, A.J. and Chris have spent the last few days playing with it. I guess the Wii was really a gift for the household!

Oh well. Technically I gave Chris a Kindle for Christmas, but so far I’ve spent more time using it than he has!

Christmas dinner this afternoon consisted of:

• turkey (cooked by Chris’ mother, Dee, and stepdad, Mike)
  
• ham (from Giant, arranged by me)
  
• deviled eggs (made by Dee)
  
• bacon-wrapped scallops (from Giant, prepared by me)
  
• broccoli-cheese casserole (made by me)
  
• carrot-raisin salad (made by Dee)
  
• tossed green salad of spinach, bell peppers and cucumbers (assembled by me)
  
• fruit salad of blueberries, bananas, an apple, clementines, oranges and fruit cocktail in syrup (assembled by Dee)
  
• stuffing (made by me)
  
• gravy (made by Dee and Mike)
  
• cranberry sauce (removed from can by me)
  
• pumpkin-nut cake (made by Chris’ sister, Jennifer)
  
• leftover chocolate mousse birthday cake (from Costco)
  
• cookies (made by Jennifer)

We had 10 people at dinner: Chris, A.J., and I; my parents; Chris’ dad; Chris’ mom and stepdad; and Chris’ sister and her boyfriend. I had to ask my parents to bring a folding table and chairs so everyone could sit down for dinner, and we had to scramble to get enough plates and cutlery! I think this is the most I’ve ever hosted for Christmas, but I think it turned out well. The large amounts of alcohol at dinner didn’t hurt, either!

This Thursday, Christmas Eve, I am thankful for my family and this wonderful time of year. Happy holidays to all.

Mike, Dee, A.J. and Chris playing Blokus Trigon

A.J.'s offering for Santa and his reindeer

Looks like we’re not going anywhere for a while. We’ve gotten several inches of snow already, and the storm is expected to continue until this evening. This is the view of the cul-de-sac at 10:15 this morning:

View from the front porch

Since all of A.J.’s Saturday classes were cancelled today due to the weather, I had time to make moderately elaborate breakfasts for everyone this morning. Here is A.J.’s:

A.J.'s breakfast: sausage links, pancakes and blueberries

This is Chris’ breakfast:

Chris' breakfast: clementine segments, breakfast burritos and blueberries

A.J. is enjoying the unexpected break. He’s still in his pajamas at 10:30 in the morning, playing video games:

A.J. in the sunroom

As for me, I think I’ll have a cup of tea and read a book.