Christmas Vacation
One would think that I am in the middle of grades still from the lack of blogging. Nope. I actually finished up early last week. I just have been busy hopping around places and getting things done, so my time on the net has been minimal. I probably am suffering from withdrawl symptoms!
We went to Atlanta again to visit with Grant last weekend, and we took our cat, Chian. Grant is going to take care of our cat while we travel to my brother's house over Christmas. I can't take the cat with me because my brother's wife, Deb, has a dog named Spec who will eat Chian. I love Spec, but I don't love him enough to let him eat my cat. Boarding is very traumatizing on Chian too, especially after the last time he was "boarded" was when he had the irradiation treatment back in October. I had a few ideas for pet sitting options, but they all fell through. Then Grant offered to take care of Chian. Apparently, Grant's goals are to get him drunk on whiskey regularly and also to get him to worship the devil. We'll see about his success. Grant is already much more liberal with anything my cat wants than I am. How do I know? Imagine my surprise when I realized that he let my cat onto his computer and let him become a blogger. I don't think my cat will want to come home. We are set to pick him up from Grant around New Year's Eve, but the way things are going, I'm sure that Chian will want to stay.
Last week was Jared's birthday. Thursday the 14th I invited over my ex with the kids so we could have a little party for him. The party went great up until the kids went to bed. Sigh. Oh well. I don't feel like going into details. But Jared did have a great time, and he was happy to open and play with all his gifts. I think each one of my children have particular issues that are important to them. Generosity is very important to my daughter, and material things are not so important. With my son, it is very, very important for him to show gratitude whenever somebody does something for him that he really appreciates. This urge has increased dramatically over the last year, and this last month in particular I have noticed that he keeps wanting to make sure that people realize how thankful he is. I have the only child around who PESTERED me yesterday to start up his thank you notes. He's in kindergarten, but he couldn't stand that his birthday was last Thursday and the thank you notes were not yet in the mail. Poor baby takes forever to write them, too, since he's not had much practice with writing at his age. He already did three, though, and that made him happy. I also have noticed that he'll pick up on a detail of something and then decide to sincerely thank me for it. For instance, I splurged on a Spongebob cake for his birthday. His sister wanted me to make hers, and I did (a candy cane shapped cake decorated rather nicely, if I say so myself). But Jared didn't mention what he'd prefer, and I was too exhausted by last Thursday to make another cake. Therefore, I decided to spend a little extra and get him this cake. It comes with removable Spongebob and Patrick toys, and he really liked playing with them last Thursday. So, this morning he is eating his breakfast, and he solemnly looks up at me and says, Mom, I really appreciate that you bought me the Spongebob cake. It was good, and I like the toys that came with it. Thank you. I love how he can appreciate gifts and kindness. He will thank somebody for opening a door for him or picking out his clothes--it doesn't have to be that somebody buys something for him.
I didn't think he'd end up as the grateful one in this house. Honestly. As a very small one, he was anything BUT grateful. But in this last year I've seen him mature so much. He used to cry a lot when he didn't get his way. Now it rarely happens. He used to toss off thank you as a matter of rote rather than sincerity. Now it's always fully meant. He used to NEVER want to share his stuff. Now he's getting a better concept on how to do it. Remarkable.
*****
Irony can be defined many ways. For example, I have always found it ironic that the only rude redneck in my family--my brother Mark--ended up being the one who doesn't live in America. I remember as a young teen we had a dinner out at this fabulous Thai restaurant, and they presented us with towels to wipe our hands at the beginning of the meal. Mark embarrassed us all by grumbling that he was American so he didn't DO that shit, and he threw the towel on the table. We all jumped on him, and he just bitched back. Then, several years later, he worked for a company that transferred him and his family to Indonesia for four and a half years. THAT is irony. Now he lives in Canada, and he's much more open-minded and accepting about different customs than I ever thought he could be.
Another view of irony would involve bourbon. See, last weekend, I decided to go shot-to-shot with Grant and every brand of whiskey he had (oh, five or six at least). That was NOT a good move. It seemed like a fantastic idea at the time, but the morning after it seemed like a lousy idea. So, I tell Grant, I don't want to see nor taste whiskey again for a LOOOONG time. Then I get home and my mom announces I'm in charge of making the bourbon balls this year for Christmas.
Sigh.
The pecan mixture is marinating in the bourbon as we speak. Even the smell of that stuff made my tummy protest.
*****
I need to redo my blogroll. I really, really do. I will try to do that over Christmas and add some people and take off some blogs that no longer even exist. I won't promise, though, because it's entirely possible that laziness will overcome and I'll do jack shit.
We went to Atlanta again to visit with Grant last weekend, and we took our cat, Chian. Grant is going to take care of our cat while we travel to my brother's house over Christmas. I can't take the cat with me because my brother's wife, Deb, has a dog named Spec who will eat Chian. I love Spec, but I don't love him enough to let him eat my cat. Boarding is very traumatizing on Chian too, especially after the last time he was "boarded" was when he had the irradiation treatment back in October. I had a few ideas for pet sitting options, but they all fell through. Then Grant offered to take care of Chian. Apparently, Grant's goals are to get him drunk on whiskey regularly and also to get him to worship the devil. We'll see about his success. Grant is already much more liberal with anything my cat wants than I am. How do I know? Imagine my surprise when I realized that he let my cat onto his computer and let him become a blogger. I don't think my cat will want to come home. We are set to pick him up from Grant around New Year's Eve, but the way things are going, I'm sure that Chian will want to stay.
Last week was Jared's birthday. Thursday the 14th I invited over my ex with the kids so we could have a little party for him. The party went great up until the kids went to bed. Sigh. Oh well. I don't feel like going into details. But Jared did have a great time, and he was happy to open and play with all his gifts. I think each one of my children have particular issues that are important to them. Generosity is very important to my daughter, and material things are not so important. With my son, it is very, very important for him to show gratitude whenever somebody does something for him that he really appreciates. This urge has increased dramatically over the last year, and this last month in particular I have noticed that he keeps wanting to make sure that people realize how thankful he is. I have the only child around who PESTERED me yesterday to start up his thank you notes. He's in kindergarten, but he couldn't stand that his birthday was last Thursday and the thank you notes were not yet in the mail. Poor baby takes forever to write them, too, since he's not had much practice with writing at his age. He already did three, though, and that made him happy. I also have noticed that he'll pick up on a detail of something and then decide to sincerely thank me for it. For instance, I splurged on a Spongebob cake for his birthday. His sister wanted me to make hers, and I did (a candy cane shapped cake decorated rather nicely, if I say so myself). But Jared didn't mention what he'd prefer, and I was too exhausted by last Thursday to make another cake. Therefore, I decided to spend a little extra and get him this cake. It comes with removable Spongebob and Patrick toys, and he really liked playing with them last Thursday. So, this morning he is eating his breakfast, and he solemnly looks up at me and says, Mom, I really appreciate that you bought me the Spongebob cake. It was good, and I like the toys that came with it. Thank you. I love how he can appreciate gifts and kindness. He will thank somebody for opening a door for him or picking out his clothes--it doesn't have to be that somebody buys something for him.
I didn't think he'd end up as the grateful one in this house. Honestly. As a very small one, he was anything BUT grateful. But in this last year I've seen him mature so much. He used to cry a lot when he didn't get his way. Now it rarely happens. He used to toss off thank you as a matter of rote rather than sincerity. Now it's always fully meant. He used to NEVER want to share his stuff. Now he's getting a better concept on how to do it. Remarkable.
*****
Irony can be defined many ways. For example, I have always found it ironic that the only rude redneck in my family--my brother Mark--ended up being the one who doesn't live in America. I remember as a young teen we had a dinner out at this fabulous Thai restaurant, and they presented us with towels to wipe our hands at the beginning of the meal. Mark embarrassed us all by grumbling that he was American so he didn't DO that shit, and he threw the towel on the table. We all jumped on him, and he just bitched back. Then, several years later, he worked for a company that transferred him and his family to Indonesia for four and a half years. THAT is irony. Now he lives in Canada, and he's much more open-minded and accepting about different customs than I ever thought he could be.
Another view of irony would involve bourbon. See, last weekend, I decided to go shot-to-shot with Grant and every brand of whiskey he had (oh, five or six at least). That was NOT a good move. It seemed like a fantastic idea at the time, but the morning after it seemed like a lousy idea. So, I tell Grant, I don't want to see nor taste whiskey again for a LOOOONG time. Then I get home and my mom announces I'm in charge of making the bourbon balls this year for Christmas.
Sigh.
The pecan mixture is marinating in the bourbon as we speak. Even the smell of that stuff made my tummy protest.
*****
I need to redo my blogroll. I really, really do. I will try to do that over Christmas and add some people and take off some blogs that no longer even exist. I won't promise, though, because it's entirely possible that laziness will overcome and I'll do jack shit.
posted by Kira | 8:44 AM
20 Comments:
I only let Chian on the computer so he could see and drool over the pics of the giant fishies in the Atlanta aquarium. For HKRXmasux, I'm taking him there to feed.
Be sure to get the French guy off your blogroll. You don't need him now that you have Satan Sue.
Last night we sacrificed virgin mice and listened to Dethklok until the creepy guy said he had to go to bed and couldn't drink any more booze. What a wet blanket. I can't wait for you to return. Unlike last time, I think I can now drink you under the table. We'll do shots of bourbon laced with catnip.
That Chian can sure type well!
Drinking shots...never ends well. I know this from experience.
Kiss Jared and tell him it's from me. And then tell him that he doesn't have to write a thank you note for it.
For me, whiskey ALWAYS seems like a good idea before I do it than it does the next day. :)
Pecans in bourbon? What a waste of bourbon....And pecans, too.
You sure your son is not some sort of alien? Nobody that young gets that caring that young...Or, maybe, almost nobody.
That cat blog is freakin' hilarious! "The red-headed wench has abandoned me once again." MWAHAHAHA!
HAPY BIRTHDAY, JARED!! I'm so happy that my future husband is such a sweetheart. How many years until we can get married?
Oh, I have gifts for you at my house, and some of them aren't from me. Though if you don't appear soon, some of them may become mine thanks to the rules of possession. :)
LOL over and over! I have a link up to Chian's blog now: Catblogger! That is so fraking funny. Thanks, Grant and Kira. You know, I probably could have taken Chian for the period in question, but then you wouldn't have gotten to go to Atlanta.
===
Kira, you're somewhat small, so unless the person you're matching shots with has, like, only a third of a liver or the like, I'd probably not go up against most folks in a drinking contest if I were you.
===
I think pecans and bourbon go well together. They're also great separately.
I am so imitating Joe and linking to Chian's blog. I like that cat.
(1) Ten years ago, I'm pretty sure I could have matched both you and Grant in the shot contest. Now I can't do half-a-one without wanting to go to bed. (the moral of that remark: don't age).
(2) Happy birthday to Jared. Tell him I said so, and tell him he doesn't have to thank me.
(3) Shopping has consumed most people lately. I do all my Christmas shopping on December 26th. I save tons of money that way.
(3) A satanic cat? Is that a redundancy?
I thought you learned your lesson in Vegas with the shots of ToKillYa?
St. Louis for Bloggercon? It IS the most dangerous city in the US...
If you drink enough shots of whiskey, it will never seem like a good idea again. I should know. It's been a good 30 years since whiskey passed my lips and I'm only 41.
P.S. Don't tell my mom. It was her whiskey.
I have a fantastic wife and terrific kids...and now, a cat that is a better writer than I am apparently. In addition, the little critter seems to refer to me as "pet"...;)
Andy, I must admit that while I could prevent Kira from doing too many shots, I do not do so because she is too much fun :D I like my tipsy wife :D
A tipsy wife is the best! However, a hungover Mommy who still has to breastfeed... is not.
WHAT??? Did I read that right? There's a blogger convention in St. Louis??? I could drive there!
(and yes, everyone I know who has lived in ST. Louis for an extended period of time has had an encounter with violent crime)
Like I should talk... but are you going to ever post again? I hate coming here with the anticipation of a 2 year old at Christmas, only to be disenchanted by the phrase:
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Christmas Vacation
:-)
And what's up with this pet grooming guy?
What's this? You have a dog now (according to Melloman)? That's it - you're no longer my mommy. You're going to have to work long and hard to regain that status.
Grant--you're right. The Ipod was the last part of the equation I needed in my man replacement box.
Chian--no, there's no doggie here. Eventually there will be, though, so you'll have to brace yourself for that concept!
Laura--I have never had a good experience doing shots. Never. Yet each time I'm offered, if it's an alcohol that hasn't left me miserable before, I think it's a great idea to try it again. Sigh.
Gary--well, there's that level of intoxication wherein it ALL seems like a great idea, right? haha!
Hoss--yes, my son is an alien. I keep having to reassure other moms that their sons are normal and MINE is the abnormal one. And don't knock the bourbon balls until you've had one! They taste fantastic.
NWJR--I think the general consensus is that Chian can write better than I can, yes ;)
Amanda--I don't suppose the gifts are already gone, eh? I probably won't be able to come fetch until school starts back up. It's been a busy, busy holiday season. It hasn't felt like a vacation.
Joe--I should know better than to enter a drinking contest, period. I'm old enough to have experienced nothing but pain doing so. However, I take great comfort in knowing that Grant's friend Movie Buddy is much bigger than me, yet he spewed violently and passed out quickly. I handled my alcohol better than that, at least...wooohoo!
FW--glad you're enjoying it. I also think it's a hoot. Poor Grant may not be getting sleep, but he's entertaining the rest of us, so that's all that matters, right?
X.dell--oddly, as time goes on my alcohol tolerance level has gone up. I wonder if that has to do with the fact that I'm about 30 lbs heavier than I was in college, though...
Andy--All I learned in Vegas was not to do tequila shots. I didn't learn ANYTHING about whiskey ;) And yes, Alex gets way too entertained by me when I'm drunk, so he doesn't see fit to remind me that I'll be miserable the next day. Oh well :) And are we really thinking of a bloggercon in St. Louis? I have a really good friend there whom I haven't seen in a year, so I'm game, crime rate or not!
Juanita--hahaha! Oh, man, but at least you learned the lesson EARLY. I seem to be learning my lessons a little late!
Alex--yes, that IS the situation, isn't it? You're totally amused. Just remember to always give me Excedrin the day after and I should be fine.
SC--yeah, the problem is that we make these decisions AFTER we already have a few drinks, so then it all seems like a great idea, ya know? ;)
Melloman--stop it. You're scaring my cat.
Post a Comment
<< Home