Christmas 2012

It was a good Christmas all around.  In fact, I was so off my usual game (see the last post) that I  found myself not snapping nearly as many photos as I have in the past.  To be specific, I realized (sadly) too late that I only took 6 pictures on Christmas day.  The fact that one of us had to be chasing Tommy at all times was a big factor also. 

Our festivities kicked off on the 23rd with Tom's birthday, which happily fell on a Steeler game day.

Anyone else see the resemblance?

Christmas Eve, all dressed up.

Christmas Eve with Grampy

This guitar that Santa brought stole the show, even amidst some pretty cool new trucks.  P has been playing it non-stop.

We got trucks, trucks, and oh, more trucks.

And the Big News is...

God most certainly guides our family.  Monday December 17th, I was at the grocery store and picked up the little township paper that Tom enjoys reading (I only remember to grab it about one out of 5 grocery trips).  When we got home and I unloaded the groceries, I sat down at the kitchen table to flip through it (which I rarely ever do). 
There it was.  In the bottom left corner of a page:

A black and white real estate ad. 

You have to understand, Tom and I are happily settled into our house, which we bought only 2 1/2 years ago.  We are planning our spring house projects and talking summer vacations.  We love our neighbors.  Life was rolling on as planned.  Until the little black and white ad that described a house just 5 minutes from our own found its way into our lives.  My very rational, super logical, play-it-safe husband actually told me to just go look at it.  Huh?? So the next day I met with our real estate agent and went through the house.  There is an 80's kitchen, two original 50's baths, and other needed updates, but the house also had a lot of good.  Like space.  Lots, and lots of space.  The kind of good that could potentially sway two people who said they didn't want to move again to turn their lives upside down.  Tom saw the house the next day.

We got a sitter, went to dinner, and discussed.  And discussed. And discussed.  The next day we made an offer, and after some negotiations, the following day it was accepted.  So yes, we are under contract and trying to wrap our heads around the fact that we are packing boxes again.  All over the course of 5 days. Not bad for two people who weren't even looking.

Now I have to get our house ready to put on the market ASAP.  Shouldn't be a problem with a 19 month old who is pulling, dumping, spreading and wrecking 24-7.  This very well could send me over the edge.  So blogging will likely take a back seat to house staging, cleaning, sorting, organizing and packing, but I promise to keep you all updated. 

Wish us luck!

On the Eve of a Birthday

My computer is finally home, but I still need to reinstall my camera software so I can dump all my new pictures. Trying to find time to do that in addition to the cookies that should be baking, the toilets that should be sparkling, and the presents that aren't wrapping themselves. 

It is 6:18pm. Tommy is in bed.  Patrick is in the tub now playing with the new Playmobil family speed boat he got from his Aunt Karen, Uncle Damon and cousins Nathan and Jack.  Because we will be with Tom's family for Christmas, I hosted my family today for some honey baked ham (a most welcomed end-of-year thank you gift from the city for Tom's service as one of the town's volunteer firemen).  We exchanged gifts, and it is nice to have some staggered gifts in advance of the avalanche coming on Christmas day. They just left about 45 minutes ago.  Tom was noticeably absent since he is traveling home today after representing us both at the baptism of our two newest godchildren in North Carolina.  Can't wait to see some pictures! 

Shortly after Christmas I have a little announcement - I think some of you won't see this one coming...Yes, I will make you wait in suspense.

Most importantly, tomorrow is the birthday of my very favorite person in the whole wide world.  Can't wait to celebrate.

Great News!

1. Nothing broke today.
2. We are ready to celebrate our Savior's birth! As a bonus, Patrick will be playing Joseph in his class Christmas Program, so gear up, because there will be some video clips.  Yes, I am going to make you all watch.

Bad news:  Our computer? (crickets)
Geek Squad claims they left me a message with a question (just reviewed my answering machine, nothing there), and they have not done anything in like 3 days "waiting" for my return call. 

When Life Gives you Poop, Make Candy Canes

It's been hard past week, but we have rallied and are on the up-swing.  My incredible husband washed dishes, scrubbed counters, bathed kiddos, and picked up toys while I was under the weather.  I love him always, but this past week really reminded me just how lucky I am to have him by my side. 

So with all the falling apart, breaking and failing of things around us, God decided to send me one great comedic moment.  Yesterday Patrick had an upset stomach.  Nothing major, but when he said he had to do some poop and headed into the bathroom, I didn't think anything of it until I heard him yelling for help.  I rushed in to find him standing on the bathroom rug, pants down, with a huge pile of poop on the floor.  Poor guy looked devastated.  I lifted him onto the toilet, stripped off his pants the rest of the way, and set about gathering my cleaning supplies.  When I came back in, P points to the mess on the floor and proclaims, "Look mom, that one looks just like a candy cane!"

I laughed. Hard.
Sorry for the poop story, but this one had to be documented for future Pohl Christmas story-telling.  Still no word on our computer. 

And That Leaves the Furnace

Yep, the garage door officially lifted for the last time this morning.  If the furnace doesn't make it through January, I am going to cry.

Better Days

It started when our computer died Monday.  Off to Geek Squad we went.  $$$.  They still have it, and all my photos, which I need desperately to complete some holiday gifts.  Did I mention that it died while I was typing the last ten addresses into our master address list that I finally got around to creating? I was saving it as I entered addresses, but it would be handy to have right now as I am sending out cards.

Oh, and then yesterday, my car failed inspection.  New brakes, rotors, and a hickey majickey. $$$$.  While waiting for the repairs to be completed at the dealership for three hours(with my two tired kids), I tried to call my sister to vent.  Nothing happened when I tapped on the phone icon.  That's not good.  I powered down and was able to get it to work, but again today it is being difficult.  That leaves our ancient furnace and an old garage door motor tied for the next thing to go. 

So no further posts until I get my computer back.  Trying, trying to stay focused on Christmas and not let these negative things drag us down.

OCC Christmas Party

I'm here, I'm here.  More decorating, less blogging lately.  Also, photos are few and far between these days.  Tommy is going through an extreme "mommy" phase and is usually climbing up my leg, making it difficult to photograph things.  This was our "best" photo of 20 taken from the Christmas party we attended today-

Miraculously, Tommy did sit on Santa's lap for 10 seconds and never cried.

P didn't even want to move up in line to see Santa.  He kept saying we should go "later".  When we did get up there, he mustered enough courage to tell Santa he wants a gray tool bench with red tools.  Sadly, I think Santa mentioned something about it being "too big" to fit in his sleigh (or in our house with the other ride on toys, toy kitchen, and millions of trucks).

Baba and Tommy

Did I mention that P has the cutest little friend (also a "P")?  They go to school together and are incredibly adorable.

We are filling our days with Christmas preparations.  The tree is still undecorated with the exception of 6 or 7 lone ornaments (there were 12 or 13, but P keeps taking the train ornaments off to play with them).  My Christmas cards arrived a week ago, but are still in need of addressing (I am old fashioned and believe in hand writing the addresses).  Online shopping is keeping me on schedule, although I did have a "no kids" shopping day at the mall Friday with my college roomie thanks to my sister and Baba who each took a kid for the day.  Thanks you!   Looking forward to starting the Christmas baking next week. 

All Grown Up

Not me.  My bedroom.  We finally got rid of the old Marine Corps bachelor set that Tom had been hauling from state to state and bought a real, official, grown-up master bedroom set.  And a rug.  And lamps.  My budget ran dry at curtains, but I barely notice.  So very happy.

This was during the "empty all our clothes out of old set to prepare for the new set, so it is a bit if a disaster

We only had one dresser, and Tom had all his things in it.  My clothes were stored in the tall, mirrored armoire I bought at Ikea back in 1999 and our only nightstand.  Yes, that is also a halogen lamp in the corner.  College called and wants its light back.

But now, we each have our very own dresser, and very own nightstands!  We ordered the furniture sight-unseen, and are completely happy with our choice (whew!)

A HomeGoods unexpected find.  Tom suggested filling it with golf balls.  I think I will fill it with Christmas bulbs for the month of December .

 

What finally swayed us to buy without seeing the furniture in person were the nightstands.  Tom and I both loved the tiered nightstand.  The task lights I found at Target and are just the right brightness for reading without keeping the other person up.

But one of the very best parts is the hidden charging station.  No more unsightly cords from lamps, baby monitor and cell phone sitting on my floor anymore (which had annoyed me to no end)

I did hit up Pottery Barn for the rug though after a lengthy search.  Got it on sale, of course.  In my dream plan,  I would have had the wallpaper stripped (yes, those periwinkle walls are wallpaper) and a new color on the walls, but add in two little boys who need still a lot of my attention and well, we'll live with it for now.

Who Does That?

How could one person lose their AMEX card TWICE, within a month and half time span, at the exact same gas station? Yours truly.  Glad I can can still awe and amaze. My third card is being fed-exed right over.  Thanks to my husband for not making fun of me (to my face).

Black Friday Cousins' Present Exchange

It is our annual tradition to gather as many as my nephews (and my lone niece) as we can the day after Thanksgiving for an early Christmas exchange.  My niece and nephew from Virginia are always in Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving, but not Christmas, so this gives the kids a chance to give their gifts in person.  We kicked off at 11:30, and it turned into an all day affair.  Patrick played hide-n-go-seek with his older cousins throughout the house and had a blast (my two are the youngest in the family).  We ate, drank and were merry.  My sister Janet and my two nephews in Vermont were not able to make it down, and oh, how we missed them!

Kate with Tommy and Patrick.  Kate loves mothering these two and where you found one, you found the other.



Jack, Kate and Patrick

Thanks Uncle Steve and Aunt Christina for piling on the love.  These two entertained my boys non-stop during their visit. 

OK, not the best shot of P in this year's cousins' photo.

Tom was in charge of assembling P's new Playmobil toys which he has been playing with 24-7

The morning Uncle Steve and Aunt Christina were due to leave brought us our first snow of the year.



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The Day I Gained 5 Lbs (Thanksgiving to You)

I impressed even myself with the amount of food I consumed over the holiday.   My brother and sister-in-law drove up from Richmond, VA Thanksgiving morning and shared in our feast along with my dad.  It was good.  Really, really, good. 

Tom and P made the Pumpkin Pie and it was PERFECT.

I decided to opt out of the high chair for Tommy, but he didn't sit still as long as I would have preferred.

Can you guess who ADORED their Aunt Christina and Uncle Steve?  Both boys were spoiled by all the attention and oh, how we wish they lived closer.  I am going to have to plan a road trip in the spring, but their house is so nice (and fingerprint free)- do I dare unleash my kids there?

Keeping it all Together Sometimes Means Shoving Everything in the Closet

I am not striving for perfection in my Thanksgiving day prep.  I just want a clean guest room for my brother and sister-in-law (who always insist on cooking these gourmet breakfasts while they are here, so of course they deserve a nice sleeping space), a tidy house, and the zillion-plus-infinity projects on my to-do-list tackled.  Because everyone knows that if it doesn't get organized or done before Thanksgiving (like the basement, which is not),  it all gets lost in all the Christmas preparation. 

I cleaned out my bathroom drawer (ladies you know this can be daunting).  I managed to sort through and organize some our guestroom closet so I could cram in all the random items laying around the room.  I organized the bottom cupboards of my dining room armoire where I secretly toss everything that doesn't have a home.  I threw away 10 lbs of old receipts I didn't need anymore.  I cleaned off the kitchen counter.  Organized the top of my closet. Cleaned up the garage. Winterized flower beds. Wiped all the mysterious marks/spots/dried food off of my doors, cabinets, walls.

Here's me going!
and going
and going.
Look at all I can accomplish!

Crash.

Here I am, Tuesday night, cranky, exhausted, irritated, and short-tempered with a whole list waiting to be checked off.  Yesterday I was so over-done that I physically could not put Patrick to bed.  Tom got him tucked in while I crawled into bed at the same time, 8:15ish.  I feel a bit better today as a result of that sleep, but still very much out of sorts.

Thank God for the best kind of mother-in-law one could wind up with, one who stayed with the kids while I ran errands today, including the dreaded Thanksgiving feast day grocery trip extravaganza. 

When you read my Thanksgiving Day post and see the joyful faces, know it did not come about because I have my life perfectly planned and timed.  It is mostly bursts of motivation mixed with bouts of exhaustion.  God always sees me through.  And in the last few hours before our guests arrive, I'll probably just end up shoving everything in the closet.

Gingerbread Workshop 2012

This was our second year at the Gingerbread House Workshop and Patrick did much better this year-more decorating and slightly less eating of the candy.  Tommy helped out by eating the surplus inventory.  P's house is proudly displayed on our counter, but poor Tommy keeps pointing to it and cries when I don't give him a piece of candy off the house. 

I told P this would make a good mouse house, so he was very careful to check to see if there were in fact any nice mousey families living there currently.