Just a regular old update
Right now, I'm trying to save all of my "interesting" material as I work on my submission for the Erma Bombeck writing competition. It happens every other year and I want to take a crack at it. I am limited to 450 words. I have NEVER been able to convey ANY message in less than 700 words...so the challenge is two-fold for me.
I have exactly one month to write something hilarious, Erma-like and short. I might as well have said I'd climb Everest.
So here is how our holiday went...
Samuel didn't sing one word of one song in his entire Christmas performance (he's in the red sweater in the back). I'm not sure why I got to the school 1 hour early to reserve seats when I could have seen him look annoyed and frustrated at home on any given day. :)
He loved his visit with Santa. And his dad's camo hat. And Santa. And presents. And The Nightmare Before Christmas. We sat down and Andy shared the Christmas story. You know, the one about Jesus. Samuel interrupted a few times to add a ghost and a zombie into the manger scene. I told him to stop going totally Hollywood with a very traditional story.
Aunt Jen came over the week before Christmas to make Christmas cookies with Sam and when we came home from our date, we found that he had talked her into making zombie cookies. Excellent. The spirit of Christmas is alive in this little one (or undead, as the case may be). This is a cute pic of them on Christmas eve.
On Christmas morning, he completely forgot what he was supposed to be excited about. I asked him what day it was and he told me it was Saturday. Then I asked him who came to the house while he was sleeping and he said "Nanny Cooke?".
No, Samuel. Nanny Cooke did not come by last night while you were asleep. AS you would say to me "I think that's kind of weird."
He finally got it. As seen here.
He was very excited to get a minion. Funny, I thought that's what we were to him.
Despite his unnatural affinity for all things undead, this little boy gets sweeter and sweeter everyday. He is a joy in ways I could have never imagined and, like all parents, Andy and I stay amazed at him. I had such a great time with him over the holidays and we were both sad to go back to the normal day-to-day of work and school.
Finally, my Christmas present to myself. A writer's nook. It's really hard to get a good picture of it but I love the space and I finally have my own little corner to be creative.
I have exactly one month to write something hilarious, Erma-like and short. I might as well have said I'd climb Everest.
So here is how our holiday went...
Samuel didn't sing one word of one song in his entire Christmas performance (he's in the red sweater in the back). I'm not sure why I got to the school 1 hour early to reserve seats when I could have seen him look annoyed and frustrated at home on any given day. :)
He loved his visit with Santa. And his dad's camo hat. And Santa. And presents. And The Nightmare Before Christmas. We sat down and Andy shared the Christmas story. You know, the one about Jesus. Samuel interrupted a few times to add a ghost and a zombie into the manger scene. I told him to stop going totally Hollywood with a very traditional story.
Aunt Jen came over the week before Christmas to make Christmas cookies with Sam and when we came home from our date, we found that he had talked her into making zombie cookies. Excellent. The spirit of Christmas is alive in this little one (or undead, as the case may be). This is a cute pic of them on Christmas eve.
No, Samuel. Nanny Cooke did not come by last night while you were asleep. AS you would say to me "I think that's kind of weird."
He finally got it. As seen here.
He was very excited to get a minion. Funny, I thought that's what we were to him.
Despite his unnatural affinity for all things undead, this little boy gets sweeter and sweeter everyday. He is a joy in ways I could have never imagined and, like all parents, Andy and I stay amazed at him. I had such a great time with him over the holidays and we were both sad to go back to the normal day-to-day of work and school.
Finally, my Christmas present to myself. A writer's nook. It's really hard to get a good picture of it but I love the space and I finally have my own little corner to be creative.
In addition to the amazing holiday we had, my parents celebrated their 40th anniversary by taking their children out to a fancy dinner and cracking open a bottle of Cristal that my dad has been saving for awhile. Andy and dad got to enjoy most of the bottle because the rest of us, apparently, "didn't get it."
Andy had a lot more time off than normal and it was wonderful to have the family time. In fact, for the first time in a really long time, we rang in the New Year together and celebrated by playing a pretty cut throat game of Candyland.
Well, that's all for now! Happy New Year!
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