Busy February

Wow! It's been a busy February... Busy with what, you may ask? Yeah, that's a great question... I'm not sure where the time goes, I think it disappears, especially when you are sleep deprived.

Mason has been getting up about 5-6 times a night for the past two weeks! I'm not sure what is going on with him, I just hope it passes quickly. I'm guessing he is either going through a growth spurt or teething. Poor guy! I need to remember that if I have a rough night, he too has a rough night.

Richard has spent the past several days in Las Vegas for the Lowe's National Sales Meeting, and Mason and I decided to take a trip to visit my mom and dad. We had a great time (except for the episodes of Mason wanting to party at 11:00 pm, 1:00 am and 3:00 am. Thankfully, my mom got up with Mason, which allowed me to get a few nights of uninterrupted sleep. There is nothing like the gift of sleep! Thanks Mom!

Life is good, God is great!

Snow Day Memories

Today is a snow day for most schools in the area. I was telling a friend that SAHMs don't really get a snow day, but then realized in some ways, everyday is a snow day. You know, getting to stay in your pajama's all day, hot chocolate, naps... Okay, it's not always thatglamorous, but it does have it's perks, no?

This snow day reminded me of snow days when I was a kid. My hope is that someday I can make Mason's snow days as special as my mom made ours.

Some favorite snow day memories include:

• Getting to drink hot chocolate from my favorite mug with lots of marshmallows! My mom would refer to marshmallows as snowman poop and we thought it was the coolest thing ever!
• "Playing school" with my sister. Even though it was a snow day, my sister and I would hold our own school day playing teacher. My mom would even pretend to be a cafeteria lady and make a school type lunch (usually grilled cheese and tomato soup). She usually drew the line at wearing a hair net.
• Getting all bundled up to go outside. We would play outside as long as our little bladders would let us! I remember several times rushing inside and barely making it, because that snow suit took so much time to undo, especially with frozen little hands. Let's just say, it's a good thing snow suits are waterproof.
• Making cookies... Mom always said snow days were God's way of telling us it was time to bake cookies. She made a fabulous peanut butter cookie or dishpan cookies. Note to self: get stuff to make dishpan cookies to have on hand for the next snow day.
• Getting to watch daytime tv. My parents usually limited our tv time, but I think on snow days my mom was probably just desperate to get us to be quite and to not bug her every 3 minutes.

Part of me dreads Mason being old enough to dress up and take outside in the snow. The other part of me is so excited to see his sweet little face when he gets all excited that it's snowing. To ask him what kind of cookies he wants to make. To give him his cup of hot chocolate and snowman poop in his favorite mug.

Tis the Season

Tis the Season... for stuffy, runny noses. Yep, the entire Mossi clan had it between Christmas and New Years and we suffered through together. While it was unfortunate we all were sick, I must say I enjoyed the low key family time and on several occasions Richard commented on enjoying Mason sleeping on his chest. I am happy to report that we all are feeling better now and Mason is back to his fun, toothless-smile self.

2010 Year in Pictures

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2010 was Mason's first Christmas and was so special! I remember last Christmas, I was rocking my nephew Jack and my mom said, "I bet next Christmas you will be sitting there rocking your own baby." Little did we know, she was right!

We spent the night at Mom and Dad's and I was lucky enough to get my very own Silent Night (Mason slept for 10 hours straight!). I remember when I was younger, I was so excited to see what Santa left under the tree, but this Christmas, I was just excited to be with my family. God has blessed us with more than we could have asked for this year... we are all healthy and happy!

For Christmas, Mason got some toys and a Jeep walker from his Grandma and Grandpa Gillispie, although he can't quite reach the floor yet, he loves it because he now has a Jeep just like his Daddy!

Christmas Memories

Christmas Tree 2010

Richard and I were recently sharing some of our favorite Christmas memories.

We both recall waking our parents up super early and being so excited to see what Santa had brought us while we were sleeping. For me, the whole Santa thing kind of scared me. I mean the idea of a stranger sneaking into your house while you were sleeping was a little off. Anyway, I digress...

Richard remembers one of his favorite Christmas presents was a brown leather jacket he got around Jr. High. As he was telling me about it, I could hear the excitement in his voice even to this day. He said not only did the jacket look great on the outside, but that the inside even had a map printed on the inside (anyone who remembers the early 90's knows exactly what he's talking about). He was so proud of it that he admitted to wearing it when he had no business wearing a leather jacket (think 70 and sunny).

My favorite Christmas present also came around Jr. High. My parents had gotten us kids our own phone line and I got my very one candy apple red phone for my bedroom. No doubt, they were probably tired of their phone line being tied up (clearly this occurred before call waiting and cell phones). That year I also got a calculator with jewels as the buttons, I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever! And, considering I loathe math, that's saying a lot.

Of course, my favorite present ever was about 2 years ago when I got engaged on Christmas Eve! The ring was stunning, but the thought of getting to spend the rest of my life with such a great guy makes me tear up just thinking about it. I had prayed I would meet someone like Richard (little did I know he was right under my nose the entire time) and my prayers were finally answered! We had both been through some rough, lonely Christmas's in the past, and the moment we got engaged somehow made all those tough times worth it. Thanks R for making my dreams come true that Christmas Eve and everyday since.

The Irony of Christmas Cards

As I ignore that nagging feeling of my Christmas cards not being finished, I am thinking back to past family cards. I don't have to think too hard because my mom has an entire photo album dedicated to every Christmas card she has ever sent out. On one hand, this is a very cool idea and a great way to take a walk down memory lane On the other it is a constant reminder of all those bad hair do's (remember when the perm was in?!), acne breakouts, and ugly Christmas outfits. Needless to say, we all have a good laugh when we bust out the album on Christmas Eve.

While our cards always appear picture perfect and portrayed a happy family or 3 happy children, we all know the truth... And every time I get one of those picture perfect cards from someone else, I wonder what their truth is.

What is our Christmas card truth?

The truth is, in that cute picture of us 3 kids holding the puppies, we were gagging because the puppies had bad gas and I think one peed on my sister.

The truth is, in the picture that showed us all decorating cookies, mom was having a meltdown because my brother had spilled a whole container of those tiny silver balls all over the hardwood floor and my sister and I had green icing in our hair.

The truth is, although Mom tried her best to make it work, my sister's perm was that bad! (I've been laughing the whole time I write this because it was so bad!)

The truth is, while we were laughing it wasn't because we were having fun, it was because we were making fun of my mom for not knowing how to work the camera and for my dad yelling "Just take the f^#&*!@ picture!"

The truth is, in that last family picture we took, most of us had a little too much to drink before the photo shoot. Come to think of it, that was probably our best picture.

The truth is, on the card I am sending out this year, Mason had just pooped all over the photographer's blanket.