Happy New Years....

I know we're probably the minority here, but we totally LOVE staying in for New Year's. Even as young singletons, we preferred a night in to the chaos of going out. We'd order a shrimp tray, rent movies, nestle in and ring the New Year in quietly. Ok that was then, now we don't even make it to midnight.

Sixteen years and two kids later, we pop some popcorn, pour some sparkling grape juice and watch movies. This is the one night per year where we let Logan stay up to kiss one year goodbye as another rings in. He thinks we're the coolest parents on the block because we let him stay up and "party" until midnight. Little does he know how deprived he probably truly is...!!! However, the saddest part is how Brad and I are sawing logs while our 8-year-old watches the movie, eats the popcorn, and steadily watches the clock turn over. Usually, he wakes US up to let us know the new year has begun. Pathetic, I know.

To us, it's a totally over-rated night. We enjoy the holiday and day-off, but seriously, the next day doesn't look any different.

The one useful thing I like about a new year is a new beginning. It's a good time to reflect on the things I wish I would have done differently and vow to make changes for the New Year.

I truly do vow to try to understand Logan a little better and to remind myself he's only 8 and he's going to do silly, inappropriate things at times. He's not mature, he's not done being raised by us. There is still time to figure things out and come together and hope for the love of GOD that we've instilled some of our core values in him. He's the most compassionate and loving child. He's an "old soul" and so impressionable and easily influenced. He's the child that can take one look at me and tell something is wrong, even if I'm trying to hide it (and no, it has nothing to do with how transparent I am). He's so intuitive and sensitive and loving. I want to nurture these qualities in him.

I vow to remind myself I'm not perfect and I'm going to make parenting mistakes, along with a million other mistakes. I'm not always going to choose the right path or solution and that's OK. I vow to try to lighten up on myself a bit.

I vow to appreciate my husband more. I think this was also last year's resolution (refer to the above resolution--I won't be so hard on myself). He's such an amazing father and spouse and I love him from the very depths of my soul. He completes me. There is not a single person out there that would put up with such a high-maintenance person like me and he does it so well--It seems so effortless. There isn't another person on this planet that reads me like him, that can pull me back into reality like him, that can calm me down like him, that can simply extend his arms and let me fall into them like him. He's my soft place to fall, my true North, my best friend.

I vow to be a good role model for London. She's just one of those girls who just knows what she wants out of life and she's not afraid to seek it. She has so much wherewithal--So much confidence and grace. I'm proud to be her mother. You might be thinking, "Stacey, she's two--How can you possibly have gathered that much from her already?" I just KNOW...It's mother's instinct. I can see so much of her Aunt Angie and Grandma Nancy in her. She's just one who will leave a lasting impression. I also know that I'll be calling that Aunt Angie someday asking for all her secrets when she was a teenager because I'll need all the help I can get with her. It's pretty apparent she's all about having a good time. She comes with her own set of challenges, but I love to see her zest for life. I just want to bottle her enthusiasm and drink it.

Happy New Year...!!!

Brrr...

That tile about sums it up. It's freezing outside. I'm not a huge fan of winter. While I love seasons to change and I don't think I could possibly live somewhere else, I tend to hibernate during Winter. I admire parents who bundle up themselves and their kids (that alone should be considered some kind of work-out) to take them outside during the brutal winter days to wear them out. I'm NOT one of them. However, Brad does an awesome job of taking the kids outside. In fact, just this past weekend, he endured a snow ball fight with all the neighborhood boys while London jumped on a sled head-first and tumbled down our slight hill (giggling the whole way, I might add!).

I'm better during the summer months. I prefer the pool to sledding hills and swim suits to snow pants. I'd rather get some actual color than a red nose and cheeks. It's just not for me, but I really do wish I had more of a prerogative to get my kids outside. They really do benefit from it. I guess it's good I married the man I did. Watching him entertain the neighbor boys (and our own son and daughter) does warm my heart.

Then there's the puppy....
She absolutely HATES this weather. Cold is one thing--wind on top of it is another. She'd much rather use my dining room as her puppy pad for the time being. So, to make going outside more appealing, I had to find a coat small enough for her. Then, I tried to find Bailey's old boots, but to no avail. So, I stopped at a local pet store to purchase new ones. Well, her boots were going to cost more than my kids' boots, so I decided to search more at home until I found them. I'm grumbling under my breath how much I wish Nancy was still alive to see me struggling to buy boots for my dog. She would have already made some for roughly $5 (instead of $21) and sent them my way by now. I'm sure she's laughing at me regardless....

Growing on me . . .

I have now been in Vegas for almost 60 hours, and I must admit, the town has started to grow on me. I see how the town can actually be very enjoyable under the right circumstances. After my last post, you could probably guess it was easy for me to have a negative first impression just based on my trip here.

There are definitely a few things I still don't enjoy, but the presentation of everything is just so over the top you have to experience it to believe it. Everything is larger than life, beyond belief, and out of control, but that's precisely what makes it so hard to ignore. I'm here on business so any exploring and sightseeing has felt extremely rushed, but I managed to walk up and down the strip on Monday night in an attempt to find a plain sandwich (success!) and chocolate milk (no success).

During this exploration, I noticed that Vegas is not really a town to experience alone. I really wish Stac would have been able to tag along. The whole town is really a violent attack on your senses, particularly your sight and hearing. I witnessed the first official eruption of the volcano at one of the casinos – maybe the Mirage? The water show at the Bellagio was very interesting. Again, there's no real purpose to these things other than to get your attention and potentially lure you in to spend some money.

I am shocked and amazed at the amount of money flowing through this city. Apparently the people visiting Vegas this week are either trying to forget the ever gloomy economic situation or they have somehow managed to thrive while the rest of the world is suffering. The two biggest events taking place this week are the baseball winter meetings and the annual rodeo, which would explain all of the cowboy hats on the trip down. I've seen a few baseball players and their entourage of supporters, but nobody all that famous.

I've wondered how many frozen drinks Stacey would have consumed by now. I've wondered why I can buy a bottle of beer in the convenience store but not a chocolate milk. I've determined that everything costs at least twice as much as it probably should. I've determined that I'm still a kid at heart because the FAO Schwartz store was one of my favorite places to visit. I've decided that if we're able to somehow find the right deal, Stac and I are returning together for her annual birthday get-away. Typically we just go somewhere in the Cities, but I think we'd have a lot of fun spending a few days together in Vegas.

Travel Trauma

I (it is actually Brad) have determined that years of summer road trips growing up have ruined my ability to effectively and efficiently live in the air travel world. I don't have a cool phone or device to quickly compose and send text messages or browse the internet during all of the down time. I don't have the perfectly sized carry-on bag to avoid the frustration of watching 200 other bags emerge from the baggage claim mouth before mine finally makes an appearance. Truth of the matter, I was actually just happy it arrived at all and still in one piece. I don't have the timing and confidence to show up at the airport, get through security, and arrive at my gate 10 minutes before I am supposed to board. Thus I get there hours early and realize there really isn't much to do in an airport.

The plane trip to Vegas was literally like a scene from a National Lampoon's vacation movie. I got on the plane around 10:50 for a scheduled 11:20 departure. We get in line to have the plane de-iced and the pilot announces it will be about 10 minutes and then we should be in the air. They spray some formula on the wings and I'm sitting there watching it freeze directly to the windows. I'm no expert, but it makes me think they are just adding more ice to the plane. Halfway through the process, the de-icing machine breaks down. Seems relatively harmless since there are another five or six trucks de-icing other planes in our general area. I figure the broken one will drive off and they'll shift one over to our plane. Wrong. Another truck (apparently the de-icing maintenance truck) arrives and attempts a repair. One hour later, they determine the truck can't be fixed and it drives off. However, now all of the other trucks have also left to re-fill so we have to wait another 30 minutes to get de-iced. We finally depart at 1:05.

Once in the air, I became convinced there must be a hidden camera or some other television reality show filming me on this particular flight. I'd be the perfect candidate since I don't watch reality TV. I searched the internet but found no references to any reality shows promoting the fun of watching an infrequent flier endure countless situations on a single flight. There were crying babies, kids running up and down the isles, all but three people needing to use the bathroom – conveniently located one row in front of me, and the person next to me snoring so loud that everybody kept looking around to see where it was coming from. I also had the obligatory passenger in front of me needing to recline their seat all of the way back the entire trip, extremely comfortable with short, stubby legs like mine. Alas I arrive in Las Vegas and realize another annoying aspect of air travel. When you get there, you're still not really there. In a car, when you arrive, you arrive right at the doorstep of your destination. In a plane, you arrive in the general area you're supposed to be, but you have to use some additional means of transportation to actually get to your destination.

A mere 10 hours after leaving my garage, I arrive at my hotel and wonder how far I could have driven by now.

'Tis the Season....

Brad is in Vegas for most of the week on business. This means it's just the kids and I for four straight days. This hasn't happened in years...I think the last time was even BEFORE our family included London.

While there are definite perks. I can turn the thermostat to my comfort level instead of his, I'm not cooking any meals, I can have the whole bed to myself, I won't be woke up to the shower going at
4AM, etc. However, from the moment he walked out the door this morning, I missed him. We spent our entire first four years of our relationship apart--He left me in tears on the sidewalk every Sunday. So, it felt a bit like deja vu today. Only this time, there were kids demanding our attention and a dog needing to go outside and bills to be mailed.

Whether it was 16 years ago or two hours ago, I love him dearly. When I see how stressed the world is today with our global economy headed into a deep recession (if it isn't already), large masses of people losing their homes and retirement and jobs, I realize how lucky Brad and I are to have each other amidst it all.

After all, it's Christmas and like the old song goes, "No one should be alone on Christmas".....

He completes me.....

PS: You know I'll write this meaningful post and I'm sure I'll be totally pissed at him by the afternoon for something!!!