Christmas Gift

This is a picture from the back as I started gluing on the bulbs.

 Prior to Christmas I had a gift exchange at work.  As usual I thought, "I can make something amazing!"  I saw this wreath and thought, this is perfect.  I can do this.  We had a $25 limit and so off I went to buy the goods.

I did not like all the green that was left between the bulbs, but it was what I ended up with.

In fact, I was a little embarrassed to give it as a gift.  I tied a big red ribbon to hand it with and had to make a homemade box out of cardboard to fit it into.  I skulked to the party and was a bit ashamed to have someone draw my name for the gift, but it turned out there were many people who wanted the wreath.  I suppose that I should be happy they liked it, but it still did not meet my expectations.  Next time, if there is one, I will be spray painting of covering up the wreath underneath somehow.  Oh well.

Christmas Photos

 I forgot that Brent and I had a little surgical adventure.  Of course I was there for the photographic documentation.  It is amazing that you can fit parts of your body through tight spaces, but for some reason they just don't come back out.  Elli got to learn that.

 Don't worry Brent worked his magic.

 You can tell because here is Elli after with Harley.  Duke does not hold still long enough to get a picture with him.

 The night of the candy trains.

 Brent and my train wreck.  I am biased, but it was awesome!

 Amber's little creation.

 Sammie showing off her skills as well.

 The warm old man in the park.

 Duke's backside and Harley again showing his love.

 Ann and Andrew took me to Miracle on 34th St.  Miracle it was...plus the hot chocolate was awesome.

 Then the rest are the National Mall. 

Continued Christmas

After Christmas was over the fun continued.  I got to spend a few time babysitting "Baby Lydia."  She and I had a wealth of fun on the floor playing with her new wooden blocks, checking out items in the fridge, but most importantly the recycling items.  We found the the items awaiting recycling were the most exciting toys in the house.  I will openly admit that it was a bit boring watching a 9 month old.  I then began to feel the instant increase of concern about my ability to care for my own child.  I knew there was a reason that I made my mother get a babysitter whenever she left, babysitting is not my thing.  Yes, I do love kids, but they need to be sick...reality is going to come sooner than I am ready for.  Don't take it personally Lydia, you were cute.

The dogs and I continued to check out every dog park within the vicinity of the Coy home.  It was way too much work to control the boys from eating the trash and attempting to find the homes of all of Baltimore's resident vermin.  The dog parks in Baltimore were very different than those that are in the twin cities.  The parks were about 25% the size of those that my dogs typically go to and one of the best parts of the park was the AstroTurf that was placed over mounds to create the feeling of a grassy hill. There were also a few large boulders and maybe even a tree that had fallen which made one almost feel as though they were standing in the middle of nature.  After spending hours in the car the boys were always ready for some laps in the dog park.

In the mornings the boys and I headed to the reservoir.  There were days that it snowed and we were blessed by sheets of whiteness.  There are old tree stumps that have been carved into old men.  I swear I have seen them before, but I cannot figure out where.  I was most grateful to see that one of the men had a warm hat on.  I thought that it made him look much warmer.

Ann and I spent one day at the local organic/natural baby store.  There we checked out baby carriers and all things made of wood and organic cotton.  We had fun seeing what was available and checking out the another lovely shop in the area....name already forgotten, but I do know that Ann and Andrew bought their couch there.

One night we spent at the theater.  I had been wanting to see Lincoln, but knew that Abdu would not want be extremely interested.  He loves action movies and comedies.  I figured Lincoln would be a little slow for his taste.  I am happy to admit that I found Lincoln quite humorous.  I was not aware of Lincoln's humor, but have since been educated on his excellent story telling skills.  I would definitely recommend the movie.

Since I had never been to DC, the Coys took me to the National Mall to tour some of the sites.  The boys were able to come and walk around with us, although they were required to stay outside many of monuments.  I left them with Ann, Andrew, and Lydia as I saw Lincoln and MLK.  We even took a look at the White House "Holiday" (Christmas) Tree.  It was lovely weather for a walk.  Ann said that all "you" people who keep coming to visit DC in the summer have your timing wrong.  For the future, if you would like a comfortable visit to the National Mall I would recommend late fall, winter, or early spring.

I was also able to meet Aunt Debbie and Uncle Kent.  We ate the required cheese and crackers.  Additionally, we had some amazing food.  Ann was right, see is a good cook.  We played some games.  We actually played games almost any night that I was in Baltimore, but I just had to brag about the fact that it even occurred at Aunt Debbie's.

I even made a token trip to Ikea.  One of the walks that the Coys, the boys, and I made was in a similar direction to Ikea.  Andrew had some church needs to meet, so we headed to Ikea for some Swedish meatballs.  Lydia out ate all of us.  I was pretty certain that she was hitting a growth spurt, although I can't verify that fact.  There I got my first frozen yogurt from Ikea, which I was told was a Coy family tradition.

The last full day I was there in Baltimore, Ann made freezer meals.  I was basically there for moral support.  I attempted to send encouragement her way, while I surfed Pintrest. I believe that I was successful because I went home with many meals frozen in a Styrofoam cooler.

The drive back to the Cities was much longer than the one out to TN and MD.  I was more tired.  I had bought myself some support socks at the local CVS, but they only helped so much with the swelling.  I made multiple stops throughout the drive, but by the end I was sleeping for one hour and then driving for one hour, off and on.  About two hours away from home I was pulled over by an officer in Wisconsin for driving 75 in a 65 mph zone.  Ouch! The ticket was $200. I was happy to make it home safely though.

Christmas Extravaganza

This year I decided to try something new and not go home.  There was an initial discussion about driving home for Christmas, but I decided that I have seen the people at home every Christmas and that perhaps I should see the family members that I typically don't see during the holidays.  So, I packed up the boys (Duke and Harley) and we headed out the door, literally in 30 minutes we were packed and leaving.

The initial plan was that I was going to visit my sister, Ann, and then after Christmas I would head down to visit my brother, Brent.  Ann has allergies to dogs and had found someone at her work that loved dogs and said he would be willing to watch the boys.  It cost 60 dollars a night to board my dogs here in Minneapolis, so I was willing to drive with them and then spend much less money by having someone watch them there.  Well, the time came to leave for Baltimore and the "dog lover" turned out to have rescued a dog and could not take the boys at the desired time.  It was going to be several days later than he could take them.  So, I called Brent and said, "How would you feel if I showed up at you house tomorrow?"  He told me that he would talk with his wife, because we all know that the wife is in charge.  Well, the phone call came that said please leave now, so I showered, threw such in a bag, turned down the thermostat, and headed out the door.

The drive to Kingsport, TN was actually quite pleasant.  Duke, Harley, and I drove in intermittent stops to walk every two hours and did well until about 9 am.  I had stopped the car and the boys attempted to make an exit, which I did not want them to make.  I pushed them quickly back in the car, after setting my keys down, reflexively locked the doors, and looked at the keys inside the car on the drivers seat and laughed.  I had to call for a locksmith, who promptly arrived in 30 minutes and broke into my car.  I have to admit that I am a little afraid of how easy it was to unlock my car, but I was happy that $50 later I could be on my way.  We then made it the rest of the way to the TN Passey household in plenty of time.

I was a little worried about how the kids would do with the dogs, but they did amazingly well.  Duke and Harley were gentlemen, except at the dinner table.  Scott had not quite figured out that if you wanted to prevent the dogs from getting the food you should keep it above the table.  He kept attempting to hold it down between his legs on the seat, the perfect level for Harley to snatch it right up at stealth speed.  The kids and I had a great night, where they "convinced" me about all of the things that really needed to happen prior to going to bed, like having hot chocolate, while their parents had their anniversary dinner.  While I was there made candy trains (which mine included the most realistic train wreck ever), pictures to come.  We also went Christmas shopping, attended church, read books, walked dogs, and showed off our ipad skills.  I was not there long because I promised Ann I would be there Christmas Eve, but I sure had a good time with the Passey clan.

Christmas Eve afternoon we climbed into the car again for a 6ish hour drive to Baltimore.  I think that I made it there my about 8pm.  I parked and made an immediate tour of the block with the boys and introduced the terrified neighbors to the concept of two very large dogs.  The bad news came on the way to Ann's that the "fake dog loving" sitter could not take the dogs still.  So, we made a plan that they would stay in the car until it was time for bed and then they would go to the basement with me.  This plan working well until there was a realization that the two boys could easily escape from the basement and refused to be down there without me.  I cannot explain the attachment that Duke and Harley have for me.  If they know that I am in the building they must me at my side and will take drastic measures to make it happen. We all did well in the basement as soon as I realized that I must stay down there.

We got up Christmas morning and I walked them again around Ann's neighborhood.  Christmas morning there were several concerned citizens.  Most of them were concerned about the "pound of flesh" that they were sure the boys would remove from them, while the remaining few were concerned that I was in the wrong neighborhood.  Perhaps the pregnant woman who was walking two big dogs in a neighborhood were no one just walks, unless you are homeless or would like to be hit on the highway, was concerning.  The boys were in heaven though.  The amount of trash on the streets and hidden behind the bushes was something I am sure they had dreamed about.  The amount of brute force required to prevent the consumption of these items convinced me that there was need to go to dog parks or on walks in other areas for the majority of the outings.  Although, Duke knew that there were rats around was excitedly searched for these vermin with shear excitement every time we excited the Coy household (Ann's last name for those who were not aware).

Well, if you wanted to know who made bank on Christmas...it was me.  I don't think I have had such an amazing Christmas since I was a kid.  Now mind you I did not really receive my items for me, but it was mostly baby stuff.  A blanket, car sear cover, some clothes, and shoes.  I suppose that the chapstick and shampoo were for me in my stocking, the chocolate too (but Duke ate that), but I don't really count those things.  Everything that we did kind of blurred together, but I think that we took the dogs on a walk and had a nice leisurely day.  We Facetime'd with many different family members and then I went to bed while the activities and game playing continued with Ann, Andrew, Will, and Sara via Facetime.

To be continued....

Note: Unfortunately, the picture taking was very minimal on my part throughout this trip.  I believe that I was just so focused on the fun that documentation took a back seat, so you will just have to read the continuing saga another day and use you imagination about how amazing this all was.