december 1

so i know i'm a day late for this title, but it is what it is.

first, a couple of frustrations:
1-why is it that coming home from vacation or time away makes it seem impossible to get back into the old schedule? for example: i have still not unpacked any bags, have not done any dishes (until just now), have not done any laundry, and have not made any beds. what have i done? perhaps eaten a box of oreos and milk, read a 500+ page piece of fiction and may or may not be starting the next one, watched too many teenage soap operas (just to catch up), and have tried sleeping as much as i can. which brings me to my next frustration...
2-why has my daughter reached that most annoying of annoyances - i am referring to the food power struggle. she has decided to skip all but 2 or 3 bites of dinner for the past couple of weeks and rises way before the sun does crying of hunger. like i want to go back to nighttime feedings with this one? because of that, the last few mornings she has received a baggie of goldfish - the breakfast of champions. this morning i gave in and fixed her a bowl of oatmeal ... selfishly of course, and it paid off. she woke up around 11am. i think she would eat all of her breakfast, lunch, and dinner if it consisted of 'mac&cheese'. but i'm not about to start giving her whatever she wants to eat because i refuse to play this game for much longer. she needs to learn to eat what we're eating, right? ok, frustrations over.

thank you.

on to december 1.

i know kate is still quite young on the "let's get into christmas!" thing, but i figured she may be building memories right now for all i know. anyway, what i do know is that it makes it funner for all of us. yesterday i made this adorable advent calendar found here. the best part is that it involves no chocolate (the best part? you ask? yes, it means one less thing i consume this time of year) but a fun activity to do each day. december 1's (yesterday's) activity was: make a paper chain.we hung it in kate's room last night before bed and she got to rip the first chain off. even if she doesn't remember doing these things, she is loving it right now. the expressions and sounds she makes everytime we do something this christmas season and the wonder on her face - she's loving it. so we're loving it.

here's to the next 23 days!!!