another one...

mom moment #4

...during my cleaning frenzy this afternoon i stumbled into the dining room. i swept.  i mopped. i dusted. and i looked up and just started laughing...because on this day, january 31st, i realized i still had christmas decorations up.  not only were they up but they were so forgotten about they had no intentions of coming down.  wow.

and just as a sidebar - i am sitting in my clean, quiet house with the windows up. today i feel the hint of spring, tomorrow i gear up for possible snow.  they south is crazy like that.  and i like it.

nnaanneeee

this morning i was playing on the computer and perusing through my usual sites.  i finally made my way over to brooke's blog and before i could even blink i hear addison scream "nnanneeee". we read the posts and adored the pictures of annie and as i was about to make my way to my next cyber stop, addison started crying "no nnanneeee, no josssshhh, nooo maMA".  and so, we hit the back button.  and we stayed - for quite a while.  we said hey to jossshhhh.  we showed annie where her eyes are...and her nose.  and basically addison and i sat, loving (through the internet) on annie.  

mom and her mac

i am a dork.  i know i am.  but aren't all dorks with new macs essentially cool.  i think so. whatever i am, i had fun while playing all afternoon with my ticket to coolness.  i think it has consumed my brain so much in one day that i have had a few insane mom moments...

mom moment #1:  while hitting up the neighborhood zaxby's for our nutritious meal, i ordered, i drove to the window, i greeted the worker, i paid for my meal, and i drove off.  i quickly noticed the aroma of grease and butter was not infiltrating my car.  i then had to partake in my first drive-thru-of-shame.  i think i made that man's day...he gets to go home and tell his family about that "crazy white lady who sho' nuff fogot her suppa". 

mom moment #2: i realized tonight that i have been bathing my child with bubble bath.  for two weeks i have been wondering why in the world this body wash was so bubbly.  oh geez, at least she learned a new word - "bubboos".

mom moment #3:  i found myself looking at myself and thinking "i am a mom.  a real mom.  weird."  yep, that is right whitney, you are indeed a mom, and have been for almost 20 months.  you'd think i would have gotten that realty down pat by now.  

soapbox

i am not one to get on a soapbox about politics. it usually doesn't interest me or it bores me or i just plain don't care. but i do now. maybe it is the charisma that obama has up all entranced by or maybe it is the severity of America's economy that has me all ears, regardless of what it is i am in tune. waiting and watching for him to do his magic. my magic informer these days is the good ole npr. as i was driving in to work this morning in the 29 degree weather with my wool coat on and steaming coffee in my hand, i was astounded to hear that 400 million dollars of the economic stimulus package #256 is slated to find its way in to the hands of NASA for none other than global warming research. are you kidding me. people are losing their jobs - smart, ambitious, highly educated people are losing their jobs. homes are being foreclosed all over america because homeowners can't pay their mortgages the bank told them they could afford. retailers are closing left and right because the last quarter of 2008 proved to be so devastating they have no other option. but our congressmen still believe that global warming is such a major concern that 400 million dollars needs to be spent to correct this natural phenomenon that was created by God called climate change.

i say again, are you kidding me.

well folks, i guess not. last year the CIA got money to research global warming and now NASA gets a shot too. i better start saving up to buy my carbon credits because my daily commute to work (to pay my mortgage) and then to daycare (to repopulate society) has put me so far over my carbon emissions allowance i will never be able to fly to tulsa to see rock star annie ever again. sheesh.

christmas in mccalla

christmas in mccalla is where tradition ceases. for the first time in my life i spent christmas eve without my family. thank goodness i had grandmother otherwise it would have felt completely, utterly wrong. christmas eve involved a range of emotions - from lonely and sad to elated and excited. it was good. but it was different. and it just wasn't the same. we made spaghetti on christmas eve like some small italian family would do. like i said, it wasn't the same.

we did manage to start some traditions i had always planned on for addison. we watched the night before christmas. we snuggled in our christmas jammies. we relished in the excitement of santa. we left out our cookies and milk for st. nick. it was sweet and it was tender. and it was ours and that made it special.

christmas morning was probably more magical for me than for addison. she was kinda of in a daze about it all. i guess that explains the paci - it was her security. in the middle of all the christmas frenzy, i had a big surprise up my sleeve that no one but a select few knew about. i somehow managed to get a wii, wii fit, and all kinds of other wii goodies at a price that would make most of you sick. i somehow managed to get it home, wrapped and hidden without terry even knowing it. i somehow managed to get my neighbors to leave it on our porch christmas morning. i somehow managed to coax terry outside to get the paper. i somehow managed to "act" like i had no idea what was going on. i somehow managed pulled the whole dang thing off...and man was it priceless! we called everyone we knew....first it was tammy and trey, then brenda and anthony, next was dad and jackie and so forth...all the way to carrie and marc. no one fessed up. and it was perfect! we went about 6 days before terry found out. but those 6 days were so much fun!

after the presents were played with and the lunch devoured, we three tingles (and grandma, too) managed to get our act together and set out on the open road for our next stop...christmas in tulsa...

sweet tingle christmas

christmas started off this year with a very quick trip to macon. basically it involved a stop at marjane drive to load up my grandmother, then a stop at the kroger to get gas, and then as always, a detour to pig in a pit for a sandwich. all-in-all, about a 20 minute visit to macon two days before christmas.

finally all back in one piece the three tingles and gi-gi all loaded up the next morning for the tingle family christmas in springville, alabama. it is always sweet to be with this family - my how we have all grown! it can be loud, and it can be crazy, but it is always, always fun! there is bingo (where my grandmother walked away a big winner with lots of goodies), and the kids led us in some carols (where my grandmother joined in the dancing fun), and there were tons and tons of gifts (and again, where my grandmother walked away quite spoiled). i could not seem to stop laughing when loading up our tiny civic we had to make even more room for all her loot. oh man, i love that woman. but moreover, i love the fact that terry's family is so warm, so generous and so special that they made her feel like one of them - like a tingle. precious. absolutely precious.

so much of this christmas season was different except for this day. it remained the same. the same family, the same laughter, the same joy, the same blessings and the same love. it was as sweet, sweet taste to my soul to have this one day where traditions were kept. tony was there with his jokes to make is all laugh and keep us on our toes. tammy made sure we were all joyful with her warming smile and caring heart (and her good dance moves). mimi made sure we were well fed and happy as she sat back and relished in her family - all together once again. papa, as always, played santa and was everyones favorite person for half an hour. like i said, it was sweet. it was tradition. it was a great start to this christmas adventure!

merry merry

we are finally settling down from a crazy busy christmas, but i just wanted to say...

merry, merry christmas from the tingles!