April 7, 2009

Tortured

On Sunday we went to our church to have breakfast with the Easter Bunny.  It’s an event that St. Bronislava’s puts on every year and we’ve attended for the last 3 years or so.

Dawson has always been afraid of holiday costumes.  Santa terrified him until last year when he realized it’s just a guy in a suit.  But the Easter Bunny freaks him out.  (Actually, any costume worn by an adult in which Dawson cannot see the person’s face is horrifying to him.)

After we had our pancakes and sausage we stood in line to see the Hoppity Hop, and Dawson started clinging to my leg.  When it was our turn he screamed as though he was being murdered.  The crying ensued and he was gripped so tightly to my shirt that I started to laugh nervously.

Other parents watching this spectacle began to laugh or maybe they were pitying me.

I honestly didn’t believe Dawson would carry on this way.  I figured he’d outgrown his fear, now that he’s the ripe age of 4 1/2.

Boy was I wrong.  Grandma and Auntie Rachel tried to persuade him that it was just a girl in a Halloween costume.  Dawson didn’t buy it.

I told him he shouldn’t be scared, because he is going to be a big brother soon.  He looked at me and said, “I don’t like the bunny and I’m not a big brother yet, so I’m not going over there.”

I should have just let it go, but I wanted the annual photo for the scrapbook, and I was determined to get it.

The photographer snapped the photo of my son, red-faced and crying, clutching to me.  I’m just waiting for my copy to arrive and I’ll post it here.  I’m such a mean mom, forcing my kid to visit the Easter Bunny.

In the meantime, here’s a photo of Auntie Rachel and Grandma with The Scary Bunny:

Notice Dawson is clinging tightly to Rachel’s shirt.

I think I’ve scarred him for life.

January 4, 2009

Dana + Dinner + Drinks + Partying All Night = Really Bad Hangover

Last night Doug and I went to a holiday party at the Red Mill restaurant.  We had a fabulous time.

Dinner was delicious.  We both had the ribeye steak and potato puffs, and I had chicken dumpling soup while he had the tossed salad.  Then we had cheesecake for dessert, too.  I had several cocktails — before, during and after dinner.  One too many cocktails.

(Speaking of the desserts, the waitress told us if we didn’t like cheesecake we could order an ice cream drink instead.  So then I said, “Oh!  Do you have the cricket one?”  And she replied without missing a beat, “No, but we do have the Grasshopper.”  That was totally what I meant.  Cricket, grasshopper — same family, right?)

I started out drinking a glass of Coca-Cola.  Then I decided since I drink maybe once a year I was going to enjoy myself and have a screwdriver.  After two of those, I switched to Malibu and OJ because the vodka was tasting funny.  That could possibly be because I was getting sloshed.

Doug had two Budweisers and then promptly stopped drinking so that he could drive us home, but the friends who hosted the dinner invited us to their house for a glass of wine, or coffee and to hang out.  Because we like these friends, Doug and I agreed.

When we got there, I decided to have soda so that I could sober up.  I thought that I could avoid a hangover that way.  It didn’t work.

While at the after party, Doug got to try a wheat beer that our friend E. offered him.  It was a German beer (I only know this because it had Weisse in the name) and let’s just say it was probably made of river water and rotten cheese because the toxic gas emissions these men were giving off could have killed a village.

We were just getting ready to leave (because my brother was babysitting and we didn’t want him to drive home too late) when S. got me involved in a game of Catch Phrase.  Oh my gosh is that way too much fun.  Imagine six drunk people trying to play a hilarious game, similar to the game Taboo.  Much laughter and cursing were shared.  I had the best time so I promptly purchased the game from Amazon.com today.

Right after I drank three huge glasses of water and swallowed an Excedrin.

Oh the headache.

Now were going to have lunch at the Tempura House.  Nothing cures a hangover like salty Chinese food!

January 1, 2009

Well Then, Happy New Year!

An Apple a Day

New Year’s Day at Grandma’s House

We started the first day of the New Year by going to church.  It’s a holy day of obligation honoring Mary, Mother of God.

Listening to the readings and the Gospel during Mass, I felt great peace fall upon me.  I’ve been going to weekly Mass for as long as I can remember — my parents raised me Catholic and made certain I was reared in the teachings of our faith — but never do I remember feeling so calm.  It’s as though all my worries and troubles have been washed away, not only because it’s a new year, but perhaps because I’m making an effort to start 2009 on the right foot.

After church we went to my parents’ house to visit with my family and watch college football.  Dawson had a blast because Poppa turned into a horse and gave him rides around the living room.  Seeing my father and my son playing and acting silly always puts a smile on my face because I still remember my dad doing the same things with me and my siblings when we were kids.

My mom and I talked about this and that, and I showed her some of the pictures I had taken during the holidays.  Mom asked if I had made any New Year’s resolutions this year (obviously she doesn’t read this blog) and I told her I did not.  She laughed and said she didn’t think she was going to make any, because she can never keep them either.

We left shortly after the Michigan vs. Georgia (Capital One Bowl) game because we had plans for dinner.  At the grocery store last week I picked up some shrimp, a pork tenderloin and some baby red potatoes, and Doug was going to make a delicious meal.  My sister-in-law gave us a great bottle of Cabernet for Christmas and we cracked it open with dinner.  Oooh man, it was some strong vino.  I felt a little tipsy after my first half glass.  It is a delicious wine, though.   I’m hoping it weakens just a little so I can have another glass this weekend.

Tomorrow I go back to the gym.  My doctor has given me the green light to start exercising again (under the condition that I wear the knee brace while working out) and I’m anxious to get back on the treadmill and the elliptical.  I haven’t been to the gym in over two weeks and I miss it.  The swelling in my knee is finally gone and I can fully extend my leg now.  Bending the knee past a 90 degree angle is still tricky, but the doc says yoga and stretching should help.  If it doesn’t, I may need a round of physical therapy.  I signed up for a yoga class this session at the YMCA so cross your fingers I can limber up and avoid PT.

On Saturday night, Doug and I are attending a holiday party and I’m so excited.  I’ve procured a babysitter (thank goodness I have a younger brother who likes to make money) and we intend to have a good time.  The party is at a local restaurant that we love, too.  Since we didn’t go out for New Year’s Eve (we were in bed right after we watched the ball drop at 11:00 our time) we’ve decided to consider Saturday as our NYE celebration.

I still haven’t taken our Christmas tree down.  I’m hoping I’ll find time to do that on Sunday.  Doug asked me when I planned to take it down, and honestly, if I had it my way I’d keep it up a little longer since I put it up so late.  I always feel kind of sad when it’s time to put the tree away, but I suppose that’s because it really is beautiful when it’s lit up and decorated.

Dawson loves to lay down under the tree while he’s watching television.  When I told him the tree was coming down soon he said, “No, no, Mumma!  Wait until the New Year!”

“Dawson, today is the first day of the new year!”  I replied.

“Well then, Happy New Year!” Dawson exclaimed.

Yes, Happy New Year indeed!

December 26, 2008

All Christmas’d Out

I intended to write a post either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, wishing everyone the happiest of holidays, but time got away from me.  I had last minute shopping to do, more presents to wrap and other miscellaneous tasks to complete before the Christmas festivities began so blogging was the last thing on my mind.

We went to Doug’s parents’ house on Christmas Eve, and his sister, brother and their spouses were in attendance, as well as his aunt and uncle and his niece.  Dawson was thrilled to see his cousin Brittney.

We only see Brittney a few times a year, and honestly, the last time we saw her was last Christmas. She’s gotten taller and even more beautiful. She’s going to be nine years old in January and I keep wondering where the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday she was a chubby-cheeked baby. (I’d love to post a photo, but I want to respect her privacy.)

Dawson received some wonderful gifts, too. Grandma T. bought him a set of Lincoln logs, and Dawson was so happy when Uncle Chris helped him build a log cabin.

Aunt Gail and Uncle Rick bought him the most obnoxious guitar on Earth. She instructed Dawson to play it at top volume and I laughed when we discovered the loudest volume was actually tolerable.

“Ha ha! Joke’s on you! That’s as loud as it goes!” I exclaimed happily.

And then Dawson opened the Fisher-Price NASCAR racetrack from Uncle Chris and Aunt Kelly, a battery-operated toy that is so annoying I’m already thinking about hiding it in the basement. The thing is just….obnoxious.  Aunt Gail was more than happy to put together that noisy toy and I think she had fun playing with Dawson, too.

We had lots of great food and drink and everyone had a wonderful time.

Christmas Day was held at my parents’ house. We drove over there a few hours after church, and we had a wonderful ham dinner with my family.

My brother Nathan was there with his girlfriend Becky, and my mom’s brother Paul came over, too.  My mom’s sister Judy stayed home this year because she wasn’t feeling well.

I sent some presents with Uncle Paul, one for him and one for Aunt Judy.  I’m sad she didn’t make it this year.  I think it has a lot to do with her sadness about Grandma Alice’s death.  She died December 6, 2005 and I don’t think Christmas will ever be the same with out her.

After dinner, my family ended up watching some movies on Dad’s big screen TV. We watched The Temptations mini-series on VH1 which turned out to be a four hour show. (It was a good movie, despite how long it was.  I love Motown artists and I’ve always been intrigued about Berry Gordy’s legacy and the musical acts he cultivated — like The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Temptations and so many more.)  The show ended at 10 p.m., and when Doug went outside to start the car it was snowing heavily. Had we known about the mini-blizzard, we’d have left hours before.

The meteorologists predicted a “light dusting” but by the time we were ready to leave we’d already gotten 3 inches of snow and Mother Nature showed no signs of letting up.

My brother Nathan was leaving at the same time we were and the roads were so slippery and full of fluffy white crap that he got sucked into the ditch just past my parents driveway.

Thankfully, we were behind him and stopped to help, and Doug ran to the house to get my brother Frankie, my sister Rachel and my Dad to come help us shovel and push Nathan’s car out of the ditch.

I wasn’t very much help with my bum knee, however. I couldn’t push because I couldn’t find any solid footing, so finally I decided to use a shovel to clear some snow away from the tires.

Unfortunately, after nearly twenty minutes of shoveling, pushing and maneuvering we weren’t able to budge the SUV very much, and we were covered in snow (and my hair was frozen to my head because I didn’t wear a hat that day), so Dad ran back to get his 4-Wheeler and a chain.

Nathan crawled under the car, hooked the chain around the axel, and the rest of us pushed (I steered) while Dad tried to pull the car out. Sweet Lord, it worked! After a few minutes of the push/pull combo, Nate was out of the ditch.

It was Christmas chaos. But the drive home was worse. We got about 4 inches of snow that just came down all at once and caused our windshield wipers to freeze up constantly. Nathan followed behind us (since my parents live in the country) and we kept stopping to clean off the wipers on our cars.

Once we got into town and had the help of street lights, driving conditions were better, but we were still only driving at 20 mph, and that was almost too fast. It really was a miracle that we all made it to our homes safely.

This morning I was so tired from all the insanity and I awoke with a pounding headache. I spent the day lounging around the house and reading blogs. It was actually very relaxing.

Overall I’d say this Christmas was a mix of fun and crazy.

Check out some of my favorite photos from the two days of family togetherness:

I hope your Christmas was as exciting and wonderful as ours! Even though I enjoyed the holiday, I’m ready for 2009.  What are your plans for the New Year?