Journal: December

Out my window: 39. Supposed to get up to 50 today.  The internet tells me that the average high this time of year is 29. Weirdness.  As I mentioned last week, I want snow. Please.

Clothing myself in: Black yoga pants, blue stripey shirt with a green sweater over it.

Around the house: We cleaned and then decked the halls this last weekend.  I miss having a fireplace, there is nowhere to hang the stockings.  And I also just miss having a fire.  In the list of home improvements, I want a wood burning stove. We have perfectly good central heating and air, I just love the feeling of a nice, warm fire.  This isn't really necessary right now and not terribly practical since then we would have to figure out how to keep George away from it. It would be good to also have a non-electricity dependent heat source, as a backup. Someday.

The baby toddler: The second bottom molar is bulging and he is back to waking up pretty early.  Bummer. I do have hope that we will go back to normal wakeups after this one is through. Hopefully.  His new trick is getting up on the desk chair and pounding on the keys. Charming.  If a butt isn't in it, I have had to lock the chair in the laundry room.  The Advent wreath will not be residing on our table during non-dinner time so that he doesn't destroy it.  Whenever we let him loose in the mornings, we go through a checklist of things that must be shut, put away, put up or otherwise out of reach of George.  And we still must be ever vigilant since he always is discovering new things.  This feels ridiculous at times, but I know it won't always be like this.

He has started to hug while patting me on the back, which I always love and think is adorable.  He has also been taking an interest in actually playing with toys, particularly cars/trains and things that roll.

The kiddos: Delle has been less ornery/more whiny again.  I have been working on that with her.  The kids had school off on Friday and it was nice to have them around.  I think we might end up sending Liam next year.  He is doing really well here, but I think he would like more kid interaction.  He has grown so much in knowledge and maturity the last 3 months.

Crafting: Fixed the neckline on the sweater, as it was too loose.  I think I am going to do 3/4 length sleeves.  Need to decide on decreases.  I have been working on the diaper cover I started knitting George last January?  February?  even though we are not currently cloth diapering.  Oh, did I mention we aren't currently cloth diapering?  I made the decision sometime this fall after a particularly harrowing diaper change.  He just would not lay still. He would scream and flail and try to escape and as much as I love cloth diapering (cheap! cute! environment friendly! cheap!) it just wasn't worth the distress that every diaper change would cause both him and me.  It made me think of this:

Which brings us to: parent the child you have, not the child you wish you had.  Perhaps we can get back to cloth diapering at some point. Or better yet, maybe he could potty train early :D

Anyways, I have been working on the diaper cover. I might gift/sell it at some point.

In the kitchen:  Chicken Noodle soup, Beef stew. After 26 dozen cookies last week, I am good on cookie baking for a while.

Bringing me joy: Fresh, cool piney air, George's back pat hugs, Delle singing Jingle Bells, cinnamon scented potpourri, golden hashbrowns made by my favorite guy, painting my girl's toesies, Isaac putting on his "work shirt" and boots every Saturday.

Thinking about: The things I need to do that I have been putting off and that keep me awake at night.  Does anyone else do this or is it just me? Like stuff that is just a moderately big deal, but not huge and not particularly difficult.  Sometimes, I irritate myself with my procrastination.

Picture to share: My cookie making buddy doing some schoolwork while I baked.