The other day, when I picked up Chewlee, her main teacher stopped me to tell me about a new problem they had with Chewlee.  Oh, not a bad one.  But....well, unusual for her.  Chewlee hates to stop playing to go to the bathroom, especially if : A) She is having fun, or B) they are outside on the playground.  That's when she is happy she has pullups on but she will tell the teacher she needs a new one when she is done.  However.....the other day she was playing and the teacher noticed that the pullups were looking kind of full so she pulled Chewlee aside, checked and told her that her pullups needed changing.  Chewlee was upset that she was stopped from playing.  It got worse because the teacher made her lay down to remove her pants because......the pullups she had on could be torn on the side to be removed BUT...since they weren't the type that had the velcro fastenings on the side, she had to be undressed to put on a fresh pair.

She pitched a fit because the kids all come over to view what's going on and Chewlee covered her nether parts with her hands and yelled at everyone, including the teacher because she had to have a naked bottom to put on her pullups.  I could only imagine how disruptive that all was and upsetting to Chewlee since she never seemed to mind this before.  I promised the teacher to tell her mother and that I would bring some of the velcro type pullups with me when I brought her back.  That is what I did this morning.  I gave some to her mother when she took Chewlee in and told her to be sure to tell the teacher that they had the right closure this time.  The Princess said she would have to get some for her this weekend since Chewlee was out of them at school anyway.

But, this whole event really set me thinking about modesty.  Just when does it start in most kids?  Is there some event that happens that makes them start to realize that naked in public is just not the thing to be...not even ALMOST naked.  My youngest son (and the baby of the family) was born modest, I swear.  From a very early age, he was always aware when he was naked.  He didn't like others to see him and it wasn't because he lacked anything, trust me on that.  I remember an incident when he was just about Chewlee's age that just highlights the extremes he would go to even.

We were living in a one and a half bath house.  That means only one bathroom had a tub and shower.  The other was basically just a toilet and small sink that was located near the family room in the raised ranch that we were renting.   I had filled the bathtub for him to take his nightly bath before bedtime.  He wanted to take his bath by himself by that time so the door would be closed and *mom* wasn't hanging around.  However, this night I needed to get into the medicine cabinet for some reason and I told him to unlock the door so I could get in there for a second.  I heard him get out of the tub and it was like forever before he opened the door.  He had completely re-dressed himself before he would unlock the door so I wouldn't see him naked. 

Chewlee, on the other hand, wants the door OPEN so that she can just yell for someone if she needs something OR she will tell me (or Sheepie, when she's here) to sit down on the toilet seat while she bathes.  She has, however, in recent days, insisted on going to the potty by herself and will almost close the door for privacy.  I no longer leave the toilet paper hanging for her to *help herself* since she plugged up the toilet one day (with half a roll ) but take some off the roll and tell her to yell if she needs more when she's done.  Problem solved with THAT, anyway. 

The toilet raising up like it did scared the hell out of her and it was a couple weeks before she would even pee on the toilet.  She didn't understand that it was all the paper that did it and the toilet wasn't *out to get her*.    I guess I should have seen that she WAS starting to become modest, at least about bathroom procedures. 

Chewlee has a tent in her bedroom.  I'm sure you've seen some of the ones that they have been selling.  It's really cute and has the look of a two-room one.  It's not tall enough to stand in but two kids can play in it or sleep in sleeping bags in it.  I laughed at the zipper along the top of it about mid-point so mommy or daddy can check on anyone inside it.  At least now I understand what she meant when she was telling me about Bailey getting into her tent.  It made her mad, I know, because she doesn't really trust Bailey not to poop in the house yet.  Bailey is the dog they have if you don't remember.  It's a seven month old malamute and it's potty trained (so to speak) and doesn't have *accidents* any more.  But Chewlee isn't convinced of that just yet.

Chewlee ate some dinner with me tonight.  She ate mostly french fries and tried a little of the cole slaw that came with the shrimp dinner the Beast decided to buy for us as a treat.  I really think he bought it because he didn't want the smell of fish in the house today.  He had kind of a bad start to the day and spent most of the morning in bed.  She would't touch the shrimp for some reason but did try eating a hush puppy.  She took a bite and after she chewed it, she told me she wasn't sure she liked the *ball food*.  She put it down and never did finish it.  When Johnnycakes came to pick her up, she was reluctant to leave the TV since Fresh Beat Band was on and she really likes that program.  But we finally got her out the door so they could go pick up the Princess from work.

The Beast is so used to all the packages of things he orders coming via UPS that he really screwed up today.  We got three boxes of various sizes that came and he opened one of them only to discover it was something for the Princess.  I don't even know what it was but his face was a study in puzzlement when he tried to figure out why it contained something he knew he hadn't ordered.  That is when he finally looked at the label and discovered it wasn't one for him. 

It was actually in the 50's today.    But the sky was overcast since they say it's going to rain sometime today.  I DID get a few sprinkles on my windshield after dropping the Princess at work this morning but then...nothing.  Now they say we should be getting a storm front moving in later tonight.  But it's still 52 degrees here at 10pm, low in the mid-40's they say and then up into the high 50's tomorrow.  Sheepie is ecstatic since she wants to be able to wear her shorts on Saturday for some reason.  I have no idea what she and Teach have planned but I guess it's something outdoors if the weather is nice.  He's taking her out to dinner for New Year's Eve she told me.  I'm just happy that we will have some decent weather for *amateur night*.    The Beast and I haven't gone out on New Year's in many years now.  Too many drunks on the road.  If it's not a party we can walk to, we stay at home.  It's safer and we can drink ourselves silly if we wanted.  However, the Beast is usually in bed and it's Sis and I wishing each other a Happy New Year on our IM's. 

Love you all and, remember, if you are going out for New Year's, please have a designated driver if you plan on drinking.  Stay safe, warm and be happy. 

I got my delivery of several *trees* from the Arbor Foundation today.  I'm all for planting trees and more trees to try to help with all the lost trees in the Amazon from jungle clearing.  I don't know if it can really help but it sure can't hurt.  Trees help clean the air and, lord knows, we sure need it in some areas.  I'm grateful that we don't have bad air here where we live.  The air is clean and fresh.  Well, until the farmers around us start fertilizing their fields.  They use steer manure to those of you that understand the difference in both fragrance and duration of it sticking around. 

The trees were supposed to be delivered at the proper time for planting.  Since it's the dead of winter, it made me wonder but they are basically sticks with long roots on them.  The Beast said he would do it once we unraveled the puzzle of which stick was which tree.  They are color-coded with a paint on them so puzzle solved.  I really didn't order any trees.  God knows, we have enough around here with all that the Beast has planted but...one is a crabapple, which tickled him.  The others are flowering or colorful trees and I will enjoy those...in five or six years perhaps.  That's if they survive.  I can envision the Beast mowing the sticks down unless I find something that I can tie to them to call his attention to them.  I'm sure we have something around here.

Chewlee was in a great mood when I picked her up.  Happy and exuberant without bouncing off walls, if you know what I mean.  She was enthralled with this one flock of birds that must have had a thousand or more.  I have no idea what kind they were since they were up awfully high but it was mind-blowing to see that many together at one time.  Because she kept watching for other birds, she noticed the clouds and she suddenly yelled out, *Look, Gramma.  Look at the clouds.  See?  A dragon!  and a rabbit!*  She pointed towards where she saw the shapes and I could see them, too.  But, I thought it was amazing that she could envision such things in the clouds.  She kept watch and called out when she saw a shape and was sad when she couldn't see them any more.  It was so windy up there that it was blowing all the clouds into thin wisps by the time we got home.

She also told me that she didn't see the *Christmas house* as she called it and, when I told her that Christmas was over so lots of people take down all the lights and decorations and put them away until next year.  She looked at me and said, *That makes me sad, Gramma.  I like Christmas houses.  They look soooooo pretty!*

When we got to the house, she ordered me to shut my car door but NOT with her inside it.  I told her I had never done that to her so why would I start doing it now.  That's when she told me that her mommy shut the door on her.  Since I know that she sits in a very secure car seat in her mother's car, I told her that it was because mommy had to come around to her door to get her out of her chair.  She told me she wanted to go out *mommy's door* and I just said to her, *Oh well!  That's going to have to wait for a while.*  I stopped telling her that it would have to wait until she gets bigger, she gets mad and tells me that she IS bigger.  I just say, * Yes, but not big enough.*

She was playing with one of the stuffed animals or her doll here and she was telling it why she was giving them a *time out*.  She had the light on in the bedroom but turned it off as she closed the door.  She hadn't taken more than two steps when she whirled around, went back in, turned on the light and told the *baby* that she would leave the light on IF they were good.  I couldn't help but laugh.  She came into my computer room with a mad face on and yelled at me for laughing.  I guess she thought I would encourage the baby to be bad if I laughed.

I gave her a play computer last Christmas and it's also a learning toy.  It has several different modes (game, music, numbers, alphabet and one other I can't remember right now).  She decided that *I* needed to learn to play music on her computer so she brought it over, put it in my lap and started to instruct me on how I made music.  When I played it, she would clench her little fists by her side, look disgusted and come back to show me....AGAIN!....how she wanted me to play the musical notes.  It took me a couple times before she was finally satisfied but then, when I went independent, she ordered me to give her back her computer.  When I passed it over to her, she started to play her notes then slammed it shut and put it away.  She then shook her finger at me and told me I was NOT to touch it.

When  Johnnycakes came to pick her up, she was still watching The Fresh Beat Band on TV.  Every time she leaves and is watching one of *her* programs, she insists that I have to change the channel.  I am not allowed to watch the programs if she is not here.  The Princess told me she does it at home, too, when she has to go to bed or take a nap.  I have no idea where she got THAT from!     We don't do it when WE leave the house and the TV is on.  I can't imagine telling the Beast to change the channel because I was leaving.  He would think I had lost my mind.

It actually got up to 46 degrees today.    All the snow and ice is completely gone.  That made Baron happy since the deck had a lot of icy mess on it and he would slip and slide out there when he  tried to run around the table to bark at something only he saw or heard.  Maybe we will actually get into the 60's by the weekend.  Sheepie said, *Oh good!  I can wear my shorts then!*    She was NOT kidding.

Just a couple more days and Sheepie will be going home.  *Sigh*  Chewlee will miss her but it WILL be nice to be able to shower in the morning or late at night.  I swear, she runs out all the hot water from our 40 gallon tank and then it takes hours to heat up fully because the water going in is so damn cold.  The Beast can't even up the thermostat on it because of the box he built around it to help insulate it during the winter.  It's got the insulating blanket over it plus it's UP off the floor and is all boxed in.  I don't get the purpose of THAT but it does give me a nice *shelf* that I didn't have before. 

Love you all.  Hope you have a great day and good weather. 

I had to get up early so I could drive the Princess to work and take Chewlee to preschool.  She was very unhappy at first.  She tried to get me to take her to my house instead of school.  She brightened up when she found out I was also going to pick her up from school and bring her to my house afterward.  Johnnycakes picked up the Princess after work and they both came here to get Chewlee.

Chewlee was funny when we got here.  You would have thought she hadn't been here in weeks instead of just a couple days.  She came in, tossed her coat on the counter (yeah, surprised me, too) and, when we walked into my room, she looked around and said, *What a beautiful house!*  I said, *You've seen my house before, Chewlee.*  She just sat down on the packing box I had sitting by my desk and said, *Yes, but I never told you I thought you had a beautiful house, did I?*

That kind of threw me for a loop but I told her that I was very happy that she liked my house.  Then, she said, *It's MY house, too, isn't it, Gramma?*  I hugged her and told her there was always a place for her here at my house.  She then announced to me that Sheepie could share HER room any time she came to visit.  That's typical of Chewlee to lay claim to anything she feels she likes.  She wasn't happy originally that Sheepie was sleeping in HER room here but then decided that she could share.  She told me that it was *nice to share, right?* 

I made some split pea soup and ham today.  Even Chewlee knew the smell when she came into the house after I picked her up.  She had to be lifted up to see it but told me she didn't really want any but I could save her some.  I told her I would.  I really think she wasn't sure about the soup because it really wasn't ready for eating when she saw it.  She isn't used to those peas being in it (so that you can see them);  to her, split pea soup is creamy and just has some ham and celery in it.  She has never noticed there are also onion pieces and I don't bring that up.  When she manages to see the small chopped pieces of onion, she always identifies it as celery.  That's fine with me because she really hasn't decided that she likes onion yet.  What she doesn't know won't hurt her in this case.

I was packing up some of the Christmas stuff and Chewlee wanted me to plug in the electric Christmas tree that I usually put in the window.  She likes the blinking candle lights on it and the colors are bright and cheerful.  I was just getting ready to pack that up but I went ahead and lit it up for her.  She liked the idea that it was just for her and me, sitting there on my table in my computer room.  She kept going over to it and touching the different lights and telling me the color of them all.

I had to call the insurance company today to let them know where the car was located so the adjuster could go there and give us a check for the *guesstimated* repairs.  Then we can get it over to the dealer where it is usually repaired.  I'm just hoping that we get it back quickly because this getting up early to drive the Princess to work is going to kill me.  I had to push myself as it was.  I am NOT a morning person and today I didn't even get my usual nap due to cooking and packing things away.

I did finally lay back in my recliner and I finally fell asleep for a bit.  That's why this is late being posted.  Forgive me.  Love you all and I hope you have a great *hump day* (Wednesday).  Soon we will be celebrating a New Year, each in our own traditional way.  I am wishing a wonderful year for everyone.  Full of happy times, good health and good fortune.  I hope your weather is good also.  Although our nights are cold, our days are slowly warming up.  It should be in the 60's they say by this weekend.   

I won't say I am surprised that the Beast has become his father.  After all, what other figure had so much influence on his life?  With his truly strange family, he didn't have any other role model so he has no clue that his actions could be the totally wrong way to handle things.  He's going to end up like his father....dying hated and friendless.  Except for Baron, of course.  The dog will mourn his passing.

I'll tell you why I say this.  I told you about the Princess having an accident on Christmas Day.  Today I got to see both the car and the place where the accident happened.  I know what happened.  She was driving and hit a patch of ice that started her car spinning.  She hit the brakes, trying to stop the spinning and it was exactly the wrong thing to do.  While she spun the wheel in the opposite direction of her spin in the natural attempt to straighten out, it only exacerbated the problem.  She slid sideways into an old telephone pole and it is leaning over.

The door of the car will need to be replaced.  Not because it's all bashed in like Johnnycakes led us to believe but because of the way it hit while spinning.  It pushed it into the framing and over so that the door can't be opened.  The frame around the door will need straightening and the door and window replaced.  Other than that, it's not bad.  At least, I think the door will need replacing.  We will have to wait and see what the body shop says.  They've gotten a lot of business out of that car, that's for sure.

Although the Beast had calmed down today, when he heard the car was towed, he went ballistic.  The car is drivable but there was no one to drive it so the cops had it towed.  Johnnycakes wasn't there; he was at home with Chewlee.  When Johnnycakes got to the scene, he had Chewlee in the car with him and when the Princess was taken to the hospital, he dropped Chewlee off at his mother's house and went to the hospital to be with the Princess.  The Beast was worried about what the insurance company would do since it wasn't here at the house.  I told him they knew it had been towed because the Princess was injured and unable to drive it home.  He's afraid they are going to cancel the insurance.  I told him if they do, the Princess will just have to call the General and get a quote.    I'm sure you've seen the commercials.  This is the first accident the Princess has had that was her fault and even the insurance company told her that.  But, the Beast was both nasty and cruel in how he talked to her.  He was screaming at her and telling her how stupid she was.

She called me, crying her heart out and just said, *I hate him.  I don't want anything to do with him any more.*  I told her to calm down.  She always knew he was an asshole but she said he had never been like that to her.  That's true.  Now she knows how he can make the rest of us feel.  There's nothing you can say or do that he won't react like an idiot about.  He knows nothing but yelling and screaming and name calling.  Just like his dad treated HIM.  You would think that, because of the way it made him feel, he would not want to be the same way.  However, he will tell you that he really believed the things his father said of him.  I think that's pathetic and shows low esteem.  Lord knows *I* didn't expect that.  I sure never believed that crap when my mother was at her worst.  I knew myself better and didn't swallow it hook, line and sinker.

It hurts me that he is like that to people I love and cherish.  If he had been any other kind of person, he would have realized the Princess doesn't know how to handle snow and ice or how to get out of a spin.  He should have offered to teach her the next opportunity he had to do so.  Of course, the Princess is known to have a lead foot.  She swore she wasn't speeding (and she probably was only doing the speed limit BUT...it was too fast for weather conditions).  I just hope that she has learned a valuable lesson and she learns to creep along like the rest of us poor souls do on snow and ice.    She claims she is never going to drive on snow ever again but that's just not possible.  She will and she will, I'm sure, be much more cautious the next time.

In the meantime, I will be picking her up tomorrow to get her to work and dropping Chewlee off at school, too, I'm sure.  I don't think Johnnycakes can do that with the time he has to be at work.  Johnnycakes can pick her up from work.  I told her this won't last.  I am not a morning person.  The Beast finally realized that she has no way to work but, so far, he hasn't volunteered the truck to her like before.  I really want it to be his idea because I know the Princess doesn't want to talk to him at all.  He has done nothing but scream at her every time he talks to her.  She is in a lot of pain and doesn't need to be abused any more.

Oh no!  I went and put my copy of THE STAND into the DVD player and something is seriously wrong.  It won't play.  I found part of the inner disk has separated (the center part of it) but, other than that, I have no idea what could be wrong.  I found no cracks anywhere.  Since I just paid a small fortune for it a few months back, I am horrified.  It is no longer being made up so the price has skyrocketed.  I just can't afford to buy another one. Color me heartbroken here.  It happens to be my favorite movie of all time.  I loved the book, too.  It was the first book of Stephen King's I ever read and it riveted me right from the start.  When they made it into a movie, I was not disappointed.  But it looks like I am doomed now. 

More snow today.  Not coming down as hard, however, but it was COLD outside.  A few degrees colder than yesterday.  No change in the forecast for a few days so it won't be fun driving around.  The Princess has to go into the courthouse tomorrow to submit her proof of insurance (and get the ticket she got cancelled) and then go see what her car looks like.  She really doesn't remember.   So guess who is driving?  Me, of course.  She's not up to hearing more crap from the Beast.  He doesn't know when to let up.

So, today was just kind of a big letdown.  All the presents are gone.  I've already started putting up some of the decorations.  It will be a while, even after they are packed up and ready, before they get put up in the attic.  It's a job both the Beast and I hate just because of the ladder being so narrow and steep.  I guess there wasn't much they could do about it because of the height from up there to the garage floor.  Another one of the bad things about having a house with a crawl space.

Bratfink reminded me that I really didn't talk about all my presents, just the ones from Tara so here goes.  I got a wonderful foot massager from the Princess and Johnnycakes.  It can sit under my desk while I use it.  It's small and compact with rollers to really make your feet feel great. 

From the Beast (ahem...so to speak...) I got a new bedspread and shams.  I ordered the valance to match but that was back ordered so I won't get that for two weeks.  I also got a new bedspread and shams for the guest room.  It's a pretty wine color so it brings some color into the room.  It looks great and it's not so *feminine* looking for our male guests.     It may not tweak your buttons but it makes me happy.  That way no crabbing from the Beast over the bill.  I'm nothing if not smart. 

Since Bratfink closed down Bratland, that hasn't helped my depression either.  I miss reading about things that go on in her daily life.  Even though some of it seems trite, it's different from my daily trivia.  And, during the winter when you are pretty much forced to stay indoors as an ...ahem...older person, that can help you with a smile or two you might not have had on your face otherwise.  It's also how I kind of knew what was going on with her health and that matters to me.  I know she's in pain most of the time and that bothers me a lot.  I know how that can drag you down.   At least I can talk to her online every day when she signs on.  

It really hasn't been a great year for many people, has it?  The high point here is that my son, Markus Aurelius, finally bought a house.  Hurrah!  It was something they were working hard to achieve.  Now, if he gets his rebate from the government for first time home buyers, he will be in great shape with his new promotion at work.  I'm hoping they manage to get a decent vehicle so we don't always have to be the ones that make the trip up there if we want to see them (or are healthy enough for the trip...LOL).  It's not like it's really all that far.  But my DIL has cats and the dog isn't really welcome there.  It makes more sense for them to come down here to visit us since the cats pretty much don't have to be taken care of like a dog.  They don't have dog litter boxes.   

I didn't do much of anything today since I felt a little sick to my stomach.  I really think it was just the let-down.  All the planning, present buying, wrapping, etc. and then...in just a few hours....it's over.  oh well, c'est la vie! 

Love you all.  It's almost the New Year and we should pray that it is a better one for us all.  Oh, and put in a little prayer for no more snow for us while you are at it. 

You have no idea how shocked I was to wake up to snow.  And I mean SNOW!  When I got up at 8:30am, there already was an inch of snow on the ground.    I know!  That's about the total of snow we get here for the whole winter!  AND....it was still snowing fairly hard.  It continued until almost 3pm.  By that time, we had about 2-1/2 inches and Lord only knows how many accidents there were.

The Princess had an accident while she was heading over here to bring a few things.  She called me right about the time the cops showed up.  She was shaken badly, scared and crying.  She has never driven in any weather resembling what we had and doesn't really know how to drive in it.  She hit a patch of ice under the snow, spun out and hit a power pole...on the opposite side of the road from the direction she was driving.  Johnnycakes told me the cop told her that the first thing she said to him was *I am from Florida and I don't know how to drive in this kind of weather!*

She hit the power pole and it broke in half!  Her drivers side door took the brunt of the force and her window broke, spraying glass all over.  Johnnycakes said the only thing holding up the top part of the power pole is the power lines.    She said she wasn't driving fast, just the speed limit but that is 35 mph on the stretch of road she was on.  However, that was too fast for the condition of the road obviously.  Johnnycakes took her to the hospital since she was complaining about her neck hurting.  After being there for over three hours, she found out that nothing was broken and she walked away with three prescriptions.  Two are for relaxing the muscles and one is for inflammation.  After they stopped to get them filled, she took one of them and it almost knocked her out.  That would be easy since she really doesn't have any bad habits and isn't used to any kind of drugs.

The Beast was a real asshole, no other word for it.  Her car has had to be repaired three times already so, of course, it's because she is a bad driver.  In truth, she was hit twice by other drivers (one got a ticket, the other was a cop that hit her as she was going to leave the parking lot for her job).  The third reason was tornado damage, if you remember from my blog back then.  Today was actually the first one that was HER fault and, yet, you can't fault her because she has never lived anywhere except Florida until she moved here two years ago.  Like I said, this weather is extremely unusual for us.

The rest of the day was actually fairly normal for a Holiday.  Sheepie and I were kept busy trying to get everything ready for dinner and I finished cleaning up my computer room, too.  I was dying for a nap but there wasn't time to spare.  We also swapped bedspreads in Sheepie's room and she put up different curtains, too.  When I found out that the Princess had been in an accident and then was at the hospital waiting to be seen, I slowed down dinner so that we could all eat together. 

I think the Princess was very brave to come over after the hospital because she knew the Beast was going to be angry but he was also cruel about proclaiming ALL the accidents HER fault.  That was untrue and unfair of him.  I was so angry but didn't want to start a fight with everyone there.  I DID tell him not to forget that one incident was because of a tornado and the other two people ran into HER while she was STOPPED.  But, it didn't matter to him and he continued his nasty tirade.  She was crying into Johnnycakes shoulder in the kitchen and then went into Sheepie's room with her until she was more composed.  She then ignored him almost entirely the rest of the time they were here.

Other than that, the rest of us enjoyed our dinner and the day.  We waited until after dinner to exchange gifts.  Chewlee kept trying to get me to let her open the gifts for everyone.  She really just wanted hers but she was willing to go ahead and see everyone's gifts since we were *busy*.  When it was finally time, I made her give everyone their presents so she wouldn't be a pain.  She liked doing it and happily proclaimed that this gift was for...whomever.  She finally said to me, a bit exasperated, *I want MY presents, Gramma.* so I gave her one of them.  The first was clothes and she picked up one outfit and showed it to her mom, then dropped the box on the floor and wanted another one.  I gave her the baby doll one I had bought for her and she was just ecstatic over that.  It was cute how she tore open the paper and proclaimed, *A BABY DOLL!*  She opened the next gift from us and yelled out to her mother, *Mommy, look!  Dora pajamas.  I have a Dora top!*  Her last box had two very soft outfits that she had to feel, put to her face and show her mother.  One outfit was pink, the other red and white.  Then, since that was her last box, all she wanted was for me to get the baby doll out of the box for her.

Tara gave me a bunch of really cute things to use for next Christmas.  There are a couple serving trays, serving bowls, an oven mitt and some hot pads plus a couple Holiday dish towels.  She said that since I always have Christmas dinner, she thought I would enjoy having the Christmas-y dishes.  I do and she will see them used next Christmas for sure!  She gave the Beast a big box of chocolate candies, an instant hit with him.  He's difficult to buy for anyway.  The jacket I got for Tara she was glad to have since the one she wore here was actually too light for the weather.  She wore mine home. 

I think the surprise for me was Johnnycakes.  He seemed most grateful for the sweat pants since he said he had the Crimson Tide (the Alabama football team) sweatshirt but no matching sweat pants.  The hoodie jacket I got for him was what I really went for and those were more an afterthought because he goes to the gym almost every day.  In this cold weather, I figured he might actually be glad to have them.  Well, he was so there ya go! 

The Princess liked the tops I bought for her but she was kind of non-committal on the necklace and earring set.  Since that was the real gift I had ordered for her and I got it a couple months back, all I could think of was she was really groggy when she opened it so I hope she likes it better when she feels better.  It's really beautiful.

Tara's boys liked their cash present and it went right into their pockets after they opened their cards.  The blocks I got for Chance, he really loved.  He has some at home but, like Tara said, there's not really enough to actually build anything so having this set will give him plenty and he might actually feel like he can build *stuff*.  Tara was most grateful for the pajamas and the footies I got for him since I gather he's outgrown just about all the ones he has.  I always worry about little ones being cold so those are an easy gift for me to give.  Show me a rack of reasonably priced pajamas and I am a fool for them! 

I gave the Beast some socks since I want to throw out the ones with stretched out tops on them.  He already is using his BIG present from me....his new GPS.  When Chewlee handed him the presents from Sheepie, the Beast said, *Hmmm...wonder what these are???*  Then he said, *I feel like the Viking kid on that commercial, sitting in Santa's lap saying, *Oh, I wonder what this can be?*  I hope you've seen it or you won't appreciate the humor in that statement.  But, he did like his picture frames and I am hoping he actually uses them.

Dinner came out great!  The best thing was Johnnycakes afterward.  He not only helped clear the table but he also got all the leftovers in the fridge for me.  He said he *cleared out the fridge* and put all the food away.  I really thought he was kidding, at first.  But, after I finally got to lay back in my recliner and take a short nap, I found out it was true!  Imagine MY surprise.  But I was infinitely grateful.  Now it's just a matter of a couple loads in the dishwasher and get everything put away.  That should be short work, all-in-all. 

OMG...Chewlee ate jumping beans for breakfast, I'm sure of it no matter what the Princess said.  She was so excited that she was bouncing all over the place and then....she forgot and did a couple bad things so that Gramma had to put her in a time out.  I told her that Santa wasn't going to be very happy with her and she got much better.....not perfect but better.

I tried to keep her corralled and away from everyone else.  Sheepie was trying to do her wash and clean up her room, the Beast was just trying to give me a hand although I emptied the dishwasher and put things away, not once but twice.    I folded up a bunch of towels and got the nice Holiday towels ready to hang up tomorrow after everyone is done taking their showers.  I desperately wanted to get some gifts wrapped but not with Chewlee here.  She would have been claiming most of it as her own.  I couldn't even wrap gifts for other people anyway because they were so intermingled in the big bags I used here that she would have seen hers.  So, I waited patiently for the Princess to get here while running out into the kitchen, Chewlee following like a shadow, to try to get a few things done.  I had stuff tget out of the fridge because Sheepie and I will be making up hors d'oerves later.  We can make them up tonight and they just have to be sliced and put out tomorrow.

The Princess brought over some queso dip for tomorrow.  I guess she made up a big crock pot of it for work and she dropped off what was left for us to finish up tomorrow.  It's really good and so simple to make.  Just brown some ground beef, drain,add some cubed Velveeta cheese and melt then add some Rotell chopped tomatoes and green chilies.  Use whatever degree of hotness you prefer.  Keep warm (she used her crock pot) and serve with corn tortilla chips.  Delicious.

I made up my bed with fresh linens and put the new bedspread on it for tomorrow.  I turned it down so Baron won't be sleeping on it tonight when he sneaks on my bed after we are soundly sleeping.  I'm going to make up the green bean casserole so that all we have to do is pop it in the oven tomorrow.  The less we have to fuss with then, the better.  That's part of the reason I am so damn tired.  I keep thinking of this or that needing to be done or gotten ready and I am rushing hither, thither and yon.  We didn't make cookies since we have so many nut cups made up (oh so good!) but Sheepie made up a couple loaves of pumpkin bread again.  This time we kept the Beast away from them until they were cooled off.  He wasn't allowed near the stove or the pumpkin breads.  Of course, once cooled off, he couldn't WAIT to grab a piece. 

Sheepie and I spent the evening working on making nut cups once Chewlee had gone home with the Princess.  Sheepie dragged Teach into the mix and made him work on the dough for the cups along with her.  It was kind of funny to watch.  Then they both started into making up the crust base in the little muffin pan I use.  Sheepie had not seen a silicone one before and she kind of got a kick out of it.  She's anxious to see how easily the cups will come out after they cool.

The neat part of this all is the house smells wonderful.  There is nothing that makes you feel both hungry and happy like baking stuff for Christmas.  I think I will probably even pull down my cookie shooter and make up some cookies tomorrow.  That's something both Chewlee and Sheepie should get a kick out of.  Chewlee can help decorate them.  I have both red and green sugars and I may even have some chocolate sprinkles left.  I have to run up to Walmart tomorrow anyway so I can always pick up more while Sheepie experiments with the different shapes.  I can then spend time getting things ready for cooking on Saturday.  There's lots I can make up ahead of time and get ready.  Shoot...some stuff I can cook and just heat up or add final touches to before serving.  We shall see.

I did find out...albeit late in the day....that the preschool is closed tomorrow.    That means that we will have Chewlee here all day long.  **Sigh**  It means Christmas present wrapping won't get finished until after she leaves for home.  There was a lot I had planned to do that I won't be able to now.  The Princess gave me a lame...**I thought you read the notice....**  Hell, if they don't send something home on a day that I pick up Chewlee, I have no way of knowing those things.  I don't read all the stuff they have on the walls because there's loads of it sometimes and it's not always about schedules.  Oh well. 

Sheepie got texted by Teach's sister and they had to go run up to Walmart to pick up some feminine need stuff there for her.  She didn't want to text her brother to get it for her.    I laughed because I would probably have done the same thing under the circumstances.

Well, the first batches of nut cups were so-so.  I should have watched them closer because they tried to make the crusts a bit too thin on the bottom and they overfilled the cups.  I also turned up my oven just a bit because it isn't holding the correct temperature.  If you set it to 350, the temperature is actually showing up at 343.  Luckily, I can set it to correct that since the oven setting is digital.  Gotta love that!

I finally admitted that I had to finish up my gift shopping AND do the shopping for Christmas Day dinner.  So, slightly before noon, Sheepie and I headed out, along with my list, to tackle it.  Finding a parking spot was the first problem.  I try to keep my car parked in one of the rows that are straight out the door.  Especially with some many cars that look just like ours.  There are times I wish I had a bright red car instead of a silvery beige but I do have this blue flip flop, that WAS a deodorizer for the car, hanging from the rear view mirror.  If there are several Toyota Corollas parked in the general vicinity of my car, it's a fast identifier.

We grabbed a cart and started our shopping.  Well, MY shopping.  First, I had to take a walk up and down the toy aisles (of course) where I found a couple things for Chewlee and for Chance, Tara's little one.  I really think Christmas is most fun for me watching the little ones open gifts.  Which is why I bought more for them than anyone else.  I found a really great gift for Johnnycakes and I got the Princess something practical plus something pretty that can't be considered practical.    I just liked it.  Sheepie got some picture frames for the Beast since he has a couple pictures made up but not displayed because of no frames for them.  The ones he likes can be difficult to find at times even though (or perhaps because) they are really not expensive.  The only two I haven't bought for yet are Sheepie and Tara.  But I have a good idea of what I am going to get them both and where I will get them at.  I'll do that tomorrow (or, rather, today....Thursday). 

I got all the fixings for the things I am making for Christmas.  We (Sheepie and I) decided we would make some of my nut cups for one of the desserts so we plan on doing that tomorrow night.  She is going to make her boyfriend, Teach, come and help put up some outside lights tomorrow, too.  I bought some more (oh yeah, the Beast will be just thrilled!) today.  I also bought some pretty purple snowflakes for the little lilac tree.

My new bedspread and shams came today although the valance to match won't come until after the first of the year.  I also got the new bedspread for the guest room and the curtains I have been dying for that are for this room.  They are hanging up as we speak.  **Grin**  I still have to dry the new guest room bedspread but my new one is washed and dried.  That will be put on my bed tomorrow so I can check and make sure it doesn't need any *fixing*.  By that, I mean I want to make sure it's not too wide.  It really looks HUGE to me but it IS supposed to go from floor to floor.  I'll let you know.

When I showed it to the Beast, he really liked it.  That kind of surprised me but you just never know.  When I told him I had to wash it first, he looked at the size of it and said to me, *Wash it WHERE???*  I laughed and told him it looked much bigger than he thought it was because of the sizing in it and how it is pressed.  It DID fit in my washer and the dryer is bigger.  It fluffed it up a bit but you can tell it wasn't cramped in there.  No wrinkles.

When we were done at Walmart, Sheepie came up with the bright idea of picking up some pizzas at Cici's since they have that 3 one topping pizzas for $9.99.  I'm not crazy about their pizzas but I figured what the heck.  It's right in the same shopping center and it doesn't take long to make them for take out.  Sheepie wanted to be dropped off at Rue 21 while I went over to Cici's and put our order in.  She said she just wanted to pick up one item (she lied...she got two!) so I dropped her off.  While I waited, I watched the restaurant fill up with families and realized it was doing a much better business than any of the other restaurants did that were in that location before.  We saw three come and go in the three years before Cici's opened.

When we got our pizzas, Sheepie was so hungry that she couldn't wait to get home but opened up the pepperoni one and ate a piece while I drove.  She downed two pieces before we got home.  We carried those in first so we could feed the Beast and eat before we carried in the food and presents.  Then, of course, there was the big *put it all away* ceremony to be performed.  Sheepie helped me do it with just a little direction since she still isn't sure about where I keep various things.  I have two different pantries and keep different items in different ones.  One has things that are *heat and eat* or ready to eat, also snack stuff.  The other has things that take preparation such as pancake mixes, bread mixes, shells and cheese, spaghetti fixings....I think you get the idea.  It's also where my dried beans are stashed along with the big containers of oil, crisco, vinegar, etc.  Hey, it works for us. 

That done, I had to stash the gifts away before we brought Chewlee here since she would have seen the toys for Chance and tried to claim it for herself...or, worse, seen HER stuff and wanted it.  So, after I finally got to sit down and have a hot cup of coffee, we went to get Chewlee from school.

We found out from EVERYONE that Chewlee had had a very bad day.  By bad day, they meant she had been bouncing off walls all day and didn't take a nap.  She went to kick some blocks on the floor (the teacher had told her to put them away) and kicked the teacher, too.  She said it was an accident but the teacher didn't think so.  She got a time out for that.  When she came home with us, she was still bouncing off walls.  Sheepie gave her a bath in an attempt to calm her down but it sure didn't do much.  She didn't start calming down until she finally got on my lap and was watching Harry Potter on TV.  That was around 6:00 or so.  Teach, Sheepie and Chewlee headed out a bit later to meet up with Johnnycakes and the Princess at the phone store.  The four of us (Johnnycakes, the Princess, the Beast and I) are going on a family plan and I have a phone I can even text on.  **Grin**  The Princess cracked up when I told her I wanted one of those but I told her, why fight it when it's all people seem to do lately.  It WILL mean I will probably be more in contact with my grandkids, too. 

I should get my phone a bit later or else tomorrow.  It's going to be a lot cheaper than all of us were paying before with us sharing the cost.  Since the Beast and I now know about how many minutes we use every month, and the kids both knew what they used, we started fairly low but we can boost that up later if necessary.  We'd rather start low and adjust it later.  I'm just hoping this service is better than the one we had...I won't name it but it starts with an *S*.  I have never had so many dropped calls or no service available's or no bars at all no matter where I went in the house or even outside.  Sheesh.