Cameron's first visit to Santa

We may be going a little overboard for Cameron's first real Christmas. At 2.5 she "gets" it and we have been shamelessly using Santa's impending arrival as both a threat and a bribe. Both DH and I have been buying her presents so we've ended up with a pile that is far too big. I ended up setting aside two presents already for her birthday and we haven't even received any grandparent gifts yet. Next on my list is to clean out all the current toy locations to make room for new toys.

We were supposed to go to Florida this weekend but due to a series of mishaps involving ceiling tiles our flight was cancelled. We couldn't rebook until the late evening and at that point our 2.5 day trip was down to 1.5 days. So we decided to bag it and reschedule for January. Sorry, Mimi & Papa!

That gave us a "found" weekend to get some Christmas related activities completed. Tree up? Check. Tree decorated? Check. Gingerbread house assembled and decorated? Check. Santa visit? Check! And as you can see from the pictures below, Cameron wasn't at all shy around Santa. Think she likes him?

Fun in the snow

About a foot more of snow came down in Springfield, MA yesterday. DH helped his dad shovel out the walk and the cars several times during the day. But there was plenty of time for fun too. Here is DH playing in the snow with our nieces, Caitlin and Meghan.

A very long trip to visit family and friends

A winter wonderland?!?

Yesterday at 4 AM DH and I left Charlotte to drive up to Massachusetts. We were in very good spirits having gone to bed around 9 PM the night before. We managed to leave on time which is usually a good indicator of the trip to come.

The first 10 hours or so were totally fine. I snuck in an hour nap before the sun came up and we only stopped 3 times for food/bathroom/gas breaks. Charlie seemed to be OK in the back of the car; his first long trip not being in his cage. I think he liked having room to move around and we had a travel water dish that he could drink from the whole time. Of course he didn't eat any breakfast but that's par for the course when he's not sure what's going on. Too bad it's now been 36 hours and he still hasn't eaten! I blame the snow.

The drive was great as I mentioned for the first 10 hours despite about 15 miles of dense fog our first hour in. DH learned how to turn on the fog lights so it wasn't all bad. But then when we got on 84E just over the Tapanzee bridge and it all went to hell. The roads were in bad condition from about 8 inches of snow and apparently no one, even in New England, knows how to drive when the roads aren't in perfect condition. One car coming down 84W spun out and rolled down into the ditch between the two highways right in front of us! If it had had more traction it could have come across on our side of the highway. Fortunately it didn't. For all we know, the guy is still stuck in that ditch. Farther up 84 we ended up in bumper to bumper, stand still traffic for over an hour because of another accident. It was so frustrating because we were about 1 hour away! Then the snow starting coming down again. I was never so happy to see my in-laws house as I was that evening.

We were on track for a 12 hour ride and ended up with 13 1/2. Which would have been fine if the crap happened in the beginning. But by the end my ass felt like it had been sitting on a wood chair despite the comfy leather seats. I have to say, though, the SUV was a godsend. I felt very safe despite the bad road conditions. And DH drove the whole way which was awesome. I'm still not sure how we (or if we) can do this next year with the baby.

DH managed to stay up late last night shooting the shit with his dad and brother. I was in bed at 8 PM along with the dog. I slept great except DH and I were smooshed together in a full sized bed. I'm not sure I like being so close to DH any more when we're sleeping...thank goodness we have a king size bed at home!

More snow is expected all day and we have all day to hang out with DH's family. We'll probably break out the Wii later and let the two older kids create Miis and play some games. They might even convince Uncle DH to play in the snow. Sometimes it can be great to be snowed in!

What do you mean I have to go outside in this shit?!?

A long lazy weekend

While I worked on Friday I only received about 10 emails so to say it wasn't busy is an understatement. That means I felt as though I had a 4 day weekend. The last time I had one of those was in October but we traveled to Hilton Head so it doesn't count. I think that a weekend that involves travel cannot be, by definition, a long lazy weekend. I am trying to store up now since I won't have any of these once the baby arrives.

DH did more work than I - he started painting the nursery. I picked out two colors, a base color (Touch of Violet) and a stripe color (Elevator). DH removed the baseboard (to make painting easier, thank goodness for a nail gun to put it back on!) and put up two coats of the base color. It looks great and I can't wait until the stripes go on. But first I have to help with a chalk line that will represent the chair rail. That won't happen until tonight. The contrasting colored stripes will run below the chair rail. I promise to put up some before and after painting pictures once it's done.

I did manage to rouse myself enough to go shopping. I picked a few presents for the nieces and nephews. I was really tempted to buy some stuff for our baby but I resisted. Well, I did buy one thing but I couldn't help myself! It was just too perfect. Despite all radio reports to the contrary, I didn't really find any spectacular deals. It could be that they only happened on Friday and I was not about to fight the crowds during that day. I also wrapped most of the presents. What can I say, it was a tough weekend :-) I just have the stocking stuffers left to wrap which are always the most annoying because they tend to be oddly shaped.

Next weekend I hope to put up Christmas lights and take out the few Christmas decorations we have for the house (yes, DH, even the ceramic Christmas tree you hate so much!). I might start Christmas cookies but it depends on how strong my wrists are feeling. I have an old fashioned cookie press that requires twisting to make the dough come out. I usually have to get DH to help me once my carpal tunnel kicks in.

Is it just me or does it feel as though Christmas is just around the corner? Thanksgiving was "late" this year. Plus DH and I leave in three weeks for our long journey up to Massachusetts. I'm almost wondering if it's worth it to do Christmas decorations if we'll only enjoy them for a couple of weeks...

Black Friday

I decided to suck it up and work today instead of taking a vacation day. BigFinance is closed for Thanksgiving but not Black Friday. You'd think they would want to do their part and encourage us to go shopping but apparently not. DH gets the day off and I'm very jealous.

But in a way, it's a good thing that I am working and hundreds of miles away from my family and closest friends. That way, I don't shop as much! I am very thankful that, aside from my diminishing retirement account, DH and I haven't had to worry too much about the economy. We're both still employed with no sign of impending layoffs (fingers and toes crossed). While we have been spending more than usual to get the nursery ready we are still able to save and I can splurge on the newest fantasy fiction books.

I've completed most of my Christmas shopping (I know, don't hate me!) primarily because I've been in nesting mode for the past two months and want everything to be done. DH and I set limits for each other and we are being more frugal with the other presents. I am going to make Christmas cookies again this year (I will try to make the bow for the wreaths this year so back off A. and Mommy, Esq!) and give those out as small gifts around the office. I anticipate that this Christmas will be under $1,000 which is a good thing. I'd like it to be even less but DH and I both have big families with lots of little ones. It's hard to resist buying for the kids!

When I was getting ready for work this morning I heard a report on the radio that this Black Friday should be pretty good for both retailers and consumers. Apparently prices are extremely low (thanks deflation!) and there are fewer shopping days before Christmas. The big push is to have consumers spend so we can start righting the economy. One of the reasons the US economy has been so stable is because consumers have spent, regardless of economic situations. The savings rate went from 9% of disposable income in 1985 to almost nothing today. But now there is a resurgence for "economizing" and people are not spending as much. While that's good for us individually to save, it is not good for the economy as a whole.

How about the rest of you? Are you also cutting back this year? Any good cost cutting tips?