Pretty as a Picture

Like most proud Mamas I enjoy dressing my 4 men up in their fancy digs for Christmas pictures. This year I decided just to skip it. Not because I wanted to by any means but because my family looks like they have survived a car accident after a plane crash.

It's not unusual for one of my kids to bang their head or something the day before pictures but usually a little touch up of the photos or a Santa hat are easy fixes. This year there is no easy fix.

Until yesterday when I finally just took Little Bear to Walmart for a haircut he was walking around looking like Benji the Shaggy Dog. Our hairdresser broke her arm before his last regular haircut but tried her best. -Her best is not HIS best look. No big deal, had I followed through on family pictures I would have taken him for his expensive discount haircut sooner.

When I picked Fuzzy up from daycare the week before last he was sporting carpet burn from the end of his nose, between his eyes, to his hairline. (Due to the fact that I have never had a problem with my daycare and they have always been really great I did not feel the need to have a melt down about them not providing the safest care for my child. Things happen, this happened. He will live). The carpet burn went from a bright red group of patches to a lovely dark scar between his eyes. Just as the carpet burn marks were beginning to fade another facial blemish took it's place. Little Bear tells the story like this: "I was reading a book (one of Wee Ones board books) and I got so excited that I 'accidentally' threw the book and it hit Fuzzy in the eye". Now Fuzzy has a black eye...


I have never had a cold sore in my whole entire life, ever. Last week my face was completely taken over by one. Not only did I get an ugly little sore but I looked like I lost a heavy weight bout and sported a fat lip that extended up into my right cheek. Gross and not very picturesque. My eyebrows are also in serious need of a waxing.

The scariest of all these issues is the reason Wee One will not be getting his Christmas pictures taken this year. I got a call on Sunday at work from Papa Bear saying only that I needed to meet him at the hospital, that Wee One had hit his head and he had called an ambulance. -Not really enough information to stop a Mama from losing it. Not knowing what the situation was or if Wee One was even conscious I headed to the hospital to wait for the ambulance...which took forever and provided me with lots of time to imagine the worst. When my little peanut was finally unloaded from an ambulance laying strapped to a backboard and wearing a neck brace it was easy to see why we were there. Between Wee One's eyes was a gaping hole. He had been running around and fell and hit his face on one of the only two stairs in our house. The amount of blood that resulted was what prompted Papa Bear to call the ambulance. Only three stitches and some glue to repair the wound but still not something I want to repeat. Though with three crazy boys I'm sure this was not our last experience with stitches.

Over all our family portrait was likely to look more like the cast from The Night of the Living Dead. I think I will wait until we are all looking as pretty as a picture and then just stick some Santa hats on everyone and no one will be the wiser.

41 More Days...

There are 41 more days until that big day...Christmas. By this time last year I had all my Christmas shopping done and was laughing at the poor suckers that had to deal with the crowded stores and long lines at cash registers. This year I have barely started. Last year I would have been bugging Papa Bear to help me put up the Christmas tree and string the outdoor lights. This year I am just not feeling the Christmas spirit yet.

Maybe it has to do with the 60 degree weather we are having in the middle of November or the lack of funds in my bank account to buy presents with that is causing me to drag my butt. Maybe the pumpkins still sitting on the front porch or the leaves still on the trees that are holding me up.

I have tuned the radio in the magic pumpkin to the station that plays nothing but Christmas music starting in early November and started making a list of who I need to buy for and some ideas of what to buy but still not feeling it. I have started a count down with the boys and talked to Fuzzy about Santa and where he lives and what he is doing but that isn't helping either.

Usually I am a Christmas nut. I am known to drive people nuts singing Christmas songs at work or forcing passengers in the magic pumpkin to listen to and sing along with the seasonal tunes.

This year I just feel kind of...well bah humbugish. I hope the spirit finds me soon. Maybe if we were to get a whole mess of snow dumped on us that would be the ticket. Here's to hoping...