I can't believe it is the end of 2009 already. It has been a great year, my biggest accomplishment was my weight loss. I worked my butt off literally. I have to say my weight is up a bit (10 awful lbs) I decided to go crazy and start fresh on Jan 1st. I have enjoyed this last week of french fries and cupcakes.

Some friends and I are starting a 12 week training program for a half marathon in April. 2010 will be the year I exercise and tone this 40 year old body. I am excited to see what the year will bring, little Erin/Sybil will graduate and go off to college. We sill haven't decided where, but we know it will be somewhere not in the state of MO. One of my friends asked, what will you do with your blog without daily Erin/Sybil material. With that her husband quickly responded, "poor Dave." Yup poor Dave is right, he always supplies me with plenty of material.

2010 will also be the year of our twentieth wedding anniversary. I know I make fun of Dave frequently but can't imagine my life with a man that could go to the grocery store without help, could go through a drive thru, could order a pizza by himself or match his own clothes. I am glad I picked the village idiot before someone else grabbed him. He is quite the catch. I hope our next twenty years are slightly less, OK extremely less "fruitful" and just as entertaining as the first twenty.

It is crazy to imagine that in 2020 we will almost be empty nesters. Maggie will be a senior in high school picking out a college just like Erin/Sybil. Sam will be a successful accountant still trying to figure out the meaning of life, Lauren and Mike will be married and Mike will be wondering why he didn't heed our warnings, Erin will be in a mental institution getting help for her personality disorder that her mother caused by calling her Sybil, Kelsey will be playing soccer somewhere pretending like she is an only child, Shannon will be laying on a couch somewhere in a trailer park watching TV, and Ryan will be incarcerated. Or maybe they will all be happy successful well rounded members of society. Yeah Right!!!

Christmas Eve I worked until 2:00 while Dave was in charge at home. I had two new DVR's installed the week before and the one in my bedroom wasn't working. They sent out a technician to fix the problem on Christmas Eve. Erin decided to give the guy an early Christmas present when she came downstairs wearing nothing but leggings a bra and a Christmas smile. She ran up the stairs and asked why no one bothered telling her that the cable guy was still there. Great Erin, now I will never get my DVR fixed, I guess I will be setting an extra plate for Christmas dinner.

Lauren got home from work right before we left for Christmas mass. She was planning on going to mass in the morning and was exhausted after working eight hours. We talked her into just going with us. She said " fine but don't expect me to stay awake." She went downstairs to change and came up in a form fighting blue dress and go go boots." I think she was bringing baby Jesus the gift of cleavage. I decided to pick my battles and take a deep breath and sit all the way at the other end of the pew so no one thought the kid with her boobs hanging out belonged to me. I suggested she sit on the other side of the cable guy who was next to Erin.

The kids had a nice Christmas despite Dave AKA village idiot Santa wrapping his only son's gifts in pastel pink and green paper. Smart Santa AKA me used dark green and red paper for the gifts that I wrapped. Despite the pink paper, everyone had a nice Christmas. Kelsey got a cell phone so all is finally right with the world. She can finish her eighth grade year no longer in shame as she was the only kid in the world without a phone.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day our land line phone was out. Erin's friend the cable guy hooked something up wrong and our phone was dead. I called the cable company and they sent someone else out. He came early Sunday morning. I am sure the technicians were fighting over who got to come to the house of ill repute. This time it was grandma who came out of the bathroom half dressed, bra less and toothless. I'm sure when the technicians compare notes, no one will believe the first guy!!

Saturday we had Christmas at our house with Dave's family. I made a "special " drink with Citrus Vodka and Squirt soda. My sister in law and I drank a few too many. The problem was that after everyone left, we went to a party for Lauren's boyfriend Mike's parents. It was a surprise 25th anniversary party. I am not much of a drinker and I don't think I have EVER shown up to a party already "happy." All I know is this morning my back hurt so bad I was walking like I was 90. I think it may have been the dancing combined with a little air guitar. It really wasn't my fault, they played Jessie's girl. Lauren said, "way to go mom, way to impress my future in laws." I guess if Mike's family doesn't like us anymore, she can always give the cable guy a call.

Tis the season to be ready to ram my head against a wall over and over again. No matter how hard I try, there is never enough time. A girl I work with just brought her son's Christmas Pictures in. He is about six months old and absolutely adorable. She has three pictures sitting on her desk. He is wearing a Santa Suit and in each picture and is sitting in front of a big white letter, the pictures spell out JOY. I thought of a great idea. This Christmas I will pose each one of my little blessings in front of a letter of my choosing. I have just enough kids to display on my desk ANARCHY.


Before I left for work last night Kelsey informed me that she needed a rob your neighbor gift for her Christmas party at school in the morning. I had Erin run by the grocery store for me to get ingredients so I could make cookies for the teachers when I got off work at midnight. I asked Erin if she wanted to make the cookies for me while I was at work. She said, "Umm no I don't really want to."

I had 4 cookie tins and 6 teachers to bake for. Before I left, I asked Kelsey to have her dad buy two more tins and her rob your neighbor gift. I received a message on my cell phone from little Sybil a while later that said, "Mom I am going to a hockey game so I definitely won't be able to buy the tins or make your cookies, I guess dad can do it, bye." I got home around 12:30 and Dave was in bed reading. I asked if he bought the tins and the rob your neighbor gift. He said, "no I figured I could go to QT in the morning." I said, "I'm sure every eighth grader would love a $5 gas card." I sent him to Wal Mart!!

Erin was sitting at the counter when I was mixing the cookie batter. I asked her to take two steps behind her and get the eggs out of the fridge for me. She looked at me like I was crazy and said. "I'm really tired, I don't feel like getting up." My poor baby, she was just exhausted from getting all dolled up in her new $98 dollar jeans and flirting with CBC hockey players all night. She really needs to get some rest, I was starting to worry about her. I was being so selfish to ask her to hand me the eggs. I will try to not be so hard on her in the future.

I was just about finished with my second batch of cookies when the phone rang. Who else would be calling at 1:30 in the morning other than my one and only. Of all the boys in the village, why oh why did I have to marry the village idiot. I answered the phone to hear, "Punkin, where would one find cookie tins??" I directed him through Wal Mart over the phone and wondered when a trip to the store wouldn't require a phone call. I finished the cookies at 2:00 AM and called it a day. FA LA, LA, LA, LA.