"We've gotta move these refridgerators. We gotta move these color t.v.s..." Dire Straits

I got Dennis a new flat screen t.v. for Christmas.

We have been enjoying the holiday specials very much. I always look forward to the sharing the shows I enjoyed as a child with my own children. It is one small tradition that makes the holiday season special.

The problem is I did not install parental controls and someone on the construction crew keeps changing the channel.

"Watch out where the huskies go..." Zappa

Blogger will not help me space these pictures, so scroll down until you get to the Camp Dennis shot.
The renovation of our home would be completed a lot sooner if sleeping dogs weren't laying on the construction workers. In this shot, Charlie is actually painting window trim while Violet uses his calf for a pillow.



Things might go faster if our general contractor did not stop to push our construction workers down the hill on the toboggan.


Meet Tom from Florida. This is his first time on a sled. In fact, it is the first time he ever played in the snow.
Here you see Charlie in the background giving pointers on taking the hill. Prior to joining the O'Clair renovation crew, Charlie was a snowboarder from Vermont.

He can jump really high.

In an unprecedented and amazing display of brotherly/sisterly love, Eden and Harrison were home from school for the entire day without one episode of bickering!



In this shot you see Harrison narrowly escaping death as Eden misses him by only a hair.

The only one not out playing in the snow yesterday was our painter. He has a very strong work ethic.

Our painter drove in from Jersey to work yesterday and today.

Sadly, after he left our house yesterday, he fell on the ice and hurt himself, so he won't be working today.

Luckily, it only hurts when he breathes. Even more luckily, it was not our ice, so we can't be sued for compensation.

Please send healing vibes to Rick. He paints much better than I do and we are on a deadline!

Just another day at Camp Dennis.

"The seasons, they go round and round and the painted ponies go up and down, we're captive on the carousel of time..." Joni Mitchell

This morning the children woke up early and rushed downstairs and outside to retrieve their shoes filled with candy from the elves.

We were surprised to find, in Dennis' shoe, a form letter from Santa.

It read in part:

Dear Mr./Ms. O'Clair

We are writing to let you know that your delivery from Santa's workshop will be delayed due to:

(then there was a list with boxes checked off.) Ours had several reasons for the delay checked off, including:

Ill-tempered. slow moving reindeer

Santa's tongue getting stuck to the North Pole

Otter infestation in sled

Data loss on Santa's Naughty/Nice list.

The letter concluded with:

We expect to ship your requested items by Christmas 2076.

We read this letter while the kids piled into our beds and emptied their shoes, then attempted to eat fully frozen Starbursts and gummy pizzas.

The children finally admitted that they had left the letter in Daddy's shoe. This is the first time they put something in our shoe, and it thrilled me that they did it.

The kids snuggled into our bed and stayed there for over an hour, laughing and having fun. They wanted us to stay in bed laughing all morning. When Dennis tried to get up, they trapped him and held him down. Harrison grabbed him from one side and Eden laid across his stomach until Dennis declared that she was in the perfect position for spanking and she bolted right out of bed (as if this child has ever had a spanking!)

I wanted this morning to go on forever, too. Sometimes I wonder when these charmed moments will end. Dennis and I have been so blessed with these kids. Sadly, today is a school day, so the fun eventually had to end. We all had to get dressed and pack lunches and gather the homework and blahblahblah, but I hope when Eden and Harrison are grown that they will remember this day. I think they will, one December decades from now, when their children get up in the morning to find their shoes.

"Tonight's the night, its gonna be alright, cause I love ya girl aint nobody gonna stop us now..."Rod Stewart

Tonight is the night we leave our shoes out for the elves who come riding by on their reindeer to pick up our Christmas lists. I am glad that my husband has this German tradition from his childhood.

You might notice that Eden has chosen to leave out her boot this year instead of a sneaker - all the more room for the elves to leave candy.

This year, three out of four of those lists have a kitten as the number one requested item. The kids and I miss Emily, the cat we loved for 13 years.

Sadly, we are a materialistic family this year.

Some years the lists are quite short. Int he past, Eden has had to struggle to list something she wants. One year the only thing on her list was a yo-yo and a baby sister. Those days are gone. Now her list takes both sides of the paper!

One person has asked for a router bit. One asked for fake diamond stud earrings and a kiln. One has asked for art supplies, a microscope, a huge sock monkey and a hot tub. Another has asked for a telescope, an iCoaster, a Wii, Webkinz, a PS3 and one of Santa's elves. Both children asked for marshmallow guns and a soft serve ice cream maker.

I am not sure what Santa might leave under the tree. I only hope we clear out a room in our renovation to put up a tree.

Today we laid out our tile for the fire place. It will be installed tomorrow and we will be wood burning again by this weekend. We chose 6 x 6 slate. I think we will be pleased.

Now I am off to slug some cough medicine and put a child to bed. He will be listening for reindeer all night.

"Whatever gets you through the night, it's all right, it's all right..."John Lennon

The inhalation of spackle dust provided the initial bronchial irritant that lead to my current state of misery. First it was the horrid cough as my body tried to rid itself of the foreign substance. Then came the chest congestion, and eventually a full-blown cold. Tonight I reached the cough until you puke portion of the illness, but I hope to have turned the corner. Literally, tonight I was walking to the house from the car when I started coughing so violently I ended up on all fours puking in the yard.

Oh, Mrs. G, where are you in my time of need? How many times in our youth did you hold my hair while I was in just such a position?

Harrison was concerned about me being sick in the yard.
I think it freaked him out a little.
I explained to him that throwing up like that was really was no big deal for me. Then I told him about having hyperemesis while I was pregnant. I had hyperemesis with all my pregnancies, but when I was pregnant with Harrison, I puked ten or twelve times a day., Four or five of those times each day, Eden was jumping on my back trying to ride me like a pony. Yee Haw! Giddy up you Porcelain Worshipping Pagan! Yep, anyone can kneel alone in the yard and yak, but just try doing it while a toddler climbs onto your back, digs her little heels into your belly, and uses your hair for reigns. That, my friends, takes skill.

Although I have been too sick blog, I have maintained my other normal activities. Yesterday I actually drove to New Jersey to pick up some furniture and spread my disease. Believe me, a woman who can survive driving through Jersey can survive most anything.

One might think I would have been wise to stay home in bed, but one who thinks this has not been in my house during the day. Due to the five men constantly hammering and jabbering and using noisy implements of destruction, there is no rest here. The noise fatigue alone is crushing my system.

I did manage to catch a nap this afternoon. The men were scheduled to install woodwork in my bedroom and a portion of the laundry room, but I became verbally abusive so Dennis sent them to work upstairs.

This morning I was pleased to learn that our construction crew comes not only with building skills, but they dispense medical advice as well.

Crazy Man advised I drink honey for the cough. When I told him Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey had been the best thing for the cough so far, he chastised me for further depressing my immune system by drinking alcohol.

Man With Many Tools advised me that I really should have taken Zicam at the first symptom because although nothing cures the common cold, Zicam works wonders on the symptoms. I could have avoided the past several days of misery had I only taken the Zicam.

Likeable Fellow suggested Canadian Cinnamon Whisky in hot tea. I think he called it a Fire Ball.

I haven't gotten nearly enough medical advice, so I was glad when my mother called and told me I should be taking 1000 mgs of vitamin C. My sister advised me that breathing in spackle dust could cause damage with lifelong effects. This was actually a relief because now we won't have to blame those years of smoking. I did finally quit, by the way.

Yesterday I found that Sudafed, a few shots of Jim Beam, a swig of Robitussin and a half a gallon of grapefruit juice was the magic formula. It got me through the night.