Motherhood Means Never Having to Pee Alone...

...is one of the things that my mom used to say which I have recently realized is true. She had a different way of saying it than that (she insisted that children and dogs had a 6th sense about when she put a toilet seat into use, and they would come from miles away to sit and play on the floor at her feet). Unfortunately, if you prefer to pee alone, then the only way this will happen is to leave town. I had nearly two weeks of delightful privacy. With no trips until mid-January, and 12 days off for Christmas holidays, it's back to, "Why don't you show mommy how you can throw that tissue into the trash can? Very good! No, you don't have to unroll any more, thank yoooou!" for awhile.

The funniest thing is saying (and signing) thank you to e-baby-- she signs thank you back (and says "ta-too."). She thanks herself for throwing something away without being told to.

I got home from DC Friday night and on Saturday we finished unpacking the upstairs den from when we moved. That's pathetic, but I challenge anyone to claim that every item from their last move, if it was in the last 10 years, has been put away where it belongs. Somehow there's always something that you wait to do until later, and later becomes a few months, and the thing creeps into a closet or a corner and a few months becomes almost 4 years. The motivation to finish unpacking (framed pictures and prints, office supplies, electronics cables and old computer hardware) was the idea of Christmas at my house: my parents, SNG's parents, Dianaverse, SNG, me, and a 15-month-and-one-day-old e-baby. It will be quite enough to keep her from unwrapping everyone else's gifts without stopping her using an extension cord as a neck scarf or banging together my diplomas (which cost a car payment to have framed) like cymbals.

With the last gasp of putting away 2004 detritus, we are really ready for the holidays. It's such a contrast to last year when we could hardly juggle the 3-month-old and sign 10 Christmas cards for my coworkers, so forget about getting anything into the post. This year we had Santa and his flamingos in the front yard the day after Thanksgiving (e-baby initially called Santa "Pa-Pa" which is her name for SNG's dad, but now she calls Santa "danda-dah"). We did all of our shopping and even sent cards and ornaments to everyone in the Texas crew. We got gifts out to our babies all over the US. Tomorrow I'm dropping off gifts for e-baby's teachers, and I brought in cookies for my coworkers on the one day I was in the office last week. It makes me wonder, if SNG and I did everything while not only going to work every day, but also having me out of town and SNG playing single parent most of the last 2 weeks, what the heck are we going to do with 12 days off? Bake a dozen pies and ten loaves of bread? Make 60 jars of jam? Sew baby clothes? Clear out the backyard snake habitat to make a happier place for little feet? Build a house? Restore a car?

I suppose I could get a head start on next year's Christmas list. The malls probably open early on the 26th. SNG better get going on the backyard snake thing.

(HEY!! LOOK! TWO NEW POLLS!)