Stuff

The Christmas tree is up and decorated. It seems all the coloured light strands are kablooie, so we've used the icicle lights that I got for cheap after Christmas. Usually I prefer not to use all white lights because they can look quite dull - same with any single colour, really. However, with our tree decorated in our eclectic way, the white-only really works. I actually like it.

Babysitting went well yesterday. Don't get me wrong - around 10 am, I was wishing it was time to send the boy to school (1/2 days, afternoons for him) just because he and my son get on well for only limited amounts of time. But not too bad. It's midnight as I write this. The mother wasn't sure if she was going to be working today, so she said she'd call. She didn't. Should I get up at 6 am? Or should I wait to hear pounding on the door at 6:30? I actually didn't expect them because they didn't show the day before and didn't call to tell me about it until they were supposed to be here - 6 am. Luckily, I had slept in a bit. :D The kicker is that I genuinely like the family. Nice people. I do wonder how you can keep a job if you call in all the time, but hey.

The kids have their advent calendars. They get so excited. It's cute.

I have nothing to do on Christmas Eve. While writing up my Christmas card list, I nearly put down my grandmother's name (she passed away at the beginning of this year). We always went to her place on Christmas Eve. Even in the home, her room was packed with people. She loved Christmas.

There's a ledge that along the wall by the stairs. It has been transformed into the Ledge of Excessive Tackiness. I put down cotton batting (snow!) and al the Christmasy things go on it: stuffed Santas, candles shaped like snowmen and trees, all sorts of things with Santa hats and every other Christmas decoration thing that someone thought might be a good present sits up there. The cumulative effect of this is, of course, hugely tacky. It's really bad. But the kids love it. Well, OK, so do I. But classy it ain't.