Wow... it's been so long since I've found the time to sit down and write! I guess Christmas will do that to you! Every year I say I'm going to be more organized - buy gifts starting in January, have cards done by October, gifts in the mail by December 1 - and every year I'm caught off guard by just how unorganized I am!! It always costs me more to mail gifts to Danny's family than it does to purchase them. Next year, I'm shopping online... shipping's usually free!! :)
We arrived in Fredericton (well, technically Lincoln) on Monday to officially kick off our Christmas vacation. We were supposed to come up Tuesday, but after checking the weather and seeing a ginormous snowstorm coming our way, we decided Sunday night to pack up and be on the road by morning. That meant around 32 loads of laundry to be done in one day, house cleaned (cause who wants to come home to a disaster?) gifts packed, luggage packed, and all that good stuff! It was a challenge... but I succeeded! At 10:30 p.m. Sunday night, I called to Danny to pack up the car. I was finished!! :)
It's 5 1/2 hours to get to Nanny and Grampy's. We left at 7 in the morning on Monday. We had a few stops to make, so by the time we actually got moving on the highway, it was close to 8:00. We drove straight to Sackville (NB) and stopped for lunch, then carried on until we made it here... safe and sound, and before the snow hit! Mission accomplished! I've asked Danny before, "do you ever wish we didn't have kids?" and we both agree on the answer... only when we're driving! By the time we do all the gas runs, potty stops, lunch breaks, and actual driving, it's an almost 8 hour voyage for us to get here. And Gracie, God love her, never shuts up the whole way!! My mom laughs, and says she's just like me. But there was a big difference when I was a kid. I didn't care if anybody was listening. As long as you gave the occasional "uh-huh," or "yes," or "really!?" then I would just keep on talking. Gracie isn't quite like that. Gracie's too smart and realizes when you're trying to brush her off. She expects a reply. A real one. Actually, what she expects is for you to repeat what she said, that way she knows you were reallllllllllly listening! Here's an example:
Gracie: "Mom, my sock came off. I took my sock off. Mom, I took my sock off. My sock is off. Mom. Mommy. I took my sock off. Mom? Mommy! I took my sock off. My sock is off. Mommy. Mom. I took my sock off."
Me: "Gracie, did you take your sock off?"
Gracie: "Yes."
Then 2 minutes of silence before she moves on to the next thing. So there's no sitting up front, with one of us occasionally throwing out an "uh-huh." You must be listening. You must stop what you are talking about to acknowledge her. You must repeat what she says. AND, it must be the right person. Once, Danny replied to her, saying "Yes, Gracie we hear you. You took your sock off." To which she replied, "No, daddy. I'm talking to Mommy. Mom, I took my sock off......"
Anyway, we made it here, and Tuesday and Wednesday brought us one whopper of a storm. We lost power for most of the morning on Wednesday. We went out sledding on the front yard, and Gracie loved it! When we first went down the hill, I thought she was crying. Turns out she was laughing so, so hard! It was hilarious! Here's a video of the first time she went down the hill by herself. You'll have to excuse the heavy breathing by me... but carrying a 27-pound child up a hill half a dozen times is more exercise than I've gotten allll year!! :)
Before I go, I must tell you the latest Gracie-ism that took place while we were at supper a couple days ago. Gracie needed to pee, so we trudged off to the bathroom. The first stall was taken - "there is a person in there, mommy!" so we opted for stall #2. While Gracie was doing her thang, the woman in stall #1 let out the loudest fart. Gracie's mouth dropped open, and she said (very loudly, I may add) "Oh. My. God. That was the biggest fart!!" I tried so hard not to laugh, but the woman in stall #1, to her credit, did chuckle a little. When I took Gracie off the potty, she bent right down to peek under the stall "who is in there mommy??" I washed her hands, ushered her out, and laughed all the way back to our table!!
So that's our adventure so far... here's hoping the snow doesn't completely melt away before Christmas. We love us a white Christmas! Stay tuned, I'm sure Gracie will find more ways to entertain and amuse us!! :)
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