New Thing #74 & 75: In which we go visiting on Tuesday & write a very special letter on Wednesday

GAH! As you can tell by the title, we're back to playing catch-up again and I'm cramming two posts into one. I would love to be one of those well-organized people who does everything perfectly and on time, but as you have probably figured out, so much of my life is a last-minute dash. I don't know how to remedy that. I did, however, finally take that overdue DVD back to the library the other day. Did you know it is $1 a day for every day you bring it back late? See, even fiscal punishment is apparently not enough of a deterrent to keep me on time. Also, did I tell you that it looks like in the '90s they did a sequel to the original "Frosty the Snowman" from the 1960s? We started to watch it after we watched the original Frosty on Monday. Two thumbs down. Horrible. I would definitely give it a miss. Didn't even get through it. The only redeeming feature is that it featured (I think, I'm horrible for always getting this wrong) the voice of the guy who is in two of my Top 20 Movies I Can Endlessly Quote Because I Will Always Love Them, Even More Than Whitney Houston Loved Kevin Costner in "The Bodyguard" List as the bad guy. He plays Mr. Frank Shirley in one movie and Noah Vanderhoff in the other and no, I'm not telling you what movies those are because I just feel like being a jerk today. One is a seasonal film that became a tradition to watch each year in our family and the other is a movie that will always and forever remind me of my dear friend N because we both quoted it to one another and watched it many, many times when we were living in Japan.

But that is enough about that. Let us get down to it.

Tuesday was another 3/4 day at daycare for the LP. Auntie K and I went out for breakfast and then ran some errands together. The LP gave her a very warm welcome when she came with me to fetch them from daycare. The four of us picked up a few things at the grocery store before dropping Auntie K back off at home. LP1 decided that she wanted to come in to say hello to the cat and somehow ended up getting all of us invited in for a visit. As we came in the door, Uncle L was preparing a late lunch for himself. LP1 decided that she also needed a bit of something to eat and suddenly all of us were having sandwiches. Aside from the fact that Auntie K and Uncle L are very hospitable anyway, I suppose the nice thing about being family is that you CAN impose on your family to make you food whenever you drop in unannounced. Delicious food that makes you realize you really WERE hungry, even if you said you were fine.

We used to live approximately 7 minutes away from Auntie K and Uncle L. The dodgy neighbourhood, weekly hooker fights, unusual cast of characters in the alley behind our house, and 109 year old house with nary a straight line to be found were just another added bonus to living so close to them. I miss that old neighbourhood because it was so easy for Auntie K and I to meet up, to drop in on each other and to do things together. It got a little more difficult once LP1 was born because packing up a small child takes more work than just throwing on a pair of shoes and going out the door but it became that much more work once we moved a little further away. I have been absolutely terrible about coming over to see Auntie K and Uncle L. Fortunately, Auntie K is always willing to come over for a visit. If it weren't for her willingness to come to me, I'd never see her! So we were long overdue to go visit her. In fact...I can't remember the last time LP2 was there...or even if he had been to their house before. That is simply terrible (insert embarrassed-face emoticon here).

I think it is fitting, then, that our Tuesday New Thing was a visit at Auntie K and Uncle L's house. The LP are always thrilled to see their auntie and uncle. They were also very happy that Chelsea, their cat, was sitting out and accepting visitors. They were able to say hello and pet her before Uncle L decided that perhaps it was time for Chelsea to have some alone time. I don't think it is nice to say bad things about other people's pets, so I won't say that Chelsea has been known to hiss and/or scratch if you get in her space when she doesn't want to be bothered. She is a very regal cat. I admire the fact that she is unafraid to dish it out when she thinks you deserve it. I should take lessons from that cat. We had the aforementioned superfantastic sandwiches, made with extra love by Auntie K and Uncle L. LP1 lost no time in finding a ball and getting Uncle L to play with her. It is a good thing that Uncle L is always willing to play, because LP1 could play with him all day. LP2 walked around and checked things out. This included knocking over candlesticks, poking vents and attempting to eat cat food. You know, a typical afternoon for him.

Eventually it was time for us to make our exit. With big waves goodbye, we went home to clean up before Daddy got home and saw what a mess we can make when he's not around.

The LP had another 3/4 day at daycare today. As usual, I did have a lengthy list of things I wanted to accomplish while they were gone. However...sleep has been at a bit of a premium since last Friday. Between staying up late to do some prep for LP2's party last Friday and LP2 suddenly deciding that he no longer is interested in sleeping between the hours of 11:00 pm and anywhere from 3:00 to 5:00 am from Sunday onward, I don't feel like I've had much sleep. Uh, possibly because I HAVEN'T. But then again, I don't feel like I've had a great sleep ever since the night before LP1 was born. It goes with the turf, I know. Suck it up, buttercup, we're all tired, right? Anyway, after everyone left this morning, I crawled back into bed with the intention of watching half an hour of the morning news and getting up at 8:00. I guess my eyes had the intention of closing and remaining shut until 10:30 instead. I was shocked when I woke up! And still very tired. I argued with myself until 10:45 about the merits of remaining exactly where I was until it was time to get the LP versus getting up right that very second. Although I felt faintly ashamed for such a decadent lie-in, I also felt that since I never nap during the day, it was justified. I ended up convincing my sorry self to get up. Two cups of coffee later, I still managed to do two loads of laundry, tidy up the house, have a shower and assemble dinner in the crockpot before leaving to get the LP. My to-do list remains very long but I'm happy I at least got some sleep.

Once the LP were home and had had their after-daycare snack, we sat down to write a very important letter. In what I hope will become a Christmas tradition, we sent our very first letter to Santa! While you can send a letter to Santa through Canada Post and get a reply, we are lucky enough to know a very special elf who will give our letter directly to Santa and make sure we get our reply faster than anyone else! Admittedly, this isn't an activity LP2 can fully participate in, as he doesn't really say many things we can understand right now, but I felt he should be involved, too.

LP1 dictated the letter for me to write as she drew a picture for Santa. We asked LP2 questions, but he didn't really have much to add. He was interested in checking out my pen, eating the crayons and, when he tired of that, getting down on the floor and trying to eat the dog's food (we do feed him actual people food, I promise).

Our very stream-of-consciousness letter to Santa and a picture. In case you can't see it, this is a picture of Santa, his reindeer and a beautiful mermaid. Because, you know, mermaids can hang out wherever they want, particularly when LP1 is drawing the picture.

Once the letter was written, we decorated an envelope and hopped in the car to go mail it. We need Santa to get that letter! And also, I felt like it was important to show the entire process of writing and mailing a letter to help the LP understand how mailing a letter works. I think this is probably becoming an old-fashioned idea, like churning your own butter or ironing your clothes (two things I don't do. That's why the dryer has an iron setting).

And now...we wait. Write back soon, Santa!

This was the first time LP1 has ever mailed a letter. She needed a bit of a boost but was excited to see it disappear into the box.