We got back from our Tahoe vacation this afternoon.  And man, I tell you what, time-shares are the only way to travel when you have kids.  They may be the only way to travel period.  It was beyond awesome having full access to a kitchen, living room, laundry, parking, etc.  We ate out a lot, yes.  But we also were able to fix breakfast at the condo, make lunches, reheat pizza and whatever else we needed.  That was a godsend.  The kids loved having room to play and be themselves too.  The boys shared the second bedroom (with a TV in there!  Harry brought his Wii and promptly hooked it up and I heard a lot of Mario Kart going on in there) while Evie bunked with us in the pack n play.  I did diaper laundry in the washing machine and dryer, we watched movies on the dvd player, played board games at the kitchen table and stored our booze in the fridge.

What more could you want from a vacation?

I also discovered a yarn store in South Lake Tahoe and picked up some yarn for a gift for my sister’s new baby.  She was due Valentine’s Day.  Interestingly enough, my newest niece was born this afternoon!  So I need make with the knitting and get this done!  But YAY for a new niece!  She doesn’t have a name yet, as far as I know, but I’m anxiously awaiting that information.  And more pictures.  Dang, if I could be there to get in some good baby holding.  I loves me some baby holding.

We had a lot of fun while we were in Tahoe.  We constantly warred with our (in particular MY) inner cheapskates.  Kile would assure us that it was okay to pay out the nose for the horse drawn sleigh ride.  And eat out at the super yummy but rather pricey lakefront seafood restaurant.  And take the paddle-wheel boat ride to Emerald Bay and back.  It was a lot of fun, but I constantly fretted over the cost.

I’m such a kill joy.

But we did have some good eats.  The seafood restaurant I mentioned is the Blue Water Bistro and I heartily recommend it if you’re ever in the area.  It’s a little spendy but worth every penny as the fish we had there was beyond yummy.  And the service was spot on.  We did that on Monday night (Sunday was take and bake pizza from Whole Foods).  Tuesday night, Kile got take out from Izzy’s Burger Spa, a place well known among the locals for having awesome burgers and amazing onion rings.  It did not disappoint and take out was the perfect option so that we were easily in place for the big “Lost” premiere that night (side note: WTF??).  The last night, we appeased Harrison and went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Harvey’s casino downtown.  We couldn’t resist ordering drinks that came in souvenir glasses to go with the Hurricane glass I got at the HRC in Nassau over the summer.

All in all:  YUMMO.

It’s hard to sum up a trip like this with mere words, so in closing I’m just going to share some pictures that I snapped up there.  I didn’t take as many as I probably should have.  But here they be!

As you can see, Lake Tahoe is a gorgeous place.  I can’t think of a better place to vacation in the winter!

Here comes the weekend!  This weekend promises to be more exciting than the last one.  Which isn’t hard to do because last weekend was pretty tame and mellow.  Shoot, it’s only noon on Friday and this weekend is ALREADY more exciting.  So I figure by Sunday night, I might just lapse into a coma.  Of course, by then we’ll be in Tahoe for our mini-vacation so it’s sort of like a WEEK rather than a WEEKEND.

Large sums of money went into our bank account last night, thanks in part to the United States government.  And we have already done our part to a degree to try to stimulate the economy by going out and getting this.   Kile went down and picked it up this morning and then brought it home.  It’s currently sitting in the garage, waiting for someone to love on it.  Alas, it will have to wait until tonight.  This evening, we’re taking Harry out to Claim Jumper for dinner to celebrate his stellar report card (he’s a mad genius, yo).  I think we may do a little shopping while we’re out this evening too.  I’m not sure what or where, but I’m sure it’ll take place.

Then when the kids are in bed, we’ll get to play with the TV. I’m a little scared since it’ll involve moving the OLD TV out of the way.  And I’m quite sure it’s the biggest CRT style TV they made before they started making flat screens.  So it’s sorta heavy.  And cumbersome.  And we have no idea what to do with it.  Halp?

We also don’t have any new cabinets for storage yet… that’s on the list.  So we’ll probably try to keep the movie collection, etc in the entertainment center for now.  But soon as we have those cabinets, the entertainment center is going the way of the do do bird.

Tomorrow we need to go get some groceries.  And about a bazillion other things.  Like I said, busy weekend. I’m pretty much 100% positive we won’t get everything taken care of that we would like/need/etc to do.

Sunday will be filled with preparations for Tahoe, including driving up and checking and much rejoicing shall commence.  We’ve been investigating local snow parks and Kile is all about finding us some snowmobiles to run around on.  It’ll be busy and fun and chaotic and cold and WONDERFUL.

And, of course, we have the final season of “Lost” premiering on Tuesday night.  HOLD ME.

So here we go.  Hold onto your butts!

My favorite time of any day is after the kids are in bed at night and it’s just Kile and I hanging out together.  Usually we’re watching tv or a movie.  I’m knitting, he’s playing around on his iPhone or laptop.  But we’re together and it’s peaceful and we can relax and unwind together.

But my second favorite would have to be naptime.

I know how this looks: as though I’m all about getting away from the kids.  Which isn’t to say that I don’t love and enjoy them when they’re awake.  The weekends were in close contention for second place because it’s always so nice to hang out as a family for a few days.  I’m so looking forward to next week when we go to Tahoe and have some SERIOUS family time.  It’s going to be awesome.

But yes, I love the naptime.

After lunch, I gather the little ones up, give them sippy cups full of milk, make sure they have clean and dry pants on and send them up to bed.  Liam doesn’t always nap.  In fact, I’d say he USUALLY doesn’t nap.  But he plays in his room quietly for the duration of “naptime” and I am SO grateful for that.  I’ve found that he seems to enjoy the chance to play with the toys in his room alone without me hounding him about one thing or another or Evie running off with his favorite car.

Evie does still nap and if she does not have a nap for whatever reason (usually on the weekends while we’re out running around town), she gets hilariously crabby.  So I lay her down in her crib after lunch and she cuddles into the mattress while I pile the blankets on top of her (in the correct order: crochet baby blanket first, followed by the kitty quilt her aunt made her for Christmas).  “Nye, nye” she says.

And during these Blessed Hours, I can take a shower, dye yarn, wind yarn into yarn cakes (which isn’t as fun as it sounds), knit, do various and sundry chores and watch what I want to watch.

Getting to watch what I want to watch is a huge deal.  Generally during the day, it’s all about the kids. Nick Jr or the latest Disney DVD or whatever else is requested (“No, Liam.  We’re NOT watching “Cars” again.  I need a break.”).  I can cue up whatever is playing on HBO or any of the other premium movie channels or find something I’ve already recorded on the DVR.  If I’m feeling more specific, I’ll stick in a DVD.  This is my chance to watch what I feel like watching without anyone else’s input.

Sometime’s I watch fun movies like “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” or “Zoolander”.  Sometimes I want something a little more thought provoking like “Seven Pounds” or “The Green Mile.”  Or maybe I’m in the mood for some “Sense and Sensibility” or “You, Me and Dupree”.  Whatever I want.  It’s marvelous.

Though I’ve instituted a ban on “Marley and Me”.  I love Owen Wilson, god bless him, and he’s wonderful as usual in that movie.  But it makes me do the ugly cry and I just can’t do it anymore.   The Blessed Hours are for fun, not for sobbing headaches.   It’s for fun.  And maybe some Cheetos.

Some day I won’t have the Blessed Hours (and then, some day, the Blessed Hours will extend from the hours of 9-4 or so and that will be AWESOME-SAUCE).  But I will have these fond memories to look back.  The Blessed Hours help me keep my sanity.  And we all want me to have my sanity.  Yes, we do.

I know.  I’m impressed too.  Quite the feat!

Before I detail WHY I left the house today, I just wanted to give a quick sum-up of random thoughts and events over the last couple of days since I obviously cannot be trusted to blog daily anymore.

Friday I watched Conan O’Brian’s last Tonight Show.  And.. as someone on Facebook commented, as far as they’re concerned, the Tonight Show has ended.  I think there’s a lot of truth to this.  NBC and Jay Leno are killing what has been a television institution since 1954.  I will never watch Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.  And by the time he FINALLY gives it up (for good), the damage will have been done.  I don’t think the Tonight Show will ever have the same respect and legacy it once enjoyed.

Someone else online (over on Oprah.com this time, commenting on Jay Leno appearing on her show in hopes of winning back fans) commented that she doesn’t care for Leno’s brand of humor.  That his capitalizes off of sarcasm and condescension.  And I think that nails it on the head.  He belittles people.  Yes, idiots on Melrose who don’t know John Adams from Thomas Jefferson are appalling.  But neither are they funny.  I never cared for the “Jay Walking” segment because I always thought it was more depressing than anything else.  Funny headlines?  You can read that in Reader’s Digest.  Snarking about celebrities?  Mamapop does that far better.   Conan, at least, had a more positive bent to his comedy.  Very silly, yes.  Experimental, to be sure.  Often self deprecating?  Of course.  But I could admire and appreciate that far more.

Conan teared up during his last speech to the audience on Friday night and that did it for me.  He’s a classy guy and I admire him for making the tough decision to leave NBC rather than participate in the demise of the Tonight Show.   And it’ll be a cold day in hell before I ever voluntarily watch anything Leno does again.

Now all NBC has to do is fire Matt Lauer and I will likely never watch the stupid network again.  Go ahead, NBC.  TRY ME.

***

It’s the last week of January and that means next week is FEBRUARY!

I’m all kinds of excited about next week.  For two big reasons:  1) we get our tax refund and 2) we’re going to be spending a few days up in Tahoe at my parents’ time share starting next Sunday.   We have a lot of purchases planned for our tax refund, of course.  No sensible savings plan here!  Seriously though, these are things we have talked about and planned for for a while now so it’s not out of the blue.  We do this every year but this year is going to especially rock.  I can’t wait!

And the Tahoe trip is going to be awesome too.  I can’t wait to play in the snow with the kids and have a few days just to have fun with the family.  Anyone know of a good snowmobiling joint up there?  Kile is determined to find one.

***

And now for today.  We went to a birthday party for a dear friend of mine’s son.  He turned two and this is just incomprehensible to me because I’m sure it was just six month ago or something that he was BORN.  But whatever.  I made him a super cute pocket monster:

I think he enjoyed the monster.  At least I hope so.  But even more important, it was great to get out and do something and actually TALK to people.  This is rare around these parts these days.  We had a great time, visited for several hours.  And when it became apparent that Evie was in desperate need of a nap and the party was winding down, we made our goodbyes.  And no one got on our case for leaving OR for not playing the Wii.

AMAZING, I KNOW.

So thanks, Jenn.  We need to hang more often!!

Hope everyone had a good weekend and is ready for the next work week.  I am not sure I am but what choice do I have?  Monday comes, whether you want it to or not.

Thanks for the responses on my post about my “friend” headache.  I’m really not that disturbed by it anymore, especially since writing that post.  This blog has always been about getting things off my chest.  And that’s a new tack I’m taking here in 2010.   Get things off my chest while they’re bugging me, instead of letting it fester.  So I vented it all over so that it wouldn’t have a chance to weigh me down any further.  And you know what?  It worked.  God bless it.

I’ve made my peace with the situation.  It is what it is.  I don’t need that special brand of crazy in my life and I am far, far better for putting it behind me.  I do get sad when I think of it, but anymore it’s usually more angry at them for being such tools to me or wistful of what could have been a lovely friendship had they tried to meet me halfway.  But, again… it is what it is.  And I’m done with it.  I’m better when I’m not trying to suppress myself anyhow.

***

And another round of thanks for the comments on the post about Jackson that I wrote last week.  It was sort of the same deal as writing about the friends.  Though Jackson will never be a loose end that can be neatly tied up or cut off or whatever… it helps to vent my emotions about losing him.  I’m not sure how frequently I’ll talk about it.  Surely not as frequently as I think about it.  But I will talk about it because I know this: talking about it helps.  If you know someone who has lost a baby, encourage them to talk about it.  They need to, when they’re ready.

***

I’m doing pretty okay now… a couple weeks into the New Year.   I wouldn’t say I’m doing perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  Shoot… is anyone?  But even though I wouldn’t say I’m bursting at the seams with happiness, I’m feeling… good.  Not too stressed (yet).  Not too depressed (thank GOD).  Just… good.  Okay and moving along.  That’s all I could really want, you know?  I don’t ask for the world, just a comfortable little piece of it.

So no worries (or gloating, for you haters if you’re out there) about me and how I’m feeling.  I’ve got no complaints.  There are good days and there are bad.  But it’s nothing I can’t handle.  And as long as I have this blog to vent on, I’ll keep handling it just fine, thank you.