Funeral & Christmas Tree

Sabbath morning we did get out of bed in time to make it to Sabbath School in Lakeland.  We arrived at precisely 9:29 am which is more on time than we make it to our own church.  It's amazing how quickly you can get ready if you just put your mind to it and do a little prep work.  There were about ten other kids in the Sabbath School and I was glad that the girls got to enjoy some kid time since certainly the next few hours weren't geared to them.  The funeral was held at a funeral home in Plant City.  We sat in the back in case we needed to make an early exit which, of course, we did in less than five minutes.  We manage to make it through church so I was hopeful about this but I think because it was just so quiet, you could hear every little noise of which there were plenty.  So out into the lobby we went.  Boy, were those two rambunctious.  They kept taking off running all over the place and there I was chasing them in my heels.  I got Calleigh settled down by reading "Our Little Friend" from cover to cover but that left Aubree to her own devices and she kept sneaking out of the room to take ornaments off the Christmas tree in the next room.  Obviously it was my duty to tend to them but I did feel bad that I didn't get to hear the service.  After the service, it was on to the cemetery.  I know I haven't been to a burial in a long time (Mimi's was later in the day and every went on their own) so maybe I just don't remember but I was blown away by how many cars, coming from the other direction, actually pulled over while our procession went by the other way.  Maybe Plant City is just very respectful.  Also, I had never been to a military burial before so it was neat watching the two members of the current military do their routine and fold the flag that was on the coffin.  Of course, I was watching this all happen from the van because I didn't want to let the girls out.

From there, we went to a nearby church for a little reception.  Ron and Elaine had brought in food from the Publix deli and it was SO good.  By this time, it was after 2 o'clock and after letting the girls run around a little while on the side lawn, it was off for home.  Aubree fell asleep in about five minutes but it took Calleigh about half way home.  They were both sawing logs when we got there at 3:24, smack dab in the middle of nap time.  I had Duncan leave the car running and I sat there thinking they would awaken at any moment.  Nope, they slept all the way until 4:30 when I woke them up.

Adam, Trish, Ron, Chirp (Ron's father's brother), and two people I don't know.

After sunset, it was off to our usual lot to get our Christmas tree.  Calleigh loved running around amongst the trees (with encouragement from her father) and then at one point, I lost sight of Aubree for a minute or two while she was walking around (no one else was there except for us so I wasn't too concerned).  In the end, Duncan did point out the tree we ended up with and I wanted to give him the credit for that since it's usually I who picks it out.  We had to shell out a whopping $70 which I think is the most we've ever paid but hey, that's the way it goes.  On to the decorating...which we determined that, without question, is a lot harder to do when you have two toddlers getting into every little thing.  Aubree was constantly saying "I do it" as she reached for all the breakable bulbs.  Actually, she was pretty funny with that.  If you look at a standard round bulb, there a top metal piece that you put the hook on.  It can pop off the bulb and you have to stick the wires back in to get it to fit firmly on the top again.  Well, Aubree kept pulling that off, walking over to Duncan, and saying "I broke it."  She must have done it like five or six times in like five minutes.  Amazingly, nothing major did end up broken although the tree did almost fall over a few times.  Duncan didn't cut off enough branches on the bottom and by the time we realized it, it was already half decorated.  We think it's in there good now but part of me keeps expecting to hear a big noise in the middle of the night.  I will say this, once the girls were in bed and we finished putting everything up and we were able to sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy our handiwork, I was pretty happy.

Look at Calleigh's face.  Doesn't it look like she's about to touch Santa in a bad spot and she knows it??

About 15 other ornaments ended up within 6 inches of where she put that one.

Aubree getting ready to "break" the bulb.

 Sunday morning we did our First Watch ritual with Jack, Adam, and Megan joining us.  The food tasted particularly good because Jack treated us.  Later in the morning, Duncan went golfing with the other three men while Elaine and the girls and I went to a couple of yard sales (since nothing was happening with that on Friday) and then on to the mall.  Elaine wanted to check out the Nook since she's thinking about getting an e-reader (she decided the Kindle was better).

Yesterday was a day for errands and a quick Walmart run.  We had Ron, Elaine, Jack, and Trish (Adam and Megan left that evening) for pizza and so they could see our tree.  The girls had an especially good time with Jack who was singing songs with them and just generally being a good sport.  Later in the evening, I was off to the airport to pick up our Megan who returned from Boston.

Calleigh in deep conversation with Jack.

The finished product.

Today I had a very frustrating morning.  We had our usual Christmas pictures scheduled at JCPenney for 11:30.  After some cajoling and bribing of Calleigh, she ended up getting dressed in what I had picked out and allowed me to do her hair.  I felt very victorious.  That feeling was short lived.  We waited at least 25 minutes for it to be our turn (which I didn't really mind because I love the photographer and Calleigh was glued to the TV).  Aubree was busy eating crackers and seemed pleasant enough although right at the end she started putting up a little fussy and demanded her binky which I stupidly gave to her to keep her quiet.  Duncan had met us there to do the family picture.  So it's finally our turn and as we're about to walk in, I pull out the binky.  Aubree goes bonkers.  She wants her binky and she cried for a minute or two and then when she finally stopped, she would not stop scowling.  We could not get her to cheer up.  When it was time to just take a picture with Calleigh, she wouldn't let go of me.  It was altogether a truly frustrating experience.  The two photographers, bless their hearts, tried there very hardest with every trick in the book and I think they got her to crack the tiniest smile at the very end but it was feeble and naturally, Calleigh didn't look good in that one picture.  The whole thing was a bust - - we didn't get one good picture.  The only bright side was that I didn't have to pay anything but it wasn't much consolation.  I've made another appointment to try again next Tuesday, this time at 9:20.  Maybe if it's earlier in the morning, she won't be tired and we won't have to wait as long to get in.  And note to self, don't bring out the binky.  I'm just going to do the girls this time and just try to get a good family picture taken by Ron.

In other Aubree news, she's been having a tough time going to sleep at night.  I think I may have mentioned that in my last post.  She's in her bed at 8:30 but hasn't been falling asleep until 9:15 or 9:30.  She'll cry off and on during that time.  I did notice she has another molar coming in on the bottom in addition to the one on the top so hopefully it's a teething thing.  Sometimes with her things like her episode today, I get frustrated with her but then there's always that cute thing that pulls you back in.  Lately she'll just randomly come up to me and lean in and say "Hi Mama."  It's as if to remind me that she's there.  It's neat to hear her say Mama because usually it's always Mommy and usually in the long, loud, drawn out way she has of saying it when she's trying to be a nuisance.

Calleigh's terrible three's continue.  Some days are better than others.  Every now and then she's taken to going # 2 in her diaper when she's gone to her room for the night.  I asked her why she does that and she told me, "Well, it's easier because then I don't have to get up."  Three years old and already too lazy to get up and poop.

On the pregnancy front, things are going well.  I think my stomach is already getting bigger which seems earlier than the last two times.  I did have a day last week where I had a pain in my side for the whole day.  I wasn't too worried because I had the same thing happen last time although when I was at about 16 weeks.  It was gone the next day fortunately.  I've cut down on my Zofran to about two times a day (rather than three) and some days only one so I think the nausea may be dissipating somewhat as the first trimester winds down.

I know there's things that I'm forgetting to jot down but that's my brain for you.  Have a good night.
  

Calleigh loves to dress up for High Tea (aka, afternoon snack).  Look at the leg crossed.