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another week is flying by, and i can't believe christmas is already next week.

mom had surgery for her neuralgia this week, and it went well. i am glad she finally got it, and that she'll be feeling much better because of it. her recovery is going well; bryan and i will be spending the day with her tomorrow to help out and bring her everything her heart desires (her balance is a little off so she shouldn't be moving much).

dad leaves tomorrow morning to pick shannon up from school. he'll be doing the trip to minneapolis and back all in one day, which will kind of stink, and will be good to get out of the way. i'm excited to have shannon in town again!

shannon has begun planning christmas day dinner; her and bryan had such a fun time and did such a fabulous job with thanksgiving, they're looking forward to working together again for christmas. they have such similar styles (little prep, giant mess) that they have a bunch of fun together. i stay out of the kitchen and pretend it's not getting trashed, and everyone is happy.

i'm excited about christmas eve dinner as well. bryan and i started a new tradition last year - shrimp and grits on christmas eve. it'll be nice to have a little bit of the south in december, since we have traded the atlanta weather for a much colder climate. i'm trying to figure out how i'll handle feeding ollie with milk in the grits, but i am sure we can make it work. i'm going to have the same problem with lots of holiday foods.

oliver does seem to be doing better with digesting. he started day care this week. he's been doing just fine, but it is kind of hard on me. it's not that we don't love our provider (we do, she is perfect, and the more i talk to other moms the more blessed i feel that we found her), and it's not that i don't want to work (i need to for my personal happiness), but it is just hard to leave him with someone we barely know. monday, when we arrived at her house, he was wide awake, bright eyed and quiet. didn't even cry when i left. though i almost did! they've really been enjoying having him this whole week; her daughters are absolutely fascinated with him, and have been playing baby with their dolls all week! yesterday, he was laying in his play pen and fussing a bit, and her oldest daughter, who is 4, said don't worry mom i'll go sing to him. she sat next to the play pen, and sang, and calmed him right down! we are sooooo happy with the care he is getting already, and we know as he grows he will just flourish in this environment.

now if only we could get him to sleep through the night! he's been doing better, but we're just not there yet. last night was pretty good actually. it's not that he slept a ton, but i did! i fed him at 6 and he fell asleep between 6:30 and 7... and i dozed off by 7:30... until 9:45. got him up, changed, and fed, and we were back down around 11, and he slept until 1:15 or so. he was up, fussing a little but mostly just awake, until 3:30, when i tagged out. bryan fed him and they slept for a bit, i fed him again at 6 and he went down again until it was time to go to day care. so, we were still up a lot, but falling asleep at 7:30 really helped me get some needed sleep! it's tiring, but as long as we get a few solid hours of sleep (even if they are broken up into one or two hour increments), it's not going to kill us. it's a temporary thing, and every time he gazes up at me with those big blue eyes, or falls asleep in my arms, i forget about everything else!

hannah flies in the morning after christmas, and we're all pretty excited. she has our first day planned out minute by minute, and according to her it will be a very full day. it starts with a fashion session at our house (she can't wait to get into her cute clothes and awesome boots), and involves 3 hours at the mall with shannon (libby lou and limited too, duh), 5 hours at target (we need snowpants and boots, and apparently 4 1/2 hours more of stuff there), a computer store for dad (it's only fair), building a snowman, having a snowball fight, eating dinner at nana and grandpa's house, and opening presents. i have told her i can guarantee dinner at nana and grandpa's and we'll see about everything else. :) i told her we can certainly do it all but maybe just not all in one day!! she also wants to hit up the domes, and we're hoping to get a chance to take her to chicago for a day. it should be a lot of fun no matter what, and i can't wait to see her with her little brother!

what else... bryan and i bought tickets to go see the pogues in march, in chicago. we're not sure if we'll be able to go (we'll have to convince my parents to watch the baby for the night), but we got a chance to buy pre-sale tickets and the pogues NEVER come to america, so we had to jump at the opportunity. they will sell out so if anything, we can sell the tickets on ebay and make some money. adrianne bought a ticket too and will be meeting us there. i am sure we'll be able to make it, and i can't wait! i love the pogues and this may be our only opportunity to ever see them (besides the fact they rarely come here, let's face it - despite his extreme condition of pickledness, shane could keel over any day).

not much else. i am hoping to get a chance to go grocery shopping tomorrow and hit up kohls to exchange some things as well. i promised bryan some coconut candy bars and chris some toffee, so if god loves me, i may get a chance at some point to throw those together too. maybe even NAP. ambitious, i know. remember the days when i spent my weekends moving non stop for 12 hours, cleaning, running errands, cooking and baking, doing laundry, and whatever else i could get my hands on? *sigh* :) wish me luck.