The circus crew and I went to run some errands this morning…Target and Michale’s were ok… granted we did crack the sugar sprinkle container when the baby threw it on the floor, and my older daughter soon had the spilled sugar all over her face and hands after “sampling it” but we only got a few looks when the kids were singing jingle bells as they hung off the side of the cart while I finished my shopping.

…you start spelling anything you don’t want others to over hear. Case in point… Scott and I had parked the car in a crowded parking garage recently, and I knew better than to shout, “Hey Honey did you lock the car?” So, without even thinking, I said, “Scott, don’t forget to L-O-C-K the van!” But, unlike the preschoolers at home who I am accustomed to spelling around if I don’t want them to figure out what I am saying, MOST thieves can spell.

I am one happy girl tonight. Why, you ask? ** The Steelers beat the Ravens **… and if that wasn’t reason enough to rejoice, doing so clinched them a spot in the play offs AND a first round bye. I had a realization about myself while watching the game though. I don’t really enjoy watching the game unless we are winning. Really. I was literally sick to my stomach with worry for much of the game.

I mentioned before that Scott and I have been spending a great deal of thought, prayer, and discussion lately on a few big family decisions. 1. How will we educate our son next year? I can’t believe it, but my oldest will be ready to start kindergarten next year. Since he was only months old, I’ve been hounded with questions from friends, family, and acquaintances about where we will send him to school.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is cutting down our tree. I absolutely love having a real tree. The rush of choosing just the right one to bring home is such fun. I also really like that no tree looks exactly alike or perfect. We’ve had a few that we’ve brought home and thought….“Ooo, didn’t realize it was crooked at the farm.” The imperfections always add to the charm though.

My first memories of making a gingerbread house are at my high school friend Katie’s birthday party. It became a tradition. Each year her mom would bake the houses and make the icing and supply all the candy. We’d all come over for her birthday in December to decorate our houses. It was a ton of fun! We’d sit and talk, sneak candy and decorate our houses. I believe we made an all night affair out of it.

Now if I could just get her to leave them in longer than the time it takes for me to pull them up… . Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesdays.

Hmmm, it’s a bit too quiet, better go investigate… What Mom? You didn’t want me to wash my sister’s hair? Hmm, well I wasn’t doing that, honest… I was ummm washing my hands… Yea…no idea how her hair got so wet…. Mom, When’s payback time?

My son often refers to Santa as Saint Nicholas. I guess it’s because of reading Jolly Old Saint Nicholas and Twas the Night Before Christmas. This week my son decided he wanted to pretend to be Saint Nicholas. Meet Jolly Old Saint Nick himself… Check out his sleigh (the blanket…see him holding the reigns?) and note the stuffed bear playing the roll of reindeer. Filling the stockings…

Update: This round of playoffs takes two weeks. So the winner is decided by totaling the points scored both weeks, and whoever scored the most points goes on to the championship round. Looks like a close one…Scott scored 80 and I had 76. There is def still time for me to pull out a victory!! There are 10 teams on our fantasy football league this year. Four teams make it to play offs.