I wanna be like her....

My little Hazel spends all day, every day trying to do what I do. She wants to help me do the laundry, vacuum, cook lunch/dinner. She has to climb the stairs the way I do (which scares me to death, so it's gated) and come down the stairs the way I do (which means I currently have a carpet burn on my butt and thighs so we both learn the "proper" way to do it). She only wants to sit on the couch the way I do (with my legs hanging over the side, which means she scoots all the way to the edge so HER legs hang over). She answers the phone the way I do, repeats things I say and in the TONE I use.

She wants so bad to be big enough and do everything Mommy does. And I know it won't last forever, so I'm trying to enjoy it while it's going on. And I try to remember what she's watching and learning so I'm a little more careful with what I do every day.

But watching her this morning, I realized how much I want to be like her! I want to be excited about life the way she is. I wanna break out in dance every time I hear a song I like...and not worry about what I look like when I'm doing it or where I'm doing it. She's OK with her body (she's big on playing with her belly button) and believes people when they tell her she's pretty...but not in an "Oh, I know." way! She has no problem saying no if she doesn't like or want something or if she's had enough. Now, I know a lot of this is because she doesn't know any better, but why do we have to know better? Why can't we just accept life as it is? She's not afraid to try new things or attempt to conquer the world. And she's happy as a lark.

I wanna be like her!

Colds and Christmas

So, we're entering our 3rd week of the creepy crud (again, yes, that is a technical term). I've been sick for all 3, and Brett and Hazel have been sniffly for a little over 1. I'm giving it until the 21st to move out. that's the deadline for feeling good. Especially as we're flying out on the 22nd. Hazel seems in good spirits, though, which I'm greatful for.

I put new clothes on her today. Well, not new new, but she's not worn them yet. A top we got on super clearance at Kohl's, it's Carter's onesie in 18 mos!!!! And it's almost on the small side! then she's wearing Old Navy jeans in 12-18 mos and it's almost snug! And b/c she's got short legs it's about 1/2 inch short. She's getting far too big far too fast I tell ya. I can't believe she'll be 15 months on Saturday.

Yesterday, Brett and I broke down and decided to open one Christmas present each. I got a cool headset for my IPod Shuffle, which plugs right into the headset so there's no cords to wrerstle with when I'm on the treadmill or cleaning. They're really neat. I got Brett a dress shirt for work (not fun, but sexy). And Hazel got a Barbie Vacuum! She's been "helping" me vacuum, so we thought she'd have fun with a little one of her own. She's not stopped playing with it since last night.

FG Wilson Christmas

Last night we had the FG Wilson Christmas "Do" (as they call Parties over here). Brett and I are still sick and so is Hazel, and, honestly, we had no go. But as we'd already spent $$ on my dress, his suit, and other things for the Party, we decided we should suck it up and go.

I got my hair done by Kelly (the girl who's been cutting my hair lately) and, honestly, it was THE first time EVER that I've had my hair done for a formal event that I haven't gone home and fussed with. She did an amazing job.

Went home, finished the cleaning that was necessary for Michelle to come babysit for us, got dressed, and headed off. I picked up Michelle around 6 pm and got her and Hazel Chinese for dinner (Hazel's new fave food is Chicken with Green Pepper in Black Bean sauce) and left them to it by 6:30.

For the record, Mapquest is pure BOLLUCKS. We got lost in Belfast and didn't show up the the party until quarter to 8. Luckily the dinner didn't get served until 8, so we were OK. There was a concert going on at the same venue, among other things, so Brett and I (who drove instead of taking the coach for Michelle and Hazel reasons) had to park at the back of the very large site and walk in. It was so cold, and I wasn't dressed for the freezing cold, so Brett very sweetly loaned me his suit jacket.

We got inside, had some mulled wine to warm up, and bought some "betting" money for the horse races, and found our group.

Dinner was served. It was just Matt and Jenn, Brett and I at our table, so we settled in to joking and sharing the bread. They brought out our starter, which everyone else had soup while I had ordered melon...I should have gotten the soup. (orders were taken in September) Then we got our entree, I was the only one who ordered turkey and ham, and everyone gave me crap for it. Funny thing is, their Steaks were so bad that they kept looking longingly at mine. Tough luck! then we had lemon tart which was, ya know, lemon tart. Nothing special.

Then the horse races started (they were tapes from previously run races) and you had the opportunity last month to "purchase" a race horse for the race, and all the procedes when to Charity. It was fun to watch the races and cheer on your horse, bet with the play money on every race. The only race we won on was when we bet on the horse owned by an FG employee named Hazel. Guess why we bet on that one :) But she won which was exciting!!!!! They even had a few races for employees to run! It was a blast.

After the horse races, they broke out the dance floor, and we boogied our feet off!

About 11:45 you could clearly tell the boys were miserable, so we headed for the door and got stopped saying bye to Tony McAlister (see pics from Thanksgiving in Northern Ireland) who is Matt's boss...and Matt is Brett's boss. He absolutely cracks me up. He's a true Irishman, drinking everyone stupid. Needless to say, it took us almost an hour to actually LEAVE, and in that time, we managed to talk Brett into Golfing in January with Tony and Matt (Brett HATES golf) for Tony's birthday, plan a weekend trip to Barcelona in February, and other random excursions! Finally, I had to be the bad guy and excuse us (poor Michelle was at our house) and we headed out.

The trip home was as eventful as the trip there. I was the only sober one in the car, so my navagators were ZERO help, and I had no clue where I was in Belfast (we got lost on the way in, remember?) But I managed my way out, and home. 3/4 of the drive home was in very thick fog and frost, so it took longer to get home than normal, but we arrived safe and sound, dropped Matt and Jenn off, then picked up Michelle and took her home. I think it was 2:30 before I got home, calmed down from the drive, and fell asleep.

Hazel was up at 7:30.

It's going to be a long day.

Wow...I'm old.