Before we left for vacation my twin sister treated me to a
night off for grown up entertainment. We have a standing twin date every
Wednesday and as we were sitting on the couch that Wednesday chatting she
looked at me and said, “I can’t believe Avril Lavigne is in town and we aren’t
going to see her.” SAYWHATNOW? So of course, we had to make that happen. And we
did. In coordinating twin outfits and everything.
Some Christmas Shit
Before I left for vacation we took the kids to see Santa.
Sarah Jane was so excited and wore a pretty red dress and matching purse. She
loved it. Butttt it didn’t go quite as well as we planned. Carver started
screaming almost as soon as we set him down and I scooped him up so fast I think
it scared poor Santa. The photographer was very insistent that I put him back
down so she could jingle some stupid bells in his face to make him smile. NO.
Anyway, when it was all said and done we went to pay our $25 (HOLY SHIT, RIGHT?
HIGHWAY ROBBERY) for the Santa picture and there was literally only ONE with
both kids in it because I scooped Carver up so fast. And would you believe how
sweet and innocent SJ looks? Almost like she’s saying “Who me?” I swear she
pinched her brother right before this picture… she looks way too innocent.
For today’s Christmas Eve celebrations Sarah Jane made a
gingerbread house with my twinster. My sister’s name is Britton but in our
house, she’s called Cab. When SJ was little she had a hard time with Britton so
we wanted a nickname that would be easier to pronounce. My husband always
called B “Crazy Aunt Britton” so we shortened it to Cab and it stuck. She even
went out and got a tattoo to commemorate her role as aunt.
Anyway, I was
grateful Cab was up for it because food crafts are so not my bag. I think I
peaked for the year with the Christmas sweater cookies, to be honest. I took
the opportunity for some down time to go unpack from vacation. And by “unpack”
I mean I put my razor and shampoo back in the bathroom and dumped all of the
clothes into a laundry basket. VOILA! UNPACKED! (don’t lie. You do it too.)
But it seemed like they got along just fine without me.
Here, have some pics.
After that it was time to make cookies! Again, I don’t cook-
I just eat. But Daddy was home today so he and SJ set to work to make 8 dozen
cookies for Santa. Except, that is a lie. There will be 3 cookies for Santa,
and a handful for Sarah Jane. The rest will be eaten by Daddy in a midnight
binge. Count on it.
I think that is about all I can handle for Christmas shit
today. I love Christmas but holy worrrrrrrrrrrd I am glad it is almost here and
over with. I know I can’t be alone.
Some Fashion Shit – My Favorite Outfits from November and
December
I keep wanting to post random fashion related things here
since it’s in the title but it feels awfully pretentious to post a bunch of
pictures of myself. I’ve made a concerted effort this winter to break out of
the yoga pants more often and put myself together. My life is very unglamorous,
but that doesn’t mean my clothes have to be. I wore this to the post office the
other day:
And this grocery shopping:
I wonder if people look at my outfits and think I’m
responsible for things slightly more pressing than wiping boogers and baby
butts all day…
Regardless, I thought I’d dip my toe in the “fashion”
category of the blog with a few of my favorite outfits of the season.
My Dad’s Shirt
So, my dad passed away this year. In June. It sucked. A lot.
He went to the hospital on a Friday and was dead by Wednesday- it was a whirlwind in the worst way. My
husband, who lost his father years ago, told me the best way to keep the memory
of a loved one alive was to tell stories. So here are a couple short ones. It’s
relevant, I promise.
My dad had this shirt. It was awful. Really, unquestionably
bad. A seersucker button down with multi-colored stripes that he kept and wore
ALL THE TIME even as his weight went up and down (I can thank him for my yo-yo
genes) and I made fun of him for this shirt probably every time he wore it. It
was impossible not to. You know how some people say gift giving is their love
language? Or quality time? Or whatever? Ours was talking shit. The harder you
ragged on someone, the more they knew you cared.
When I got married my parents paid for me to have my hair
and makeup done there at the house so I wouldn’t have to go into a salon. When
the hairstylist got there she told me I needed a button down shirt so I could
take it off and put on my wedding dress without messing up my hair. I didn’t
have one anywhere so my sister ran to my dad to ask him for one. A few minutes
later I heard him at the door and he stuck his arm through holding that awful
shirt. “Here,” he said. “I know how much you love this one.”
When my dad died, my brother and I went to clean out his
stuff from where he had been living. Hanging in the closet was this shirt. I
took it and told my brother I wanted to keep it. I had no idea what I would do
with it, but I knew that I needed to hold onto it. So I hung it in my closet
and it sat there for a few months, untouched.
One week I was having a really hard time dealing with the
loss of my dad. I was re-living that last week when he was in the hospital and
wondering what I could have done differently, what I should have said instead.
I just missed my dad. I felt robbed. I knew I needed to get out of the house,
so I got the kids dressed and when I went to dress myself I stopped at the
space in my closet where the shirt was hanging. I pulled it out and wore it.
I’m sure that to a lot of people that seems strange. But I
felt such a sense of peace and comfort wearing that shirt. I felt my dad there
with me. I’m sure that he was looking down on me from somewhere, laughing his
ass off to see me so happily wearing the shirt that I had always given him such
shit for. I know he would have loved it.
Thanksgiving – Don’t Be Fooled
This year for Thanksgiving I decided to dress up for a
change. It felt great to put on a dress and some heels even though I wasn’t
planning to leave the house. I think I rather looked like a 50s housewife, don’t
you? I mistakenly made a comment to that effect while my mother and husband
slaved over the meal and I watched football- they were quick with the retort
that I only LOOKED like one. ;)
Christmas Party – Tis the season!
My husband’s family has a Christmas party every year and I
love it so much. We do a funny gift swap that is always good for a laugh and I
love the chance to dress up. This year I bought a new dress with lace overlays
and some black heels with little bows. Because seriously, what is cuter and
daintier for a Christmas party than heels with freaking BOWS on them?
Really though, when in doubt, especially with his family I
could always wear this.
Because nothing says “Tis the Season” quite like two
reindeer fucking. Merry Christmas, y’all!
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