Odds and Ends

It's a bit quiet around here today...Steve is off skiing so the boys and I are at home, attempting to get a few things done around the house. I was supposed to go Christmas shopping by myself yesterday, but that turned into grocery shopping with Griffin instead, so hopefully I will figure out a way to get what I need to get done, sometime next week. I have been feeling for quite some time now, the need to get out of the house by myself, but for some reason it hasn't worked out yet. For some reason I am the type of person that needs time by myself from time to time - - time when I can drive the car and blast the radio, browse lazily through some of my favorite stores, sit quietly and sip a mocha - - just collect my thoughts. I've talked with other women who claim they absolutely do not need "me" time, but not me - - I NEED it. Not a lot of it, but just once in a while. I wish it didn't feel like it was so hard to come by.

Last night, Rex, Kasey, and Banzer came for dinner. They leave on Wednesday for Christmas in Maine, so we exchanged gifts last night and had a great time visiting. I love this shot of Steve and Banzer. I can't get over how quickly he is growing. He has the longest, most beautiful eyelashes you have ever seen. He is 4 months older than Griffin, so as you can imagine, next year at this time, we'll have a mess of busy boys on our hands!

I've been pondering cloth diapers for many months now- - I've done a ton of research on them, but haven't quiet decided to take the leap yet. Cloth diapers have gotten quite high-tech. There are so many to choose from that it hurts my head just thinking about it. I did find a woman in Boise who makes them, so I bought one (modeled here by sweet Griffin) and we are currently in "test mode". This particular diaper is called a "pocket" diaper - - there is an opening inside the diaper that you stuff with a terry insert. The lining is microfleece, so when it gets wet, the moisture is drawn into the diaper and the fleece feels dry. They are pretty bulky, but I've done the math and they would save a ton of money over the length of time Griffin will be in diapers. I'm giving myself until he moves up to size 2 diapers to make up my mind. I think I need to try a couple more types of cloth in the meantime.

I love this time of year, not just because I love Christmas, but because Starbucks serves Peppermint Mochas! Yay! If I could drink them all day every day, I would. If you haven't had one, please visit your nearest Starbucks and try one. Yum! At times I fantasize about working at Starbucks, just so I could drink mochas and frappuccinos to my hearts content. Most of you already know that I have a slight Starbucks problem. What can I say. I love froo-froo coffee. I can't help myself.

Camden and I baked some Christmas cookies today. As I suspected he would be, he was mostly interested in trying to eat sprinkles. I did manage to get him to put some on the cookies, but he would have been happier if I'd just let him drink the sugar crystals right from the bottle.