year end

I would like to say that I'd spent today in serious contemplation and reflection on the things that meant the most to me in 2008. But that would be completely incorrect. Basically, we've spent today as any other day, chasing our toddler around, trying to keep him from harming himself while also trying to teach him about manners and words and letters and numbers...it's a big job!

Our big New Year's Eve plans? Well, I bought a box of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls, and we have some wine. We had Hamburger Helper for supper and we made popcorn. We might stay up until midnight. Dennis didn't make it--he just went to sleep.

I've done some laundry. I contemplated taking the Christmas tree down, but I didn't want to go out to the storage building to get the boxes. We cleaned out our booth at the flea market since today was the last day to do so. I think we might have sold a couple of things this month but will find out tomorrow. There was a chance earlier that we might have had a Big Event. After supper, Dennis and I were reading his Little People farm book (Fisher Price little people, not midgets, in case you were wondering, though that would certainly make for an interesting farm book), and suddenly he cast it down and said "poo poo potty". So we ran to the bathroom and removed his pajamas and Cookie Monster slippers and diaper, and he sat down on the potty. He pooted very loudly and satisfyingly, and that was all we got. Then there were a few minutes of Naked Bathroom Acrobatics while I tried to chase him down to get him back into his diaper, pajamas, and slippers. He flushed the toilet seven or eight times during this wild few minutes.

He did learn a new skill today. He can open his bedroom door now, so there goes one surefire method of toddler confinement that we used to rely on. I'll be buying one of those doorknob covers (the kind that prevent ME from opening doors) to put on the inside of his doorknob. David took him into his room and was going to change his diaper and suddenly he opened the door and left! He did the same thing to me a few hours later. We've deadbolted the front door to the house, just in case, but he hasn't shown the ability to open any door except his own so far.

What else? We colored some chalk masterpieces on his chalkboard. He broke the first piece of chalk today, and he knows the word "chalk". I broke three fingernails trying to open the chalk container when I should have just handed it to Dennis. He opened it immediately and with no trouble.

We didn't see any fireworks. We hear them all around us (we live in The Country with Real Rednecks), but didn't see them. Our Labrador Retriever is huddled by the front door, occasionally hurling himself at the windows trying to get in (he just LOVES fireworks) and away from the noise, still afraid of all the major fireworks holidays (and there are many of those in the south). I'm not letting him in. He has a very nice dog run and garden shack all to himself, but he got free tonight like he did yesterday and sometime while we were gone for Christmas. This means neighbor trash showing up in our yard, large scale licking attacks whenever we try to go to the car, and barking barking barking at every car that passes on the road nearly a quarter mile down our driveway. He barks at the deer (who have probably left now that he's free instead of confined) and at cats and bird and squirrels... We've got to get his fence fixed tomorrow! He barked all night last night, and he isn't such a big chicken when he's safe in his fence. He woke Dennis up a time or two, but Dennis went right back to sleep. I just heard him stirring a bit in his room and then the baby snores resumed.

It's been a good day. It's been a good year. I wish we were ending it on a healthier note, but really, how much longer can we be sick with the same cold? It has to end sometime. Cheers to everyone, and Happy New Year!