Ring in 2006 at our suburban house of decadence.
There will be an open bar — stocked with chocolate milk and grape juice!
There will be primo drugs — Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus and Amoxicillin (bubble gum flavor)!
There will be a dancing girl — the 3-year-old who refuses to put on her jammies!
There will be hard core movies — Cinderella and Lion King!
There will be tasty gourmet appetizers — pizza and Pop Tarts!
There will be titillating conversation — with Bailey and Jack the dogs!
There will be rockin’ music — by Fisher Price battery operated toys that play the same darn tune over and over!
We’ll be passing out the noisemakers at 11:45 p.m. sharp. Don’t miss out on the fun. Everyone who is anyone (at our house) will be there.

I write so much about my kids and motherhood, you’d think this was a mom blog or something. Sheesh. I’m a little late to be posting on this gift idea for writer types, but I received the new illustrated Elements of Style by Strunk and White from a fellow editor for Christmas and it’s a great addition to any word nerd’s library. Designer Maira Kalman, whose work has graced a Kate Spade bag and fabrics by Isaac Mizrahi as well as the cover of The New Yorker, has illustrated this new 2005 version and it’s worth checking out.

I had this crazy whim this morning that I’d see how long we could go without popping in a Disney DVD. Caitlin and Amelia have been sick all week with bad colds and I lost track last night of who was waking up and what ungodly hour it was and who got cold medicine and saline drops and Vicks and when I crawled into bed with Caitlin and her 5,000 stuffed animals that she insists on sleeping with. Being the whacky mom that I am I was telling the hubby this morning that I was concerned with the hours we are logging this week glued to the TV mindlessly watching Lion King and Cinderella. We made it three hours in to the morning without giving in to the movie bug. On a “let’s be thankful for our blessings” sidenote, I’m just glad this isn’t the week I am scheduled to start going in to the office. Now excuse me while I curl up with my girl and zone out to Hakuna Matata for the zillionth time.

Bathtime

Originally uploaded by jamiemom.

Couldn’t resist posting this one. Amelia loves bathtime. I can’t wait to take her to the pool next summer. She is a water baby.

For you shoppin’ diva technologically savvy types, did you know you can subscribe to an RSS feed of Target’s weekly specials and get a jump on the Sunday specials flyer? Just what I need - one more way to feed the Target addiction. Bring it on baby.

Don’t take a Sudafed and chase it with a half a dose of Dayquil at 4 a.m. if you’re having trouble sleeping due to a pesky runny nose.

Princess in Training

Originally uploaded by jamiemom.

We’d been on the interstate all of 10 minutes yesterday when our car’s check engine light came on, Caitlin announced she had diarrhea and began yelling for us to pull over, the baby began crying, it started pouring down rain, and I realized I had not packed a bottle for the baby. Luckily we only have to drive about 40 miles to visit our families. I admire all of you who must travel during the holidays. The girls are worn out and I have anal retentively thrown away every bit of wrapping paper and packaging in the house that Amelia could get her grubby little baby fingers on and ingest. The hubby and I are ready for a nice glass of wine. The girls had a wonderful Christmas, despite being a little under the weather (the baby later had an explosive diaper incident at Mimi and Peepaw’s, which culminated in a rather cute Christmas Eve bath in the utility room sink which she LOVED). If I can get a picture of them in their matching hot pink snowman girly diva pjs from Target, I will post it.