Monday, December 3, 2012

The New Challenge of Christmas Trees

Yesterday we woke up early to start day two of the great Christmas tree setup of 2012. You would think that putting up a tree in one day wouldn't be much of a challenge. Jen has long berated my short attention span in the act of decorating the tree and with two babies demanding outrageous things like food, sleep, and attention, it was all the more challenging for me this year.

Martin Asleep Under Christmas Tree

On day two we decorated between feedings and Martin had one of the longest naps of his life in a very inconvenient spot on the floor under the tree making us need to step over him for a couple of hours.

Elliott Wide Awake Under Christmas Tree

Elliott was much more alert and seemed to think that watching us bumble about the decorating process was one of the more entertaining things he'd ever seen.

One Sleeping Bubs, One Awake Bubs Under Christmas Tree

The tree seemed to keep them entertained (or asleep) and that made it well worth the price.

Role Reversal Under Christmas Tree

A few hours later we were still decorating and the Wombats reversed roles under the tree. We also allowed the Wombats to watch a little Christmas television with us (The Muppet Family Christmas) and we were reminded of why we don't want them watching TV ever. It is just too spooky how silent and transfixed they are on anything that appears on that screen.

Still, it's hard to blame them. The Muppet Family Christmas is a holiday classic!

Ground Lamb Price (Version 1)

Yesterday we ran some errands including going to the meat market to pick up some ground lamb for tonight's dinner. When I looked at the package I thought it was an odd way to write $8.02 but I took it to the register.

Ground Lamb Price (Version 2)

At the register they rang it up as $20.08. I think this is an even more strange way of writing $20.08. The clerk could see by the look on my face that I was less than thrilled about this price so he checked with the butcher. The price was correct. I was actually too shocked to argue and paid it. It wasn't until we were on the street that Jen and I had a family meeting with the Wombats and determined that we had, indeed, been ripped off.

Oh well, that's the cost you pay for forgetting to pick it up at the grocery store. It's a poor planning tax.

With the ground lamb I made a shepherd's pie. Apparently I was so shocked by the price paid for the lamb that I forgot to take a picture.

The good news is that it was a pretty damn good shepherd's pie or, as we call it in my family: pâté chinois.

Lagunitas Brown Shugga

Also while running errands I was able to snatch up the last remaining six pack of Brown Shugga' from Lagunitas Brewing Company at our local beer store. And for only a fraction of the price o the lamb!

Lagunitas Brown Shugga'

This beer was different than I thought it would be but very tasty. It was a malty, hoppy, piney, delightful winter ale. Last year they did not brew this beer so I had their Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale Brown Shugga' Substitute. I don't really remember that beer all that well but the Brown Shugga' was quite nice. It was a little higher alcohol than it let off so after one bottle each we were feeling like that was enough.

After reading that blog entry from last year it appears I was very ill at that time and, indeed, I had forgotten about how I'd gotten quite sick in Jen's absence. This worries me a bit as she prepares to leave again on a business trip. She didn't get any of the beer last year because we had just learned that she was pregnant and, of course, had not yet told anyone. This year, however, she was lucky enough to enjoy this 9.99% ABV beverage as well as the ability to stay awake through the day with no napping.

We are getting less than half the sleep we were at this point last year. We were routinely going to bed at 9:30 PM or 10:00 PM and waking up around 8:00 AM or 9:00 AM every morning. This year we're going bed closer to midnight and waking up around 6:00 AM, all while waking up at least two or three times a night. The funny thing is I feel more alert now than I did then.

We'll see how I feel after Jen's business trip.

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