Our Family Beginnings

To whomever wrote the Secret Ode about me, it was so nice to read it after a long two weeks.  You made my day, you anonymous yet gorgeous person.

Also thanks to Mel and E’s Mama who make it possible for me to be…well…me.  You two are two of the best friends a girl could ask for, aside from Mr. Badger, of course.  You prop me up when I’m blue and help me shine when I’m sunny.

Today sucks.  We got the news yesterda that we have to put our dear Furley to sleep.  She started losing weight and acting lethargic a week or so ago, and when I took her to the vet, we basically were told that it was the most humane thing to do.  So I will muster up my game face and remember that I have to be a mom today after I put her to rest.  Today I share some of my favorite pictures of her, including some taken this morning.

She was a mouthly girl who loved to be around people, and leaves behind her littermate of 10 years, Roper.

V is growing so fast, as fast as they say it goes, if not faster. We knew it would happen, but wow, a whole year almost? I have all these things to say as we approach official toddlerhood, but the man keeps me so busy that I haven’t made time to stop and record all of my thoughts. What I really need to do is just have some posts in progress and add to them as I think of them, or put titles of things I want to write down, knowing I can go back later and fill them in.

It’s been an amazing year, and we have so much to be thankful for. JJ’s on her way over with O-man, Callie & W will be here too, along with Mel & the twins, so all these thoughts will have to wait for another day…

I’m late to the party, but if you’ve never said hi before, say hi! I won’t bite…much

Did you ever get a gift of a page a day calendar?  Did you ever get through the whole year?  Me neither.  I’d always forget I had it, and then pick off a whole month and eventually just toss it at the end of the year.

Last year, my friend D got me the Cute Overload page a day, and I LOVED IT. I went through each page – and it was so fun to see what cuteness awaited me each day.  I liked it so much that Mr. Badger got me the “Bad Cat” page a day for this year.  So I am showing off my old and new calendars today.

Major props to my friends for knowing just what I like.  Adorable anthropomorphized animals.

We’ve had a lot to celebrate this year, and this holiday season was no exception. However, V did get in a fight with a table and lost (it wasn’t even a sharp table!) and I seem to have gotten a stomach bug. As a result, we’re both a little off today. However, in his quest for exploration, he stumbled upon something that made me cackle with laughter. That made him laugh and do it some more, and as a result, I can share it with you.

Growing up, Christmas eve was always the big deal in my house.  My folks got married on Christmas Eve, and that was always the night that we spent with my favorite grandparents. We’d listen to the top 40 station’s holiday music, sometimes go to the movies, and have a midnight snack of Froot Loops.  It never occurred to me that Christmas itself was actually a big deal, seeing as how we were all MOT.

Enter Mr. Badger.  I have spent the past 10 or so Christmases with him, including before we were married.  His grandfather has four kids, and they would all go to bed with no decorations in the house on Christmas Eve.  Santa would visit that night and put up a tree and all of the presents.  Pretty cool, no?  When I went to his folks’ house, they too put up the most amazing tree.  It’s always huge and even with that, I have no idea how all of the ornaments find a space.  Don’t get me started on the lights.  That’s just something I could never stand.  You see, there’s an art to it – winding it just the right way to get maximum lighting and all.  I tried to do it once with our own tree, as opposed to just assisting, and it was a disaster.  After about 5 minutes, I gave up.  I’m used to a Menorah. You light a match, sing a few prayers, and voila! Done.

They have lots of other traditions that really have made me, well, like a kid at Christmas. So I look forward to this time of year – the ceremony of it all, the faces when people open gifts they were either hoping for or were happily surprised to receive, it makes me melt in the happy.

This year, Mr. Badger has had a very busy year at work, and so I wanted to surprise him and bring home and put up the tree on my own.  Before I get too far, I have to mention that you have to get the right kind of tree, specifically a Frasier fir. I got to the tree place and had a massive brain fart.  I asked for the Douglas firs.  The salesman even said, “Sure, but so you know, our Frasiers are a bit fresher.”  I nodded and reiterated that I needed a Douglas.  We’ve never gotten a Douglas.  I, of course, did not get the sanity kicked back into my head until the tree was cut, on my car, and I was on the highway.

Luckily, when I got it in the house, it was very full and beautiful, and Mr. Badger loved it anyway.  I got up the lights and the ornaments and bows and…whew!  The only downside is that there aren’t a lot of strong branches on this tree, so it was hard to put some of the heavier ornaments up.  Again, you wouldn’t know just from looking at it.  I’m pretty impressed if I do say so myself.  Not bad for a 10-year-old in Christmas time!

I have said before that I am tough to shop for, and believe me, I am.  If I want something bad enough, I usually go get it – within reason.  Tonight, though, I went over to Mel’s house for dinner with V and the kids and she surprised me with a birthday gift.  It’s  a fair trade bracelet made out of recycled paper and then lacquered.  It’s gorgeous, and totally me.  All the colors I love to wear.  She rocks.