I recently blogged about my parents' plan to visit us for the week between Christmas and New Year's. My father actually traded his yearly time share in Vegas for a week in Branson, which is about an hour away from us. They would like us to stay with them in the condo during that time. Unfortunately, my mother was just telling me over the phone that the trip may not happen after all. This economic recession is affecting my father's business pretty badly. In the neighborhood where he builds custom homes, they haven't sold a home in several months.  read more »

Sometimes I wish I had one of those cell phone amplifiers so that my relatives could meet the real choosyboy; not the cute one that they speak to once a week over the phone, but the living, breathing monster that emerges almost daily (when they are conveniently living several hundred miles away). Last night, we had a decent night, but choosyboy gave us the usual trouble. He fell asleep in the car after trick-or-treating, and we simply transferred him to his bed when we got home, which was a nice change of pace.  read more »

This year, we won't be heading home for the holidays. We just can't afford it, and to be honest I hate traveling during the holidays as it is. Most of our family still lives in Colorado, and they've been bugging us about visiting for several months now. Fortunately, my parents have decided that they are going to come out and visit us during the week after Christmas. My father traded his Vegas timeshare for a comparable floorplan in Branson, and they would like us to come out and spend some time with them.  read more »

Choosyboy turned 4 years old today. I can't believe it. As if him starting school wasn't crazy enough, now our "baby" is another year older. I feel sorry him too, because his party is going to be difficult to plan with the house in shambles. We may just have to move everything outdoors. Luckily, the weather is extremely agreeable right now. In fact, with the air movers in the house, it is actually warmer in the house. Outside, it feels like fall is here to stay. I hope that it is, as Autumn is my favorite season.  read more »