Portrait of a Sick Kid

Barf bucket and all.

Here's to a happy, healthy new year!

Christmas 2008: Top 10 Memories

1. Annual Christmas sing-a-long/bake-fest/dance party with Sheri
2. Zoo Lights with Grandma and Grandpa Richards
3. Riley's favorite new phrase, learned while Christmas shopping: "I want mommy buy dat."
4. Riley and Anna running wild around the huge Christmas tree downtown
5. The Arctic Blast
6. Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa Dougall, Geoff & fam, Alison, and Sheri
   
7. Riley's seven-day pajama streak
8. Riley's obsession with Zelf, the elf on our shelf
9. Riley's obsession with baby Jesus
10. Riley's obsession with her favorite stocking stuffer, pictured below (40 band-aids gone in 40 minutes)

Merry Christmas!

Dear Santa, Please Bring Me Sanity

The snow has been fun, but it isn't going away anytime soon. And here are the realities:

• Our car is buried and the roads are treacherous, so, obviously, no driving
• My child's naps (my primary source of sanity) have been spotty at best
• My gym is open, but its daycare (my secondary source of sanity) is closed
• My (and Riley's) friends (another important source of sanity) within walking distance have left town for Christmas
• The real clincher: my stroller can't really get through the 12-inch snowdrifts, limiting us to Riley's walking-in-the-freezing-snow threshold–approximately four blocks

Result: The Perfect Storm has created the Perfect Mommy's-About-to-Go-Crazy Storm

Help!

Arctic Blast 2008: The Sequel

We got eight inches of snow yesterday, which put last week's snowstorm to shame.

To stave off stir-craziness, we've implemented emergency tactics: lots of hot chocolate, a pile of redbox movies, and frequent–but short–walks.

Our poor car

Our poor balcony

Our poor child

Sneak Peek: The Richards Sweatshop

I am happy/relieved to say that despite the nation's dire economic circumstances, people are still buying mobiles this Christmas.

Hallelujah and happy holidays!

Arctic Blast 2008

It snowed today, and the local news called it an "Arctic Blast." Melodramatic? Maybe.

Or maybe not: The moment Riley saw it had snowed this morning, she fetched our coats and boots for a walk. A walk that lasted two whole blocks–until our first good, cold wind gust.

Arctic blast, indeed.

My Little Joker

Toast+Nutella=Comic Book Villain

Oh yeah...

I had a birthday. Sunday. 31 hardly seems worth mentioning, and the day was pretty uneventful, but here were a few highlights:

• Matt's parents were in town a few days beforehand. It was fun to see them, and they treated us to the best meal ever at a restaurant I've been wanting to try for ages.
• Matt swapped services with another local artist and got me a very cool painting.
• I got myself a Wii Fit.
  

I was hoping Riley would give me a little R&R for my birthday. Is that greedy? (Now it's on my Christmas list...)

There's candy at this holiday, too.

We tried getting into the Christmas spirit by making gingerbread cookies (and buying clementines).

But as you can see here, Super Riley is still clinging to her Halloween glory days by wearing her apron as a cape.

Thanksgiving Continued

Here are a few non-sleep-related Thanksgiving highlights:

* My siblings Sheri, Julie, and David came to town, which made for quite the family gathering.
* My sister Alison loved (loved!) my cranberry sauce. (pictured below)
* David's fried turkey was surprisingly delicious.
* 10 adults, 5 pies. Enough said.