Uncle Nate made little Josh cry.

But Grandma made it all better.

Guess What Josh Got for Christmas

The Vacuum Cleaner Monster

Picture this: I was expecting guests on Thursday. Some friends of mine were coming from out of town to spend the night at our house. Seeing as it was only two days after Christmas, my house was in desperate need of cleaning and I had been putting it off for days. Stephanie and her husband Stephen had left that morning and I wasn't expecting them to be there for at least another hour. I got to work cleaning my living room and had vacuumed the rug when my Mom called. We chatted for a bit and when the conversation was over, I put my cell phone in my pocket and went back to work. The plan was that Steph and Stephen were going to sleep on the living room floor and I got to thinking that they were going to see right under my couches and it was pretty dusty under there. I got my vacuum cleaner hose out and kneeled on the floor reaching back under my couch to get those dust bunnies. Suddenly my hair was yanked back and right up into the vacuum. You cannot turn the beater bar off on our vacuum, so when you use the hose, it keeps spinning. When I leaned over to reach under the couch, I was too close to the vacuum and now my hair was tightly wrapped around the beater bar. I turned off the vacuum and tugged on my hair. Nope. It was stuck. All I could think of was the horror stories I've heard of during the 1800's when the girls working in factories would get their hair caught in the machines and get dragged right into them. Yikes... This wasn't that bad, but I was stuck. I was curled up in a little ball on the living room floor with my hair wrapped up into the vacuum. Good thing that I had just been talking to my Mom. I got my cell out of my pocket. She only lives ten minutes away and she has a key to get in my house. (I keep my doors locked.) I call her up... "Mom, I need help. My hair is stuck in the vacuum." I could only imagine what she was thinking. She assures me that help is on the way. Meanwhile, Josh, who is in the baby swing, starts crying and Molly (my dog) is sniffing my head wondering what was wrong with me. Tears start to flow and I feel pretty helpless trying to get comfortable on the floor. My phone rings and Mom tells me that Dad is on his way. Right after we hung up for the second time, my phone rings again. It was Stephanie. "Hi Bethy! I think we're at your house. Can you open the door?" I answer with, "I can't." I'm choking back tears mixed with laughter as I tell her why I cannot come to the door. And boy, do I feel really dumb now. She's trying to think of how she can help me, but since the doors are all locked, that'd be useless. I figure that I'd better try to carry the vacuum to the door to unlock it. Good thing I don't have a Kirby because then it would've been much harder to carry. I manage to turn the vacuum upside down and make it to the door. I must've looked like quite the sight when she came in. My face is damp with tears and my hair... Josh is crying quite fiercely by now. Stephanie unwinds my hair from the bar and somehow I'm not as embarrassed as I thought I would be. I think she and her hubby felt sorry for me and I have to admit, it was the joke of their stay. My head had a nice egg on it from my hair being pulled so hard and I lost a small clump of hair, but we hadn't had to cut any of my hair, for which I am grateful. We put the vacuum away for the rest of their visit.

Stubborn Boys and Seasonal Blues

Joshua is a stubborn boy. After all, how many seven week old babies do you know who still have a special attachment? Today was the second time we went to see his doctor about his belly button. He just won't let that cord go! His doctor just shrugs her shoulders and treats it with something to help it shrink. I'm hoping to have had given Josh his first real bath by Christmas. I bet he would like sitting in warm bath water, kicking his little feet. This morning I gave him a sponge bath and he didn't appreciate it very much. I think a sponge bath is much colder than a real bath. Josh just lays there and gets little goose pimples if I don't move fast enough. Hey, it's all I can do at the moment!

Last week was my first week back to work. I haven't been waitressing though. I've been packing candy boxes. Our restaurant also sells candy and Christmas is one of the big candy seasons (second after Easter). I worked three days last weeks and on the third day I didn't want to leave Josh at Grandma's. I wanted to stay and cuddle him and kiss his fat cheeks. I'm so glad that I'm only working so often for the holiday season. My plan is to work one day a week after Christmas is over and I'm so glad that Adam doesn't mind having a stay-at-home Mom for a wife. I'd much rather be at home with my baby and my house than out working days at a time. For an explanation of why I haven't stopped working altogether see my post from October 8, 2007. I guess I still have a "special attachment" too, although of a different kind than Joshua's.

There is one week until Christmas and for some reason this year, I've been strangely detached from the festivity of the season. Why can't I seem to be excited? I know that the real reason of Christmas is Christ's birth and that we are really celebrating Him, so what's wrong with me this year? Usually, I have this eager anticipation of the Christmas season, but not this year. Maybe I have too many distractions... Maybe not too many, but a big distraction. But Josh shouldn't be used as an excuse for my lack of Christmas "spirit". This Friday, I am going to a friend's to make Christmas cookies. I'm hoping that a bit of fellowship will boost my excitement and general enjoyment of the season. That and maybe when I finish Christmas shopping, I'll feel more prepared. Why is the emphasis always on shopping? Why can't our emphasis truly be on Jesus, the real meaning of Christmas? I know somebody out there can sympathize with me and my drama. Who else out there just isn't with it this year?

I'm Still Here!

Just wanted to drop a quick note saying "I'm still alive!!!" I have been pretty busy lately and I don't think things will slow down until after January 5th... But I'll try to post between now and then to let everyone know what's up in the life of Bethany. And by the way... Thanks to all who gave Adam and I a new camera. Pictures of Josh are forth coming, when I have a moment or two to spare :)

Josh Stays at Grandma's

Yesterday I wrote this nice post about my anniversary supper and how I made clams (for the first time) for my husband. I got it all written out and then blogger went down and wouldn't publish, so you don't get to hear about my nice clam supper. It was rather boring anyways.

Today I went back to work for the first day and left Josh with his Grandma. It went pretty well at work and everyone seemed glad to see me, but by the end of the day my back ached so bad from standing up all day and I was ready to go home and find my baby. Turns out, he didn't miss me at all and was a very good boy. Except for pooping his pants and soiling his clothes. We decided that maybe Josh has grown out of the size one diapers because he keeps leaking through. I suppose that it is very possible because, as of yesterday, he is 12 lbs and 2.5 oz. And he's only five weeks old! He's been growing so fast. Grandma got to feed him his very first bottle today. She said he did very well and didn't fuss about it. What a good boy I have! Yesterday morning I took him to the doctor because his belly button cord hasn't fallen off yet. She said it is rare for them to hang on so long, but it didn't seem to be causing any problems other than being an annoyance. She put some medicine on it to help the cord shrink. I'm hoping that it will fall off soon, so I can give Josh his first bath. Up until now he has only had sponge baths, but at least that is something! I can already see the difference the medicine has made, so it won't be long now until Josh can be my little fish. Isn't he so cute?