We did it!

I did it!
On Friday afternoon I pressed “send” and emailed off my last term paper of the semester. Thank God it’s over. That semester kicked my ass. Now we have a month break and then it’s on to the final semester for grad school. It’ll be another tough one I am sure, but it’s the last one, so just that fact alone will make it easier.

Now I turn my thoughts to Christmas. So far the only thought I’ve had is “oh crap oh crap oh crap Christmas is next week and I don’t have a single present for anyone yet.” Worse than that, with me being the only income earner and only working part time at a non-profit for said income, we are beyond-beyond strapped. SO! Hello, friends and family! We are going to make Christmas gifts this year. And because we have not had time (see last paragraph) and we do not have the money, we have a wide variety of possibilities, like… binoculars made from toilet paper rolls and Saran Wrap, fashionable hats made out of newspaper (I may even use the comics, for a splash of color) pasta necklaces (a twofer, because it doubles as dinner), and certificates good for writing one term paper (not to be redeemed in the next five months, or actually, like, ever). I could also go with gifts from our kitchen, like… breast milk ice cream?

We did it!
So. All by way of saying don’t get real excited if you get a present from me this year. Or at least open it at your own risk. We did get our Christmas cards sent out last week, which Chris and I have been high fiving each other about for DAYS, because seriously, we freaking ROCK. Christmas cards? Like on time and stuff? To people? In the mail? Without coffee stains or any bodily fluids on them? Dude, the season is a complete success. Totally.

She did it!
In other news, Ella rolled over for the first time last night. I set her down on her back in bed so I could brush my teeth. When I walked back in the room with my toothbrush, she was on her belly. And she was craaaaanky. I flipped her back over and watched in amazement as she turned onto her side, worked the bottom arm out from under her and rolled back over onto her belly. And then screamed, because, really WTF? Tummy time sucks rocks.

This is nearly a whole month before Jay rolled over on his own, which was at about five and a half months. This is proof enough for me that girls are smarter than boys. Totally.

For my family who is making their way all the way up to Madison to celebrate the holidays with us, beware. It is insanely cold. The thermometer reads negative eight, but with the wind chill, it is between twenty and thirty below. Bring a jacket or at least a long sleeved shirt. And please, dear god, some degrees. At least enough to get us out of the hole, maybe a loan until temperature pay day? Seriously, bring all the freaking clothes you have. And then go get more.