inspired

Look what happened!!!!

Introducing Iver Caroline Hunt, 8 lbs., 3 ounces, 20 inches long.

Born Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 6:12 p.m.

We’re so happy. And tired. And happy.

We’re all getting to know one another. She’s a fresh baked little bird, with a full head of dark brown hair, a set of to-die-for dimples and lots of wiggles.  Pat and I are taking a crash course in true sleep deprivation and new parenthood. Surprises: Everything looks brighter! Tastes better! Is more interesting!

The other night, Pat and I fell into a fit of uncontrollable laughter for 10 minutes over a poopy diaper. I caught myself there, in the middle of the night in the dark, laughing until it hurt, and I thought WOW. Oh, wow!

We’re so excited! xoxoxoxo

Angie, Pat and Iver

A note, before we start: It occurred to me in the middle of the night last night that it’s a little more than slightly insane to publicly pledge to do this advent calendar/daily holiday celebration stuff when one is 37 weeks pregnant. So, if I disappear from here, you’ll know why, right? Because 1) Have a Baby and 2) Recover From Having Baby pretty much preempts every single bit of holiday spirit I could eek out within the next 24 days. OK? OK!

And another note: Sorry for the delay here. I got stuck dealing with car/truck problems (flat tires! broke coils! hooray!) most of the day, after taking a trip to the vet. Ugh. Happy holidays, neighborhood mechanic and overpriced veterinarian!

Now, onto the task at hand: Day 1 of our 2009 advent celebration! Let’s play!

Holiday memory: When I was a kid, our family kept the board games — along with coats and the vacuum cleaner and dusting rags — in the hallway closet of our creaky old house. On winter nights, my mom, sister and I used to go to the hallway and pull out the round tin of Chinese Checkers. Did you have those, too? The marbles swished around inside the tin, and we’d pull it open and dump out the reds and yellows and whites and greens and blues and put them on the corresponding color of the six-point star. Then we’d play. For hours. I loved it, and wish I still had that tin Chinese Checkers game.

I searched around today to find a replacement, but no luck, really. Luckily, the Internet always pulls through! Thank you, and goodnight!

But if you’re looking for more strictly holiday-themed games, how about Santa? He’s always fun. And these games are some of the best ones I’ve found recently:

• Santa Balls 2 (Your typical ball destruction game. Turn off the truly annoying music, but miss the crass Santa sayings. Your choice.)
• Kill Santa (WARNING: Not safe for work. You are killing Santa, after all. After some provocation, *ahem.*)
• Sling Shot Santa (Hilarious. To me.)
• Fat Santa (Oh, no. I feel the same about brussel sprouts.) And,
• Find Santa (Like Waldo, only better.)

Did you play games when you were a kid? If so, what kind, and have you found any fun winter/holiday online games you’d like to share, too?

Now that Thanksgiving festivities are over, I can declare my undying *LOVE* for this time of year. The lights! The trees! Vince Guaraldi! The gift-giving (and, OK, gift-getting, too. But after my mom gave me an Epilady one teenage Christmas, I don’t hold my breath anymore)! Christmas cookies! Oh, holy Christmas cookie!

So I’ve been on the lookout for some awesome ways to celebrate this momentous (for us) holiday season. Advent calendars are so awesome, especially the ones Leslie Harpold used to post online, which were filled with fun flash games and memories and things to do. She’s gone now (and unfortunately, it appears her calendars aren’t online anymore, but you can read about them some here), but they were amazing and really rekindled my love for small daily celebrations.

Today, I found another inspiration, this time by Jean at The Artful Parent. Hers are mainly — though not only — child- and family-focused daily activities, and they got me thinking. How am I going to celebrate this year? I’ve been so wrapped up in baby preparations and work that December has completely snuck up on me. But, with a grateful thanks to Leslie and Jean, I’ve decided that I’m at least going to attempt my own advent celebrations.

I’m going to aim to document it here, too. Time to get started! Want to play along?