Where have I been?

I cannot believe how long it's been since I blogged! I guess I didn't think I had anything to say (Ha!) or I was too tired...whatever the case....I missed it.

Our Thanksgiving was lovely...we spent it at my parents house, and it was a beautiful day! The rest of our weekend was spent just being a family, something we don't do enough of.
We took the boys to see the High School Musical on Ice...that was fun....a reminder of both how far we've come with the boys, and yet, still each of them had a bit of a sensory problem there.
Matty panicked UNTIL the lights went down and the skaters came out, then there was no stopping him...he sang the songs, he was "waving" to the characters....very cute. Ben was the complete opposite. He sat in his seat chatting up a storm and looking around UNTIL the lights went down, then he cried. Anthony had to sit him on his lap for the first 15 minutes until he calmed down, but then he too (nervously) enjoyed the show.
There was a little boy behind us that had issues too. He begged his parents to go home the ENTIRE time. I remember thinking "I've been there, done that." It made me so grateful that even though each boy had a bit of a sensory problem when we got there, we worked through each one, and we DIDN'T have to leave!
We started our Christmas shopping for the boys, and I have to be honest, I'm so DONE with the commercial aspect of Christmas. I feel like it's been Christmas-Time in the world since Halloween, and I'm DONE! I'm no scrooge...and I love giving gifts, the holiday entertaining, everyone is in a good mood, etc...but it's like ENOUGH with the commercials on TV about sales, and the people in line on Black Friday starting at 2 am! It's like, don't you know the true meaning of Christmas? If you look up "material girl" in the dictionary, my picture is in there, but even I cannot take what Christmas has turned into.
I really am not getting too many things for my kids (they each have unopened birthday gifts from their most recent birthdays in the Spring). My husband always gets me something really nice, and I try to wardrobe him for the winter as his gift, it's like a set ritual. I don't know this year....there's so many other things going on, that I wouldn't be upset if he didn't get me anything. We need to focus on getting our house updated, something we've neglected since I returned to full time work 18 months ago.
We also have to focus on all the 2008 things we have to plan for. OY! We need to plan our schedules around the boys school schedules, plan for summer camp, plan to attend the International Fragile X Conference in St. Louis in July, we're trying to coordinate a vacation with my dear cousin, her husband and 2 kids who live in Venezuela...like meeting them somewhere in the Caribbean for a few days so our kids can meet for the first time. Our older ones are 10 and 9 respectively...pretty sad that they have never seen each other in person. By the time I was 10, I had not only seen but also spent considerable time with the same cousin, in Venezuela, in the US and in Italy. By no means, were my parents wealthy or jet set either, it was just how we spent our time. And, in addition to high maintenance me, my parents also had 2 kids with Fragile X in tow too when they vacationed. It never stopped them.
As teenagers, my cousin and I each spent a summer in each other's country, something that I have the greatest memories from...I want the same for my kids too.

OK...I'm done for now...I still have a few things, but this post has been depressing....going to stop now!