ups and downs

downs:
-the piece of junk baby gate we got from target. i hate it with all my fibers and such.
-the way our charlie brown christmas tree looks comically out of proportion in our living room. these ceilings are just too high.
-trying not to burst in to tears when the doctor said Ruby has fifth disease*.
doctor-"it looks like fifth disease...{met by a look of horror on my face}... oh! don't worry! it's just a virus. it's not  as serious as it sounds."
-deciding to make our own christmas cards and then finding out our printer won't print on card stock (like it's supposed to).**
-Ruby's baby food strike.
-this conversation with a lady at joann's:
"excuse me, do you have any clear glass christmas ball ornaments?"
"we have these (pointing to clear plastic ornaments)."
"so you don't have glass ornaments?"
"no. we're sold out, but these are just as good"
"hmm. yeah i would just rather have glass, but thanks anyway."
"why???"
"...umm... because i ...want glass?"(how does one appropriately respond in that situation anyway?)
-the way our christmas lights look compared to our neighbor's. we can't afford to be that holly jolly!
-broken microwave.
-FOUR of Ruby's top teeth coming in.

ups:
-Ruby learning to pull herself up on anything and standing unassisted for 10 seconds at a time. how did this happen??
-trader joe's chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels, dark chocolate peppermint joe joes, chewy eggnog cookies, and chocolate covered toffee popcorn. thank you santa!
-singing christmas hymns at church on sunday. hubs and i both looked at each other and smiled when we saw that.
-putting up the christmas tree and seeing Ruby's amazing self control. so far all she's done is poke at the branches and stare at it. it may not be a death trap after all! wahoo!
-the hubs. he's just awesome.
-Ruby being a trooper at the doctor's office. proud moment.
-finding a bun recipe that i can actually pull off! plus they're super ultra delicious! winning!
-wearing matching outfits to church with the roobster. yes, i'm aware of the cheese. i embrace the cheese.
-making Ruby's very first christmas ornament. my hope is to someday have a christmas tree covered in mismatched, tacky, homemade ornaments. those trees are the most beautiful to me.
-the doctor telling us to give Ruby ice cream and then seeing her reaction to mango sherbet. priceless.

*apparently named by someone with no compassion or creativity. the word "disease" really shouldn't be used for anything unless it's life threatening. right?? also, i'm not 100% convinced that is what she had...
**our christmas cards may be coming late this year.

p.s. happy december!