All right, Santa we’re ready for you. Bring it.

But, if you could wait until we get the tree skirt down so that the bubble wrap is covered, that would be great. We’re using that to keep the tree from sliding around.

Also, my son is quite concerned about you getting hurt because our chimney needs to be rebuilt, but the estimate is $7,000 for a repair from the roof up or $15,000 for a completely new chimney. Maybe you could use the front door this year. And, next. Also, the year after that.

My son’s stocking holder is broken, so please don’t put anything too heavy in there or it will come crashing to the floor. You should wear your steel-toed boots just in case.

The outside Christmas lights turn on with a switch near the front door. If you do turn them on, listen for a “pop” and then make sure a fire hasn’t started in the wall. Thanks.

Oh, and I ate all of the cookies.

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This is the second of my thankful lists. Keep in mind, these are the things for which I was thankful for today.

1. Tums

2. Stretchy pants

3. A walk in the park (literally!)

4. My Mom

5. Police Officers (don’t ask)

6. Under-eye concealer

7. A garbage disposal

8. Slippers

9. Snuggling dogs

10. My family

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

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To make it easier on myself (and, oh my, for anyone who is actually reading this blog on Thanksgiving) I will be listing items for which I am thankful…with a twist. These items won’t be generalizations, but rather, specific to today.

Today, I was thankful for:

1. Ibuprofen

2. Blue Sky

3. The WaterPik SinuSense (This is a battery-operated sinus rinse that I got for free at the BlogHer ’11 conference and you would not believe what it got out of my son’s head today. They’re not paying me to talk about them, but I SAW the sinus infection come out of his nostril, onto a tissue and it was kind of amazing. I’m not kidding. After days of yellow globs, during multiple sinus rinses a day, tonight a thick green PLUG came out. You’re welcome.)

4. Caffeine

5. The mailman (Is there anything better than having Christmas presents delivered to your door?)

6. My iPhone

7. The ability to walk, without pain or disability

8. Our church

9. Sleepytime tea (counteracts #4)

10. A gas stove

11. My readers! Happy Thanksgiving!

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My son has been sick for over a week. I took him to the doctor on Saturday and he was diagnosed with pneumonia (again) and a sinus infection (he is prone to them, even with a sinus rinse every day). Sigh.

Because he is also prone to gagging, the congestion and post-nasal crud he has can cause vomiting in a split second. One drip in the wrong spot down his throat and he’s heaving.

Since my new, amaze-bed has an adjustable base, he’s been sleeping with me and his dad for the last week. We can prop the head of the mattress up with the push of a button…you know, so his crud can drip properly and I don’t have to wash vomit-laden sheets. You’re welcome.

So, yeah…he’s been in our bed. Oh, hey, have I ever mentioned that I’m an insomniac?

He’s finally improving, but having him in my bed, just inches from my face, with his sinus-infected snoring and feverish shivering, plus the fact that bacterial infections are always scary for us, means that I haven’t had much sleep in the last seven nights. I’m exhausted. Talk to me wrong and I’ll burst into tears. Just try it.

This morning, my almost-teen daughter came downstairs to find me staring into space and sipping my coffee with one of our dogs, Daisy, next to me on the couch. I had just seen my reflection a few minutes prior. It wasn’t pretty. Let’s just say there was some epic bed-head going on.

My daughter sat down on the couch and asked, “Are you tired?”

I replied, “Yeah. I’m beat. Your brother has been keeping me awake, so last night I tried to sleep in his bed, but it’s all springy, which is fine when you’re 45 pounds, but I AM SO NOT 45 pounds. I’ll be drinking coffee all day to stay awake and tonight? Well, tonight he has to go back to his room no matter what. I have GOT to get some sleep!”

A few minutes passed. I watched the news, sipped more coffee and we both petted Daisy, who was still laying between us on the couch.

Then Daisy yawned.

And, my daughter again asked, “Are you tired?”

This time I replied, “Wait, when you asked me earlier if I was tired, were you talking to the dog?”

Yeah, that’s right.

She’s so lucky that I didn’t burst into tears.

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