December 2014- It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

At the end of last post, we were in the land of sun and fun. Thanksgiving was late in November again this year, and we flew home after the long weekend. Do you know what that means? The Christmas season had already begun and I was WAY behind…..ARRRGGGGGHHH! I only had a little over 3 weeks to make the season MERRY!!!

But, first…..laundry. The bane of my existence, my version of Groundhog Day, the reason I am crabby on days that end in Y.

Somebody was sure happy that we were back from our trip, and made himself right at home in the middle of the dirty clothes.

Also, someone else was waiting for us when we got home. That’s right, Crystal, the naughtiest of elves made her way to our new house from the North Pole.

And, I’ll tell you, she went right to work wreaking havoc on our household every night while we slept.

She went fishing…..

She swung from the rafters….

She zip-lined from upstairs to downstairs….

She had a little tussle with our two newest furry family members…

Crystal even got in the holiday spirit(s) at our annual party and forgot to hide for TWO days. She was in big trouble with both Santa and the kids. See her apology note.

But, a few days later, and just in time for the BIG DAY, she redeemed herself by bringing all manner of candy, frosting, aprons and chef’s hats for a day of holiday cookie baking. Our kitchen was a mess when we were through, but in the note that Santa left he said they were the best treats he ate all night.

The MAIN EVENT finally arrived, and if my rockin’ photography skills are any indication, the whole day was a blur. Maybe Santa and I had too many glasses of champagne, but there is next to no photo evidence that anyone came over, ate any food, or enjoyed any holiday merriment.

But, here is proof…..

After THREE long years, Santa finally came through and brought Reese the American Girl doll that she’s been asking him to bring. She and Kit have been inseparable ever since…they have matching jammies, and Kit owns more cute shoes that Reese and I put together.

Our resident Lego king was rewarded with….more Legos. Santa was clearly not paying attention to the fact that he already had one Lego train, and brought another. The novelty wore off after the first one, and I’m afraid this one was just ho hum. But, the Lego Santa’s workshop kept us busy in the days after Christmas. Jackson is the brains behind the operation, and I’m afraid I hold the job of “his bi$ch.” “Mom, I need this piece now, and then you can start looking for those pieces.” It was really fun….

This was our first Christmas where the little lady didn’t just get a pack of diapers and a lump of coal. She actually has opinions about toys and favorite characters, i.e….her friends from TV. Now, I’m not saying she got a lot of presents. One Minnie Mouse hat, a Barbie big-wheel and some markers and she was happy. Oh yes, and Aunt Liz bought her some shoes that she hasn’t taken off since….they’re starting to stink and I really want to hide them.

One last and wonderful present that we got on Christmas Day….SNOW!!! We haven’t seen any of it for the entire year so far and thus our sad sleds have stayed packed away in the garage. We received a good 8 inches, and headed out the day after to check out the new neighborhood sled hill. It did not disappoint. Malory was a BIG fan.

Now if only she didn’t look like the kid from A Christmas Story. Poor girl.

The end of the year approached and everyone’s favorite amateur holiday was upon us. We were invited to many a shin-dig to ring in the new year, but instead poor John had the flu. Here’s what we did instead…..

For clarification, the champagne is John’s. 🙂

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE. HERE’S HOPING 2015 IS GREAT!!!