Last day....

We got a lot done today- Dave cleaned out the garage, and put away his Christmas lights. I made a thank you gift and went through Daniel's ever-multiplying outgrown clothes. Yesterday I finally bought the poor boy a winter coat because the marked down price was right and it's officially cold here. Right now the two boys are playing with all of the balls in our very clean garage.

As usual, we are the last to the table, but we did finally get an iPod shuffle. It was free, so we'll take it and take our place with the rest of the world on this issue.

Back to Normal Mode

Our transition to life back in normal mode is almost complete. Daniel had a little stomach bug on Christmas day, which ruined our plans to leave him at Grandma and Grandpa's for some much-needed time alone. We'll try again next weekend.

All of the laundry is caught up, all of the Christmas decorations are put up (except Dave's outside lights), and today I picked back up on my favorite kitchen pastime- fixing a meal for a friend who just had a baby. And I got out my stampin' up stuff to make thank you notes. A certain wonderful mom sent my wish list into Santa and I have new stamps!

Daniel is back to happy mode now he's been on a schedule for a few days. Oh yes, and Dave is back at work, swamped as usual. I would think the holiday downtime is an urban legend except I had experienced it myself when I worked full time. Here's his big news- his fantasy football team which had a horrible record, barely squeaked into the playoffs and is now going to the Super Bowl! I hope they win, I could use a big new ring....

Goodbye!! 

Time to pack it up and go home- but one last meal before I go! 

A fun shot of the cousins! 

The whole group (again) 

Daniel's hole in one! 

Daniel and Claire share a light lunch in Cozymel, Mexico 

Daniel's day at the beach...zzzzzzz.... 

We wish we could go swimming! 

The whole family! 

Formal night 

Merry Christmas!

We're back and we had a great time on the cruise! We just spent the last week with 11 other family members on the Legend of the Seas cruising the Caribbean. Cruising with a toddler was an interesting experience! We were so happy to be home and sleep in our own beds last night and excited to open some Christmas gifts this morning. Daniel especially loves his new mega blocks train. I'll post some cruise pictures soon!

Community Virus

I'd like to thank the unknown germ soldier who passed on the nasty stomach virus to either myself or a member of my close community.

Whoever you are, I'm sure you didn't know that we already haven't slept through the night for the past two weeks (thank you, sweet Daniel), that Dave and my babysitters's husband both had business trips they could not cancel even when they acquired the stomach bug, and that the icing on my queasy cake would be Daniel's new ear infection diagnosed today.

I have another major event going on that requires my full planning attention, so fortunately I was able to start eating again this afternon. Maybe I'll even get to sleep tonight also. Thank you again, and Merry Christmas!

Splish Splash! 

Daniel and buddy Carson watching a video together. 

Getting into the holiday spirit! 

New Shoes

Do you ever go through a period where almost all of your shoes need to be replaced? Well, after not buying any shoes since pregnancy, I have bought 4 pairs in the last three months. Yes, I did give away one pair at church, so that's really just a net gain of 3.

I am also embarrassed to report the last time I bought a pair of serious athletic shoes was when Dave and I were dating, eight years ago. So, it was time for an upgrade. I just bought my new tennis shoes on Monday night and they already showed up last night! I am loving Zappos.com! Check out my new "cruise" tennis shoes.

Christmas Cookies and Tips

This afternoon Dave and Daniel went Christmas shopping (for me!) and I made Christmas cookies for Daniel's church learning center teachers (and well, there's quite a few cookies for us too). I made toffee bars, snickerdoodles, and a new recipe, peppermint petities. My soundtrack for cooking was one of my all time favorite Christmas albums, The New Young Messiah, a re-make of Handel's version by various Christian artists. It's about 10 years old and the concert that went with it is still one of my favorites ever.

Here's your free Christmas gift idea for that hard-to-buy-for person: my other top Christmas albums include The Gift and Peace by Jim Brickman. Jim Brickman is always a good choice for many different people.

I'm also making Apple Cider- here's the quick cheaters recipe: Put apple juice in a saucepan, add some Hot Tamales candy and melt them (only the coating comes off) over low heat. Voila, Apple Cider!

Now I've got to go talk to Daniel about what I'm getting for Christmas....