Christmas Eve A Little Late

Here are a few photos the girls took with Grandpa and Grandma on Christmas Eve. We had it at their house and a good time was had by all. Even Santa stopped by, but due to all his stops he just left the bag of gifts and never came in to say "Merry Christmas." Perhaps next year he will have time to stop in for some egg nog.

Yes, the girls are in matching dresses again. I can't help it they still like to match. I too like it. I found these at the big sale at Hanna Anderson and had to have them. I had the girls wear them for Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. They wore their dresses from last year to Christmas dinner :)

Attention Germaphobes

This is known as THE HANDLER. It is a new device that allows one to never touch a germ filled doorknob, elevator button, or garbage can again. It is about the size of a key chain. It is simply a retractable hook. Yes, I think it looks weird and I might look like a dork when using it, but it might be worth the $11 it costs. Kristin I know you want one! :)

You can get them around at some drug stores(I have not seen one out there yet) or, better yet, you can order it directly from their web site: handlerusa.com I have to say I do like all the pretty colors. I did not buy one for I'm not sure if I would remember to take it out and use it. It is good to know that they are out there and I might just buy one yet.

Too bad Christmas just past or many of you would have found one in your stocking. Remember to wash your hands!

Day One In Naples

We made it to Naples! The girls did a great job in the car. 2 days in the car was hard, but we had a good time. Well, Tom maybe didn't have a great time, but the girls and I did.
I am using Tom's'phone to do this blog so I hope it works.

Today we began at the beach. The girls spent lots of time collecting shells. All was good intill A took the shell bucket and dumped it out so she could put sand in it. Good idea,bad choice of buckets. B was very upset. Lucky for A the shells were easy to repick up from the sand for they were still in one pile. B said her highlight of the day was wave jumping. My highlight was laying on the beach while Tom had both kids with him.

We also had a surprise visit with cousin Vinny. It turned out that Penn was in town for a basketball game. Since Vince calls the games he was in town too. So to the game we went. Lucky for me I left the girls with Tom and went to the outlet mall that was down the street from the campus. Yes,so far this trip has been good for me too.

Well,typing with these tiny buttons is no longer fun so this is all for today.

Are We There Yet?

This is the phrase I will be chanting, as well as the girls, for the next 2 days. Why? You might be asking? Tom and I decided this morning (around 11:30) that we would drive to Florida for the week! Now I did start to freak out a little for I usually have a week or more to organize things before we fly to Fl. This time we will be in a car for 2 days and I have less than 24 hours to get it all done. My master organizational skills are now being put to the test. Plus as many of you know my husband is good, but does not do much of the prep work. I find myself giving him little jobs to do like I do for the girls. You know...bring up all the Christmas boxes so I can take all Christmas stuff down, pack for yourself, go away . Again, many of the things I tell the girls.

So with all the stuff I need to do why am I blogging? I wanted to let you all know why I might not blog for the next week, and to apologize to all of those that I had made plans with for I need to cancel. More importantly I am in total denial and in full procrastination mode so it is going to be a LONG night.

Wish me luck and pray that we make it. For all I know 1 might end up driving home and the rest flying no matter the cost.

Cookie Time With Uncle John

Once again Uncle John requested the help of the girls. Little did he know what he was getting himself into. The girls were very happy to join him for a day of baking 4 different types of cookies. A was just as good a helper as B was. This was a surprise to Uncle John for he was not sure of her abilities in the kitchen. B was pretty good too, but she would quickly loose interest and mom had to take over.

It was nice to spend the day with my brother in the kitchen. He is a great cook and loves to bake Christmas cookies. He really does bake about 10 different types from peanut butter to white peppermint fudge. He also does breads to give out as gifts. Many of the cookies are straight from my Grandmother's collection. With this being the second Christmas without her, it was wonderful smelling all her goodies.

The day went well and I got out of cleaning my house. Lots still to do now that Tom and I decided that 2 days before Christmas would be a great time to repaint a few walls. At least the walls look better.

So Far So Good

I am amazed at myself this year. Usually I am running around trying to get my act together for the big day of Christmas. Well not so much this year. I am actually ahead of schedule! I know, knock on wood, for I'm sure tomorrow my starter of a cold will be worse and I won't want to continue working on Christmas prep. So for now I am tooting my own horn and patting myself on the back.

I have cleaned out the dining room. You all know this room. It is our mudroom for 364 days. One day of the year it is actually used as a dinning room. Christmas morning I use it in all its glory to host Christmas brunch for my family. This clean out entails finding all sorts of things that need to be put away, or finished projects, or things that need to be paid/sent/or returned. It took me all day yesterday, but by the end I even got the tables ready. Well, not totally ready for the dishes are not out or anything, but the tablecloth is on them. It was a job well done.

Today was my Costco run. I figured I would try to do the food prep ahead of time too. I tallied all the eggs and cheese and bread I would need and hit Costco with A in tow. I figured if I wait much longer it will really become a mad house, and I want none of that. So in just 45 minutes I was all finished. I did however plan to also pick up photos and return a gift, but totally forgot to download the photos and never got to finding the gift. So I will be back there tomorrow, but it should be a quick visit.

Tomorrow I plan to wrap. I usually save this till the 23rd, nap time, but since both girls are not golden nappers, I have to plan ahead. I figure my best bet is while B is at school and A is glued to the tv. So that means in between B's school function I get to wrap and try to return a few more gifts. I also want to try to finish B's fleece blanket. I did A's today so I am on a roll.

Speaking of wrapping... It will be interesting to see just what I have purchased for my girls, on top of the pony, for this holiday. I have begun to take some things back due to the pony purchase, but I know there are more things around the house that would not fit into my closet. It will also be interesting to see if the present count for the girls is equal. Tonight we let the girls open any gifts that came in the mail. B was not happy that A got to open 3 presents and she only got to open 2. I tried to explain this by telling her that if she has more presents on Christmas than A we will have to take some away, right? Yea, that really didn't work. Her response was that "now it is A's turn to see how it feels when I have more presents than she does" Not bad huh? I so forget who I am talking to sometimes.

To all of my procrastinating friends I wish you luck!

Cookie Parties 2007

Well the long awaited day has come and gone. This was year 1 for A and her friends. For B it was year 3. Yes, I start the party thing at a young age. I found that this is one party that is not done. I was pleased at how many moms commented on what a great idea this is. I love doing it actually. I think the kids have such fun cutting out cookies and decorating them. It was also so fun to see the differences between parties.

A's did a lot more of dump the decorations on the dough and then mash it together. All the moms had fun at this one since they had to stay and help. Perhaps we had more fun chatting and drinking coffee than the kids had playing together. They did more running around than decorating, but when it was time to get the finished cookies you could hear a pin drop as they all began eating their fine work.

B's group of 12 was a little more wild. The constant question of "what are we going to do next" was getting on my nerves. Especially when they could see that I was busy getting cookies in and out of the oven. Thank goodness Tom was there to help (volunteer as B says). He did a great job. As the photo shows, Tom even began a train/conga line with the group. It was a good time. I was surprised by the number of gifts B got for being the host. Such nice manners these kids have :)

I did a lot of work for this event. From hand making aprons for all of A's guests to planning activities for B's group to buying and wrapping prizes for the games. B did help with some of these things, but I have already begun stocking up for next year's parties. It was a long day and I was tired at the end. Plus, if I see any more cookie dough it will be too soon.