Christmas Recap

Wow -- hard to believe Christmas is behind us and New Year's quickly approaching! We had a great holiday! The weather did not cooperate for shopping as it snowed or iced up every single weekend in December. On Christmas Eve, Philip and Catherine took Maddy to Alvin and the Chipmunks and I stayed home and wrapped and wrapped and wrapped! Maddy was super sweet. As youngest, it was her job to hand out gifts on Christmas Day and she was a pro at it and so sweet -- what a perfect day! I think everyone was happy with what Santa brought to them this year! I figured that I was going to receive a couple of questionable gifts (anti-wrinkle cream and hair de-frizzer--not kidding!!!), so I put the ixnay on those and told the hub to save those for some other time. I didn't want to open them in front of everyone. And I tried the hair de-frizzer and it didn't work any better than anything else anyway! I guess it was the thought that counts and he was thinking of helping me with my hair, etc., but really, those type of products should not count as Christmas gifts, should they???

We spent part of Christmas Day at my parents and that was fun. Their little dog was so hyper at first, but he calmed down and Maddy declared that she wanted a dog too -- not gonna happen -- sorry sweetie!

Maddy went roller skating with a group from the YMCA this week, so we tried it again today! She was a good little skater and it was fun to spend some time at the local roller rink this morning. Pretty quiet too and not too crowded -- perfect for novices.

Looking forward to a quiet New Years -- as truthfully, we are pretty boring, but that's ok with us. Can't wait til 08!!

It was . . .

FABULOUS!! Had a fun and fabulous birthday party on Saturday for Miss M who turns 6 on Dec. 20! She and 14 of her closest kindergarten and neighbor girl friends got together at a local bead store to try their handiwork at making bead necklaces. Oh my -- those girls were focused!! And they put together some beautiful one-of-a-kind necklaces --so pretty!! Since the day began with 4 more inches of snow, we weren't totally sure that everyone would make the party . . . but most did. It was a lot of fun. Thankfully, two Moms stayed to assist, so along with my neighbor high-school sitter, there was enough adult help. I don't know what I would have done without them! Most of the girls chose the larger beads for their necklaces, so those went together fairly quickly. There were a couple girls who decided to use the itty-bitty beads and it took a whole lot more beads and more work to get those necklaces finished! Thanks to my coworker, Jodee, we had the famous cupcake tower adorned with lovely cupcakes I baked the evening before. M decided she didn't like frosting, so we had a number of very plain cupcakes. No matter -- all that bead work made for some hungry little girls and they gobbled up the cupcakes accompanied by, you guessed it -- apple juice. Little M was just glowing with happiness throughout the party and the entire day. Whew -- a succesful b-day party -- what a relief!

Holiday stuff

Sing along now -- it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere we go . . . The tree has been decorated and lights and wreaths are hanging on the house. We've had some some and ice and while it looks quite lovely, it's been a bit of a mess. The great thing about the snow/ice storm of the other day was that it resulted in a day off school for M, which meant her daycare was closed and that she and I got to stay home! YAY -- an unplanned day at home for us. Mentally made a list that morning of everything I would get done, all the cleaning I would do, all the putting stuff away and throwing junk out that would be accomplished -- ha! Yeah, ha! Didn't happen.

But, M and I made a gingerbread house. Note to self: read directions ahead of time. We spent quite a bit of time waiting for the sides of the house to dry after frosting/gluing them together and then waiting again for the roofs to dry. So, a lot of waiting and adding water to the frosting/glue and then, finally, the frosting and decorating began in earnest! Suffice it to say that every single piece of candy provided, well except for a few that she ate, ended up on the house! As I'm sure you might guess -- it's a masterpiece.

Took this picture of M doing a sweet little dance with some beads while decorating the tree. When I saw the picture, I immediately remembered another picture from her first Christmas with us where beads were her fashion accessory of choice. She was almost 2 years old. It was the year of Dora!! Oh man -- she loved her some Dora. She got two Dora dolls and was in heaven. We all learned some Spanish that year!

Coming soon -- her 6th birthday and birthday party this weekend at a bead shop making bead necklaces with her kindergarten friends!