Merry Christmas

Our morning started out magical. Open one present, play with it for 20 minutes, and then "oh, we can open another one?" Then the idea kicked in that ALL of those things under the tree (and admittedly there weren't a ton this year) would get unwrapped and the slow paced portion of "magical" disappeared. Big Sis got fast at unwrapping. Little Sis had no interest whatsoever in the entire event, not even the paper. In the end, there was paper everywhere, toys hidden underneath, cookie crumbs here and there, and three happy girls enjoying the morning.

The day ended just as fun with dinner with friends, little girls coveting a piece of birthday cake and crowns from Christmas crackers, and staying up way past their bedtime.

I love Christmas.

Christmas Eve

There is nothing I like more on Christmas Eve than having gifts and wrapping and stocking stuffers strewn about the house waiting to be organized for Christmas morning. Christmas morning is always chaos, with unwrapping, cookie eating and playing. But Christmas Eve is just me, staying up late, enjoying what I can do to make things special for the kids in the house. Candles lit, Christmas music in the background, some assembly required--I love that for three Christmases now, I have been given the gift of kids a week or two before Christmas.

Two New Sisters

...arrived a little over a week ago. I had five weeks of the single life--sleeping in, sleeping through the night, going out without investing in a babysitter, and hardly cooking at all. As lovely as all that sounds now, it wasn't what I wanted, so I was happy to have two new ones coming up the walk.

And yet again, I find myself breaking my self imposed rules on age limits. The younger sister is the youngest to ever come into the house. At 14 months, she is so much a baby. But so far she is fun. I am finding I have to childproof in ways I have never done before. Canned cat food is a huge draw, as is anything in the washing machine. I am wondering how many random items (pecans, rocks, Little People, magnets, etc.) I will wash before she loses interest in that front loading machine.

Older sister (almost 3) is a love bug already. My arms are never empty, my body is never still...she's either snuggling or making me play with all the toys. Her favorites so far are the Dora puzzle and the dress up bin. She, like most of the preschoolers who have been here before, loves my repertoire of kid songs and rhymes, finger plays, and silly sayings.

Welcome to both cuties. I am so glad you are here.