November Holiday Cheer

I'm spending some QT with my blog baby today.  She's been feeling rather neglected.  It's January 2, which means a few different things.  #1, Winter Break is almost over.  Thank you Lord.  After 2 weeks being "off schedule," family togetherness is no longer cozy and sweet.  We're all ready for our individual routines to commence.  So much so that we've resorted to tying our children together to stop the arguing and placing Dude in the rear of the Pilot to avoid the ability for the little blessings to touch each other.  Or look at each other.  I trust I'm not alone in my feeling of disdain toward winter break but maybe I'm just a terrible Mother. Which very well might be the case.  #2.  It's 2014 - the beginning of my new beginning.  More on that later.  #3.  Christmas is over.  Sad to say, I'm feeling relieved about that fact.  Decorations are stored in the cold shed, Christmas music is banned and the tree is resting with his fellow dried up trees at the tree dump.  The new year has been rung in.  Ours included a visit with the Sheas (and a few drinks), throwing our children in bed and Tim and I battling it out in a rowdy game of Sequence with our hip hop, young people music playing on the iPod to liven up the sad state we were in.  I naturally kicked his butt and we were cashed out by 11:03pm.  Jealous?

I'll wrap up the November holiday season highlights in photos below.  Quite a few to catch up on.

 I can't craft a bow to save my life.  Luckily, Mom can.  

 Next year we'll commence our tradition of chopping down a Charlie Brown tree from the mountain landscape.  The Whole Foods tree is pretty and pricey, but it's just not the same.  And it devoured our living room.  

  Mommy's angel ornament from my childhood collection.  Pretty sure Squirt busted one of her wings but it was sweet for 2 minutes. 

 What you're seeing is a small segment from Dude's popsicle stick puppet show.  The characters features are Santa and one of the three wise men.  We're all inclusive over here.  See the video below for the complete show.  Note, it might not be visually stimulating but the audio is rather darling.

Elfie was a hit again this year.  Not so much with Mom and Dad, but the kids think he's a barrel of laughs which makes it all worth it. The first night he spelled out "I'm back" in marshmallows.  Dude came running upstairs saying "Guys!  Elfie is here and he's BAKE!  He's BAKE!  I don't know what that means but he's here!"  Dude spent the morning coloring pictures for him and teaching him how to play Uno.  After 20 minutes he says, "Mom, I sure do love Elfie but he is super boring to play with."  

  

 My Chicago gal pal, Erin, made this super chic wreath and sent it with my parents.  Lovin it!  I wish her craftiness was closer in proximity.  

 Cookie Exchange 2013.  I took the year off in 2012, but brought it back due to popular demand.  I love seeing the new faces that enter my world from year to year and of course all the oldies but goodies too.  

I'll break there for now.  Our Santa visit is worthy of its own post, so that'll come soon.  Happy New Year friends!