Yappy Hew Near

Well, we made it through another busy holiday season. Whew. Well, not quite. We invited a family over for New Year's, but we're keeping it simple. That's good because I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. Sigh..nothing's ever easy, is it?

We celebrated Miss Reenie's 11th birthday 2 days after Christmas. It's always tough on her...she never knows what she wants because she says she gets what she wants for Christmas and doesn't want anything else. She doesn't want cake because we just had all those cookies. So, we took her to the mall, intending on getting her a cover for her Nook, and a pair of jeans from her favorite store. A little window shopping at the mall resulted in her changing from jeans to a funky clunky pair of tennis shoes. Oh well, she's happy, so we're happy too! Usually I make her a special birthday dinner of her choice, but because our trip at the mall took so long, we ended up eating Yummy Japan. Some birthday dinner! Luckily I had made her requested cherry cheesecake that morning or I would have really been mad at myself! The grandparents came over for cheesecake, ice cream and slushies, then both grandmas beat us all in a game of "apples to apples". I can't believe our "baby" is eleven already. It makes me a bit sad.

Christmas went well....my sis ended up with the flu, so she was unable to make it for Christmas eve. My nephew and his fiance were able to make it, and since my brother is staying with my parents temporarily, he was there too. Mom made lasagna and some other yummies. During the white elephant, my coveted Charlie brown Christmas tree was stolen! Obviously my brother doesn't know what a fan of Charlie I am, does he?? Or maybe he does....Somehow it ended up in my mom's stocking on Christmas morning....mom sure thought that was sweet, so I guess I can live without it.

Christmas day for the girls was wonderful. Natalie was ecstatic about her electric guitar, and Serena loves her Nook. Most of all, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of waffles made on our new waffle maker from Grandma and Grandpa. Grace is always interesting at our table with two pre teens, but Christmas morning grace is the best! We love being able to hang around in our jammies all day before it's time to move on to the next party.

Natalie was able to take her new guitar to G and G R's house, and Uncle John decided to sing to whatever she could play. It was quite a concert. I feel like I should have paid to get in! Or maybe be paid to sit there?? John's a great guy, but not much of a singer after all. Natalie loved the attention, of course!

I was a grump for most of December, I have to admit. I was really struggling with a lot of things. Being too busy, spending too much money, being pushed into more things than I wanted to do...it made for a miserable me at times. That will not happen again. It really kept me from doing some of the more important things I would have normally done. I was able to pull it off without too many people knowing what a scrooge I was but even that became a chore after awhile.

One of the things I'm going to do before I hang up my new calendar is write myself a letter in the month of November. I will include all of the things that are most important to me and my family. Whatever doesn't make the list will not go on the December calendar unless it is super important and involves helping someone in need.

Happy New Year, friends! May you be blessed abundantly in the new year and always.