Christmas Wrap-up and Other Observations

Whew! Now that the halls are undecked and Santa's job is finished for another year, let me just say that we had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying our **week off** from work. (Not counting the 9 hours I spent at the office today).

The dryer just buzzed indicating the 67,875th load of laundry is done and I will soon start the dishwasher for the 98,545th time.

Here in the library (where I pen most of these outstanding blogs) I am surrounded by a few toys that will find their way to the kids' rooms tomorrow. But, if you're Adam, who needs toys when there are solo cups, plastic bowls, and shoe boxes to be had...


not to mention the vast entertainment possibilities inside the refrigerator.
This is my first Christmas in 39 years with an active child in the house. Active may be an understatement but what word is there to describe a little 20 pounder who goes from shoes to remote controls to telephones to basketballs to banana puffs to graham crackers in less than 20 seconds?

We loved getting notes, cards and pictures from friends and family near and far. We save those pictures all year, by the way. Adam is fascinated by all the faces and bright colors. I am sure that by this time next year he will know all by name.

In this week of togetherness, here are a few tidbits I've learned or been reminded of that I thought you'd want to know:

* My husband does laundry by water temperature, as in "I am doing a load of hots". I do laundry by color, as in "I am doing a load of whites." Either way, I'm just glad we have something clean to wear.

* A new dresser and two night stands for our bedroom were delivered a couple days before Christmas. This is the first dresser I have ever owned. Seriously. I now have more drawer space than I know what to do with. I still haven't figured out which drawer is best for my socks, let alone my sweaters and pajamas.

* Adam understands "all gone" or "all done" as it relates to most everything. When it relates to eating, he knows when his food is "all gone" a bottle will follow. The last couple days I have found a little stash of graham crackers in the corner of his high chair seat when he indicates "all done". The little stinker is trying to pull one over on Mama already.

* One power stearing module later, I may consider asking for gift cards to car repair shops next year. Who needs that expense added to the credit card bill right after Christmas? And, new tires are going on this weekend. This is not amusing.

* I took Adam to the playground in our subdivision Christmas Eve afternoon while Doug installed a new light in our kitchen. Babies and wives underfoot during that project was not a good idea. A very precocious and cute-as-a-button girl from the neighborhood was slso swinging and she was full of information. She informed me that her mom had been telling her to run a lot that day so that she would get tired and would fall asleep early so Santa could make his rounds. She also informed me that she had to go to church at 4:00. She said she sits quietly during church even though she doesn't understand much of what goes on. "In fact", she said, "I don't even know Jesus' last name."

Until next time,