A New Year

I know it's been a while since I've posted. We've had a lot going on around here (or at least it seemed that way). We haven't traveled much, but had people over. I promise I will post more later, I just wanted to get the snow off of the front of my blog! (And the dust off the shelves, so to speak) There is no more snow here, it stayed around for a week (amazing in itself), we had a lovely white Christmas, but just as the decorations are put away, I am done with the snow. Thankfully where I live accommodates that wish.

So here are a few of the highlights and lowlights of what I've been up to.

Highlights:

My mom, brother, his girlfriend and their two kids came up to our house for Christmas.

It was so wonderfully festive to have all the decorations up, but on the same token it is now SO good to have them put away.

We got to have snow for Christmas!

My husband pretty much single handedly took down the decorations.

I am slowly getting together the play structure that we have bought the kids for Christmas. (it was originally going to be up by Christmas but that went out the window with all of the snow)

I get to purge toys.

My mom and I had a great time making all sorts of goodies and dinner for Christmas.

Everything that was made for Christmas dinner was made from scratch. This was not my original plan, and I didn't even realize I was doing that until my mom pointed it out. She called me Martha after that.

I got to visit with my nephews, Kaiden and Kamrin. Too, too cute! (Pictures to come)

Lowlights:
Kamrin (my brother's youngest son at two months old) contracted rotovirus and ended up in the hospital the day after they left here. He is thankfully out of the hospital and doing very well.

I've got blisters on my fingers from putting together a kitchen (just like yours Lynn!) and the playset.

It took me an hour and a half to put together the kitchen (the average time it took was 3 hours, so not really sure if this should be a highlight or lowlight, but because of the blisters, it is NOT a highlight).

My mother-in-law bought way too many big things for the kids (sorry Bette, but it is so true) so now I have to purge more toys than I had originally intended.

I now have toys in my kitchen, which I hate because it is one less toy-free zone in my house.

My kids getting toys at Christmas sometimes actually causes me anxiety. I always have to think of where they are going to go and I sometimes really hate it that my house looks like it is run by children.

Some of my cookies did not turn out. :(

I'm sure there are more of both, but we'll leave it at that because I have more highlights than lowlights, and because no matter how many lowlights I can name they are all minor (except for Kamrin), and I had a wonderful Christmas holiday!

On to the New Year!