It's been so long, I actually had to SIGN IN!!!

WOW!!! Has it really been almost ONE month since I last stroked my keys into a blogger post?? I have some SERIOUS catching up to do.


Christmas was wonderful. My brother and sister both brought their wonderful families to visit over Christmas. Kids were bedded all over the house on the floor. The place was strewn with clothes, shoes, toys and everything else. The noise was overwhelming at times. And you know what? I loved it!

T lost a tooth on CHRISTMAS EVE!!! The lucky boy got a visit from both the Tooth Fairy AND Santa on the same night!!! The result was $5 plus a small toy from the Tooth Fairy. I mean, really, it isn't often she gets to hang out with Santa...

We were going to get all the cousins to line up youngest to oldest, but the older kids didn't want to climb the stairs so early in the morning and I thought we did pretty good to get them here and not looking at what Santa left! Actually, the teenagers still wanted to be sleeping (can you tell?)

These were taken Christmas Night -- the two youngest are sleeping with their Santa Gifts...

(I have a love/hate relationship with these American Girl dolls)

(theres a DSi attached to that cord...)


I can't think of anything better than a warm house, happy people and nothing to do but enjoy each other's company.

In fact, I was so busy with my family I thought -- I'll wait until the New Year to post.  Silly me.

I made a New Year's resolution to not be on the computer when the kids are home -- unless they are tucked into bed or it’s urgent. And, try as I might, I really haven't been able to classify blogging as urgent.

So, I wait.

But lately (well maybe more than lately) once the clock hits 7:30, my mind enters a dark void of stupidity and I can’t recall the great things I was going to share with my blogging world. Much less form a coherent sentence to describe these fantabulous things.

In my last post, I mentioned the new Christmas stockings I was making. You know – the ones that we didn’t need. So here is the picture of the finished product. I think it was worth the extra work. And hubby ended up liking them (or so he says)

With all our company around, children’s sleep schedules got a little out of whack. Messed up. And for B, it was the worst. We are talking four hour midnight-wakings and so on… thankfully, we are seeing some resemblance of normality return to her sleeping patterns. One particular night I want to keep forever in my heart.

Way past all normal bedtimes, B curled on my lap, brushing her Barbie’s hair. I was stroking her blonde curls away from her face. She fell asleep that way – the Barbie in one hand, brush in the other. Her head lay on my much-too-padded-tummy and I realized how small and vulnerable this little thing was. Every breath, every sigh. I wanted to keep it. I wanted to hold it forever. Soon, B started sucking her lip – a habit she has had since she was a newborn. Some day she won’t suck her lip, but right then, she reminded me of that little baby we brought home over three years ago.

Even now, I type with her little head on one shoulder and her arm over the other – as if her bed isn’t comfy enough. If only I could keep these moments forever.

Times like this I don’t care about the mounds of laundry or the crumbs on my couch. I forget the bickering in the day and the smelly bathrooms. I don’t care about the two-day old stack of dishes ripening in the sink.

In the quiet hours of night I feel the gift each of my children bring me. And I am so grateful.

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I'll be seeing you in the Blogosphere!!