Merry (Belated) Christmas!

What a great Christmas we had this year. Of course, we had an obscene number of presents for the kids and family, but it's so hard to curb one's enthusiasm when it comes to Christmas. Sarah's big gift was a digital camera, and Danny's was a remote control front-end loader with plastic rocks.

Dinner was wonderful - we had Peppercorn Seared Beef Tenderloin with Merlot-Shallot Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, the Trader Joe's Brittany Blend veggies, Baked Onions with Sage and Gruyere, and lots of desserts and stuff. My brothers even seemed to like it! The most gratifying thing in the world for me is to see everyone eating what I made and liking it. Sweet bliss.

So, now it's on to my HUGE list of things that I was procrastinating on in order to prepare for the holidays. Hanging curtains, building shelves, making some office curtains. Aaargh.

Annual Christmas Party

Our 3rd annual Christmas get together was last weekend, and overall, I think it was a success. I tried some new appetizers this year, most of which weren't what I expected, but the old standbys were all good. I think everyone got enough to eat, and they definitely had enough to drink!

The kids all had fun running around, screaming like banshees along the way. It's amazing how much entertainment they get just by being together. We are so lucky to have good friends with kids who are as easily occupied as ours.

Sarah was just devastated that her friend couldn't spend the night after the party. She woke up the next morning crying for me to "Call Emily's dad" and ask again if she could sleep over. Why do I feel guilty about this??? I will be planning a 5 year old sleepover before too long, I think.

Wildlights

This is, of course, a late post, but worthwhile mentioning, I think. On Tuesday evening, Steve and I took the kids to see the Wildlights display at the Columbus Zoo. It was unseasonably warm - about 60 degrees. There was a bit of drizzle, but it didn't seem to bother anyone too much. I guess we were all thankful to not be knee deep in snow!

The kids had a great time. We rode the carousel and strolled around at a fairly quick pace. We even managed to see the train exhibit! Afterward, we made our "Super Secret Special Stop" at Tim Horton's. We ate doughnuts and even had some fries from Wendy's...a dream meal for our children.

They flipped out about halfway through, but hey, we got a good 3 hours out of them. Pics to follow soon.

Happy Birthday

We went to my parents' house yesterday to celebrate my birthday, albeit a bit early. Mom and I always go on a short shopping trip, since neither of us really likes to shop. We do enjoy going out to lunch together, without my children! That was the "peaceful meal" as Mom said.

In the evening, my parents took us out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant. My children seemed on the brink of complete psychological breakdown most of the meal, but the food was really good. Steve had to leave halfway through the meal with Danny, but after that, it was smooth sailing (for us anyway).

I love the presents I chose...oven safe bowls from Williams-Sonoma for French Onion Soup, rugs for the bathroom on the main level of the house, and a new silicone spatula. I am so boring, but I have wanted these things for a long time!

Bedtime Update

Lord, I wish this phase was over! Danny was up 12 times last night, and since his door no longer locks, I have resorted to the time honored method of putting him back down with a neutral expression and no conversation. I did okay at first, but then when he's up at 4:30, that's a bit more difficult. Last night, he just sat on the steps, but the night before, he turned all the lights in the house on, went downstairs, and fell asleep in front of the TV on the floor. He did all of this without waking me up. Scary, eh?

Through all of this, Sarah has been an angel. She stays in bed without complaint, even when he wakes her up. Last night, I tried to have Danny look at Sarah in bed, in a dark room, just like his. You can see from the above paragraph how well that one worked!

As most of you who look at this know, my background is Clinical Research, and I am a Nurse Practitioner. I am looking for a book...an algorithm...something....I just want to see how to handle this event and have it over with! Motherhood is so complicated!

First (Real) Snow

Today is the first real snow of the year here in Dublin. We've had a dusting prior to this, but we currently have 3-4 inches on the ground right now. The kids had a blast playing this morning, but we only lasted about 30 minutes. By then, each kid's boots had fallen off at least twice, and they were getting cranky due to wet feet. We came in for hot chocolate, and Sarah just completely broke down crying. The tragedies in the life of a 5 year old in middle class America. It's just not fair!

I am happily making lists for all of my Christmas parties, gifts, cleaning, you name it....there's a list. Somewhere. You see, my problem (one of them) is that I'm great at making an all inclusive list, and then I set it down and it grows legs. I usually find them in January. Here's to hoping that I develop an organizational method for this!