Wow...a little behind the 8 ball

Ok, I see that it has been a very long while since I've written! I'm going with the typical "I'm a busy mom of 2 crazy kids" excuse...as well as the fact that 3 big holidays snuck in while I wasn't looking!


So, to catch up...Halloween party with LMP: She was hardly in the room, leaving me to handle everything! And I was completely unprepared for that. Had she said that she would be leaving the room every 5 minutes to check on the other class that she's room mom for, then I would have known that I would have to handle everything. Instead she thought it was perfectly normal to leave me with the task of running HER game, and MY craft, and the KIDS' food all at the same time! Yay for me!
 Other than the crazy party, Halloween was a lot of fun! My son (who was Captain America--a very popular costume this year apparently) had a blast with his cousins, and my daughter (who was the cutest scarecrow you could imagine!) was actually old enough to enjoy it! She walked with me up to people's doors, said what sounded like her version of "Trick-or-Treat", took a piece of candy (yep, only 1!), and said "Thank you" as she was walking away. It was enough to bring tears to my eye! This is such a fun age!!




Thanksgiving isn't a huge celebration for me, because I'm not much of an eater, my kids are super picky, and my husband is always working. But, we do dinner at my mother-in-law's house anyway. Whenever there are 7 adults, and 6 children in a house the size of my first floor (which isn't very big) you can bet that there's chaos! Especially when 3 of those 6 are boys between the ages of 7 and 5, and they're all about running and yelling! Just throw my (now) 2 year old into the mix, as well as 2 "tweens" in the mix and it's noise, drama, and a bunch of moms yelling at them to settle down! It is nice to be with the family, though! We also had a small family celebration for Little H's 2nd birthday! I can't believe she's 2 already...the time flies by, and I'm reminded about that every time I look at her or Ri!




Then, before I could turn around it was Christmas time. Wow! December was full of insomnia, stress, and no time! I had the brilliant idea of making a Christmas Activity Countdown Calendar, filled with wonderful activities to do everyday until the big 2-5! It was a hit with the kids, but with all the other things that were going on, it found me scrambling to find time to do it all in! Then this year we were visited by Sgt. Sleigh! Apparently he's our Elf that Santa sent to us to keep an eye on the kids to make sure they were being good! He was a fun little guy, and he caused quite a bit of mischief in our house! From movie dates with LaLaLoopsy dolls, to drawing on our pictures with marker (dry erase, thankfully!), and even snowing our bathroom mirror--there was no lack of fun for him to have!

The week leading up to Christmas was full of holiday fun! The Christmas party (which LMP decided she wanted each child to make a graham cracker gingerbread house instead of anything else) was pretty crazy! LMP was in and out of the room a lot again, but this time I was prepared for it! And since we only had a short amount of time for the activities, it wasn't all that bad. Then there was the Advent service that Ri sang at, and played the part of a Wise Man! Then there was baking, and crafting, and wrapping, and shopping...I'm exhausted just remembering it all!
But, come Christmas morning....it was ALL worth it! The smiles, the laughter, the excitement...there is nothing I enjoy more than seeing the kids' eyes light up! That vision is something I will remember forever!


Now I sit here, closing in on the end of 2011, and I can't wait! I love the end of the year! I don't see it as a time to party (Lord knows with 2 kids, and husband who is out picking drunks up off the streets, the last thing I get to do is party!), but as a time to reflect on all that happened during the previous year, and all of the wonderful possibilities on the horizon for the new year! It's such an exciting time! I know, that for me, the new year holds the promise of a personal challenge! I NEVER make resolutions, because I always break them. Sure, I stick with it for a couple of days, sometimes even weeks...but then I lose my motivation, and by February, the resolutions are out the window. But this year is different. I'm not setting a resolution, I'm setting a goal. I'm going to get back into shape, and I'm going to run a 5K...hopefully 2! It's something that has been on my bucket list for a while now, and I'm finally ready to stop dreaming about it...and just do it! I know it's going to take A LOT of will-power...but I'm sure I'm finally ready for it. I've done this once before in my life (well, in another life really....about 9 years ago, when I joined the military), and I can definitely do it again! So, here's to running shoes, sweatpants, headbands, C25K, and a whole lot of determination!!


From our wonderful little family to yours....Have a WONDERFUL end to 2011, and an even better BEGINNING to 2012!