Gaining Ground

When I was a child, I always had a case of the blues once Christmas Day was past. Sure, there were lots of toys to play with, and a school break to be enjoyed, but there was always a slight let down after such a building of excitement and anticipation.

I still feel the same feeling of melancholy as an adult. (I'm sure I'm not alone in this.:) )However, weeks of preparation, countless late LATE nights, emotions running high, keeping up with the kids and housework adds sheer exhaustion to this feeling of let down. And then on top of that, I always feel so overwhelmed with the influx of toys, not knowing where to go with things.

Thank God there is a peacefulness to this time after Christmas too. Things do slow down, and even if the house is a crazy wreck with laundry and toys everywhere, there's more time to address it...after a nap, after putting together a few toys, after playing with the kids.

So that's what we've been doing the past few days. Resting and playing. Playing and resting. And today, I finally gathered enough energy to do laundry, to clean, and to find places for the new toys.

Having done that, I feel so much better tonight. We're catching up and putting our house back in order, and that just feels good. I now have hope that things will return to "normal" soon.

But now that we've done some work, we're exhausted. I'm curling up with the kids and watching a movie. :)

The Day After and the Attack of Broccoli Boy

The day after Christmas...we always spend it in our pajamas, putting together and playing with all of the new toys.

Caroline was so excited to use her new paper roll, paint and drop cloth from Santa.
She even let her brother try his hand at it.
Paparazzi followed us everywhere today, with the kids trying out new cameras.
Seth snuggled up in my new Snuggie.
Dave and Caroline put together her new Barbie dollhouse, complete with winding staircase and elevator.
We ate dinner, still in our pajamas. Scalloped potatoes (with the ham from Christmas dinner), applesauce and broccoli were on the menu tonight. Evan mainly passed on everything BUT the broccoli. When I was a little girl, my favorite food was broccoli (oddly enough), and Evan definitely takes after his mother. He ate his helping, then came over to my lap asking for mine.
He then moved on to Henry's plate...(WARNING: The kid is CRAZY in this clip!)


and then to Caroline's. We couldn't stop him. It was honestly too funny that a 3 year old would like broccoli THAT MUCH. The kids have now dubbed him...
"BROCCOLI BOY." Hey, he earned that one.

Merry Christmas to all!

Here comes trouble...

Here's Evan and his buddy, Ryan, sledding down the hill behind our house. They did it the way they like it...ALL BY THEMSELVES!

Winter Wonderland!

It's a beautiful, snowy winter day. The kids and I agreed that it looks just like a snowglobe out there, with big, soft snowflake falling gently on everything. The kids (sans Caroline, who is doing much better today--NO FEVER, WAHOO!) have been outside enjoying this winter wonderland all morning!

Dave and the kids on the pond

Seth taking Evan and his friend, Ryan, down the hill
Climbing back up the hill
Evan and his good buddy, Ryan
Henry and Seth shouting, "Merry Christmas!"

It wouldn't be Christmas...

...without one of these, would it?! (One of these being a sick child.)
Poor Caroline came down with a headache last night, and by this morning she was running a fever. With the aid of Tylenol this morning, she was able to play a bit (far from her brothers as we have her quarantined) and run one car errand. However, when we got home, she didn't even take off her coat. She just curled up on the couch and went to sleep. Poor thing.

Please say some prayers that we can confine what she has only to her, that she feels better soon, and that we can be well and able to visit family for Christmas!

Treasures from Christmas 2009

Caroline and Sydney

Caroline met Sydney when they were just 3 years old. They were in the same preschool class, and became fast friends. Although they go to different schools now, the girls have remained close, and we are thankful for that.

Sydney invited Caroline over for a sleepover a couple of nights ago. It was Sydney's first "friend sleepover," and as you might imagine, the girls packed a lot into their time together. Apparently, they also stayed up very late (11:00!) giggling and talking about Christmas. That didn't stop them from waking up at the crack of dawn. :)

Although we've hosted a number of sleepovers for the boys, we haven't for Caroline yet. However, Caroline has big plans. She wants all of her girlfriends to have a turn to sleepover, starting with Sydney. I think we've started something here...