We’ve had a great holiday here in our little home. Courtney’s been out of school since the 14th and in all honesty, we’ve done almost nothing. We had a huge Holiday Open House here on the 18th and after that, it was relax [...]]]> Get it? Wrap-up? Or maybe it should be the un-wrap-up. Sorry, moving on…

We’ve had a great holiday here in our little home. Courtney’s been out of school since the 14th and in all honesty, we’ve done almost nothing. We had a huge Holiday Open House here on the 18th and after that, it was relax and hangout mode. Patrick woke up the day after our party with a cold that then went to his chest. There was snot everywhere and coughing and general nastiness so we stayed home so he could recover. Then there was Christmas and more hanging out at the house. And New Years, where we showered and took off our pj’s and ventured out into public.  OK, not public as much as going to someone’s house, which is approximately 1 minute away in the car. And I’m SURE they wouldn’t have cared if we’d stayed in our pj’s… And now it’s FREEZING and we aren’t going anywhere today. And honestly, that’s all good with me.

Courtney had an excellent Christmas. She didn’t really get it, but close. She woke up Christmas morning and laid in bed for 1/2 an hour before I went in to get her and her first words were, “Did Santa come?” There was no banging down the door. No running down the steps. It was almost like a regular morning, until we got downstairs.  Santa didn’t wrap anything which made the big reveal happen all at once and the cleanup super easy. But that also meant that Courtney wanted to open all of our gifts, which was fine but maybe not so exciting for her.  Either way, she had a great day. Christmas day wrapped up (sorry, I didn’t mean to do that again) with Courtney singing Jingle Bells at the top of her lungs from her bed at 10:30, long after we’d turned out our own light.

Usually hanging out at home for 3 weeks with not a lot to do drives me a little crazy but this time, it’s been really nice.  Hell, a week at home with nothing to do drives me batty.  But I’m not complaining. Courtney’s had a great time. She’s been playing with her toys and Patrick or Paul or I. And because Patrick isn’t walking, going out requires lugging him everywhere and the kid is HEAVY but he wants to do everything his sister does. And sometimes staying home is easier and less exhausting.  But, all good things must come to an end. Reality starts tomorrow with Courtney going back to school and doctors appointments and errands and one more day in our pajamas is all good with me.

I sure hope Santa likes sugar...

Getting the milk and cookies ready

And we can't go to sleep until we feed the reindeer!

Wow, Santa DID come!!

CARS!!

And the Princess has arrived

Checking out the new bike!

Saturday I took Courtney to the Atlanta Ballet production of the Nutcracker. I know I was kind of pushing my luck with a [...]]]> Things here are just crazy busy. Not that that’s any different than your house but here, it’s been a welcome distraction. After Friday, I need all the distractions and busyness I can get.

Saturday I took Courtney to the Atlanta Ballet production of the Nutcracker. I know I was kind of pushing my luck with a 2 hour performance + a 25 minute intermission but she did really well. We’d been reading the book so she knew what to expect and that definitely helped. We easily could have left at intermission as she was pretty punchy in the second half and at one point asked me if I could help her with her hangnail. I really wanted to get up and go but was terrified of the screaming that would ensue if I just got up and left. So we stayed. But it was awesome. We had a great day, went out for a girls lunch and then the ballet. I’m hoping that this can be a yearly tradition for us and maybe when Patrick is a little older, we can all go. Although, we’d have to take a second mortgage out on the house to afford that.

All dressed up with somewhere to go

Well, that was fun!