December Daily - Unexpected Addition - Thank you Letter to Santa

Anna is on Christmas break from school but is at daycare this week. I'm sure this was a prompted exercise today but I thought it was so so sweet.

6 year old translation:

"Dear Santa,
Thank you for my american girl doll. I take it everywhere I go, just not school. I really enjoy it. I love the accessories (I had to ask about that word). Her puppy is very cute. I named her Gracie. Sincerely, Anna"

Love it! The accessories she got were shoes, socks, hair ties, and a headband. She named the doll Gracie. The puppy is named Honey.

This will make a great closing page of some sort for my December Daily album. Moving the blogging journaling and photos into the actual scrapbook is my next project.

December Daily - Day Twenty-five (Christmas!)

I thought for sure Carter would wake up when we got home, or at midnight, or 5 am. But he slept 13 hours until 7 am when Baxter decided he couldn't wait to pee any longer and did his noisy I-have-to-go-potty dance across the wood floors.

I got gorgeous Michael Kors shoes and a new, smaller camera.

I got Kevin an iPad so he can stop borrowing my phone to play Words with Friends and Chess.

Anna got an American Girl doll, Littlest Pet Shop toys and a robe.

Carter got a DS, Toy Story characters and a remote control lightening McQueen car.

And they both got lots of other gifts from each other and us, like Squinkies, My Little Pony Ferris Wheel, talking Woody and more.

The aftermath.

Christmas Day video to come later this week. Carter was hysterical and hopefully I captured some of the funny things he was saying. I haven't watched it back yet.

December Daily - Day Twenty-four (Christmas Eve)

My brother Ben had gotten into town the night before. I had planned to meet him at Paradise Park to let the kids run but they were closed. We went to Burger King and let them play at an indoor playground instead.

We celebrated Christmas with my parents and brothers on Christmas Eve.

I got a new coffee maker from Ben, a new calphalon pan from Zach and clothes and a bag from my parents. Kevin got a meat cleaver (even though I emailed my family that he was already getting one from his brother. I don't think my parents read their email. Ironically it is my job.)

Carter got Toy Story stuff. Anna got doll house furniture and littlest pet shop animals. They both got Vermont Teddy Bears. Anna was especially excited about hers.

We left at 6:15 and Carter was asleep before we made it out of the neighborhood.

When we got home Anna and I baked cookies for Santa.

Then she went to bed and Kevin and I wrapped some presents for the kids while watching Avatar in the basement. I wish I liked science fiction better. I thought it was predictable and a little boring. The special effects were cool and it looked good on the blu-ray in HD.

December Daily - Day Twenty-three

I was off because it was Thursday. Originally planned to hang out with my BFF but soon realized my to-do list was a mile long.

Went to the office and played Santa - the kids handed out iTunes gift cards for everyone I directly manage.

Then we went shopping. For my BFF, my mom, my brother. Then I took the kids home and finished some shopping that needed to be done without them.

We had Sam and Candi over for dinner. I made Corn Chowder from the cookbook Help My Apartment Has a Kitchen, which I would actually highly recommend.

Then we exchanged gifts with each other.

And then the girls beat the boys at Spades. An unusual occurance.

December Daily - Day Twenty-Two

Kevin goes to put on his shoes and an arch support is missing from one. Then we find it. In the water bowl. Baxter at work.

Carter is excited to go to school for once because they are having a Christmas party. It's so unusual for him to smile at this time of day. 

Anna is still sick. I work from home. Tassie is happy.

Later that night...

In the bathtub Carter tells me he found coins on the stairs and he put them in his piggy bank (Ham the pig that he got for his birthday) and that that was ok because they didn't come from daddy's bowl. (Kevin has a bowl of coins on the console table that we found Carter was stealing from to fill his piggy bank. I think he has learned that lesson now). Then he told me he was going to save his money to go to Disney World (this is what Anna always said). I told him he could use his money for whatever he wanted, it doesn't HAVE to be Disney World.

"I'm going to spend my money on....... long pause..... Starbucks!"

I laughed, "That is NOT what I expected you to say. What would you get at Starbucks?"

"Chocolate milk."

Oh the things that are important to you when you're 4. And oh the things I've taught my 4 year old that I want to spend my money on. Sigh. Perhaps a parenting faux paux.

That night I really needed to make a list. I was searching everywhere for my "list paper" and about to freak out because I had too much in my head and needed to make a list.

Then I found it.

December Daily - Day Twenty-One

Candi and I ran 5.5 miles Tuesday morning. I tried to capture myself post-run. Can you overlook my messy bathroom.

I might have worn Tassie out for a minute. She likes to run. 

Baxter sleeps on the bathrug while I take a shower. 

Fast forward to end of day. As soon as I get to the daycare and see Anna I can tell something is wrong.

"What's wrong?" She points to her throat. Uh oh. I touch her forehead. Clearly running a fever.

"She has a fever!" I look at the daycare girl.

"She just told me she was cold so I told her to put her coat on," the daycare-girl-who-clearly-doesn't-have-any-children says to me.

"She's sick." I say, annoyed with this "babysitter" who is there at the end of the day.

At home the thermometer says 103 something. We decide she has strep and Kevin pulls antibiotics out of the cabinet.

Carter wants chinese food and I agree because I don't want to be busy making dinner when I might need to take care of Anna.

When Carter and I go to pick it up I see this sign in the window at the nail salon next door. It makes me laugh.

December Daily - Day Twenty

Monday. Struggling a little bit to make it through what is only a 3 day work week. Weak.

I get my Christmas cards in the mail! Hooray, they will make it before Christmas :)

Christmas card pictures:

I can imagine in a few years they will want to sit on opposite sides of the bench 

Here are my Christmas decorations in my office. The photos on the wall are last year's Christmas card pics.

The door to my office.

December Daily - Day Nineteen

Sunday. Sleep in day! Anna was up first at 8. Carter didn't get up until 9. I used that opportunity to have Anna wrap the presents for Carter and then after Carter woke up we wrapped his presents for Anna. He even practiced writing Anna's name on the gift tags. It was really sweet. We took advantage of the new closet - it turned out to be the perfect "secret hide out" for wrapping gifts.

We went to my grandma's or "granny's" for her birthday/anniversary/Christmas lunch.

It was good to see my cousins Megan and Jennifer that I really only see about twice a year. They are both married now and Jennifer has a little boy named Owen. Here he is with his auntie Meg.

I overate. And after that I was completely exhausted. I definitely could have used a nap. I got a small cat nap after we got home around 5. I realized I left the milk out all day so headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things and milk, for the week.

This week's meal plan
Sunday: frozen pizza
Monday: Spaghetti w/sausage meat sauce + Salad
Tuesday: Fajitas + Guac
Wednesday: BLTs + Side
Thursday: Corn Chowder + Garlic bread

I also got stamps to mail those Christmas cards.

December Daily - Day Eighteen

Candi and I ran 6 miles at 6:45 in the morning. I think it was in the 20's. It was super cold and I hadn't run in a month. Afterwards I got some Starbucks to warm up. Well, and a shower.

Around 10:45 that morning I met my parents at Paradise Park to pick up the kids from them. Candi and Alex met us there and we let the kids burn off some energy from being couped up in the house the last few weekends. Here they are making Christmas bracelets during the craft session.

While the kids played I addressed my Christmas cards, stuffed them and stickered all of my return labels.

I took the kids Christmas shopping for each other at Target. We invited Candi, Sam and Alex over for dinner. I found this work of art from Carter on the table. You can't tell but it has a tunnel in the middle for the train to go through.

Later, Carter made a long train with his Geo Trax and took Buzz, Jessie and Bullseye for a ride.

After the kids went to bed Candi and I did our nails with her Axxium set and had girl time. I missed this photo opp. Love my "Bring on the bling" color which is essentially gold sparkles.

Kevin hogged my iPhone as usual to play Words with Friends and Chess with Sam. Who was 5 feet away. I think Sam kicked his ass. Dare I say... again. Tassie is not impressed.

December Daily - Day Seventeen

That's my mess of a desk at the end of a week during "beer thirty." I found this Mike's hard pomegranate lemonade in the beer fridge. It matched my outfit.

My mom had picked up the kids from daycare. Kevin and I fed the dogs and they had a race to see who could drink more water faster. Baxter is almost as big as Tassie and he's only four months.

We went out to the Peanut with Sam and Candi for bar food and drinks.  

Then we went back to Sam and Candi's house and watched Knight and Day. Well mostly, I fell asleep at the end. Honestly, it's rare for me to see a whole movie anymore.

December Daily - Day Sixteen

Carter finds that Baxter pooped on the bed in the guest bedroom. Just the way I wanted to wake up. I just washed those sheets from when he pooped on there a few days ago. Yay more laundry.

I drop Anna off at school. One minute later and she would have been late. Then Carter and I went to the bank and then had breakfast at Starbucks.

I got to go the dentist to have two fillings replaced. I have been grinding and clenching my teeth so bad I went through two fillings. Bleh.

I went to the office for a few hours after that to catch up on billing and a few things.

I picked up a few Christmas presents on the way home, the kids, and that asthma medicine at CVS along with some december daily photos I'd ordered to hopefully scrap this weekend.

Carter made me a gift at daycare today. He says it's a secret and won't tell me what it is. Very cute.

Feeling a little grumpy this week. Ready for the weekend.

Did a little more shopping on Amazon.com. Love the free shipping.