Merry Christmas: 2009 Edition

Am I the only one who, on Christmas Eve, contemplates putting Christmas off for a few days? It's sad to think that all the fun and excitement and suspense will soon be over. And now Christmas has been gone for 4 days. Sad...

It was a good Christmas. All of my brothers and their wives and my parents were in town to celebrate the day. It took a long time to open presents (we go one at a time), so N was getting restless - A and his cousin took their naps. I think they were probably relieved.

DH gave me a Gorillapod. It's a moveable, bendable, twist-around-anything-able, set-up-on-uneven-ground-able tripod. Too bad it's freezing and snowing outside so we can't take a brisk hike and try it out. Soon...

DH is excited for his snowboarding trip. Kind of hard to have one of those in NC and LV, where it only snows once a year.

N and A had a good time. Now we're trying to get back to real life. Trying being the key word. Any tips?

My brothers and I started a new tradition. We take turns choosing a theme for the presents that we give to each other. This year, DH and I chose "Homemade". We gave the brothers homemade jams and jellies. They were received with joy. We received a beautiful braided rug, and bisquick mix (have I ever mentioned how much I love bisquick? This is not just for the benefit of my brother and his wife. I LOVE bisquick. Pancakes, waffles, biscuits, cheeseburger pie - all in a matter of minutes {well, not the cheeseburger pie, [btw, thanks Annie for introducing me to this lovely meal]} with very few ingredients? Okay, that's all. But I really do love it!) Next year's theme, announced on Christmas, is "Camping Wishlist". Wow! I can't wait! Any good ideas to put on our wishlist?

Traditions

Being married is an adventure. I love it! Having young kiddos is another adventure. And I love it! The Christmas season is overflowing with traditions, and merging two people's traditions is part of the fun of being married. Luckily, DH and I are both pretty easy-going people (confession: he's more easy-going than I). Merging traditions hasn't been hard. He brought the tradition of having Eggs Benedict for Christmas Day breakfast. Now we have Eggs Benedict for breakfast on Christmas. I brought the tradition of Ham as the main course for Christmas dinner. Now we have Ham as the main course for Christmas. And we have Christmas dinner on Christmas Day, not Christmas Eve (his). And we wait until after breakfast to open under-the-tree presents (mine)(stockings get opened when everyone is up). See? Easy.

This year, N is older. And more involved. It's been fun to begin making "our" Christmas traditions. Like decorating stockings. Since A didn't have a stocking and we were going to have to buy one anyway, we decided to buy the cheap felt stockings ($1 each, at Walmart) and spend some time decorating them (with buttons, ribbon, bells, fabric paint, etc). We had a great time! And after Christmas we'll throw them out and start fresh next year. To see our stockings, click here.

Name the Movie

Anyone? We watched this movie a couple of nights before heading on our trip to California for Thanksgiving. When we stopped at a rest stop along I-70, I saw this bottle top and HAD to take a picture. Even though I really didn't like the flick. It had it's funny parts, but mainly... not going to be one that I purchase anytime soon. But it was a fun coincidence. So, can you name the movie? Have you seen it? Did you like it?

5 Tips and Tricks to a Successful Bedtime

1. Set a routine!!! My kiddos get a bath before bed. (most nights).

2. Sing bedtime songs. The last song is always the same for us.

3. No lights on. For A, he likes the door closed.

4. Have kiddos snuggle with their blankets and loveys.

5. Snuggle time. After her songs, N likes a few minutes of snuggling.

To check out other bedtime tricks, go here. Also, you may want to take a look at DramaU.