One Day...

One day I'm going to share pictures from the girls' second birthday party. One day I'm going to write a post that's longer than three sentences. Today is not that day.

January is Slacker Month

I have been planning a Christmas entry since, well, since Christmas. I have lots of great pictures to make into a slide show that would definitely have you smiling and oohing and ahhing at my absolutely adorable children and my spectacular Christmas decor, but alas, I did not post this lovely entry before the clock tolled twelve and welcomed the new year. So, I decided instead to write about why January should be a month of slacking, not a month of getting off your ass and doing everything you meant to do the last twelve months that just "flew by."

First of all, January is the month of my birth. Until I'm a pile of ashes in a lovely urn, I will always celebrate my birthday in any way I can. Even though I do have plans to start some sort of exercise regiment as well as clean out every single closet in my home, I don't think I should have to do any of these things right before my birthday, on my birthday, or in the following days after my birthday. I am, in fact, quite surprised that I cleaned my linen closet. (It's nice, right?).

Second, whoever said new year's resolutions must begin in the first month of the year. There are 365 366 days to get everything done on that to-do list (you've had for nine years). Let the first month be the month you recover from the last two weeks of holiday insaneness. If more people took a breather, maybe more people would keep up with the gym membership, sort through all those piles of paper on the office floor, and have clean, Martha Stewart-esque garages.

Basically this entry boils down to this. I am not going to stress this month. I will post Christmas pictures when I post them. I will clean my closets when I clean them. And I will kick my butt doing low-impact cardio and Pilates when I decide my butt is thoroughly ready for some kicking. In the meantime, in the early days of 2012, I'm going to relax and shut my eyes tightly when I look at the mess Christmas has left me.

Plus, if the Mayans are right, we're all dying in December, so live it up!

Christmas, The Beginning

It's here. The day after Thanksgiving. To some, it's Black Friday. To me, it's the first day of the Christmas season.

It's time to get my decorate on!!!

Last year, it was low-key but nice. The girls were still quite small and didn't get what was going on. This year, I'm not going to be so low key. I have vowed not to go Opryland-lights crazy, but I am going to have a little fun...on a budget, of course.

The tree is going up this weekend, so I'll be back to post pictures.

Other than the decorating, I am very proud of myself for being frugal and thoughtful with this year's Christmas shopping. For the girls, they are getting three gifts from us--one of which will be handmade (if I finish on time...which I will, dammit).

They have a new obsession with dinosaurs thanks to Jane Yolen's "How Do Dinosaurs" book series, so they will be getting Dippy Dinos from Jellycat. They also really love playing with Mommy and Daddy's keys--to the point of not letting us have them back when we need to drive--so they're getting Funkeys* from B. Toys. The handmade item is a crocheted blanket for each of them. I'm no master crocheter, but I thought having something made by Mommy would be a really nice thing...even if I meant them to be birthday presents...last year. Oops.

*The Funkeys were recalled back in 2009 but have since been redesigned for anyone concerned.