Long time, no blogging...

It usually takes me awhile to get back into the swing of things once the Holidays are over.  This is the reason that I haven't felt like blogging.  I'm not real good at planning my little breaks.  I usually, just take them without warning.  Mostly because I don't know that I am taking them.  Time goes by and blogs are not written.

On a side note, the family is taking a brief trip next weekend.  I will be back later with pics, and hopefully before then as well.  :-)

I am top-tenning today.

How about a top ten of things that need to change now that the Holidays are over and reality has set in?

10.  My eating.  Oy VEY!!!  I have begun tracking my food again, and this weekend I have crashed through the treat points we get every week, and have moved into my activity points.  This is coming from the girl that rarely if ever used any treat points or activity points.  It's good to slap myself upside the head with this.  Weight will not come off if I eat fried foods and forget about my vegetables.

9.  My Super Mario Bros. addiction needs to be tamed.  I love to play this game and want to WIN!!

8.  I have to get back into the swing of school.  I have to read my text book, not just my Kindle.  This sucks.

7.  I need to find work clothes again.  We have been having mostly jeans days, and now I need to wear work pants again. 

6.  Dance class begins again.  There go my Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings!

5.  I need to stop shopping.  I'm serious.  Since Christmas, I have bought a new purse (needed), Clinique face care and makeup products, and gotten my hair cut (bought product).  I am planning the colors to dye my hair in a few months, and purple is in the top spot right now.

4.  Exercise.  I ran 1.05 miles today!!  Now, let's see how I feel tomorrow.

3. The Christmas decorations have been removed.  Boo.  At least I didn't have to remove them, the hubs did it for me.

2.  Cooking.  I need to cook real food for my family, not just cakes, cookies and breads.  As good as they may be, we all need a dose of healthy right now.

1. Start planning for next Christmas.  We may have an idea on how to get the girls a puppy - for Christmas, on Christmas morning!  Won't that be exciting!!  That is, as long as we have a Christmas in 2012.

Another year older...

Nope, it's not my birthday.  It's just the New Year.

I don't get serious often.  I live life for fun.  To me, life needs to be fun.  I try to make everything fun, for me, for my kids, for my husband.  I try to find the funny in everyday life.

Today, my internal mental world was rocked just a bit.

I woke up this morning with a bit of an epiphany.

We're getting older.

Yeah, I know, that's no surprise.

However, it hit me this morning in an emotional way.

My kids are growing up.

What are they going to remember about this time in their lives?

What are they learning from me?

Am I too mean?

Do they like to be around me?

Do I pay enough attention to them?

What will they remember about me?

Do they understand just how much I love them?

Will they ever?

On top of all of that, I start to worry about the rest of my family.  I'm pretty sure that I had two awkward phone call endings on Christmas.  One with my mom and one with my dad.  I feel like I should have been more attentive, more talkative, less ready to be off the phone.

It begins to occur to me that my parents are just as awkward and insecure as I am.  Do they love me the same way I love my kids?  Will my girls be as awkward with us when they get older?  How can I prevent this and keep them comfortable being with us and talking to us?

Then, I also think about the family I didn't talk to on Christmas.  I start to think how time is moving along.  Just because I continue to feel like I'm 16, doesn't mean that time isn't marching on.  We've been in our house for five years.  We still do not have a patio or deck.  There are so many things I want to do, but we are waiting to have the money for these things.  How much more time do I have to wait?

Inevitably, this thinking all brings me back to the new year.  For some reason, my reflections come at this time of the year.  What have I learned?  I'm older, am I wiser?  What will I do different next year?  Was this year as good as I could make it?

Let me tell you something.  2011 was a damn good year.  2012, you gonna be good too.

My resolution(s)?

1. To talk to my family more.  My family is very important to me, and I want my family to know that.

2. Be nicer to my kids.  It's ok to say yes.  And I need to be more patient.

3. To enjoy my husband.  He is one of the greatest people I've ever known.  He needs to know how much I cherish him.

In case I don't talk to you again before NYE, please have a Happy and Safe New Year!  I will see you in 2012!

Christmas is over....

Christmas is OVAH!!!

O-V-E-R!!

Yes, I'm celebrating!  Deadlines have passed, met or not.  Now, it's time to relax for a bit.  Coffee and Food Network anyone?

I'm still trying to get back to a bloggy groove, and am working against some fun writer's block.  So, I'm going to do another pictorial.  This is Christmas at our house.  Beginning to end.

Photo of a photo of Santa and girlies.



I don't have any words for this.  He sat there long enough for us to take a few pictures and then, kept sitting looking at us like we were crazy as we laughed at him.  This was Christmas Eve, after Skyping with the fam in New Mexico.



Christmas Morning, playing with a walking talking baby doll pony.

Mia kept making us high-five Woody all day.

Sharing the DSi - a little.

Christmas Day at the Family's house.

Olivia is excited.  She's my little artist and loves to draw.

Mia's a champion present opener.  She just kept opening and didn't play until they were all opened.

I don't know what it is, but Olivia seems to like it.

The boys giving me crap when I told them to stand still.  Ha.  Ha.

The Mess that was left the next morning.  We did clean it up before I shared the picture.

Happy Holiday to everyone!!  I hope you had a great time, got what you wanted, gave good presents and spent lots of time with your favorite people.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!!

Twinkling Snowflakes Holiday

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