Happy New Year and all that...

The holidays are almost officially over. It feels like forever since we've been at school/work or had any sort of a schedule.  It's been so nice having Dayven home and we've been having fun playing all week.

A girlfriend and I braved the crowds to hit the sales on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas when all the stores have their big sales (like Black Friday in the states). We didn't really need anything, more just looking for an excuse to leave the house after being home for three days. It wasn't that bad early on and we got a couple of fun deals, but then the crowds started getting thicker and thicker and we decided to call it quits.

 

 

Wyatt lost another tooth the day after Christmas. Actually, Dayven pulled it for him. It had been loose and wiggly for a while and the prime rib didn't help matters. At bedtime, he said it was bothering him. Dayven asked him if he wanted him to pull it and he said yes, so that was that. He proudly stuck it in his little tooth holder for the tooth fairy to take it that night. He was so excited to show us what she left (thankfully I had something small I'd held back that didn't fit in his stocking, along with a couple of loonies) the next morning and came racing in our room to tell us.  A sleepy Hadley trailed behind him. When he showed her and told her the tooth fairy came, she said (in her grumpiest voice) "NO Wyatt! The tooth fairy can NOT come. Only Santa!". He said "Oh Hadley, Christmas is over..." She protested "NO! Christmas is STILL ON!"  I guess she's taking it a little harder than him. As he stuck his loonies in his piggy bank, he said "I better send the tooth fairy a thank you note". I guess I have drilled it into these kids pretty good. I complimented his manners and told him not to worry, she knows he is thankful.

A couple of girlfriends and I did another Big Cook. We prepared 114 meals in 6 1/2 hours! It's an insane amount of cooking and I swear I could smell garlic on my hands for two days, but it's worth it. I can hardly wait to try out the yummy meals. They'll be so handy for after the baby comes. A special shout out to my friend Paige who chopped 25 onions and did not shed one tear! We laughed, chatted and cooked our little hearts out and now we've got freezers stocked with meals!

 

 

I took down all the Christmas decor this weekend, which is always a little sad. I'm ready to get the house put back together, but it always looks so dreary after removing all the lights and cheerfulness. The kids were really sad to see it go too. When I asked Hadley to help me take the ornaments off the tree, she said "NO! You leave them on, mommy. Christmas is NOT over!!" She finally reluctantly started helping. I thought Wyatt would be the tricky one this year, but he seems to be over it already.

We had a very low key New Year's Eve, like we always do. When I told the kids it was New Year's Eve, they asked who was coming. When I asked what they meant, Hadley asked "Is Santa coming again?' I told her no. "Well, who's coming then?" She was so disappointed when I told her no one. We had steaks on the grill and the usual early bedtime for the kids. Davyen and I watched a movie and caught the finale of our town's fireworks out of our bedroom window. Our house sits up on a hill at the top of the neighborhood so we have a bird's eye view of the action. It was fun to feel a tiny part of the celebration without battling the crowds or the cold.

One more day until Dayven goes back to work. I'm heading out to dinner and a movie with some girlfriends. Trying to squeeze in as many "last hurrahs" as I can before the bambino arrives. Wyatt still has another week off from school so the fun's not over yet!