HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am actually going to try to do this again, even if it is only for my own good. I can't remember anything, and my kiddo's lives are flashing by me. If nothing else I can document my days and get the things down that I want to remember for my family!

Christmas was a whirlwind. We traveled to both sets of grandparents, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day. We also visited three great grandparents and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. As I usually do, and you can call me a scrooge if you want, I took down Christmas on the 26th. All my greenery this year was live, as was my tree, and they were all well past their prime. It went out the door, and the decorations went into the attic. My kids received much less "junk" this year - we are heading toward more and more electronics. The big gift was a Wii, from Santa, and it has been in constant use. My oldest got her own netbook and my first son got a DSi. They have been well entertained. I didn't have the usual load to put away, but still the taking down, putting away and cleaning took two days.

On Sunday, we had two families over for dinner, and I had two extra children sleep over. That was fun, and we ate well. I made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parm and Mr. Crazy made her warm Spinach Salad. It was delicious, but I put off cleanup until the next morning, due to the extra kids and the large amount of red wine consumed. We stayed in the next day, and had some houseguests. A new family that will hopefully be in town in July for good. We certainly remember what it is like to be a "resident's family" looking for a place to land with little extra cash to throw around. We hope they become dear friends, too. Then, we had more dinner guests, a couple of local actors who live across the street. I hit my new obsession again, this time heading for the Chicken Enchiladas and Mexican Rice. Along with my husband's famous guacamole and some fabulous margaritas we had a great dinner, and even better conversation. They are so very interesting and entertaining.

On New Year's Eve Eve, Mr. Crazy and I took a little break. We headed over to the Boone/Blowing Rock area, hoping to spend some of our Christmas gift cards at the outlets. I bought a pair of earrings that we cannot find. We took the baby, and he was great. For New Years, my bestest friend from middle school came with her family. We went to a local restaurant, had some food and drinks, and hung out with some neighbors. She has a 4 year old and 18 month old twins, so my house was truly insane for the 24 hours they were here. I loved seeing them all though.

Yesterday I regrouped and did laundry. I could write a whole post on laundry! Today I have stayed in as it is bitter, bitter cold, and snowy. We have a date for dinner and a movie tonight, though, so I am content to hold my little guy, catch up on my online stuff, and play Wii with the kids.

I do have some resolutions:
1 - the usual cliche - lose weight. Must get rid of this baby weight so I can wear my summer clothes. Yes, he is 3 months old, but this is ridiculous.

2 - Blog. I miss it.

3 - Make more stuff. My creative mojo has been seriously lacking. I already did a quick project today.

4 - Write, in general. I really want to get started on a book in my head, among other things.

5 - Keep track of what I read. I hope to do that here.

6 - Figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life, sort of.