Holiday Wrap-Up (ha ha ha)

Oh dear. . . blogging regularly and then taking a break seems to be a little like working out. You don't mind it so much when you do it often, but stop for a while and it is mighty difficult to get it back into your schedule. We've been home for about a week now, but I've stayed away from the computer almost entirely for several reasons:

1) Many events this week.

Monday: unpacking and dinner with the in-laws (it was soooo yummy!). The highlight of this evening was that I finally stopped nursing so I could officially eat all the shrimp I wanted to.

Tuesday: family Christmas gift-opening and celebration with the immediate Ohio family.

Wednesday: book club, which also meant staying up until the wee hours on Monday and Tuesday nights trying to finish The Grapes of Wrath. I did get finished, even though it meant reading the last few pages on the way to book club (I wasn't driving.)

Thursday: celebrating Nana's retirement with a delicious dinner at Bravo. Congratulations again!

Friday: We didn't actually have any plans on Friday, but I did have to make a massive shopping trip to prepare for the weekend of cooking and hosting of family fun. And I took Harper to the last three quarters of the varsity girls basketball game at Alter. She didn't like the noise at first, but was bouncing and pointing and babbling away by the end of the game. She clapped every time anyone in the stands clapped, she hasn't got her loyalties straight yet.

Saturday: Making potato soup to be served on Sunday and trying to clean some of the tennis ball sized dust bunnies off the floor so we could have the in-laws and MaryEllen over with out dying of total embarrassment. Thankfully we just baked pre-made pizza for dinner. We had a grand time playing games and watching football.

Sunday: Getting the house ready for some extended family to come and have the last of our many Christmas celebrations. This involved much of the day spent running around like a head-less chicken and nearly having a panic attack. With Harper it really is great to host stuff at our house, her own bed, high chair, etc. I do like doing it, I just tend to freak out in the hours leading up to company's arrival. I let myself take a nap in the early afternoon because I'd gotten up and gone to 8 a.m. mass. I don't know if the nap was good (I was more rested) or my undoing (I lost over an hour of valuable prep time).

2) ( Do you remember that I was actually listing the reasons I haven't posted?) The holidays were so full and busy I am at a total loss as to what to write about and which of about 200 pictures to include.

3) I have an overwhelming need for time to myself to read or write and I try to get this in each day, but it usually comes in the wee hours after all other breathing beings in this household are asleep. Because of the busy schedule I have been up into the a.m. several nights this past week. While I appreciate this time on my own, I almost always regret it when Harper beckons me in the morning. Today she beckoned at about 5:30, which is early, even for her. Unfortunately, going to bed in the a.m., unless I'm taking a nap, does not a refreshed mother make. I should resolve to get more sleep in the new year, but I don't see that happening unless we find a way to add about three more hours to each day, and Harper sleeps through them!

But now that we're back and most of the holiday madness has subsided, I will try to get lots of adorable pictures of Harper on-line again. And if you've read all of this you certainly deserve to be rewarded with some photos:

Harper enjoyed gifts, especially the giant ones at the little mall where we went to see Santa:
















Of Santa himself, the girl was not so fond:

















There's nothing quite like scaring your children to create those warm holiday memories. Happy New Year!