To my darling Pickle and SugarPlum:

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas this year, spending the day with family, and spreading the spirit of giving. It was a busy day, this Christmas Eve, packing up old toys to send to new homes, and preparing for the holiday with special holiday episodes of some of you favorite shows. One of those shows was Franklin, and I will never forget the excitement that overcame you, SugarPlum, as you shouted "Reindeer! Reindeer!" every time the reindeer came onto the screen. Standing there, with your hand on your hip, sassing us and making sure we knew what we were supposed to be paying attention to (the TV, of course, although we couldn't stop watching your face change in awe at what you were seeing).

As I sit here, I am eavesdropping on the adorable things happening between my children. They are sitting on the couch, sharing a pkg of saltines (their fave new snack...go figure!). I sat SugarPlum down with her water, and covered her legs with a blanket. Pickle climbed up next to her and asked if he could share with her, climbing under the other half of the blanket, and told her "YAY! This is the BEST PART! You know that, Rayna? Do you?" OMG (insert swelling mommy heart here). Then, he leaned over, brushed her hair out of her face and gave her big kisses and hugs. Right now, he is feeding the crackers to her, and snuggling her every chance he gets. This is totally out of the norm for him this early in the morning. He is usually full of energy, and terrorizing her over some toy, or who has more food on their breakfast plate...you get the idea. Instead, today, they are snuggling close together on the couch, sharing food and a blanket.

Last night was a strange night for us, with both kids not napping yesterday, they were both very much past the point of just being TIRED. They were crabby and irritable, and clingy. SugarPlum was fussing, so I asked her if she wanted in the carrier, since she had asked for it the night before, while teething. Of course, she instantly said yes, and I strapped her on. Then, Ryan started to have a meltdown, because HE wanted in the carrier, and he wanted in NOW. I made him put his jammies on first, which caused further melting down. You know that point where they're so tired that everything makes them cry as though the world has stopped spinning? Yeah, that's where we were.

Today is Christmas eve. It doesn't really seem like tomorrow will be Christmas Day, to me. Somehow, I guess I had pictured this year a lot differently. I had intentions of doing it up big this year, with decorations and a nice big family gift. Instead, we have only a lonely snowman on the mantle, and our 2' tall live tree out in the back yard, in a pot, decorated very simply, with a couple of strands of garland and some colored glass bulbs. Pickle was so excited when Daddy surprised us with the tree one day. He couldn't wait to "bring Christmas to our tree". We let him start helping with the bulbs, but he got a little over-eager and dropped the first one, which resulted in a complete melt-down about how he had "broken Christmas", and it was never coming back. Yes, it was tragic, and heart-wrenching. Needless to say, naptime wasn't far behind, and I decorated the little tree by myself, and used the broken bulb as a lesson in "no touching".

I also thought we would get family photos again, like we did the week after SugarPlum was born, 2 years ago. That didn't happen either, so we have no Christmas photos to send out Christmas cards...add that to the loss of my entire address book when my laptop died earlier this year. My apologies to anyone hoping to get a card in their mailbox this year. Nobody is as disappointed as I am that we weren't able to get them done. Maybe next year?

Every year, we go through the same thing with the family, everyone says to only buy for the kids, but nobody sticks to it. Of course, this year is no different. I can honestly say I am not buying for anyone...Hubby is in charge of his own buying. I got the kids a couple of items from dollar bins...things that would make their playtime more exciting, and that wouldn't break the first time we touch them. They got aprons, chefs hats, potholders, big stamps for little hands & stamp pads, as well as a little wooden peg toy with animals they could mix and match on the pegs. I spent less than $10 each on them, and I'm okay with that, because I know we need to hold back right now, and pay the bills first. I love that my brother and his wife buy the kids savings bonds each year, for their Birthday and Christmas, instead of wasting money on toys that they will only play with for a year or two.

An update on our morning...R&R are now snuggling up on ME, on the other couch...fighting over who gets to sit ON me. SugarPlum won, somehow, when Pickle got distracted by Elmo. I didn't have anything to do with who ended up on my lap, Pickle just stopped trying...but I got a "thank you, mommy" anyway, from my SugarPlum. It won't last long, so I'm going to sit and enjoy it for a bit, before I begin to tackle my day of laundry and chores.

My 30-day challenge has ended, and I am excited to say that I was lucky enough to be selected for a print ad in Weight Watchers, Lucky & More. While I have been wearing my Earth Footwear shoes, my legs and butt have been shrinking and toning steadily, and I was able to watch my progress in the mirror, as I tightened my belt every couple of weeks. Today was an EXTRA-special day for me, though. I finally had to admit that my belt could go no tighter (without punching new holes), and retire it for a smaller belt. So, today, I start with a new belt, set at the biggest size, and am looking forward to the continued shrinkage!