First off, go to The Magic Violinist's blog for some crazy good news - I'm so out-of-my-mind proud of her! I'm not one bit surprised, even though I am continually amazed. (Seriously, go look. Then come back here. Then go look again, because it's big!).
I'm hoping this can be the yin to the previous post's "Bah Humbug" yang. I'm not going to lie - this has been yet another stressful week. It hasn't been nearly as bad as this past week, but we've been rather stressed and busy trying to clean up the mess from everything that went haywire this past week (writing an email to the parents of the kids who were here the night stuff got stolen, the plumber calling to tell us the bill would be more than he initially said due to a mixed calculation, the floors in the kitchen being buckled from the damage, etc.) on top of the normal, constant, steady stream of things to do (and things on which I'm not keeping up very well).
Case in point - I got an email from someone trying to get a hold of me with not 1, not 2, but
*3* follow-ups saying, "I know you're busy, but if you could please call me, I'll only take a few minutes of your time." Multiply that by about 47 people probably feeling the same way about me right now, and you have some idea how I'm faring. LOSING. MY. MIND.
That being said, it's the holidays. And I'm not scattered because it's the holidays. I love the holidays! I'm scattered, because I'm scattered. I've really been struggling this year with remembering things or staying on top of things or being focused. Like
really struggling. I can't decide if this is just normal as your kids get older and things get busier, or if I've got something diagnosably wrong with me (ADD much?).
So I'm quickly posting a bunch of pictures from this past month to help spread a bit of holiday cheer and, again, I hope that allowing myself to take a few minutes to write will help clear my head a bit. Plus, you know, part of parenting is keeping the magic of Christmas wonderful for your kids. Enjoy!
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| Set for Thanksgiving |
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| A wonderful dinner and holiday with friends |
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| Thing 1 entertaining with stories |
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| Thing 2 captivating with adventure games |
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| Scout ready to decorate! |
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| See? |
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| My elf helping me make toffee |
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| Christmas "Crack" |
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| My beautiful family |
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| Happy Holidays! |
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| Me with two of my very favorite people |
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| I took this one upside down - naughty puppy eating Santa hat! |
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| Three of my very favorite people! |
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| Didn't even need mistletoe for this one |
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| My favorite dog! |
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| NaNoWriMo winners! |
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| BFFs make Marshmallow Snowmen together |
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| Percy! |
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| Reading Bedtime Christmas Stories |
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| A fresh canvas of snow |
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| Sledding with friends! |
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| Christmas treats from Grammy/Linda |
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| Wrapping Presents |
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| Christmas Wrapping! |
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| 12 Days of Stories |
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| Presents to deliver and mail |
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| Christmas Concert |
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| The Magic Violinist :) |
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| Violin-playing friends |
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| BFFs at Chocolate World |
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| BFFs at Chocolate World |
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| Guy Love |
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| How absolutely adorable are they?!? |
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| And Handsome Boys! |
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| Me and my best friend, partner, and soulmate |
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| Festive Scout |
MERRY CHRISTMAS!