December to Remember.

I have to be honest, I am not feeling horribly festive this year. We've got the tree and the outside lights up, I've got almost all of my shopping done, and the Angel Lady has begun leaving candy for the kids every night, but it just doesn't feel super-Christmasy. Or the stuff that I have to do, like addressing all of my cards or making a batch of caramels, just don't seem like what I'd like to spend my free time on. LAZY NOISE.

I did however, spend the last week cross-stitching a lyric from Something Rotten! for my reading corner.

Sadly, I think my reading corner is going to be short lived. After driving me out of the living room with his loud, obnoxious one-sided conversations via gaming headset and his laptop in his lap, Tim has decided that it's time for him to build a desk top and set up a permanent home for his nerd-times. And sadly, the room with the most available space is MY Pretty Room, which he has taken to calling his LAN room. It's like he's trying to get banished out to the shed. He ordered a new desk and an ergonomic chair, bought a four foot long mouse pad for his new mouse and fancy keyboard, and his new monitor recently arrived so he can have two monitors for maximum screen area. Apparently the desk top is coming in the new year. I can't lie, it's a nice desk and not a hideous 1990s computer console, and I did sit at it the other week while I was working. BUT I STILL DON'T LIKE SHARING.

Anyhow, now that my sampler is done, expect holiday cards in the next week (or so.) In the meanwhile, St. Nicholas brought matching Christmas jammies, which of course both kids immediately hated the morning of, but consented to by nightfall.

Raccoons in Santa hats! What more could you want?

Speaking of jammies, Adam had Mommy and Me day at preschool yesterday, and it was pajama day for all. I saved the other moms the shame of seeing me in my super ratty pajamas and came in athleisurewear. We spent 45 minutes playing outside, doing crafts, and in my case, sitting down with Adam only to have him bound up and over to the next thing. Then they sang us a little song and we headed home - he refused to sing, but sat in my lap and let me smell his hair like the creep I am.

Ellie had an ice cream party at school on Friday because her class raised the most for the Jogathon, so she was incredibly pleased with that. Last weekend we had a college girlfriend of mine over for lunch - she's lived in New York since 2002 but recently moved to Pasadena, so she and her husband and sons came down, and even though we've never met each other kids, and the husbands have only met briefly at our wedding, it was like we'd all known each other forever. Then the next morning, I found this, which I finally figured out is Ellie's advertisement for the chocolate coins we had available for a treat in the house.

The kids have slept over at Mimi and Poppy's house two Fridays in a row, because Mimi and Poppy are amazing. Last week was the East Lake winterfest with snow and hot chocolate and all of the things the kids love - Tim and I went and saw a movie and then I slept in until after 9:30am. Last night was Tim's company holiday party, which was Haunted Mansion themed. As in years past, we get a hotel by the convention center and then take a cab over to the Disneyland Hotel for an evening of fun, and the chance to just collapse into a hotel bed at the end of the night, free from cares and worries and cats and kids.

This isn't the best picture, but my dress has a cape attached, which is basically the best. And Tim is wearing his velvet blazer again, as he hopefully will for holiday parties in the years to come. They did a really great job with the party this year - one of the best parts was that they took over the second floor ballrooms as well, so there was much more space to spread out, and more seating areas. In years past, it's sometimes felt like we're all crammed in there, screaming at our friends over the loud music. This year, more opportunities to sit on a couch and speak in a normal voice. Not that we didn't yell for the fun of it.