Dear Friends and Family,
In case you were wondering, we took a most wonderful week off from work and life. Sometimes, I think, if the time leading up to Christmas wasn't as stressful as it is, then I wouldn't need as much time to recuperate.
We opened presents with P on Friday morning. And, honestly, she was absolutely thrilled after opening her stocking - a Lego police officer and police dog that she can use in her airport security, a set of dice that she can use to make up stories, a key chain and a page of stickers. Thrilled. And, it made me wonder, why we had a deluge of gifts by the tree for her. I'm glad she's easily satisfied.
The rest of Friday as a flurry of packing. Then, we flew to Mr. mouse's folks' house. P was terrified of the cat (no surprise) and of Mr. mouse's step-sister-in-law (big surprise), but enjoyed her time with her grandparents.
Saturday, we indulged in diner food, took P to a park with a merry-go-round where we spent some creative time riding a turtle to random places her imagination dictated (a pond in Arizona with ducks was one example), began the process of returning gifts, and had dinner with Mr. mouse's dad and step-mom.
Sunday, we had brunch before heading over to see my parents and brother. P had a ball going out to the "slide park" with her uncle. And, dinner was a quiet affair at home.
Monday, we went to the park again - this time with my mom. Then, we went to a diner for lunch. And, we were going to head out to see the tree, but P was tired so we headed home. Dinner, we ate out.
Tuesday, we went to the park again. Then, we packed and my mom drove us to the airport. And, we had a quiet flight home. I think P was ready for a couple of days of downtime after the excitement and hyper-attention of spending time with grandparents.
Wednesday and Thursday, we packed P off to school and took time to get the house in order.
The living room looks amazing. I have three more file drawers to go through and the tree needs to come down soon, but other than that, it looks better than it has in the past two years.
The play area, computer area, and kitchen don't look much different. But, that's to be expected since I decided to focus on those areas which never get any attention.
Our room looks a ton better than it used to. We organized and packed away all of P's old clothes and shoes. We put all of P's books back on her shelf. And, we put away a bunch of old blankets we had piled in various stages of petrification. Oh, and I donated some clothes that I never liked.
P's room also looks a ton better. I donated some clothes that I never liked. We packed away all of the old clothes. We put all of the books back on the shelf. And, I removed a table that we no longer needed - less temptation to leave something without the horizontal surface.
And, P's bathroom. We donated three shopping bags full of hotel soap and shampoo and conditioner to a house that helps women and needs travel-sized samples of stuff. Yes!
Last, but not least, the basement. Actually, the basement took a step backward because we moved stuff down there that needed to go down there, but haven't stacked any of it yet.
Two more days off would have been great, but I'm not complaining about the progress we did make.
Friday, we took P bowling and then to the outlet malls for more returns and exchanges. Saturday, we had a normal day with a trip to the park and the library and breakfast followed by time at home, a walk with Mr. mouse and dinner at home.
Sunday and Monday, we took P to a hotel for some pool time. The pool was closed on Christmas so we promised a make-up pool day. We had a great room with a view of the train tracks (that P loved) and of downtown (that I loved) and two days of pool. P and I also had fun on the couch which turned into a spaceship - set your destination, pick your spacesuit color, buckle up, count down, blast off, drive, arrive, repeat.
And, now, it's Tuesday, and I'm off to work and P is off to school. Back to the routine. Happy 2012!
Cheers!
mouse
In case you were wondering, we took a most wonderful week off from work and life. Sometimes, I think, if the time leading up to Christmas wasn't as stressful as it is, then I wouldn't need as much time to recuperate.
We opened presents with P on Friday morning. And, honestly, she was absolutely thrilled after opening her stocking - a Lego police officer and police dog that she can use in her airport security, a set of dice that she can use to make up stories, a key chain and a page of stickers. Thrilled. And, it made me wonder, why we had a deluge of gifts by the tree for her. I'm glad she's easily satisfied.
The rest of Friday as a flurry of packing. Then, we flew to Mr. mouse's folks' house. P was terrified of the cat (no surprise) and of Mr. mouse's step-sister-in-law (big surprise), but enjoyed her time with her grandparents.
Saturday, we indulged in diner food, took P to a park with a merry-go-round where we spent some creative time riding a turtle to random places her imagination dictated (a pond in Arizona with ducks was one example), began the process of returning gifts, and had dinner with Mr. mouse's dad and step-mom.
Sunday, we had brunch before heading over to see my parents and brother. P had a ball going out to the "slide park" with her uncle. And, dinner was a quiet affair at home.
Monday, we went to the park again - this time with my mom. Then, we went to a diner for lunch. And, we were going to head out to see the tree, but P was tired so we headed home. Dinner, we ate out.
Tuesday, we went to the park again. Then, we packed and my mom drove us to the airport. And, we had a quiet flight home. I think P was ready for a couple of days of downtime after the excitement and hyper-attention of spending time with grandparents.
Wednesday and Thursday, we packed P off to school and took time to get the house in order.
The living room looks amazing. I have three more file drawers to go through and the tree needs to come down soon, but other than that, it looks better than it has in the past two years.
The play area, computer area, and kitchen don't look much different. But, that's to be expected since I decided to focus on those areas which never get any attention.
Our room looks a ton better than it used to. We organized and packed away all of P's old clothes and shoes. We put all of P's books back on her shelf. And, we put away a bunch of old blankets we had piled in various stages of petrification. Oh, and I donated some clothes that I never liked.
P's room also looks a ton better. I donated some clothes that I never liked. We packed away all of the old clothes. We put all of the books back on the shelf. And, I removed a table that we no longer needed - less temptation to leave something without the horizontal surface.
And, P's bathroom. We donated three shopping bags full of hotel soap and shampoo and conditioner to a house that helps women and needs travel-sized samples of stuff. Yes!
Last, but not least, the basement. Actually, the basement took a step backward because we moved stuff down there that needed to go down there, but haven't stacked any of it yet.
Two more days off would have been great, but I'm not complaining about the progress we did make.
Friday, we took P bowling and then to the outlet malls for more returns and exchanges. Saturday, we had a normal day with a trip to the park and the library and breakfast followed by time at home, a walk with Mr. mouse and dinner at home.
Sunday and Monday, we took P to a hotel for some pool time. The pool was closed on Christmas so we promised a make-up pool day. We had a great room with a view of the train tracks (that P loved) and of downtown (that I loved) and two days of pool. P and I also had fun on the couch which turned into a spaceship - set your destination, pick your spacesuit color, buckle up, count down, blast off, drive, arrive, repeat.
And, now, it's Tuesday, and I'm off to work and P is off to school. Back to the routine. Happy 2012!
Cheers!
mouse
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment