A Wonderful List of Christmas Rememberies...

Post Edit - This isn't a wonderful list at all the way the title says it is. It's actually pretty negative. My official resolution as of right now is to be more positive in the New Year. I think I'm just tired and stressed because it was a nice Christmas. Not the best Christmas ever in the entire world, but still fun and full of warm memories of my kids and their excitement. Any Christmas Mikey is home and not deployed is wonderful as well. We might not be as lucky next Christmas and if not next than for sure the Christmas after that. So I will try and remember to appreciate the positives in my life. On that note, here's my summary of the holidays.

Just doing a list this year. It hurts my brain too hard to put it into a narrative.

• girls are 5-the best age so far for Christmas. They loved everything...food, caroling, Santa, cookies, lights, trees, hot chocolate, marshamallows, night gowns, staying up late, candy canes, christmas chains, decorating for Dad's birthday, wrapping their own presents and giving their presents to each other that they picked out.
• Our last Christmas living in California
• Marilyn's broken foot
• Steve & Vanessa just married
• My broken rib
• Hosted Christmas Eve for second time
• So many appetizers! shrimp cocktail, arrancini, steak wrapped in bacon, meat and cheese tray, veggie tray, pickles, olives, crackers, big fat wedge of brie, seriously amazing mocktails
• Decorating spiced sugar cookies with Grandma Houlie.
• Both my Grandmas were there physically (90 and 85)- not sure about mentally
• Missed my family in Oregon and Washington - wishing we were together
• Spent Christmas Eve night at mom and dads-happy to all be together under the same roof
• Excitement not contained Christmas morning
• We went a little lighter this year on presents - good thing since....
• I bought Mike a cruise for his birthday/Christmas combo and he bought me...
• My first ever real grown up lady purse - Mr. Louis Vuitton is his name thank you very much Mikey. I sleep with him by my bed each night.
• Girls got array of stuff they had asked for from Santa - earrings, watches, American Girl stuff, horses, remote control cars, lots of art project
• We gave mom and dad gift cards because they are getting so skinny they need new clothes and a olive wood salt holder.
• Gave the grammies thermacare patches and sweaters
• Gave Mike's parents many gift cards to go out to dinner given Marilyn is in a wheel chair
• Had our normal William Sonoma croissants - not as good this year
• Dad made the best egg white omlette I have ever had. He is the omlette master.
• Had a boring dinner of honey baked ham selections with a really good spinach salad.
• Mike's birthday next day - cioppino seafood feast - everyone was so tired it was sort of boring. Poor dude, he gets so jipped having his bday Dec 26th. He turned 40. We are going on a cruise. He's glad about that though.
• Had to hire me a helper around here because of the broken rib. Her name is Jessica. We call her Jessica 2. We love her.
• Rang in the New Year with mom and dad, jessica and katie, mike, ryan seacrest and poor old Dick Clark. Mike pissed me off just before midnight (can't remember why exactly) and I didn't want to kiss him but then I did really quickly because I was afraid of bad luck.
• New Years is Katie's second favorite holiday because it has so much love and kissing and the sparky drink that tickles her nose and clinking glasses. She seriously loves it more than anyone. They banged pots and pans and yelled at the top of their lungs into the night.
• I think it will be a Happy New Year indeed.