Stuck in Holiday Fast Forward

So, I never did decorate. My beautiful ornaments remained boxed in favor of a $12 pre-lit Hellmart mini-tree. I have cooked nothing for the holiday. No one is getting cookies or pies or anything from my kitchen. I haven't even wrapped a present unless you call stuffing presents into gift bags while parked in the driveway of the recipient, "wrapping". But, I have been lucky to have the very best part of the holidays this year, visiting with family and friends.

Friday started off a whirlwind weekend of holiday cheer. Fin's class had a party and the kids began the festivities reading to the parents sentences they had written and illustrated. Fin cannot actually compose sentences yet, but she had written down lots of very neat, random letters and she knew what it said. She read (with some amplification assistance from her teacher), "Santa comes on Christmas and brings presents and lights the tree."


Friday night was the annual "Chanumas" celebration with Lorna and Nancy. Fin stayed with Mr. Pat... NO KIDS AT CHANUMAS. Lorna and Nancy celebrate Chanukah and I celebrate Christmas, so Chanumas is our late December night out for a movie and dinner. We went to see Quantum of Solace. I will be getting this on DVD. If you haven't seen it, all you need to know is spectacular car chases, big explosions, and Daniel Craig. A fabulous dinner and gift exchange followed and it was so nice to be out with my friends. I would post pictures, but no picture-taking is allowed at Chanumas in order to protect the innocent.

Saturday, we headed to Richmond and got to visit with Mandy, BrYan, and Beth and with Ann Carter who drove out to their house. We had a relaxing visit and, are you hearing this recessionary economy?!, gift exchange. Fin has never shown a strong interest in dolls, until we gave one to Beth. Then, it was the only thing she wanted. Of course, once Beth left the room, Fin ejected the baby doll from the bassinet and put horses in there. Beth is growing up so fast and talking like crazy. I see her every 3-4 months, so the changes are abrupt. She is absolutely a delight!




Lovin' the brownie, Mom!


Horse Tea Party



Sunday after church, we went to Boston Market for a lunch out. Fin said she wanted "chicken, corn, and macaroni" for lunch and that was the place I could think of that had those things. You'd think getting exactly what she wanted would make her happy. Ha!


Her mood improved slightly by the time we headed over to Debbie, Sam, and Elizabeth's house for an evening of dinner and chatting. It was very relaxing and we both enjoyed ourselves. We even got Fin and Elizabeth into their matching dresses for a photo op. Debbie and I bought the girls this dress separately and didn't even know we had the same one until seeing it on each other's blog. They looked very cute, but they were not into posing.

Sam's Award-Winning Lights





Fin has been working on a sticker book and had a blast "reading" it to their sweet cat Vincent who was trying stay under the radar by staying under the tree.


Tonight, we went to see Nancy, Mr. Pat, and Brandon for the second night of Chanukah. We arrived after gymnastics to a meal already finished including homemade latkes and slow-cooked ribs. (If you get the irony of that, Happy Chanukah!) Everything was so delicious and we enjoyed the... you know it's comin'... gift exchange! Fin had piles and piles and piles of presents but the thing that captured her imagination the most was a card that they recorded.

Latke Queen


Brandon saying the blessings:


Fin's reaction to hearing the blessings (in Hebrew):







Now, I am sitting here watching "The Ref" and updating this blog for the second Christmas with Fin. It feels so great to say that! I won't be updating from my parent's house because I will be busy enjoying my family (and they have the world's slowest dial-up connection). I hope that your holidays create wonderful memories!