Go, Go, Goers!

Well, another Christmas is in the books...and it was a fun one!  We opted to stay in Minnesota for Christmas this year (can't imagine traveling with a 7-week old...) so it took some (self-induced) pressure off of getting ready for the holidays.  The weeks leading up to Christmas were busy enough - I can't imagine trying to add a trip in there, as well! We had fun with so many things this holiday season: making fudge, driving around looking at Christmas lights, going to parties, visiting with Santa, wrapping gifts (haha, not really fun...), spending time with Scott's family on Christmas Eve, and enjoying Christmas day in our new home. Next up: we're hosting a little party at our house on New Years Eve, so that should be fun.  I'm SO ready for 2013 to be over! I spent some time this past week getting things in order to go back to work on January 21.  My email inbox is cleaned out, I shifted my hours a bit to accommodate an additional daycare drop off (YES!), and...

I honestly don't even know where the time goes anymore.  My days and nights are just a big blur, broken by driving Ava to school in the morning, and then saying goodnight to Ava and Scott in the evenings.  (Garrett and I are still attached at the hip so I never really say goodnight to him!) I'm trying to think what I did this week...made lots of appointments, called a million daycare providers (no luck - argh!  Well, that's not true, I did find someone that has an opening, but it's way more than we can afford to pay, so...it's not really an option.)  I'm going to be persistent, though, and keep calling and calling and calling, until I find someone who can fit us in!  Worse case, our neighbor recommended a Montessori school that we could use until we clear a waitlist for an in-home provider.  Just 5 weeks to go until I'm back at work, so we need to get it situated quickly! I did have my 6-week check-up this past Monday (all is well) and then G and I went...

Our elf, George, has been a bit of a slacker this year...he forgets to change his location most days, and then Ava freaks out if he's in the same place the next morning.  More than once, she's discovered him in his same location, and when she hasn't been watching, I've moved him, and then asked her to show me where she saw him last.  I think this has caused some confusion for her when she looks for him, and he's not where she saw him last.  I told her that George and I had a little chat about him choosing new locations, but...I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before she catches me moving him.  Today, I had him hanging off of a cabinet handle in our kitchen.  When I opened the refrigerator, he fell, so I had to readjust his placement on the cabinet.  Eagle-eyed Ava noticed the slight difference and asked a million questions about what had happened to George.  Note to self: choose locations where he can't be jostled AT ALL during the day. We ...

What a great turkey day this was!  My parents were in town for the holiday, so not only did we get to have Thanksgiving dinner with them, but they were also available to provide two extra sets of hands to help us with projects, entertaining the kids, etc.  While I don't feel like our to-do list is getting smaller, I DO know that we accomplished some of the bigger tasks over the last several days. I want everything to be done right now, but frankly, that's just not realistic!  Gotta keep those expectations in check...  One thing at a time has become my new motto! Our dinner on Thursday was wonderful - instead of preparing everything from scratch, we were able to utilize Byerly's meal service, and simply had to heat things up.  And it was gooood!  Really good.  Surprisingly good.  I would definitely recommend it!  Plus, it then gave us more time to spend as a family...eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying each other's co...