Is it just me, or...

Can Christmas be over already? I am not being Grinch-y (okay, a little grinch-y) but Christmas is not nearly as fun as it was when I was little. Although, I gotta say that this year was really cool cuz Drew was so into Santa. He received a letter from Santa and was beaming, so proud. He was into the whole thing. We had a great time at Joan's. Played Wii Mario Cart and pictionary with the rugrats. Connor and Kylie killed the rest of us...it was cute to see how grown up they all are (morgan and erin were texting, probably eachother in the same room!!!) and B was helping out too. We are blessed to have such awesome cousins for Drew--we always miss Johnny, Matt, Mike, Steve now that they are adults and, sadly too far away. I will post pics another day.
We just got back from hanging out with Aunt Joan, Kylie, Erin and Morgan at Canturbury village then Connor's championship tourney game. They won!!! A very close and suspenseful game, they won by one basket. WHEW! We had a fun day.

Drew's school pic 2008

Finally, his school pic came back. We had to get retakes---the pic in Sept. looked really cute, except his eyes were closed. So, this is the re-take, taken in November, right around the time that his dry skin deal was going on under his lip. :( GRRRR.
Ever since he got his SpongeBob front teeth, he has smiled differently. I miss the old full-on, mouth-wide-open, just-heard-the-funniest-joke-ever smile!
Aunt Terri, mom wanted me to tell you that she will be mailing you a pic, but is letting you get your own frame, cuz I don't know where you will be keeping it!!! You KNOW how she is tho...it might take a while, but I saved one for you!!!!
Mom, Dad and I played hooky on Monday and went to the cottage to go snowmobiling on Sunday. Alger got about 2ft. of snow, and on Sat night, we got a couple of fresh inches! Mom didn't take any pics, but we had a blast going all over Forest Lake for about 2 1/2 hours! My longest trip yet! I am built for speed, and kept trying to reach the handle to either go faster or to drive crazy. If it's gonna be this cold, it might as well snow so we can play in it!!!! It was about 35 degrees and very nice out. Mom got stuck twice and daddy had to unhook my from the harness and get her snowmobile out! But the last time I got to ride back to the cottage with mom, so that was cool. She is lucky that daddy is so strong! We had a great weekend. Today mom and I stayed after school to see my girl Maddy at her Investiture ceremony at school. She and Hailey are girl scouts now, cuz the awesome Miss Patty and her friend decided to start a special needs troup so the girls at our school can be scouts.
It was really cool, and I am very proud of my friends. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Mom will probably post again...she likes to brag about me if you haven't noticed!!! :)

Christmas Blessings from our Team to yours...

'Tis the season...

I am taking it upon myself to offer some Christmas shopping tips for the overworked, underpaid, over stressed, underappreciated, over- it shopper out there. Christmas is not about gifts. Material ones, that is. The best gift you can give to a fellow shopper is patience, understanding and a genuine smile.
It might be the mom whose kid's Autism is showing and he is having a meltdown in the middle of the store, or the mom struggling to keep her inconsolable daughter from screaming cuz she is having pains she cannot express any other way. It might be the little guy drooling cuz he has poor oral motor muscles, or has runny snots cuz mom can only do 9 things at once and doesn't notice it. Believe me, we know when our kids' diapers need to be changed...but I challenge anyone to find a changing table made for a kid bigger than a two-year-old. There is no such thing as 'running a quick errand'. We could make the most efficient project manager envious on a daily basis.
My advice: Don't stare. Don't plaster on a fake smile or pretend you don't notice the chaos that surrounds us moms. Don't pity us or look at our kids like they escaped from a freak show. Don't go on and on and on and on about how cute our kids are. Say it once if you feel like it, and if you don't have anything else to say, then don't.
Just smile genuinely, say 'merry Christmas', or whatever holiday you celebrate, and treat us like we want to be treated. Like everyone else.
Christmas brings out the best in people. I encourage everyone to act Christ(mas) like all year long!!!!
To quote the great Elvis Costello: "What's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding?!"