Wow. When I fall off the blog bandwagon – I really fall off, don’t I? A few times over the past month I felt like I not only fell off the wagon, but was trampled under the horses hooves, too. But we are all still here, and all still doing surprisingly well.

I know that there is only one more week (4 1/2) days of school before winter break, only 13 more days until Christmas, and 14 more days til we go back to Michigan. I also know that my Christmas cards are piled on the dining room table waiting to be assembled and sent out and I just finished my Christmas gift spreadsheet this weekend …as in jotting down ideas…not actually purchasing any of it. We have another Christmas program tomorrow, two Christmas parties on Friday, a Brownie meeting and we are going caroling this week. And everyday it seems my list just gets longer and longer.

So what am I gonna do?

I’m going to Disneyland!

J.’s Christmas party – where they shut down the park for the evening for the cast members to enjoy – is tonight! And we are going. Without children! So I’m excited about that.

And it is Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year. And, honestly…it really has been most wonderful. While we should have been Christmas shopping and making out our cards this weekend, we instead went to soccer closing ceremonies and did a little sofa shopping. We did find a Christmas tree that we all love – and I even gave in and put colored lights on it, much to the delight of Daddy and the girls. We managed to find MORE decorations for the outside, we seem to be slowly adding each and every day to the amount of festivity in and around our house. We went to see our very sweet friend Yvette in her musical theater production of Bah Humbug! (It was so cute and now Em wants to do musical theater next year, too. Of course.)

I love Christmas every year, but this year the girls really get it and are so excited about the little stuff – the advent calendars, Christmas caroling and the Christmas decorating. Oh, they are still very concerned with presents, don’t get me wrong, but the other stuff – the meaningful stuff – seems to be taking a little bit bigger role this year. Which is such a nice change.

And I think our “if it gets done, it gets done – if not, oh well” attitude is working. Even if some stuff isn’t getting done, other stuff is – like just chilling and having dinner with Uncle Jeff and Aunt JB and then watching the Amazing Race finale last night. (Yeah, Nat & Kat!!)

And in the end, I think that that “other stuff” is way more important anyhow.