Although the countdown seemed to begin months ago, we are now down to 5 days before Christmas. I have managed to avoid most of the craziness that is "WalMart" this time of year, shopping online and even having several things shipped directly to my parents in anticipation of our Christmas Eve arrival. We are really looking forward to heading out of town for a few days. I have managed to keep up on my work this week, so at least that won't be a hinderance in getting ready to go.
The girls have their dance recital tonight. They decided not to call in the professionals to film this show, as our group is relatively small this term. So, Ryan and I will be filming the performances for them instead. We borrowed another camcorder so we could record from 2 sides of the stage, so hopefully we will be able to put together a decent DVD of the overall production. A little stressful, but at least they aren't expecting a masterpiece. :-)
Ryan and Andrew will both be home on Friday, so that should help a lot in preparing for our trip.
For my latest accomplishment, I have been able to work in 30 minutes of exercise daily for the last 3 days in a row!! I know I need it, and it really improves my day overall, so hopefully I can stick to it. It definitely helps to have my headphones on with some upbeat music. They are also pretty good at blocking out the background noise of the kids and the movie I put on for them. I still have to stop the treadmill a couple times during my workout, when Adalyn gets too close, but overall it has been going well.
Thankfully we have had no major illness or injury in the recent past, so nothing to report in that area. I have recently been bribing Andrew so he will stop picking at his scabs. It seems like even just a little bug bite or tiny scratch will end up being a huge bleeding sore because he won't leave it alone. As his face is finally clear of marks, I'll have to pay up the $10 I promised.
Austyn's birthday weekend went well and we survived the chaos of birthday parties. Ryan had an AWESOME idea to help speed things up in the cake/ice cream dishing area. Before our party, he scooped up nice round scoops of ice cream and placed them in layers, in a pan, and put them back in the freezer. So when the time came, all I had to do was take the ice cream "ball" and place it on the cone for the child. Same thing on Sunday, cut up the cake and put it on plates with the pre-scooped ice cream quickly put out as well. The only thing I will do differently in the future will be to take the "pan" of ice cream scoops out of the freezer at least 5-10 minutes before putting it on the ice cream cones, to allow it to soften just slightly. Other than that, it's a great idea!! Austyn had a great time with his friends, decorating their own cupcakes and gingerbread men. Opening presents was an exciting time as well, as Austyn got lots of things he always wanted that we would probably not get for him ourselves. (mostly because he already has plenty of toys) They finished off the party opening and playing with all his new stuff. For his family party, Austyn received some really nice long-sleeve shirts from aunts/grandparents. He got some cash, which we will probably hold onto until after Christmas to let him find what he wants to get with that. Ryan and I gave him a Spider-Man skateboard, which he was really excited about. Hopefully by spring, he'll be able to ride it :-)
Well, so much for my "Quick" note. I'll try to get back and post some pictures after Christmas. Happy Holidays to all!! Julie
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