Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We made it through the busiest weeks of the year unscathed (well, besides Caroline’s pneumonia and double ear infection, which she has recovered from quite nicely) and now we’re doing as little as possible. It’s easy today, since as I type this a snowstorm is blowing in, making a lazy movie day on the couch practically mandatory.

Sunday:

8 am, still in bed. I LOVE YOU DISNEY JUNIOR.

Lunch at Harp & Dragon with Grandpa and Grandma

They rarely allow anyone besides Mommy to read them books, but Grandpa is just so good at it!

Monday:

New million dollar idea: Keurig for toddlers!

Hot cocoa is complicated when you’re 3

Walking to Christmas Eve service

Tuesday (our “Christmas Eve”):

Hide & seek is their favorite game, even though this is their ONLY hiding spot

Cookie decorating

We took Daddy his cookies at work – exhausting!

Wednesday:

I don’t know what this game is, but Evan LOVES it

White(ish) Christmas(ish)!!!

My beautiful whirlpool tub is 100% toddlerfied.

Thursday:

Puzzles that make sounds! The perfect way to make a nice quiet activity LOUDER.

Christmas-recovery nap

Christmas-recovery couch sitting and sweats

Friday:

The last of the cookies for breakfast

Real life financial stuff is hard to get done with a toddler in your lap

Still recovering

Saturday:

Cheeeeeeeese.

The last time we went here for lunch, he stood by the door and screamed he HATED sandwiches. This time he ate all of his and part of Caroline’s happily.

Post-cupcake smiles

E actually gets a few more days off (it’s a MIRACLE) before he starts back up with his crazy schedule again, so we’re doing…not much. Lots of cross-it-off-the-list type stuff. Although we haven’t taken down a single Christmas decoration yet and I’m sort of dreading it. Without all the twinkle lights and glitter to hide the dust and holes in the walls I’ll have a lot of spring-cleaning to do – and spring isn’t for a long, long, loooong time.

Did you take iPhone photos of your week? Link up with one or several below! Please consider joining, even if you haven’t done it before – it’s really fun!

Christmas Eve:

Christmas Morning:

Christmas Day:

We had an amazing holiday, full of food and family and fun. The kids were – and are – insanely spoiled, both with STUFF and attention.

I made Bacon and Hash Brown Egg Bake and Blueberry French Toast Casserole on Christmas Eve to put in the oven in the morning and both were delicious. My plans for an actual Christmas meal were thwarted by total laziness (and maybe my “holiday style” hot cocoa starting at 11 am) and we just turned the ham into sandwiches instead. They were FANTASTIC.

My sister is here to visit for a few days and the kids are already madly in love with her. She brought champagne and chocolate and volunteered to babysit on New Year’s Eve so she can stay forever if she wants. I mean, I know her plan WAS to go to Hawaii for a couple weeks and then move to Paris, but I’m offering a very nice guest room, free food and the chance to hang out with two crazy ginger toddlers as much as she wants so we’ll see. It might be an offer she can’t refuse.

I hope you and your families had a wonderful and relaxing holiday. I’ll be on my couch finishing off this bag of candy Santa “forgot” to put in our stockings and Googling “miracle 48-hour juice fast lose 30 pounds today”.

Today’s thankful post is easy. I am thankful for everyone who has served our country in the armed forces. I am proud to count so many people in my life as veterans – both my grandfathers, my step-grandfather, my grandmother, my father, and my best friend are all veterans, and my husband is about to start his 13th year as active duty Navy.

Thank you for your selflessness, thank you for your sacrifices, thank you for your commitment, thank you for your bravery.

My Grandpa (the one who just passed away this week) in his Navy days

My dad in his Coast Guard uniform.

Evan's pinning (the day he was promoted to chief)

Little Evan in Daddy's hat the day Daddy re-enlisted

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

Things I learned this weekend:
1. Driving south on I-95 through NYC on a Friday afternoon is a VERY BAD IDEA. Very, very, very, very bad. Unless you have a flying car and an invisibility cape always take 287 over the Tappan Zee Bridge.
2. Although I had heard it was possible to nurse a baby strapped in his car seat in a moving vehicle, now I know for a fact it can be done.
3. Breastfeeding a baby in a moving car is a one way ticket to Sore Nipple Town, by way of the Baby Teeth Express. I’m currently the mayor but don’t plan to run for reelection.
4. If you buy the baby a fancy new toy to entertain him during a long car ride, make sure it has an OFF SWITCH.
5. Tying a baby to a chair is a fast and easy way to enjoy a family meal without a squirming child in your lap. It works best if you have an actual baby-tying device but I suppose duct tape would work in a pinch.
6. When packing to visit your family, be sure to leave extra room in the car for the toys they are sure to have bought the baby AND the stuff they saved from your own childhood.
7. Going back to the house you grew up in feels really weird when you have a husband and a baby.
8. When you have both a grandma and a great-grandma ready to babysit, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY to go do something without the baby. Preferably something you couldn’t do with a baby, like go to a movie, a bar, or the NRA range.
9. Sometimes the best way to blow off some travel frustration is to shoot stuff. It’s also good to practice your aim to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.
10. Nine hours of heavy traffic and only 3 hours of sleep is worth it to give Great-Grandma a chance to see her only great-grandson on her 80th birthday.

Great Grandma Gayle & Baby Evan

I think this car seat was an excellent purchase