After the holidays

There were some nice highlights, but this year I was ready for Christmas to be over. Among the highlights, I had some really great get-togethers with my mom, and we had a really relaxing Christmas morning at home. Miss P really had us in stitches with her animated, excited responses to gift openings. Actually, upon awakening, she was most interested in beelining over to where she had left Santa's treats to see if he had actually eaten them (he had).

The festivities continue, albeit more low-key, as we continue to connect with friends and family this week. E and I are thrilled to have another week of vacation. This is the first time in years that he hasn't had papers to grade. It has been very nice to just relax together. E and I are the types that love to just cozy up at home after P has gone to bed with some conversation and a loaded Tivo. We are getting together with two other families on New Year's Eve for an overnight 'family friendly' party at a friend's house, and are looking forward to that.

One thing I like after the holidays is the anticipation of a new year and a new beginning. Like many, I always think about how I could be healthier. It's fun to think and make plans, even if my goals are a bit more lofty than realistic. I've been inspired by the yoga store Lululemon - extremely pricey - but has a neat goal-oriented focus. The store is filled with 'goal sheets' and misson statements by all the employees re: where they want to be in 1, 5, and 10 years. I always like to dream and plan. Some things on my list include preparing healthier meals in a fun way (need to get more specific) and leaving work earlier to include time for outside active time/play/ workouts with Miss P in the afternoon. We are currently trying to teach her how to ride a bike (with training wheels). She can do it, but is not very motivated. We're trying to get her over the intial learning curve - I know she'll enjoy it once she has some confidence...I'd also like to do more yoga and maybe train for a short race.

Finally, I think I'd like to start planning more get-togethers. We tend to get busy accepting invitations to do things with various different groups of people, and then run out of time to do much reciprocation. (It also sometimes seems overwhelming - like we have to go all out and/or spend a lot of money.) I'd like to do more frequent, simple small parties.

What are your thoughts for 2009?

Guitar Hero

Miss P last night at a friend's house....

P at a craft party

I'm back!

OK, I'm going to toot my horn and share a few things I'm proud of from the past few weeks...

~We have managed to really teach P the point of the Christmas. She has been talking about Jesus fairly often, and her goal to be like him. She gets that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and a celebration of God's love for us.

~We've been working on giving. P used her piggy bank money to buy a gift from the giving tree. We also dropped off some icognito treats.

~ I created 'Gratitude Boxes' for the teachers at P's preschool. I got the idea from an Oprah episode on simple, meaningful gifts. I printed out 'thank you note' templates from her website on cardstock and included them with a note explaining the project in the 'sign-in/sign-out' book. Parents put the completed notes in a box in the office. Then, at the holiday party I snagged parents as they arrived and ended up with several more notes that shared what parents and/or kids appreciated about the particular teachers. I then sorted the notes into boxes I had purchased from Target and added bows and nametags. I almost didn't do it, and I've been kind of pressed for time. I'm so glad I did though. So often I have a great idea, but then not the time or follow through to actually do it the way I envision. I got a call this morning from one of the teachers thanking me - I was so glad it meant something to her.

~I've done some beautiful wrapping this year! Wish I had a picture. Cards were mailed early, and shopping is nearly done. And we've stayed close to our budget.

I am out tonight with some girlfriends for a quick mom's night out. Then we are out every other night this week at some celebration. Today is supposed to be a day of cleaning and catch up; there has been some of that, but a lot of relaxing too. Since that can be tough for me, I'm kind of proud of that too!