Taking a Deep Breath…


…to smell the peppermint.

In spite of my sincere efforts I confess that Christmas Stress Syndrome (I just made that up) has weighed heavily on me this week.   So, I’m making a list of all the things I’m worried about and then I’m going to go back and get a whiff of that wonderful peppermint smell sitting in my blue bowl.  All my favorite colors in one place again; how could I not take a picture?

Here goes:
make Christmas cards mail Christmas cards finish gifts for neighbors and friends deliver gifts for neighbors and friends finish planning Christmas activities for children gather all supplies for above activities fold and put away the mountain of clean clothing in my laundry room wash the mountain of laundry my family produces in about 27 seconds get everything ready for the wedding I’m helping with this weekend get everything ready for my daughter’s birthday on Monday finish shopping for the random little things I somehow forgot early in the month wrap gifts pack a family of ten for a week long move trip figure out when to add a 2 hour trip to pick up items ordered months ago but which arrived late clean my house Do you think I can do all that in 8 hours?

Gratefully I have a little girl who can’t stop talking about the Grinch and how he “toodn’t top tristmas from toming” and I’m hoping that Christmas will feel wonderful regardless of what happens to this list.

So now I’m done.  I just might make a cup of hot chocolate and add a spoonful of peppermint to enjoy while I read a Christmas story.  Or not.

But it’s a nice thought.  And it’s pretty peppermint.  And I guess this, too, is Christmas.
So I’m going to smile today and try to enjoy it.

Jennifer

Little Mister Mischief

He’s at it again.


This little boy has kept me busy this week with all kinds of unplanned adventures.

The short list:

He filled his big brother’s bed with baby powder “just because I thought it would be funny.”  {Since when do four year old boys play practical jokes like this????!!!!}

He poured baby powder over all the Playmobil toys “to make it look like it was snowing.”

He poured flour all over his baby sister and then over the pantry floor “so we could have a dance.”

He carried flour upstairs and poured it in the bathroom sink, then filled it with water and toys.  No reason offered by him.

Do you think we’re having a problem with powder?

He climbed into his teething, sleeping baby sister’s crib multiple times “to snuggle with her”.  No comment from Mom on the effects of a baby living on a fraction of her normal sleep.

He spent many hours following his Mom around the house, sitting solemnly in chairs because he couldn’t be trusted to play anywhere.  Just when I thought he’d learned something, he would pull another stunt.

It’s a really good thing that we love this guy so much.

HH

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