New Years This and That

Ahhh....I've finally reached the end of the holiday posts!  For some reason, I didn't take any pictures on New Year's Day, but I did take a few on New Year's Eve.  This year was fairly low-key for us.  Greg worked during the day on New Year's Eve, and he had to be at work by 6 on New Year's Day (leaving home by 530 a.m.), so we kept our partying to a minimum.

On New Year's Eve, the boys and I played outside in the snow for a while.  We made this awesome snowman:

Andrew sang "Frosty the Snowman" the whole time we were making it, and Mr. "stick-to-the-facts-Jake" kept insisting that it was not possible for this snowman to be Frosty, because we did not have the proper attire - top hat, button nose, eyes made out of coal, not to mention the corncob pipe...

We also tried out what I thought was going to be a really cute idea I saw on Pinterest.  We filled balloons with water and food coloring and set them out to freeze.  They were supposed to look like this:

(click here to see the full directions) 

Aren't they cool?  

Unfortunately, ours did not live up to our expectations.  I'm not sure what I did wrong.  I followed the directions, which seemed pretty simple.  It took FOREVER for the dang things to freeze!  Even with temperatures in the teens at night, it took several days for them to solidify.  When we thought they were frozen, we took the balloons off.  It turned out that they weren't frozen the whole way through, so all of the colored water spilled right out into the snow, leaving us with only a faintly tinted, hollow ball of ice.  What a bummer....but Andrew had fun smashing the ice balls on the sidewalk, so all was not for naught!  

In the early afternoon on New Year's Eve, I put the kids down for a rest (Andrew sleeps, Jake has quiet time) and joined Sam for an afternoon snooze! Cats really know how to live! 

In the evening, we went to my brother-in-law's house for some snacks and drinks.  The kids had a great time playing together, and it was nice to visit, as always.  Above are the happy hosts - Rob and Monique.  

Siblings - Scott, Dalann & Greg

Ed had no one to snuggle with while I was taking pictures, so he hugged his imaginary friend.  She's apparently a tiny gal! 

It made the boys feel bad to see their dad playing with an imaginary pal, so they joined him for a group shot.

Dalann and Freddie

Me and Greg  

Andrew, Tony and Jake

Savannah and Kiersten

On New Year's Eve, Greg, Andrew and I were home by 10 and asleep by 1030.  Sounds boring, but honestly, it suits me just fine.  I'm not a night owl anymore.  I like being asleep early - the earlier, the better!  

We spent the latter half of this week attempting to get back into our normal routine.  I started back to work on Wednesday and Andrew returned to Harbor House.  Jake returned to school on Thursday.  I think we were all a little tired by Friday!  We got used to daily naps (I did, anyway!), but we did pretty well.  Greg feels depressed when the holidays are over, but I usually feel a sense of relief.  I love the gatherings, and I know how blessed we are to be surrounded by friends and family, but I also love the routine and order that can't be found in that time between Thanksgiving and New Years. 

 

Santa brought Jacob a "Kitty College" set, which included games that you can play with your cat.  We spent Wednesday evening assembling the game, and playing with the cat.  I can't think of anything that makes Jake laugh more than the cat.  It's so fun to watch him interact with Sam, even if Sam thinks we're, well, stupid humans!  

He looks like he doesn't like the red, fluffy ball, but let me tell you, it was his absolute favorite!  

And of course we spent lots of time playing with the Furbies.  I have heard so many people complaining about their Furbies, but we love ours!  Ours do not talk randomly at night.  The cat is not afraid of them, and I actually think they're pretty cute.  In fact, I might just get one for myself...

OK, probably not, but I can play with the ones we have!