The Home Stretch

Wow, there was a flurry of cooking, baking, cleaning, and visiting going on earlier this week. At one point, we actually ran out of all purpose flour. As we have many types of flour in the house, I had misidentified one of the bags in the pantry. In the end it was only a slight hiccup, but a good reason for me to start keeping an inventory of what we have on hand! Now, I sit here the day after Christmas and can sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labors and reflect on all the fun we had over the last couple weeks.

On Day Nine, in honor of "nine ladies dancing", our boys each received an iTunes gift card. They each love having their own music for their iPod Shuffles they received last year for Christmas. As they are both very musical, they use these not just for pleasure, but for practicing instruments and learning songs for performances. The iPods are small and travel well, and the charge lasts a long time. We've been very happy with them, so much that my husband now wants one too!


Day 10, "lords a leaping", was a day for Starburst candy! At first the boys were confused, but I asked them if the candy made them "jump"!? They said yes! I knew it was one of their favorites!


On Day 11, the day before Christmas, the gift almost didn't happen. For "pipers piping", I really wanted to have bubbles! Along my travels for the past week, I had looked for them, to no avail! Luckily, while my husband was out shopping, he found some. Yay! Even at 10 and 14, my boys still love blowing bubbles. You can never go wrong with fun, simple things!


Christmas Day, while it might not have fit the "drummers drumming" tag, we were able to gift the boys with an xBox 360 I purchased new for $99. It was a great deal and it was great to give them a gift we knew they would enjoy. My older son also got an electric shaver (he's not sure he'll use it yet!) and my younger son got a new bike (he's been riding the older one's bike as he's outgrown his own). We felt good about the money we spent as we know that each item will be used and enjoyed. Also, we didn't break the bank or buy a bunch of things just for the kids to have something to open. The boys were happy, we were happy, and it was a wonderful day.


I wish you all happiness, joy, and peace in this season. Thanks so much for reading!