happy christmas

i was so very behind schedule this year. it was as if i forgot how to host christmas. i still had to iron table runners after the kids opened their presents. this was a whole new level of procrastination. still, everything got done before the guests arrived and we had a great day.

the kids were so excited when they woke us up in the morning. connor ran out to the tree to find a shiny red electric guitar. a real guitar. not a toy one. he is probably too young for a real guitar but he is so happy. dahlia got a baby alive doll and an american girl doll bed. mason was thrilled to open his nerf gun and magna tiles.

my housekeeper gave the kids this enormous reindeer pinata for christmas. it was so big, as tall as dahlia. all the kids ran outside and had a blast breaking it open today. it was filled with tons of candy.

when we were done with the pinata and gifts, we served a delicious dinner. we made our usual beef tenderloin, salmon, au gratin potatoes, and green beans. my mother made our favorite blintzes for dessert. jen, ray, bodhi, and kira all stayed the night. it was a beautiful christmas.

christmas eve

today was a whirlwind of activity. i love christmas. i took the kids to church in the afternoon in orange county. this has been our new tradition and i love it. most of my family meets us there and it is sweet to have us together. the service was very nice but not as spectacular as it has been in the past. a little understated this year. the kids got a little bored.

miles stayed home to finish all our christmas baking for his family gifts. i picked him up after church and we went to a party at his cousin's house. this party is always mellow and their house is so beautifully decorated. they served a traditional turkey dinner and then they all sang the twelve days of christmas. it was very funny and i was so happy i did not get assigned a solo.

now we are home and i have so much to do before tomorrow. i don't know why i always wait until the last possible moment to finish things. the kids are so excited that they could barely fall asleep. they really do make the holidays more fun for me.

our christmas card

miles had a great idea for a christmas card. we set up a really funny shot of the kids putting the star on the christmas tree. the picture is photoshopped together.

i think miles did such a great job. the card is really cute and love that it is so silly too. of course we mailed them out today. our usual last minute print job and mad dash to the post office.

2 days until christmas

our sweet little angles sleeping by the christmas tree. we left the tree lights on all night and they stayed there until dawn. it was magical.

homemade wrapping

our dear friends sent us these amazing gifts. the amazing part was not so much the gifts themselves although they were very cool, but the wrapping. my talented friend designed the paper and had written our names in the most beautiful calligraphy. i don't know how she found the time to do this when i feel like i barely have time to wrap gifts at all. i love it so much i am keeping the wrapping with all our christmas treasures.

party day

today was all about fun. i started my day at an elegant ladies luncheon at a friend's house. we had a simple gift exchange and a delicious lunch that looked like it could be served at a five star restaurant. it was so fun to be with all the girls.

later i met my husband and kids at a family party close by. this party is one we go to every year. it is at my dad's friend's car shop that has rooms intricately designed to look like movie sets from the past. there is always a band and lots of food and drinks. my kids love to play in the soda shop or sit at the piano in the salon.

the whole family comes to this party and it is always a lot of fun. there is tons of people there and the atmosphere is very family friendly. it gives me a small town feeling that is very nice to be a part of during the holidays.

picking out a tree

we had a lovely morning. today was nice and sunny and was the perfect day to pick out our christmas tree. we went to our usual home depot where we can always get a nice tree for a good price. it is not quite as romantic as a tree lot but the kids enjoy the process just the same and we save about $40.00.

we got a really pretty tree this year. i think it is perfect. we just got lucky. miles only had to unwrap three trees before we found this one.

i love the look of a tree strapped to the top of a car. it is so fun to see everyone driving home with a tree on their roof. the kids were crazy excited to help unload it.

our tree is now safely inside with twinkly lights on it. we still didn't finish decorating but the kids put lots of ornaments on it and it is looking really pretty. i think i will finish it tomorrow.

cookie party

after the recital we had to rush home, change clothes, and head off to a cookie exchange party in huntington beach. i was up super early yesterday morning and late the night before baking all my cookies for the party and printing the recipe. this year i made cranberry-orange pinwheels. they are super good. i make them every year at christmas time. they are pretty easy to make and really pretty without being too fussy. my sister jen made these incredibly cute spice cookies that look like melted snowmen. i loved them.

we were an hour late to the party and most people were already leaving. that was a bit of a drag but because we are such good friends with the host i didn't feel weird hanging out after the other people left. in fact, it was kind of nice to have time to sit and chat. the kids went straight upstairs and had a great time playing with all the toys. they were so funny. connor was rocking out on a microphone singing the ninjago theme song. mason and the rest of the kids were building with magna blocks and jumping on a mini trampoline. they all seemed to be getting along great so we just sat downstairs and had a glass of wine. it was just a little bit of heaven to finally relax.

all the kids got to exchange gifts before we had to drive home. i brought home a box filled with a variety of cookies. i was so tired but it was a really fun day.

christmas recital

whew, what a busy day we had yesterday. dahlia had her christmas recital. she did great. i was not really worried about her. she loves to be on stage. she did a tap number to shake santa shake. it is kind of a strange song. i volunteered as a back stage mom this time. she likes having me backstage with her. the kids played hide and seek and watched arthur's christmas while waiting to go onstage. she had two performances at 11:00 and 2:00. most of my family came to see her at the 2 o'clock show. it was very sweet. jen and ray brought her flowers and christina and zena gave her a small gift.

i am kinda of annoyed that i didn't get a really good picture of her in her costume. she looked so cute. everything felt so rushed. we had an hour between shows to get lunch and then we had to be backstage again. oh well. i am so proud of her. she was so good and looked beautiful.