December Reading Receipt

Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy!

Alas, December was a busy month.  I was shooting to read four books this month and only finished two.  I did make four kinds of cookies and candy though. 

This first was Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead.  This was so my kind of book.  Set in the competitive world of ballet, it had drama and beauty and mistakes and people who were not perfect.  I knew it was good when after reading five pages, I was ready to read anything else this author had written.

The second was Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. I got tired of waiting for it from the library for over a month, so I asked my husband to buy it for me for Christmas. This got a lot of hype after the election.  This is an excellent memoir and rang several bells for me, but frankly I don't really agree that it explains the results of the election, as I saw it billed in several places. That's pretty much all I want to say about that, Forrest Gump, since the last thing I want to do is get into a discussion about the election ON THE INTERNET.  No, thank you.  I've seen way too much of that this year and far too many people who are only too comfortable typing things into a comment box that they would never have the nerve to say to someone's face.   That being said, I think this is a book that everyone should read.

So that's it for 2016.  Stay tuned for my yearly update for my Facebook group 16 Book in 2016!

So This Was Christmas 2016

Christmas was great this year.  We were out of school on Wednesday, so thankfully we had some days to get ready.  We went to see Sing on Tuesday night since it wasn't a school night.  It was a $5 early showing...so even better!

The next night we had our annual viewing of the Grinch.  Everyone gets new Grinch pajamas for this night each year.

Thursday was baking day.  My favorite new thing this year were these bonbons.  O.M.G.  They will now be made every year.

We went to my parent's house Christmas Eve after Mass and opened presents there with my brother and his family.  I remember when I found out my sister-in-law was pregnant at the same time as me over 11 years ago.  I was so excited because I knew it meant my kids would have a cousin close to their ages to grow up with.  And that's just what has happened.

Christmas Day was a success.  As the kids get older, presents are getting smaller and easier to wrap.  Very few things have to be put together beforehand now.  While that makes it easier to be ready, I still think I would go back to when they were two and four given a choice.

Christmas Day was different this year.  Normally we just stay home and recuperate, but this year everyone came to our house for brunch.  This is actually possible now that we aren't up to 2 A.M. wrapping and putting things together.  And while I didn't get very many pictures of the people, I did manage to get pictures of the food.  Priorities.

Oh, and we weren't the only ones who received Cubs gear.

It was indeed a Merry Christmas!

What's Up, Wednesday? Post Thanksgiving/Pre-Christmas Edition

Thanksgiving was delightful and a much needed break for family time. 

My brothers and I were inspired to recreate an old family photo:

Apparently, not much has changed.

We saw Fantastic Beasts and put up all the Christmas decorations.  

Our elf also arrived that week.  I know I'm not fooling anyone with the elf anymore (especially when I accidentally texted a list of what we needed for the elf breakfast to the girl instead of my husband like I meant to), but it's still a tradition.  I don't think they minded a bit.  I also informed my daughter the elf will still be coming out when she is home from college one day.

It's been nice this year that our kids are now old enough to enjoy some Christmas movies that are a bit more sophisticated than a 30 minute version of Frosty the Snowman.  The girl and I watched one of my favorites, A Christmas Carol, (George C. Scott edition), and both kids watched Elf with us last weekend.

The girl had her Christmas dance recital this past weekend and both kids performed in their school program this week.  Bravo!

Only 4 more days 'til break!  Our administrators gifted us today with all kinds of holiday goodies.  Love! 

And speaking of feeling appreciated...I feel like I'm really behind on my Christmas shopping. But never fear!  I threw together a little something for the heroes of my holiday shopping list, UPS and FedEx.  Honestly, I don't know how I'd get this production together if it weren't for them!  I saw this idea on Instagram and was like, "Done!"  Here's to the unsung heroes!

Kim