Last year I thought there was no way that any December could be crazier than that one. I was wrong. This December was a whole new level of crazy and it felt like it was over in about the blink of an eye. In the course of ONE WEEK, the last week of school before break in fact, we had 2 family funerals (my aunt, my husband's uncle), I was in charge of class parties for each of the boys, I drove a field trip, Matt was in CRUNCH time for the end of his 16 month school program, and we made the decision to withdraw our oldest from school at the end of the semester (Christmas break) and to homeschool him starting in January. THAT WAS ALL IN 8 DAYS. Plus, the small fact that it was the week before Christmas and there were Christmas things that needed done AND the normal life stuff like laundry and feeding people (but also making sure we had all the necessary food for all the Christmas celebrations and the graduation party we had for Matt right after Christmas). It's no surprise that I ended up with an infection (30 day antibiotic) and a pretty good cold.
But the big news this month is that Matt finally did finish his program. On December 27th, not before Christmas, but he is done. The last 2 weeks were a real slog when we thought he'd be done and it felt never ending for a few days. BUT...he is. It still feels too good to be true that he really is DONE. (Besides boards...which will be a whole other thing.)
So December has been fun. I would like NO funerals next December please. Matt will definitely not be in school. Who knows what will be going on in home school (we will reevaluate for next school year in the spring) but next December has to be less crazy, right?? I wouldn't like any year to try to top this one. I would like to actually ENJOY the Christmas season, which is my FAVORITE season of the year, please. Please. Please.
Looking back:
1 year ago: Picture Book Flight - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
2 years ago: Things I Like - December 2022 (maybe my favorite of these I've ever written)
3 years ago: Christmas Season Decide Once
4 years ago: Christmas Media to Consume
5 years ago: Mixed Drink Monday: Cran-Apple Sangria
6 years ago: Book Love: I'll Be There for You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller
7 years ago: DIY Strawberries & Cream Instant Oatmeal
8 years ago: The Senses of the Season - Christmas!
9 years ago: Paper Christmas Trees (kid craft)
10 years ago: Caramel Butter Bars
11 years ago: Raspberry Chocolate Layer Bars (these remain Matt's favorite)
12 years ago: Things I Like December 2012
14 years ago: Stairs are (almost) done!
1) Eating leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving with our partially decorated tree (it was like that for about 5 days just due to no time).
2) Cutting out cookies! The number of things that had to fit in a very specific time frame was...pretty much everything until school was out.
3) Driving past downtown Santa. I didn't do this as much as I would have liked but still a few times!
4) Nutcracker with Sam! My friend's daughters both had roles and it was so fun to watch the whole production. I cried.
5) The tree glows best at dawn and dusk.
6) I wrapped most of the new gallery wall except for 3 frames behind the tree I couldn't reach. They aren't super obvious but I am still showing them here...next year I need to do before we get the tree. But very happy with how this all came out (I also cut out 8 snowflakes).
7) Frosting cookies! Fitting this in got rescheduled 3 times but we did it!
8) The sweatshirt I dyed in December. Took a lot of stirring a boiling pot.
9) Driving through the lights at Franke Park. We went on a very not busy night so actually stopped at the photo ops for the first time ever!
10) Doing a Christmas puzzle while boys & I watched The Polar Express on Christmas Adam (Matt was writing his final 450 page paper).
11) Christmas crackers for supper with my parents on Christmas. So festive. I hadn't been able to find them for a few years!
12) All our stockings together on Boxing Day! We mostly got to be home that day! (Matt was still writing most of it.)
13) My favorite times - drinking tea in front of the tree. Appreciate every time this happens!
14) Checking out the lights at Parkview Field just last night. Took my parents and Matt's Dad. It was a fun experience!
15) Also did our walking around all the lights post-Christmas, post Matt being DONE. I love doing this with almost no crowds.
16) Under the wreath. Christmas season wouldn't be complete without walking between the lights!
Books finished: Assuming I'm going to finish the one I've got about 100 pages in...20!
Miles ran: 2.05! Ran every month this year!
Currently watching: It's been a lot of holiday stuff lately. We aren't in the middle of any series now.
Most read post this month: Kool-Aid Cookies (solid pick) then Hawaiian Lasagna
January brings homeschool, cold, probably snow, and the end of Christmas. Mixed feelings about all of it!
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