Happy Monday! I’m starting the week with Holly and all of you! I hope you’ll link up with us for Hello Monday!
Can you believe this is the last Monday of the year? We are smack dab in the middle of our winter break and soaking it in! It’s been a week since I’ve been here and I’m happy to share what we’ve been up to.
Tuesday was a double tradition day for us. I worked a half day and then ran a few errands in my pajamas. Tuesday was pajama day at school, but I had to go to the grocery and liquor store. Nothing says tis the season like pjs at the liquor store!
Then it was home to start the Christmas fun! We made sandtarts. They are decorated cookies but not sugar cookies. When we made them growing up, my Mommom would say “Not too much sugar dear, they’ll burn”. Now we always say that when we make them. Kids always put too much sugar on them, and they do burn sometimes, but that’s part of the joy. Jack and Luke decorated some. My mom came by and decorated some a little later. I made them with gluten-free flour for the second year and they turned out great!
Both boys went to swim team practice on Tuesday afternoon and I wrapped for two hours. I watched White Christmas.
Then we went on a Christmas lights drive. We used to do it every Friday night when the boys were little because Jeff was working late and it was a great way to entertain the boys after a long week of school. This year we only went once, but we got milkshakes like always. It was fun to see the lights of our town and listen to Christmas music.
We woke up on Christmas Eve and headed to Jeff’s parents’ house. His brother, sister, and their families all come and we have a great morning. We’ve gotten our nephew a shirt to match Jack and Luke the past two years and they love it. Jeff’s mom has been planning a fun game for the past few years. This year we played a left/right game and it was a hit.
We came home in time to get the Christmas Eve roast in the oven and head to church. My timing was right, but I started doubting myself during mass and was on the verge of panic the whole time. The beef was perfect this year. Maybe our best one yet! We had a great dinner, opened our Eve presents, and our Jolabokaflod presents before calling it a night.
My mom and dad went home to sleep and see their beautiful street. They do luminaries and my parents haven’t seen them since we moved into our house. They face timed with my sister and got to see my neice open a few presents before heading back to our house. We started opening gifts around 8 and took our time all morning. We stopped for breakfast and then opened stockings. My parents usually go home for a little bit in the middle of the day, but they stayed this year. 🥰
I went for a walk and then got ready for the evening. Jeff’s parents and his sister and family were coming. We don’t do an official dinner but heavy appetizers. We played Most Likely To… and had a great night full of laughs.
I spent December 26th like a lazy raccoon. I ate nothing but dips and desserts. I did not exercise. I laid on the couch and read. I watched The Family Stone for the first time ever. It was so good and I cried at the end. Especially after Diane Keaton died, that ending scene. Whoa!!
I started to get myself together on Saturday. I exercised, read, cleaned up a bit, and got a few things done around the house. On Friday I realized that I was really close to reading 100 books, so I spent a good bit of time reading on Saturday. I am not sure I am going to make it, but I’m trying. I made a yummy dinner of leftovers – steak caesar salad and baked poatatoes. I finished making my buttercream candy, too.
I woke up on Sunday and relaxed in bed for a little bit. Then I got up and dressed and headed to meet some friends to go for a walk. We walked for about an hour. I ran a quick errand and headed to my parents’ house. Annie and Maggie flew in for a few days and I was excited to get some time with them. We went to the park, played, and watched some tv. I headed home around 4 and hopped right on the comfy chair in my library to read. We had another dinner of leftovers – ham and cheese sliders – with soup. I worked on this blog post and headed to bed a little early.
I am looking forward to the next week. The boys have a lot of swim practices and we are going to relax around that. I am not sure when I am going to be here this week. I am hoping to be back tomorrow with my December reading update, but we’ll see how today goes. I am hanging with my niece most of the afternoon, so I might not be typing.
If you blogged today, be sure to link up below. Holly and I are so happy that so many of you are here each week! We love reading your posts and hosting Hello Monday! Have a great day full of sunshine and books!
