IT'S OVER!

You know I love Christmas, but when its over, I feel a huge sense of relief!  Husband is back to work, daughter is playing with new toys and now I can get to trying to find a place for all this new stuff!

Christmas was great as usual, Amanda was overwhelmed with gifts so she's a happy girl.  But I think she really just loved visiting family and seeing her cousins the most.

Now I can concentrate on her birthday party.....ugh, when does it stop??

Running the Marathon!

Good morning blogger community!  Well, I woke up extra early this morning.  Not sure why.  It could be that my mind keeps running with what seems like a never ending to-do list.  I'm kinda past the Christmas planning and am now onto planning my daughter's 5th birthday party.  Always a daunting task for me as her birthday is Jan 3rd, which is immediately after the holidays, so on top of the usual craziness I have the added party to plan.  But this year I have enlisted the help of a kiddie-party-place to help me plan it.  So hopefully they can take on the work and I can enjoy the party!

But like the title says, this week is definitely like running a marathon around here.  OK, off to the races....

The Final Countdown!

So here we are the last few days before Christmas.  What have you gotten done?  What do you still have left to do?  I am 99.9999% done shopping.  About 75% done wrapping.  I just have my daughters items to wrap up. Don't know when that will happen, but I am hoping soon.

I think this year we have really spent a lot of time doing enjoyable holiday stuff.  We went skating at Rock Center, saw the tree, attended a Christmas party, visited and took pics with Santa, visited the neighborhood lights spectacular as we do every year, visited friends who moved recently, I baked (and failed but at least I tried) and despite all the goings on non-Christmas-related, we managed to put up a beautiful tree.   I even made myself a glass of eggnog the other night.

All the while, I have also managed to find time to create some nice cupfake ornaments (a few still available in my etsy shop) and got all my orders out on time!  You think I'd be wiped out, but the final countdown days do have me feeling a little energized :)

So what have you done?????

Weekend Festivities

Hi all!  Well, on Saturday my husband had the bright idea of heading into the city to take our daughter ice skating at Rockefeller Center.  We waited on line in the freezing temps for over an hour but my daughter didn't complain and she had a blast!  My advice?  Pay the whopping $75 to get into the "express skating" section and you don't have to wait on line!  It would have been worth it!  But so glad my daughter got to experience skating at the most famous rink in the world!

Crunch Time!

I know as soon as Halloween is over, you hear everyone say "Christmas is right around the corner".  Well, we can say it and really mean it.

Tomorrow is the last day you can order my cupfakes to ensure a timely Christmas delivery.  Anything beyond that, well, I cannot guarantee that your cupfake will arrive in time for the holiday.  But hey, a late gift is better than no gift right?

Its Friday morning and I have lots to do so I am sorry this post is short and sweet.  Off to the races!

Red Hot Christmas Gift Treasury

Christmas doesn't have to just be for the kiddies!  Forget the hot cocoa and toys!  Check out these sizzling Christmas gifts for the big kids!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTAzMjkyMTF8MTQ3MDcxMTM1OQ/red-hot-christmas?index=0

It Always Seems To Be Monday.....

HI folks!  Well its Monday morning......again....

Got a lot done over the weekend.  But at the same time it was relaxing and stress free.  Saturday we went and picked up some fresh mussels.  Saturday night we took our daughter to a neighborhood home who goes all out for Christmas..and I do mean all out.  He had Santa there for the kids, his entire home decorated from top to bottom. Including the backyard which he transforms into Santa's workshop.  He had a DJ there playing Christmas music and he somehow achieves a subtle pine scent that I can never seem to achieve in my own home.   I have some pics posted below, but they really don't capture how amazing it is.   Afterwards we went out to eat.

More presents have arrived in the mail and I am thrilled about the stress free online shopping we've gotten done this year.  I am usually one to fight the crowds and lines.  But not this year.  I think we will go out for a last minute gift or two though.

Yesterday we went to a breakfast Christmas party hosted by my mom's company.  It was a great time, the kids had fun dancing, making Christmas crafts, getting balloon animals and getting their faces painted and temp. tattoos.  Then the rest of the day was about cleaning up, putting clothes away, and making those mussels.  Which came out pretty good!