Happy, Hectic Holidays!

I don’t have a good excuse for the fact that I have (and very uncharacteristically, I might add) not blogged in a couple of weeks. All I can say is that, like everyone else I know, every single second since Thanksgiving has been consumed by a flurry of pre-Christmas and pre-Eva’s birthday (yes, I have a December baby, and her birthday is tomorrow) planning. Yesterday she went with a few of her little girlfriends to see the Nutcracker. Today we went to my sister’s house for an early Christmas celebration, since we all take off for colder holidays elsewhere. And tomorrow’s Eva’s actual birthday, which will begin with a couple of birthday traditions (some, admittedly, stolen from my sister).
Birthday Breakfast of peanut butter with a spoon, her favorite thing in the world, and the opening of a birthday morning present (Squinkies and a baby-sized Strawberry Shortcake)
Class birthday party with Wizard of Oz theme (I will be running back and forth from the party to the preschool clothing drive/fundraiser, which I am supposed to be in charge of)
Special birthday lunch out with mommy
Pick up Lola from school
Playdate in the park
Birthday dinner of mac and cheese, by special request

Fortunately, the birthday festivities yesterday went off almost without a hitch, and Eva loved her party and the thoughtful gifts from her friends.

With all of this fun, I have almost overlooked our annual St. Lucia day celebration on the 11th, to honor Kevin’s Swedish heritage. Every year, the girls wear their St. Lucia candle crowns and we eat Swedish meatballs and ginger snaps, but this year, the family Christmas party took precedence. So St. Lucia will have to wait until the 13th.

Other traditions have also taken a hit this year:
Our annual Swarovski ornament was ordered late and therefore has yet to arrive
The Krinkles ornaments I buy for the Krinkles tree in Lola’s room every year have not yet been selected
The Mackenzie-Child’s ornaments I buy for the girls this year haven’t been bought either
I haven’t ordered our family photo ornament
Baby Jesus is still missing from the upstairs kids nativity set, for the second year. Should I get another baby Jesus, or do I need to replace the whole set. After all, what’s a nativity set without Baby Jesus?
The Christmas cards have JUST arrived, making it the latest we’ve ever been
Eva cried and squirmed when I tried to put her on Santa’s lap at the Yacht Club, but happily accepted the plush puppy that he offered her and tells everyone it’s from Santa
Both of the girls have added last minute things to their lists that I never saw coming: a windup puppy dog with a key for Eva (spotted on Max & Ruby, I believe) and a ballet barre for Lola. Sigh.

We’ve also started a new tradition that I’ve wanted to do for years. We’ve adopted an elf, nicknamed Littly by Lola and Little Buddy by Eva, who has made himself comfortable in the most unlikely spots: a chandelier, a ledge above a picture, the Christmas tree. Lola is especially into him, and is fascinated by his nightly trips to the North Pole. Unfortunately, Eva is the one who actually needs more, ahem, behavior modification than Lola, and she seems blissfully unaware that the number of gifts under the tree are in danger of dwindling.

This week: 2 holiday programs, 2 class parties, and a little more shopping… Hope your week is as happy and hectic as mine!