I'm back . . . again.

Hello out there?! Anyone here? I've done a pretty bang up job of eluding this place, haven't I?

Things have been hectic here. Very hectic. Life with 3 kids is never, EVER dull.

We are currently smack dab in the middle of Christmas Vacation. I worked for the better part of last week, but have this whole week off. We took Banshee to the Pediatric Hospital for an appt with the Asthma/CF clinic early last week. They seemed to think that she was doing pretty well, so we carry forward with no changes to meds, etc. YAY for that!! We are still having MAJOR issues with her adrenal/cortisol levels (she's been fevery for well over a month now - just low grade - although it spikes here and there). We're hoping that it will eventually fix itself (they tweaked meds to help with that). Anyway . . . onward we march with that.

Let's get back to Christmas . . . it's a more 'fun' topic. We had a GREAT Christmas. The kids were keyed up for weeks. We had fun shopping, baking, cooking, crafting and wrapping gifts (although most of the wrapping credit needs to be given to Teen and her friend). Christmas Day was spent quietly (or as quiet as a family of 5 can be), OK, actually LOUDLY, at home. We were up just before 7:00am to check out what loot Santa brought, then had some breakfast (which was PAINFUL for the kids who were longing to dig into those colourful packages under the tree), then of course dug straight into the gifts. My other half's parents (my in-laws for those that were trying to figure out the math there) came over for a big old turkey dinner. Aside from Banshee melting down (I experienced my FIRST festive death threats from her!), it was a fantastic and successful day.

On Boxing Day, in true Canadian style, I heaved the teen out of bed bright and early; picked up her friend and headed down the highway to the city for BOXING DAY sales! WOOHOO! We were there super early and beat the crowds in the traditionally busy stores. Being the spoiled brat that I am, I got a new camera!!!! WOOHOO!! I'm very excited at that purchase (got a GREAT deal). I picked up a few clothes; the teen got boots; and I got a few other little things, but on a whole, nothing major. More than anything, it was fun watching other people. By noon it was a DISASTER at the malls - talk about BUSY!!! When we got home, we headed into the battle zone (formerly known as the living room) and cleaned up and sorted stuff - the Christmas mess was stressing me out.

The next day, we packed up the crew and headed to my sister and brother-in-laws house for a celebration with my other half's side of the family. We had a GREAT time!! Great food, great drink (I think I had WAY more than my fair share of wine . . . I didn't realize how much I had until we were driving home and I had the spins - OOPS!), great company.

Yesterday we took the holidays down and packed them away. While I LOVE all things Christmas and enjoy looking at the tree, I was getting tired of how much space it takes up (and I admit, I was kind of sick and tired of listening to the damn hallmark ornaments with their music, singing and bell shaking bums). We also helped Banshee purge some stuff from her room and put her new treasures in her room (good golly . . . for a kid who has been around for just better than 1/2 a decade, she's got A LOT of stuff). For the remainder of the week, we're just laying low and enjoying some quieter times. In about a week, the chaos of school, activities and appts will commence once again.

That said, we are hosting some New Years Eve festivities, so I'm sure there will be some 'fun' involved with that. The little folk are heading off for some time with their grandparents, and Momma and Daddio are going to have some fun!

Here's hoping that EVERYONE else has had as wonderful a holiday as we have had so far!!!!!