I hope that 2012 is off to a wonderful start for you and your families! No doubt the year ahead will hold lots of fun and laughter. But first, a look back on the last week of 2011…
Lesson #1: After packing the uber-cool minivan to perfection to start the post-Christmas drive home from San Diego, we discovered perhaps we’d overdone it a bit this holiday season when—come the first sharp turn—everything ended up on top of Big and we had to dig him out from under our gluttony.
Lesson #2: Sitting in the backseat to feed the baby during the drive home isn’t so bad when Phineas and Ferb, The Movie is playing. While I’ll be the first to admit mouse ears and princesses make me a bit batty, apparently I’m in their elementary/tween demographic. I also find myself singing along to Radio Disney in the car. Alone.
Lesson #3: While family time is a wonderful part of winter vacation, there are times when there’s too much togetherness. Like when we had to take Pink to the doctor for some stomach issues she’d been having over Christmas. Let’s just say even my two little boys found it upsettingly invasive.
Lesson #4: When the customer service rep at AT&T tells you his system is giving him a hard time, he doesn’t think it’s nearly as funny as you do when you reply, “Prune juice is what finally got my baby’s system back on track.”
Lesson #5: While Big is on a nice long break from school, he’s teaching me a few things. Like “mucous” is short for “snot”. And UCLA would be a much better team if Little were on it (yes, our 3-year-old Little). Or Andrew Luck.
Lesson #6: Next year Big wants us to get tickets to the Nutcracker fight. (Psst- don’t tell him it’s actually a ballet.)
Lesson #7: You can tell that one of our kids goes to private school and one goes to public. Little spent the season singing about Baby Jesus and miracles. Big spent the season singing about dreidels and bunnies hiding in the bushes. Joy to the world!
Lesson #8: Toy packagers take their jobs insanely seriously. Looks like my all-time favorite ad campaign, Bud Light’s Real American Heroes, forgot to toast this group.
Lesson #9: Holiday cards are not wasted on us. Even the boys spent an hour one morning critiquing enjoying them.
Lesson #10: Celebrating New York New Year’s Eve isn’t really for the kids. It’s for me. I couldn’t have been happier to ring in California New Year’s sound asleep. (Probably because I had so much fun with good friends embracing the “It’s 5 o’clock—or midnight—somewhere” mentality.)
And we’re off! Bring it on, 2012. Bring it on!
Happy New Year to you and your adorable family Amy! I am looking forward to the magic you create with your words in 2012. I see a book in your future….XO
Happy New Year to all of you! I’ll get going on that book… xo
I know the Phineas and Ferb CD by heart… and can even anticipate the next song. Looking forward to memorizing the next P&F and Jake and the Neverland Pirates CDs in the coming months 😉
And I’m so with you on the Real American Heroes campaign – so fabulous (my favorite part is when the back-up singers chime in!)
Happy New Year! 🙂
Wow, I have the Bud Light CDs, guess I’d better invest in the Disney ones. Thanks for the tip! Happy New Year to all of you!
Love #6 and #7! My guys also think the Nutcracker is about fighting mice – and they love a good battle. Tried finding the bunny song online but I think the music teacher made it up! Ai ai ai!
Too funny, Aimee. I searched online too and the number one thing that came up was the words from our kids’ school production. He must have had to dig deep to come up with this cultural celebration!