Christmas Wrap-up….Bring on the New Year!

Well, not quite yet.  We still have to have Christmas with our Bama family. ;-)  The kids are excited and are counting down when we leave.  Kelsie asks every night how many more days.  Kayla keeps asking why can’t we stay longer.  Zack goes back to work before school starts back.  Oh well.  We are enjoying having him off this whole week!
Christmas was different this year.  We didn’t celebrate with a ham or turkey, we went with an Italian spin.  I started searching for ideas on an Italian Christmas dinner, etc. and found that they do a feast of the seven fish on Christmas Eve.  Well, we weren’t about to cook that many dishes since it was just the four of us, so we went smaller and probably didn’t cook anything remotely authentically Italian, but we enjoyed what we did have.  The dessert was authentic though.  I had made sure to hit up World Market last week and bought Panettone and Spongata.  Kayla is now a fan of Panettone and Kelsie loves the Spongata.  I feel like I introduced them to a new culture.  Now maybe we should learn some Italian?!  Or…maybe not.  Wouldn’t that have been different singing Happy Birthday to Jesus in Italian?! 
The kids got almost everything on their lists.  We do things a little different around here.  We do Santa big!  As in, Santa brings everything but just a few things that we have gotten them that’s already under the tree.  And they never get anything “fun” from us.  That’s just the way I was done when I was little and I’ve carried it on with our girls. 

Kayla got her netbook that’s she’s been wanting all year, a cooling pad, a furry purple case, lava lamp, Tommy Girl perfume, books, Wii games, cd’s, makeup, Uno Attack and lots of other stuff.

Kelsie got a Barbie house, a Fitjit, Leap Pad, Cookie the dog, an American Girl doll, Monster High dolls, a Barbie movie, Barbie training skates, and a few other things.
Kelsie has really been enjoying the Leap Pad, as in playing it about a dozen times a day.  She said it’s way better than her DS!  Score for Santa!!  An electronic device that is educational and being enjoyed!  I know that she has ask for the Leapster a couple of years ago and she got the chance to play with somebody’s and said it wasn’t as fun as other things she’s played.  So I was actually worried about this one.  The Fijit is the coolest thing on the block, I assure you.  Yes, they are sold out everywhere, but they are totally worth looking for one to have.  It’s adorable!
Oh and a note for a just in case….I know that my girls got a lot for Christmas…but what you see from Santa and the few gifts we got them, they will only have one other gift to open from my brother and sister n law. I have always felt like I had to make up for gifts that they don’t receive from other family members. Most kids have family that gives them gifts, my girls do not. 
I also had a great Christmas this year.  Zack got me so many things that I wanted/needed.  I got candles {from Slatkin and Co., they sell them on QVC and Bath and Body Works}, hand sanitizers from B&BW, new measuring cups and spoons, a new nightgown from Nick and Nora {super soft and comfy!}, a new scent set from B&BW {Vanilla Bean}, and a few other things.  We didn’t go big with each other last year because we went big on each other last year and it wasn’t any better Christmas than before.  We discovered that the moment opening presents is all about the kids.  It’s the look on their face that morning that makes it great.

We got the girls BearPaw boots and I know that Kelsie has no idea what that means, but Kayla was so excited when she read the tags!  She said “Momma, I have real boots now!”.  Haha…yea well I think shoes are one of those things that just don’t last as long for Kayla and never have purchased any big names for her.  I told her if she treats these well that I’ll consider getting her some different styles.  She said she would def take care of them.  We’ll see!  I went to wear her knee high boots the other day that she’s had for a little over a month or so and dang it if those suckers are already scuffed up at the toes and flaking. :-/ 
Anyways….I am going to enjoy my coffee and close my eyes and pretend I am sitting by a fireside, with my newly lit fireside candle. ;-)
I hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a Happy New Year!