post-christmas and happy new year!

I'm writing from the couch right now, laid up with a macaroni and cheese in a pickle bucket induced back injury.  Hearkens me back to the days when I first started blogging in our apartment in Beverly, sitting on the green couch in our living room just outside the door to little six month old Bobby's room, with Ben beside me playing nintendo or watching tv or reading.  We had our iMac set up on our giant coffee table in those days and those days are gone, because computers and coffee tables and toddlers don't mix (obviously).

The weather has fluctuated almost as much as my pregnant hurt lady emotions around here.  We had tons of snow, then it all melted in one night of rain, and now it's below zero and... why don't we live in California?  

After Christmas, we took a trip out to Tiny Gram and Grampa Sonny's.  Owen an hour past nap time was very content to sit on Pepere's lap dancing his new chicken on a piece of wood.

Two of my sweetsie cousins...

Bob and his beloved Savannah...

Doing holidays as a kid with divorced parents is not easy.  I remember having mixed emotions when I was young -- it was hard to leave all my new toys and mom and Gram's and home behind on Christmas day to travel with my dad to his parents' house, but also it was really special to have that second celebration and round of gifts and sleepover at the cutest house ever.  Looking back it's a really special memory, and I love to celebrate Christmas at Tiny Gram's nowadays with my guys.  I guess, holidays with divorced parents actually get a lot harder when you become an adult, because then it's your decision where to go when and how and with whom.  And your spouse's family gets thrown into the mix, too.  And you do your best to choose what's right for your own little family, but that can make you feel like you're choosing someone over another, or just not making the right choices, or make you worry about everyone else's feelings whether there is or isn't anything to worry about.  {Phew.  I'm couch-bound, so I guess I'm just letting loose how I can.}

One of the sweetest parts of family visits are the goodbye hugs and kisses...

Ben and I rang in the New Year with our classic blog/tv combo, a nice roaring fire, and fireworks over the mountain viewed from our (freezing) front porch.  Then we watched... something.  I don't even remember.  But I stayed up until 1am so... crazy night!

First bath of the year...

Glow stick party...

Bedtime stories in Bob's bed...

I heard Bob getting up to pee in the night and grabbed my camera quick.  I love his little sleepy face coming out of the bathroom, and I cannot believe how grown up this little boy is.

Sleeping and just waking up, sporting his Mario mustache.  I might start hiding the markers.

Now that Christmas is over, I finally got around to snapping some pics around the house...

One day this new year I finally unpacked a box hiding a stack of beloved books we haven't seen since the move.  The result?  A few hours of peaceful quiet reading time scattered throughout the day.  I totally recommend hiding some of your kids' favorite books for a few months so they can be rediscovered.

One last pic of little sleeping cutie fat lip -- one of many wounds suffered in the line of superhero duty...

And, PS -- random shout outs to great gifts...
Tiny Gram, those Friendly's lunch bags are huge favorites.  Owen strutting proudly with his bag of carefully selected guys and cars saying, "Zis is my bag.  My own, own bag.  I need zis bag..."  Priceless.
And number one this year, my hubbs totally did it right: a pair of the coziest socks ever, a gift certificate for a massage, a book I wanted, and this little gem: