Christmas Hangover

I didn't leave my bedroom until 8:30 this morning. Now I would hate for your to think I actually got to sleep in ... that rarely happens around here. Steve was up and getting ready for work while I laid around listening to my mother entertain my children until I felt like getting out of bed! Ah, the joys of having kids that would rather see their Grammy first thing in the morning than their mother ;) Today felt like what I imagine a hangover would feel like (since I've never experienced one) - the excitement is over and you are left with less ambition and desire to be productive. I did my normal laundry routine and then kind of petered around watching the kids play with all of their new goodies. I had them try on the clothes they got to assess what needed to be exchanged, too. The girls sat down to watch Prince Caspian with my mom while I loaded Cougar in the jogger and went out for a run. It was the first time I had run outside in over 6 months and it felt AWESOME!! It is too hot to run outside in the summer (until about November) and then I started watching Easton so I haven't been able to hit the streets. The air was cold and it was windy but I was still able to run in a tank top and shorts ... which is a good thing since I don't really have winter running gear :) It gave me whole new, increased respect for my sister-in-law Jill who runs in the freezing cold mornings in Utah!! When I see her race pictures I have such a hard time imagining having to run with pants on, let alone a headband, long sleeves, etc. You go, Beansy!! I forgot the increased difficulty level of a run while pushing an extra 30+ pounds of a jogger, too! I kept at it for just over 3 miles and was so glad to have gotten out in the fresh air to enjoy the morning.

Later in the day, Steve and my dad headed off to the golf course *surprise* so the ladies - and Cougar - headed off to Target and the grocery store. I bought sweat outfits for the girls for Christmas and the sizing was way off so the outfit I bought for Kendyl fit Ashton, the outfit I bought for Ashton fit Brinley, and Kendyl was left with no sweats! I promised we would try to find her some today ... which we did. I had to head back to the Christmas clearance to see what I could find, too. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular but walked away with these:I told you I loved them, right?!?! How do you pass up the Premium M&M's for $1.74?! I bought 6 boxes (because the 3 I already had in my pantry were clearly NOT enough) and was proud to say I DID leave some for other people :) I had to add in some Reese's PB Bells for Steve along with a few bags of regular Mint M&M's for good measure. How's that for Christmas clearance shopping?

Off to the grocery store to buy pizza dough, egg nog, and molasses - random, I know, but that's what we needed. After getting the kiddos bathed we gathered around to make pizza. Our family *LOVES* to make homemade pizza and have been through phases where we do it at least once a week. Perhaps that has to do with my undying love for it ;) I found that one of our local grocery stores sells their dough balls for $1.99 which is one of my all-time favorite things! The dough is amazing and saves me the time of making it myself. Each of the kiddos gets their own dough and tops their pizza with whatever they like. We're pretty boring so it's usually turkey pepperoni, bacon, and olives. If we're really going big we'll cook up some sausage. We also MUST top it with the 6 cheese italian mixture ... YUM!!! Cougar is finally learning the joy of topping his own pizza.A day late but it was finally time to bust into my birthday mint brownies. Ashton placed the candles on top, the lights were dimmed, and a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday filled the air. I made a wish and blew out both of the candles ... must mean my wish will come true! Lucky for me we didn't have 37 candles ;)Tomorrow we have the "changing of the guard" where my parents will head home and Steve's parents will arrive. It always makes for a fun day trying to get the guest room and bath ready between visits!