Stella = Rest for the Weary

We are on day number 2 of being snowed in.

It has been glorious.  Jason might not quite categorize it as that given that he spent the majority of yesterday outside fighting with the snow and trying to keep up with how fast it was falling.

But I have slept until 6.  I have cooked real meals for my family.  I have snuggled my babies, scrubbed my bathrooms, have no laundry baskets sitting on my bedroom floor, and there are 4 made beds in this house (which I'm embarrassed to say is about 3 more than there have been in the past few weeks because Lauren is the only one who would consistently get hers made).  I haven't put on makeup since Monday night when I took mine off.  My hair has been up in a clip and putting on sweats has been "getting dressed". 

The past few weeks have been set to a cruise control of about 230 mph between our trip to Mexico and then the week of the musical production.  Either one of those two things alone would have been enough to put me into a tailspin, but both back to back was enough to make me cry.  We had two weeks of madness with no way to put on the brakes.  I am windblown, whiplashed and weary.  And so, this storm, with its 16 or so inches of snow that fell in one day hit just at the perfectly right time.  Yes, I was stressed about being out of the office, but not for long.  A warm cup of coffee, a few hours of sleep and time to get some things under control on the home front were just what the doctor ordered.

I took great joy in watching the kids playing out in the snow.  Forgive me that there are no pictures of Joshua out there.  That poor kid was even more in need of rest than I was-- he literally sat on the couch, zoned out.  When I asked him if he wanted to go out to play with the girls, he told me that he just wanted to chill out and "not do anything strategic today".  I'm not entirely sure what that meant, but he didn't move from his spot very much all day.

Our days at home ended like this--- with all 5 plus one golden retriever-- on the couch together.  My heart all in one spot.  Oh how we needed these days.  So thankful for the time to get reorganized and rejuvenated for whatever comes next.

A Few of my Favorite Things...

Around Halloween, Joshua auditioned to be part of the Meadowbrook Spring Musical.  They had decided to do "The Sound of Music" which, even upon the first announcement of the show brought back all sorts of nostalgic feelings for me.  I distinctly remember watching it at home and singing along with Julie Andrews to all of the songs.  Josh decided that he wanted to try out to be Kurt Von Trapp, the precocious 10 year old boy in the family.  After 3 call backs, it was determined that there was a literal tie between Josh and one other little boy for the part of Kurt.  Apparently there were close races between other parts as well, so the directors made up several different Von Trapp families, photographed the members, and then used those photos to determine who would play who.  Josh was selected as the understudy for Kurt.  He was a little disappointed, but we tried to tell him that, since this is only his second musical, it would be a great chance to see all of the work that goes into being a lead character without the pressure for this time.  Being the understudy meant that he had to attend all of the rehearsals for the children (essentially all of the rehearsals) but without the opportunity to actually perform unless the stomach bug unexpectedly took down Kurt #1.  He also was cast as a Villager, but think about the Sound of Music--- there aren't any scenes in the movie where there are people outside of the Von Trapp family, unless you're a nun (he didn't qualify as one of those) until the very end when the Nazis are coming.  Toward the end of the rehearsal schedule, Josh was given an opportunity to be on stage 4-5 other times for small parts (an attendee in the party scene when the kids sing "So Long, Farewell", a soldier who comes into the musical competition at the end looking for the family when they have run away, and as a contestant during the competition).

When it was his turn to come onto the stage, no matter how small the part ended up being, he was so proud and so happy.  He delivered his lines with confidence and put in the work to be ready with such a good attitude.  I wish I could say that my attitude matched his, to be honest.  The last few weeks before the show are grueling-- with a lot of late nights, schedule adjustments, and oh my word the food issues.  A group of parents works together to provide dinner for the kids each night as they rehearse for the long week before the show.  They were starting rehearsals around 1 and ending at 10 pm each night.  But for our purposes, that meant that I needed to time the dinner (usually around 4:30) and get something there for Josh to eat when everyone else did.  One of the nights, I provided the dinner for the 85 cast members just so Josh could eat and go through the line with the rest of the kids.  He seemed pleased with that.

During show weekend, we attended the opening night and loved seeing Josh do his thing.  His polka dance number was hysterical--- had the audience clapping along and really enjoying it!  There isn't a lot of comedy in this show, and Josh, Levi and Sabastian provided a moment of levity when one was needed.  We absolutely loved it!  Saturday afternoon's matinee was the one that all of our family attended--- the Lewistown crew as well as Aunt Sheri and Grandma were all on hand to support Josh.  And then Saturday night and Sunday afternoon were my opportunities to serve at the concession stand so that someone was there with him but we didn't want to watch the show all 4 times.  Throw Daylight Savings Time in there on Saturday night, and you have the recipe for absolute exhaustion---- for all of us. 

All in all, this was a weekend to remember.  Josh was so sad for it all to be over, which made me feel super guilty for rejoicing in all of our non-committed time following the end of the show.  There were definitely tears on his part when it was all said and done, but I had a few as well as Mara and I snuck into the back of the auditorium at the end of the Sunday matinee.  At the end of the curtain calls, the cast made three gestures.  They all pointed first out into the audience to the sound/tech crew, then over to the director's box with the accompanist and adults that had been helping them, and then finally, up to God in a gesture that represented that everything they had done was for His glory.  Truly, there was no moment that made be prouder to have a child up on that stage.  All of the time that we had put into running to and from rehearsals, all of the weekends that we were stuck at home because there were rehearsals that Josh needed to be at, all of the late nights and packed lunches and leave-the-office-early afternoons to get him what he needed--- it was all worth it.

My suspicion,  based on the way this whole weekend went, is that this won't be the last musical we're part of.  And, regardless of the part he plays, I hope Josh will always use his gifts to be a part of things like this.  It was a tiring weekend, but a blessed one on all accounts. 

Lauren's Day with the Lionettes

A few weeks ago, we got an email from Lauren's dance teacher saying that any girl from her studio from age 7 and up was invited to take part in a dance clinic and pre-game performance at the PSU basketball game that was held yesterday.  Immediately Jason and I both thought it would be something that would appeal to Lauren, but would also be the kind of day out that we shoot for with all of the kids. And we knew Josh would be on board with seeing a PSU basketball game!

As it turned out, there were a total of 13 girls from Downtown Dance who decided to be a part of the clinic and performance, and Lauren was the youngest one there.  There was a special rehearsal planned for this past Friday night to give all of the girls a chance to learn some of the steps that Miss Christine expected would be part of the choreography.  She seemed to be a little worried about the pace of the routine that she was expecting based on a video of the dance that she had seen.

We arrived at the Bryce Jordan Center (our whole family plus Nana, Aunt Libby, Brooke and Hayden) and awaited the beginning of the clinic with the Lionettes.  They escorted us into the South Gym (I never knew such a thing existed) and it wasn't long before some of the Lionettes dance team came to meet the girls.  They led them in some stretches and then immediately started on the choreography which was fast and furious.  Our girls kept up pretty well, even though we knew their little heads were spinning.

In about 1 hour, we were awaiting them in the main gym where they performed like champs with their new PSU friends.  It was so much fun to watch them dance, and you could tell that they were all having a blast.  We had a section full of parents and family members who were a great cheering section, and the girls were soon back with all of us and ready to settle in and watch the game.

To say we were proud was an understatement.  It really was a special day for Lauren, and we were so happy to get to share it with her.

The Non-Gift Gift That Was Really A Gift

For the second year, we have forgone exchanging wrapped gifts with Libby and Zig's girls for Christmas and opted to give each other the gift of time together. I can't tell you how much all of us have been looking forward to the Cousins' slumber party weekend we had planned for this past weekend. After Lauren's basketball game was over, we took off (in the snow) for Lewistown with what looked like enough stuff for a month's vacation and three very excited kids. 

Libby and I left the itinerary up to the kids. They had requested that we go bowling, do crafts, have snacks, go to the movies and eat pancakes. So after some initial playing and giggling, we set out to meet all of their requests. I had found some cool coloring pages that they seemed to get a kick out of. And when you add in a whole big package of brand new Crayola markers, everyone gets excited. The coloring actually occupied them longer than I thought it would. 

We ordered party packs from the OIP for dinner- Josh's absolute favorite Lewistown food option because of their wings. So after our bellies were full of wings and pizza and ribs we packed up and headed for Lewistown Lanes for some bowling. 

It was the first time in a long time that our kids had bowled (since a Nemacolin trip when it rained and we resorted to hiding out indoors at the bowling alley there) and the first time for Brooke and Hayden. They all had a blast!  We saw quite a few strikes thanks to the gutter guards and the ramp that the little girls were using. We ran into some familiar faces (Hi, Nancy!) so that was a highlight for me. After an icy ride home with a super packed Suburban, we settled in at home for the night with some pj's and a trial run with Josh's snow cone machine that he had gotten for Christmas. That was a huge hit and will definitely make the packing list for all of our camping trips this summer. 

We had some super sleepy kids, and most of them went to sleep quickly after we settled down. Brooke and Lauren seemed to stay awake the longest- not that I knew because I had passed out promptly upon laying down on Libby and Zig's couch. It was just like all the slumber parties I had attended as a kid where I was the first one to go to sleep and ended up missing all of the shenanigans because of it. 

Sunday morning brought lots of coffee and a delicious big breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes and french toast. And then the kids played and played. Hayden took me to school in a game of Memory in which I decided she must have xray vision with the way every card she turned over was a match. She was awfully proud of herself and I was dumbfounded.

We enjoyed a quick visit with Nana who was still recovering from a meniscus surgery late the week prior.  I know we were all happy to see her, as well as Pap for the few minutes he was there to get Mom picked up on his way home from church. 

In the afternoon, we loaded up our shuttle bus to take the kids to the movies to see "Sing", which was super cute. Very little has changed at the Miller Cinema since I was in high school which was a little mind blowing for me. The man taking money was a familiar face and the concession stand lady literally looked to me like she had been standing there since the 90's. Strange as it may seem, there is something so comforting about being home...where so many things have stayed the same.  It's always surreal.

I could try to explain the fun we had, but I think this picture says it all. Libby sent me this picture of Brooke's journal entry from school. It just made my heart so happy. Mission accomplished if her sweet little heart is full of cousin love and happy memories of the time we gave each other. 

Fancy, Fabulous and Five

I find it hard to believe that I am writing a post about Mara, my baby, the caboose of our troop, turning five years old.  That's partially because I have been fairly certain that either she or I would not survive to see age 5...and also because somehow time has moved at lightning speed since she has come to join our family.  Maybe that's the pace of life with three kids, or maybe it's me getting older, or maybe it's just what happens in this season of mothering my people, but whatever the cause, I find it difficult to wrap my head around the fact that she is five.

Mara's birthday fell on Thursday of last week, dreaded Thursday, the day of the week when I think I cannot put one foot in front of the other any more.  We desperately tried to make it special for her, but I think even she knew that she had drawn the short straw with a Thursday birthday.  She took some yummy cupcakes to school to share with her class and proudly wore her purple crown that Mrs. Deitrick had given to her.  And she made sure to point out to her dance teacher that it was her birthday that day when we went to ballet class.  And she got some extra snuggles before bed time.  But she was most looking forward to celebrating her birthday with her party on Saturday.

She had requested a "fancy" birthday, citing rationale that she loves to be fancy, and wear jewelry and have nice outfits.  I wasn't exactly sure where to go with that idea for a party theme, but I set about my research with the help of Google and Amazon and the Target dollar section.  I have to say, I about half impressed myself with what we managed to pull together.  I found her a shirt on Etsy that said, "Fancy, Fabulous and Five".  And so, with perfection like that, we were off to the races.  There was a lot of pretend jewelry, because there is not a piece of jewelry that our girl does not love.  She has no limits of acceptable numbers of accessories that one should wear at one time, and also does not subscribe to any theories about accessories needing to match anything else that she is wearing.  The more the better seems to be her motto.  So she seemed to have some fun with the rings and clip on earrings and necklaces that were around.  At one point, she was even dressing up Pap in some fancy dangly earrings.  I missed the picture, and because of that, may have retained my place in the family.  So we'll call that a win.

Our guest list was a little slim.  When we set the date for this party, it happened to hit the same day as  Emily's family's make-up Christmas party and so that knocked out our 5 favorite Mowry's and the best Happy Birthday singers we know.  Mara was definitely bummed when she realized that Kinley wasn't coming to her party.  And I'll say that Josh was none too thrilled either when he found out that Cooper wasn't going to be on hand to kick his behind in PlayStation basketball.  And it goes without saying that I was upset not to have an afternoon to spend with all of them!  But both sets of grandparents as well as Jason's sister and her husband and his son, Gage, were here.  Libby had to change her plans at the last minute due to a mysterious illness that Brooke was dealing with.  But we made sure to deliver some cake and goodies home for the girls when Nana and Pap returned to Lewistown that afternoon.  We sure did miss them.

Her cake had a fancy crown, and filled the requirements of being chocolate and fancy and pink.  I am a Mama baker who aims to hit all of the criteria on which I am being judged.  We tried a new chocolate cake recipe that was wonderful, even though I had some reservations about serving a cake to the kids that contained coffee, which this one did.  There were no children bouncing off of walls, so that was good news.  Also, my Mom, who abhors coffee (the smell, the taste, the potential cross contamination of a mug) said she couldn't taste it at all, which we were grateful for.  We'll definitely use that recipe again-- it was a winner for sure.

What kind of fancy party would it be without a little bubbly?  The kids all got a kick out of the "fancy" party glasses I found for them and loved the sparkling apple/grape juice that they got to drink from them.  I had underestimated what fun they would have with that.

We had a really nice day celebrating Mara Kate-- the child who challenges me more than any other, but who also melts my heart into a puddle.  I can't even explain her other than to say that she is a gift (sometimes one of humility and sometimes one of utter joy).  She is as stubborn as she is sensitive, obstinate as she is adorable, challenging as much as she is caring, particular as she is perfect.  Although I don't find anything at all easy about parenting any of the three of our children, I find Mara to be the biggest source of head scratching.  Things that worked with the others don't work with her, and she requires more love, more effort, more time and more patience than I sometimes think I have within me.  But she's taught me a lot in the past 5 years--- a lot about my limits, about the size of my love, and about the kind of mother I want and need to be for her.  So grateful for the way God rounded out our family, and so grateful for the opportunity to be Mara's mom.

Back at it...

Christmas break was such a welcome departure from the rat race that was the first half of the school year. We had a whole week of all the things that bring me joy-- non-rushed mornings (several where the kids slept in long enough that I got to enjoy a cup of coffee all by myself), no homeowrk to do and NO LUNCHES TO PACK!  Add to that the family time and a whole lot fewer round trips to Meadowbrook, and I was a happy Mama with happy kids. After a few days, everyone settled in to "sleeping in"- which for Joshua means 6:45, Mara at 7:00 and Lauren around 8. But it sure beats the chorus of alarm clocks that normally ring for the other 4 in my tribe at 6:15 each morning. 

After a few days, the kids were ready for some activity and luckily there was a scheduled basketball clinic at the school that I could sign Lauren and Josh both up for. It was the perfect chance to get them out of the house, spare an ounce of Grandma's sanity and let them blow off some stink. 

And now, just as we have forgotten how to hustle through the morning routine, and have sunken into the glory of a 5 am workout instead of 4, our break is over. Yeayerday was like a cold bucket of wat poured onto all of us as we managed by the skin of our teeth to get out of the house before 7:35.  This morning was a little better yet. Hopefully we can get all of our morning household systems back on track again soon!

Me in 2017

I usually use this blog as a place to talk about the kids and about motherhood and the stories of our family. I love that it is a place where I can store our memories, and it has been such a gift to have recorded little day to day moments and stories that would otherwise get lost in the big story.  But as I get ready to embrace 2017 and the newness of it, I'm writing today about me, and what I want to be able to say is true at the end of this year.

I love new things- I get it from my mother.  Not large materialistic things like new cars (they scare me, as do their payments) or new houses.  But small new things bring me great joy.  The first words written in a new tablet, a brand new pen, new soap in the shower.  So maybe that's why I love the clean slate of the first day of the new year.  In business, I am on that day, ranked exactly even with every other Agent in our company.  No one has done more than I have on that day.  In everything, it is the opportunity to do well, the chance to make changes and see progress in things that the previous year had worn me out on.

For the past two years, really, I have been focused on personal goals of losing weight-- the baby weight from three pregnancies that had just hung on for way too long.  In 2015, I dropped about 40 pounds.  It was a struggle, but it worked.  In 2016, I still was looking at about 20 more I would have liked to have lost, and so I made an investment in a treadmill and a Fitbit and committed to using them almost daily.  I don't know how many days I worked out, but I know it was far more than I didn't.  My early morning workout routine became my favorite part of the day.  It was also the time that I focused on my spiritual health, watching podcasts and listening to talks that challenged my mind and my heart while I was working my body.  I'd like to tell you that the 20 pounds I hoped to lose had fallen off along those miles that I walked.  Instead, I ended 2016 about 5 pounds lighter than I started it.  That's a frustrating admission because for all of those miles I put on my sneakers (I actually wore a pair out for the first time in my life) I surely should have dropped the 20 pounds and then some.  But I had gotten into my own way...again.  All of those very solid healthy eating changes I had made in 2015 that led to my successes had been ignored and justified by the "treadmill excuse". 

And so, in 2017, I am vowing to stop beating myself.  I won't let me beat me.  And I certainly won't waste all of those early morning, pre-dawn hours when I would love to be snoozing away by putting things into my mouth without counting them and planning for them.  I know I won't be perfect, but I can be better than I was last year.  I am really hoping that, by the time 2017 ends, I will be able to say that I have reached and maintained my goal weight.

I am hoping for MORE of a lot of things-- more writing, more time studying the Bible, more connection with the friends who fill my soul.  More family time, more presence with the people I love the most in those little moments, and more cups of tea.  Mint tea, to be exact.  More water, more walking, more sleep, more date nights with my husband. 

But I'm also committing to LESS of a few things.  Less wasted time sucked up by my phone and whatever rabbit trail I get onto scrolling social media looking at people's lives that aren't mine.  The more I think about how to find time for the "more", I realize that I need to figure out where my time is going-- and mornings and evening time spent with my phone in my hand are the biggest culprits.  And so I'm trying desperately to be mindful of that. The goal is for less distraction.  Less stress.  Less rushing.  I'm not so naïve as to think that I can keep the stress from coming, but I do believe that I can minimize some of it, and I'm going to do my very best.

2017 is going to be a good year.  I can just feel it.  I'm sure it won't be perfect, but I love how it has started.  Tonight, I am tucked in at home with my people, all of us decked in our PSU gear watching our Nittany Lions capping off a fantastic dream of a season.  Although I wish we were cheering loudly with our friends tonight like we did for the Big 10 Championship, I guess we'll count our blessings that we have one more night to be together before the crazed school night schedule begins again tomorrow.

Ringing In 2017

New Year's Eve...also known as the night each year when I realize how much I am NOT a party animal, nor a socialite.  And while the idea of getting all gussied up to go out on the town (some other town besides Turbotville, of course)  (because, Turbotville) sounds nice, so does the idea of staying home with my people and wearing sweats.  It won't be hard to guess which one won out.

Jason had an officer's meeting for the Fire Department and was gone all day, so the kids and I had grand designs on getting some things crossed off our list.  We had a relatively quiet morning at home, and the kids gave me a great late Christmas gift by not killing each other long enough for me to get a workout in on the treadmill and also take a shower.  And then we headed off to the mall for some quick returns and to Target and about 50 other stores for little things I had been hoping for a minute to do and just hadn't found it until then.  We didn't return home until after 3, and then set about making a huge (and I mean huge) pot of chicken noodle soup with corn, or chicken corn soup with noodles as was the debate around our supper table last evening.  I write that down here not because it will mean anything to anyone else, but mostly because I want to remember how long we laughed about it when we were eating. 

After supper I managed to stay awake by doing laundry.  (It's a glamorous life, I'm telling you.)  Around 8:30, I was done with my piles and all of the things had been put away where they belonged and I sat down on the couch with Jason to watch football.  It's always fun when Ohio State loses, and so we had quite a nice time watching Clemson beat them.  Before long, Mara had climbed up into my lap and brought a blanket with her, and so we snuggled.  And snoozed.  (Warm blanket + couch + snuggly little person + sitting = instant sleep.)  Soon Lauren joined in.  And we slept some more.  Around 10 we woke up and seriously contemplated the value in staying up to usher in the new year, reasoning that it would still come and go even if we were asleep dreaming of all of the great things 2017 is going to hold.  But we rallied.  Jason, Lauren and Mara continued to sleep, but Josh and I did our best to stay awake.  Just to prove how exciting this whole event was, I was tickled to find this photo evidence of our New Year's Eve celebration on Joshua's ipod this morning. 

That's 4/5 of the Dugan family asleep, with only Joshua awake and raring to go.  A wilder party you have never seen.  I also wonder how Mara doesn't have a horribly sore neck after sleeping that way between Jason and me, because ouch. 

Josh, Jason and I ended up going up to bed around 11:30 and we let Josh lay in our bed with us to try to stay awake for the official ball drop.  We managed to catch Mariah Carey's train wreck of a performance which led to a whole lot of justification about how she used to be really good and was an icon of my childhood music listening.  But Josh wasn't buying it because she stunk it up really badly.  She wasn't even trying to cover up the lip syncing that was going on.  And I'm not sure what in the world she was thinking when she picked her outfit.  Because a sparkly gymnastics leotard on a 46 year old body (yes, I looked that up) is never ever ever a good idea.  The good news, after that painful experience was over, was that all three of us saw the ball drop and said Happy New Year to each other and then went to bed.  We were all asleep by approximately 12:02.  And so, one very exciting New Year's Eve celebration came to a close.

I'll post more about my plans for 2017 in the next few days.  Let's just say that one of the things I am hoping against all hope to be able to accomplish is to write more frequently.  And that will please at least three people.  Plus me, so that's 4.

Happy New Year, everyone! 

Santa Came!

I think I eluded to the fact that I wasn't feeling so "Christmas-y" this year in my previous post.  I had no good ideas, and if you're trying to define what makes a Mama stressed at Christmas, it is a list of people for whom you need to buy gifts that is entirely empty in the "what you got" category.  There were several horrible situations (horrible may be a bit dramatic, but it is how it felt) where I thought I had a perfect gift and actually purchased it, only to find that it wasn't going to work for one reason or another.  And if you want to take a Santa Mama under pressure and really turn up the heat a bit, make her buy stuff and then have to RETURN said stuff and STILL have an empty "what you got" category on your list.  It was ugly.  There were tears.  And I'm pretty sure this kind of pressure is not what the songwriter was referring to when they called Christmas "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year".  Somehow, by the grace of God, we ended up with gifts for everyone on our list.  They weren't great ones, mind you, but they were gifts.  Many gift cards exchanged because I couldn't justify spending money on things that I wasn't sure were needs or even wants for the year.  As of Christmas Eve, we were still awaiting the arrival of a few things, which arrived thanks in no small part to the hard working UPS and FedEx drivers who deserve a big raise for all of the boxes they delivered to me.  Amazon Prime has paid for itself ten times over, no question about it. 

 

Christmas Eve, I started to surrender to the whole idea that Christmas was going to be what it was going to be.  Although we were still on pins and needles about the fact that Joshua was on to our Santa tricks.  I am pretty sure he knows the truth about Santa, and has voiced his doubts on a few occasions, but I'm feeling super stuck in the parenting dilemma about when to confirm his suspicions.  I had kept all of the kids gifts, wrapped, at my office and brought them home to our house on the Thursday before Christmas Eve.  I had put them in the basement once the kids went to sleep, hoping that I could keep them out of the basement just for those two short days.  Well, imagine my stress when I got a text from Josh while at the office on Friday morning.  It said, "Lauren and I are working to clean our rooms and get rid of toys that we don't play with so that we have room for our new Christmas toys.  Can I go down to the basement to get a bin to put them in?"  I must have seemed like such a grouch when I told him "No, I don't want you guys in the basement right now."  And then he asked, "Why?"  And somehow answering him with, "Because your Christmas gifts are down there and I really don't think I can take the emotional turmoil of it being totally ruined at this late hour" didn't seem like it was a good idea.  So I just sounded like a total grump, completely unappreciative of their efforts to clean up.  The next day, Josh and Jason were playing a video game and Jason described it as a lightbulb moment for Josh when he stopped dead in his tracks and said, "I think I've got it!  Mommy wouldn't let me go into the basement because our Christmas presents are down there!"  To which we did the only thing that you can possibly do on the day before Christmas Eve that is likely the last year of a Santa Christmas believer with your 10 year old.  You lie.  I just couldn't have that talk with him so close to Christmas. 

 

And so, the magic of Christmas continued as the kids awoke with wide eyes and huge shrieks to see that Santa had, in fact, arrived while they slept.  They were thrilled. 

 

Their lists weren't very big this year, and many items had been scooped up by others who were also buying for them, so Santa was forced to find things they would love that they hadn't asked for.  Tricky, but I was pleased that it was successful.  Josh's big gift was tickets to see the Newsboys in Wilkes Barre (his first real concert) in February.  He was shocked and thrilled.  He also got a PSU fathead for his room that he loved and couldn't believe he had gotten.  Lauren and Mara had both asked for American Girls, so they were really excited about them.  Lauren also got some Lego Friends sets and was a champ at putting them together.  Another favorite for Mara was a very real looking makeup set that, thankfully, is not real.  But she doesn't seem to know that.  She has been giving everyone makeovers for the past week. 

 

 

We enjoyed Christmas with the Dugan side of our family on Christmas afternoon and evening.  We enjoyed lots of laughs and some good dinner together, and a few whiskey slushes, which for this non-drinker, were a highlight.  It was so nice to have everyone together in our home and we were really thankful for them all taking the time to spend it together with us.  Everyone has been so kind to understand that we don't want to tear our kids away from their toys to go somewhere else for Christmas.

Christmas continued on Monday when the Richard side of our family gathered again at our house to celebrate together.  We had a very traditional meal of ---- smoked meatloaf and homemade mac and cheese and baked beans, with ice cream sandwich dessert to finish it off.  Needless to say, all of us declared a food detox that was to begin immediately  We're all thinking that after the month or so of continuous holiday celebrations and parties, we won't need to eat again until sometime around mid-March.