merry christmas eve!

It's almost time!

It's George's last day with us this year  -- tonight he'll be on his way back to the North Pole until 2014!

Santa is probably packing the last toys and goodies into his sleigh right now as he heads out to the homes of kids in the other half of the world!

And around here we are eating the last chocolate in our advent calendars; putting the finishing touches on presents; setting the table for Christmas dinner; and getting very, very excited for Santa to visit our house tonight!

Hope you are enjoying the anticipation of this special day as well!

Before I go finish the merry-making, here are some pictures from Rowan's preschool christmas concert. He told us ahead of time that he was not going to sing. And he meant it.

here he is walking into the auditorium. . . the reality sets in. this is happening.

he turns to face the crowd

and with that, Rowan's performance is over before it began

but he did recover enough to take a super cute picture with santa

even if he was skeptical after what had just happened

but he comforted himself by double-fisting some cookies and candy canes

HO!

HO!

HO!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

this one's for you, MeMe!

Congratulations on your retirement! We love you and are excited for you! Have a great day today! xoxox

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. . .

slowly but surely, we are making progress! The big man in red will be here before we know it!

stay strong, george.

For the second year in a row, Rowan has touched and/or hit George, the elf. George is currently back up at the North Pole in the ECU (Elf Care Unit). We are sending him thoughts of syrup, marshmallows, and confectioner's sugar for strength and recovery.

Rowan has yet to show any signs of remorse.

I guess Rowan's relationship with George has always had a long history of skepticism and antagonism.

But I am on a mission to make a believer of him yet. I definitely have my work cut out for me.

let's work backwards.

Hi there. It's been a while. 

But let me assure you, we haven't been ignoring you. We've just been a little too under the weather to do much of anything but rest at every chance that we got. We (and I mean me and the boys minus Tom) have all shared pink eye, Andy pneumonia, me and Rowan bronchitis and Henry a cold over the past three weeks. Somehow I was the first to get hit and the last to recover. Oh, and there was also a birthday and thanksgiving in there, too(!); which means a thanksgiving play, haircuts for the boys, trying to take a christmas card photo, lots and lots of doctor visits, and lots of putting of to tomorrow what we should have done today. So that's where we've been.  Mostly. 

Except for this past weekend. Where Tom and I went into the city overnight to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday for a weekend. Of amazingness. And i have really no photos to share with you because my phone is full, and there are no photos allowed inside The Nutcracker, and I don't like to take selfies when we're in Blue Hill sitting a few tables away from Jack Osbourne and we're playing it cool. Not to mention too busy stuffing our faces on some of the best food we've ever eaten. So, there's not much to show for our awesome weekend other than the smiles on our faces as we remember how for 24 hours we lived the luxurious life. . .

View from our room at the Standard Hotel

Waiting for the show to begin. Seats in the third row. On the aisle.
A-MA-ZING.

And now, you're all caught up!

And a *special thanks* to Mom and Dad for making this weekend happen! xoxox