From Our Home to Yours

Wishing you a {slightly belated} Merry Christmas and an early Happy New Year!

Everything is belated this week. I just put our Christmas cards in the mail today. Such is life, right?

Prior to Christmas, the temps reached mid-60s so we made our annual trek into the city. The massive screen at the Comcast Center dazzled. Note that’s just half the screen in this photo.

{@MakingLemonade on Instagram}

After checking out the outdoor market, we settled in for lunch at Tir Na Nog. Nothing like bringing your kids to an Irish Pub for the holidays.

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These little chimes finally made it to our doorstep on Christmas Eve. The timing turned out to be perfect, even though initially I’d hoped they’d arrive sooner. We listened to the chimes on Christmas Day, and the kids were enthralled by the movement and dinging of the bells just as I was when I was young. It’s the little things, right?

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Christmas Eve was spent with our dear friends. You know those friends that are like family? THAT.

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Lots of Santa’s Little Helper was consumed.

After our friends left, we helped Santa put gifts under the tree. Our tradition of watching Harry Potter ended when my husband fell asleep approximately 5 minutes into the movie.

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On Christmas morning, the kids opened the gifts they’d been dreaming of and whispering in Santa’s ear. I think she likes her gift from Yiayia and Grampie.

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And now?

The cold that was stalking me all week finally caught up to me. I’ve totally lost my voice and am attempting to rest. Someone is making that hard. 🙂

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And also?

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I’m the worst Elf on the Shelf helper ever. Our elf stayed in the same spot for days, several times. In my post-Christmas haze I even forgot to help him move to the North Pole. I left him flat out on the kitchen table. My daughter was surprised and wondered if he was sick too. I explained that he was simply exhausted from all the work he’d done flying back to see Santa every few days and landed on the table. Oooops.

So now we rest. And snuggle, play with new toys, learn to ride her new bike. Do laundry. Enjoy the peace of the season, evaluate goals for 2014. Recharge and get inspired. Plus more laundry.

I hope you’ll meet me back here on Monday for a Favorite Posts/ Year in Review link-up co-hosted by a few of my favorite fellow bloggers. Everyone is invited to link up you Year in Review posts. If you don’t have time to write one, then link up your favorite post of the year. The link-up will be open into the New Year, so there’s no rush! We’ll be visiting your posts as long as you keep adding them. For those who don’t blog, I hope you’ll enjoy reading the round-ups and finding new blogs to read.

{@MakingLemonade on Instagram}