Let's see here, December was a busy month for me.

It started by putting up our Christmas tree. This year we had to place it on & secure it to an end table because the youngest would try to climb up it! The oldest never was a climber but the youngest is. I fully expect to find her one morning running around her bedroom playing with her toys because she has discovered that she can climb out of her crib. To be clear, she has YET to discover that, but is still too young for a toddler bed.

Next my parents had the girls for a sleepover while my Husband & I went to the company Christmas Party at the Dog track. He had never been & I had been once nearly 10 years ago. We didn't lose money, but we didn't win either. We just broke even. That is okay we because we had dinner on the company & had fun. We enjoyed our evening without the kids. It is a rare thing that we get time alone, so we cherish it. The kids have fun & Grandpa & Grandpa's house too & I don't have to worry about them being safe.

Next, we finished shopping for presents for my Husband & I. We didn't go overboard on gifts for each other & the kids this year. It was a nice change too. There was less to wrap, less to put away & less wrapping paper to toss in the trash. The garbage can wasn't overflowing with big boxes & we didn't get tired of waiting for the kids to finish opening their gifts.

The 20th I had a gift exchange with my best friend of 15 years & our children. The kids play very well together & we get to have a little girl talk. We both stay at home with our kids so our adult contact is very limited.

I baked cut out sugar cookies on three occasions. I made some to give to my best friend, some to keep & most to give away. The last batch my husband & I had an assembly line of 6 cookie sheets going in & out of the fridge & oven. For this my husband gave me an early gift of a nice rolling pin. It saved a lot of time & hassle. For about 4 hours straight we would be rolling, cutting & baking cookies. Most of the time we would both be at work while the kids were in the play room or in their bedrooms down for a nap. I would keep baking while he fed the kids lunch, put them down for a nap & he was baking while I ate my lunch. Literally it was non-stop for 4+ hours. Then he gave them a bath & got them ready for bed while I made eleven differant colors of powedered sugar icing for the cookies. The littlest went to bed while my oldest, my husband & I stood around the kitchen island "painting" & decorating cookies. I also made Peppermint Bark to give to the mail carrier, my parents & the girls Godparents.

When I wasn't baking I finishing up Christmas presents. My daughter made vases out of a bottle, pieces of masking tape & paint for my mom & her Godmother. She also made 6 large drink coasters out of popsicle sticks & paint for her Grandpa as well as painted a rock for her Uncle with his name on it. I added a wire ribbon with a handmade bow to the two vases & felt to the back of each coaster. I also had to spray sealant on the gifts. While I was outside spaying my husband was inside feeding the kids dinner. We were up until 2 am preparing for Christmas Eve. That is when we went to see the Godparents & Grandparents.

On Christmas Eve we were up wrapping presents, arranging the gifts from Santa & had to remember to put the cookies & milk out for Santa. I took a photo so the oldest would know we did that. I wrote the girls a letter from "Santa" with special stationary, envelope & sticker I picked up at Dollar Tree last year. The oldest was thrilled to get a letter from the him & the reindeer. It will be a treasured addition to the scrapbook.

Somewhere in December I addressed & mailed nearly 40 Christmas cards to family & friends.

We also had to locate a purple bunny of all things for Santa to leave the oldest one. I asked her if she would take a purple bear if Santa could not find a purple bunny. Her response was "No Mom, because his elves will make a purple bunny!" All I can say is that "Santa" was thankfull for E-bay this year. LOL! Try finding a purple bunny anywhere in stores in the month of December. It is nearly impossible.

I am glad December is nearly over. On Sunday the Chrsitmas tree will be comming down & I get the rest of the livingroom back...until Thaksgiving Day of 2007.

Stay safe on New Years, best wishes for 2007 & remember to pray for our troops in the Middle East.