Two boys and a girl standing in front of a lit Christmas tree wearing Christmas attire.

1. I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season, enjoyed a very Merry Christmas, and are feeling good at the start of this New Year! The kids had so much fun and it may have been my favorite Christmas morning to date, so much excitement ❤️

Three children in Christmas pajamas sitting on the hearth of a fireplace.

2. The day before Christmas Eve, we took the kids to a local model railroad museum and they loved it (especially Dominic). The last time we were there, Joseph was 3, Dominic was 2, and Isabelle was just a baby.

Two boys looking at a model railroad exhibit.

3. Everyone managed to stay healthy to celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and then two days later get together with my dad’s side of the family to celebrate. It was only me who went down a couple of days later with what appears to be a virus that mimics strep, so we had a low-key New Year’s weekend with lots of couch time (and me working on the new puzzle I got for Christmas!).

4. The kids are back at school and we’re all feeling like this holiday break was way, way too short! I still need to un-decorate the inside of the house; when do you take everything down? Right after Christmas? January 2nd? Epiphany?

5. Before break, a mom from Joseph’s class who had helped with the class Christmas party sent me a message telling me how polite he is and what a good kid he is, and it made my day. Hearing nice things about your kid from someone else is so special; I always try to remember to do this when I am around someone else’s child and they do something nice or kind, because I know how good it makes me feel to hear it!

6. What types of recipes are you looking forward to making in the next few weeks? I need to jumpstart my own meal planning!

7. I watched this movie so much in my 20’s! >> Behind-The-Scenes Facts You Never Knew About “You’ve Got Mail”

8. While home over break, the kids really enjoyed watching the World Junior Hockey Championships. It’s like a little taste of the Olympics :)

9. We’ve been watching a mish-mash of shows over the last couple of weeks. We finished Who’s Erin Carter? (loved it!), watched some new episodes of Shetland, Vera, and Annika, and we watched new-to-us Professor T (which we really liked, too). Did you find any great new shows over the holidays?

10. TGIF! These two are just the sweetest 💙🩷

Two golden retriever dogs sitting next to each other in front of a sliding glass door.