Happy Holidays!

This portion written on December 23rd
Oh! It's been too long my friends. Too long! I'm heading towards the tail end of our winter break (Hank has been off of work since November 23rd), and it's been so wonderful having him home. Our days have been long and lazy with later wakeup calls, lingering breakfasts over chai tea, mid-afternoon naps, and lots of reading and lazing about. Nothing wrong with that, don't you think? It's been nice to reclaim Mr. & Mrs. Time while the kids are away at school, and we're left with an empty, quiet house. (Well, of course we've had the pleasure of being with Kate, but she's such a quiet, sweet little creature.)

A couple of weeks ago Kathleen and I stormed Bizarre Bazaar at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium, and we were able to get some goody goods to gift and to keep. So many crafty ladies were there, and it was fun meeting some of them in person. Kathleen and hubby Shawn are so fun to hang around with, and we're planning to meet up again soon (this time we won't require our husbands to roam the aisles of a craft fair!). We're just going to wait until the holiday madness simmers down.

The following day, crafty diva, Jenn popped by with her bambinos, and she came bearing gifties for the kidlets. And the best part? She managed to whip up a homebaked gingerbread house for the kids! Yes, you read that right! A gingerbread house from scratch! Alison and Henry were thrilled, and there were many quarrels about who would get to eat which part. . . and they were constantly turning the house 'round and 'round and 'round. Here, go on and take a peek at the houses here!

Mr. Yury, our contractor, decided to reenter our lives last week to finish up yet another phase of our renovations. So currently our house is in a state of complete disaster (the Master bedroom looks like it exploded, and our hallway looks like Beirut!) But we're determined to finish off the renovations especially since Yury has promised to transform our hallway into "The Corridor of Love." Hmmmm. . . we'll see about that.

Yesterday both Alison and Henry had Christmas performances which that sent us flitting about the city trying to catch a glimpse of both. Luckily we have two digital video cameras on hand (thanks workplace!), and we were able to record both performances! So a big whew on that one! Henry and his preschool pals sang the traditional repertoire of Christmas jingles -- he looked so cute with a glittering halo over his head! And Alison's group sang canciones bilingües; her class sang "Todo que Quiero es Paz" (while signing in sign language) and a Hannukah song (Latkes de Papa).

We've been so lazy lately, and now we're paying for it! Hank is about to take the kids out while I frantically try to wrap up our presents for the kids. . .

Obviously I never finished this post. . . so let's fastforward to December 27th
Much has happened since. . .to give you a brief run down, let me give you "The Numbers"

Number of times Henry asked, "Is Santa coming soon?": 27/day

Visits to the post office per week: 9

Number of times I thought I was finished with my shopping but really wasn't: 4

Inches of dust in our home (thanks to Yury): 1.5"

Percentage of brain filled with worry and fret: 99.9%

Number of visits to the ER (in the past two days): 2

Number of kids sick in our household: 2

Days that my Christmas cards have been delayed at the printers: 9

Number of days until I return to WORK: 7

Number of times I watched "A Christmas Story": 2

Number of meds we have in rotation: 6 (Motrin, Zithromax, Augmenten, Albuterol, Advil, Pediacare)

Number of times I've transformed into the Wicked Witch: 10/day (I'm sorry, Hank)

******
Okay, you get the point! In short, Henry has pneumonia and Kate has bronchitis. :( They're both on the mend now, but it still doesn't prevent me from worrying like mad!!!!

Anyway, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to get back into BLOGGING!!!! I miss it so much, and I miss all of you bloggy friends! So!!! I will be back with more VIM!! More smiles!! More laughs!! Yes! 2006 promises to be a FUN, FUN year!!!

Comments

[Hank]

I always feel so lucky when I get to be the first one to post -- like having the first scoop of ice cream out of the box. I'm glad to see that you're posting again -- I've missed reading about our life on these pages. When can we expect more illustrations?

[Marie]

Better late than never! I have meant to publish posts that have never seen the light of day -- such as the cute boxes that I got from you. I just opened the box for "Astrid" on Christmas eve and discovered the goodies within. What nice surprises!

Happy New Year to you and your wacky (in a good way) family, Leslie!

[Marilyn]

Sounds like you've been crazy-busy, as usual. Happy New Year's, Leslie, to you and your beautiful family.

[Lilie]

Sorry to hear that Henry & Kate have been sick. I hope they are feeling better. It's that time of year! Both of my girls have been sick and the little one still has sneezes & a runny nose. We too did a trip to the ER. Hope everyone had fun on Christmas though!!

[jesser]

Hope things are calming down and that the kiddies get well soon. Work truly does seem evil after a break, even a short one ... *sigh*

[hannah]

i am glad you and hank had some time to relax before the storm hit. it seems like so many of us were down for the count this christmas, but nothing is as sad as when your little ones are sick. so glad to hear that they are on the mend! and so wonderful to hear from you again!! i hope you can squeeze in a few more peaceful days before work starts up!

[Ky]

so happy to "see" you once again! (it seems that a killer flu has hit the southland, as i, too, was incapacitated all last week, and so many family members as well.) glad to hear the little ones are on the mend, and hope you are able to thoroughly enjoy each remaining moment of your break!

[Kathleen]

Leslie, so good to see ya!

Yuri has a great sense of humor, a "corridor of love"... hee!
I hope Henry and Kate are feeling better now, it's so great we were blessed with such great sunshine over the holidays... hopefully that made for good healing weather. I've had to spend a lot of time outside the past two weeks, and all of my furniture was there with me... so I was very thankful! It was so great hanging out with you and Hank at Bizarre Bazarre... we'll have to plan on another adventure soon! :)

[dawn]

Glad to hear that Henry & Kate are on the mend & that Santa arrived even with all the chaos.
"The corridor of love" has captured my curiosity. Please do show pics when Mr. Yury finishes it.

[tinyblossom]

Leslie: I absolutely LOVE your sites. Your illustrations are beautiful, your stories so funny and familiar [as a mommy of two] and your family so charming. I look forward to reading more blogs from you in 2006. Best wishes for a wonderful new year.

[lesbonstemps]

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Glad you guys got to relax a little before Christmas, at least. Happy New Year!

[anne]

Hi Leslie - I hope the kids are feeling better. It's no fun with a sick baby, I better cross my fingers! You and I both go back to work at the same time... my days of lazing about are almost over. :(

[Vicki]

Leslie, it's always great hearing from you, like getting a long newsy letter from a friend. Sorry to hear there's been a nasty bug in your house, it's sure going around. I also wanted to tell you just how much I loved the card sets I ordered from you. They are absolutely beautiful--really outstanding. I blogged all about it too! Thanks so much for the free one, that was such a great deal. Peace*Hugs to you!

[Melissa]

Oh! Being sick around the holidays - what a bummer! So glad the kidlets are on the mend though. And even more glad that you're posting again. Have a fabulous time ringing in the new year with your loved ones!

[violetismycolor]

Sounds like you had a great Christmas season. Hope that you post more in the New Year...

[kristen]

Yay! You're back! Boo! Your kids are sicky-poo! (mine too...I feel your pain)

[joyce]

i don't know how many times i've turned into the wicked witch -- haha... especially with the hubby - i hope your kids get well soon.

[mrspilkington]

hope everyone is on the mend...i hear you on the worrying (and the dust).
a very happy and healthy new year to you all!

[erika]

We miss you too! Come back as soon as you can but take care of your babies first. :)

[yvett]

I'm sorry the babies are sick and hope they get better soon! Let us know what Santa brought them. Happy New Year to you and your family!

[joleen]

i hope the wee ones are doing better now! happy new year to you and your family. thank you so much for sending me those cards- you're incredibly sweet! i hope this new year brings you much happiness and peace. hugs! ♥

[Giao]

I don't know how I missed this post...oh, yeah, I was at my folks' land of sluggy dial-up! Happy happy holidays in the most belated way possible and so sorry to hear about the kiddies getting so dreadfully sick. That's never a good thing. Take care of you!!