I wonder as I wander (from room to room around the house)

Christmas is less than a week away - in case you needed to be reminded. The little darlings are finished with school and will be home at 1pm on Wednesday. You'd think I'd have things more together than I do & would take advantage of every free moment that I have child-free each day, but that's just not the case. I'm sort of flying by the seat of my pants, taking it one thing/day at a time. Maybe it's because the list is long & never-ending, or maybe I'm a little over the hamster wheel that is life with school-aged kids - I don't know - all I do know is that instead of putting a final coat of paint on William's bedroom door so Matt can put the knob back on, I find myself reading books or - heaven forbid! - napping :) I love me a good nap.

Which isn't to say we haven't done anything this month - it's been filled with activities from the Advent garland I made - self-inflicted pressure, that - and last week we had 3 late nights of Christmas programs right in a row. Sarah and Jason were not their most cheerful selves by Friday, needless to say. We've done candle-lit bubble baths, made glitter ornaments for the tree, dressed up fancy for dinner one night, danced to Christmas music (which really ended up in the four of them running around in circles to TSO's Wizards of Winter - oy) - and I'm sure many other things I've forgotten. On Sunday we went ice skating!

It's been two years since we last attempted this. That time, Sarah was 3 and Jason was 2. Neither of them wanted to skate - Jason had jelly-legs & refused to even attempt to stand on the ice - and William ended up wiping out and tripping someone, bleeding all over the ice from a head wound. That was fun! This time, Sarah seemed to enjoy going around with Matt, and William didn't have any major wipeouts. Evie thought everyone at the rink was in a conspiracy against her, either bumping into her, showing off, or deliberately getting in her way. Evie gets crabby when she's tired :)

Jason? Fared a little better this time - he kept his legs mostly straight, and I think I went around the ice with him a total of two times during the hour+ we were there; he told me he never ever ever ever wants to go again :)

My children are all hoping for a kitten for Christmas. I told Evie we'd talk about getting one in January, and what does she do? Puts it at the top of her list. And then she gets all snarky, saying she probably won't get one. Um, nope! We're traveling for New Year's, and I'm not leaving a new kitten at home all alone! The subject came up at dinner Wednesday night - Matt was saying how cats just shed, scratch your furniture and poop in a box & track litter all over, and it was so cute - Jason got down from his chair, walked over to Matt & told him he was WRONG - kittens are cute, they meow and purr on you, and are just so cute! He was so earnest when he said it - even if I hadn't already been planning on it, that would have changed my mind right there.

This was a whole lot of rambling to say a whole lot of nothing - suffice it to say, the days are slipping by and before I know it we'll be at church Saturday night & I'll be desperately making sure my kids don't burn the place down or set my hair on fire while we're singing Silent Night at the end of the service, before racing home to set out water and carrots & cookies & milk for Santa and his gang; then I'll blink and it will all be over....

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Matt and I both dream of having a pool in our backyard, something that's just not in the cards right now - or maybe ever - but this week he forwarded me a link that REALLY has me lusting over a pool! One main reason I'd hesitate to put in a pool - aside from the cost - is the amount of yard it would permanently eat up year round, for the small amount of time you'd get to enjoy it - and then I saw this video - coolest thing ever, and now I REALLY want a pool! At least dreams are free....