Holidays 2011 Style

Hey everyone - time for a holiday update and 'end of year' wrap-up.

What a crazy freaking year it's been... new job for Nathan, new school for Hailey, new house for everyone. So many changes (most of them for the better) I can't even wrap my head around them all.

Nathan's job, while far from being ideal, is settling into a rhythm. However, we are still keeping our eyes open for something which will uses his skills a little better and be a little more fulfilling.
for the moment, it is working out OK... much better then the roller coaster that his old job was (it's nice to have him home before 10:00 pm).

Hailey is doing great in her new school. We learned from our first parent/teacher conference that she is mastering the skills she should be and only has a few that are 'developing skills' **ahem... listening..cough cough**. Her new sitter, Miss Karen, is also working out fine...a little more activity then at Miss Emmy's house, but she has settled into a routine there as well.

The holidays were really good. The Yost clan all came over for an early Thanksgiving, and I am proud to say that the meal was great! The kitchen was completely set up and organized, so things went rather smoothly. We spent the actual day of Thanksgiving at my parents house - another great meal. A very relaxing weekend made nicer because we didn't have to drive 20 minutes to get to my parents.

Christmas was just this past Sunday and we had a house full of guests. Brian, Laura and Mom and Dad Yost stayed Friday night, then...

** sorry - had to take a break to put together a Lego Harry Potter set that was a Christmas gift from Uncle Ken **

Brian and Laura left for her family's celebration on Saturday night and we had our company through Monday morning. The house was great - it was big enough that we weren't tripping over each other, but I could be in the kitchen and not feel totally left out.

My Christmas decorations were a little on the sparse side this year... but I have plans next year for that gigantic mantle in the family room. On the plus side, while our Christmas took up a large part of the living room, we still had the family room to relax in. I'm loving having more space.

It's a good thing too... Hailey got so many gifts this year, I don't' know what we are going to do with all of them. Cool clothes and dolls, the previously mentioned Lego set, a reading game for her Leapster a kaleidoscope which she loves and...a great big dollhouse from Santa. This thing is HUGE!! It came unfurnished, but my mom quickly took care of that problem with 6 sets of furniture! Only child spoiled syndrome...? No, not my kid.

Nathan got a Playstation 3 and has been playing it when he gets home at night. It reminds of the days early in our marriage when I used to fall asleep on the couch while watching him play video games. Ah yes... life was so much more exciting for us before we had our kid...um...yeah.

As for me, I have this week off and I have decided to wage war on my bathroom floor. I'm thinking that will be a blog post all its own, as I am learning as I clean. This floor has become, not just my continuing household nemesis, but something of a guide to self discovery. That is a story for another time.