A quick recap

I meant to hit post before the new year but kind of forgot, but here it is now.

 

Christmas this year was just lovely though a little exhausting.  It was the first year that we didn’t take the whole week off to travel and instead worked the week of the holiday.  That meant instead of just hanging around and enjoying everyone we spent some time on the highway driving back and forth 3 times in a week.  But we hit every family party and saw so many people.  There were 49 people at the Moylan’s and 75 at the Newport’s this year.

Willa really enjoyed the holiday.  She understood presents last and Santa last year but this year she was totally into it.  She was a little worried because we don’t have a chimney in our rental house and she knew we had a fireplace in Montana so she just wasn’t sure how he was going to get in.  However, we were in Kansas on Christmas Eve and Mimi reassured her that they had “chimney” and showed her where smoke was coming out on the roof.  All three of us got very nice and practical things from our lists and a few that weren’t on there.

We do a gift exchange with my sibs and their spouses and I had tossed out there earlier in the season that we were ok with homemade gifts or second hand items and I was pleasantly surprised to see my brother make his Christmas present for our new brother-in-law.  I don’t know if my thought inspired him but it was a hit.  It was also pretty funny to see my sister open her new pillows.  She bought the fabric two years ago and I finally got around to making the cases.

Willa was a school skipper for the week and traded time at both sets of grandparents.  I think she had a lot of fun but she is really excited to have a school bus day and go to the movie theatre with her class on Tuesday.  She doesn’t even care that she has already seen the movie.  Next week, she is moving up in her tumbling classes and we are pretty excited to see all the new equipment they put in.

 Our use it up challenge seems to be going well around the Moylan house.  I have been using up toiletries and samples in the shower to reduce the amount of them floating around doing nothing. I have finished up a perfume that I have had for too long, some MK samples, the little travel hair things we have too many of.  There are still a few items that I found in some unpacked boxes so I am trying to work my way through them too.  They aren't big in terms of taking up space but it is fun to finish them up.  B and Willa, though they mock the challenge, have been helping use up items in the pantry.  It is actually looking pretty bare this week since it has been a while since we have seen a grocery store.  Thankfully, the freezer is stocked so at least we can come up with some meals.  With all the new things we received this week I think it is time for another purge of items we are no longer using and to see what else we can use up.  It’s kind of fun actually.