While YOU Were Out Shopping

Instead of celebrating Black Friday ’09, I did the following.

1. Slept in. . . and it was FANTASTIC.

2. Made the best freaking cup of coffee EVER.

(Ah, Sexy Mr. Joe — why did I ever toy with leaving you?)

3. Made and ordered Christmas cards!

4. Finished decorating my living for Christmas.

(Another aside: I REALLY grew up this year. Normally, I am the most anal person when it comes to decorating for the holidays. Everything has to coordinate . . . everything has to be pretty . . . everything has to be “just so.” Each ornament on the tree must be placed with the ENTIRE tree in mind — it’s all about balance of color, size, and effect.

But, this year? I let the Little Lady help.

This. Is. HUGE!

So what if she wanted to put all the brightly colored ornaments on the tree that is normally reserved only for my metallic colored ornaments? So what if she wanted to put all of the ornaments on the same three bottom branches? So what if the ugliest ornaments from my childhood are the ones that she absolutely adores?

Christmas isn’t just about me and my pretty decorating anymore. This year, we have a little girl who finally understands that this season is something to be excited about. And, excited she IS!)

5. Put the finishing touches on our first Gingerbread House.

(this is another biggie for me; in the past, I’ve been just as picky about my gingerbread houses as I am the placement of my ornaments. Not this year. Oh, no! I let Hubby AND the Little Lady Help . . . and I even let them both decide where to place candy. To be honest, the finished house is pretty cute!)

6. Changed the photo in my blog header.

(Oh, yes – we took photos last night of the kidlets in their MATCHING Christmas jammies. I’m almost embarrassed to admit how crazy excited I was about those pajamas. Seriously – you would have thought I’d won the lottery when they came in the mail. And when I actually put them on the Little Lady and Mr. Boy? HOLY COW, (as the Little Lady says)! I love, love, love, LOVE them!

Unfortunately, we didn’t get the best photos out of the session. Mr. Boy was tired and cranky. The Little Lady was tired and cranky. And Hubby was trying to watch the A&M v. UT game. So, if you happen to be on my Christmas card list, please understand that the card’s selected photos were the best of the lot!)