Out with the old, in with the new ... or not

It's already the 31st of another December.

It's hard to believe.

All the boys are another year older.

So am I.

This is the time of year when we think about resolutions.

Things we want to do differently next year.

And there are a hundred small things that I could write on a list.

But I'm not doing it this year.

It's not because I think I don't need to change.

It's just that some things have happened this year.

Things that have put all the "small stuff" back in perspective.

And the truth of the matter is,

If next year comes and goes and all the "small stuff" is exactly the same as it is today,

I'll be okay with that.

Because what I have in this life,

All the blessings that are part of my every day,

It's almost too much to bear.

This here, right now ... it's good stuff.

Best wishes for a happy new year, Internet.

photos by leslie hollingsworth photography

I've never

1. Been to Europe

2. Had a beer (although does Mike's Hard Lemonade count? because Honor made me drink one of those last summer)

3. Tried any type of illegal drug

4. Smoked a cigarette

5. Ridden on a motorcycle

GAWD I AM BORING. Of course there are a million things I haven't done and places I haven't been, but these are the ones I think other people are more likely to have done, and therefore make me look like more of a goody-two-shoes or just weirder (whichever way you choose to look at it).

I'm pretty sure that up until 2005, I could have added a Number 6, which would have been "I've never said the F-word out loud where anyone could hear me." But then we went to Hawaii and a bunch of coral attacked me in the ocean while I was snorkeling and almost broke my kneecap off my body, and Grayson and perhaps some other nearby snorkelers got an EARFUL.

'Fess up. What have you never done?

Roll Tide and War Eagle

My friend Heather at Stallworth Designs started designing labels last Fall, and I recently ordered some as hostess gifts for the Epic Christmas Party we attended.

Melanie went to Alabama and Shelly went to Auburn, and luckily Heather customizes all of her work. Soooooo ...

Melanie got these:

And Shelly got these:

Aren't they the cutest things? (Of course I had Heather change their addresses before I posted the labels here.) I love Heather's work and couldn't recommend her more highly. She will customize any of her card or label designs with any school's colors, and you can see more of her labels here!

Uncomfortable truths, vol. 7

1. We have outdoor outlets on our front porch and back deck. I am so scared that I will be electrocuted by them that I have never in 10 years hooked up any cute lights outdoors. This fear is rooted solely in the fact that they are outdoor sockets, not because I've ever had a mild shock from an outlet -- indoor OR outdoor -- before.

2. I use one arm's length of toilet paper every time I wipe. I refuse to accept even a remote possibility that anything that just came OUT of me will end up ON me.

3. Every time I'm given a prescription for a new medicine, I think, "I wonder if this is a placebo."

4. When I lie in bed at night, sometimes I can't fall asleep because of the thoughts that swirl around in my head. I could lie and tell you that I'm solving the world's problems during that time, but really it's all just a montage of Bejeweled Blitz jewels sliding into place and exploding jubilantly.

5. Burger King used to cut its chicken sandwich on the diagonal, making two sections with sharp points. Sometime in the '90s, they inexplicably quit doing this and ever since have just served it in one block of French bread. This bothers me more than is perhaps reasonable.

A new walker, a new laptop, two new DSis, and SNOW ... what a Christmas!

I could write pages and pages, but today I'm going to try to do the OPPOSITE of what I usually do. I'm gonna try to use fewer words to get my point across and hope it's sufficient. I felt convicted recently when I read, "Inside every fat blog post is a skinny blog post just dying to get out." I tend to be a bit wordy, you know, but I'm gonna give it my best shot as I explain some of the milestones we experienced over the weekend.

What a Christmas it was, Internet. The End. Just kidding.

I wanted to give Patrice a chance to blog about it first, so I didn't tell you the other night that Jonah walked for the first time on Christmas Eve! I can't tell you how excited we all were ... I was as excited to see him do it as I was when our own boys all took their first steps. Patrice posted a few videos my dad made on his iPhone over on her blog if you'd like to see them.

Jake feels like he's finally entered the 21st century because he received his very own DSiXL as a gift from my parents on Christmas night. And he has been glued to it ever since. Seriously. I've been watching him closely for signs of seizures from all the visual stimulation. But YOU try taking it away from him. Yikes. Not a job for the faint-hearted.

Nathaniel is as proud as he's ever been now that he's saved up for and bought his own laptop computer. He snagged it at Best Buy yesterday during the after-Christmas sale, and he can't wait to set it up and start using it. I'm so proud of him for making this happen.

Nathaniel also received a DSiXL from my parents, which replaced the used DS Lite he bought early in the year. He was so excited about it and immediately wanted to give his DS Lite to Grant, Kim and Andrew's eldest. He asked Kim's permission to offer it to Grant, and now Grant is the proud owner of the blue DS Lite. I was even prouder of him for this gesture than I was about him saving up for the laptop! I love his generous heart.

And finally, although we didn't have a White Christmas, we DID have a White Day After Christmas, which was just as much fun. I don't think our little family has ever had snow during Christmas break, so it made for a memorable day!

Unfortunately, the snow wreaked havoc on our plans to all pile in vans and drive to Winston-Salem to meet up with the rest of Grayson's extended family, but we enjoyed getting an extra day to hang out at Debbie and Gerry's house and visit play on our electronics. Patrice and I got in a game of Scrabble on my iPad, and then Kim and I played a game, too. And of course the kids got in multiple games of Angry Birds.

Kim, Patrice and I even made time for an outing to Target ... our FAVORITE place to shop.

Spending time with all the wonderful branches of our family really makes the holidays special. We were surrounded by so much love -- if the decibel level in the house was any indication, it was a LOT OF LOVE -- and I MUST leave you with pictures of the Sweetest Tea Party of all Time. Jake and Jonah. OMG, I dare you not to smile.

Happy new year to all.

'Twas the night before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

(EXCEPT MY CHILDREN, WHO WERE RUNNING THROUGH THE HALLS OF OUR HOTEL IN THEIR PJS AT 9:00 AT NIGHT)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

(EXCEPT THAT I ACCIDENTALLY LEFT ALL OF OUR STOCKING STUFFERS AT HOME IN ALABAMA AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE ALL IN SOUTH CAROLINA FOR CHRISTMAS)

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

(EXCEPT THEY'RE NOT IN THEIR OWN BEDS; WE'RE IN A HOTEL AND JAKE HAS CROUP AND IS SLAMMED UP AGAINST ME)

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

(EXCEPT NAPS ARE A PIPEDREAM THESE DAYS SINCE EVEN JAKE HAS GIVEN THEM UP)

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

(EXCEPT YOU'D HAVE TO PRY ME OUT OF BED WITH A CHOCOLATE BAR BECAUSE A SIMPLE CLATTER ON THE LAWN ISN'T GONNA DO IT)

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

(EXCEPT AT THE RESIDENCE INN, THE WINDOWS DON'T OPEN)

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

(EXCEPT WE'RE IN SOUTH CAROLINA, DID I MENTION THAT? AND THERE'S NO SNOW HERE.)

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

(EXCEPT WE DON'T "DO" SANTA, BUT OUR KIDS ARE TRYING TO PLAY ALONG THIS YEAR FOR THEIR COUSINS' SAKES)

But for all of that, we are SO excited about Christmas this year, and I can't wait to share the excitement of our trip with you. It is a blessing to be able to spend even just a few days with our family. And with that, I leave you with the last several words of this famous story:

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.

So how many versions of 'O Holy Night' is too many on one iPod?

I'm not sure there should be a limit when it comes to OHN. It's my favorite Christmas song, and there are so many versions to love.

Two versions I do NOT love: Mariah Carey's and Christina Aguilera's. O Holy Night is an easy song to over-sing, because it's sort of like the National Anthem in that not everyone is capable of singing it. So some people apparently feel like, if they can hit the notes, then by golly they're going to add notes that aren't even there, and they're going to do a lot of runs, and they're just gonna show off in general.

Sometimes it works, KELLY CLARKSON. And sometimes it doesn't, JESSICA SIMPSON.

Here's who I think does it right:

• Celine Dion
• Josh Groban
• Katharine McPhee
• Faith Hill
• Martina McBride
• Glee Cast
• Kelly Clarkson

Get to downloadin'. You'll want to have all those handy as you open gifts tomorrow morning.

Oh, and by the way, I have absolutely no idea how much Internet access I'll have while we're criss-crossing the South over the next few days, so I can't promise there will be posts. But you KNOW that if there's any way possible, I'll be here. Merry Christmas, Internet!

Cheerful holiday artwork

Last month when I saw that Eighteen 33 was offering a free download of some great holiday subway art, I couldn't wait to own it. I downloaded it right away, with intentions to print an 8x10 on canvas to display through the holidays.

That all, um, changed, when I couldn't get the file to fit correctly on an 8x10 canvas. I tried it on several size canvases online, to no avail. Finally I found one it fit on, and I was so excited that I ordered it. I'm not entirely sure that I even looked at the actual MEASUREMENTS of the canvas I ordered. Because when I went to pick it up, I was like, WHAT THE WHAT?

It's almost as tall as I am. Apparently I ordered a 24x32-inch canvas.

Seriously, it's HUGE.

Luckily it's also irresistible!

I love the colors, which in general are outside my comfort zone for den decor, but at the holidays seem to fit in just fine.

I love that it features the title of my favorite Christmas song, O Holy Night. Not to be confused with Oh Holy Night. (More on that tomorrow.)

It's whimsical, seasonal and celebratory all at once, and I'm in love.

Thank you, Jennifer, Jamie and Jody, for such beautiful art!

If it wasn't hard, it wouldn't mean anything

Every year around this time there's a debate that begins ... the debate rages among those who send Christmas cards and those who don't, those who include newsletters and those who don't, those who send simple cards with a handwritten signature and those who send pre-printed photo cards.

The trend these days seems to be (based on blogs I read) to forgo them altogether or just send a few to people you don't see regularly. People seem to think it's just "too hard" to get it all done and it's "not worth it" in the end.

I guess I'm old-fashioned with a modern twist. I send 310 professionally designed cards, with professionally shot pictures. They're usually candid shots, just fun pictures that remind me where we are right this second. I stamp, return address and hand-address each one. I include a newsletter (hopefully funny and honest, as well as informative), and I try to get them in the mail before the 10th. (This year it was the 17th. Booooo.)

It does take about a month to get it all done. And I DO dread some of it, some portion of the time. But gosh ... I really love sending and receiving cards, and I adore reading the newsletters. I figure, if people don't want to read mine, they can throw it out! No harm, no foul. I think it's TOTALLY worth it to send and receive them. And I love hearing from people with follow-up questions when they receive our card and newsletter ... I've already received four e-mails and two Facebook messages from people this week who probably wouldn't have gotten in touch had they not received the card.

This is my favorite time of the year ... and the cards are a big part of it. So, from our family to yours ...

Photos by the beautiful and talented Leslie Hollingsworth
Card design by the beautiful and talented Heather Stallworth

My mommy got an iPad and all I got was this black eye

Y'ALL. I haven't felt this bad for one of my kids since Jake was in the hospital with RSV.

Sirrusly.

My sister kindly sent me her iPad since she isn't using it as much as she thought she would, and she knew our kids (and I) would love it. So last night I loaded my music onto it and bought a couple of the apps that I knew my kids liked.

Nicholas immediately grabbed it from me and opened the Harry Potter app.

He couldn't seem to shake it hard enough to get the wand to wave or whatever. So I was like, "Here. Let me try it."

As I was shaking it, it slipped out of my hands. And smacked Nick right below his eye.

Um, prepare yourselves.

ASK ME HOW BAD I FELT, INTERNET.

Ohmygosh. Grayson was like, you CANNOT post that on your blog. Social Services will come take our children away.

And I was like, "I won't post it." And Nicholas said, "I WANT YOU TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND SHOW YOUR FRIENDS." So, see, Internet? You've been upgraded to Friends! And Nick wanted you all to not only hear the story, but see the pictures. He MIGHT be a little bit proud of it.

I read to him for an extra 20 minutes last night because have I mentioned how TERRIBLE I feel about this? So bad. So. Bad.

He asked me about four times while I was reading if it would be healed by tomorrow. And I said, "No, buddy, I'm afraid not." And he asked, "Promise?"

Apparently he can't WAIT to show everyone at KinderCare, including his teachers, his black eye.

Luckily he's forgiven me and gave me hugs and kisses before bed. It helped that I read about 30 pages of SuperFudge to them, and one of the passages included a silly song that when I sang it, made him laugh so hard he cried. He said, "MOMMY! I've never laughed so hard that I had TEARS before."

So I'm hoping against hope that the tears of laughter helped him forget about the tears of pain I caused him earlier in the evening. Because no Mommy wants her tombstone to read: "Was a pretty great mom except for that time she whacked me in the face with her iPad."