Off and running

Hello, and we are still alive here in Chez Consumed. Christmas nearly ate my brain and now it is January and there are SO. MANY. THINGS. LEFT. UNDONE.

Christmas itself was lovely. Who wouldn't love seven straight days of too much sleep, too much food, and hoardes of family members and little cousins gathered around entertaining my kid so I can relax. Heaven. Olivia was AMAZINGLY well behaved for the whole thing and it was so much less stressful than previous holidays (when she was sleep deprived and ripe ground for multiple tantrums).

But, of course, there are all those things that you tend to put off until after the holidays. I have a stack of bills to attend to. I have some volunteer responsibilities, which involve motivating OTHER volunteers to get stuff done at a time of year when NO ONE wants to have anything added to their list. Yeah, still trying to procrastinate on that one.

And then I volunteered to do research on our family camping weekend IMMEDIATELY so that we can find a place and space available and get everyone together on a weekend that works for all and SERIOUSLY THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE. Have you SEEN my family (probably not). There are eleven adults and eleven small children, six separate households, kids in school and ballet and summer activities, families with OTHER vacations in the works...and I'm trying to find ONE weekend that works for ALL of us. Hmmm...

Also, we have a tonsillectomy on the docket for next week, a family wedding to attend in February, a massive family vacation to save for in June (cruise, not camping) and some pretty light pockets at the moment (I blame Christmas shopping). Oh yeah, and did I mention the tax audit?! On our adoption credit from three years ago?! That came two days before Christmas?!

Yeah, so we've been busy. Now we are back into the swing of things, and I guess back to "normal" for a bit. Except that now the baby I watch has morphed into this army-crawling, pulling-up-on-furniture, stealth little crumb snatcher. She refuses to be confined to anything so babyish as an exersaucer. Oh, no. Put me on the floor, woman! I need to chew up some Barbie shoes and try to stuff that piece of broccoli on the floor from dinner two nights ago into my mouth.

2012 is off to a running start.