let me 'splain. no, there is too much. let me sum up.

100 points to anyone who identifies that reference.

either way, summing up is going to be a better idea than explaining the last few weeks.

of course, the holidays are always a busy time... and we've enjoyed every last bit.

the kids enjoyed the 2 ft of snow we got right before christmas - giving them just one day of school that week.  chuck and i had lots of fun shoveling and longingly watching our neighbors using their snowblowers.  thankfully, one of them helped out with the end of our driveway at one point.  still, i can't help but wonder if maybe that's on chuck's list for the future.

i really enjoyed watching the kids experience christmas each year.  we had everything ready to go on christmas eve, so we had lots of time to sit around and enjoy each other.  christmas morning was pretty stress-free, too.  the kids seem to be developing a true appreciation for watching everyone open their presents as well as opening their own.  they were pretty patient - and appreciative.  and that is something that takes time!

one of my bigger challenges this christmas was working and traveling with a 3 month old puppy.  parsley had been learning the ropes at our house but was not demonstrating the best manners when it came to other people.  as a puppy, she's full of energy - but beyond that, i have a feeling she's rather high energy.  she did well with all the traveling - and with being in different places.  i had to spend quite a bit of extra time walking her while we were away in an attempt to wear her out before putting her back in her crate, but it was kind of nice.  and... our many walks also helped to keep off those dreaded christmas pounds that usually find their way into my jeans.  all in all, a good deal!

experiencing the chaos of christmas and visiting friends with a puppy is a lot like experiencing it with a newborn - it takes a lot of extra time and effort.  and i came away from the last few weeks wondering if i was making any progress with this dog at all.  my multiple trips outside to have her use the "potty" were spent watching her eat snow... only to come inside and do her business on the kitchen floor.  frustrating, to say the least.  any little freedom would get her so hyper that i was keeping her crated as much as possible.  all the while, i was reading any advice i could find... only to see that i was doing all the right things.  such information should be comforting, but i guess i was just being a bit impatient.  (imagine that!)  thankfully, the holidays - and all their excitement - came and went, the kids went back to school, our "normal" schedule resumed, and parsley turned 4 months.  amazingly enough, that combination of events had a magical effect on our pup, and she seems to have turned a corner.  she seems to really "get" her housebreaking regime (with a few puddles here and there) and has even earned quite a bit of supervised freedom to run around in the house for most of the day.  as i write this post, she's on the floor with tucker and kyle and is peacefully chewing on a bone instead of chewing on them.  i feel so proud.

for all of you non-dog people, i apologize for all of the extra info.  anyone who has ever raised a puppy knows that these things are big deal.  and, regardless, i'm pleased to see our lives return to some sense of normalcy.

on another note, this weekend, my family will finally be celebrating our christmas.  nothing like getting around to it 2 weeks later.  ah, well, when you have 5 siblings with 5 different families and lives it's not as easy as it used to be!  my mother is trying to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing... but this is a first for her.  i've decided that any christmas celebration that takes place after new year's will from now on be referred to as Festivus.  and there will be the airing of grievances.  a good time will be had by all, i'm sure.

i still need to upload all our christmas pictures... but i figured i'd wait till all the christmases were over.  we also, finally, had our family pictures taken - for the first time in 5 years, meaning that we now have a complete family picture.  complete with tucker, that is.

hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far... and that you are enjoying the return to normalcy.