AYMM was always one of our family favorites, and I also recall reading it regularly as a babysitter many years ago!
So, a bit of relief. My brother and his family are not coming Christmas Eve. Their choice, not sure why, just that the 2nd of Jan. works better and just the youngest daughter will come with them. I bet the older, college aged, girls did not want to waste their time coming here. They are not very engaging or kind to our children, who are younger. I will have some time to get ready for that, after having the Christmas mess all over the house!
So, we are back to our little family unit and our traditional trip tp church, and home for "appetizer dinner." It will be warm out, so we can walk the puppy, etc... It might have been okay to have my brother if we did it earlier, but they are very inflexible and I was not going to alter our church plans, which would make it a late evening for them. They don't go to church, so would not want to join us for that. I very much enjoy that peaceful evening and reflection before ripping into gifts on Christmas Day. Adds some balance to the holiday, and reminds the kids of what we should be celebrating.
Off to bake cookies. Mixer up and running. Doing the cut-outs. Not sure I can compete with Arbor's wife, but I let the kids decorate many of them. They love it. They want me to make so many cookies, and each has favorites. I will try to get gingerbread people done. Son likes to make them into super heroes, lol. And he likes thumbprint. And I am famous among friends for cranberry white chip oatmeal cookies. We shall see what gets done. I still have wrapping to do, and cleaning. Hoping for help with both of those things.
Husband has been out of town for a couple of days to see his mother for her bday celebration. He'll be back today. He does not put pressure on me for much of anything, but I feel more peaceful when he goes away for a few days. I do sleep better not sharing a bed. Maybe that is it. I feel badly feeling that way, but it is what it is. Still, he helps around the house and with the kids and dog, so, I will be glad to have him back.