Holiday update

 This is Laurie's new puppy. He's so handsome and soft and fluffy. He's a dog Buddy.

We also got a new dog, sort of. This is Cousin Eddie, our foster dog.

Angie came over and hung out. She tried to make Ruby a poncho, I think.

Dog pile.

Oh dear. We're out of order. That's Laurie's puppy again. His name is Bear.

Aunt Gwen got Ruby these knee socks and she loves them so much. She rolls up her pants so you can see the whole thing.

Ruby and I have been writing letters to each other. She wrote: Thank you for the sweet letter. I love you. I like your bun and thank you for being the nicest mum ever. 

More of Ruby in Aunt Gwen's socks.

Uncle Jeff and Dev. He's so big!

Doggo's prison picture.

The girls watching TV at my school. Almost interacting with one another. Almost. . . 

Ruby loves Doggo!

Ruby loves Santa!

Ruby loves Fat Girl!

Grandpa got Ruby these crystal trees. They were so pretty.

Doggo loves to lay in piles of leaves. 

Maggie found a plate(!) under Ruby's pillow. Why????

Puppy!

Ruby loves socks!

Ruby's not impressed.

Millie laid this way on purpose. She put her head on Ruby's butt and Ruby wrapped her legs around her. They are so silly.

Doggo getting sprung from prison.

At the Nutcracker! It was so cute!!!

Our SpEd team on jammies day. 

Maggie selfie.

Update 2

A teacher at Maggie's school burned something in the microwave and the fire department got called. Maggie sent me pictures and called to ask if she could go home. Mind you, this happened before school even started. 

The sun was too hot for Ruby.

Ruby's teacher did a Grinch day. Ruby came home and told me that the Grinch changed out all their light bulbs and stole all the markers except for the green ones. 

There was inclement weather, so they read books while in their safe place. 

I'm not sure. Elves visited and wrote the kids letters. 

This is Ruby's Christmas party.

I woke up one morning, before Christmas break, and put my feet down in. . . standing water. Not great. I ran into the bathroom and the toilet was fine and the sink was off. It was coming from under the sink. I tried everything but the pipe had exploded so I couldn't turn off water. It was just gushing so I called people, but at 5 am, no one answered. I finally just called 911. I thought they would just tell me what to do but the fire department showed up. And thank goodness, because it required a special tool to turn off the water. 

Getting the pipe fixed was pretty easy. It was covered by insurance. The water damage was not and it was expensive. Boo!

Update 1

Maggie had her winter concert on Tuesday. I really wish she were staying in band. It was at Martin, and they played holiday music. Ruby was so excited every time she recognized a song. I told her, next time we're in an auditorium, me and Maggie will be watching Ruby. She was very surprised. I don't think she realized she will be on a big stage and much bigger than the one Maggie was on. 

Ruby has broken all my dishes! She broke one of our last plates the other day. I finally bought some more. Do all children break dishes constantly???

Ruby changed her mind about ballet. First, she said she was done and didn't want to go anymore. So, then when we finished a class, I told her she only had however many more and then she'd be done. Well, cue the tears. She kept saying, sometimes people change their minds. So, we'll be doing Ballet 2 in the spring. 

Accidental long weekend

 We had an accidental long weekend. I threw up Thursday night. Friday, I went to work for a meeting and then came home. I picked up the girls early and got groceries. We had a movie night on Friday. It was my pick, and I chose While You Were Sleeping, which is totally a Christmas movie. I made baked potatoes for dinner. 

As we were getting ready for bed on Friday night, I got an email informing me Ruby had a two-hour dress rehearsal on Saturday. Bleh. Saturday, I got her all ready in her ballet costume and perfect ballet bun. I dropped her off (it was a mad house) and walked the dogs and got ready. I came back to see the end of rehearsal. She is so cute as a little angel. 

After practice, we went to the library. I told Ruby she could get her very own library card and check out books (so long as she keeps them safe from our stupid dogs!). She was so excited. 

I made lasagna for dinner with yeast rolls, which the girls freaking loved. It was Ruby's turn to pick a movie and she picked Elf. Woohoo!

Sunday, I took the dogs on a walk. As I was leaving, I told Maggie to lock me out. I got back and not only was the door not locked, it had opened. My daughters were home, alone, with no alarm on, no dogs, and the front door open. I was NOT happy. I told Maggie that a kid had been killed by a FedEx driver, which I'm not sure I should have. Maybe that was too much; I don't know. 

I baked more potatoes and rolls for dinner. It was Maggie's turn to pick. I suggested Christmas Vacation, but she chose the new Santa Clauses show. It was extremely lame. 

Gingerbread house

 Ruby's teacher and their neighboring classroom decorated as a gingerbread house. Isn't that awesome?

I did it! A perfect ballet bun.