Back from Blogging Break

I didn't mean to take a break from blogging. But after Weds. two weeks ago, I just couldn't make it to the computer! I was absolutely clueless about any deals posted online too. And hardly used any coupons in my last minute shopping trips!

I hope you all had a great Christmas. We had a very simple Christmas Eve dinner. (Hubby had the flu so it was a very silent night!) Christmas Day could have been a little better. (Baby boy was too excited when he woke up and forgot to use the bathroom.) Since last Christmas we have started letting the kids open presents at their own pace. So if they want to play with something, we stop opening other presents and let them just play with that new toy. Opening presents stretches out the excitement all day long. Which is more fun at this age. Saturday, of course, marked the first day of clearance shopping. Target, it turns out, started their 50% off markdowns on Christmas Eve. But by yesterday it had gone down to 75% off!


Sunday after Church, we grabbed some Mc Donald's and headed to the movies. We wanted to get a live tree this year. With all the activities going on, by Christmas Eve, we still didn't have one. So we decorated the kids' 3" tree instead and put it on top of the coffee table. All the presents went under the table. The money we didn't spend on the tree paid for the movie tickets. (One of the tickets was free, of course, from buying Trix cereal. I wish they had more of these cereals but I never did find any left.)

We saw the Princess and the Frog. This was the first book in English I remember learning to read. Although I am truly sad the movie is not like the book at all, I still really loved the movie. First African-American princess is just timely. What awesome conversations we had about the Shadowman and his shadows yesterday! I love it when God helps me use everyday secular ideas and turn them into lessons about His truth and love.

So now, we have New Year's and Kings' Day to look forward to. Kings' Day is widely celebrated in the Philippines as the day the Magi visited the Christ child. It's the first Sunday of the new year. And kids get presents (usually money) from godparents or other relatives. We go house to house visiting each other. This year, I think I will make the Jesus birthday cake (didn't have time to make it Christmas Day) and we'll sing "We Three Kings" over and over again as my daughter has practiced.