Troy and I just spent the evening writing out the last 47 cards on our list, and we’re DONE! Okay, it was technically 12:38am when we finished and therefore not the 12th day of Christmas anymore. It’s Epiphany/Three Kings Day. But since I haven’t gone to bed yet I’m gonna count this as getting my Christmas cards done by the end of Christmas. I even drove to the post office and dropped them in a mailbox so they’re officially on their way!

Although in looking for a link just now I learned that it’s considered unlucky to leave Christmas decorations up past Twelfth Night. Great. All our decorations are still up! Even my blog banner is still decorated for the holidays. Oh well, I still have to mail a few more packages containing Christmas gifts too.

But all our cards are mailed! Whew.

Anyone else still checking stuff off that Christmas to-do list?

My friend Cindy over at citystreams was recently inspired to start a Featuring You interview section to get to know some of her favorite bloggers better. I met Cindy over a year ago when we were partners in the Shades of Red Swaparooni on Flickr right before her daughter was born. That inspired me to crochet what is one of my favorite blankets that I’ve ever made.

The DVD is there for scale.

Cindy has been one of my faithful readers from the very beginning of my blog. She’s smart, funny, a mom, a teacher, the wife of a police officer (which is a lot like being married to someone in the military), and a Christian whose faith shines through in the way she lives her life. She has become a good friend over the past year. I was happy to do an interview for her. You can check out my interview if you like. If you leave a comment, tell Cindy I said hello!

Wheee! Bug and Annalie sure did have fun today. When Brenda and Bug arrived this afternoon, they went straight outside and formed their own biker chick gang, riding up and down and around and around the patio.

Usually Bug insists on her mom coming outside with her. Today Brenda and I sat inside chatting and drinking coffee while the kids zoomed around on the big wheel and the tricycle.

After a while, Annalie and Bug got tired of life on the road. They came inside and put on ballet outfits, then went upstairs to play, barely even noticing that we were there as they passed by.

One reason Brenda and Bug came down this weekend was so we could exchange Christmas gifts. The other reason is so Brenda could do laundry in my garage instead of having to go to the laundromat. (Oh, didn’t I mention that we offer full laundry service to our houseguests? Because we totally do.)

Late presents are so awesome. They are almost better than on-time presents, in my opinion. Annalie certainly loved her Tom & Jerry DVD! Thanks, Miss Brenda and Bug!

After the gifts were opened and the paper was cleared away, Brenda and I announced that we were going back downstairs. Annalie and Bug were so busy playing they just sorta waved at us as we left.

Brenda and I couldn’t help but marvel at how well Annalie and Bug were getting along. Though they always have fun together, they’re both strong-willed only children who like to lead. When they’re together there are always a few arguments that require mediation.

But today they played happily from the moment Bug got out of the car till they went to bed. Brenda and I mostly stayed in the kitchen since I was playing hostess, preparing and cooking dinner (croque monsieurs, which I made and ate for the first time ever). Also the kitchen is where the coffee is. Occasionally Bug would wander into the kitchen asking for a snack. Or one of us would go check to see why they were being so quiet, and we’d find them watching the Tom & Jerry DVD or “fishing” off the couch with a cat toy or preparing a pretend feast with Annalie’s toy microwave.

Even bathtime was totally fun! Often by the end of the day the kids have had enough togetherness and don’t want to take a bath together. But tonight they hopped into the tub and giggled and splashed for a loooong time while the adults ate dinner (just a few feet away from the open bathroom door, through which we had a clear view of the tub). It was really nice.

Photo taken 05Nov 2007 - Annalie age 3y5m, Baby Bug age 22m

Can you believe that photo was only taken a little over a year ago? Annalie and Bug have changed so much since then. Even in the six months that we have lived in California, they’ve both grown up a lot. Now, Annalie is closer to five years old than she is to four, and Bug will be three years old in just two weeks! It’s amazing what a difference a year can make. I hope in another year, they’re even better friends.

p.s. Brenda wrote a completely different post about the croque monsieurs, and has more photos on her flickr that she took with my camera and new lens in the photoset croque monsieurs at the Actuallys’.