"String too short to use"

10) I now understand the value of washing my hair in the kitchen sink and taking a little spit-bath right there in the kitchen. It enables me to get clean (relatively) and keep half an eye on my three-year-old Destruct-O-Boy. See, Mom was smarter than I ever gave her credit for.

9) Moms are women who, among other things, trade eye liner for dark-circles, salon haircuts for pony tails, long showers for quick showers, late nights for early mornings and designer bags for diaper bags. As a mom I can tell you, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

8) Speaking of diaper bags, Liam is done with them! He got the hang of the whole potty thing in four days over Thanksgiving. Smart boy. The first two days of it were a disaster and I thought we were barking up the wrong tree, but by the end of the fourth day he was telling CJE and I, “Sit down, I do it myself,” and just going voluntarily whenever he needed to. YEA!

7) I am looking over my Christmas card list. Every year at this time I look at this list of 70+ people and think: I really should cut out about half of these folks. I ponder and muse for several days and then end up sending all of them after all, plus a few more new ones we’ve gathered in the past year. I do keep trying, but so far it hasn’t worked. I guess I still think all of you are worth a 44-cent stamp, a newsy letter and a photo of the squid.

6) The jammies are done! The jammies are done! Seven little nieces and nephews will have “Aunt Janie-made” Christmas jammies this year. I got them all shipped away and most likely they are already at their destination.

5) Had a great Thursday last week! Sue and I finally made our trip to the new Hobby Lobby in Kennewick. Gotta love Hobby Lobby. The store is quite new and obviously they don’t have all their stock yet, but still . . . very nice to have them in the neighborhood. Besides, we had a great trip; a little shopping, dinner and great company!

4) A couple weeks ago Liam’s threw a toy through a window at daycare. As my insurance company representative explained to me, because Liam is only 3½ and she is paid to care for him, we have no liability in this situation. Yeah, OK, but that doesn’t exactly work. She is his daycare provider, but she is also the daughter-in-law of a good friend. How do I keep the peace and tell her she should have been watching him closer and she is actually liable for her own window? Not a chance. In point of fact, to “keep the peace,” my insurance company is going to cover the damages. Thank God.

3) OK. People, calm down. X is actually one of the symbols for Christ. It was used, and may still be, by Christians who face(d) persecution for their beliefs. It really isn't Xing out the Lord.

2) Why can’t it be simple? Because it is real, and real things are not simple. - C.S. Lewis

1) Buy fancier, more expensive chocolate. This time of year, you spend money like water anyway, so you won’t miss it.