Heard in passing...

J (the 4 year old) being asked to hit the potty before bedtime...
"Splendid!"

Janey (to the boys, "cooperatively" unloading the dishwasher..):
"No, you may not sword fight with the knives!"

We survived the holidays. It was quite nice, actually. Lots of family and a relatively quiet time made joy for all.

(or something like that)

Dad got smart this year. Before starting to open presents I gathered "the arsenal":
heavy duty side-cutters
box knife
scissors
needle nose pliers

With these, I figured I'd be the equal of any toy packaging.

Oops. Guess what...sometimes toys are (!$#@$!) SCREWED in to their packaging.

Add to the above: multi-bit screwdriver

Ok, now we're set.

Spend most of christmas day chatting with the family and assembling toys (with help). (thank you Becky and Jon..!)