News of our flood

was greatly over exaggerated. And except for a slightly sore back from sandbags, we're fine.

We had a busy weekend, as December seems to be, with book sales (which I should not be allowed to as books and self-control don't belong in the same sentence with my name. Oh wait, here's one "Holly has no self-control when it comes to books."), Christmas parties involving lots of kids playing balloon volleyball over restaurant tables, and, my proudest accomplishment, finally getting all my gifts and cards packaged and ready to mail. I say that as if there's a lot, which there's not, but it's still my least favorite job. And today, they will all be in the hand of the USPS and off of my mind.

Santa came to the Christmas party and brought the kids a gift; he does every year. This year he brought Jamie a wooden blocks and marble set (for some reason, the Santa that comes to this party brings something not on the list and that's o.k.). It was a fairly simple set (read not super expensive, because those suckers get expensive fast) but it was really neat to see Jamie play with it. He thought he had mastered blocks (he had told me as much the other day when I suggested he build Santa's village, "Oh, I can build a city really well, it's the same thing"). But then, how to get this marble to roll down these blocks? There has to be an angle, the holes have to line up, what happens if this goes there? And then, when you're done with that, they make fine ray guns.