Tardy

The kids were definitely late for school this morning. Twirler overslept, and the boys decided that it was much more fun to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer than to get dressed for school. It was painful getting them out the door today.

Thankfully, tomorrow is the last day of school for the year. All five of the little ones will be starting the day at the dentist's office, followed by a school party right before the end of the day. Then Twirler has a recital, and Spot has a birthday party to attend. It's going to be a super busy day for all of us. I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

Princess' school had a special Santa's workshop yesterday, so she was able to buy some small gifts for her siblings and parents. Her teacher said that she really enjoyed shopping for the presents. Last night, Princess had her recital, and she looked so incredibly cute and very, very happy. She's getting a new baton bag for Christmas this year, since she's obviously interested in continuing to twirl.

My new Accuquilt system should be here today, as long as UPS delivers it on time. They've been running a day late due to the holidays and the snow, so it might not get here until tomorrow. I still hope that they will bring it today. I'm looking forward to playing with it, and one of the cutting dies will make my fourth son's quilt easier to finish. Anything that will save me some time is a good thing, particularly when I have 80 quilt squares to make. The current method of constructing those squares involves about six different steps, while the new method (with the Accuquilt) will bring the number of steps down to four. That's a savings of 160 steps, which should allow me to finish the quilt much faster.

Not for the first time, I wish I could have financed a computer-guided quilting machine. Then I could piece my quilts while the computer does the quilting work, thus allowing me to get much more work done in the same amount of time. I can't complain too much, though. At least I have a longarm to finish my quilts on MY schedule.

I have about 85 gift bags to pack today, as well as a bunch of teacher gifts to prepare. Thankfully, I was able to get everything on sale, so I didn't blow the holiday budget on the little things. I still have the funds necessary to get gifts for everyone, although I guess I'd better get my shopping done soon.

Christmas is only a week away, and I still haven't gotten the tree out of the basement. I'm just not into the season this year. If it were just me, I'd skip it entirely. Unfortunately, I don't have that option anymore, and I need to get the tree out for the kids. They deserve a Christmas celebration.