I f You Really Like Christmas...

If you haven't seen the movie "Love Actually", rent it now. Then, you too will be humming "If You Really Like Christmas" along with me. The song is a bit annoying, but it makes me giggle.

This is my second Christmas in Big Sur. Last year was a blur of still unpacked boxes, joblessness, exhaustion, diapers, jet lag (can I really claim that if we drove across instead of flying?), and a total lack of good gift ideas. Last year, Christmas was spelled S-T-R-E-S-S.

This year, however, the holidays have been smooth like butter (pronounced "butta"). I had pretty much every present picked out, purchased, and wrapped by December 10. Does it sound like I'm bragging? Because I am. We also had work this holiday season which meant we could actually buy presents without dry-sobbing at the checkout line.

The kids are still in their pajamas, playing with their toys. My littlest one keeps sneaking off with her candy to eat it in hiding. She doesn't understand that the candy is hers, and we are actually endorsing the consumption of that much sugar. Which, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm a little confused about that too. What the heck am I thinking! Even if this is Christmas and all. That big chocolate reindeer lollypop seems like an inordinate amount of sugar for such a small person!