Miscelaney

We had big old family Christmas this weekend because of my cousins who work for UPS and their need to be at their jobs super-late for the next three weeks. He always misses part of Christmas in some capacity and so doing it this early meant that everyone could be there for the whole time. But this year he and his wife have twins (who are less than a year old--like 10ish months). Adding those babies to big old family Christmas was hilarious because it's so funny the things that can be amusing with small children. Watching them do the simplest things like unwrap a present or stand up on their own is fascinating. I think it added a new dynamic and joy to the party. Next year, it'll be crazy because they'll be running around all on their own. It's amazing to think about how these things change so quickly.

We brought a contractor out to the place to give us some estimates yesterday and there's another one coming out there today to talk to us some more. We're realizing in some ways just how much this is all going to cost. We're not going to (and cannot) do everything at once, so we're just prioritizing what we can and cannot do. We might be putting hard-wood floors downstairs too as every contractor whose been out has told us that they really don't think the carpet is going to clean up the way that we want it to. It seems like a stupid expense to put in new carpet and then have to re-do the new carpet at some point. It looks like other things (like a king-size bed) are going to need to be put off.

Finally, in other news, I am more frustrated than ever that this year I do not have mystical amounts of money with which to buy my parents gifts. I know that an iPhone and a kindle would be PERFECT for them, but alas and alack...