Six.

M turned 6 this last Monday. Most days I can't believe how quickly my littles are getting big, but that especially hits home on birthdays. We celebrated with pizza & cake, and M received a few Pokemon games for his DS as well as a "Stuffiez" stuffed animal (the commercials drive me bonkers, but I almost think he likes it more than his DS now).

Christmas 2014

Much like last year, I am ready to pack up all the tinsel and say goodbye to Christmas. I'm sure this attitude is a result of my over eagerness to plunge into the season just as soon as the turkey is carved. In fact, I rarely even wait that long. In typical fashion, much like in years past, we hadn't budgeted during the year for Christmas gifts, so when December rolled around it was a huge knot in my stomach trying to figure out how much we would have to spend and on whom. It is safe to say that we ended up spending approximately $600.00 on gift giving this year, and to be honest, that didn't feel like enough for me. I wasn't able to give gifts to my siblings, I wasn't able to send exactly what I wanted to Josh's Aunts/Uncle (in fact, I still haven't shipped off what I DID get for them!). We always do pretty well with the littles, and their cousins, but I want to do better. With that in mind, I'm determined to set aside $100.00 each month of 2015 for next Christmas.

So, anyway, even though we were ill prepared, Christmas was still pretty awesome. My brother, Jonathan, was able to sneak up when his sub "docked" (or whatever the term is for Nuclear Submarines coming back into the base to let all the passengers off) for a few days. I hadn't seen him since J was in the womb, M was 2, and E was a figment of my imagination. Josh's sister and her boyfriend, Bryan, were able to fly into town as well, so we had a pretty good crowd on Christmas morning. I think those will always be my favorite Christmases - so many butts there aren't enough seats, but plenty of food and good company.

As for the actual event, here are some pictures from the week of Christmas:

{Uncle Jonathan and the 3 Beasties}

 {After waiting for almost infinity, he finally got his DS}

{Aunt Sarah with the weeist Beastie}

{Our tree tried to quit on us, but I slapped some lipstick on that pig and she got back in the race}

{A new Christmas tradition with the Beasties - slightly inappropriate holiday movies and candy}

{A holiday care package from our pal Allen is Southern LA --- those are homemade cracklins and those Creole Onion chips are freakin' DELICIOUS}

{I waited for these dishes for longer than Mikey waited for his DS. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH}

{Eleanor turned 6 months old on Christmas... so there you go}

{The boys unwrapping their gifts from Santa before the rest of the crew arrived}

{A few shots of the boys enjoying their gifts}

Even though I want to box it all up yesterday, we're going to hold off until AFTER the New Year, and pack up Christmas this weekend. Feeling excited for all that 2015 will bring!

Start Here.

One of the hardest things about starting a new blog is the very first post, I think. It feels pompous, arrogant, self-important --- one of those things, anyway. Still, it might be useful for someone who stumbles upon this place and maybe has some questions about who I am or why I'm writing this thing.

I am Kerith. The author of this here blog. At the time of this writing, I am a wife and mother steadily approaching the age of 32. I've been married for almost 9 years, to a very serious fellow with an amazing beard. If I had to sum him up in just a few words, they would be "Grumpy Paladin with a soft spot for his wife and children." My three children, M (almost 6), J (almost 4) and E (6 months old) are wild beasties, and are often referred to as such. I'm a "new-born" Christian, am interested in all things domestic (don't let my house fool you) and have been know to occasionally crochet a thing or two, but this blog isn't about any one of those things. I work full time for a Fortune 500 company (that happens to be the only one remaining of the original 12 companies companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average) doing reporting/analytics, but I work remotely from home, which can be lonely. Fortunately, I have baby E at home to keep me company (until August, at least) and two kitties we like to call Fitz and Ferg, and they make the house feel a little less empty when my 3 best guys are out at work/school.

I like to take pictures, and read, and I enjoy getting caught in a frenzy over a good TV series on Netflix. I have pretty eclectic taste in music, but lately I'm pretty into bluegrass/folk. I am slowly getting our home prettied up, and my style seems to lean towards vintage farmhouse.

I guess that sums me and my life up pretty well - and if blogs are required to have a purpose, I would say that this blog exists as tangible evidence that I, Kerith, was here.