It is surely a Monday kind of a Tuesday. The day is dreary and I woke up at my usual too early to be awake time convinced that it is still the middle of the night. For good reason, too—I haven’t had to get up before 6 AM for almost two weeks and found that no amount of coffee helps remedy a case of the Mondays Tuesdays.
It is finally 2017. Many, and I among them, say that 2016 was a difficult year. It remains to be seen what 2017 will be like, but I’ll be optimistic and wish everyone a Happy New Year! On to bigger and better things — how we spent the holidays. This year Hannukah and Christmas overlapped giving grown ups much to think about and kids much to celebrate. The girls celebrated Hannukah on New Year’s eve with a New Year’s tree—a tradition from my childhood—opening presents. Please note that *all* the presents you see in this picture are from my sister. To say that she is a firm believer in eight nights of Hanukkah is an understatement but more than that, she is an amazing aunt. My kids are incredibly fortunate. 
After opening all of these presents on 12/31 because it was, after all, the last night of Hannukah, we feasted on homemade chicken noodle soup and herring under a fur coat. Evan and I barely lasted until the ball dropped that evening having flown home from warmer climates where we spent time with Evan’s family.
Warm weather always brings a smile to my face. The girls finally embraced the water… mostly… kind of … sort of …
Digging for treasure keeps kids occupied for quite a bit of time. We found shells, built castles, dipped our feet in the azure blue atlantic ocean and embraced the “its vacation so you can eat whatever you want” mentality. That meant that Sophia now consists of 70% pasta and 30% ice cream and Eliza 60% pizza and 40% something else. And if you ever find out what she means by something else do let me know because I’d really love to know. Terrible twos appear to be roaring and here to stay. 
Two-on-two vacations continue to be quite a bit of work mostly where meals are concerned. We had a lot of fun, warmed our cold limbs thoroughly and listened to the calming sounds of the sea. Lovely. Beautiful. Relaxing for the mind not the body. Happy to get home and still have two days off, we embraced the remainder of the weekend in what has becoming more or less the typical; the girls spent most of Saturday catching up with Alex, Baba, and Deda and, for the first time in years Evan and I piled up on the couch binge-watching tv and resting from vacation.
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