The children like and even prefer the loaner car I’ve been driving around for the past week.

Remember how I mildly complained about the lack of automatic locks and windows?

The first time my 7-year-old son climbed into the car, he was amazed to discover the window handles. He’s never been in a car before that had real handles.

"Wow! I can open the window when the car isn’t on!" he said. I hadn’t thought of that.

Autumn sat down next to me and said, "Mom, no offense, but your minivan’s just not cool."

Does the girl think I like driving a minivan? Trust me, no offense was taken at all. Not only is it not cool, I hate not being able to place things securely in a trunk that is separate from the passenger area. I like being able to hide all of my stuff in the trunk, leaving the passenger area neat and tidy.

One day as we were both leaving, my husband asked if I liked the car. Yes. My next vehicle should definitely be a car. This size? He asked me. I don’t care. It’s an OK size. I’ll take what I can get. I’m not fussy. I just want a car. Not that it’s going to happen anytime soon, mind you.

***

We’ve decorated for Christmas. This year the kids, prompted by Justin, went around the house counting exactly how many times Santa appears in our decorations. Apparently, the count stands at 63. They also counted snowmen and that count stands at about 50. However, I must say that my snowmen collection is not seasonal and you’ll find it on display in our mud room pretty much all year round.

I remember counting Santas at my parents’ house one year. I know my count was over 300, but I can’t remember if it was over 500. My mom has a LOT of Christmas decorations. I have at least 10 boxes worth including three boxes just for tree decorations. Plus the bigger things that won’t fit into a box. And yet, I always buy more. You can never have too much, even if the number of Santas gets over 50. (Shush, Steve.)

  The promised pictures…

Here is the newest member of our family, Holly, getting up close and personal with Amanda’s fish, Fiona.

And here’s a close-up of Holly…

OR NOT. Actually, that’s a sideways pic of my FIL with a chicken puppet/hat on his head. What happens at deer camp does NOT always stay at deer camp.

Here’s Holly up close…

Thanks for playing.

..at least to those of you in the U.S.

I’m off to the in-laws to help my MIL get ready for dinner. I think I will be doing someting with potatoes. We eat dinner early because the guys go hunting afterwards.

Later.

"I got a new cat named Holly. She is 2 months old. We got her at Santa’s workshop. Her birthday is this Sept. 4 or 5. She is black with a white spot and she has yellow eyes. She is a real cutie. "

Steve and I had decided to get a cat, but I hadn’t done anything about actually getting one. Then yesterday, while at Santa’s workshop, we became the new owner of a kitten approximately 2.5 months old. We decided to name her Holly, which was Autumn’s suggestion based on where we were when she became family.

Zeus and Neutron are very interested in Holly. Zeus does nothing and Holly still shakes in fear of him. Neutron just gets all excited and follows Holly around as she hisses at him.

She’s friendly. She jumped right up next to Steve last night and made herself comfortable.

I’ll post a photo later.