First off, let me say Happy Birthday to my brother Paul who is 18 today. Frightening, considering it's been 18 years since I was a college freshman drunk and watching SportsCenter when the call came and my folks brought this sweet little boy home. I wish you the best life has to offer.

Saturday morning will be the start of a VERY busy December for us. That morning is Lauren's breakfast with Santa. Last year, this event produced a hilarious video of Lauren "cheep cheep" ing at a young chicken. It also produced a bllod curdling scream that continued for some time as the crazy man in the red suit and beard attempted to hold my sweet angel.

This year's event promises to be better, as we are foregoing the meet and greet with Santa as well as the three dollar donut hole and skipping right to the farm animal petting. Lauren will, in all likelihood, LOVE this event.

Saturday afternoon, Molly's dad and stepmom are coming to celebrate Christmas with us and the other two sisters and their families. We will cook all day Sunday and have Christmas Sunday night. Should be a good time.

Saturday will also be football watching day as we cheer our Auburn Tigers on to a perfect regular season and hopefully their coronation as SEC champions. Then, it will be time to root for UCLA and / or Colorado to do the unthinkable: Beat USC and Oklahoma. Otherwise, it's the Sugar Bowl and Miami or Virginia Tech for us. Still great, but not as great as it could be.

Next weekend is my company party, followed by Christmas at Molly's mom's house on Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.

The next week, my mom and step-dad will be in town to stay the weekend and we will have yet another holiday eating extravaganza.

The week after that is ACTUALLY Christmas, which is followed by six days of vacation for me. I am looking forward to being home for ten straight days as well as dreading it, but hey, it's not every day you get to stay home for one thirty-sixth of a year in a row.

See? Our December is where marriages go to die? It's nearly impossible to keep up that pace of activity and family interaction before someone snaps. I only hope it's Molly who snaps instead of me, so I can be the bigger person.

Don't count on it though...