We have hit that stage of parenthood when prescreening movies may not be a bad idea.

A good friend recently invited our son to a movie at the Virginia Theatre with a group of other sixth-graders.

It was “Christmas Vacation,” which I’d never seen, but some classic scenes from the other two movies in National Lampoon’s 1980s comedy series did come to mind.

I got a reality check the other day from my son.

“Hey Mom,” he asked in all earnestness, “what does our dining room table look like?”

It’s important to note that this particular piece of furniture is not hidden away in storage where he can’t see it. He has to walk past it approximately 10 times a day.

First, the bad news: the breezeway isn’t finished yet.

The good news: we are in the homestretch.

Yes, Family Picks are back! After all the hubub of the holidays it's a relatively quiet weekend in Champaign-Urbana, but that's a good thing in my opinion - one more chance for unscheduled time before the semester gears up!

Still, there's plenty to do, and you can some spend time outdoors while temps are still relatively warm. Here are a few suggestions:

Our Christmas lights are still up. So is our tree. And I am not apologizing.

I have friends who are super-organized and take their trees down on New Year's Day. They're ready to move on, clean house, start fresh.

I usually reach that point, too - later.

Just before Christmas, the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Champaign handed out more than 750 backpacks full of cold-weather supplies and holiday treats to men, women and children in need - almost twice as many as the year before. Contributing to the effort was a group of friends who have made a holiday tradition out of giving to those in need, rather than each other.

We are back from our holiday sojourn visiting family around the Midwest, spreading lots of Christmas cheer - and germs - along the way.

Yes, it was one of those virus-filled vacations, everything from respiratory ailments to ... let's just say digestive issues.

I’ve never succumbed to the urge to write a Christmas letter.

Frankly, I’ve never had the urge to write a Christmas letter.

For one thing, it was a lot of work. And it seemed a bit impersonal.

In honor of today's column, I thought I'd share a few Christmas letters I've come across over the years.

This first installment is one I found online from a writer named Ted Pack, whose website shares his dos and don'ts for holiday letters.

My dithering nature manifests itself in a big way when I have to choose paint colors.

I once tested four different beiges for our old living room. BEIGE. Not exactly a risky color.

They were either too peachy or too taupy or didn't match my upholstery. Whatever. I still wasn't really happy with the result.