Well that was fun!

Ready or not, Christmas Day arrived right on time.  I suppose I should say I was ready.  The gifts were wrapped and under the tree.  The stockings were stuffed, albeit barely, before the kids awoke.  The aroma of the eggnog and cinnamon breakfast cakes filled the house, and by 10 AM we were all gathered around the tree.

Link arrived Christmas Eve while I was at work.  That was the hardest part for me.  I didn’t think I minded working on Christmas Eve until I got to work on Christmas Eve.  During my long commute I thought about the Christmas Eve pasts.  And like Clark Griswold in the attic, I had tears running down my face by the time I got to work.

I consoled myself with the fact that this year would be different anyway.  With Hubby’s parents both gone, we needed to make new traditions.  Of course, I hope working Christmas Eve isn’t the new tradition, but it allowed me all of Christmas and the next few days at home with the family.

And Christmas Day was a blast!

I sat in my corner of the couch and happily listened to the banter going back and forth between the kids. ] They’re so funny and were having a great time.

Amp gift wrapped himself.

Chip modeled his new teeth

Link couldn’t refrain from laughing

Even Mario had to laugh at, er with, her brothers.

And I was so impressed with the thoughtful gifts.  Not just with my salad lunch box kit,

but with Link’s gift to Chip:

Click picture for a close up of the drawing.

A very impressive drawing of one of his favorite characters.  Tears came to my eyes as Chip told the story of how he wasn’t sure what the character looked like and wanted a picture.  Link did some research on the character and devised a portrait based on his findings.

I’m so proud of who they are becoming, and it warms my heart to hear them laughing and joking and getting along so well.  Chip, who just lives in the next town, was enjoying himself so much, he didn’t go home for three days!  Or maybe it was the access to all the free food that kept him there.  Either way, it was great having everyone home again.

I’d say Christmas was a success, despite not having all the cookies and goodies I had hoped to make.  Maybe even more so because I didn’t try to squeeze baking in with everything else.

There’s always next year!

 

Christmas Magic

We’re playing Secret Santa at work.  I know this because I got a slip in my box that says “You’re Milmo’s Secret Santa.  He likes homemade food, pizza, and he stops by Quick Trip every day for some Diet Dr Pepper before coming into work.”

Wonderful.

And I have rules to follow.  Like I can only spend $5.  And it has to be creative.  And fun.  And turned in before Christmas.

Wonderful.

I’m trying not to be a Scrooge.  It’s a nice idea.   A way for us to bring the Christmas spirit into our job.

It’s just that I’ve procrastinated so much, and now, one week before Christmas, a new person has been added to my list.  A person who loves going to Quick Trip. And the closest Quick Trip is not exactly a quick trip for me.

I forced myself to drive the 15 miles out of my way after work today.  I filled my tank, filled my coffee cup, and plopped the gift card on the counter.  The checkout guy asked “300 dollars?” with a grin.  I replied with an embarrassed smile.  “Um, maybe just $5.”   I didn’t bother to explain myself.

Since I was on a roll, I stopped by my favorite store for a six pack of Diet Dr. Peppers.  I plan to decorate them like reindeer, to cover the “fun” part of the gift. This is how I hope they’ll turn out.  But with soda bottles.

Or maybe not.  Mario just told me she ruined my hot glue gun.  “I wanted to see if it worked with crayons,” she explained.  “I was younger then.”

Wonderful.

While wandering the aisles of the store, I found myself humming to the Christmas songs.  A smile forced it’s way out when “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” came on.  Such a fun song!  In the baking aisle my heart melted when I walked past a young mom holding a toddler who was nestled comfortably on her shoulder.  She softly sang the songs to him as his eyes drooped sleepily.  For a moment, I was saddened that those magical days were long gone for me.

But then I hit the craft aisle, and I hear:  “Gracie NO.  You’re not getting it.  Put it back.  Charlie!  Gracie!  Look what you’re making Charlie do.  No Charlie!  Pick it up and put it back!  Gracie, if you bring that up to me one more time, you’re not getting the ribbon!  Charlie!  Get. Over. Here!”

Suddenly I was relieved that those “magical days” are long gone.

Now I’m hoping for a different kind of magic.  The kind that has me ready for Christmas in time.

I’ll let you know how it pans out….

 

Tis the Season

I’ve taught my children well.  It’s much better to give than to receive.

It began a week before Christmas.  Amp eagerly accepted a gift from a girl friend of his he hadn’t seen in a while.  After a few days, he decided to pass it on and let others enjoy the fun.

Chip, unwillingly, was the next recipient.  He immediately decided to share with his sister, as it completely overwhelmed him.  He offered it to me too, but I’m trying to decline.  Trying. I may end up giving in

I’m hoping Mario’s a little more selfish and decides to keep the gift all to herself, and not try to pass it on to Link or Hubby.  Surely, they won’t feel left out or unloved if she does….

This gift, of course, is the flu – or some version of it.

I mentioned a while back how Amp was pretty sick right before Christmas.  He’d tested negative for strep and the flu, but was running a fever, coughing up gunk, and aching in the head so they gave him antibiotics.

Christmas morning, Chip awoke with a headache.  I pumped him with ibuprofen so he could enjoy the day.  The next day he felt incredibly worse, so he drove himself to the doctor.  Like Amp, he didn’t have strep or the flu, but x-rays revealed bronchitis, so he’s on antibiotics, steroids and prescription cough meds.

That same morning, Mario awoke with a major headache and cough, but claimed she was fine.  I opted to skip the docs for a day, but after seeing what Amp and Chip were going through, I decided to take her in today.  She was the lucky one to test positive for Type B Flu.  No cure for it, but Tamaflu will hopefully shorten the duration of its life.  After all, she has New Year’s Eve plans…

I’ve politely declined the gift, but the kids are insistent little buggers, and so I’ve given in and taken a little.  Just enough to make my chest congested and my body ache.  I WILL NOT give in completely.  It’s been years since I’ve been knocked down by an illness and I don’t plan to start now.

I hauled my weary self out for a short, but long 5.5 mile run, only my second run in 2 weeks, then I cleaned the bathrooms and set out to disinfect as many surfaces as possible.

And now I sit….

Bundled in my winter coat. Snuggled under a blanket. Sipping hot chocolate.  Ignoring my aches and stifling my coughs.

And witnessing the first snowfall of the year.

A perfect time to share some Christmas memories with you all.

–

But first:

Softly falling snowflakes. Only 3 days late.

I could handle winter if we would get snow like this on a regular basis. Just beautiful!

Christmas Eve

Waiting patiently for her gift.

Chancie will lay patiently for a little while, but as soon as we begin opening, she wants to be in on the fun.  She can be quite incessant until we finally give her a gift to open.

Becoming a pain….

She’s very gentle when opening her gifts.

She’s so adorable when she closes her eyes and nibbles it open bit by bit.

Once she’s opened her chews, she gets one every time she gets riled up.  I suppose we’re rewarding her “bad” behavior, but whatever…. it keeps her quiet for a while.

Link opening his gift from Amp – who happened to be his Secret Santa.

Chip opening up his gift from Mario – his Secret Santa. She pried her nose out of her One Direction book from Link long enough to say “Your Welcome”.

Amp’s loving the gift from Florida Grandpa. They all got a book of dollar bills that he put together. Very creative!

On Christmas Day, we headed to my in-laws. We decided to do a ‘rob-your-neighbor’ gift exchange this year.  We all gathered around the gifts and had a blast.  This seemed to be more fun than our usual gift buying off a list.

SR, Hubby, MIL

Hubby, MIL, Nephew, SIL, Nephew’s girlfriend.

More in-laws and nieces and nephew.

Hubby’s mom seems to have good and bad days. Today happened to be a good day.

Hubby’s Dad, however, has been deteriorating quickly.  We were happy to still have him around for Christmas, but he slept through most of it in the next room.  After the gift exchange, we all converged in there to spend the rest of the day with him.

We have yet to celebrate Christmas with my mom.  Between crazy work schedules and then the sharing of the flu, we haven’t quite found the perfect time.

I’m okay with that for now.  ‘Cause, don’t tell her, but I haven’t finished buying her gifts yet.

I’m hoping she, of all people, understands.

 

Proof That I Work Best Under Pressure

As most of you predicted, things really did come together.  But only after complete focus on the tasks at hand.

I mentioned yesterday that I pretty much began and completed my Christmas shopping in two days.  These last two days.  For whatever reason I have a hard time buying gifts early.  I seem to think that I may find something bigger and better down the road, so I buy nothing until crunch time.

I’d also saved most of my baking til the last minute, due to working overtime, defending my territory with lasers, and, well, last minute Christmas shopping.

So I woke early Christmas Eve morning and hit the ground running.  Really.  I went running. After 6 days of not being able to for various reasons, I was thrilled to be bundled up and out on the streets.

The fun continued as I baked 4 types of cookies, made peppermint and regular Oreo truffles, and mixed up some peanut butter krispie treats.

I rewarded my hard work (who am I kidding, it was great fun!) with my favorite lunch, then I locked myself in my room to wrap all the presents.  Well, at least the ones that would be needed first.  The days of opening pajamas on Christmas Eve are long over, since the boys never wear them, and Mario is content with her t-shirts and shorts, but the idea is still the same.  Their Christmas Eve gift will be something they can wear… socks, boxers, shirts, slippers, etc.

With those wrapped and a few others to boot, I donned my church outfit, gathered the family, and headed to church.  Gotta love the children’s mass… crying babies, babbling toddlers and anxious parents, all crowded shoulder to shoulder in the pews.  But hearing Christmas songs sung by the sweet voices of school kids while Mario played the piano for them made it all worthwhile.

So yes, it all came together.  We exchanged our non-Santa gifts after church and enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve meal of chili, egg nog and way too many cookies.

My heart swelled as I watched the kids exchange gifts, proud and impressed of how well they know each other, and how thoughtful they can be.  And before “going to bed”, I received hugs and I Love You’s from them all.

Once they were behind closed doors, Santa distributed the scavenger hunt clues while Mrs. Claus  wrapped the rest of the presents, and distributed them under the tree.

Minutes before the clock struck Christmas Day, I crawled wearily into bed, content with the knowledge that I was finally ready for the big day, and thrilled that I would be able to sit back and enjoy it.

 

Hindsight is 20/20

SLOW DOWN!

WAIT FOR ME!

WHOA HORSIE!

or should I say SANTA!….

I am SO not ready for Christmas yet.  I started and finished all of my shopping yesterday and today.  (I think.)  So tomorrow, Christmas Eve, I must wrap everything, bake everything, possibly make one more trip to the store, attend church, and then…..

then I can rest.

Unless I don’t get everything wrapped, or baked, or bought, which is quite likely.

Sheesh.  I didn’t expect the Mayans to be wrong.  If only I had known, I may have started a little sooner.

Ha.

 

It Wasn’t the End of the World

I’m so glad the world didn’t end today.

For one, I wouldn’t have been able to finish these.

Melting Snowmen

Or these.

North Pole Cupcakes

I baked the cookies and cupcakes yesterday, but decorating them today was SO. MUCH. FUN.

This was also the day our family had planned our annual Christmas Family Outing. Originally, we were going to go out for lunch, then hit the ice skating rink.  But it was so cold and windy, and Amp has been quite sick, so we opted for Plan B.

Getting there was going to be a challenge.  Since we rarely travel together, none of us have cars big enough for six people.  It was decided the girls would take the Mustang and the boys, the Acura, and off we went.

We arrived together at Peel, a wood-fired pizza joint, for our lunch.

We ordered four different types of pizza and two types of wings, and managed to finish most of it.

Why has it taken us so long to try wood-fired pizza?

L to R: Chip, Amp, Link, Mario, SR300, Hubby

With full bellies, we headed off to Edison’s Entertainment Complex.

And boy were we entertained!

Having never played Laser Tag before, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Two rounds of 15 minutes didn’t sound like much, so we opted for the unlimited Laser Tag and Bowling package.

I’m so glad we did!  We played three rounds in a row before we were all so incredibly sweaty and thirsty that we needed a break.

We hit the bar for some waters and headed straight back for some more rounds. By this time, our legs were wobbly from crouching, our clothes and hair were wet with sweat, but we continued on, fighting for our respective territories.

Armed and Ready

Sibling Rivalry

Caught!

We played round after round until the little kids showed up.  I’m all for them having fun too, but it changes the game when you have little ones who just follow you around and shoot you as soon as your lights go back on.  And there were so many of them, that we always had someone just following us. No chance to strategize, no chance to sneak up on the opponents, no chance to duck behind walls.

We endured them for a few rounds, then decided it was time to bowl.

Most of us are used to our own bowling balls and shoes, so it was fun trying to find a ball with finger holes that fit somewhat close.

ShadowRun300? Not today.

Amp did fairly well considering his thumb didn’t fit.

Chip had a case of sticky thumb and shoes.

Mario was the professional today and beat us all.

After tripping over a little kid in laser tag, Link fought through the pain in his knee so as not to miss out.

So yeah, I’m grateful we were able to have this day.  And if the Mayan’s were off by a day, and the world ends tomorrow…..

at least I won’t have to go back to work.

 

Bah Humbug

Christmas is fast approaching and I have yet to get into the spirit.  In fact, the last couple of years has found me more and more scroogified.

It began a few years ago when my youngest daughter, Mario, found out who really brought the new TV and satellite dish to our house.

I’d like to say it was her mean big brothers who spilled the beans, but sadly, it was me.  And not in a sweet, patient, understanding way like we did with the boys.

Nope.  I was stomping up the stairs, angry that they had “broken” the TV, and I was grumbling something about how I’m not going to buy any more expensive items if you can’t take care of them!

When suddenly, Mario burst out crying.

I  shot her a confused look, as she sobbed.

“What?”  I demanded.

“I thought Santa brought those things…….”

my heart sunk.

All thoughts of the broken TV were suddenly gone and I was consoling my baby girl.

She was 8 or 9 at the time, and probably had some inkling that we were the ones playing Santa, but to hear it so bluntly was obviously devastating.

That situation itself didn’t turn me into Scrooge, but the magic of Christmas seemed to disappear with no one believing anymore.

We’ve tried to keep it magical.  The past two years we’ve told them not to leave us any lists.  They could write them for the relatives, but we were going to surprise them, just as Santa might.  This has actually caused us more work, but it’s forced us to think of them and what would cause them to squeal with delight.

And it’s worked.

We’ve also kept up with the Christmas Morning Scavenger Hunt.  After all the presents under the tree have been opened, the game begins.

It takes about 15-20 minutes for them to run around the house, finding their next clue.  Some of them can be pretty tricky, (Hubby’s awesome at writing clues) but the last clue leads them to their “big” present.

I don’t care how old you are.  This is fun.

And we’ll probably do all these things again this year, but Scrooge is putting up a good fight.

Some of it has to do with the over-commercialization of Christmas.

But most of it has to do with my own happiness.  There are so many questions right now, that I’m feeling pretty lost.  Should I change jobs?  Should we move?  Should Hubby get a job?  Should he look here or in Tennessee?

aarrgh!

There’s hope for me though.  Last night, while doing my exercise routines I listened to my favorite Christmas CD – Amy Grant’s Home for Christmas.  Grown Up Christmas List, Breath of Heaven and Mary, Did You Know were the songs that sparked a glimmer of hope.

Then during my run this morning, I listened to my iPod Christmas Playlist while sweatin’ in the 63 degree morning weather.  What?!?

Although the temperatures of late don’t feel Christmasy, I’m starting to feel a little of the spirit.  I’m hopeful I can snap out of my doldrums and begin to enjoy the lights, the decorations and the joy that this season has to offer.

And, if you’re willing to give, I will happily take any advice on how to keep the magic alive once the kids have grown.

Hurry!  Before it’s too late!