Sunday - Relax
Monday - WORK 5 hrs, Pride & Prejudice Movie Day
Tuesday - WORK 5
Wednesday - WORK 5, David's 16th b-day, Go to see Tron
Thursday - WORK 5
Friday - WORK 5, New Year's EVE!
Saturday - New Year's DAY! (Thrift store 50% off clothing sale! YAY!)
Last week Suzy stayed with my parents when we were in town for Christmas. She had a great time visiting Suzy's donut shop, scrapbooking, seeing Megamind with Aunt Janet, and much much more. We met up with Mom and Dad on Tuesday afternoon to get her back. She was SO TIRED! lol
We went on to Maryann's for the evening. On the way we stopped at Kmart and bought a wafflemaker since I had the bright idea of making waffles for Christmas. We also stopped and bought a used Singer sewing machine I'd seen on craigslist for $30. The person lived only a mile or so from Maryann, so that worked out great. The sewing machine needed a bobbin case, but I found one on ebay for about $5. So for $35 I now have (hopefully) a working sewing machine. When the part comes, I'll let you know for sure!
Weeks have passed, maybe months, since we'd spent any time at the McDowell's, so it was great to visit there! We just hung out, made dinner, chatted, and then watched Knight and Day. Well, that was Maryann and me and Erin (her adult daughter). The kids played with toys and video games, and outside in the snow! So fun! I knew I had to work the next day though, so I cut it off earlier than I'd have liked and brought the whole crew home.
Christmas cookies took up most of Wednesday. I didn't make bunches, like last year. Just some sugar cookies - all for us! LOL
I think it was Thursday I went to the grocery store and it was already pretty crowded. Can't imagine what the lines and parking lots were like on Friday (Christmas Eve) since I didn't go anywhere! We had thought about going to church Christmas Eve but we pooped out. Wish we'd have gone though.
Our Christmas dinner was a non-traditional nibble tray feast and it was a HIT! I think we'll do this from now on. I did cook a ham on Thursday since we got one unexpectedly as a gift. But on Christmas Day, I did trays of: cheeses, summer sausage, deli ham, cut-up veggies, pickles, shrimp, chips, fruits, jello, cookies, candies, etc... I changed up some of it as the day went on. Most of the food was left out all day and the kids just ate as they wanted. Next year, I'll prepare it all on Christmas Eve day rather than waiting for Christmas Day and then all I will have to do is pull it out of the fridge! Everyone loved it and there was virtually no cleanup. I did make cheesy potatoes because *I* wanted them. But those are easy anyway. So, I think we have a new tradition! And I'll be thinking all year things to put on our nibble trays.
I had planned to make waffles on Christmas morning, but we had some muffins and fruit first thing and no one was hungry for waffles at the time we'd planned them. So I figured we'd do it much later in the day. But still no one was hungry - nibbling all day! LOL So, we had it for breakfast today instead (Boxing Day).
This is how our Christmas Day looked:
Sometime between 7-8 am James got up, but no one was up so he went back upstairs, I guess.
Sometime before 9, I got up and made the coffee. James heard me and came down. The rest came down eventually, except David who had to be pried out of bed with a crowbar, almost. Once everyone was upright, we opened our stocking gifts - youngest to oldest (kids only).
We'd planned waffles after that, but as described above, that didn't occur. So I got dressed and Bob too, and then we moved on to the gifts. We decided to have everyone open 2 gifts and then move to the next person, youngest to oldest. (We don't do a chaotic tearing-into-the-gifts thing, here.)
So, that took a while, to get through all the gifts. What a blessing that I was able to buy so much this year. All those extra hours paid off! It's been a long time since we've been self-reliant at Christmas.
After the last present was opened, I put out the food and people began nibbling. Bob napped, the kids played with gifts, and eventually we played Apples to Apples. (We did that on Christmas Eve too.) In the evening, we read the Christmas story aloud from the Bible, sang some Christmas hymns and had our birthday cake for Jesus. We take it outside and He "blows out the candle".
We settled down to watch a Christmas movie. I was hoping for It's a Wonderful Life, but the kids had the idea of watching the new Veggie Tales, It's a Meaningful Life, so we watched that on Netflix instant. It's kind of a take off on the Frank Capra movie, but also with elements from A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express. My verdict? Not a movie for repeat viewings, sadly. Too much sappy singing, and not funny enough, though it was explicitly Christian unlike some of the more recent Veggie Tales. After that we watched another Netflix instant movie - The Missing Lynx. Stupid. Don't bother.
The kids settled down in the living room to sleep "under" the Christmas tree. This was the 1st year that David asked if he could sleep upstairs instead. :-( Made me sad, and I said NO! It's tradition! Sleep in the living room! They had a bit of fun with some lighted glow sticks I'd purchased and then settled down to sleep. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Can you believe David will be SIXTEEN this week!?
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