thank you to all of my friends, young, old, distant, and close, for your cards this year. that is my favorite part of christmas....opening up the mailbox every day to see if there are any pictures or cards to add to our pile! i love to see how people have grown over the year-- your kids, not YOU! (remember that when looking at my christmas card picture).
the week began with a great production of the christmas story presented by every single kid in our church. my girls OBVIOUSLY are angels :) and so that was the most appropriate costume for them, but i know georgia is gunning for that 'mary' role next year, while juliet wanted to be the baby jesus and stuff herself into the fake manger. the overzealous dad sitting in the front pew of church snagged all the good pictures, leaving bad ones for the rest of us, so i'll be sending him an email to send me some good shots at a later date.
my sister melanie came, sick as a dog i might add, from wilmington to be with us for christmas. she made it in time for church, which was a must because the girls were singing in the choir just before the start of the service. juliet fell asleep while waiting, so she missed her big moment, but i got a shot of them practicing. never mind juliet's super-greasy hair. i spilled baby oil in their bath water and her hair soaked up every bit of it! i didn't think it would be a big deal until her hair was dry and yet still wet!
christmas morning was great....the kids got up and were thrilled with the gifts that ho-ho left for them. three gifts apiece-- because that's what baby jesus got. (it does keep things simple in our house!) they each got a scooterwithtwowheels (which is how they say it) for their big present. jules got dora hopscotch squares and a mickey mouse clubhouse, two things that go against all i believe-- i don't like things with characters on them!!-- but i am giving up some of my nutty ideas as i get older, and as people continue to make fun of me. georgia got a leap pad game and her favorite gift was the iron/ironing board she requested. she never knew what an iron was (i know, i know) until my mother came and helped me make those blasted napkins for my dinner party this fall. since then, she's been entranced with that marvelous appliance and asked for one for christmas.the girls got many things they loved--evidently my mother and sister and i should communicate more because all three of us got bathrobes for the girls, so they are All Set in the winter warmth department!....there were wrapped-up socks and panties which still excites my children, and a few choice toys-- the soccer goal from pawpaw and nanny and the (barbie! a character!) digital camera from nini, the jacks and Perfection! game....so from grandparents to aunts and uncles and friends, there were so many great gifts and all of it was wonderfully generous, and in lieu of a gazillion thank you notes that i am not confident would ever reach your homes: a big, huge, THANK YOU from kevin and me.
it all fell apart in the afternoon. jake, who got a stomach bug for christmas, was happy to share it and he passed it along to juliet in the afternoon and that did me in for the rest of the day. anyone who knows even a little bit about me knows i have panic attacks at the thought of my kids getting sick. it's like armageddon or something; i need therapy in a big way. anyway, that happened as dinner was about to be served, and that did my appetite in for quite a while. when i'm ready (still a bit queasy myself!) i'll enjoy the deep-fried turkey that was so beautiful that i cannot believe i didn't get a picture of it when kevin presented it to me, as well as the 3 desserts that i made and all the little things that go into making a good christmas dinner. oh, well.
all is well now. sleep (for juliet, certainly not for me that night!) yesterday seemed to do the trick and as of this morning, everyone was well enough to go to their respective corners. i am at work (clearly NOT WORKING!) and kevin is golfing: you just don't turn down a free round of golf, i am told!!! jake is at work and the kids were more than happy to return to daycare for two days this week. everything is put away nicely in its place, three large bags of to-be-donated toys and clothes are safely at goodwill, and we're movin' on to the next thing.
so, another christmas down the hatch. all of the build-up-- the last-minute shopping for stocking stuffers, the all-night wrapping session on sunday night, the 14 trips to the grocery store to make items that still sit in the fridge because i made way too much, the MESS and disorganization of christmas morning....all of it, looking back, is fine. more than fine. i have to admit that it is much more fun to look BACK at christmas than look towards it. another strange thing about me....
here are some pictures from christmas day and from last night when both kids felt like eating leftovers! i did have lots of cute pics and will post the shutterfly link http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcNnLZs1aNG4t¬ag=1 so you can see for yourselves.
happy new year to all!
UPDATE: that very productive morning at work didn't last long. now i'm home with georgia, who has the same bug. pray for me. is this what immersion therapy is?
