christmas

So, after a long week filled with ear infections, chest colds, antibiotics and more coughing than should be allowed in one family, I'm back. Gennie was coming down with "it" on her birthday but was feeling better by Christmas morning, just in time for me to take Josiah in to see the dr on the 26th. Kev got it this week and I had one day that all I did was lay on the couch but since then I've been chasing the kids with their meds and trying not to get coughed on. The good thing was that Kev had already taken the whole week off so it's not like he was missing work - he had planned on knocking out a bunch of his homework while he was off and needless to say that hasn't happened . . . he hasn't been able to hold a conscious thought for more than a few minutes making studying a joke.

Anyway, back to our Christmas morning. Gennie woke us up with the stocking news: "Mom, Santa brought me a princess something in a box and some pie! But you guys only got green beans."

Awesome. She didn't know that we had to put the cans up on top of the stocking hangers because once the stockings were filled they pulled the hangers right off the rock wall. (The princess thing was a puzzle and the "pie" is pumpkin filling.)

Mom and Dad came over for brunch and we finally got around to presents after 11am. The kids had a great time opening presents and got lots of clothes and toys. Here are some highlights:

Josiah got several Little People sets and clothes and set of dishes perfectly sized for him (he demands them at every meal now) and a quilt in little boy-type fabric that he LOVED and this wooden train set from Nana and Grandpa Pat . . . a huge hit!

Gennie got a Barbie . . . which she was OVERJOYED about . . . and a stamping set of her very own (so she'll stay out of mine!) and an art set with crayons and watercolors (whic she's already used up so we'll have to get more) and Groovy Girls stuff (more about that with her birthday, later) and this fabulous quilt from Great Grandma Billie which they both had to model for me:

I know it's not right to be envious, especially of one's own 5 year old daughter, but I've been systematically devising ways to get to use the blanket myself - I LOVE IT!! Reminds me of my childhood somehow, although I never had this particular design on anything of my own. Hmmmm.

Kev got a reciprocating saw from my parents, and he was totally thrilled . . . the proof being that I hardly ever get an actual "excited" face from him in photos. Now he just needs something to hack apart.

I had told Kev when he asked what I wanted for Christmas that I'd like to learn a new skill. I learned how to crochet back in college instead of doing my homework (D=Diploma, right?) but never learned how to knit so that's what I picked:

So far I've mastered the "casting on" part but can't seem to get the knitting stitches right yet. Must need more practice.

After all that, we put the kids down for naps and watched our traditional Christmas Day movie . . . we used to go to the show on Christmas Day but now that we have kids that doesn't always work so we've rented movies the last few years to watch while they nap. This year we watched Leatherheads . . . it was pretty funny watching George Clooney try to be a youngster athlete. When the kids got up we went out for Christmas Dinner - Chinese!

Appropriately we sang "Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra, ra-ra ra ra" . . . quitely under our breaths so as to not offend the Chinese waiters . . . but I don't think anyone had duck. After we had stuffed ourselves we came home to watch "A Christmas Story". The kids got into their new jammies from Nana and Grandpa Pat and actually cuddled together on Gennie's couch with their new car blankets I made them . . . we don't dare go anywhere around here without some sort of blanket in the car with us in case there's an accident or we get stuck on the road or something so I made them each a second car blanket so they now have one for each car . . . Josiah's has scotty dogs on one side and paw prints on the other and Gennie's is monkeys on both sides, one pink and one teal:

Thus endeth our Christmas this year. I had a blast and shot way too many photos like I always do . . . tradition is tradition, after all. Kinda sad that the holidays are over for another year, but now we get to play with all our new stuff . . . Kev, get that saw out of my scrapbook closet!

Oh, and this was our Dec 26th:

and most of our days since, between one of us or the other. Good thing we didn't have any place to be. Here's to a fabulous 2009 and all the adventures it has to offer!