Things here have been pretty hectic...no surprise there! After a lovely birthday celebration, we spent the next 2 days cleaning and prepping for guests on Christmas day. Yes, that meant on Christmas day itself! :) We spent the afternoon on Christmas Eve wrapping family gifts and the tree looked so festive with some gifts underneath it finally. Having two cats and kids means we can't put out wrapped gifts out too early...we've also given up on using ribbon or bows on gifts since the cats love to tear them off and eat them, and it's just not worth the mess. :) The kids were so excited to put out cookies for Santa (and an extra one for Mrs. Claus, at Santa's request!) and as a little gift from us, they each got a new pair of pajamas. They were so excited to find a present on their beds it could have been broccoli and they would have been happy! (Actually, they probably would have been, I'm lucky to have kids who like their veggies!) Anyway...
Christmas morning was funny. Of course my son was up by 6am, and then crawled into bed with us. He and daddy then spent the next 20 minutes or so "whispering" about what Santa might have brought them before I finally gave up on the idea of sleeping. Note to self...try to be in bed well before 1am on Christmas Eve... They then went upstairs to wake up Abby and we went to see what goodies had been left. Santa doesn't brings loads of presents to our home, which is a good thing. We want our children to learn that Christmas is about more than just gifts. But Santa did bring the xBox Davin and Daddy have been hoping for since last Christmas morning, and Abby got a Barbie house. Putting that pink monstrosity together was a nightmare for me, but she was so excited as it came together it was worth it. :) Andy and I gave them some books, and a few other smaller toys, and I'm proud to say that one of Davin's very favorite was a "Tornado maker" by Discovery kids, which uses water to create the effects of a tornado in a cylinder. He loved it so much it had to be the "centerpiece" on the dinner table. Score one for Mommy and educational toys!
We had a pretty quiet afternoon. We celebrate Christmas in a secular way, so it's all about a focus on family. We cooked, ate, played games, and generally had a nice time. At around 3, our dinner guests started to arrive. It was the same gathering as we had for Thanksgiving, so we ended up with a total of 8 people. Sometimes I long to have a large family bustling around, but then I have to cook for people and I realize that "8 is enough". :) I missed having my mom with us, but my dad told us that she had called from Germany to wish us all a happy day. I really can't wait till she gets home in a few weeks.
In our family the traditional dinner is roast goose. I love goose and look forward to Christmas each year because its really the only time of the year I have have some goose. If you've never had it you don't know what you're missing! It's basically all dark meat, and is really moist. The only down side is that it isn't a large bird, on average they range from 11-12 pounds, but even that size can takea bit of searching. For a family of 4 it's perfect, but beyond that you really need something else to go with it. I've started having ham as a second option. All in all it was so yummy, though I am still nowhere near my mom in terms of making gravy. :)
We then had round 2 of presents and our house was littered with paper again. :) Ice cream and leftover birthday cake for dessert followed and then we just relaxed until people started heading home. All in all a very good weekend.
Starting Monday I had a full week at work...and a very busy one. The museum was hopping each day, and the attendance increased each day. I really should add up the total attendance for the week, but I think it was over 18,000 people between Mon and Fri. Needless to say I was worn out! :)
But Friday was a special day because hubby took me to see "Wicked"! He got us tickets as a Christmas present and I was SO surprised! I have never seen it and have been hoping to see it for years. It was at the Detroit Opera House, which is a stunning building. We had great seats and the performances were amazing. I was just on cloud nine all night! My hubby is the best! :)
New Years Eve was spent at home. I had a few errands to run but made sure to come back with some party hats and noisemakers. We danced with the kids, put on mustaches and just got silly! At the kids request I made a cake to celebrate New Year. My bother-in-law and niece came by later. I'm sure the kids would have made it to midnight with my niece, but they were so wound up that they were turning into little monsters so we finally had to pack them off to bed after a little New Year toast with some sparkling cider. The rest of us rang in the year together, even my brother-in-law made it, after repeated claims he was going to fall asleep.
Yesterday we had a big New Years breakfast together and then did some cleaning (of course!) I woke up with a sore throat and just a general ickiness. No surprise with all the hustle and bustle of the past week and the amount of sick people I have been around at work. I took a nap that ended up lasting 3 1/2 hours! Yikes! Hubby enjoyed watching the Packers beat the Lions and my dad called to hassle him about it. :) After the kids went to bed we took down the Christmas tree. As much as I hate to see it go, it's dropping needles like crazy now and our front room is a total disaster. The kids are up this morning and I don't think they have even noticed! lol
This week I finally have a few days off to spend with my family. I have a few projects I'm working on, and plan to finally clear off my craft table. One of my new Years resolutions is to be better about sending birthday cards to my friends and family. As many cards as I make I'm not great about making cards for specific people. I'm also working on an afghan for Lil A, which will take a while to complete but it's getting there. I'll post a few pics as I move along on that project.
I hope that you had a lovely Christmas and New Year, and wish you all the best as we start 2012!
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