Christmas Wrap-Up

No, I didn't get stuck at Walmart on Christmas Eve, it's just been very busy since then. Walmart was surprisingly un-crowded on Wednesday, so much so that after going to the bank I did some last minute shopping. Then I came home and made one more batch of cookies - oatmeal raisin for M., since he always complains that I never make any cookies he likes.

We had a wonderful holiday - we really enjoyed ourselves. We spent Christmas Eve at my in-laws and all of the children were very good. H. received so many nice presents and only one duplicate. Christmas morning was so much fun. H. did a great job opening presents. I was amazed at how into it she was. She tore the paper and looked for the present without getting distracted by the box or paper. We videotaped the whole thing, of course. She absolutely loved the sliding board from my parents. She got the hang of it really fast. Then it was on to my parents' house Christmas Day afternoon for more food and present opening. H. received more wonderful presents, including an Elmo car from my sister that she can't get enough of. Same sister bought M. and me this cool pine tree with bears on it for our family room. It's almost six feet tall and lights up.

The day after Christmas was supposed to be dedicated to putting the entertainment center together, since we were having company Saturday. M. and I worked on it for about an hour and it was a monster. My parents called around noon and I begged them to come help us. They got here around 2pm and M. and my dad worked on it pretty much straight through until 9pm! But it looks really good now! I got all of my knicknacks set back up and the family room looking half decent in time for company. But we definitely need a bigger TV with this new unit. Our 25" looks lost in the center cabinet.

Saturday we had friends over for dinner and more presents (more!). I cooked a whole turkey, the first time I had ever done that. I've only ever cooked a turkey breast before. But it turned out good, I thought, along with mashed potatoes and peas, plus lots of dessert, including cookies. There aren't that many left from the almost 12 dozen we started out with.

So today I'm just relaxing before going back to work tomorrow. The only chore I'm going to do is laundry. We're going to watch football and eat leftovers and play with H's new toys. And wait for the long-awaited Ravens-Steelers game at 8:30pm tonight. I wanted to get to bed early tonight for going back to work, but unless the game is a blowout, that won't be happening. Go RAVENS!!!