Christmas at our house

I had a major post-Christmas letdown this year. I think it's either because a) we all got various illnesses that have gone on forever and I didn't really take notice until the activity stopped, or b) the celebration started early and continued strong. Probably more the latter. We put the nativity out on November 1st, and I did the bulk of the gift shopping in mid-November. The first weekend in December, we went to the Christmas parade, had a fancy Christmas brunch at Christie's, and got our Christmas tree. The next weekend we had our first Christmas party. In the meantime, I worked night and day to finish out the semester; it was probably the busiest three weeks I've had in graduate school to date. And it just. didn't. stop.

We got back from our mini-vacation on Drummond Island on the 21st (I'll leave that to a different post), and it seems like every day since has been jam-packed with fun. So maybe the best thing to do is reflect on each day.

Wednesday the 22nd: I have two words. UNCLE DAVE!! Dave came home the weekend we were gone, so we got to hang out with him all morning after we got back. He didn't mind the general post-vacation messiness of the house, and he brought the coffee I desperately needed.

Thursday the 23rd: The girls and I had a disastrous shopping trip. Half of Lansing was at Meijer, but I had to finish some Christmas shopping and get some needed groceries. I paid the dollar for a car cart with a TV, but it was no use. Nellie had to walk, which was a nightmare with all the people, and I carried Annie plus pushed the enormous cart for most of the trip. THE CART WAS SHOWING BARNEY.

Thursday was also Genny's birthday. We all (Lisa, John, Genny, Alex and Sarah and girls, our family) went out for dinner. My apologies to anyone else dining at the Tuba Museum that night. Then it was cake at Lisa's afterward, and Kevin and Alex took Genny out for drinks and I took the girls home to bed.

Breakfast in front of the heat vent :)

Friday, Christmas Eve: I took Nellie and Annie to my parents' to make Christmas cookies with Emily, Dave, and Laurel. So wonderful. I love it when everyone is home! Kevin, meanwhile, took apart Nellie's bed and Annie's crib and started in on building the new bunk beds! Dave, Laurel, and I helped for a while, but then we were off to the Ward Christmas party. Kevin missed the entire Ward part, but came later for the family gift exchange. It was worth it to take the girls home to their new bunk beds! Nellie was excited but very curious about where the beds came from, where the old beds were, and how Kevin built them. Annie wouldn't come in the room.

The gift highlights of the night were probably the Dora backpack (the actual backpack. It sings. It has a map.), the Bitty Baby dolls (I think I like them more than the girls do), and the GPS from John.

Bitty Baby!

Backpack, Backpack

Cookies!

CHRISTMAS!: We actually all slept pretty late! Nellie and I were up first. I made her sit in the kitchen while I made orange rolls and coffee, and lit candles and put on Christmas music. She was fine with that, content to play with her new Disney princess paper dolls. Kev was up by 8:30, and we had to wake up Annie shortly after. We did stockings and presents, and it was all warm and cozy and fun. Nellie's favorite present from all of Christmas was in her stocking--silly bands. (Silly bandz?) Then it was off to Grandpa John's for waffles and more cousin time, then to my parents' for naps and more lovely gifts and gift-giving.

Kevin declared it the best Christmas ever because my mom got the boys marshmallow shooters, which are highly accurate and likely to cause serious damage. The brothers (Dave and Kevin) battled the wanna-bes (Chris and Peter) while we waited for all the little ones to fall asleep. We found that the furniture setup in my parents' living room makes an excellent marshmallow war course.

Annie's favorite present: The Christmas apple

New princess watches

Sunday the 26th: Church in the morning (while Kevin hunted), then off to Pam's for the Harrington/Keys party. It was a smaller party than usual, but it didn't seem like it because of the four little girls running around (at least Alli stays put for now!) Annie managed to turn off the ringer on my phone then hide it in Alex's boot, so no one could leave for an extra hour while we all searched for it, calling it over and over to no avail. Meanwhile, the older girls played "getting ready for the wedding party" in Pam's bathroom, washing their hair in the sink and creating a huge mess of the bathroom and themselves.

Monday the 27th: Kevin's 30th birthday! We celebrated by eating french toast and bacon off the new electric griddle in the morning, then pork loin and pineapple-upside-down cake in the evening with the McAlveys. We also unknowingly celebrated our last barf-free day of the season. Don't tell Nellie I said "barf;" she's just learning it's not a nice word.

Tuesday the 28th: With much of the celebration behind us, we spent the day at home. I had gotten sick with a cold on Christmas day, Nellie and Annie had been coughing for several days, and Annie threw up twice that morning. So we all took two naps and I took cold medicine and tylenol so we could still go out with Dave and Laurel for "adults only" dinner at PF Changs. All was good until I found shards of glass in my dessert cup, which earned us $90 in gift cards and four free appetizer coupons. Plus there were no internal injuries, so all in all it was a nice time. The girls and I spent the night at my parents' since they were already sleeping when we got back.

Wednesday the 29th: We spent the morning playing at my parents' house, then went shopping for the food for Kev's birthday party.

Thursday the 30th: To Grand Rapids to see the Christmas trees at Frederick Meijer Gardens and to visit my Grandma and Grandpa. The girls got MORE presents - a very fun Leapfrog laptop and programmable doggy.

Friday the 31st: New Year's Eve! Nellie and Annie threw up in the morning. We went to my parents' to hang out with them and Dave and Laurel (and Xander) in the evening. We played games and watched Back to the Future 3 and managed to stay up until midnight.

Saturday the 1st: Happy New Year! I threw a birthday/bowl game party for Kevin at my parents' house. Both our families were there, which makes a lot of people! It was good food and good company, if I do say so myself! Annie was grouchy, but the other girls had lots of fun. Kevin got so much beer for his birthday that have a large cooler full to last us the rest of the winter. Or at least January. We ended up spending the night at my parents' again, because Emily and Lane + their friends are so fun we had to play Catchphrase and watch more football all evening. Also, eat more party food.

Sunday the 2nd: Again with the barfing! Annie again, but I got sick too. I spent most of the afternoon sleeping on the couch with Annie while Kevin and Nellie watched the Lions win.

Monday the 3rd: Annie and Nellie threw up in the morning, plus Kevin was sick and had to stay home from work. Yuck. I actually had a pretty productive day. I undecorated the Christmas tree and wrestled it to the curb, hauled out all the boxes from the bunk beds, and went grocery shipping, all while not throwing up myself. Just when I thought things were getting better, puke struck again at the dinner table right after Nellie announced how yummy the dinner (spaghetti, her choice) looked. Tutoring was cancelled.

Tuesday the 4th: Nellie threw up in our bed (I know, too much information) around midnight and I spent the rest of the night on the floor of their room. Kevin and I had to move around our schedules to avoid having the babysitter here. We have finally come to terms with the fact that we are actually sick, that people are not throwing up for random reasons (too much milk! drinking milk lying down! Sinus drainage, etc. etc.), and that we have probably infected our entire families.