A Christmas Story

Weeks of craziness and it's over. We had a wonderful Christmas and would like to thank everyone for their Christmas and Holiday wishes this year. The kids are currently playing with toys in different parts of the apartment. We're waiting for Mad Dog to get home (hopefully before the storm hits too hard) and watching the flurries fall already. I just watched the last good parking space (by the house) be filled.

How did Christmas go this year? With us both having Christmas Eve off made it easier on everyone. It allowed us to wake up Friday morning and take it easy, baking and getting things together for our travel later that day. Gabrielle caught a ride out to Western Massachusetts with Mad Dog's sister around noon time. This allowed Mad Dog and I a little fight free time with Lex and Loki. Packing up the kids and the car we left at around 1PM for our 3 o'clock arrival time in West Springfield. I know it doesn't take that long, but it has be come an annual tradition for us to stop in Northampton Massachusetts to pick up Mad Dog's Mom's Christmas present. Even though I made a ton of homemade things this year, I just didn't have the time to finish the bird house I was making for my Mother-in-law. For the past three years we have ended our Christmas shopping by going to Backyard Birds for a Gift Certificate and a little gift.

Oddly with being home all morning/afternoon busy with the holiday details I found that I hadn't eaten anything, only coffee had entered my system all morning. This finally caught up to me in Northampton. Since we were in a hurry we hit Taco Bell while the kids slept in their car seats. I needed something or Mad Dog might make it to his Mom's minus an arm. We arrive at Mad Dog's Mom's just after three. Gabrielle wasn't there yet, having run errands with Michelle, Mad Dog's sister. Once everyone arrived we had a little something to eat, and gifts started to be handed out. The gift process took like 3 hours. Mad Dog's Mom insists that each person open their presents in front of everyone. So spot light on Loki, spot light on Lex, spot light on Gigi, etc. To add to this process she gives each person a large gift bag, which contains a ton of little gifts. After we open all the little gifts, each family gives their gifts. The main focus of this is Mad Dog's Mom and the Reverend (Dennis, who I still don't know how to explain it, but I guess companion would work - oh and I have no clue about the Reverend part just that Mad Dog and his siblings call him that) and our kids. Mad Dog's brother and sister all exchange presents on Christmas morning with each other, we have nothing to do with this and are just happy they don't do it in front of the kids anymore. There were a few years that Mad Dog's brother would gives hoards of gifts to their nephew and not Gabrielle (bad form).

We managed to get home by eight o'clock. Everyone put on their new Christmas pajamas and I even got a family picture before the kids were  in bed, presents wrapped and ourselves in bed by Midnight (miracle). Christmas Morning started very early thanks to Loki. The girls were both up and bouncing to get going by 6 o'clock. They were so excited that they went and woke Lex up, which he still hasn't forgiven them for. Tradition is that we start with our stocking which Santa lays out on our couch over flowing with candy, toys and treats. Lex was very upset with Santa at first for not getting his Pixar Up game he asked for in his stocking. Gabrielle took time to explain that he might have wrapped the gift. The kids started in on their presents. Gabrielle received a Razor Scooter from Santa, Lex got his Up game (though it was for the Leapster Explorer that Nana Sandy got him that he would receive later that day - yes this was hard to explain) and Loki got a play kitchen set. Mad Dog was thrilled with his crock pot the kids gave him and his L.L. Bean backpack I got him. I had an new iShuffle  that I plan to us for my audio books alone (it is engraved with No Bounce No Play - a Stephen King quote.) The best gift of them all was the fact that we found my lost wedding band in Mad Dog's backpack box that I had wrapped. We listened to Gabrielle call her Nintendog's puppy by name a thousand times since the damn game couldn't understand Cinnamon and found that Loki had opened all the extra Mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups Santa left us. She was very proud of herself. Lex and Mad Dog took time to build Lex's tool box with his really tools before we all got dressed.

After a busy morning of playing, we packed up the car and headed to my Mom's for the day. We got there for one o'clock. Lex was immediately looking for this Explorer gift so he could play the much anticipated Pixar Up! Game. We managed to settle him down enough after opening the gift to eat dinner before giving the rest of our gifts. The rest of the afternoon was consumed by gift, naps and eating. Gift giving at my Mom's is very different from Mad Dog's Mom's (we need to find a happy medium between the two). It is like a whirlwind at her place. Paper everywhere, no one knows who gave you what, and what gifts were for what child. Loki was given birthday and Christmas gifts at the same time and neither Mad Dog and I full know what she received. The kids played after dinner while some of the adults (the guys mainly) all took naps. I helped my Mom set up her Kindle  and helped her buy her first book. It was a nice quiet afternoon and we left early that evening.

Everyone had a lovely day and we ended with Loki trying to take the remaining 10 Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to bed with her.