It's Already January!

Wow! I can’t believe it’s been this long since I posted. December was such a busy month, as I’m sure it was for most people. We had so many activities and occasions going on, that it almost became a blur.


We, along with many friends, went on the Santa Express in New Haven. It was okay. I honestly don’t think it was worth what we paid for the tickets. Mya did get to see Santa, which was supposed to be the highlight of the train ride. The train personnel served hot chocolate and cookies on the ride. The train travels from New Haven to Boston, and when we turned around in Boston, we picked Santa up and he rode the train back to New Haven. Sounds great in theory, but when you have 8 passenger cars full of kids, the time with Santa consisted of him walking a straight line through your car shouting HoHoHo!, and he was gone. There was an opportunity to have pictures taken with Santa when we unloaded at the train station, but being the last of eight cars to unload, I wasn’t up to standing in line to wait for Mya to NOT sit on his lap. One unexpected passenger on the train was Rudolph! I think the kids were more fascinated with him than with Santa, or at least Mya and Kaden felt that way. Rudolph did spend about 30 seconds with each kid, but he was on the train for the entire ride. I’m not usually one to complain, but I guess I expected more than what we paid for.

The train ride was early December, and mid December we had Christmas dinner with good friends and let the kids exchange gifts. It was nice to visit and let the kids play. It’s always good times when you’re with good friends.

With all the commotion of Christmas, and the anticipation of Santa, poor Mya had taken all the “being good” she could stand. At one point she told my sister that she didn’t want Christmas to come, she was tired of being good. And that was about 2 weeks before Christmas!

The weekend before Christmas we had our Christmas at the house with all the kids. Since we don’t get to see Crystal and Chris on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day, we have to schedule our family Christmas accordingly. It was nice to have all the kids at home with us. To be a mixed family, everyone meshes very well. Mya was so excited to have her brothers and sister at the house. She always looks forward to their visits. We had a nice dinner for the kids and then did our gift exchange. I always look forward to Christmas with the kids. Everyone had a nice time.

Also, the weekend before Christmas, my brother got married, and I was “hired” to do the photography. I wouldn’t have done it for anyone else, but I know how it is to be strapped for money, so I did it for them. It was a beautiful wedding. My new sister-in-law did an outstanding job on the decorating! It was a Christmas Wonderland. Stunning! Tracy was very pleased with the pictures, although I haven’t seen them all yet, they’re still on my camera. We did take the camera and let them download them so they would have them since we weren’t sure when we would be getting a new computer. I was relieved to hear they were very pleased with the pictures. Whew! That was a huge load off my shoulders. I photographed my niece’s wedding, and out of 14 rolls of film, there may have been 5 pictures that turned out. Talk about being sick to your stomach. Thankfully, there were two of us taking pictures, so it wasn’t a total loss! And, that’s why I don’t photograph weddings!

On Christmas Eve the family got together at mom’s, and talk about a house full. Mom and Dad have a very small house and there were probably 35 or so of us there. I love it! Nothing says Christmas to me more than the family being together, laughing, talking and having a nice time together. No arguing, no bickering, just good old fashioned family time. We used to get up at 4am and go to mom and dads on Christmas morning, but the grandkids started getting old enough that they were ready for Santa on Christmas morning, so we switched gears and changed it to Christmas Eve. We don’t do the traditional Christmas dinner at moms, we do snack foods! YUM! Those are my favorite! Cheese trays, little smokies, dips, sandwiches, all the “it’s so bad for you, but boy does it taste good” food! Everyone pitches in and brings their “signature” dish, or something new they want everyone to try. Makes me hungry just writing about it!

Christmas morning was so exciting at the house. This was the first year that Mya was really old enough to understand what was going on. When she walked downstairs and found the presents from Santa, she was so excited! It was fun for us to watch her open her gifts. Every piece of paper, and tape, has to be removed from the package before it’s officially considered unwrapped! It was great! It’s a serene feeling to watch the little ones. It’s a magical time for everyone. That’s what I love so much about Christmas.

After the morning excitement at the house, we get dressed and head to “The Farm”, which is Papaw’s house, for Christmas dinner with the rest of the family. This Christmas consists of all my aunts and uncles, and their kids and grandkids. Another crowded house moment! It’s been this way as far back as I can remember, and I hope to be able to see another 40 years of it. I know in reality I won’t, since Papaw is now 88, but I hope that someone will keep the tradition going. One thing we learned on the way to The Farm, Mya is way too smart for a 3 year old! LOL! She informed us on our way, that, “she can be mean and Santa will still bring her presents!”. It was cute to hear her say that, but scary too! If she’s figured that out at 3, what will she have figured out by the time she’s 5! I’m afraid to think about it.

Like I said, December was a crazy, busy month for us. Way too much going on, doesn’t seem like you really get the chance to sit back, relax and take it all in.

The week after Christmas, we decided to visit Bob’s sister in Michigan. We left on Tuesday and returned on Sunday. It was a long drive getting there, but it was nice. We didn’t do a whole lot while we were there, but that’s okay, I rather enjoyed hanging out at the house, just visiting. They did host a New Year’s Eve party and we met some new people. Since Mya was with us, I ended up not being able to participate in some of the activities. I did get to play Rock Band for a while, and that was a lot of fun! Around 10:30 or so, Mya was getting tired and cranky so I had to go up and try to get her to sleep and, to be honest, I fell asleep with her and didn’t get to ring in the New Year with everyone else. I was slightly embarrassed, and felt a little bad about it. All in all, we had a great visit!

Now we’re into the New Year and things seem to be slowing down somewhat. Work is picking up, which is always a good thing. Home life was getting back to normal, but then the dishwasher tore up, and our computer had already been messed up. We now have both of those items replaced, but not installed. Can’t wait to get that finished! I have tons of pictures on my camera that I’m anxious to get downloaded, and I throw a fit when I have to wash the dishes by hand. I know that sounds so spoiled, but of all the household “chores”, that is the one I hate most!

This week Mya has been sick with a stomach bug. Poor baby, she doesn’t understand what’s going on, and the first time she threw up, she freaked out. I don’t recall her ever having a stomach virus with vomiting. I felt so sorry for her, after throwing up so many times, she starting having dry heaves, and she would cry and heave, and cry some more, and heave some more. She would cry and say, “It won’t come out Momma”, I just wanted to cry with her. I didn’t, I would just wipe her tears and tell her it’s okay and that I would be right there with her. I hate those helpless moments. She is feeling better now, although not quite back to her normal, hyper self. She’s still not eating much, she wants to, but then when she goes to take a bite, I guess it makes her nauseous, and she ends up not eating. At least she’s drinking and that’s what matters most right now.

Next week Bob will turn 50! I was going to throw a surprise birthday party for him, but the weather is so unpredictable I’m afraid to schedule anything. Last year on his birthday we were huddled in the basement with no electricity, no hot water, etc., due to the ice storm. I debated on it for weeks, but I think I will just have cake and ice cream for him at the house, and keep it more intimate. I think he would like that better than a full blown party anyway. I think…

Oh, and more exciting news from Andrew! On Wednesday, he is scheduled to meet with an author about illustrating a children’s book! I’m so excited for him! This is his second offer!  I think it would be awesome to see his name published, and also for him to get his career started as an artist! I keep my fingers crossed for him, and of course, support him any way I can. I couldn’t be more proud of him!

That’s pretty much my past month and a half in a nut shell! Or at least the highlights of it anyway.

TTFN!