I was able to be out of work from December 23rd all the way until January 4th. I usually try to take a bunch of time off around Christmas, and this year has by far been the most fun and most relaxing.
The Wednesday before Christmas I finished up some Christmas present projects and wrapping. While the house was being cleaned I was able to hang out with the kids down in the playroom and we watched movies, ate snacks and played. The day ended with Kylie going to her best friend’s birthday party and spending the night, and my dad, John, Josh, Ryan and I heading out to Skyline for dinner (the boys’ favorite place) and to the mall for some last minute gifts.
Christmas Eve was super nice too…I ran out to finish some last-minute errands, picked Kylie up, and then went home to make cookies. Kylie, Josh and I made cookies. We decorated sugar cookies (luckily I had already made the dough a couple of days beforehand) because those are the cookies they wanted to leave for Santa. I also got our traditional Christmas Eve dinner started (prime rib, mashed potatoes, corn casserole and green beans). John’s parents stopped by for a little bit, my sister arrived from Michigan, and the kids were tracking Santa’s progress on the computer. We had a late dinner, and then the kids opened some presents. John and I gave the kids PJs, my parents gave Kylie her American Girl doll, and Joshie got a racquetball racquet and some hockey books. We read The Christmas Story to the kids, and then they set up the cookies, put some reindeer food and carrots outside, and headed up to bed. My mom and sister went to church – our church does not have Christmas Eve services, but my sister really wanted to go, so they headed out to an 11:00 service. Then John and I got everything cleaned up and then opened each other’s presents. I got John a food dehydrator and jerky gun because he loves beef jerky, but always complains about how expensive it is, along with some jeans, cologne and an OSU headband thing for the cold. Johnny did not disappoint me at all…he got me two more of my awesome knives along with a knife block to hold them.
Christmas morning started at a great time! The kids woke up around 8:30, and we all made our way down to the tree. My other sister and her fiancé headed over, and my parents came over right away too. The first present the kids got were their DSis. They played with them for a long time before asking to open another present. Those were, and still are, the best presents Santa gave them! The kids opened the rest of their presents…Kylie got some cute clothes and earrings, along with some great clothes for her American Girl doll, Chixos, an American Girl movie, and Santa brought her and I the new paperdolls Cricut cartridge :) Joshie got a football, basketball hoop for the playroom, hockey sticks, another hockey goal and a Brown’s jersey. Ryan got a Sesame Street music player and then was done with presents :) But my parents got him one of the best gifts of all…a Little Tykes car (like the Cozy Coup) that is a black truck, which looks exactly like the truck my dad drives! We call it “Pappaw’s truck” and we call him “Little Pappaw” when he’s driving it. He loves pushing it, and getting in and out of it.
My parents gave out their presents, and as usual, went over the top. They got me a cute little dip chiller, some little kitchen gadgets, some workout clothes, and best of all, they got me a Gypsy. I hadn’t even put this on my list because it’s pricy, and I only made jokes to John about getting me one because I secretly hoped maybe he would. I was absolutely shocked. I was and am still so very grateful…they didn’t need to do that and I don’t deserve it at all. For John they got him a measuring tape, other miscellaneous stuff, and best of all a CBJ jersey. The family has really turned into huge hockey fans :) My sisters got me some clothes, a gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret, a huge crockpot/buffet thing to cook and keep food warm (3 crockpots!) and a Cricut cartridge.
After we were done opening presents we had brunch and most of the family took naps. I started making food to take over for John’s family’s Christmas and just enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Once the kids woke up we loaded them up and headed over to John’s sister’s house. We opened a ton more presents – Kylie got adorable clothes, a Pandora bracelet, a doll and some doll shoes, and Joshie got some great CBJ stuff – a rug (which he uses for face-offs when he’s playing hockey) and an adorable print of a CBJ locker room with jerseys hanging up, and one of them has our last name on the back. He also got a new OSU jersey, which he desperately needed! Ryan got a ton of clothes, and a shopping cart and train to ride on/play with. John drew my name in our gift exchange and got me a new lens for the camera, which was an awesome surprise! I also got some new Cricut cartridges and a gift certificate to Michael’s from John’s parents, which I loved! After we opened presents we ate a wonderful dinner and just hung out.
Christmas night we went home and put our tired kids to bed while John and I just watched TV. I couldn’t believe the day had gone by so fast!
The next couple of days were spent cleaning up the Christmas messes and playing with new toys. Over the weekend we spent a lot of time with family – my sister from Michigan was staying with us, and my parents came over every day. We had great meals and just overall had a ton of fun! The big thing that really started happening was that Ryan started walking! He still crawls a lot, but he also walks, and will voluntarily walk to something, whereas before he had to be coaxed.
On Monday, John went back to work, and my parents and sister and I took the kids to the mall. My parents watched them while they played in the play area, and my sister and I took Ryan and went shopping. I had to exchange the jeans she had gotten me, so we went in and tried some other clothes on and just had a really great time. I don’t get to go shopping very often anymore, so it was a really nice treat…even if little Ry-Ry was a pistol at the end!
Tuesday was filled with Ryan’s well-check appointment, H1N1 shots (really mists) for Kylie and Josh, a trip to Hobby Lobby, grocery shopping, drawing on windows, and a dentist appointment for me. We followed it up with another great dinner. After dinner, my sister and I made homemade pasta! My neighbor had shown me how to use my pasta machine, and it was so easy and the spaghetti turned out so good!
Wednesday John stayed home from work and my sister and I went bridesmaid dress shopping with my other sister and the other bridesmaids. We found a dress that we could all agree on at the second store, so we ended our trip with appetizers and margaritas. That night my sister watched Kylie and Josh so that John and I could run some errands. Even though it was cold, it was so pretty out because it had been snowing, and John and I had a lot of fun hanging out with just Ryan.
On New Year’s Eve loaded up all of our donations and took those over, and then went grocery shopping (bad idea on New Year’s Eve!). I went home and made some food because we were having some friends over. Our New Year’s Eve was very mellow, but a lot of fun. The kids all loved playing together, and were going strong until almost 2:00 AM!
New Year’s Day was full of football and naps. My mom made us a wonderful dinner, and my sister and Big Josh came over for the Buckeye game (go Bucks!). After dinner we played some Euchre, and then my sister’s and I relived our childhood and played some games of Speed.
The weekend was spent trying to wrap up last-minute things that needed to get done before the normal routine set back in. Saturday my sister and I watched some reality TV while making awesome sweet potato chips, and then she and my dad headed home, which was really sad. They were both here for 1 ½ weeks and it just flew by. We had church on Sunday at a new/old place (it’s where our church first started meeting, and now we’re back there), which was great for us because the kids’ rooms were fantastic! We spent the rest of Sunday just lounging around and relaxing.
The entire vacation was so amazing, and I really can’t figure out how it went by so fast. I had so much fun being with the kids all day and I felt so relaxed all the time (well, after Christmas was over anyway :) ). John and I are planning on taking some extended time off in the spring or summer and just staying home. While we love vacations, it will be very difficult to travel this year with Ryan and the stage that he is at, so a vacation can be more work than relaxing. Staying home and just being “lazy” might be exactly what we need…it sure did feel good over Christmas!
2 comments:
Whew you are back!! I was beginning to think your New Year's Resolution was to NOT blog!! :)
I so enjoyed reading all about your holiday, the food, fun, family, shopping , games and relaxation. And the gifts , oh my, wonderful for everyone and man you can tell the happiness in your family by looking at all the pictures. Love them, the kids and their smiles, just priceless.
So glad you got to have all that time with everyone, great for you!!
And I have to agree with you on your next vacation. Sometimes just staying home spending quality time together is the best vacation in the world.
A belated Happy New Year to you and keep the awesome post rolling in. I love reading them while having my morning coffee!!! :)
I do the same at Christmas - I was off the same days!
And I too was shocked to recieve a Gypsy for Christmas! We will have to share notes...we can use it when we scrapbook together!!
Post a Comment