Wal-mart is already much more sane, with less crowding and no gift shoppers. And the conversation hearts and boxed chocolates are stacked on shelves awaiting Valentine's Day.
We had a great holiday season. Much of it went by in a slow blur, which is actually good because it means there was no stress marking the days.
Christmas morning we spent at home, opening gifts with the kids. Here they are before we let them come down the stairs to see what Santa had left. I love their expressions.
There were craft items and art projects, books, electronic toys and games for the kids, and some DVDs.
But Santa made a little error in judgment... two out of three of those movies are now sitting on a back shelf until my kids are older. There is something seriously wrong with the PG rating! And forget the claim on the front of the box about the movie being a "family" movie. We got 20 minutes into one and, four cuss words and a reference to "getting l**d" later, that one was deemed unfit for our Moody viewers. The other one got dinged for having the phrase "p***ed off" in it.
Yes, I know they'll hear all that at school eventually anyway, but I'm not going to be the one shoveling it in my babies. Lesson learned: always check with Plugged In before buying movies.
Bruce and I originally said we were not going to exchange gifts between the two of us. We pretty much buy anything we want (that we can afford) whenever we want it. And Christmastime isn't a better time for buying stuff we can't afford than any other time of year.
But then Bruce said he was going to get me something little, which he did. Two things I wanted.
This book.
And this CD.
I got razzed for buying him a magazine. However, in my defense, I did much research, and it wasn't a thoughtless gift. And it cost the same as a book. So there! It's a specialty magazine that focuses on digital photography and Photoshop.
And for the record (I'm still defending myself here for lame gift giving), I stuff my own stocking every year so the kids won't think I've been naughty. Because Santa Bruce can't ever remember to buy me small stuff to put in my stocking. I feel vindicated!
Here's what was in my stocking.
Santa does so love me!
Anyhoo. Since then, we've both bought other stuff that we wanted, and trust me when I say his Christmas gift to himself was much pricier than what I bought myself.
Bruce picked out a new flash for his beefy camera. (Ka-ching!)
I got a set of flannel sheets for our bed and a folding clothing rack to dry clothes on indoors.
I am so boring, I know. But I'm using both like crazy and I am thrilled with them.
At lunchtime on Christmas, we went to the Moody's house and all of the family was in. Good food. Good times.
The next day, we traveled to Cookeville to have a late gathering with my family. My younger brother had picked up my mom at the airport in Oklahoma City a week beforehand and they had spent their time together prior to arriving in Cookeville. Then they traveled to Tennessee.
My family had literally only 24-hours with my younger brother's family. But it was good time.
Here's a picture of my 90-year-old grandpa with all his great-grandchildren.
And my mom with all her grandkids.
When my brother and his family hit the road to head back to Oklahoma, we came back home with my mom in tow. It only hit me after the fact that we never took any pictures of just mom and her three kids - my brothers and me. Or of my dad and his kids or grandkids, for that matter. Maybe next time.
I am so happy to say that there were very few things penciled in on our calendar during the days that mom was here. We had no place we had to be. Nothing in particular we had to do. Just the way family time should be.
Not that we sat around doing nothing.
We shopped several times during those 12 days. Mom and the kids played all kinds of games, which is what my kids enjoy the most about visits with Oma.
Mom crocheted Allison's doll a closet full of new clothes. We baked several batches of cookies, which might be Bruce's favorite thing about my mom's visits.
We went out to eat four times: once to Salsarita's, once at Panera Bread and twice to Tomy Thai's. Mom and I go solo to Tomy Thai's, because Bruce doesn't eat any kind of Oriental food.
Mom also oversaw the momentous occasion of me pulling out my sewing machine again. I insisted as a newlywed that I had to have one, so Bruce caved to my wishes and bought it.
It's been out of the box four times since then, and not once did any real sewing happen. The first time, mom reminded me how to put thread on a bobbin; the second time I intended to sew, but something was up with the tension and I was in a snit and wouldn't let my technically minded husband fix it for me; the third time was during mom's last visit, when I again intended to sew only to realize that in our last move, the foot of the machine was lost.
This past year I bought a new foot in Knoxville, where the closest dealership is. And about four months later, I found the original foot in the bottom of my sewing basket. And that statement alone speaks volumes about how often I sew by hand.
I am, actually, good at sewing. And I like it. I'm not proficient, but I am picky enough to sew a really straight line, by hand or machine. And if it's not straight, I'm quite efficient with my seam ripper. My two high school home economics teachers would be proud!
Mom watched as I sewed some cucumber green ribbon stripes on my navy blue shower curtain. As soon as that fixer upper house is finished, we'll be painting several rooms in our house, including our bathroom, which will be transformed by a coat of cucumber green. Because I am tired of neutrals, but too scared to do anything dark or dramatic.
Mom and I cleaned a bit both at our house and at the fixer upper house, which is just about finished (You'll hear the Hallelujah Chorus loud and clear when that thing is complete! I'm pretty sure the earth will shake, too. Time might even stand still briefly. I'll post pictures of that soon. Bruce and his dad are going to get some major credit for beautifying that house.)
All of us became addicted to Clay's gift for the Wii, Boom Blox (click on the title to link to a preview). The best game we have for the Wii, in my opinion. Mom and I played until midnight one night, and neither one of us is a night owl! (We didn't even stay up New Year's Eve. Bruce stayed up with the kids, but mom and I petered out by 11 p.m.)
We also watched a bunch of movies after the kids were in bed each night.
And Upwards basketball practice started back at our church in time for mom to watch the kids once. That sounds so mundane, but it's the first time mom has ever seen the kids do any of their sports. And you just can't take that for granted.
School started back, so mom and I joined the kids for lunch a couple of times in the cafeteria. On Wednesday I picked the kids up early, and we skipped church that night as well, so we'd have extra time with mom. I had planned to leave the kids out of school all day, but Spencer had just received his third Perfect Attendance Award this year, and he didn't want to be counted absent.
I asked the kids on Tuesday to think about the one thing they still wanted to do with Oma, the thing they had looked forward to doing with her the most before she arrived. And that's what we planned for Wednesday afternoon.
Clay wanted to play Life with Oma.
Spencer wanted to play Twister.
Allison wanted to play dolls, outfits provided by Oma, of course.
I skipped out on the first week back to Bible Study Fellowship, too. For any other reason, I'd feel like a slug. But my brother's family is considering a trip to Germany in the next year, so I know mom won't likely be back here for at least another year and a half. She plans to come in the summer for her next trip.
And here's a picture of mom and me. I asked Bruce to make one. Just because.
When I was growing up, our hair color was much closer to the same. Alas, our colorists' touches have altered that similarity.
And now we are back to our regularly scheduled life.
It's a good life.
(I was going to say "It's a wonderful life" but I thought that might be a bit over the top!)
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