Post Christmas

Zzzzzzz.....that's what I need most right now, SLEEP!
I was up late many nights before Christmas, putting finishing touches on presents, still building the model train scenery and packing what I could. With my SUV fully loaded with a suitcase, presents, art supplies, two cats and one child, I headed out for the holiday. I was so happy that Christian slept in every morning during vacation until 7:30 for me!  This was perfect because my eyes were recouperating from irritation due to a nicked contact in one eye and "mild abrasion" in the other eye. My eyes had been bothering me for several days, I kept rinsing them and tried another pair of contacts, but the irritation continued. The green floral foam block, that I was carving to make train scenery mountains, gave off dust like residue.  Hence the culprit for the eye irritation but luckily wasn't anything too serious. The train scenery mountains completion has been delayed......

Christmas Eve was wonderful because my nephew Adam and his wife Heather were able to come home from California. They were in and out in two days, and of course we wanted them to stay longer, but it was so great to see them at all.  The went to Christmas Eve mass with the family, we all sat together....well at least two rows together, and enjoyed hearing my sister, niece, nephew and Mom sing in the choir.  Curtis sang "O Holy Night", which made me cry, like it always does, he was blessed with a vocal gift.

Dad and I had worked in his workshop on Friday night after Christian went to sleep. All day Saturday was spent baking, with Christian helping me press the cookie cutters into the sugar cookie dough, and asking every two minutes, when he could eat one.  Saturday afternoon nap time, Dad and I did the final push to get done what we could on the train scenery and then called a recess.  After Christmas Eve mass, I snuck out to the workshop to pack up the train scenery, stashed it in my sister's SUV, for them to drive it to her house.  Christian and I spent the Eve at her house, because my other sister from Florida and her family were staying with them and Christian could wake up with the kids and enjoy the Christmas energy with a group.

Getting Christian to go to sleep on Christmas Eve was not difficult at all.  Mass started at 7:30 p.m. with carols, then mass starting at 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.  Christian was half asleep during mass as it was, so he fell right to sleep when I put him down, after we put out Santa's cookies and milk, and tossed reindeer food (oats and glitter) into the yard.  Then the parents rushed around hauling out the hidden gifts, wrapping, assembling, stuffing, etc.  We did pretty good I thought, finished up at midnight and personally I fell into bed.

The rule in my sister's house is, whoever is up first, wakes everyone else up and you HAVE to get up.  Christmas morning came at 7:30, which was good. I was worried my six year old nephew would be awake at 5:00 a.m. or something crazy like that!  Christian seemed a little confused at times, not sure what to do next, but he followed his cousin's lead.  He kept saying he was a good boy and that's why he got what he asked Santa for; drum/drum sticks, train and fire truck.  He got other gifts too, but those are his favorite, along with a Tonka helicopter that I bought him.

We packed everything up and off to Grandma and Grandpa's we went, were we usually stay when we visit. Everyone showed up to unwrap a few more gifts then chowed down. Of course I inhaled about three dozen cookies, I swear, along with a huge amount of buffalo chicken dip. Now I have to detox :)
We made it back home late this afternoon and as I sit here on the sofa looking at all Christian's presents scattered around my little living room, I'm trying to figure out where the heck I'm going to put all this stuff.  I don't even know where I'm going to put the train tracks/scenery either!  Looks like it's time to do the toy shift; toys he doesn't play with much go into a bin to the basement.  When he's bored with the current ones, the basement toys come back out and seem like new again. At least that's the concept other parent's have told me works, so let's hope it does with him!

On a sad note, Baby Elmo was lost in the Christmas traveling :(  Christian doesn't know it yet and of course it's his favorite stuffed toy.  We looked everywhere at Grandma and Grandpa's when I realized he was missing but to no avail. Then I searched my house high and low and he's simply gone.  The only thing I can think of is he fell out of the bag when I was loading/unloading.  Christian goes back to school tomorrow while I will be running to Walmart hoping to find a Baby Elmo!
~Amy