3 posts tagged “christmas”
Getting ready to head over to my parents house for a family Christmas Eve get together. My cousin Brianna is in town from Boston. I haven't seen her in two years, so I'm excited to get over there. Anyways, hope everyone has a very happy happy holiday weekend! And with that I will leave you with two of my favorite pics from the Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom...From the only ride we rode that night; the teacups!
After a hellish bout with the stomach virus made popular by cruise ships called the Norovirus, I am BACK! Yes, my grandfather brought the Norovirus to Thanksgiving and it made its way around my family. I started feeling twinges after I got back from Black Friday shopping with my mom, and by 4pm I was down for the count. Tadd tucked me in bed and I nodded off for a couple of hours only to wake up to the sound of him wretching in the bathroom as well. We both stayed in bed all day Saturday and by Sunday we were feeling well enough to put up the tree. I don't have much else to say about the Norovirus, other than I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!
Unfortunately, I made it back to work on Tuesday to find that I was all alone during what is likely the busiest week in the entire year for my industry. My boss's kid is severely ill, our data entry specialist was out with pink eye, and the other case manager is in NJ due to a death in the family. That left just me. The data entry person came back Wednesday, and my boss was finally able to come in for a half-day today, but I have been doing about six times the amount of work I normally do and my stress levels have been through the roof. I'm trying to console myself with the fact that the week is almost over, but I have NEVER been this behind before. Through no fault of my own, of course, but it is bothering me all the same. I'm only one person! Luckily, everyone should be back in the office on Monday and the December new business should start tapering off. But sometimes it feels like I'll NEVER be caught up again.
In happier news, we got a new camera on Black Friday! We got the 10.3 megapixel Kodak that was on sale at Target for $89.99. It's not the fanciest, but it is worlds better than the camera we have had since we first got married in Summer 2004. I can't wait to take it along for our Disney weekend a week from tomorrow. I am SO looking forward for a little getaway, and it will definitely give us a reason to try out all the features of our new camera.
Christmas day itself was nice. I tried to allow myself to just enjoy it and forget about all our problems for the day, and I think I accomplished that.
Even before all the work crap happened, Tadd and I already weren't planning on buying much for each other this year, because we considered our WDW season passes our big gift to each other when we bought them back in September.
We woke up pretty early and immediately exchanged gifts with each other.
MY GIFTS TO TADD:
- Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii
- a silver ring for his right hand
- a "3rd eye" head lamp/flashlight thing for when he works on our cars
- Family Guy Volume 4 DVD
- a subscription to Maxim
- stocking stuffers: a Red Sox key chain, Hershey mint truffle kisses, lip balm, a 6-way screwdriver, and a cheezy kung fu DVD I found in the dollar section at Target.
MY GIFTS FROM TADD:
- a retro Epcot Center 25th Anniversary t-shirt
- a pink laptop cover
- pink fuzzy slippers
- a folding book light
- 8-color lip gloss compact from Victoria's Secret
We also opened gifts from his family at that time. We got a rubber spatula, a cookbook from my mother-in-law's women's club, and a Hamilton Beach ice cream maker. I also got the movie Hairspray on DVD from them, and Tadd got a few other gifts too (the new Harry Potter movie on DVD and a few other things I can't recall). Then we opened the big gift. Tadd's uncles decided to be extra-generous this year. They sent him the limited edition Halo X-Box 360 game system and a copy of Halo 3!!! Tadd was nearly beside himself with joy. The system itself is $400, so we were floored at their spontaneous generosity. I guess they heard about our hardships and wanted to cheer Tadd up. We will be sending them a big thank you, along with an invitation to come visit us if they are ever in need of a vacation.
The kitties also got tons of toys from both sets of "grandparents". We probably spent a good 20 minutes just watching them go nuts over all their new stuff. They got catnip mice, suede mice, colorful plastic spring toys, catnip-filled fringe-covered balls, and squishy fabric rings with feathers attached to them. So much fun! At one point, Logan was so overwhelmed and hopped up on catnip, that he just rolled onto his back under the Christmas tree, surrounded by toys, and just randomly batted at one after another. It was adorable.
After our initial gift-opening session, I threw some cinnamon rolls in the oven for breakfast while we got ready to go. Then we ate, packed the car with gifts, and headed over to my parents' house for the rest of the festivities. When we got there, everyone (parents, grandparents, Ryan, Megan, and Megan's boyfriend Dale) was awake and waiting for us to arrive before they started passing out gifts.
GIFTS FROM THE FAMILY:
- tanzanite and diamond pendant (from parents)
- silver Isaac Mizrahi laptop tote bag (from parents)
- Yankee tarts and car jar (from parents)
- Bath & Body Works Temptations 3-in-1 shower gel and lotion in the Strawberry Mint scent (from parents)
- another ice cream maker (we ended up exchanging it for more Yankee Candle stuff, some kitchen utensils, and a new throw blanket for our living room sofa) (from parents)
- Ratatouille DVD (from parents)
- pink and black floral silk PJs (from parents)
- an extremely generous and incredibly unexpected check from my parents
- Alice In Wonderland DVD (from Megan)
- chocolate-colored fuzzy scarf (from grandparents)
- money (from grandparents)
- money (from other grandmother)
Tadd also got a DVD of all the Pixar short films, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl on DVD, a comfy gray plaid bathrobe, Big Brain Academy for the Wii, a cocktail shaker with drink recipes on the sides, and a few other things. All in all, we were spoiled rotten by everyone. We had a wonderful time sitting around, laughing and watching each other open gifts.
The rest of the day was pretty low-key. We had the traditional dinner in the early afternoon and quickly realized we had made/bought way too much dessert (5 different pies for only 9 people!). By the end of the meal, we were all so stuffed! For the rest of the day, we hung out, watched TV, and tried out the new X-Box. Around 5pm, I realized I was really tired and could not wait to be at home relaxing in my new pjs, so we said our goodbyes and went home. We spent the evening watching some of our new movies and trying out the new video games.
