Christmas Day (Catch-Up #2)

Christmas morning began rather calmly. I woke up, went into the kitchen, put the breakfast casserole in the oven (all without waking CarlDog, who was asleep on the sofa), and waited. I didn't really have to wait very long, as my nephews are early risers ( a trait I have successfully trained out of my children). I then began the task of keeping them fairly quiet until the rest of the kids woke up. It didn't take long, and I want you to know that those kids waited very patiently to open their presents until all were assembled in the living room.

Here the 5 older grandkids wait patiently for the adults to assemble...with Bohemian being the last one up.

Then chaos ensued.

I didn't manage to get very many pictures of the kids opening their gifts, as they were all to excited and moving faster than even my SLR digital could comprehend. Plus, I have decided that I like to watch the proceedings without a camera lens between me and the action. Baby J wasn't too sure about all the hubbub, but of one thing he was sure...He now had a ball.

I had to include this picture, because very seldom did we see Baby J and Lil' Spitfire sitting next to each other where one or both were not yelling and/or screaming at the other. We're not too worried as Warrior and Mr. Goldencurls couldn't get along at one time either, and now can't wait to play together.

It didn't take Baby J long to figure out how to use that Batman sword. Bonus: it makes noise (Bonus for Momma: it has an off switch)

Now, I know you are wondering why there is a picture of all the ladies in the house, and the grandkids sitting on top of a big lump. Well, the thing is...my baby brother is a huge night owl. Remember how we played Wii after the kids went to bed. Around 1 am those of us with a working knowledge of clocks and time, went to bed. Bohemian and Carldog...well they were still playing when I woke up at 4 am because of one of my children getting sick in their bed (Poor Warrior ended up with a stomach bug on Christmas day. The rest of us had it a couple days later). After the festivities of the gifts, Bohemian decided that he needed to take a nap. Well, Busybee and I decided that he needed to be up to help coral all the children so that all of the adults could get ready and could get the kids ready before the rest of the family arrived. So, being the thoughtful wife and sister that we are, we recruited the children to come and jump on their Uncle/Papa until he got up. Of course, we couldn't let them have all the fun, and did a little bit of jumping, tickling, and pestering ourselves; and my loving mother, of course, felt it incumbent upon her to also help.

Eventually we got him to this position, and called it good.

Now every year, since I can remember, we get up on Christmas morning, open our gifts, get ready, get in the car, and drive a minimum of 2 hours to my Grandparents' home. It is something I always enjoyed. However, this year my parents and grandparents wisely decided that it would be easier for my Grandparents to drive the two hours, than it would be for our family of 13 to pack up and travel. (Yes, 13 people in my parents 1900 square foot house. 7 adults, 6 children all 8 years old and under, and 5 dogs. It was fun. Honestly.)

Now, most people would panic at the thought of suddenly having to cook Christmas dinner for 20+ people (my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and their offspring came later), but I have this little demented side. I think I could kick Martha Stewart's uppity little tush when it comes to entertaining. It may not be as fancy and formal, but the food will be good, the company entertaining, and I won't be rushing you out the door. I love to have people over, and if it involves a really complicated timetable...Bring It On. So, with help from my Mother and Sister we got dinner served, a little late but served none the less. We opened a few more presents, and generally had a wonderful visit with our family.