Christmas goodies!
This Christmas was pretty awesome. No wait, I mean that with a capital A. Awesome. First, having kids is stupidly hard, but also ridiculously amazing. As all great things seem to be. But Christmas with kids is like... no metaphor needed. Anyway.
Back to my ramblings about a more homey Christmas, full of booze that I can't ship and cookies that I "forget" to give away. Sounds like a Merry and Bright recipe to me! About 2 weeks before Christmas I help B write a letter to Santa. She says she wants a "princess castle". 1 week before Christmas I get the genius idea to build this castle out of scrap wood and paint.
Total cost: about $30 for hinges and hardware. I'm feeling pretty smug. Then I start building the beast and find myself constantly muttering "it's for kids. it's for kids." Meaning - stop screwing around trying to make it pretty and just get it done. Whatever. I get it done. It's pretty sweet, but there is definite room for improvement. And in the end, it is NOT the princess castle that B wanted (she wanted a small version, with Princess Barbies. Whatever.) She still thinks this is pretty cool and is ecstatic that the Elves made it for her. Even though they left scrap wood and paint in the garage (so that Mommy can fix it if needed, of course).
So that is Christmas awesomeness #1. Aside from this, the girls both took in a gigantic haul from you suckers. You see that picture of the tree? It is absolutely filled underneath with presents, and since Matt and I combined got about 7 of them, you can guess how many those midgets got. They loved every single one, although the ladybug nightlights and the oversized stuffed dolls were the surprise hits. I am also sure they will love the giant cardboard house that we have to color in, but I think that I'm not sure if I did something to piss the Reger's off so much that they would give a present that requires hundreds of hours of coloring or else I'm stuck with something that looks like - well - toddlers did it.
On the adult receiving end, I was really pleasantly surprised. I was so focused on my gift making and giving that I really didn't think about what I would get. Most items on my wish list were under $30, and I'm pretty amazed at how awesome they are. You may recall a few posts ago where I put up some Etsy things that made me smile. I just happened to get 2 of them, and they rock. The first is a locket. I am totally on a big necklace kick right now, and this one is gorgeous. It's not quite the tree version I posted, but from the same artist, and it's a bird nest/leave/bird thing. I need a picture to really do it justice...
The other Etsy thing I got that makes me smile all over is a metal garden flower - the one in red that I posted - it is just so cool and unique. I really need a garden to hide it in and not just mulch, but you take what you can get, ya know?
And finally, the surprise hit gift for Matt and I? A Keurig coffee maker. I'm in love. And I'm afraid that it is turning Matt into a coffee addict, which was completely unexpected. It's just too much fun to have a delicious coffee at your fingertips in seconds. I stopped by Dunkins today to pick up some hazelnut k-cups. *swoon*
We also received a bevy of other fantastic and thoughtful gifts (including some homemade jams/preserves, which I'm a complete sucker for). I could go on and on about them, but let's just say I'm continuing to feel blessed beyond measure. I would also like to take a minute and say that Christmas gifts do not add or remove you from the Friend List. I don't need a holiday to know that you love me. If you do, I know it in my heart and that's what matters.
As for the Christmas celebration itself...
Well, this was my first year not being surrounded by family of some sort on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is kinda the big show where I come from, with Christmas day just being a nice loungey day to recover. And it's usually cold. I had a really hard time with the crazy warm weather we had here - we went to the BEACH on the 23rd (ridiculous), and then we went to the park on the 24th to hang out for a bit. So weird.
Traditionally, we do a big fish meal (7 fishes, actually), but since M doesn't like fishies, I decided to just make yum. That included a stew for us, pasta for the girls, some deliciously fresh sourdough, and sparkly wine.
Then we put the girls to bed, I lounged on the couch by the tree listening to Mannheim Steamroller, and all felt right with the evening *finally*. Eventually I got all gussied up to go do choir concert and Midnight Mass, with the intention that Matt would bring the girls. That didn't so much happen, but he tried, so I give him credit. The concert and Mass were wonderful. I loved singing my heart out, the atmosphere was so expectant and sacred, the pews were packed, the church was beautiful. It really put me in the right state of mind for the evening, and I'm glad that I did it. Not sure where we'll end up next year, but if we're here, I will certainly do it again.
The end.
Back to my ramblings about a more homey Christmas, full of booze that I can't ship and cookies that I "forget" to give away. Sounds like a Merry and Bright recipe to me! About 2 weeks before Christmas I help B write a letter to Santa. She says she wants a "princess castle". 1 week before Christmas I get the genius idea to build this castle out of scrap wood and paint.
Total cost: about $30 for hinges and hardware. I'm feeling pretty smug. Then I start building the beast and find myself constantly muttering "it's for kids. it's for kids." Meaning - stop screwing around trying to make it pretty and just get it done. Whatever. I get it done. It's pretty sweet, but there is definite room for improvement. And in the end, it is NOT the princess castle that B wanted (she wanted a small version, with Princess Barbies. Whatever.) She still thinks this is pretty cool and is ecstatic that the Elves made it for her. Even though they left scrap wood and paint in the garage (so that Mommy can fix it if needed, of course).
So that is Christmas awesomeness #1. Aside from this, the girls both took in a gigantic haul from you suckers. You see that picture of the tree? It is absolutely filled underneath with presents, and since Matt and I combined got about 7 of them, you can guess how many those midgets got. They loved every single one, although the ladybug nightlights and the oversized stuffed dolls were the surprise hits. I am also sure they will love the giant cardboard house that we have to color in, but I think that I'm not sure if I did something to piss the Reger's off so much that they would give a present that requires hundreds of hours of coloring or else I'm stuck with something that looks like - well - toddlers did it.
On the adult receiving end, I was really pleasantly surprised. I was so focused on my gift making and giving that I really didn't think about what I would get. Most items on my wish list were under $30, and I'm pretty amazed at how awesome they are. You may recall a few posts ago where I put up some Etsy things that made me smile. I just happened to get 2 of them, and they rock. The first is a locket. I am totally on a big necklace kick right now, and this one is gorgeous. It's not quite the tree version I posted, but from the same artist, and it's a bird nest/leave/bird thing. I need a picture to really do it justice...
The other Etsy thing I got that makes me smile all over is a metal garden flower - the one in red that I posted - it is just so cool and unique. I really need a garden to hide it in and not just mulch, but you take what you can get, ya know?
And finally, the surprise hit gift for Matt and I? A Keurig coffee maker. I'm in love. And I'm afraid that it is turning Matt into a coffee addict, which was completely unexpected. It's just too much fun to have a delicious coffee at your fingertips in seconds. I stopped by Dunkins today to pick up some hazelnut k-cups. *swoon*
We also received a bevy of other fantastic and thoughtful gifts (including some homemade jams/preserves, which I'm a complete sucker for). I could go on and on about them, but let's just say I'm continuing to feel blessed beyond measure. I would also like to take a minute and say that Christmas gifts do not add or remove you from the Friend List. I don't need a holiday to know that you love me. If you do, I know it in my heart and that's what matters.
As for the Christmas celebration itself...
Well, this was my first year not being surrounded by family of some sort on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is kinda the big show where I come from, with Christmas day just being a nice loungey day to recover. And it's usually cold. I had a really hard time with the crazy warm weather we had here - we went to the BEACH on the 23rd (ridiculous), and then we went to the park on the 24th to hang out for a bit. So weird.
Traditionally, we do a big fish meal (7 fishes, actually), but since M doesn't like fishies, I decided to just make yum. That included a stew for us, pasta for the girls, some deliciously fresh sourdough, and sparkly wine.
Then we put the girls to bed, I lounged on the couch by the tree listening to Mannheim Steamroller, and all felt right with the evening *finally*. Eventually I got all gussied up to go do choir concert and Midnight Mass, with the intention that Matt would bring the girls. That didn't so much happen, but he tried, so I give him credit. The concert and Mass were wonderful. I loved singing my heart out, the atmosphere was so expectant and sacred, the pews were packed, the church was beautiful. It really put me in the right state of mind for the evening, and I'm glad that I did it. Not sure where we'll end up next year, but if we're here, I will certainly do it again.
The end.
Comments
Post a Comment