stevenpiziks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stevenpiziks) wrote2018-12-31 02:28 pm
stevenpiziks) wrote2018-12-31 02:28 pm
Holidays 2018
It's been a run-around holiday! Aran brought Sasha up to our house (very handy having the two of them in the same apartment building) We all piled into a single car and zipped up to my mother's for an early Christmas celebration, completely with nice gift exchange. Sasha was more social than he's been in years, which was a delight. Aran got a little overwhelmed after a couple hours, but knew to put on his coat and walk around outside for a while to avoid a meltdown. Cody, my great-nephew, was little sweetie the entire time. It was a great visit.
Then it was Christmas Eve at our house. We had the same crew over as we did for Thanksgiving, including the boys and most of my ex-in-laws. This included Kala's sister Stephanie, who I hadn't seen in years and who hadn't met Darwin. It turned out that this was the Christmas gathering for most of the people concerned, so the presents were piled higher than snowdrifts around the tree.
I, meanwhile, had gone into super-planner-chef mode, with my lists and timetables and Siri reminders to whip up dinner. Ham, stuffed beef roast, potatoes, home made macaroni and cheese, piragis, and more, more, more. We stuffed ourselves and spent considerable time opening presents and played with Baby Noah, who gets more and more adorable every day.
Afterward was the Epic Cleanup. Whoo! When I was a kid, my mother was in charge of family gatherings, and she always left the cleaning to the next day, which meant my siblings and I got up early and ate our way through leftover party food for breakfast, an annual tradition! If I go to bed with the house a mess, though, I can't sleep because I keep thinking, "There's a big mess out there to clean. You're gonna be cleaning that mess soon!" So I'd rather stay up late cleaning up. Darwin feels the same way, so we cleaned up until the wee hours.
Christmas Day was just the three of us--Darwin, Max, and me. We slept way in. I'd kept back a few presents for sharing, which we eventually did. (I've always had a bit of a mutant house. My kids have maybe once in their entire tenure gotten us up early to open presents. Every year, I can usually rise, shower, dress, and even start breakfast before anyone else finally wakes up. I've never done the five AM Christmas morning. Go ahead--envy me!) And then we laid around our nice, tidy house and did nothing!
Tonight we're hosting a New Year's Eve poker party, but the prep for that is lighter--delivery pizza and snack foods. No cooking! I've set up space in the basement for the kids with board games, DVDs, and the costume chest for their entertainment. And now we're ready for New Year!
Then it was Christmas Eve at our house. We had the same crew over as we did for Thanksgiving, including the boys and most of my ex-in-laws. This included Kala's sister Stephanie, who I hadn't seen in years and who hadn't met Darwin. It turned out that this was the Christmas gathering for most of the people concerned, so the presents were piled higher than snowdrifts around the tree.
I, meanwhile, had gone into super-planner-chef mode, with my lists and timetables and Siri reminders to whip up dinner. Ham, stuffed beef roast, potatoes, home made macaroni and cheese, piragis, and more, more, more. We stuffed ourselves and spent considerable time opening presents and played with Baby Noah, who gets more and more adorable every day.
Afterward was the Epic Cleanup. Whoo! When I was a kid, my mother was in charge of family gatherings, and she always left the cleaning to the next day, which meant my siblings and I got up early and ate our way through leftover party food for breakfast, an annual tradition! If I go to bed with the house a mess, though, I can't sleep because I keep thinking, "There's a big mess out there to clean. You're gonna be cleaning that mess soon!" So I'd rather stay up late cleaning up. Darwin feels the same way, so we cleaned up until the wee hours.
Christmas Day was just the three of us--Darwin, Max, and me. We slept way in. I'd kept back a few presents for sharing, which we eventually did. (I've always had a bit of a mutant house. My kids have maybe once in their entire tenure gotten us up early to open presents. Every year, I can usually rise, shower, dress, and even start breakfast before anyone else finally wakes up. I've never done the five AM Christmas morning. Go ahead--envy me!) And then we laid around our nice, tidy house and did nothing!
Tonight we're hosting a New Year's Eve poker party, but the prep for that is lighter--delivery pizza and snack foods. No cooking! I've set up space in the basement for the kids with board games, DVDs, and the costume chest for their entertainment. And now we're ready for New Year!