<p>DizziMom - I’m a little jealous but VERY happy for you. Hopefully son will arrive safe and sound into LaGuardia at about 6:00 p.m. today. It’s beautiful and white and very calm outside my window right now, so we’ll just hope that yesterday’s delays and cancellations don’t totally mess us up!! Will feel much better once he’s back here in the house. Good luck to everyone still getting them home…</p>
<p>Wow, yesterday was too hectic to log on and I’m five pages behind.</p>
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<p>I almost mentioned that commercial when I first posted about weepiness. When it first aired, I was pregnant with Son…he had an early January due date, so I was 8+ months along and would cry every time it came on. Since most of our kids are the same age, many of you were probably pregnant at the same time. Sappy commercial+ Christmas+pregnancy hormones=way weepy.</p>
<p>That was also immediately before Desert Storm so the local stations would air all these little bits of soldiers in Kuwait saying Merry Christmas to the folks back home. More tears.</p>
<p>I’ve been so worried about everyone’s kids getting home with the snowstorm. I’m not trying to make light of the situation at all but there are many of us here in the south who lived that life in colllege and moved here for a reason. It’s all so familiar. When D talks about wanting to go to school where it snows, I always tell her to think about how she will feel if she has to spend a holiday at an airport. Good luck to anyone still trying to get home.</p>
<p>D2 is home safe and sound! She is very happy to be here and has been out and about most of the time. She and BF picked up supplies to make a huge gingerbread stadium! It is awesome! (I always said she should be an engineer or architect!;)) Then she played in a pickup hockey game on an outdoors rink for a while before heading in to Minneapolis to watch the Holidazzle Parade. Home again with friends to watch Elf and wind down. Quite the first day home!</p>
<p>D1 is expected some time today. She called to say she wasn’t sure what time because she was sleeping in and taking her time. Will be glad when she gets home tonight! Oh…guess I better start thinking of what to make for dinner!!! :)</p>
<p>Modadunn…wasn’t the MOA crazy!? We could have met there! Heading back there today.</p>
<p>missypie…the decorations are beautiful!</p>
<h1>TheoryMom…were you able to watch Sing Off? Finals are on Monday I believe. I think Nota will win. Tufts glee club looks so fun!</h1>
<p>Good Luck to all who are still traveling!</p>
<p>Woke up this morning to a fresh dusting of snow of the trees like sugar. I finished up the outside last night but mostly it’s like the annual funds who ask for money this time of year, we participate because we care, but we aren’t in any position to join a “club.”</p>
<p>We are trying to scale back Christmas this year, especially since the kids are sucking us dry via tuition. After giving the kids so much opportunity, sometimes I feel they’ve come to expect it as… well, expected. It’s not that they aren’t thankful, but I honestly don’t think they get the sacrifice and I am not sure how I get them to see this without imparting guilt - because that is not the point. Still… with all the food, decorations, presents, etc… tack on three recently enjoyed birthdays - and well… this is one seriously expensive time of year.</p>
<p>We’re definitely scaling back this year. Just can’t do it. H and I exchange gifts on an every other year basis- this is not a year that we do; kiddos will get gifts but smaller in comparison to other years. I’m amazed at how the grocery bill has skyrocketed in a week- and I can’t believe this-they actually expect me to prepare meals! Can’t believe it. H and I have gotten into the routine of get your own- and often it’s cheese and crackers with a glass of wine! Ha!</p>
<p>Home!! Sweet.</p>
<p>Feeling a little envious of those with their kids already home as D doesn’t arrive until late tomorrow. She’s east and this was her first snow storm. She called yesterday, so excited to wake to ‘a blanket of snow’. She and another Californian bundled up and ran outside to play. They then came in and enjoyed the rest of the day inside, feeling lucky she could admire the beauty of it all safely tucked in her heated dorm. Another friend wrote her name in large letters in the snow outside her window…aside from all the studying, D seems so happy and content. After all the craziness of the application process last year, I’m counting my blessings, She also found out her first grade and was thrilled to share (an A) but she warned not to expect the same for some of her other classes (calc sounds like it was a bear). </p>
<p>I’m so glad to have found this forum…happy holidays to all–enjoy this special time with your kids!</p>
<p>kmcck–your paty story it hysterical. how great tbe hosts were glad to see you and dressed! you might have found me in old clothes and looking frumpy. told H the story and made him laugh–but with you not at you!</p>
<p>everyone with kids still out there keep us posted. I have many a holiday travel story for my D and now S goes to school 1 hr a way :). Still, we get serious ice storms and last year it might have taken 3-4 day to get him home just that far.</p>
<p>Kmccrindle
Have never done that (showed up to a party on the worng day) but I sure have worried about doing it. (maybe that’s why it hasn’t happened)
I’m with yoiur H - shoulda crashed the one down the block</p>
<p>S2 got home last night, a couple of hours late. S1 is finally in the air…he’s been travelling for 24 hours. 6 hour train ride, then 3 hour flight to Houston. Flight delayed 5 hours because of mechanical probs. They finally brought the plane, loaded up, and then unloaded everyone because of MORE mechanical problems. Continental decided to bring out a new plane, and he’s in the air and will be here 6.5 hours late. He’s not happy. I’m just glad he’s on his way. Our Christmas ship viewing party was fun, but I’m going to take a nap now.</p>
<p>I’m enjoying hearing about your arriving sons and daughters and am hoping that my D’s travels from east to midwest are uneventful. I don’t envy her the 6 am flight! She’ll have a short 2 days to catch up with friends before we whisk her away to see lots of relatives.</p>
<p>We’re all fighting colds and trying to get rid of them before we head off to see family over Christmas. We’ve had a Christmas or two where we’ve shared illnesses with our families and then everyone headed to points across the country to spread the germs. </p>
<p>I’m really enjoying immersing myself in holiday music and baking. I’m going solo for the first time on lefse this afternoon and hoping I can pull it off. I have some present wrapping to do in the next few days, I’ll have to blast the Christmas music to get motivated for it.</p>
<p>northernwood–not a single gift is wrapped here. </p>
<p>I’m happy to learn more of the 2013ers are arriving home, and hoping not too many are delayed due to the weather. I was in Chicago last night. The Chicago news ALWAYS does a story about flight delays, only this time the story wasn’t because of weather in Chicago. One father interviewed was trying to get to his D’s college graduation in NY. He was determined to make it and was ready to rent a car. One young college age man was ill prepared for the delay/cancellations of flights and indicated he didn’t have a lot of money with him. Yikes!</p>
<p>I spent the day wrapping and even caught the St Olaf Choirs on MPR… wow are they amazing. I also came across a Christmas puzzle that I had thought was too complicated when the kids were little and now that we’re doing it, I remember why. There is no picture to go along with it and it was part of a book and there were clues etc. Who knows what happened to the book part. I even pulled out the big box of Christmas books to look for it, and here’s where it got cute. Son had me keep out about a dozen stories including Peef and Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree… so there we were, H, S and D16 putting together a puzzle while I read Peef aloud. Talk about a small skip down memory lane - it seemed right up there with the Maxwell Coffee commercial for me!</p>
<p>I couldn’t get out with the snow, so I finally got ornaments on one of the trees. One down, one to go. And I wrapped all of the stocking stuffers, something I usually am doing at 11PM on Christmas Eve. Am expected to go to work tomorrow and will if I can get out of my neighborhood.</p>
<p>Got the lights on today (I HATE that job). S SAYS he wil help put ornaments on tonight - so far it ain’t happening.
Oh well. Just nice to have him home</p>
<p>Glad to hear most of the travelers are making it home, a little delayed, but safe.</p>
<p>Sending some chicken soup and hot tea with lemon and honey to all of those under the weather.</p>
<p>Loved the party story, I think DH is waiting for that to happen to me. He says I need some Ginko in my vitamins. Go figure.</p>
<p>Tree is finally up and cookie baking has started here as well. Two more days of work and then maybe I’ll be able to finish wrapping the gifts.</p>
<p>Off to the big city tomorrow AM early to finish up the testing on #BOY. Looks like the weather in the passes will be OK. So maybe Tuesday I can start to wrap things.
Tree still not decorated grrrr</p>
<p>Tree fully decorated and ornament boxes stashed in the basement. D actually helped decorate; I guess anything is preferable to studying for the GREs. Today the baking and wrapping start.</p>
<p>Does anybody do luminaries? Our whole neighborhood puts out luminaries at dusk on Christmas eve (white lunch bags filled with sand and a candle). Certain organizations take care of the busier streets. Looks a little like an airport runway but pretty neat. We usually drive around to look right before the late Christmas eve church service. However, this snow will need to melt or it will be difficult this year.</p>