<p>Garland…you are my hero. Nothing here is wrapped either…DH just made a comment about starting (bless his heart). </p>
<p>Went to the grocery store at 8:30 this morning. Who’d have thunk it, not too many un-frozen turkeys to be found <sarcasm>! I had three options. 1) A 22 pound fresh turkey for the FOUR OF US)…$37.00. 2) A 14 pound Bell & Evans fresh turkey, $47.00 or 3) a 14 pound frozen turkey, $15.00. I asked the nice man at the meat counter if he could give me ONE good reason to pay $47 for a 14 pound turkey (besides the fact that I was totally unprepared). He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Guess what’s upstairs thawing in the bathtub. :D</sarcasm></p>
<p>JustaMom–I would have gone for the 22 pounder. Freeze half immediately and have leftovers galore! :)</p>
<p>The ONE thing I like at this time of year is the fact that on the radio (classical station) you hear vocal music like at no other time. And I always like hearing the boy soprano do the solo in the 9 Lessons & Carols from King’s Chapel ? in England. My S #2 was a boy soprano once…</p>
<p>Oh yeah, patsmom. I thought that, too, about the Zits cartoon.</p>
<p>Actually, H is out buying me some last minute baking stuff, and firecracker/popper/things we always promise to bring to Mom’s for Christmas. He just called; the “English” store in the fancy town nearby is out of the reasonably priced ones, so it’s 42 dollar party favor time…</p>
<p>And he’ll come home with a bunch of small gag toys for our “kiddies”–27 and 24 years old.</p>
<p>But, I’m part way through the wrapping. Break over!</p>
<p>Note to self: You are not Martha Stewart. You have no minions. You have a full-time job that has a tendency to eat your life and demand a lot of unpaid overtime. You now know that you cannot handcraft each and every one of your Christmas cards, no matter how ambitious you feel, no matter how beautiful and simple they looked on Martha’s website, no matter how much cheaper and nicer it will be, even if you start in September. Don’t do this again next year.</p>
<p>I am usually pretty organized for Christmas - Christmas cards out the first weekend of Dec, tree up the same weekend, presents, presents…</p>
<p>This year everything just got away from me because of work - having to let a few people go and having few crazy bosses. </p>
<p>I finally asked D1 to order some family photos for xmas cards last week. They didn’t over night it, so we didn’t get them until 2 days ago, then I remembered that I didn’t buy any xmas cards with photo insert. This morning I had to go through my last 5 years left over xmas cards to use (I had over 50+ from all of those years). Do you think it’s tacky? Well, they are out. I hope my family and friends don’t remember those cards.</p>
<p>I finished wrapping our presents this morning, and it looks like we may have more presents for one child than another (I forget what I got for each one as I was shopping). I hope they won’t be counting, or this could be something they talk about with their shrink someday.</p>
<p>My siblings are all in town with their kids staying at my parents’ house. There have already been few “fights.” They are all coming to my house for xmas eve dinner tonight.</p>
<p>I can’t wait until Dec 26 because I am just so relaxed now.</p>
<p>S (h.s. Junior) managed to drag himself out of bed at 12:30 this afternoon. Evidently he still an “errand” to do. He also has to work tonight from 4:30 to 8 or so. H had agreed to bring him out to do the errands. So just now (1:30 on Christmas Eve…) H says to S, “So, when do you want to go out and run your errands?” S thought a minute and replied…“Oh, I don’t know, how about after work?” :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:</p>
<p>That would be at 8:30 on CHRISTMAS EVE. </p>
<p>I just burst out laughing and left the room.</p>
<p>(my apologies if this post appears twice…I thought I posted it but don’t see it)</p>
<p>We are going to Mom’s tomorrow morning, and supposed to leave in the evening (2 hours away.) H just said “looks like freezing rain; we should plan to stay over.” Noooooo! I love my mom, but overnight with everyone, um, no? Not to mention my adult kids will freak–they;ve got late Christms night plans, I am sure. Aarrggghh.</p>
<p>Well, after a minor (OK, MAJOR) meltdown, calling DH in furious tears because lazy butt kid (the 22 year old) wouldn’t get out of bed (after waking him at 10, then 11… at WHAT POINT do they turn into GROWN UPS and keep HUMAN HOURS???) so that I’d know progress would be being made on the home front while I went out to do some last minute shopping… deep breath…</p>
<p>came home to a clean house, hubby home from work, kids pitching in…</p>
<p>Have finished baking banana nut bread for tomorrow’s brunch, and the first batch of pecan puffs are in the oven. </p>
<p>Still lots of presents to wrap, but that will get done. Peace is reigning. </p>
<p>I have decided this year to do no gifts on Christmas. Rather, I’m shooting for the feast of the Epiphany (Jan 6). This way I will get the after christmas sale prices and don’t need to rush around today!</p>
<p>Was feeling a little sorry for myself today, as Ds came for dinner last night, but won’t be back until Saturday night. Went dropping off cookies for neighbors, and visited for a while with the woman down the street whose daughter was killed in a car accident a few months ago. It reminded me how lucky I am to have my beautiful Ds, and that all the other annoyances of the season don’t really matter at all… Merry Christmas to everyone! Hug your kids (even the lazy butt ones ).</p>
<p>Well, at least tonight is better than last night. I came home from Wal-mart yesterday to find a text from the 13 yo saying she had gone shopping with the 19 and 21 yo brothers and girlfriend, to the mall an hour away…in an ice storm. I proceeded to text her about 5 times over the course of several hours, telling them to leave before dark, asking how much longer, be careful, etc. and TO TELL them so.</p>
<p>They finally pull in at 8:30, the 3 older ones nervous wrecks. They had seen tons of slide-offs and accidents while coming home, semis stopped in road, etc. 21 yo S, “Why didn’t you call and tell us to stay there?” Ug. She hadn’t told them a thing. Let’s see how kind Santa is to her!..</p>
<p>One of my favorite parts of Christmas is now. We have attended the candle light service, the presents have been purchased and opened (no sense of “I need to do” for tomorrow), the food has been prepared and eaten (there are a few remaining dishes to be washed and a dishwasher to be emptied), and we are together, safe and sound for the moment, as a family.</p>
<p>Had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with just us and D’s BF. Very nice day at Mom’s yesterday–H did all the driving and we didn’t get iced in. Two adult kids got to sit up all night together watching videos (just lilke old times.) All presents somehow got wrapped, then unwrapped, and everyone seemed happy. Celebrated Mom’s 80th along with Christmas, and the high point of Christmas dinner was mom getting up to demonstrate the tap dance steps she learned in 1938. No bones were broken–it was a good time, and a merry Christmas.</p>
<p>We had a fabulous Christmas week, but as my mother pulled out of the driveway to head back up north, I must admit there was a little smile on my face! (maybe a big smile)</p>
<p>Now if I could just send my hubby and kids somewhere…</p>
<p>My MIL who lives with us ruined my Christmas. AS a surprise to my wife (we had said no gifts but I like surprises) I had bought her a very nice necklace at Tiffany. It was all wrapped in the blue box and in a little blue bag and I put it under the tree separate from few gifts from us to the MIL. We slept in and when my wife came down my idiot MIL has taken the Tiffany box from out of the T bag and opened it. (she should have known her gifts would NEVER come from T as they tend to run to typical things you buy for an 85 year old). Big surprise ruined. As of today I have not spoken to MIL and may not until next Christmas. </p>
<p>Later that day we delivered a new very nice bike to my wife’s 6 year old grandson. You’d have thought it was a bag of underwear. Barely even glanced at it. Next year he gets underwear. At least the 12 year old went nuts over the paintball gun he got. He’ll have to fight his dad for it I think.</p>
<p>Overall second worse Christmas ever.</p>
<p>Today got a new nice flatscreen TV we had planned on buying after Christmas. The sun came out. My real Cajun food arrived from the Cajun Grocer and I have the real stuff now. Great pre-made gumbo included. Andouille, Tasso, red beans. Heaven.</p>
<p>barrons-That stinks. I don’t blame you for being mad at your MIL.</p>
<p>As for the 6 year old, I would cut him a little slack. I remembered Christmases when my kids were young and they were overwhelmed and didn’t seem to be excited about some of the gifts. Those were usually the gifts that a few months later happened to be their favorite toy and the one they played with constantly.</p>
<p>As for me embracing mediocrity seemed to work. Or maybe it was finally accepting that Christmas will be just us. Talked with H and he admits that he is disappointed too. Maybe that helped. There was not nearly as much “stuff” this year with the kids being older and it just seemed to make it seem more peaceful (because I didn’t have to wonder where we are going to put all that stuff?).</p>
<p>So not so bad for me. Thanks for starting this thread and letting me vent and hear from others who don’t like Christmas.</p>
And I always like hearing the boy soprano do the solo in the 9 Lessons & Carols from King’s Chapel ? in England. My S