Lipstick Cover-Up

With the holidays and all that they entail, I had to take a blog break, it was just too much to write for me. I did keep reading when I had moments, but I just didn't have this wonderful little block of time to actually do a post of my own, (and the one time I did blogger wouldn't or couldn't post, ain't that just a kick in the pants). So thankfully, I do today.

Christmas was wonderful. I had a great time with my husband and kids, and then with my family too. We had my husbands family over on the 23rd for dinner and good thing we did, we're getting dinner and hors de'vors prepped and I notice his right leg is swollen at the calf. I ask him about it and he says, "that must be why it's burning and achy" HELLO HUSBAND!!!! You have blod clotting problems remember...so his sister and her family arrives and I whisk him off to the hospital, turns out to be a spider bite of some sort?!? Must be all that work out in the woodpile he's been doing lately. Home to dinner and happy times with his sister and family. Overall, it turned out well, she did all the cooking for us in our absence and the kids loved having time with their Aunt, Uncle, and cousin without us around.

On Christmas Eve we had mass at church, it was so nice, it was the "children's mass" and prior to the service starting different parish children who play instruments each did solos of different seasonal hymns. It was so nice, these little beaming faces on the piano, and one girl on a bassoon, she was funny, one of the priests saw her coming up the stairs outside and said, "Oh, I didn't know we had an Oboe too?" and she looked at him in horror and said, "It's a bassoon! Not an oboe, they look totally different!" That she said it that way to the priest just made me laugh. After mass my mother and her husband came back to our place for dinner, it was good. They had fun, the kids enjoyed the time and I have to say I did too. My mom was fun and easygoing, which isn't usually the case when her husband is with her. I don't know that it's a permanent change, but I was glad for it.

Christmas morning was fun with my family. The kids really enjoyed the gifts with the baby ( I keep saying baby and I know she just turned 1, but she's still the baby ok) Izzy opened up everyone else's gifts, she liked the unwrapping more than the gifts. When we were done we were off to my sister's house, (Wine Girl), she lives a few hours away and this was the first time she was hosting a holiday at her home.

Well, she and her husband were amazing. All the prep for food was done, they had it all timed and what needed to be cooked when, really a true schedule and it worked out great. All the recipies used were from Cooking Light, which I love and subscribe to and encourage everyone else to as well. So all afternoon you here, "Where's the magazine?" when different dishes were being finished or worked on, I loved it. We had wine and lots of it, we played a drinking game of sorts, WineGirl, me and my mom. When different phrases were said we had to drink. We drank a LOT. Not to much that we were sick or don't remember things, or didn't enjoy the day, but we or I should say I drank more than I normally or usually do. I had a blast with everyone. Buddha Girl and her family were their, I love them so dearly and see them less often than I'd like. I was so happy that her HG could be there with us, even if my mom's husband was there too and that made it a little tense, he really did well I think.

After much rumination on this I've come to the conclusion that my mom's husband is just so introverted that functions with people are actually painful for him I think. More than just a couple of people and he is truly overwhelmed.

The kids had such a wonderful time playing with their cousins and hanging out together. Sleepovers are always high on their list of things they want to do. When we left on the 26th, we waited till after dinner and baths hoping they'd sleep for the ride. Well Gabe was asleep before we hit the interstate and he stayed asleep till we woke him to get him in the house. Emily slept too, but she lasted about 40 minutes into the ride before she was snoring. Izzy, well, she slept on and off, we just turned her carseat around and it's more sitting up than reclining like her old seat was, so she's not liking the sleeping sitting up thing, but she did for the most part sleep. It was a great ride, hubby and I talked and laughed and joked.

New Year's Eve weekend was a different animal all together. This past Friday, Izzy starts with a stomach bug, vomit, vomit, and more vomit. Saturday, Dad starts with it, Sunday Gabe and Emmy start with it. I'm living on my Zofran and Fenergan left over from my pregnancy so that one of us is upright and able to clean the kids up. We're out of pajamas, towels, blankets and sheets, I have so much laundry to do and it's hard catching up, oh yeah, and I'm back to work! Once the nausea passes I'll be ok, I've got lots of stuff at home to mend the masses from the pukes and the potty runs, I've applied more Beadreau's Butt Paste in the past 72 hours than I thought possible.

I'm ready for a nap and a vacation, puke free preferably.

So Happy New Year to you all, I do hope that 2007 brings great things for each of you. We'll all have our share of challenges to be sure, some good, some not, but I hope that we all make it to next year at this time and can look at '07 and smile a bit.

Lots of love,
lil'sis