Well - we survived Christmas! I ended up feeling better by the end of the week. And my mom came to town the Thursday before Christmas and thank gawd for that! She was a lifesaver - as all moms usually are. I know I wouldn't have been prepared for Christmas Day if I hadn't had the extra hands.
We mostly prepped all weekend, but we did manage to get out the evening of the 23rd for some festive fun! Bowling and a scenic limo ride with my Aunt, Uncle & cousins! An odd combination, but the kids really enjoyed it. It was their first limo ride - go figure - and the first time they actually bowled. And now they really want to go back to do it again. Makes me wonder why we haven't done it before?!? Such an easy family night out.
Christmas morning was exciting as usual. The kids weren't up super early, so that was nice. They each got their #1 toy on the list - Skye's was a Owlicorn (owl/unicorn) Hatchimal and Rhys' was a super cool batman RC truck that shoots a rubber bat. And a few little things in their stockings. Oh - and a new sled from Santa ;-) I was very happy that it was not an overload of toys, but a variety of activities and clothes, pjs as well. Momma got spoiled with a new computer (YAY - but I'm still trying to get it all set up the way my old one was...) and daddy got his favourite staple - a collection of new hoodies! The "family" also got a table top video game with all the retro games - Pacman, etc. So now daddy is "bonding" (haha) with the kids and teaching them how to play. And they are getting pretty good.
Christmas evening turned out wonderful! We had a total count of 28 people (10 of which were younger kids running around) - Dino's 2 brothers and sister and their families, as well as Jenn's parents, sister & boyfriend & family and Kerri's brother & SIL and my mom and us.
And because we don't have a house large enough to seat that many people, we had pre-cleaned out our attached heated front garage and turned it into just another part of the house. Dino called it our "redneck Christmas" - lol! We had laid area rugs on the floor and set up tables and chairs and it went great. It was a throwback to my parents house when they used to host Christmas for like 100 people (and I'm almost not exaggerating - they had big families and then their kids on top of that!). I'm not sure how the heck they cooked for that many either?!
We had great company, and went thru a LOT of wine and delicious food - it was our usual potluck, so that was a huge help to me.
And after Christmas...we just VEGGED!! It was sooo great! Everyday was pretty much a pyjama day. It was insanely cold - too cold to go anywhere. And the coughs came back in full force for everyone, so we didn't feel like doing much. I had the whole week off work as well, which isn't typical, but it was welcomed this year. We had originally planned to head to Saskatchewan to the farm, but it was even colder there! So we cancelled, although we missed spending a few days with my dad.
We even cancelled New Years Eve - which was a party at my cousins in Airdrie. The kids were unwell and we didn't want them out in the cold and staying up late, as it was back to school a couple days later. And I was in bed by 10:30pm that night! New Years is overrated haha!
But cheers to a healthy and happy 2018!
