Christmas 2022 Recap

Let's start back on Thursday, Dec. 22.  Phil and the high school kids had the day off so I also used a vacation day and the littles had school, as their break started the next day.  While the teens slept in, Phil and I drove to Providence, Rhode Island to pick up a cake we ordered for our Christmas Eve party.  We walked around Federal Hill (Providence's little italy) and ate lunch at an Italian place called Angelo's.  Great chicken parm.  Then we drove back towards home while Phil chatted with his doctor on the phone to get results of a CT scan and bloodwork.  These clots are just causing problems six months later and he's still on Eliquis for them and now he needs to get some more testing done and see a vascular surgeon.  They also found a cyst on his kidney which is probably nothing, but he needs to get an ultrasound at the beginning of January for that.  He's still working and running and living life, but we just want to get him all back to normal :)

On Friday, December 23, everybody was home for break and we had a stormy rainy windy day, so we used it to clean and prep for Christmas.  Kinda perfect to be forced to stay inside and prepare.  As some people know, Dec. 23rd is CHRISTMAS ADAM (the day before Eve) and our family does the Sibling Secret Santa Swap on this day.  Each kid spends $5-$10 on the one sibling they picked from a hat earlier in the month.  The littles have a Saint Nick workshop at school (a fundraiser for the 8th grade) where they can buy their gifts, and the older ones go shopping.

They mostly get each other their favorite treats, though Xander was the lucky recipient of a bag of reindeer food (from the first grader) and Maggie received an unusual bracelet from the 3rd grader.  The older kids are very gracious receiving these not-necessarily-wanted gifts from the little kids who try so hard, but our youngest guy had to get a timeout talk about the way he reacted when he opened a stuffed animal toy that he didn't like.  Lessons abound all year round!  JP received Home Alone 1 and 2 so we had a family movie night:

(Almost) Merry Christmas

Turns out I was crankier than usual because I was fighting a sore throat and conjunctivitis.  Eew.  Feeling better now, especially since I don't have to work again until after Christmas.  Looking forward to enjoying the break with my family and friends, and I hope you are too!  And if not, at least these videos will make you smile :)

Her robe is my fuzzy socks.  Every year, without fail.

Cheers to all the tired parents everywhere.

Merry Christmas to you all, see you on the other side!!

New Saints and My New Inspiration

When I think life is hard, it is so helpful to remember stories from the past to turn my whining into gratitude.  Just look at this example of holiness...

Pope Francis has recognized the martyrdom of a married couple with seven children who were killed by the Nazis for hiding a Jewish family in their home in Poland.

The pope signed on Dec. 17 a decree on the martyrdom of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, who were executed along with all their children in 1944.

The World Holocaust Remembrance Center has honored the couple as Righteous Among the Nations for the sacrifice of their lives. With the recognition of their martyrdom by the pope, the Polish couple can now be beatified with the couple’s seven children (including one unborn).

Early on March 24, 1944, a Nazi patrol surrounded the home of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma on the outskirts of the village of Markowa in southeast Poland. They discovered eight Jewish people who had found refuge on the Ulma farm and executed them.

The Nazi police then killed Wiktoria, who was seven months pregnant, and Józef. As children began to scream at the sight of their murdered parents, the Nazis shot them too: Stanisława, age 8, Barbara, 7, Władysław, 6, Franciszek, 4, Antoni, 3, and Maria, 2.

(source)

Christmas with the Crank

I need a team of elves.  It's hard being the magic maker in a large family.  I'm trying to take care of everything "behind the scenes" (shopping, wrapping, planning) that they don't see and then plan "in front of the scenes" activities for them to get us in that holiday feeling.  You know how disheartening it is to have just bought and wrapped the perfect gift for a child who then complains when I ask them to fold the laundry?  So yeah I may get overly emotive in my responses at this time of year.  

I have such good intentions to make this season special and fun.  I envision cocoa in travel mugs while we see the lights at Lasalette, or even just at the park in the city next to us, but do you think we can find time to do it with everyone at home?  Nope.  I want to bring the little kids to the Enchanted Village that's about an hour away from us, but the thought of driving two hours just to stand in a long line and walk through a five minute display seems like a waste of time when there's still so much to be done.  Then there's photos with Santa that my little kids have never had done.  At least they don't know what they're missing?  

Looks like crankiness runs on the X chromosome

I am dreading the little kids' Christmas concert that is happening on Wednesday because sitting in a very crowded gym right before Christmas, as illnesses are running rampant, seems like an unwise idea.  But how do I break it to my little third-grade shepherd and angelic first grader, that the nativity play they have been practicing for is causing me anxiety to attend?  If we get sick, then we can't attend the Christmas day party for my side of the family, and then we can't travel to Maryland to visit Phil's side of the family over the break.  I'm sure worrying about getting sick is a recipe for getting sick, and yet I can't stop.  Is my throat starting to tickle?

This weekend, one of my brothers texted about a free piano he could get us from his in-laws.  Xander plays piano, and we have a large electric keyboard that he uses, but a real piano would be better for him in the long run.  However, do you think I could make this decision in a timely manner?  Not at this time of year, apparently.  Any unnecessary change just seemed overwhelming.  Phil and my dad measured places it could fit in our house, but then that meant moving some other piece of furniture to make room, and soon our plan to fit the piano included moving furniture from the living room to the family room to bedrooms and why is there so much dust behind that furniture yada yada and I was just like I Do Not Have Time For This.  I'm sure I'll regret passing it up, but my brain retired at that moment.  

I'm constantly running through lists of people in my mind and figuring out what to get them and trying to recall if I sent a card to the person whose card I just received in the mail.  I have a spreadsheet with names and gifts, a spreadsheet with card addresses, a spreadsheet with menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and Christmas in MD, a spreadsheet with grocery lists, and I love me some google sheets but yikes how can I make this simpler?  I fell asleep at 8:30 last night and on the couch during the movie the night before that.  I'm just so tired.  Not to mention that life goes on leading up to the holidays with work and sports and lessons.  On top of that, my kids still want to eat everyday.  Can you believe the nerve?  And now my side of the family has an email thread about what kind of gift swap we should so this year - funny? regifts? new items? adults only? kids included? and I think we all just need one person to tell us what to do.  A dictatorship at Christmas works for me.  Brainpower is elusive.

I am so cranky and I know it.  Please send some Christmas magic my way, or at least a housecleaner.

Weekend Wrapup: A Comedy Show, Gift Wrapping and Celebrating Feast Days

Phil and I went on a date this weekend (early Christmas gift to each other) and saw The Play That Goes Wrong in Boston.  We are fans of these British humor plays and besides some scary moments when I thought the actors were going to fall from the second floor stage (it was all part of the act, but still) it was great.  However, we both decided that we are not really go-to-show type people and are just as happy to stay home and watch a movie in our pajamas.  But getting out and getting cultured is good for us every once in a while :)

On Sunday, I spent time in my parents living room opening boxes and sorting presents into piles-per-kid.  I like to do this early so I can make sure I have everything and it all looks pretty equal.  Each kid gets three gifts (like Jesus!) but we certainly pack a lot into each gift, if that makes sense.  Like "clothes" is one gift but they get a few articles of clothing in that gift.  Then Phil came down and wrapped them all, which was a welcome respite for me this year, and something we need to make an annual tradition.

Week in Review: Christmas Card Fail, Gingerbread House Win, and Dancing Like Nobody is Recording

Google Photos is at it again, showing me this picture from 10 years ago today:

JP was 9, Andrew was 8 and Eamon was 6

I really liked Ellen's comment from last week where she replied to the google photos making me feel sad:

EllenDecember 02, 2022

I watched a minimal mom where she talked with a psychologist about decluttering digital photos. It was fascinating and I'm not sure I'm all on board but the idea was that we take way more pictures than at any other time in history, that pictures are a fairly recent thing, and that our brains are not equipped to handle frequent visual trips to the past. That we are meant to live more in the present. The speaker said that when he cut down on having his kids' baby pictures all over or on a screen saver he felt more able to love them and be present to them in their current adolescent stage of life.

Interesting stuff for sure.

Andrew (age 18) got his first college acceptance!  With a wonderful scholarship and financial aid package to boot.  It literally pays to have two kids in college at the same time.  Well, then we also have to pay them, but you know what I mean.

Now for the Christmas Card Fail.

I designed the Christmas card late this year, so I ordered them from Walmart's 1 hour option.  When we picked them up, the 5x7 cards were really 5x8 so they didn't fit in the envelopes provided.  Phil brought them back and they cut the extra inch off the cards so they would fit.  Then we realized that they did not give us 80 envelopes for our 80 cards, so he had to go back to get more envelopes!  And finally, the writing on the bottom is so miniscule that it looked like it was written for ants:

Seriously though, I'm embarrassed and know I'm going to hear about it from everyone.  Get your binoculars out when you see our card coming!  I do feel better when I remember that my good friend, mom of eight, accidently cropped one of her kids out of the Christmas cards one year.  Classic.

One final note about Christmas cards.  We have only gotten TWO so far and I'm wondering if everybody is a little late like me this year, or are people not sending them (the cost!).  I have some extras so if anyone wants one, email me your address :)

My team unofficially won the gingerbread house contest at work.  It wasn't really a competition, but I didn't agree with that and ours was the best!  

Look at Santa in the chimney!

Look at the bears having a snowball fight!

We also had the cookie exchange and then I served up a smorgasbord of cookies for the next two night's desserts which made my kids very happy.

Eamon (age 16) has been pretending to be on his phone but actually recording Brendan (6) dance, and it's just the best.

I hope everyone has a productive and relaxing weekend, make sure to plan time for both!