Wednesday, December 29, 2010

To Sum It Up

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Christmas was wonderful, and crazy, and busy, and lovely, and rushed, and did I say busy?  Because it was.  But it was still lovely. 

I found a few pictures that sum it up nicely.

This is me and the kiddos at the in-law's house eating way too much food (can you see the fudge in Ben's mouth?) and having way too much fun (can you see the craziness in Joey's eyes?) on Christmas Eve.
Then it was back home that night to relax for an hour or two before the madness broke the next day.  And when I say relax I mean wrap 20 little presents for a game I had planned for the next day.  And of course there was the set up...
The picture below is how we all felt after the Christmas morning madness.  I didn't even get a picture of us all dressed pretty for Christmas mass because there was just TOO MUCH MADNESS.  You know how it goes.  Boys running around wildly with their new loot, mom and dad chasing around after the dog who is ferociously eating wrapping paper, grace running her new stroller around the house screaming at the top of her lungs, dad getting out his power tools so that we can actually get the toys OUT OF THE BOXES, mom trying to feed the kids a quick breakfast, dad cleaning up the five piles of vomit the dog left on the floor the minute it came in from outside, changing diapers, dressing children.  You know.  The usual.
After mass, and more madness, there were quick naps for the kids and then another whirlwind of activity at our house with my side of the family.  We decided not to make mom host Christmas this year seeing as how she just had open heart surgery 3 weeks ago (what a wuss!) so we had everyone over to our house.  We made mom sit still and we all just sat around talking and stuffing our faces.  Good times. 
 Now we all kind of feel like this. 
Some kind of stomach virus has decided to run through our house and apparently once you recover from that you get a cold too.  Bonus!  Now we may be making our second trip to the doctor to check on possible ear infections. 
*SIGH*
'Tis the season!  Fa-la-la-la-la, La-la-la-la!

Hope you all had a wonderful, crazy Christmas too, and hopefully skipped the viruses. 

23 comments:

Brittany said...

Ohh that first photo is amazing! :) What a beautiful mama and kiddos! So sorry you've all been sick! We had it too, in November, and it was the PITS! Hoping you all feel well soon!

Jeni said...

A virus -not a nice thing at any time but especially not over the holidays, for sure. I think you did remarkably with all that you had going on and it reminded me in so many ways of the way I remember Christmas as a child -lots of family all over the place! We had that here too -family, that is -but for some reason me, my three kids and three grandkids and a significant other for one daughter (meaning 8 people total) just seems like such a small number in comparison to the 14-18 who normally populated this house back in the 50s when I was a kid and my aunts/uncles/cousins showed up and stayed for at least 2-3 days, sometimes the whole week, during which time people slept on the floors, three to a bed, at the neighbor's house now and then too and we had huge meals twice a day too! A far cry from what we eight had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here but seeing your pictures brought those memories and made me think merry thoughts once again! Hope the virus leaves ASAP and you can celebrate the New Year in with lots and lots of good times, more food and beverages too! Happy New Year, Kat -you really do a fantastic job with your family and so many other things going on at the same time. Never forget that!

Cyndy Bush said...

I love the pictures! We got that same Pillow Pet for Andrew; Elayna got the Panda bear.
We are passing a cold around here and it has kicked my butt!
Your house looks so warm and inviting. Love it!
Happy New Year!

Kat said...

Brittany- You are too kind. :)

Jeni- That's kind of how it was when I was a kid too, so I'm glad my kids get to experience that. And I always wondered why my mom started dreading the holidays and why she always got a migraine afterwards. ;)

Dysfunctional Mom- Yep! I think the pillow pets may have been my kids' favorites. Joe got the panda, Tommy the penguin, Ben the monkey, and Grace the dog. They were thrilled. :)

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

We didn't skip the virus, either. Sorry it got you guys.

It looks and sounds like a PERFECT Christmas, Kat. Hope you have a Happy and HEALTHY New Year, too!

Brooke said...

Oh dear! I hope you all feel better soon. Why is it that everything strikes at one time?!?! I loved your summary of Christmas morning.... sounds so familiar :D Have a Happy New Year!!!

Tiffany said...

Love that shot of the tree!! Gorgeous
Our daughter just got some pajamas with the same frog print on them -- so cute!
Hope you're all feeling better soon!!

Tiffany
www.noordinaryhomestead.com

Natalie said...

i can understand the madness part for sure but I was deathly ill christmas eve and christmas day. I barley was able to make it through either day. I have bronchitis and the first few days were fever, nasal congestion and now im left with a horrible lingering cough. Lovely. BUT I got to see family I hadn't seen in years and managed to be able to taste Christmas Dinner and so on so I guess thats a good thing! Sorry your little ones are sick but am glad you had a great holiday!

Unknown said...

Looks like some good and fun and busy times - but those are the kind were in for in this phase of our lives, of course!

Sorry you got the junk. My Ben has a fever and chills today so here we go too. boo... :(

Mom24 said...

Glad for the good, boo for the virus. It hit here Christmas night. Mark and I are still pretty sick. So far the kids haven't gotten it. I'm off to knock on wood. :)

Hope everyone's feeling better.

tiarastantrums said...

looks like one fabulous day! Look how big your girl is now! We got pillow pets for our girls too - LOVE THEM!

Michelle said...

That shot of the Christmas tree is beautiful. Sorry to hear that a stomach bug attacked your household, but that shot of your son is absolutely precious.

Colleen said...

Sorry about the stomach flu. I hope you all feel better soon.

I love the wide shot of everyone in the living room. Looks like a perfect day.

ToadMama said...

What a lovely family. I'm sorry y'all are feeling under the weather. Your post was perfect!

designHER Momma said...

that first picture is BEYOND priceless. That one is going to come out for years to come...

Scrappy said...

Looks like a wonderful Christmas. You are so lucky to have family around, even though it makes things a little crazy sometimes. :)

I'm sorry you all were sick. I hope you are feeling better by now.

Emily said...

Were y'all watching Christmas Vacation? That's what it looks like on the tv! :) And yikes, I hope you're all feeling better!! That was not a good present.

Kat said...

Emily- Haha! Yes! We were watching Christmas Vacation. Hehehe

Tonya said...

certainly sounds busy! we had a great one too but without the virus.

dawn klinge said...

Love those excited, happy faces on your kiddos! I'm glad it was such a great Christmas for you and your family.

tweetey30 said...

hey i finally got in.. its been a month since i have been able to visit you and the kiddos.. they are lovely as ever.. they look so happy with there presents and with there big family.. Hopey you have a wonderful new year..

painted maypole said...

this is a great pictoral run down of the holiday. love it.

Anonymous said...

I sure hope you're all feeling better soon. Sometimes all the excess (excitement, sugar, gifts, people, activities) can really drag a kid down. But I'm glad you all made the MOST of it!

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson