There is so much JOY this season and so much happiness that I think it might be best to do just do a normal FIVE. Christmas Eve this year was one of the best that I can remember. I miss the boys like crazy but usually I just take a deep breath and know that they are safe, happy, and well in Chicago. This year we did an afternoon at my parents and the day continued to be fabulous as the hours ticked on.
1. Christmas Pasta
My sister made a dish by Rachel Ray called Christmas Pasta and we all LOVED it. This is an expensive dish to make but she turned it out for holidays or when we went into Denver for a visit. It is actually in the cook book that Mike and I are tackling and this year we wanted to make it for the family. We doubled the recipe so we would all have left overs. It was hit. My sisters had more of a "kick" to it so next year we will be adding red pepper flakes.
2. Eloise opening gifts
This little lady was the official helper. She walked around and handed out gifts and then official opened all of them. It was hilarious. When she opened my sweater she would announce, "It's a sweater." And then, "You can wear it in the winter." When she opened a book I gave my mom she said, "It's a book. You have always wanted this." This was one of my favorite parts of the entire day and I think it will be my favorite memory of the season. She opened presents with such determination and was a little "go-getter" It made us all laugh and she had a blast.
This was Mike's favorite part of the day. (Don't judge the title and first sentence). So before opening gifts we took the iPad away from Sawyer. Almost instantly he complained of a headache. He started screaming and crying and I instantly went into AUNT mode. I gave him magic medicine, lots of hugs, and tried to calm him down. Then my dad said, "he doesn't have a headache. He is upset about the iPad. " We asked Sawyer if that was the case and he said, "Yes, the iPad would help." oh. my. goodness. I could not help but laugh but I asked Jess if I could be the AUNT for 1 more minute and give him some more hugs. He pulled one over and me and Mike and we thought it was absolutely great.
**one side note, the quilt my dad is sitting on.....I made****
4. Mimosas
Champaign has been on our grocery list for Christmas Day mimosas. But we always leave off the OJ. We just drink the Champaign BUT we still say that we are drinking mimosas. That's how we roll.
**Here are some random pictures of my boys. They are dressed like twins though it was not planned at all. Jack is finally feeling better and back to his normal sweet self.**
Holy moly these people make my heart happy. They are easy, laid-back, and so fun to be around. Mandy and I are similar and Luke and Mike hit it off instantly. They are in the same phases of life that we are traveling and I am so so so grateful for their friendship. At the last minute they invited us over for dinner and it was great. I was in my sweatpants and anything that we needed we just ran home and picked up.
Best part of the night -- we saw a rash on JUDE. The smiles could not be erased from our faces. He has had some extremely terrifying labs and leukemia was a strong possibility. Mandy is a pediatric, oncology NP and she was convincing me that the labs were probably not leukemia and we were waiting for Saturday for the smear to come back. But....she was still waiting...because if it wasn't terrifying....we wouldn't have to wait.
A few hours in we changed a diaper and he had a RASH. Even typing it out makes me excited.
Anyways -- I will still be waiting for the smears BUT Jude had a rash and so we are pretty sure he will be just fine!!!!! That is the best Christmas gift of all!
Like I said -- so many wonderful things happened yesterday. While Mike and I were exchanging gifts in the quietness of Christmas Eve our doorbell rang. Skip, our next door neighbor (the other one), stopped by. He brought back some tupperware that we sent over with food and he also gave us a gift. I was shocked and truly found some of the Christmas joy and spirit that I have been missing during this season. I wish that I could clearly articulate my feelings on this visit. Grateful. Inspired. Humbled.
7. The rest of the day....
It's 930 on Christmas morning. Jack is down for his first nap, Mike has a fire going, and we are drinking mimosas. We have the entire day ahead. I am looking forward to talking to the twins and lounging around all day. Cheers!
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