12 Days of Christmas Wrap Up

One very laid-back Christmas.

Two super excited children.

Three overnight guests - Mom-in-law, Dr. Dad-in-law, and Scout, the giant golden retriever. Also? the number of family members who were actively sick for the festivities.

Four friendly dogs underfoot and in the way, lethal tails knocking ornaments off the tree.

Five kinds of dessert: apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, peppermint bark cookies, chocolate covered potato chips. The pies were courtesy of Mom-in-law. Her apple pie is the BEST.

Six pounds of smoked beef tenderloin from Miiller's Smokehouse. It was delicious and so tender you could cut it with a fork.

Seven exhausted adults at the end of the day.

Eight new toys that make SO MUCH NOISE. The living room now sounds like a casino. Thanks family!

Nine for Christmas dinner: our family, T's parents, Sister L and her husband Bro R, and Bro R's mom, Auntie C. I served tenderloin, horseradish potatoes (thanks, Sister L!), Brussels sprouts with bacon and pine nuts (put enough bacon in it and even my veggie-hating husband will eat it!), cranberry salad, and hot rolls.

Ten matching Christmas stockings, made the first year I was married to match the ones my sisters had growing up. Green for boys and red for girls. They have angels on them with hair to match their owners'. Even the dogs' stockings match. Actually, we made 16 in all. One for every member of both of our families so they would always have a stocking at our house.

Eleven new books for the kids' libraries. I just love new books! We even managed to only get one repeat.

Twelve billion of presents (Z's phrasing) under the tree - and we cut back this year!

All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas. I even managed to get in a shower and put on make-up! This is an improvement over last year where I never made it out of my Christmas PJ's! The holiday meal was great, and so low stress. My fabulous guests even cleaned up the mess. My family ROCKS.


The big thrill this year was the Fisher-Price Power Wheels Jeep Grandma and GanGan gave to the kids. Z drove it all over with Q as her thrilled passenger. She didn't run into too much stuff! Q got several wheeled toys and spent most of the morning opening gifts from the front seat of his little Flintstone car - you know, the kind you push with your feet. That car was the only thing that got the poor sick little guy to stop crying.