The holidays did not get off in quite the way I had hoped. First a snow day (woo hoo) and then an unfortunately long bout of the stomach flu took over at our house! As of this posting, we have been officially barf free for going on 36 hours. I have knocked on wood, sprayed Lysol, and had my fingers and toes crossed in hopes of finally bidding farewell to this nasty little bug!
Needless to say, I feel tired, bored, restless, and a little ripped off! No fancy dinners or family gatherings for the majority of us. We were too sick to venture out, and too germy to risk sickening the rest of our family members. Our holidays were spent at home in our PJ's. The kids didn't seem to mind, in fact it actually gave them more time to play with all their new goodies.
No, we didn't get two dinosaurs, but Clara has pretty much taken over the care of Kota for Matthew. For the most part he doesn't mind, as long as he gets to keep it in his room and tell everyone that it belongs to him! I am still trying to figure out the art of buying for twin girls. Last year I got two of everything, which left some things opened and unreturnable, but for the most part ignored, so this year I tried to get them gifts that were more suited toward their individual personalities, meaning different things for different girls. BIG MISTAKE!! They have spent the last three days arguing over what belongs to who, (whom?) and crying that the one has something that the other one wants. The biggest hit was the matching shopping carts, the $5.00 bathtub Barbies, (one Sleeping Beauty, one Mermaid) and the hooded towels from the clearance rack at K-Mart. Mental note for next year....keep it simple!
The boys of course are easy, as you shop for them you can ask yourself "Is this a game for DS or Wii?" and if the answer is yes, you know you have a winner! Ricky is a BIT tougher, as he is a little more picky about his DS games, and does not like playing Wii, so when shopping for him you must think like a teenage boy, which is weird when shopping for a 7 year old. He loves weird lights (lava lamps, volcano lights, etc.) Ax "cologne", and music.
All in all, I think everyone had an enjoyable holiday, and found what they wished for the most under the tree!
Hope you and yours have a happy, healthy, and relaxing holiday season, and a prosperous 2009!
God is good. All the time.
