So what a lovely holiday. The last day of School Stella was going to preform in the Christmas sing a long. I was able to get off early to watch. It was so cute they whole first grade sang Rudolph first in Spanish then in English. I had my fancy new camera charged up and I got video of the whole thing. After the performance the parents could go to the class to pick up their child. I realized at that moment I had been so busy with filling orders I had forgotten the teacher gift! I ran to the class and signed to Stella that I would be right back. There is a new coffee house around the corner. They have gift certificates a fresh roasted coffee. Perfect. That's how my life rolls. There is always something right around the corner to save the day.
I returned back to the school just in time. Yes, just in time to witness the treats of the day explode from a poor little girl all over her clothes and reindeer hat. The teacher was trapped and couldn't leave the class so I guided her to the restroom to clean up. I set down my camera and purse and washed up her sweet little face and hands. She just made it to the bus in time. We dashed back to leave the gift and drop certificates with the Secretaries who are a constant blessing to me.
We then dashed over to pick up Haddy. I could feel the excitement in the air as we walked up to the school. Then I saw my son. He was shooting Silly String all over his friends. Everyone was laughing and running from him. Silly String coated the area. Great, who's gonna clean that up? Oh , well. He is so excited to tell me that at the White Elephant party he got Silly String and a Chia Pet. " Mom did you know these are handmade?" referring to the pet. Hmmm wonder if I could find them on Etsy.
I was feeling rather content and relaxed after a very good selling season so I offered up "anything goes dinner" . At the store the kids pick fresh crab and string beans. That night I prepared our feast and waited for my husband to come home. The kids were famished so I decided to let them start since my hubby was moments away from joining us. The phone rang and I left the room to answer. When I returned a few minutes later I was shocked to see my darling children plowing through the crab like termites. My husband came home to one leg I was able to rescue from the rampage. Note to self, next time buy more crab.
That night I decided to download the video of the reindeer extravaganza. I realized after extensive searching I had lost my new camera. Somewhere between the coffee shop, puking and silly string my camera had taken a hike.
Christmas Eve is huge for our family. It is the one time every year all of my husband's family commit to gather. They are a really fun group so we all have a good time. I was bummed about the camera but my mother in law brought hers so no worries. We decided to carpool to the party because my husband and I wanted to join in the festivities and we don't drink and drive. We met the in laws at the hotel and left our car there for the night. They would deliver us home safe and sound.
The evening was delightful as always. The camera batteries died after about 30 minutes. The best part was my sister's new boyfriend taught my son to play guitar, awesome. He also happens to be a chef so for the first time in about 12 years I didn't have to cook.
I now know why sugar plums should remain dancing in one's head. Someone had found some at a fair and was excited to share. Not so yummy but there was a heaping pile of fried oysters to redirect our palettes.
As the night came to a close we piled into the car for the ride home. Everyone was content and a wee bit drowsy. At home we settled the kids which was no easy task and got started getting ready for Santa. There was one hitch, I had been hiding all of the presents in the trunk of my car. My husband had to take a cab back to the hotel to fetch them. He returned disappointed because there were not that many. Well I had hid the bulk of them in reusable shopping bags way in the back and he didn't see them. Oh well.
The next day we were off to my mother's house. She had ordered a fancy prime rib dinner from Whole Foods, again yummy. The only problem is her oven wasn't working so well. I ended up hacking the roast apart to speed the process up. The kids were famished, go figure, so while we waited we had a salad course. Of course by the time the roast was ready they were full. Oh well. Grandma gave them each $50 gift certificates. The trick would be to make sure we didn't end up at Target or a game store.
On the way home my husband needed to stop at a store for something. It was a kinda creepy area so I locked the door from the inside. When he came back I unlocked the door and he opened it. The alarm went of. Really loud. We were flipping switches and starting the car to try and turn it off. Nothing worked and it was so loud we couldn't think. People started to come outside to stare at us. They didn't worry about theft they were just enjoying the show. My son kept trying to tell us he could help but we didn't pay attention. Somehow my hubby thought we needed to drive home with it blaring and get the set of keys with the remote buttons. As he backed out my son insisted we stop. He calmly got out of the car and asked for the keys. He then asked me to lock the doors again. He inserted the key into the drivers side door and .....silence. Duh, leave it to the Deaf kid.
So of course the kids wanted to shop yesterday. First we went to lunch at the Grilled Cheese Grill. It is a food cart in North Portland. They have a painted bus that you eat in. Nothing better than a grilled brie and pepper sandwich on a windy day. Greasy comfort food heaven. After that we went to the art supply store so the kids could shop. Haddy was holding a box of colored pencils. I ask why he already had a ton of good quality pencils. "Oh sorry mom I have a case of art fever".
So now I have one more day to relax then it is back to stocking my shop. What a great holiday it was. I hope you all enjoyed this joyous time.
