Where Was I?

Oh yeah, Christmas Eve projectile vomitting.

But let's start at the beginning. The fam made the long trekk from So Cal to Washington State, over the Grapvine, through the salad bowl, even through Portland in the white-out.

We stayed at my mom's house which, just in time for Christmas, included five acres of virgin snow. This meant new snow boots (alas, the Cali boys have flip flops, but no fur lined anything for the feet), and new sleds (a pretty penny by the time hubby found the very last two in Walmart. Kind of like trying to find a dang slip n'slide when the clouds part in the sky in that region and you have 15 minutes of warm sunshine - impossible).

The boys, along with cousins and my bro, made a 9 ft. snowman. Alas, his face fell off in the impending warmth before we could stick some button eyes and a corncob nose on him, but he was a masterpeice, I'm telling you.

Hubby made a luge run (complete with hosing it down to make perfectly graded ice banks - have to love the engineer in him!) on the long and winding driveway and we stayed out until 10pm sledding down the hill with only a flashlight to let any oncoming traffic know there was a human torpedo about to gain entry to the community's road. We live on the edge. One of the best memories will be of the boys scampering in the house exclaiming, "MOM! Grandma's sledding!"

We surprised Rob's side of the family by attending Grandma Nonnie's 87 birthday party at a local restaurant. That was fun watching Grandpa count the grandkids' heads and trying to figure out why there were five more than expected.

The next day was Christmas Eve and we attended Mass with Rob's family. Fifi was a real nightmare, more than usual. She was also extremely grumpy at the family house afterwards and wouldn't you know it, after getting four kids' plates fixed, trying to feed her (she wouldn't eat), and finally sitting down with my own plate on the floor with her in my lap; she threw up all over me. Hubby was out and about rescuing people from ice and snow pack as they tried to drive their cars down the long driveway. Back at my halloween post I mention how we can't seem to celebrate a major hoiday without some sort of standout illness; this year was Fifi's turn.

After taking off my sweater and bagging it, we finally got the gift opening parts and had a great time. Then, Christmas, the baby seemed fine. More gifts, family, sledding, and fun.

Unfortunately, this illness snaked through all the kids by the end of our week. I felt pretty crudy for a couple of days, but wasn't sure whether to attribute it to too much holiday cheer or a virus. (Washington makes some really good beers, you know).

One of the other highlights of our time was seeing good friends up in Seattle, who also happen to be the godparents of two of our children. We had such a great time visiting, eating and shopping. Zach's godparents are the kind of couple every family needs as mentors. As well as I think I know them now, having met them when hubby and I were just dating, I still get nervous, wondering if I'll say something stupid or act like an idiot and make them wonder what hubby saw in me in the first place. They are such wonderful people, you hope some of their goodness will just rub off on you in their presence.

Then, to see Kyle's godparents, who we met in Egypt and have just moved out to the area about a year and a half ago. There is nothing better than visiting with friends you haven't seen in a while and falling comfortably together, like putting on a worn pair of boots - they fit and feel good. Our kids got along great and we were just so happy again, to be able to call these amazing people friends of ours.

Hubby and I had date night (yay! four in one year!) and then actually stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve with the cousins. Very fun, but for a mom of a one year old, midnight feels like I've been up for about three years in a row. I think I'm still making up for it.

I packed my running shoes, but only ran once and walk/ran/slipped a couple more times since we had dogs and they needed to get out. Too much snow for me to risk injury to my old body that has achey knees and a foot that needs to be coddled. And I'm just really a fair weather exerciser right now. 30 degrees? Brrr,.. I'm staying in.

I've only been running once since getting home because of a crazy work schedule and kid activities at night. I'll get back in the groove. I've modified my diet, kind of a 'body for life' thing, but with special compensation for beer once and a while and birthday cake (I've got five kids - they don't want birthday asparagus, trust me. And you only live once).

Our trip back was uneventful (which is a good thing). We made it in two days again, the house didn't spontaneously combust because of the very dead Christmas tree and our packages were taken care of by our aweseom neighbors.

Merry Christmas!