Coffee is my friend

Holiday company group #2 arrived last night. Steve’s cousin, girlfriend and children. And I’m such a good hostess I was in bed when they arrived. But seriously, I get up pretty early and it was 9:30 p.m. when I gave up awaiting their arrival and turned my light off to call it a night.

And I was sure glad I did since Ella got up at 4 A.M. She did lay in our bed for awhile, but there was no more sleep to be had for her or I after that. I finally gave in, fed her some cereal and held her as we watched a Dora marathon and I rested my eyes.

She was LOUD too.

Notice to all guests staying at our house: Unless you are the lucky people who get our one and only guest bedroom, you may be getting up very early, at the discretion of one very loud two-year-old, who will shout demands such as “Down! Stairs! Cereal! Sausage! Dora!” until she goes down for a nap at 1 p.m. Congratulations.

Anyway, holiday company group #3 will start arriving at 4 p.m. today. I have to work all day. And just in case the only thing you read is my blog and you have no idea what is happening in the world, today is New Year’s Eve. Which means I, along with company group #3, will stay up very, very late. Welcoming the new year with lots of booze enthusiam. Bring on the coffee.

Christmas fun and craziness

Christmas was sorta like a hurricane this year. I had warning and I tried to prepare, but it was still sorta rough getting through and now my house is all torn apart. Ha! But really it was good.

We spent a lot of time with both of our families. I was so grateful my mom and sister hosted our celebrations. They were really nice with tons of great food and of course we got lots of great presents.

Ella received so many fun things – a wooden fruit set and a wooden sushi set in which the pieces are velcroed together and she loves cutting apart, pots and pans, a cash register, tons of plastic fruit, a Dora doll with horse, a great wagon, tons of books, puzzles, a doll that drinks a bottle and pees! … the list goes on, but  you get the idea.

I think my husband was pleased with his new coat and wrench set I gave him. Although he did drop some subtle hits about that wrench set – like the photo he took with his phone and showed me. Wait, that’s not subtle at all.

I have wonderful new kitchen stuff, a grilling pan, a huge electric griddle, a beautiful new cutting board and a gift card to go shopping! And my husband surprised me with a Wii fit. He was really good at making me think I didn’t get one.

But, the important thing was family time, and we hosted my husband’s family for nearly four days, so we were happy to spend time with them. We reallly don’t see some of them often because of the distance.

The company just left yesterday so I didn’t have time to take down my Christmas decorations … but I can’t wait. I am so ready to move on. And I need to. Now it’s time to prepare for that New Year’s party. In two days. And we have another set of company coming in tonight to stay the night. Yes, I’m crazy.

When I find time in the craziness I’ll post some Christmas photos.

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve! Man, this holiday has come fast. And despite a few stress-filled episodes in my head, it has gone pretty well.

Last night after work I prepared the bacon cheddar deviled eggs for my mom’s party tonight – with much help from my very good husband, and not a lot of help, but a lot of cuteness from a certain little person who made me hold her so she could watch half the time. And the eggs look and taste fabulous. I’m very happy I contributed something good this year.

Also accomplished: the gift wrapping. And again, thanks honey! I brought him the supplies and sweetly asked him to do some wrapping during the Pacers game. And he did. Therefore I had time to pick up the house and do dishes.

So yes the floors in my house are all still filthy. The guest room is a disaster. I pray noone ever goes into my bedroom and sees how much dust has accumulated. But we have gifts! And deviled eggs! It’s Christmas Eve and although I’m at work, I think the day will go fast and then I get to see what kinda crazy outfit Steve has dressed Ella in and see my sister and her husband who I don’t see all that much. So all is well. Have a good one!

Lights out!

Sunday night our power flickered off, as it has many times in the past few days. But this time it still was out an hour later, and it was getting dark. So we gathered flashlights and our camping lantern, then I rang my mom’s house to see if we could stay with them. Afterall, I’m quite fond of lights and heat. My SIL actually answered and offered up her house, which is 20 minutes closer (on icy roads) so we took her up on it. So I packed our bags, then did the dishes by lantern, which Steve thought was absolutely crazy. But who wants to come home to a sink full of dirty dishes after who knows how long?

Thankfully our power returned by the next morning. I had just stocked my freezer full of food and my fridge is full of all kinds of things I’m making for Christmas parties this week. I hated the thought of losing it all. Although I was planning to just set it out in the snow if we our power was gone for awhile. It was freezing out afterall. I was also worried about our pipes. Now I feel so bad for all the other people in Fort Wayne who don’t have power. Some haven’t had electricity for a week!

So, now it’s back to reality. Ella and I braved the icy roads today for work. And I’ll work tomorrow too. It’s funny because I just had four whole days with not much to do and now I’ve got a week full of more than enough working and Christmas parties and cooking and cleaning. I need a plan. So sorry if you don’t really care but here’s what I’m thinking:

Tuesday (today):
*work,
*on break pick up a few gifts for visitors this weekend.

After work:
*make deviled eggs (I found a new recipe for bacon cheddar deviled eggs — how could that be bad?) for Christmas Eve and of course make dinner (something easy!)
* Finish wrapping gifts and pick up room for guests this weekend.
*Put reminder on door for Steve to bring deviled eggs and gifts.

Wednesday (Christmas Eve):
* Work (don’t forget cookies for work),
* Christmas Eve at my mom’s.

Thursday (Christmas):

* Finish cutting veggies and prepare dip,
* Go to Christmas day at my sister’s.
At night:
* Clean floors – vacuum and steam. They need it. Trust me.

Friday:
*Work.
* During break pick up snacks and some last-minute food items for guests …

* Beg Steve to clean two bathrooms and vacuum upstairs (pretty please?).

OK, this was even more boring than yesterday’s post, so I’ll throw in some photos. And we can all reminisce on days when the roads weren’t covered in ice and we could leave the house without ten things to keep us warm.

A gorgeous beach baby.

Bubbles and sunshine? It seems like not that long ago, yet so far away.