Tonight I have a Christmas party to attend which means tomorrow I will be a sleep-deprived mess and then Friday I am taking a Martz bus into the Poconos to be with my family for Christmas. Taking the Martz line is something I have avoided with a fervor ever since moving here. I've only used them twice because you have to sell your organs to afford them, but it seems that at holiday time everybody's prices get that high and since they are the most direct I thought now was a good time to let them have whatever I can get for a kidney.
On Sunday I attended a Hanukkah Harry party, which is basically secret Santa, who I disapprove of. It was at E's mother's house and his side of the family was there. They asked me if my family did a secret santa and I said no, we don't even like Santa. To which E's sister said, "Why? Are you Catholic?"
I just love the disconnect between cultures and religions.
I laughed and told her no and that my church wasn't even against Santa, so to speak, just that I thought it was a silly tradition and that kind of thinking seemed to be prominent in my family.
Regardless of my lack of Hanukkah and what they perceive to be Christmas spirit, I was given two Hanukkah gifts from E's mother. There was a $20 spending limit that more than a few people violated. And since Mom E had just given me a present after J's birthday party last month I wasn't expecting her to feel obligated to get me anything else.
But I received a (horrible) sweater and a lovely brooch, which greatly exceeded the spending limit. E got a keychain and expressed his jealously after we got home. Haha.
For all the grief Mom E has caused me, she is very sweet and she really, really likes me because I take good care of the kids.
Yesterday we did a whole lot of nothing all day and then since T was working through the evening and I had agreed to make dinner, I googled a traditional Hanukkah dinner and fried everything I could think of. I made latkas, chicken and artichokes. T brought home some of the greatest donuts in the entire world.
Right before she got home her mom stopped by to say hi to the kids. She hung out for a bit and they played while I cleaned the war zone that my room has become since the electrician came in to install outlets. I HAVE ELECTRICITY!
When it was time to T's mom to go she said she had to run out to the car and then came back, handed me some folded up cash and said, "Merry Christmas. Don't lose it."
I had vivid flashbacks to my childhood when anyone gave me money and my mom said the very same thing, and then I laughed and thanked her and she headed out.
We ate so late that the kids were a wreck, not mention the effects of the cold that they are all getting over. It took over an hour, but we got them all fed and then they were presented with their one big Hanukkah present; a play kitchen.
R was beside herself with joy while it was being assembled.
I took the kids one at a time to get ready for bed in matching pajamas and then they sat by their kitchen for the photo op of the century. J was literally falling asleep while droning, "cheeeeeeeeeeeeese."
This morning the kids were barely functional but we all have so much to do we sent them off to school anyway. I planned out my travels for the next few days, got a few emails and phone calls out of the way and then of course, since I was online, I had to check Facebook sixty-five times.
I thought I had neglected you all long enough too, so here's what that resulted in.
I am now going to spend the rest of the day (until party time) washing sheets and clothes so that when I come back after four days away I won't have to do much. It's all about planning, people, planning.
I like to make detailed plans to get everything done at once so that I can slack off for days at a time.
It's going to be great.
Merry Christmas and snobby holidays!
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