Catching my breath

I’m sitting in the living room with my feet up and my lap top open. Toby Keith is in the CD player (that man has such a sexy voice). Darling daughter is cuddling with a new Christmas dolly and watching The Wiggles on TV. Darling husband is sacked out in his chair – a peaceful moment that I know won’t last. The house is a wreck. I have house cleaning and errands to run but not just yet. Momma needs some by-self time…

Christmas Eve went smoothly without a peep or a harsh word from darling mother-in-law. Christmas morning was the same – we all had a great time. I guess that proves that Christmas miracles still happen occasionally. I hope Nancy Dancehall experienced her own Christmas miracle.

By noon on Christmas Day, we were on the road driving north to Minnesota to visit my parents and my sister and her family. Stayed overnight with Mom and Dad on Sunday and then over to my sister's for Monday and Tuesday night.

We had a good time visiting and catching up with everyone. Watched our new Revenge of the Sith DVD on Dad’s flat screen entertainment center – my head is still vibrating from the stereo sound. Darling daughter had a great time playing with her cousins.

Only one mishap – a small sledding accident. The hill was steep, the snow was fast and darling daughter flipped her sled. In NASCAR speak, “She pulled a Tony Stewart but not a Dale Earnhardt.” She now has five band-aids on the left side of her face from her hairline to her cheek bone to cover some bad scrapes. Mommy’s fault, “Why don’t you get on the sled by yourself and race your cousin down the hill?” famous last words. In all my years of skiing and all the bad spills I took, I never scraped up my face so it never occurred to me she would fall and use her face as the brake.

She’s okay – she’s even told me she wants to go sledding again with Mommy but next time we’ll skip the boo-boo part. Up until that last fateful trip down the hill she was having a blast. She’s my little thrill seeker – if it’s fast and wild she loves it. I hope this spill doesn’t change that.

Drove back to Iowa on Wednesday. Side note – whoever invented automatic flush toilets should be shot and stuffed headfirst into one. “Magic Potties” are scary and darling daughter will not use them. Playing “nice potty” scavenger hunt is not a lot fun – made for some tense moments. Made it back to town just in time to go to a birthday party at R and T’s – Happy 35th R man!

So we’re back today and takin’ it easy. No other major social engagements. Only plans are to pack up some stuff for Goodwill and maybe spend some of our Christmas money – out with the old crap and in with the new. Cheese fondue and shrimp are on the menu for our New Year’s Eve nosh.

Happy Hanukah everyone!