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Never A Dull Moment

Merry Christmas!  I bring you good tidings of great joy!  For unto you is born this day in the city of D a Savior which is Christ the Lord!

I hope everyone is having a very happy Christmas.  I think this might be the first time I’ve sat down since we got out of the car from our long, grueling trip to Virginia.  Fortunately it was uneventful, with the exception of the millionty-two trips to the potty — the joys of traveling with three kids nine and under.  Just once I’d like to enjoy a meal out without spending half of it in the bathroom.  I’ve been told there will come a day, but I’m having a hard time visualizing it at this point in my life.

We arrived here in Virginia late Tuesday afternoon.  My brother and his wife joined us for dinner, and we spent the evening catching up and visiting.  My 6-year-old had been running a fever for a couple of days, and she had complained once or twice of a sore throat, but I hadn’t thought much of it.  Our kids always get sick for the holidays.  It’s a family tradition.  But that night at dinner we noticed a rash all over her body, and my SIL — the pediatrician — immediately diagnosed scarlet fever and said that she would need an antibiotic.

So the next morning we got up bright and early and drove my daughter to the ER.  If you haven’t been following along, that is my second trip this week.  You can imagine how eager I was to return.  Keep in mind, this was Christmas Eve AND her 6th birthday.  This wasn’t exactly how she had planned to spend her big day.  And of course I had NOTHING to do on Christmas Eve and my first day “home” in over a year.  I won’t even pretend that I kept a good attitude through the adventure.  I was Scrooge McGrumpleton at his finest.

We tried to avoid the ER by going to an Urgent Care center first, but they refused to see her.  The doctors in the ER tried to put us through a throat swab, nose swab, blood draw, IV, and x-ray.  I am generally not one to question my medical professionals, but they crossed the line with an IV and an x-ray.  I put my foot down, and we just did the swabs and blood work.  Amazingly, the rapid strep test came back negative and all blood work was good, and they sent us home and chalked it up to a virus and an excema flareup.  My SIL, however, is not convinced, and we are waiting for the throat swab to come back to see if they find strep after all.

Meanwhile, my daughter’s body is covered with a bumpy rash and her face is swollen.  For her birthday.  And Christmas.  And remember my 3-year-old has a nice scab on her face from her run-in with the stocking holder.  Oh yes, it’s the gift that keeps on giving!  (A prize goes to the first one who can tell me what Christmas movie that line comes from.)

We managed to get our errands done and put a birthday party together last night, although we didn’t eat dinner until 8:00.  After that we had cake and presents.  And after THAT we still had to wrap presents and play Santa.  And then my mom started making pies at MIDNIGHT.  No lie.  I went to bed on her, I’m sorry to say.  I’m a wimp.  And I also get really bitchy when I don’t get enough sleep.  Nuff said.

This morning the kids woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  I can’t say the same for the adults, but we did haul our sleepy arses out of bed and paste smiles on our faces.  After all, the show must go on!  Santa (aka Grammie) left a Wii, an Easy Bake Oven, and the Fisher Price dollhouse unwrapped under the tree.  There was also a stocking full of goodies for each of the kids.  Let’s just say the kids had no problem occupying themselves while we prepared breakfast and put the turkey in the oven.

After breakfast, we gathered around the tree to open the wrapped gifts.  Santa (aka Grammie) hit the bullseye again with a GPS and a pair of red patent leather pumps.  I hope this means I’ll never get lost again.  But if I do, all I have to do is click my heels together and chant, “There’s no place like home!”  I mean, I’ve got the shoes!

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Then my husband topped his surprise Christmas gift from last year by hiding a shiny new aluminum MacBook in a box labeled as bathroom fixtures.  I knew we were getting the bathroom fixtures (something I’ve been wanting ever since we moved into our current home) and I honestly thought, when I saw and felt the weight of that box, that he had drug them down here for me to have something to open as we were supposed to be cutting back on Christmas gifts this year.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I opened the box to reveal the signature white MacBook box.  I had NO idea this was coming.  I have been wanting a laptop and was lusting after the new generation of MacBooks, but I figured I’d have to save up my design money to get one.  So much for cutting back on Christmas.  Is it possible to be both naughty and nice?  Hey, now I’ll be going to Blissdom in {laptop} style!

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Ooooh.  Speaking of style, where does one find a stylish laptop case?  I see a shopping expedition in my future.

That wasn’t the only sweet gift I got.  My son drug his father to the mall to shop for me and actually picked out a lipstick that is the perfect shade of rosy pink.  And it came with a few little extra gifts and a small pink cosmetic bag the perfect size for carrying a lip gloss and a hand cream inside my purse.  So I scored all the way around!

My husband loved the tripod I got him, but since I obediently stuck to our $100 spending limit, it certainly wasn’t as exciting as when I opened my laptop.

But it was my brother and his wife who had the best Christmas gift of all.  They’re expecting a baby next summer!

Now it’s time to gear up for Christmas dinner.  I’m sure my mom would appreciate some help in the kitchen, so I’ll have to tear myself away from my new BFF and socialize.

Despite all of my grumbling about the trials of the week, I feel very blessed that our family is together and happy and healthy.  I know not everyone can say that, and my heart goes out to those who are missing loved ones or suffering from illness or depression today.  I hope that, no matter what your circumstances may be, you can stop for a few moments today and rejoice in the birth of our Savior.

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21 Responses

  1. wow, awesome gift for you and sneaky too!
    hope your little one is going to be okay. Sounds like a great eventful Christmas!
    Movie line…it’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year! Christmas vacation! I love that movie!

  2. Merry Christmas, I hope your daughter is feeling better. By 4:00 Christmas day my 3 year was cuddled under a blanket on the floor on her own accord, my husband and I looked at each other and then at her with that Oh know here is comes feeling…this child never stops moving or talking unless she is very sick…out comes the thermometer…101.6 here we go! We had a lovely christmas though and she perked up and made it through dinner, I even think the fever broke during one of the 5 million times she woke me up last night!

    I must get a blog post up about christmas some time but I don’t think it will happen until tonight!

  3. Sounds like a Merry Christmas despite the illness. I’m so glad the ER visit did not turn into anything more serious. And now, I want to come live with your family. Those are my kinds of surprises.

  4. Wow, that sounds like the most hectic week before Christmas ever! Sorry for all the trauma, and hope things will settle down. While I did not get anything as fancy as a Macbook, I did receive a Coolpix camera so I can take and upload pictures to my blog. I was pretty excited, and it’s so easy to use. So watch for my blog to get real pretty in the near future.

  5. Sounds like Christmas Day shaped up ok, despite the medical mishaps. I’m loving my new MacBook – but still need to figure the dang thing out. I just figured out the equal to control – doh! I was thinking I’m going to get a Vera Bradley laptop case – we can shop together if you want.
    So exciting for your Brother too – a new baby. Congrats to them and your Mom and Dad!
    See you when you get back. Alex is dying to show Alex all of his new stuff and he was thrilled to hear that you all got a Wii.

  6. We got a wii and I’m loving kicking Mateo’s arse in bowling. It’s so fun!!! Happy Holidays to you and your beautiful family and YAY for your brother and wife.!!

  7. My kids (usually Amanda) are usually sick at Christmas too. Seriously–she gets sick maybe twice a year, and that’s always one of the, so I’m sure my in-laws think that she’s just sickly.

    What’s the verdict on scarlet fever/strep??

    Congrats on the Macbook! What a score!

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