High: We got the kids DS’s for Christmas and I sweardagod, it was the best idea we have ever come up with as parents. Nothing has EVER shut my kids up like these things do…they’re fucking great!
Low: For several days after receiving his DS, Oliver woke us up at 5am asking if he could play with his.
High: This year, I got a gift from my husband that I’ve been wanting for ages now: a digital camera. It’s small and lightweight and it fits in my pocket; it’s exactly what I wanted.
Low: It doesn’t have a flash.
High: For the first time ever, I think, Dave didn’t stick a bottle of cheap Liquidation World-brand body wash in my stocking. It was a Christmas miracle!
Low: Not so fast…he wrapped up a box of knockoff Sham Wow’s and stuck them under the tree for me instead.
High: Thanks to the newly acquired newfound DS’s, the drive to my aunt and uncle’s for our annual family Christmas was FUCKING BRILLIANT – we hardly heard a peep out of our children the entire two and a half hours (those things paid for themselves right then and there in the backseat of the car).
Low: Dave and I have to sleep in the same room as our children when we spend the night at my aunt and uncle’s house. This year I shared a bed with Oliver; I would have gotten a better night’s sleep if I had slept with a goddamn bull.
High: Dave got a $75 gift certificate at Mark’s Work Wearhouse from my dad for Christmas (which I was quite excited about – since I’ve met him, my husband’s signature look has been Sloppy, one I am growing tired of, rapidly).
Low: Whoever sold the gift card to my father didn’t activate it – essentially, my father bought an empty card. And my father doesn’t keep his receipts (a CARDINAL SIN in my opinion; I keep every single receipt for every single Christmas gift I buy until at least March) – well, he sure as hell does now, but…yeah. You see where this is going? You don't get nuthin' without a receipt in this world, so my dad’s out almost a hundred bucks and my husband still looks sloppy.
High: There is, at present, an obscene amount of chocolate in this house: chocolate covered brownies (god, those were good), brownies, a triple chocolate fudge cake, solid milk chocolate, chewy chocolate fudge brownie cookies, Pot of Gold chocolates (finished those yesterday), chocolate Christmas trees with caramel inside (I polished those babies off last night), mint chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate fudge Pop Tarts…it’s deliciously out of control.
Low: My willpower, I’ve discovered, ain’t what it used to be – suddenly, my skinny jeans are feeling a bit snug (oh, who am I kidding? I've never owned a pair of skinny jeans, and let's be honest: I never will. What I'm really trying to say is that I stuffed myself silly with chocolate this Christmas and, in the process, added at least ten pounds to my already rockin' muffin top).
High: This Christmas, for us, was all about enjoying family, reconnecting with friends and rekindling our long-lost romances with Disaronno and Pinot Grigio, respectively. The holidays erred on the social side this year, and it was really fun.
Low: Saying goodbye to a family patriarch – Dave’s (step) grandfather died during the holidays. We ended one decade and started another on a sad note, which wasn’t the way any of us wanted to welcome the yew year.
Gimmie a holiday high/low of your own, eh?
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High: I took the 23rd to yesterday off work.
Low: I spent the 23rd listening to my son whine for his mother, the 24-27th with my parents (10 people, 900 square feet), and the rest of it nursing two sick kids and a sick wife. Worst.Christmas.Vacation.Ever.
January 4th, 2010
about the card, if he paid w/ credit he might still be able to get somewhere, if it was cash, well then yeah receipts are pretty nice little scraps o’ paper. G’luck!
January 4th, 2010
I’m sorry about Dave’s step-grandfather.
As far as DS’s yes they rock. Miss C got one for her birthday last year but after the girls fought over the ONE my mom has now planted it in Miss A’s head that she MUST have one. Um thanks mom. ;) Miss C got a My Baby First Steps, Club Penguin and World of Zoo games for Christmas and loves them.
p.s. SHAM WOW…so freakin’ jealous …HA!
January 4th, 2010
sorry about Dave’s step-grandpa. we inherited an unused PS2 for Xmas and I’m enjoying the same solitude as you be
January 4th, 2010
That’s a bummer about the gift card. On the bright side, you have chocolate! Lots and lots of chocolate! My god, can I come over?!
January 4th, 2010
Damn. I’m not sure I can even approach those highs and lows… But how about I tell how great a no-flash digital camera can be? I take tons of pictures with my cell phone, which doesn’t have a flash. It’s great for unobtrusive kitty pictures without eye glow. Sure, the resolution can be really, really crappy, but with a bit of tweaking in Picasa (change picture to sepia or b&w if the color’s relaly off, oversharpen if it’s blurry), you can end up with some very artistic stuff. (Today’s kitty picture was one of those.)
January 4th, 2010
Santa came but I didnt get my wish…my kids are still here…
January 4th, 2010
High: My wife’s sister (or shitster, as I call her) went to Mexico for the entire holidays.
Low: My mother-in-law’s favourite daughter was out of the country, so she spent xmas with us.
Sham Wow’s–from what freaky chemical are those made?
January 4th, 2010
High: Going to Singapore with son#2 and sharing a week of one on one time with him. (Unprecedented when you have 4 kids within 5 years of each other.)
Low: Every now and then wishing that the other boys were there with us… I like their little faces..
January 4th, 2010
This post was ” BRILLIANT” btw
High: I get a whole month off for vacation and, since I worked very hard over the semester, I do not have any homework for a month. I get to be lazy and have fun.
Low: Since I have no excuses my family who lives down the street (and most of them a currently jobless) wants to hang out with me constantly.
January 4th, 2010
High: Borrowing someone else’s parents for Christmas
Low: Not being able to convince pao’s relations to break their not visiting mode :(
But we do have a fab kitten who beats silly relatives any day and pao’s god daughter came to visit.
January 4th, 2010
I’m so sorry for your loss.
January 4th, 2010
I forgot to say that my husband and I love our DSi’s and they entertain us on long journeys. :)
January 4th, 2010
we couldn’t wait for christmas to get the DS, it is a miracle worker.
High: Wii
Low: My lower back helping the 4 year old bowl on the wii
January 4th, 2010
Oh my god, this was so funny except for the part about the death in the family. I love the way you put this post together and yes DS was and is a savior with my two girls on many occasions.
Sadie at heyMamas.com
January 4th, 2010
High: as a rockin it divorced mom of 3- after much penny pinching I was able to buy kids a Wii complete with games and enough controllers for all.
Low: forgot to buy batteries for controllers (mind you just had major surgery on the 18th and was unable to drive)
Not sure which was louder- the squeals of excitement over getting the Wii or the crying when they realized they couldn’t play it until someone took mercy on them and dropped off AA’s for them.
January 4th, 2010
High: my first christmas with my first child….. so adorable!
Low: my dad called me fat. Again.
January 4th, 2010
High? Pottery Barn Gift Certificate!
Low? It’s only $50 which equals a lightbulb in Pottery Barn currency.
January 4th, 2010
I love all your highs and lows, I laughed so hard on some of them.
I’m glad that you had a beautiful Christmas! :)
Highs? Getting a million gift cards that I could use for clothes, wedding registry fun, and kitchen gadgets.
Lows? THE INLAWS.
January 4th, 2010
High: I did a pretty darn good job cooking my very first Christmas dinner
Low: My kids refused to eat any of it and my husband declared that he didn’t feel like eating turkey or sweet-potatoes or gravy and ate only the stuffing.
So sorry to hear about Dave’s step-grandfather.
I am looking forward to the time when my kids will be old enough for a DS (or similar)
January 5th, 2010
High – Having a Christmas dinner at my house! Loved seeing my whole family together at MY dining room table.
Low – After desert, figuring out that my eldest daughter has chicken pox. Oh, forgot to mention that my 9 month old niece was also at that dining room table. Fail.
January 5th, 2010
Woohoo! A new camera….have you taken a million photos yet?!
That really sucks about the gift card…but I’m like you I keep every single receipt…however, my husband does not(this drives me absolutely insane!) and guess who bought our daughter ice skates…she tried them on the other day and guess what? they don’t fit, he bought them at Canadian Tire, I’m really keeping my fingers crossed that they will let him do an exchange.
Otherwise, anybody out there want a size 6 pair of skates?
Oooh, the chocolate, I came to work yesterday and a co-worker had left a gift bag that included chocolates..I can’t even get away from them when I’m working, that must be a sign that I HAVE to eat it, right? Don’t want to appear ungrateful.
January 5th, 2010
High– I showed my hair who’s in charge.
Low– I’m not that good at cutting hair.
c’est la guerre. ..
January 5th, 2010
I have a nintendo DS. I got it for my birthday like 2 years ago, and it keeps me quiet for hours. I think my boyfriend silently thanks God that I got it before I met him.
January 5th, 2010
High: The kids loved their gifts very much.
Low: They were still more interested in playing with each other’s new toys which resulted in much squabbling in the last several days of the holiday break.
That picture you linked to for the Sham Wow made me laugh so hard I nearly peed myself.
January 6th, 2010
High: My netbook!
Low: Waking at 5 am on Christmas.
We had a wonderful Christmas and break. I’m still a little bummed that it is over.
January 6th, 2010
We had a great Christmas break–no one got sick, the kids didn’t fight, gifts were appreciated, and we had a white Christmas, which is rare in Virginia.
The low? The storm that dumped 19 inches of snow on us forced us to cancel the two FREE nights we’d booked in a D.C. motel located right on the National Mall, We lost our FREE weekend in Washington at Christmas AND could not re-book or re-use the nights.
January 7th, 2010
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