Saturday, January 3, 2009

What...a whirlwind!

This being our first Christmas together, combined with a new house, plus two weeks off from work for both of us...it's been a whirlwind of a Christmas vacation.

We started our vacation off with a trip to the Meyerson for their annual Christmas concert. Craig dressed up and didn't fall asleep so I consider the evening a complete success. There was a discussion afterward about how women (more importantly ME) need compliments. I don't get dressed up very often - most of the time it's brushing the hair, minimal make-up and sweats to work. So, when I DO take the time and effort to get dressed up for a special occassion, I would like the acknowledgement. Unfortunately, Craig can't read my mind. I came out of the bathroom in my special new top (onsale for 22 bucks from Banana Republic!!) and asked him "Do I look okay?" His answer, as he grabbed his stuff off the bed and was heading out the room? "Yeah, you look fine. Ready to go?" Uh...a little insufficient, don't you think? After carefully explaining to him a few days later that there are times when I don't expect the WOW moment from him - most of the time I just need to know that my hair isn't sticking up on top and there's no toothpaste on my shirt. These times occur most frequently and typically take place before we're heading to meet up with friends or to a Stars game. BUT - there are those times when it is obvious that I that I spent a lot of time and effort into looking good and I think that I deserve a little bit more than his response. He understood and promised to make a better effort.

On Tuesday the 22nd, Craig and I took Alex, my nephew, to eat at Fuddrucker's for lunch and then to the Gaylord ICE show. He was perfectly behaved and enjoyed spending time with his Aunt La La and Craig. Alex was the funniest when we were walking out of the restaurant and he struck a pose and shouted "It's Ice time!" Craig and I really loved being able to spend one-on-one time with Alex.

The next few days were spent buying last minute gifts for people and cleaning up the house. By the time Christmas Eve rolled around our tree was so full with presents underneath we had to organize the presents into the three Christmases we would be attending. For Christmas Eve, we cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu, mashed potatoes and pineapple au gratin. I had begged Craig all day to let us open presents as soon as possible, but he was convinced that we had to wait until the very end of the evening. After a wickedly intense game of Rock-Paper-Scissors that Craig won, we cleaned up dinner and watched my favorite holiday movie, Elf. As soon as the credits started rolling, I popped up from the couch, clicked off the DVD player and announced that it was time for PRESENTS!!! Among other things, I got an A&M Reville little statue thing, some Carolina and A&M shirts, new jeans, tickets to Britney Spears, a spa certificate and the Beatles Love Cirque de Soleil DVD. I got Craig some new Nike shirts, a jacket, a book on Beer, some Texas gear and the Stepbrothers DVD. It was pretty hard to find stuff for each other because for the most part...if we want something, we go out and buy it.

The next morning we woke up early and got ready for a day full of family, eating and presents. I think both of us were a little nervous heading into this day because of the fact that we had never done Christmas together, or with each other's families! We had a great time at his mom's house with his mom, MeMa and sister - we got a ton of stuff for the house...a blender, a Blue Ray dvd player, an iHome, a crock pot and bath mats just to name a few. Craig got lots of new clothes, which led me to tell him that his closet needs to be cleaned out before the new clothes go in! It was a little overwhelming for me because my family does Christmas a little smaller as far as presents go, but like Craig said...this is the only time that his family buys things for each other.

After a quick stop and nap at our house after lunch, we headed further south to the HEB area for Christmas with my family - Mom, Dad, Stephen and his wife Meredith and their two boys, Alex who recently turned 5 and Ford who will be 2 in March. Christmas was pleasant - Craig got lots of new tools and I got a squishy new set of brown towels for our master bathroom. After all the presents had been opened, we had to get dinner started, which can be kind of difficult in the cramped kitchen at my mom's house with two little guys running around. Craig sensed this and took Alex and Ford outside to play with the new sports balls that we got Ford for Christmas. Peeking out the front door while cleaning up the paper from the presents, I was touched to see Craig rolling around with the boys, both of them looking thoroughly thrilled to be roughhousing and playing ball with their favorite new friend. After a delicious dinner, we stuck around long enough to watch a little of the Mavs game, but couldn't stay too long because I was quickly falling asleep. We headed back home and quickly cranked up the spa and relaxed out there before going to bed.

Although I truly enjoyed spending time with all our family, three Christmases is EXHAUSTING!

The rest of the Christmas week was spent finishing painting the spare bedroom, the guest bath and the gameroom upstairs. Between Craig doing the majority of the big wall space and me doing the detail work, we were able to knock out those three rooms pretty quickly. I was amazed at the difference that a little bit of paint made on our bright purple spare bathroom! And it gave me an excuse to go out and buy new bathroom decorations for our master bathroom. At first, I couldn't understand why Craig was so insistent on painting these rooms RIGHT NOW, but then I realized - DUH! His birthday was on the 29th and we were having a bunch of friends over for a celebration. He doesn't say it very blatantly, but I know that he is super proud of the house and the work that we have done.

We had a lovely party for his birthday on the 29th - lots of his friends were able to come over and help us celebrate his 35th birthday. It also gave me a chance to prove to myself that I CAN throw a party and cook as well! I think he really enjoyed the party and was touched that I went through so much effort and planning to do something special for him.

School starts back up on Monday and I'm looking forward to getting back on a regular schedule...

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