12/24-25, A Crappy, Croupy Christmas

I'll spare you the lyrics to the holiday song which my title can be matched.  I would love to say that we had the BEST Christmas ever and that Emalie's first Christmas and Sven's mom's long-awaited visit were worth every second in gold.  Yes, I wish I could say that.  I wish even more that that is how it had been.  But, honestly, this will go down in our family records as one of the worst Christmas' ever.  No, I'm not being dramatic; I'm simply stating it as it is.  Last year we were coined "The Haus of Ham".  This year we were demoted to the "Haus of Hell".  Yes, it was that bad.   So bad, in fact, that I already shudder to think that there will be another Christmas next year!  It's going to take me 364 days to get over this holiday season and look ahead to the next one.  

I won't go airing all of our family garbage, but I will say that we had a slight (ok, with the emphasis of italics then I guess it wasn't so 'slight') problem with Nikolas and his perpetual sneaking, unwrapping and hiding of his Christmas gifts. ( I guess mom and dad should catch a clue and learn something from the 10-year old in planning for next year.)  That prelude into the spirit of giving at Christmas was like repeatedly stubbing your toe-- it got really old, really fast.

We did have a nice time at the Zoolights.  In hindsight, I think that's where our Christmas vacation got off track.  Now that I think about it, there was a LOT of sneezing and coughing going on around us.  Mental note for the future:  NEVER again attend mass functions during the height of the flu/cold season.  Christmas Eve day was probably my favorite part of the week.  Sven's mom and I went to my favorite used bookstore and spent a glorious two hours perusing the shelves and enjoying some fabulous 'girl talk' (not to mention the loot we came home with).  That afternoon, Nikolas and grandma made cookies together as the snow began to fall outside.  Nice segue into Christmas, right?  We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve with our little family, Sven's mom and our good friends and neighbors who live next door.  It really was a wonderful evening.

How sweet-- Nikolas cut out cookies for Emalie's name.

The kids opening one gift each Christmas Eve.

Opening the wrapping ever-so slowly and carefully.
(Can you hear Nikolas pacing in the background?!)

"Am I really supposed to be ripping this??"

Emalie sat on the bench between Mark and Dawn and ate her Christmas Eve dinner so properly.
I'm thinking she thinks she's too old for her high chair now.  Uh-oh.....

Grandma and Emalie.

The kids Christmas Eve (if you think Emalie looks tired already, just wait....).

Christmas morning was the usual blur of stockings, gifts and perpetual motion.  Emalie wasn't sure what was going on, but she tried to keep up with Nik as best she could (or rather he tried to keep her caught up with him).  I'm thinking we may have gone a little overboard this year with gifts....maybe just a little.

Santa's surprises....

Let the gifts begin......

She doesn't quite have the right idea yet.

But she's liking what she sees!

Her legs need to be just a little bit longer.

A white Christmas.

Our friend Kim came over for Christmas dinner.  

Nikolas tries so hard to teach her to ride a tricycle....in one day.

At that point in holiday, we should have closed the book, went to bed and started anew.  We did start anew, unfortunately not in the positive way.  I woke up sick, followed 3 hours later by Sven's mom, followed 9 hours later by Sven.  All that AND the kids got to go to the dentist the day after Christmas-- YAY!!  We each had our own variation of a bug.  None of us felt good enough to take care of the other person or the kids.  Our only choice was to take up residency on the couches and wait it out-- and hope all pandemonium didn't break out in the meantime.  It was AWFUL.  I think we may be the only family who LOST weight this Christmas season.  So much for Christmas leftovers, the most we nibbled at was dry toast.

I really don't remember those days after Christmas too well other than at some point Sven took his mom to the airport.  It's amazing she made it home under these circumstances.  Her stomach bug cleared up enough for her to travel only to get home and catch the respiratory part that we mostly had.  Poor mom.  And as if things weren't bad already, the afternoon mom left we rushed Emalie to the Children's Hospital ER with a 105 degree temp.  The prognosis?  Croup.  How in all of Nikolas' almost-11 years did he never have the croup we will never know.  Boy, oh boy, when your child is burning up, vomiting, coughing like a seal and wheezing when she's trying to breathe, that's some scary stuff.  They gave her some meds and we went home.....only to return 24 hours later on advice of the nurse on call.  It's pretty impossible to get well as parents when you're only sleeping 20 minutes at a time with a child who is even more ill than you are.

Awful, scary stuff.  Thankfully, Emalie is now on the mend.  She's as irritable as all get-out, but on the mend.  (Now that I think about it, we're all pretty irritable....) And you can guess what's coming next, right?  "Mom.....my throat hurts...."..... yep, Nik's turn (as if starting his Christmas vacation with a stomach bug wasn't bad enough).  Good God give me strength!!!!  So, yes, we survived (barely) Christmas.  Sven goes back to work tomorrow.  Emalie and I are trying to get better; Nikolas is trying to get worse.  See?  I really wasn't exaggerating all that much when I said that this has been our worst Christmas to date.  I don't know how one Christmas (last year) could be so perfect and how another so miserable.  It is what it is, I suppose.  But let me tell you, it doesn't hurt my feelings WHAT SO EVER to take down the Christmas decorations this year and throw that darn tree off the deck!!!  Be gone with the old and in with the new!!!!!!  Cough, cough, sniff, sniff.......HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!