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Jan. 6th, 2011 05:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckScott had Christmas Eve off this year because Christmas was on Saturday. That let us go up to his parents' place relatively early, about one o'clock. We'd probably have gone earlier, but Scott needed to bake an apple pie for Christmas dinner. The pie was an experiment in using a purchased, gluten free crust. Scott ended up taking a trip to the store to buy rice flour to make a crumble topping. The experiment was not altogether successful, unfortunately. Scott says he won't repeat it.
I used the time while Scott was preparing the pie to make the porridge for Christmas morning. It's a long process. I used Arborio rice (thanks to all who made suggestions when I asked about it!). I also cubed the cheese for the cheese spread we'd be taking to the Christmas gathering. Cubing the cheese is the most time consuming part of the process, so I'm glad it can be done in advance.
Scott's brother and his wife and daughter were already at Scott's parents' place, in from Seattle. The girls went sledding. I had to squash some anxiety over it-- There's a lake (artificial, I believe) at the bottom of the slope. Even knowing that it was frozen through didn't fully reassure me. Still, the girls had a great time.
About the time the girls came in, Scott's sister and her family arrived. I don't think her two had the chance to do any sledding. We got the two sledders changed into clothes more appropriate for church and proceeded to do family photographs. Scott and I don't have a tripod for our camera, so we have to rely on getting copies of other people's big group pictures. The ones I've seen came out pretty well.
We went to a four o'clock church service. Scott and I were both a little bit frustrated as our colds meant we couldn't really sing properly. Scott's talking about going to church during Advent next year, just so he can have a chance to sing more carols. The four kids sat together and read through the service. I'd have liked to have Cordelia singing with us on the carols, but she wanted to be with her cousins.
After church, we went back to Scott's parents' place for pizza. The local Cottage Inn must have boggled a little over the order-- There was one pizza with gluten free crust, one pizza with soy cheese, one pizza with alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce and another two or three fairly standard pizzas. I suppose special orders aren't that rare. It just felt like we needed to step around a lot of different food issues.
Scott's parents had the four kids open all of their Christmas presents that night. (They said that that made transportation all somebody else's problem.) Cordelia got Clue, Operation and a set of paperdolls with clothing she could customize a bit. The clothes are on that paper with a layer of black over colors. The customizable part is how she scratches the black off.
We stayed until about seven. Then I insisted that we head home. Scott and I had too much to do yet. Cordelia, not too surprisingly, didn't want to leave. She wanted Christmas morning to come quickly, but she didn't want to leave Grammi and Papa's.
We got Cordelia into bed a whole lot more easily than I expected. She has decided that it's Christmas tradition for her to read The Night Before Christmas to me (or, one assumes, to Scott). I'll have to remember that for next year. We expected her to do some bouncing out of bed, but she didn't.
Scott set up in the dining room to wrap presents. I filled stockings. Once I was done with that, I helped Scott. He's meticulous in wrapping. The gifts look lovely, but the process takes forever. I'm sloppier but faster. Between us, we got Cordelia's gifts wrapped and labeled fairly quickly. Scott then shooed me to bed, saying that he had some things to do that I wasn't to see.
Cordelia wasn't up quite as early as I expected. The first thing she did was ask permission to use the bathroom. That surprised me-- I thought she'd know that that was okay. We just didn't want her going on to the living room without us.
Cordelia's stocking was nearly overflowing because we'd stuck in a present that we couldn't figure out how to wrap, an electric pencil sharpener to replace the one that never really worked. Also in the stocking was a necklace she'd coveted at UCon. I'd bought it while she was out of the room, just as the dealer selling it was preparing to pack up her stock. I'd hidden it in my purse. She also got a lot of candy (to add to her Halloween leftovers), a pomegranite, and an orange.
I got Scott a leatherman and a Star Trek pizza cutter from Think Geek. (I'd been quite without ideas, and he handed me the catalog saying, "Anything in here that you think I'd like, I'd like.") I bought a few other things at the same time, but I'm keeping those for his birthday. I almost, in light of the TV and such, kept back the leatherman for his birthday, but I didn't. He's used it for a few things since that he couldn't have done easily otherwise, so I'm glad I didn't wait. I also got a Perry the Platypus plushie for Cordelia to give him.
Scott got me The Cartoon History of the Modern World vols. 1 and 2. Cordelia gave me a first aid kit (it's mostly bandaids). There's a DVD boxed set that I picked up on sale from Amazon that was supposed to be in there, but Scott lost track of it. I have to find it and make him give it to me. Scott also gave me the promise of a day just for me. I'm not sure when I'll take him up on it, but it sounds nice.
I've lost track of what all Cordelia got. There was a keyboard and a Playmobil set and a Wii game, but beyond that, I forget. She seemed pleased, though, and opened the Playmobil set pretty much immediately.
We also got a family present from Santa-- a jigsaw puzzle. I've put off opening it due to needing the dining room table. Now, Scott's saying he wants to try to keep the table clean. I don't know where to set up the puzzle. We haven't got room for a card table for the time it would take.
Aided by Scott's parents, Cordelia got dollar store presents for me and Scott, mechanical pencils for him and scent diffuser (to which I unfortunately turned out to be allergic) for me. Scott's mother later told us about the shopping trip-- Cordelia apparently spent quite a bit of time looking. She saw a lot of things she wanted for herself but focused on finding gifts. After they bought the presents, she questioned whether the gifts really could be from her, given that Papa paid for them.
After presents, I heated up the porridge. As usual, Cordelia got the date (the tradition is to put an almond in. Whoever gets the almond is blessed with good luck for the next year. I'm allergic to nuts, so we can't use an almond. I put a date in instead. It doesn't work as well because it's generally obvious where it is).
Scott and I both showered. I made the cheese spread. We got everything staged toward the door and were on the road by about eleven.
Scott's sister hosts the family gathering every year. It includes her in-laws as well as her family. She also always invites my brother (he just never can come). Scott's parents and his brother's family were there already when we arrived. They'd come in time for breakfast.
There was a fire in the fireplace which turned out to be a bad thing from my point of view. My nose ran almost constantly all day. I'm very nearly certain that it was the smoke causing the problem.
Pretty much as soon as we arrived, I put out the cheese spread and crackers and about half of the bacon wrapped dates. Both proved popular this year during the hours while we waited for dinner. I'm glad I've found foods I can contribute that aren't exhausting to make. Cordelia even helped me with the bacon wrapped dates this year. She handed me dates so that I wouldn't contaminate the main container with my bacon smeared hands. It took a little bit to get across to her that she should drop the dates into my hand rather than putting them there. We had to wash her hands once before she figured it out.
We had two present exchanges, one with just Scott's family and one after Scott's sister's in-laws arrived. Scott makes calendars for people every year, using family photos, but they weren't ready yet, so we had nothing to give most of the adults. I've lost track of who was given what apart from that Cordelia got the train game, TransAmerica, and a second keyboard, that I got Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 and a set of three pound weights, and that Scott's sister's mother-in-law finally stumbled on a gift that we like-- She donated money to charity in our name, buying two chickens for a poor family.
The day passed slowly. I can't say that I did anything memorable. The meal was lamb and a pork loin. Cordelia played non-stop. We stayed relatively late. I was glad to go home.
The day after Christmas, we were back at Scott's sister's house. This time, it was a surprise party for one of our nieces. Scott's brother's daughter has a birthday in the middle of January. She's never been in Michigan for it, so the family has never previously had a birthday celebration for her.
We got there maybe an hour before the birthday girl. Her parents didn't know what was planned either. They were staying with Scott's parents and moving that day to stay with Scott's sister's family. They hadn't rented a car, so Scott's parents had to transport them, giving Scott's parents an excuse to be there.
While we waited, Cordelia and her cousins played a Wii game. I helped blow up balloons.
Our niece was definitely surprised and pleased. Scott's brother was a bit annoyed that nobody told him to have his camera ready.
We played a lot with the balloons, all of us, for about fifteen minutes. We were tossing balloons into the air and batting them around. The kids had a grand time.
We had cake and opened presents. We gave our niece some books. She's a reader. We might not have given her books if I'd understood better what Scott was saying-- He told me, "She's reading the Percy Jackson books." What he meant was, "That's how crazy she is about Greek mythology." What I heard was, "That's her reading level. Isn't that amazing for a six year old?" Hopefully, she'll enjoy the books even though they're not about Greek mythology. They're all good ones.
About an hour into the party, I was ready to go home. Cordelia decidedly wasn't. Scott ended up taking me home, leaving Cordelia to play with her cousins. At home, I worked on the laundry, and he did the grocery shopping. With the groceries still in the car, he drove back up to get Cordelia.
By the end of the three days, I wanted nothing more than some time to myself, time to nap, time to read, time to watch DVDs, something. Unfortunately, Cordelia being home meant I couldn't get it. I wish she were a reader. I have books that she could get lost in, but she's not just uninterested-- She's hostile to the notion.
I used the time while Scott was preparing the pie to make the porridge for Christmas morning. It's a long process. I used Arborio rice (thanks to all who made suggestions when I asked about it!). I also cubed the cheese for the cheese spread we'd be taking to the Christmas gathering. Cubing the cheese is the most time consuming part of the process, so I'm glad it can be done in advance.
Scott's brother and his wife and daughter were already at Scott's parents' place, in from Seattle. The girls went sledding. I had to squash some anxiety over it-- There's a lake (artificial, I believe) at the bottom of the slope. Even knowing that it was frozen through didn't fully reassure me. Still, the girls had a great time.
About the time the girls came in, Scott's sister and her family arrived. I don't think her two had the chance to do any sledding. We got the two sledders changed into clothes more appropriate for church and proceeded to do family photographs. Scott and I don't have a tripod for our camera, so we have to rely on getting copies of other people's big group pictures. The ones I've seen came out pretty well.
We went to a four o'clock church service. Scott and I were both a little bit frustrated as our colds meant we couldn't really sing properly. Scott's talking about going to church during Advent next year, just so he can have a chance to sing more carols. The four kids sat together and read through the service. I'd have liked to have Cordelia singing with us on the carols, but she wanted to be with her cousins.
After church, we went back to Scott's parents' place for pizza. The local Cottage Inn must have boggled a little over the order-- There was one pizza with gluten free crust, one pizza with soy cheese, one pizza with alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce and another two or three fairly standard pizzas. I suppose special orders aren't that rare. It just felt like we needed to step around a lot of different food issues.
Scott's parents had the four kids open all of their Christmas presents that night. (They said that that made transportation all somebody else's problem.) Cordelia got Clue, Operation and a set of paperdolls with clothing she could customize a bit. The clothes are on that paper with a layer of black over colors. The customizable part is how she scratches the black off.
We stayed until about seven. Then I insisted that we head home. Scott and I had too much to do yet. Cordelia, not too surprisingly, didn't want to leave. She wanted Christmas morning to come quickly, but she didn't want to leave Grammi and Papa's.
We got Cordelia into bed a whole lot more easily than I expected. She has decided that it's Christmas tradition for her to read The Night Before Christmas to me (or, one assumes, to Scott). I'll have to remember that for next year. We expected her to do some bouncing out of bed, but she didn't.
Scott set up in the dining room to wrap presents. I filled stockings. Once I was done with that, I helped Scott. He's meticulous in wrapping. The gifts look lovely, but the process takes forever. I'm sloppier but faster. Between us, we got Cordelia's gifts wrapped and labeled fairly quickly. Scott then shooed me to bed, saying that he had some things to do that I wasn't to see.
Cordelia wasn't up quite as early as I expected. The first thing she did was ask permission to use the bathroom. That surprised me-- I thought she'd know that that was okay. We just didn't want her going on to the living room without us.
Cordelia's stocking was nearly overflowing because we'd stuck in a present that we couldn't figure out how to wrap, an electric pencil sharpener to replace the one that never really worked. Also in the stocking was a necklace she'd coveted at UCon. I'd bought it while she was out of the room, just as the dealer selling it was preparing to pack up her stock. I'd hidden it in my purse. She also got a lot of candy (to add to her Halloween leftovers), a pomegranite, and an orange.
I got Scott a leatherman and a Star Trek pizza cutter from Think Geek. (I'd been quite without ideas, and he handed me the catalog saying, "Anything in here that you think I'd like, I'd like.") I bought a few other things at the same time, but I'm keeping those for his birthday. I almost, in light of the TV and such, kept back the leatherman for his birthday, but I didn't. He's used it for a few things since that he couldn't have done easily otherwise, so I'm glad I didn't wait. I also got a Perry the Platypus plushie for Cordelia to give him.
Scott got me The Cartoon History of the Modern World vols. 1 and 2. Cordelia gave me a first aid kit (it's mostly bandaids). There's a DVD boxed set that I picked up on sale from Amazon that was supposed to be in there, but Scott lost track of it. I have to find it and make him give it to me. Scott also gave me the promise of a day just for me. I'm not sure when I'll take him up on it, but it sounds nice.
I've lost track of what all Cordelia got. There was a keyboard and a Playmobil set and a Wii game, but beyond that, I forget. She seemed pleased, though, and opened the Playmobil set pretty much immediately.
We also got a family present from Santa-- a jigsaw puzzle. I've put off opening it due to needing the dining room table. Now, Scott's saying he wants to try to keep the table clean. I don't know where to set up the puzzle. We haven't got room for a card table for the time it would take.
Aided by Scott's parents, Cordelia got dollar store presents for me and Scott, mechanical pencils for him and scent diffuser (to which I unfortunately turned out to be allergic) for me. Scott's mother later told us about the shopping trip-- Cordelia apparently spent quite a bit of time looking. She saw a lot of things she wanted for herself but focused on finding gifts. After they bought the presents, she questioned whether the gifts really could be from her, given that Papa paid for them.
After presents, I heated up the porridge. As usual, Cordelia got the date (the tradition is to put an almond in. Whoever gets the almond is blessed with good luck for the next year. I'm allergic to nuts, so we can't use an almond. I put a date in instead. It doesn't work as well because it's generally obvious where it is).
Scott and I both showered. I made the cheese spread. We got everything staged toward the door and were on the road by about eleven.
Scott's sister hosts the family gathering every year. It includes her in-laws as well as her family. She also always invites my brother (he just never can come). Scott's parents and his brother's family were there already when we arrived. They'd come in time for breakfast.
There was a fire in the fireplace which turned out to be a bad thing from my point of view. My nose ran almost constantly all day. I'm very nearly certain that it was the smoke causing the problem.
Pretty much as soon as we arrived, I put out the cheese spread and crackers and about half of the bacon wrapped dates. Both proved popular this year during the hours while we waited for dinner. I'm glad I've found foods I can contribute that aren't exhausting to make. Cordelia even helped me with the bacon wrapped dates this year. She handed me dates so that I wouldn't contaminate the main container with my bacon smeared hands. It took a little bit to get across to her that she should drop the dates into my hand rather than putting them there. We had to wash her hands once before she figured it out.
We had two present exchanges, one with just Scott's family and one after Scott's sister's in-laws arrived. Scott makes calendars for people every year, using family photos, but they weren't ready yet, so we had nothing to give most of the adults. I've lost track of who was given what apart from that Cordelia got the train game, TransAmerica, and a second keyboard, that I got Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 and a set of three pound weights, and that Scott's sister's mother-in-law finally stumbled on a gift that we like-- She donated money to charity in our name, buying two chickens for a poor family.
The day passed slowly. I can't say that I did anything memorable. The meal was lamb and a pork loin. Cordelia played non-stop. We stayed relatively late. I was glad to go home.
The day after Christmas, we were back at Scott's sister's house. This time, it was a surprise party for one of our nieces. Scott's brother's daughter has a birthday in the middle of January. She's never been in Michigan for it, so the family has never previously had a birthday celebration for her.
We got there maybe an hour before the birthday girl. Her parents didn't know what was planned either. They were staying with Scott's parents and moving that day to stay with Scott's sister's family. They hadn't rented a car, so Scott's parents had to transport them, giving Scott's parents an excuse to be there.
While we waited, Cordelia and her cousins played a Wii game. I helped blow up balloons.
Our niece was definitely surprised and pleased. Scott's brother was a bit annoyed that nobody told him to have his camera ready.
We played a lot with the balloons, all of us, for about fifteen minutes. We were tossing balloons into the air and batting them around. The kids had a grand time.
We had cake and opened presents. We gave our niece some books. She's a reader. We might not have given her books if I'd understood better what Scott was saying-- He told me, "She's reading the Percy Jackson books." What he meant was, "That's how crazy she is about Greek mythology." What I heard was, "That's her reading level. Isn't that amazing for a six year old?" Hopefully, she'll enjoy the books even though they're not about Greek mythology. They're all good ones.
About an hour into the party, I was ready to go home. Cordelia decidedly wasn't. Scott ended up taking me home, leaving Cordelia to play with her cousins. At home, I worked on the laundry, and he did the grocery shopping. With the groceries still in the car, he drove back up to get Cordelia.
By the end of the three days, I wanted nothing more than some time to myself, time to nap, time to read, time to watch DVDs, something. Unfortunately, Cordelia being home meant I couldn't get it. I wish she were a reader. I have books that she could get lost in, but she's not just uninterested-- She's hostile to the notion.
