Christmas randoms

[waverly]

Christmas Eve was overall nice. I was a bit fed up with DH but he redeemed himself. It was so warm that we walked over to one of the local waterfalls then went out to eat.

DH made breakfast and is smoking something for lunch. Kids liked their presents. I’m back to work tomorrow which is fine, and I am off the week of the 1st.

[mommyatty]

We had a lovely Christmas morning. DD loved getting her first phone and DS loved his PS5. We had fewer gifts this year because holy moly those were very expensive gifts. DD wanted a record player of all things, and she got one along with the Barbie soundtrack and Taylor Swift’s three record album. She was happy. We had to teacher her how to use it, which felt hilarious.

[186momx]

All was pretty normal. DD liked her candy thermometer and muck boots. My brother got her Legos which they built this afternoon while tag teaming cooking dinner.

My mom is sick like vomiting sick. No one told us until we were sitting down to eat dinner. We had been there for 2 hours. Here I was checking with everyone and feeling uneasy coming over with a plugged up head.

MIL sent DH and DD cards to my work. Well they didn't arrive before Thursday. DH asked for them today and I said they hadn't come as of Thursday. Guess MIL mixed up the cards and BIL got ours and we must have gotten theirs. DH wanted me to drive 30 minutes to work to check the mail and take care of this today so that BIl could get mailed to him ASAP. I told DH no it could wait until tomorrow when I go to work. Ugh the worst is that there is nothing in this for me at all. I'm invisible to MIL and all of DH family.

[sdlaura]

We had a nice Christmas overall. Kids made it till almost 7 am which is good for them. DD was reading to two of her brothers in her room when DH and I woke up. Everyone was happy with their gifts for the most part. I went for a run with DS3 and then took the 3 boys to the beach so DS1 could try out his new skimboard and DS2 could play with the little surfing guy that you throw into the waves and comes back to you.

Then after lunch we drove 1.5 hours to go visit our soon to be new puppy and her sisters and brother. They are 6 weeks old and soooo teeny tiny. She’s a Scottish terrier. We can bring her home 1/13. Then we had a super high class Christmas dinner at McDonald’s on the way home 🤣

mommyatty DD hoped that every box she opened was a phone, even though she knows we’ve said not yet. She may get one for elementary school promotion in the spring. We’ll see. She’s 11/6th grade.

[twinmomma]

Our Christmas went really well. The kids had a great time, solid time with some extended family. The girls went back to their dad's at noon yesterday, so DH, DS, and I went to see the new Wonka movie. We all loved it! Came home and relaxed for the rest of the evening, munching on leftovers and Christmas cookies.

Then at 9 PM, DH went to put DS to bed and started freaking out about the heat not working. We've been struggling with figuring out the various thermostat zones and baseboards in the house since it's our first winter here. DH has been mumbling and ranting about it for a week and I've been teasing him about it because he'll just randomly start talking to himself and share with me "Hm, this one's on, this one's not. Now this one's on, and this one's not." I did not think it was a big deal. Annoying? Sure. But I told him I had no clue how to resolve it and just call someone if he was that concerned. Well, last night he lost his mind over it and it turned into a whole fight about how I'm making fun of his ability to troubleshoot house problems and I don't respect or take him seriously with all he does around the house. Clearly there was a lot of pent up stuff that all just exploded. He does a lot around the house. But he's also basically a stay at home dad. He works maybe one day a week if the restaurant is busy enough to warrant it. So... yes. He does the vast majority of the dishes and the laundry and the home-making. I work full time and am the breadwinner by a lot. I thank him daily for all that he does for us. I tried to explain that if I left the house to work every day, I think he would have a different view of my messiness and lack of chore contribution because I wouldn't be sitting in the house all day where he can see me "not helping" even though I'm working all day. We were up until 2 AM arguing and then talking through it. It's all ok now, but damn, quite a difference from last Christmas when I proposed to him. He seems to have a lot of big feelings lately about his work, lack of financial contribution to the household, etc.

[waverly]

twinmomma, that is kind of how DH was on Christmas Eve. Lots of big feelings about his family's lack of support. His parents are solidly in the just OK category, and his relationship with his siblings has always been rocky. He's even mad at my family, and I asked him why and he couldn't explain it. Anyway, I digress, but basically just too many feelings around the holiday most that DH can't really solve because if his siblings are selfish there isn't much he can do about that.

[rere]

Good overall. Dd liked all ger gifts. We got to talk to ds and he liked the extra gifts we sent and got some nice things from his girlfriends family. We hung out last night with Dhs sister and BIL which was fun.

But. My mom is exhausting. She talks non stop, even to the point of tell her brother to hush, she's talking. She's always been about herself and never really anyone else having a different opinion. She kept saying how well the grandkids were doing and they get that from her and she gets some credit. I looked at my brother and one point and said I'm about to take her out. She blames her loosing her business on not liking math like its she had no control over that, when really, she just didn't take time to balance books. So I popped off that Dd got an A in chemistry and statistics, so that definitely wasn't from her.At about 2 hrs, Dh stood by the door, signaling he was done.

[supertrooper1]

DS went to his dad's late on Christmas eve, so Beau and I had Christmas morning by ourselves. We went to Beau's son's house for Christmas dinner, where his DIL's mom cooked. She's an ok cook, but it's gross because she doesn't have teeth from being a (I think former?) meth addict and spits when she talks. Beau also told me after that she was tasting the food and then using the same spoon in the pot. We then stopped by Beau's mom's house and saw her and his brother. Since we had spent the week before Christmas in Hawaii with my parents, we didn't feel the need to see them on Christmas day and will do a gift exchange in January when DS comes back form his dad's.

[186momx]

supertrooper1, how was Hawaii?

twinmomma, I feel like I'm the one having lots of big emotions and am trying so hard to not blow up at DH. Part of it is I'm not feeling great and my patience level is at an all time low.

[supertrooper1]

186momx, Hawaii was great! My parents enjoyed their trip and were very appreciative that I took them. They never thought they would ever get to see Hawaii, especially now at their age. My dad's highlight was seeing Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial. He knows a family that had two brothers killed on the USS Arizona. I couldn't tell if my mom enjoyed the beach, the pool, or feeding the Koi at our condo the most. Everything went well and our condo was perfect with a great view. Beau's brother booked a last minute trip overlapping ours and we did some activities and dinner with him as well.

This was the first time that I felt the impact of being in the sandwich generation. My parents are independent at their house, minus asking us to move heavy items when we visit. But my dad's mobility is getting pretty bad, my mom is a worrier and gets tired of my dad expecting everyone to wait on him, and DS was full of questions. So there were times where all three would be asking me questions at the same time. My dad also mentioned that money was tight for them since they had been reliant on money from a government land program that just ended, yet they still insisted on paying for meals even though Beau and I had no issues paying. Beau was a tremendous help on this trip and took everything in stride with my family.

[librarychica]

This Christmas gets a C from me. The kids would give the actual day of Christmas an A, at least.

We were up at 7, did gifts and the just-the-4-of-us part of Christmas was very nice. The girls were happy and appreciative. They seemed to be just as excited to give each other gifts as receive them. But it ended too soon as we were on the road to get H’s grandma and take her to his parents by 9:45. After that it was rather meh. There’s nothing wrong with his family, they’re nice enough, but there is a lot of drama going on with his sister at the moment plus she was sick so through no fault of her own she was rather checked out, H’s dad runs off with him most of the day so I hardly see H, and the kids don’t really need me much so I am rather at loose ends.

When we got home at 9pm it was clear that our elderly cat is declining fast, so that was sad. We have an appointment with our vet to say goodbye Thursday now if he lasts that long. It isn’t unexpected, he’s 19, but it definitely puts a damper on things. He’s a very good old cat.

[mae0111]

We had a pretty nice Christmas. Leading up to it was super busy - a ton of baking and prep for the few things I was bringing to my moms, trying to keep the place neat knowing that BIL and SIL and my 2 nephews were showing up the next day for a 5 day stay. I was exhausted by the time we got to Christmas! But the kids liked their gifts, and they got along pretty well.

We went to my parents’ house, and it was the first time the entire family had been together since 2019. It was nice!

[mustardseed2007]

First Christmas withought my in laws and without my dad went pretty well considering. We saw my BIL the day before Christmas Eve for a nice dinner at a restaurant and we had a very good time. That was perfect.

We spent christmas eve at my mom's house because my Aunt was coming over and my sister felt like she couldn't leave unless one of us was there because it would look bad somehow?? So I brought over fajitas and we had dinner and then watched Christmas lights on the way home.

We spent Christmas with my mom also. Everyone was excited with what they got for Christmas so that seemed good. My sister has been very very melancholy so I took her out to lunch today and to her favorite book store and told her to pick out fun and happy books. I also had a good talk with her about looking on the bright side. She probably is going to ignore that because people feel how they feel but at least I said it.

DH Sold his mom's car today at just under what Kelly Blue Book said it should go for in a private sale so that was good. And I turned in my phone and cleaned up the house. I'm honestly more excited about all of that than anything else.

[waverly]

I need to rehome DH. First he travels for work, brags about his meals and sightseeing, then comes home with norovirus and spreads it to the entire family.

Now he has a man cold. I get it- it’s awful, and I will get this bad cold soon. It’s already starting. But I am so over listening to him. DS had this cold and is recovering and wasn’t 1/10th as dramatic as DH.

[rere]

Dec 28, 2023 6:43:08 GMT -5 waverly said:

I need to rehome DH. First he travels for work, brags about his meals and sightseeing, then comes home with norovirus and spreads it to the entire family.

Now he has a man cold. I get it- it’s awful, and I will get this bad cold soon. It’s already starting. But I am so over listening to him. DS had this cold and is recovering and wasn’t 1/10th as dramatic as DH.

Dd said she hoped dad didn't get sick over Christmas because he doesn't have any ability to suck it up. He was sick last Christmas and still acts like he was on deaths door. He was offended. She's not wrong, but she can get away with saying it. I cannot.

[k3am]

Christmas was nice. We saw my mom yesterday after she tested Covid negative, and she’s doing really well. And we’re starting to understand why everything needs to be labeled - she was wearing a lovely pair of lace up adidas shoes. She thinks she must have bought them at target, but obviously didn’t. We’re thinking they’re another residents.

I’ve spent a good chunk of the week going through her stuff, and I have advice for everyone. Swedish death cleaning. Convince your parents to start now. Start now with your own stuff. DD asked why I was throwing out pics and scrapbooks from high school, and my only answers were… #1 I didn’t even know this box existed, so clearly I don’t need it. But more importantly #2 - doing it now vs bringing it home and storing it for 30-40 years so that she can decide what to do with it down the road.