The Christmas Rants & Raves

Rave: for my children, who adapted to a whacked out nap and bedtime schedule with grace.

Rant: for my brother, who wore a shirt with a picture of Jesus holding a beer that said, "Jesus, I'm drunk!" Er, you're 38, not 16...do you have to openly antagonize our parents and offend them as a matter of course, or are you ready to be a big boy now? And a mini-rant to my sister for sending it to him.

Rant: for my brother and SIL for bringing all their own sheets, pillows, and blankets, along with their own inflatable air beds. Erm, are you saying something about my linens and housekeeping? Afraid we don't have enough? Not soft enough? Pillows I can sort of understand; sheets, blankets, and even beds, I cannot. At least offer some sort of reasonable explanation, or polite explanation, if you please.

Rave: for my DH, who cooked a superlative Christmas dinner. YUM-MY!! Enough said.

Rant (well more of a lament I suppose): for DS, who missed his first Christmas dinner, due to the above whacked-out nap schedule. Poor tyke! Hopefully he will enjoy the leftovers today.

Rave: for my parents, who paid for everything associated food-wise with their visit and Christmas dinner. Thank you for sparing our budget.

Rave and Rant: for my mom, who folded all our clothes (yay!) but did up all the snaps on every piece of baby clothes. Who does this?? I'm already wrestling DS around like a greased pig trying to dress him...not helpful. Overall a rave, though.

Rave: for Niece #1, who was a great helper with DS and mediator between Niece #2 and DD. Sharing is still a tough pill to swallow for a 4 year old and nearly 3 year old.

Rant: for the snow which prevented DD from enjoying her new ride-on vehicle.

Rave: for the snow which provided a host of playtime opportunities for DD & Nieces (and, need I add, picture opportunities).

Rant: for the helpful person(s) who attempted to put away clean dishes, and who have managed to hide several things from us. Just ASK where things go, peeps!! (now I will be finding things for weeks)

Rant: for DH, who never told his mom to buy gift certs for SILs and BIL-IL, who each got only scarves and a pair of socks (respectively) from us under their Christmas tree. How skin-flinty of us!! I feel horrible and even if I order stuff from Amazon.co.uk now, it will still be pretty bad. I hate that we gypped their Christmas.

Rave: for Mom, who reminded me that our bird is not just "the bird", but actually has a name and she enjoys being petted and loved. Poor bird...she is the stepchild in the family now. I think I've already got a New Year's resolution...more on that later.