We conclude our ABCs of Christmas with ZZZzzzz…., as in catching some Zs. I don’t know about you, but after spending three whole days baking cookies and bread, driving around looking at lights, eating more food in one meal then I normally eat in a whole week, opening a multitude of presents, spending time with family (who I love, but can be a bit exhausting) and breaking down boxes and bagging garbage for garbage day today, I’m tired.

I slept in until almost 1pm today. Yes, you read that right. One o’clock in the afternoon. Of course, the ringing phone woke me up four times. And the kids fighting over a PS2 game woke me up a couple more times. And then Lee telling them they had lost their PS2 privileges for the rest of the day finally got me out of bed.

Now I’m making a list of everything I need to accomplish this week while I’m off. Keaton and Justis are having a New Years party so we need to get the house in shape for 8 to 10 teenage and pre-teen boys. That means taking the tree down and scrubbing the kitchen. It’s times like these I wish we had our very own Alice from the Brady Bunch.

But first we are all going to see a movie. The kids want to see Night at the Museum.

I better go take a nap before we go.

I think this was quite obvious. Today is Christmas. Today is “Y.” And the definition of yule is the season of Christmas.

As I’ve mentioned before, we start our gift exchange on Christmas Eve at my Grandma’s house. Last night was no exception. After our soup feast, Lee and I took the kids out to look at lights. We started at our usual spot, where all the houses line their sidewalks with milk jugs. I tried to get a picture but without a tripod it was hard to keep myself steady. This is as good as it gets.

Then we took a trip to neighborhood we don’t normally frequent. As we were driving around we saw the back of a house that I’m pretty sure can be seen from space. It looks like Clark Griswald has moved to the midwest.

We were trying to figure out why somebody would decorate their backyard with so many Christmas items. As we turned the corner and saw the front of the house we knew. They ran out of room in the front.

As we drove up to the house, we were surprised to see Santa waving at us. And behind him was one of his elves. I think it was Buddy from the movie Elf because he was a little larger than an average elf. Santa gave each of the kids a candy cane and this wished us a Merry Christmas.

We took this as a sign that Santa was done delivering presents and we better head back to Grandma’s to open all of our loot. Sure enough Santa had been there.

Justis got a new stereo, Skyler got a guitar, Keaton some some very awesome games, Caleb got enough play-doh to cover the entire house, Lee got tons of Menards gift cards and I got my Graphire pen tablet. And my mom loved the Ipod I allude to in an earlier post. It was a very Merry Christmas.

But the hightlight of the night was when the boys tried on their new underwear.

You thought I was kidding about the whole underwear thing didn’t you?

But Lee’s jingle bell boxers got upstaged by my uncle’s underwear. My uncle got a man thong. It was not a pretty sight. But then my 20-year-old cousin tried them on for all of us. Yes, I did take a picture. No, I won’t post it here. It’s quite disturbing and I don’t want to scare any small children. Nobody can ever claim our Christmas celebrations aren’t eventful.

My aunt’s new boyfriend [who very recently became her fiance] was joining us for Christmas for the very first year. And what does he get the very first year? The sight of my cousin in a furry black man thong embedded in to his retinas. If their relationship can withstand that then it really is meant to be.

This morning the kids woke me very early. [Ok, it wasn't very early, but it felt like it because the last few days have made me an exhausted ball of goo]. And guess what? Santa came to our house too. The kids got even more presents. Keaton and Justis got an Xbox with about 30 games. And Skyler, Spencer & Caleb got a puppet theatre and a whole bunch of puppets. Me? I got tons and tons of toe socks, a closet organizer for my laundry room and a warm fleece blanket. I guess Lee is tired of me stealing his fleece Cowboys blanket. Lee got some clothes, some new trail shoes and more Menards money. Let the house renovating begin…or continue as the case may be.

Now I have strawberry bread to make before we head back over to Grandma’s house for Christmas dinner. Today we’re having roast and party potatoes. My stomach is already growling in anticipation.

I hope your Christmas is Merry and Bright!

Ok, so that’s technically cheating, but I couldn’t figure out how to fit x-ray or xylophone in to a Christmas theme. So eXcitement it is.

It’s not even noon yet and we’ve already had tons of eXcitement at our house. And I’m not even talking about the kids. Yes, they are eXcited. Before I even dragged my tired butt out of bed this morning I heard Skyler exclaim, “Caleb, today is the day we go to Grandma O’s house and open presents.” They are on the countdown.

But there’s been some other eXcitement today.

Yes, interent, there is a Santa Claus. He showed up on our doorstep this morning with a red and greed Santa hat that said “Seasons Greetings” and wearing a United States Postal Service uniform. And in his arms he was bringing us a Gameboy Advance. He was a little skinnier than I imagined, but definitely Santa Claus. How do I know? Because now Caleb won’t be short one gift. By some miracle [or the magic of Santa Claus] his Gameboy Advance came to us by USPS, not just on Christmas Eve, but on a Sunday. I had no idea they were making special trips just for Christmas. But I love them for it.

But that’s not all folks.

Last night as I was laying in bed getting ready to see visions of sugar plums in my head, Lee said, “Don’t turn on the oven tomorrow without taking the cookies out.” Our peanut butter blossom cookies hadn’t fully set yet [those are the ones with the Hershey Kiss in the center], so he put them in the oven so the cats wouldn’t get in to them.

I think you know where I’m going with this. Only it wasn’t me!

I’m in charge of the potato soup for dinner tonight. I’m going to make baked potato soup. Lee decided to be helpful and put the potatos in to bake. So he turned on the the oven and waited for it to preheat. A few minutes later I heard such a clatter [coming from the kitchen]. I ran upstairs to see what was the matter. And what to my wondering eyes should I see? Not eight tiny reindeer, but Lee quickly pulling melting cookies out of the oven. And it wasn’t just the cookies that were starting to melt. The plastic container the cookies were in left a little plastic behind on the rack. Yum!

So we haven’t even made it to Jesus’ birthday party or over to Grandma O’s to open presents yet and the eXcitement has already begun.

How is your Christmas Eve going?

I was up until 3am wrapping presents last night. And I’m tired. If “W” was for wrapping, this post would be done. The End.

But no. “W” is for wishes.

Who says that only kids can create a Christmas wish list? Us adults have some wishes too. For example, I’ve been on my feet all day; finishing up last minute Christmas shopping and baking Christmas cookies. My back hurts. I WISH I had a professional masseur. A hunky one. That smells pretty.

I also WISH that the Gameboy Advance we got for Caleb had come in the mail today. Because now he’s going to be short one present. We’ll have to come with some excuse about how Santa accidentally left if on the sleigh and had to mail it to us.

So what are some things I put on my wish list this year? Well I’d like a MacBook Pro, a Graphire Digital Drawing Tablet and a new digital camera (perphaps the Nikon D40), oh, and a digital camcorder. I like to think big.

But since I’m not married to a movie star or a politician, I put a couple of other things on my list that are a tad more affordable.

Oh, but that reminds me. Have you seen all these car ads on TV. Two women are standing next to a car with a big red bow on it. And they are all “that’s my favorite color.” I believe there is a guy version of this ad too. Do people really buy their spouses new cars and park them out front with a big bow on them? Cause the other day I was shopping with Necole and she was looking at nail guns for her husband. Only the nail gun he wants is over $300. I said, “That’s a whole lot of love. I love Lee, but I’m not sure I love him $350 for one gift.” Don’t get me wrong. If $350 for one gift didn’t mean I’d be accruing interest for that on my credit card for the next six month, I’d totally buy it for him. But during the holiday season when we need to buy something for like 20 people [5 of which are my kids who want very expensive things], we need to be a little more frugal. So if you bought your spouse a car, take a look at my list of wishes above and feel free to spread the love.

So anyway, back to my real wish list. I want more toe socks, a new toaster, a new hand mixer, a new blender [you'd think I actually cook looking at this list], some jeans that reach my ankles [I have very long legs], the first and second season of Lost and a gift certificate to Amazon [even though they ticked me off this holiday season], oh, and world peace.

What are your Christmas wishes?