The Rest of Christmas Day...

We got back to the house right before the kids did. We started making our menu list and setting out the ingredients. When the kids got home, I assigned Brittney to the casseroles since she had done such a great job on them at Thanksgiving this year. Look out! She's got Velveeta and she isn't afraid to use it!

Melissa was in charge of the secret family receipe cornbread stuffing. She almost caught the kitchen on fire frying the bacon too hot! See, these kids still need their mother after all...

I made an appetizer that I found in Latts & Atts Magazine. It's made with puff pastry around brie cheese with chutney, nuts and craisins all baked together into a warm gooey mess. The kids were skeptical but they ate it up!

We cooked all afternoon and finally after everything else was done, we waited for the dressing to finish cooking. It seemed like FOREVER! It all looked so good and we were so tired and hungry!

But we were rewarded at last with a feast the size Bruce said his family of 11 kids didn't have. We fell upon the dinner and in 20 minutes we wished we had never seen it all. We were stuffed! My dad always said it was silly to spend all day cooking a meal that it took so little time to finish off. But we disagree! It was a very relaxed and happy Christmas day spent with just my husband and kids.

A Racing Blade for Elan

Bruce and I took our grand dog, Layla with us out to Port Aransas. He had purchased a racing blade from Masthead and had run out of time to put it up to see if it fits the boat. He only had 10 days to return it if it didn't work out. So after the kids left, we loaded Layla into the car and set out.
Layla is Brittney's little year and a half old Pom. She had never been to the boat before but other than a little natural caution, she did very well. She was a little worried when Bruce made all of the noises involved in raising and lowering sails.

Bruce piled the jib onto the deck and set about connecting the blade. Layla got brave and curious.


Once the sail was up, Bruce set about adjusting and examining it for trim and fit. He was ecstatic! It fit and it was very inexpensive... and it was beautiful!

We took it down, put the other jib back up and prepared to go back home to make Christmas dinner. By this time, Layla had become quite secure...

Christmas Day!!!

Having old kids is nothing like having young kids on Christmas Day. We slept until we naturally awoke ( OK so it was still 6:30 am )... But Bruce and I actually woke the kids up! We passed out all of the gifts methodically and when everyone had their pile, we deviated from the youngest to oldest rule and reversed it. Bruce opened his gifts first.

He had never given me the chance to wrap his big gift. I got him an air compressor which he has been using since it came home 2 weeks ago. My favorite gift for him, the one I was so excited about... was BOAT CARDS!!... He loved them! He's so hard to surprise but this year I did it!

Next it was my turn... does this look like an OMG moment? It's because Bruce did such a fabulous job of gifting this year. Ever since we met, I've been dragging him around the shops near Christmas time showing him things I'ld love to see under the tree to no avail. This year, I had seen this set of 6 wine glasses in an antique store and really wanted them. I didn't buy them for myself. He went back to the store and got them for me. He wrapped only one so there was no way I guessed what it was. I was so happy!!!

I got an MP3 player to use at the gym and many other really cool gifts. The kids got me accessories for the MP3. I won the prize for "best gifts received".

Throughout all of the unwrapping little Layla kept the cats entertained. My spoiled kitties certainly had other plans for the holiday besides putting up with the likes of Brittney's little Pom. She just wanted to be their friend...

We always give the kids cold hard cash. It's the gift that never has to be returned or exchanged.

This year I added some bubblegum "coal" for good measure.

Our big gift to the kids was to pay for airline tickets for them to go with us on a Sailboat charter in the British Virgin Islands this coming June. They knew about the tickets and that there wouldn't be a whole lot else this year. I used Snapfish to create personalized 2009 Calendars for us all with everyone in our family's birthdays, anniversaries, etc.. I used pictures from past BVI trips to fill the days we'll be there.

I also put pictures of each family member on their day from those taken at this year's celebrations. Brittney howled when she saw the pictures! I think my idea was a hit!

Very soon all of the gifts were open and we were each going back over our loot. Nothing left but the mess...

We cleaned it all up and set to work making a quick breakfast. The kids wanted to go out to their Grandpa Jerry's house for a visit before we began our dinner preparations. This worked out well for Bruce and as he had recently received a racing blade for Elan which he needed to run up for size.