A Pop Family Christmas

Boy Pop and Santa, Early December

This year, Christmas was spent as we do every year… Boy Pop gets picked up by my parents on December 22nd, and they, along with my older brother, all head down to my grandmother's house. I worked during the week of Christmas this year because I took my vacation the week before in Colorado. So Dr Pop and I left as soon as I got off work on the 24th and headed down to meet everyone at my Mema's house.

About two hours after we arrived, we all loaded up into our cars and went to the annual Christmas Eve service at the First Baptist Church. We have been going to the service every year since they started it back in 1993.*

*Last year was the exception to the rule because Mema had just come home from the hospital. None of us were up to going anywhere that night.

At a really cool micro-brewery in Edwards, CO.

After church, we all went to my cousin's house for a Christmas Eve meal. Stuffed silly, we went back to Mema's house to prepare for the big day. My mom and I got into a bit of a tiff (we'd been snarky on and off since Dr Pop and I arrived earlier that day) and it didn't really end that well. Thankfully, I had been reminded to bring Ambien with me, so I took one and fell into a blissful, uninterrupted, dreamless sleep, waking up refreshed bright and early on Christmas morning by my dog. After coffee, we sent Bubba in to wake up Boy Pop, who I guess did not recognize that he was supposed to be the first one up in the house, not the last! Didn't he realize that we were waiting to see his excitement?

I really thought this sign was funny, since it was a sledding hill in CO.

He got more presents than he should have.

Then we had breakfast and my mom and I made up.

Some time was spent playing with toys and showers, etc. and all of a sudden it was time for lunch. We all walked across the street to my aunt's house (yeah, my grandmother, aunt, uncle, one cousin, his wife and two kids all live in the same small town) to have lunch. Post lunch, Dr Pop, Boy Pop, and I packed up the car and drove back to our house.

Because he gets so many toys from relatives on Christmas morning, we have our own celebration (just the three of us) in the afternoon at our house. Santa comes to both places (he gets a stocking at Mema's house and the big gifts are at our house). Boy Pop was so excited to see that Santa had been there (as he always is) and he looked up the chimney to see if he'd left any other evidence of his visit behind. Santa decided to leave gifts in a stocking at our house, too, and boy, was our son ever excited!

And then he got to the big gifts! Wow. There is hardly any walking room in our playroom right now. Yes, I know my son is spoiled, but at least he isn't rotten.

All-in-all it was a lovely Christmas. Boy Pop picked out some gorgeous earrings to give me (with lots of help from his father). Dr Pop and I received some Christmas money from family, and I promptly spent most of mine on clothes even though I'd considered spending most of it on Botox, but that's another story for another day.

Yes, Virginia,

There is a Santa Clause.

Merry Christmas!

Because The Radio Stations Won't Play It

I give to you, my wonderful blog readers, the BEST CHRISTMAS SONG EVER!

(From one of my most-favorite Texas musicians, the one, the only, Robert Earl Keen, Jr.)




From my family, to your family...

Have a wonderful Christmas/Holiday/Whatever and a fabulous New Year!

I'm not in a writing mood, but...

Here are some pictures...

Merry Christmas!

Has It Really Been That Long?

Holy Cow! I haven't posted since the 4th! Wow!

Not dead, just brain-dead.

Actually, just very busy.

Christmas.

Family.

Colorado.

Work.

Christmas.

Halp!

I have so many pictures and stories, I don't know what to talk about first. So I think I'll go hibernate and work some more.

Love ya!

Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Chanukkah!
Etc, etc, etc...

The Baking Season

One thing I especially love about the holiday season is the baking. I love to make and decorate cut-out cookies, breads, and assorted snacks. I also love trying out new recipes.

Two years ago, I tried my hand at gingerbread. I promptly realized that I do not particularly care for molasses and my husband does not care for ginger. Oops. My coworkers enjoyed my efforts, though, and I kept the calories off my thighs.

Last year, I tried making taffy. You can safely assume that it did not turn out quite so well.

Since we are going on a ski trip, for a week, in a week, my time to bake has been severely cut back. Therefore, I'm going to limit the baking to the essentials:

• Cut-out sugar cookies
• Gingerbread cookies (this is my new recipe to try this year)
• Puppy Chow
• Pumpkin bread

I think we'll do the puppy chow and one set of cut out cookies this weekend. I plan to pull out my mom's old recipe that we used when I was little. It's a little less sweet than, say, Pillsbury, but it is oh-so-good. I have so many memories as a child of cutting out shapes and decorating yummy cookies.

Also on the agenda for this weekend? A visit to see Santa and an engagement party. Plus the Big 12 championship game. Yikes!

Plugging Back In...

Whew! I have been unplugged most of the past 10 days... Only my iPhone has kept me informed. I've done no blog reading, no updating, nuthin! I think I logged into my computer twice this whole time.

Boy, has it been a crazy several days! There's been tee ball, birthday parties, Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving, football, Black Friday, shotguns, family, cooking, baking, decorating, and a gorgeous early gift from Dr Pop.

It's going to take a while to get the pictures downloaded and the stories told.

But I've got material to last the entire month of December...

This Is When the "Second Shift" Gets Exhausting

All week long, I've been thinking that there's an extra week between now and Thanksgiving. Um, no there isn't. I've been doing the math and as of today:

• There are 6 days until the parent/teacher conference at my son's school
• There are 7 days until I have to take a mandatory offsite training class that I do not want to take
• There are 10 days until I get a week-long vacation from work
• There are 12 days until the "Butter Ball" benefitting Coats for Kids, an event for which I have nothing to wear
• There are 13 days until I get my permanent crown on my back tooth
• There are also 13 days until my parents come to town again
• There are 14 days until Thanksgiving
• There are 14 days until the UT/A&M football game and tailgate
• There are 14 days until my parents' 43rd wedding anniversary
• There are 26 days until I get a root touch-up
• There are 30 days until we go to Colorado for a week
• There are 40 days until my brother's birthday
• There are 42 days until Christmas

ACK!

I need to get on the ball here! To date, I've done no Christmas shopping, no grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, I haven't finished prepping for the ski-trip (still need socks for myself and Dr Pop and mittens for Boy Pop). I need to buy an outfit for this party (yay! new clothes!!!). My house is a disorganized mess. Boy Pop and I need to sort through his toys and choose what he will give to charity this year. I have a pile of clothes to take to the children's consignment shop and another pile of clothes for Goodwill and The Salvation Army.

We also need to put out some Thanksgiving decorations, decide on the Christmas lights, hang the Christmas lights, mail Christmas cards, and organize the closet under the stairs for the 4th time this year.

On top of that, I really, really, really, really want to reorganize every cabinet in my kitchen, clean out my office once and for all, go through Boy Pop's artwork and make collages for his room and for his grandparents, make my Christmas Card and gift lists, win the lottery, make some holiday crafts with Boy Pop, bake up a storm, and read some of the books that have been piling up on my bedside table.

And then there's t-ball. We have two games left (this Saturday and the next) and a team party following the last game.

Finally, I have to somehow fit in a Defensive Driving course between now and December 18th. Hooray for speeding tickets! That I got today! On my way back from the dentist!

I love the holiday season, I really do! Writing it all down like this makes me feel better about the upcoming 6 weeks. There will be time with family and friends, two vacations, and lots of memory-making with my husband and son. I just cannot believe that once again, time has gotten away from me.

Breathe in, breathe out.

And I have no idea what to get the man who has everything... My husband.

Christmas. A Recap.

Oh y'all. I'm wiped out by all the holiday cheer and such. Well, that and working all but Christmas Day last week. And the shopping. And worrying.

Mema came home from the hospital on Christmas Eve. While she's not 100% better (and there's a chance she might never be back at 100%), just having her home and with us all was Christmas enough for me and the rest of my family.

This was the most fun Christmas morning and Christmas season with Boy Pop. He really "got" it this year and listening to him sing his loud, off-key, slightly garbled renditions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, etc. was one of my favorite parts of the entire month of December.

We had Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning through lunch at my grandmother's house. After lunch, Dr Pop, Boy Pop, and I headed back home to have our own private celebration. Boy Pop was nervous that Santa might not visit both places, but we left him a note at our house. Santa made both trips. Dr Pop got new wheels for his car and a Dallas Cowboy's NFC East Champions t-shirt. Boy Pop got some giant dinosaurs, about one million transformers, magnetix, a new TV, some DVDs, and various and asundry other things, including a Wiggle Racer that somehow got left behind at my grandmother's house.

My gift from Dr Pop was out of stock and impossible to find, so he got me a placeholder. It was a Toy Watch and it was adorable! I was really surprised. But when we were out shopping this past weekend, we found my gift... It's sort of like the picture below, but instead of multi-colored stones, it just has pink sapphires and diamonds. It's a lot bigger than what I'm used to wearing, but I already miss it when it is not on my wrist. Dr Pop did VERY good this year. And hell, I must have been a really good girl to get this. ;-)

I have a million stories to tell, but I cannot seem to pull them from my brain to my fingertips in any coherent fashion. Perhaps this week, which I have off, I can find them. But this was definitely our best Christmas yet. And today, the last day of 2007, I wish all of you a safe, happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

All my best,

Mrs. Pop

Is It Time for Santa Yet?

Dr Pop walked in on Boy Pop looking for Santa this morning. Luckily, the camera was handy.

FYI, it isn't too late to make someone's Christmas a bit brighter and make yourself feel good to boot... The Christmas Bureau of Austin is still in need of people to sponsor families. You can donate money to a family, to the organization, or choose a family and do all of the shopping and deliver the goods yourself. If you're in Austin, go to http://www.cbofaustin.org/. I'm sure that there are plenty of organizations that still need help wherever you may be, though.

Progress Report - 6 Days To Go

• Christmas Cards = mailed
• Gifts = 25% wrapped, 90% purchased
• Cookies = not happening
• Medication = being taken in mass quantities
• Ability to Breathe = not through my nose without Afrin
• Voice = 50% to 75% gone depending on the time of day
• Sleep = not very damn much
• Laundry = close to done
• Kitchen = semi-disaster area
• Maid = supposedly coming tomorrow, but not holding my breath
• Mood = PMS but not too bad