Christmas and End of December 2023

Well, Christmas didn't quite go as planned this year, but when I think back, it's not the first time that there's been a hiccup or two.  We were to celebrate Christmas Eve Eve with both our kids, their spouses, and the grandsons.  Our traditional dinner turned into just four of us and the baby because our DIL was not feeling well and didn't come, and GS2 wound up in the emergency room after he took a header into the bathroom and split his eyelid just below the brow needing stitches.  So he and his parents spent the better part of the day going from Urgent Care to one hospital and then the next because they were told that he would need to be knocked out to stitch up and would need a pediatric anesthiesiologist and plastic surgeon to take care of him.  We were left in charge of Beckham and it took all four of us to keep him busy in the unfamiliar surroundings.  He was a champ though, as was his brother (5 stitches) and GS1 in rolling with the flow.

Papa held Beckham while I fed him his squash his mommy had left for him.

  

He was our centerpiece on the table when we ate.  I didn't even use the holiday dishes or table linens.

After dinner, Chris, Ryan, and I played a game called Go Oink! while Papa gave the baby his bottle.  It's a game like Go Fish, except that you aren't allowed to ask for the animal card by name - you have to make the sound that the animal makes.  It was fun and most of the animal sounds were discernible except for bear and lion which we couldn't tell apart. 

I was hoping to get all the cousins together for the annual Christmas picture, but this was as good as we could get.  

We went to our son's house on Christmas Day - their last Christmas in their house before they move.  I had made a last minute gift for them that I had given it to him to take home on Christmas Eve Eve - a watercolor of their house that I did using a technique I learned on Amanda Evanston's site that I subscribe to.  You need a reverse image picture of the house, a plastic sleeve, and some inexpensive watercolor paper along with a black paint pen.  It has to be the thin paper to absorb the outline of the paint pen.  You lay the plastic over the image and trace a little portion of the house outline at a time and while it's wet, fold it down onto the watercolor paper to transfer it.  The three pieces are hinged together with some painter's tape so they don't move around.  The lines are not meant to be exact, nor is the addition of the color.  When we visited them on Christmas Day my DIL asked me to sign and date it so she could get it framed.  I was glad that she liked it.  The paper makes it very bumpy, but under glass it will be better.

HWNSNBP made a TV stand for our daughter and SIL for their bedroom according to her specifications.  They couldn't fit that in their car when they left on Christmas Eve so we took it to them on Wednesday and brought GS2 back with us for a couple of days.

We were also able to pick up GS1 to come for the day on Thursday and had both boys together.  They had a blast.  We played Go Oink! again - this time Papa and Maverick were teammates (because of the age difference....they both needed each other!).  The boys pulled out all the cars, trucks, and Legos.  They built pillow forts on the couch and took turns burying each other under the pillows (and me later).

They found a roll of painter's tape on my art cart and had me wrap them up in tape so they could break free.  We went through almost a whole roll of tape.  They found the paint pens in the art cart too, and while that wouldn't have been my first choice for them to use, I let them as long as they kept their paper on the matt I put out.  GS2 came back to his picture to add to it on Friday - he was drawing red mountains.

Our annual New Year's get-together with our Table 7 friends was at the LBI residence so we headed to the condo early in afternoon and did a few errands after I prepared the appetizer I was bringing - cocktail meatballs - which consist of a package of frozen meatballs (52 in the pkg. I use), a bottle of Heinz chili sauce and an equal amount of grape jam.  Just heat until the meatballs are warm.  

On our way back from the errands we were around the corner from the condo and caught the sunset.  HWNSNBP pulled over so I could take some pictures.  (The condo would be to the left.)

And after our wonderful evening with friends, I was too lazy to get out of bed and open the blinds for the first sunrise of 2024, but you can see the orange hue.

Once we got packed up, we took a quick ride back to the island because I wanted to find the lobster trap Christmas tree in Barnegat Light (as taken through the windshield as it was dead ahead).  There are lights strung on it, but obviously not lit during the day.  Maybe next time.

I had a whole slew of appointments last week which is why it's taken me this long to say...........

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I'll be back to share the handmade cards and gifts that I got soon.