One Before The Other

So Emma's 26-month recap is late. The Christmas recap is even later. Much. That said, it goes first...

Christmas.

By the Jewish girl.

Basically, this Christmas ROCKED. And I don't normally (ever?!) use words like ROCKED in any sort of sentence; written, spoken, or even quietly mumbled to myself when I think no one is listening.

I know it's not a contest (as Jeff is so fond of telling me), but it's going to be really hard to convince my kids that Channukah is the superior holiday when Christmas is so damn FUN. (Not the Channukah isn't FUN... we have a menorah, after all. And dreidels. Please don't forget about the dreidels...) Sure, it's easy for Jeff so say it's not a contest when he's the hands-down winner. Bastard. So something I would do.

Remember the other day, I told you about how much FUN Channukah was this year... This year Emma got gifts like Mrs. Potato Head & a dollar-store tool kit (which, by the way, she absolutely loved - and still does, weeks later)... Well, turns out our little Channukah was lame, lame, LAME by comparison!! At least in the material sense...

And now to tell you about the FUN we had over Christmas...

First off, this was the first year in the past two or three years that I was not a complete and raving bitch throughout the entire holiday season. It was also, coincidentally enough, the first year in the past two or three years that I was not either trying to get pregnant, did not just have a child, or lastly, have unbearable morning sickness. Oh no... this year I COULD DRINK!!

And when I can drink, everyone is happier. Especially me.

Jeff too.

I actually think he didn't want to kill me in this photo:



That's a first for us at this most joyous time of year.

Anyhow, so this isn't too long a post, I'll cut to the point...

The dinner, 95% of which was prepared by my mother-in-law (I basted the turkey and made the green beans. Okay, they were just boiled, but still tasty), was PERFECT. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the spread this year, shame on me, but here's the bird:



My sister-in-law couldn't make it this year because she isn't allowed to leave the U.S. even though she's Canadian. No, not what you're thinking... Okay, truth is I haven't a clue what you're thinking, but it's not what I'd be thinking if I were just told what I told you. She's in the middle of applying for her US citizenship so she's not allowed to leave the country for 6 months. I don't know how much she minded considering she's in Atlanta, and December in Toronto is usually less than... warm. What it really boiled down to, however, is that her absence meant more sweet potatoes for me.

So I told you about the dinner... and now I'll tell you about the gifts.

Check this out (and you can't see EVERYTHING, not by a longshot):



Holy fuck, eh?!! (I'm sooo Canadian.)
But I still think that "eh" beats the hell out of "huh".

Emma insisted on opening all her gifts with her screwdriver.





She got TONS. Like, really... TONS! Being Jewish, this was so NOT Channukah! I'm talking SERIOUS GIFTS, PEOPLE. My inlaws mean business when it comes to gift giving. They know what they're doing. And they're doing it remotely to boot!

Some stand-outs...

Several oh-so-cute outfits. If I could upload pictures, I'd share them with you. As it stands, my computer is still on the outs so I'll just tell you that they have balloons and hearts and dogs. Balloons and hearts and dogs are cute, no?

Many Melissa & Doug puzzles. Have I mentioned my love for Doug & Melissa? Yeah, thought so.



Several Crayola no mess activity books. How I love the no-mess line! Particularly when I have a daughter who likes to leave all her markers around sans caps.



ALL the books I mentioned I wanted for Emma, including:
Ten Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
Everybody Poops
Alice the Fairy
And a totally cool Cinderella book that comes with a CD player and four Cinderella CD's! Emma is absolutely LOVING this!

The show-stopper... the Deluxe Imaginarium Two-Sided Easel! It's awesome. One side is a whiteboard, the other a blackboard. She loves both equally. My kid will not grow up to be racist.



What else, what else... jammies, sweaters, stocking stuffers galore, a wooden zylophone, a 'band in the box' set, a huge floor cut out mat thingy of the alphabet (she's standing on it in the picture below), an electric guitar... I could go on and on... And Jeff maintains that Christmas isn't a completely commercialized and materialized holiday. Uh-huh. Someone needs to get their head out of their... nevermind. Ass. I was going to say Ass. Get your head out of your ass, big man!

BIG DISCLAIMER: I'M NOT COMPLAINING!!!



After she got a hold of her new guitar, she ran around yelling "My like it!! My like it!!" Cute, cute...

And now for the boy... believe it or not, nobody forgot about him!

Aside from all the hand-me-downs he's on the verge of receiving, he also got a shit-load of his very own boy-toys! Thank God cuz Emma has none. Other than her tool-set and I don't think she's gonna give that one up without a fight.

His first car!! It's soft, so when Emma goes to bash him over the head with it, it shouldn't hurt too much.



His first dashboard!! (Emma has since taken ownership of this hands-down winner.)



Inside this box is THIS. If you didn't click, it's a box of 100 wooden blocks. Like they're not gonna kill each other with these next year. Maybe sooner, if Michael keeps growing at this rate.



Jeff & I weren't decided we weren't going to spend much on each other this year. He bought me a health guide book off an infomercial. Very informative. Very sentimental. I'll cherish it for years to come.

I bought him new luggage, a couple new t-shirts that he despretely needed, The Art of War special edition silk wrapped book he mentioned he wanted, two framed photos of each kid in a Santa hat, and a memo board for the kitchen (fine, I really bought that one for me).

Clearly Jeff understands Channukah giving.

After all the Christmas festivities wrapped up, my in-laws decided to treat us all to a few days at Grandview Resort up north, in Muskoka. Foolishly, I didn't take many room photos, but you can see them HERE. In keeping with the holiday theme we had going on, it too was AMAZING. The room, the weather, the company.

I'm too tired to write about all the details, so HERE are some photos... Use your imagination.

Is it really necessary to mention that I enjoy getting comments on my Flickr just as much as I enjoy them on my blog?

Enjoy the SHOW! (Don't worry, it's not too long!)

Thanks again to George & Charlene for an incredible time!