Compilation

I hope you all had wonderful and glorious holidays and are gearing up for a rocking New Year.  Or restful.  Or - whatever you want it to be.  Here is a bunch of stuff that happened this past week in the Fish Pond.

• I didn't get cookies for gifts baked.  I didn't get everything done I needed to do, so as a consequence our house was a mess for guests on Saturday (lovely guests who gave us a humongo size box of diapers as a baby gift - boo yeah!) and we had little to feed them.  I didn't get the ham that we were to provide for Christmas Eve at my grandfather's picked up until after we were supposed to be at his house already.  We didn't put lights or ornaments on the tree until after coming home from his house on Christmas Eve, after we cleaned the family room.  Who the heck decorates the tree at 8pm on Christmas Eve?  BigDaddyFish and I were up until 3am getting everything wrapped and placed under the tree.  I also never got a picture taken or a letter done or cards sent out - we will be doing a New Year's Newsletter instead, I think.
• My MIL woke up on Christmas Eve with shingles.  She refused to call the doctor or go to the ER to get it officially diagnosed and treated.  She wasn't even going to tell us, but she let it slip to my SIL, who is an EMT, and she freaked out and yelled at MIL that she had to tell us, and that she couldn't come near us.  She and my FIL and his mother were supposed to come to my grandfather's house - she would have exposed my grandfather, who is in frail health, as well as my baby and my cousin's baby.  Thank God my SIL has a tendency to freak out over such things.  MIL called the doctor yesterday, was finally seen and confirmed and given an antiviral that probably won't do much because she waited longer than 48 hours to get it.  She cannot come near us for 2 weeks.
• Things at my grandfather's were both subdued and chaotic, if that is at all possible.  Subdued, because we all miss my grandmother; Granddaddy did well, though, only crying twice.  They always gave out money to everyone as gifts, and he is continuing with the tradition.  He is 82 and has cancer - multiple myeloma, and he's getting chemo for it.  Mental confusion goes along with that type of cancer.  When the envelopes were handed out and everyone opened theirs, Trout and Little Man had empty envelopes.  When it was noticed, Granddaddy gave them some money, but a 7 year old and a 5 year old can't really handle that kind of situation gracefully, nor do they understand.  Trout had a meltdown, and Little Man was clearly hurt, though he didn't cry.  We also have a new step-cousin in the family due to my cousin's marriage this past summer.  Those cousins weren't going to see each other on Christmas day, so they brought and exchanged gifts at Granddaddy's.  This has happened many times in previous years, sometimes involving my kids, so they should be used to some people getting presents and others not getting so many.  It usually wasn't a big deal because in addition to money my grandparents wrapped up small gifts for the kids, like boxes of animal crackers or lollipops, so everyone had something to open.  This year, granddaddy didn't do that, so the new cousin had a LOT of things to open, and my kids had none, and again, 7 and 5 year olds don't handle that so well.  If I had known Granddaddy wasn't going to wrap something up I would have brought something along myself so they would have something to open, but I didn't know.  The two things, the empty envelopes and no presents when one child in particular got about 15, made for a really really unhappy time for my oldest kids.  I felt so bad for them, and felt like I was a lousy mommy, because it really wasn't anyone's fault and no one did anything wrong, but I felt like I could have planned better to mitigate things.  They felt like they weren't loved as much as the other kids, and my heart hurt for them.
• After presents were opened and my kids recovered, they were playing with the new toys, which the other kids generously shared.  Unfortunately, most of the ones the girl cousin got were ... Bratz dolls.  Seriously.  And my family thinks I'M a freak.  Anyway, the girls were playing, and the girl offered one of the dolls to Trout.  Trout said "I'm not allowed to play with those" and just sat there.  Given the circumstances, I told her it was okay to play with the girl's doll while we were there.  We then talked in the car on the way home about why I think they are inappropriate, but that others don't necessarily agree with us, and that we have to respect their views even if we don't agree with them.  I was proud of her for remembering what I had taught her, but not getting into an argument with them about it, and I made sure I told her so.
• Friday afternoon we exchanged gifts with my SIL and my nieces.  I had a little trouble figuring out what to get my younger niece that she would really enjoy.  SIL told me she would enjoy art supplies, so I got a rubbermaid tub and filled it with crayons, paper, tape, glue, envelopes, and all sorts of little stuff for her to do what she wanted with it.  I couldn't figure out how to wrap it, so I just stuck a bow on it and gave it to her.  She opened it up, picked up the tape and the 64 count box of crayons, hugged them to her, and whispered "Thank you, God."  Now that's the kind of reaction you hope for.
• I was really excited for BDF to open his gifts this year.  I had been filing info in the back of my brain about things he wanted but never got himself.  He got a coffee maker, coffee beans, a rice cooker, a rice cooker cookbook, a DVD set he wanted, and some CDs he wanted but never bought himself.  I did good - he was tickled with everything.
• Favorite presents among kids:  American girl dolls, Aquadoodle, Gameboy Star Wars Lego game, GlowWorm
• I got a whole host of books, a couple of CD's, earrings with November birthstones (citrine, I think - BDF gives me jewelry of some kind with the child's birthstone after each one I've had), a chopper (electric - I had asked for a manual one but this rocks), and an iPod Nano.  I had asked for a generic MP3 player, it didn't need to be an iPod because I didn't want that much money spent on it and I wasn't sure how much I'd use it, but both DH and Little Man didn't listen.  Little Man picked it out - it is hot pink.  They also gave me a gift card to get accessories.  Plus I got towels - BDF is apparently on a towel kick, because this is 2 years in a row that I've gotten towels that I didn't ask for, and he gave towels to the kids, too.  Guess he's worried about us not being able to dry ourselves.
• SIL got a brand-new Mercedes for Christmas.  This is a total shock because we weren't aware that they could afford a car like that - it is replacing a KIA Sportage.  BIL is a volunteer fireman, and the car was behind the fire station for 4 days before Christmas.  On Christmas morning at 4 am, BIL got a page from the station, went up, got the car and drove it home, put the bow on it, and went back to bed.  SIL opened the keys on Christmas morning.  She had no clue - gotta love when everything is a surprise.  I have to say I'm a bit jealous - not because I want a Mercedes, because I don't, and don't even want a car right now, but because BIL put so much thought and effort into his gift, and I have to provide a list of stuff I want if I want to get anything at all.
• My father, who is on an extended business trip in AL, drove home for Christmas instead of flying because he needed to get his car emissions inspected.  He had already been granted a waiver, and had to get the AL sheriff to take a picture of his car and fax it to the MVA here to prove it was down there, which he did back in august, I think.  He gets here and looks at the notice so he could go to get the test done today, because my sister told him on the phone that is was due in February.  It is.  February 2008.  One day, she'll learn how to read.
• My sister called me on Friday to ask if she needed to worry about getting my father's bills to me (I am paying his bills on his apartment up here, where my sister lives, while he is on his extended business trip in AL).  I asked her what the earliest due date is.  She said the 28th, but "that's not soon, so we're good, right?"  Friday was the 22nd.  My father is paranoid and won't let me do his bills online.  She's 33 years old - one day, she'll grow up and get a clue.  She has issues - more on that another day.

Off to fold the never ending laundry.

So, what are the must-have accessories for an iPod?