Christmas.
Christmas is very tiring with four kids. Christmas Eve was surprisingly tranquil though, thanks to a video from Santa informing the boys they weren't on the nice list yet. Nathan was in such a hurry to get to sleep that we had to call him back downstairs twice to get ready for bed. Didn't hear a peep from any of them until the next morning, when they finally work up at around seven.
The actual day was less hectic than last year. Bagged paper as we were opening, so no huge mess to clean up later. The kids spent a couple hours upstairs racing with Nathan's new Nascar flags. We even got out of the house to a playground for a little while to enjoy some of the unseasonably warm weather.
Nisha does the shopping for the kids, so all the gifts I had were for her. I would have liked to get her a few more things, but everything seemed to go over well. In particular, I was glad the Stephen Wiltshire print was well-received.
I ended up with a good haul - a stock pot to round out my Calphalon set; a nice, solid beard trimmer; a reusable filter for my Kuerig; a leather case for my Touchpad; Muppet Treasure Island on DVD; a copy of The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess; and some chocolate from Vosges. My in-laws also gave us an Amazon gift certificate, which I used to get wool socks, underwear, steak knives, and a wallet with a 100-year warranty.
Yes, I had Christmas money and I spent it on underwear and socks. Because that's what I wanted. I'm old and lame. :)
[EDIT]
Oh! We also got yearly passes to the Buffalo Zoo from my brother and his family. No idea how I forgot; we just got back from there when I posted this originally.
The actual day was less hectic than last year. Bagged paper as we were opening, so no huge mess to clean up later. The kids spent a couple hours upstairs racing with Nathan's new Nascar flags. We even got out of the house to a playground for a little while to enjoy some of the unseasonably warm weather.
Nisha does the shopping for the kids, so all the gifts I had were for her. I would have liked to get her a few more things, but everything seemed to go over well. In particular, I was glad the Stephen Wiltshire print was well-received.
I ended up with a good haul - a stock pot to round out my Calphalon set; a nice, solid beard trimmer; a reusable filter for my Kuerig; a leather case for my Touchpad; Muppet Treasure Island on DVD; a copy of The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess; and some chocolate from Vosges. My in-laws also gave us an Amazon gift certificate, which I used to get wool socks, underwear, steak knives, and a wallet with a 100-year warranty.
Yes, I had Christmas money and I spent it on underwear and socks. Because that's what I wanted. I'm old and lame. :)
[EDIT]
Oh! We also got yearly passes to the Buffalo Zoo from my brother and his family. No idea how I forgot; we just got back from there when I posted this originally.