Christmas 2010 ~ sick momma, lava lamps, and scalloped potatoes

Christmas 2010 left as quickly as she came.  It was such a blur getting to the day, but the day, as usual, was so much fun and so relaxing.

A while ago I posted about a run that Brad and I did, and that the upside of him being sick was that we were more evenly matched.  Well, what do you get when you look at an upside of someone being sick?  You get sick yourself.  I can't be certain that it's from looking at the upside.  It could have more to do with the fact that I was just around him, or that we share a bed and he breathes.  Alex actually came down with it before me, and he went through two concerts feeling crummy and light-headed, but still played masterfully.  I kept banning him from all areas of the house that were used by the rest of us, which left him with very little room to even stretch his legs, but I still got sick anyway.  And I was feeling pretty okay about things, thinking I had a much milder version of what everyone else had...and then came Christmas morning.  Ka-BOOM!  I took a direct hit and finally succumbed to the fact that I was sick.  Oh, the dizzy.  I think it had a lot to do with my mind telling my body that it could finally slow down and be done.  And my body took that a bit too literally. 

Christmas Eve jammmies!

We had our cinnamon rolls and coffee.  We unwrapped presents and had some fun times.  And then I found a corner of the couch and my blankie and I was down and out for an hour and a half of nothingness.  And if you don't count the dizzy and the woozy and the plugged head and the sore throat and the coughing, it was pure bliss.

Archie gets a new "friend" every Christmas morning.  This picture doesn't show his enthusiasm...

...but maybe you can get the idea with this picture.

Cheers to being a Bear!

2 out of 3 Carlson minors with newly cozified feet

Yeah, I told you I felt crummy.

Welcome back, Jack!

Horrible pictures, but the moment was pretty sweet...Brenna bought Alex and Beth each a lava lamp for Christmas.  When I took Alex shopping for his sisters, oblivious to what Brenna had bought, he was determined to find Brenna a lava lamp!  So they each got one, and I tell you what, I think it ended up being the hit of Christmas!  They have had so much fun those!  And Brenna was thrilled to get what she had given.

Then I finished getting the rest of our dinner together and we had an early and huge ham dinner, in which we tried to teach Alex to like scalloped potatoes.  What is there not to like for a kid that eats everything?  Including SPAM?  He likes every component of the scalloped potatoes, just not the combination.  Go figure.

trying the tiniest of taste

then we convinced him to try a bite WITH ham.  he's a sport.

I felt so much better after all that and a hot shower, so off we went to the Arends for their annual dessert open house.  So much fun visiting, although I passed on all the desserts other than a couple dark chocolate/shortbread stars.  I didn't trust my temperamental tummy to handle those desserts, as fabulous as they looked.  And you know that stirs up a major conflict within me.  Common sense won.  Go figure some more.

My favorite part, as always, was the candlelight Christmas Eve service.  The service itself could pretty much be anything, but the being still with my family and focusing on the true meaning of the season is so important.  So calming.  So peaceful.  So still.  I took no pictures of that night, other than the traditional Christmas Eve pajama picture.  I was not a good photographer again this year.  But I'm still okay with that.  I was in the moment, and that's a good place to be.

Now "the day" is gone, and this week has been such a gift.  Brad is off work with the rest of us, and we are just chillaxin'.  More on this week later...