Christmas 2009

Once again I have fallen behind on the updates...
Christmas was wonderful this year and even better, I took time off from work so had a week and a half off (most of which was spent shopping for appliances for our kitchen - more on that in a bit). Maddy was quite excited for Christmas this year. Both she and Caitlin were in the Christmas pageant at the children's mass on Christmas Eve in Salem. Maddy was an angel and Caitlin was baby Jesus. They did great and were both so pooped that they fell asleep on the drive home (which Maddy NEVER does). She was a bit of a bear when we woke her up but it was Christmas eve and they had their annual gifts to open (PJs) and food to prepare for Santa. Maddy was very concerned about making sure we left food for Santa and his reindeer. She and I had decorated cookies a few days before and we carefully picked a couple that Santa would like. We realized too late that we had no carrots in the house, but decided the reindeer would probably be OK with green beans (which they were :)) To our surprise, both girls slept in on Christmas morning and I don't think we all got up until almost 8AM! We all opened on stockings on Mommy and Daddy's bed (another tradition) then got coffee and bagels to bring into the "big room" to see what Santa brought and open gifts. Later, Grammy & Bubba and Auntie Jenn & Uncle Shawn came over. Greg pretty much single-handedly cooked the dinner, which consisted of turkey with an awesome spice rub, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, green beans, and sweet potato casserole (the only thing I contributed) - it was delicious! Then we headed into the "big room" for round 2 of gifts. Thank you to everyone for all of the wonderful gifts! It was a great day and so nice to have the Mullens and Duponts over to share it with.

NYE we had a change of plans when Jenn came down with a nasty cold so we ended up just staying in and Greg and I broke out the blender and made pina coladas. We watched a movie and then the NYE festivities on TV. I even tried my first Irish car bomb (Guinness with a shot of Bailey's dropped into the glass and chugged.)

Since then we have been getting ready for our kitchen project which starts a week from today. We are having some of the cabinets refaced, some brand new, new quartz counter tops, and all new stainless steel appliances including a dishwasher which we don't have now. The fridge will be in a new spot as will the stove, which will now have an over-the-range microwave (instead of having our microwave on top of the fridge). We will be sure to take before and after pictures. It will be a bit inconvenient for about a week while the kitchen is out of commission but it will be nice when it is done.

Anyway, on to the Christmas pictures....