Well it's the day after and we're still alive! I'm so glad it's all over. Now I'm interested in cleaning up the messes and looking at my clean house. You'd never know that the housekeepers were here on Christmas Eve Day.
Christmas Eve Day was rushing around to get the house clean for the housekeepers and then out to get the holiday dinner that we ordered since we wouldn't have enough time to make everything with the housekeepers here. This is when the fun began. We got to the Honey Baked Ham store only to find that the side dishes we reserved weren't reserved at all. :( Milenko rushed to the grocery store to get the fixin's for the new stuff we had to make while I went home to feed Brayden & put Lauren to bed. Lauren had been sick all night long and running a fever.
Christmas Eve Day was rushing around to get the house clean for the housekeepers and then out to get the holiday dinner that we ordered since we wouldn't have enough time to make everything with the housekeepers here. This is when the fun began. We got to the Honey Baked Ham store only to find that the side dishes we reserved weren't reserved at all. :( Milenko rushed to the grocery store to get the fixin's for the new stuff we had to make while I went home to feed Brayden & put Lauren to bed. Lauren had been sick all night long and running a fever.
Fortunately, it was gone by the afternoon and didn't last into the night at all.
Grammy got here around 4:30 with Dan arriving shortly after. Dave, Michelle & the boys arrived around 5pm and we all had a great time. We had 1/4 ham, 1/2 turkey, mashed potatoes, garlic sauteed green beans, salad, lightly grilled pugliese bread with drizzled olive oil and a splash of garlish & candied yams. Even the kids ate a decent amount. We had the kids sit in the kitchen at the smaller table while all the adults sat at the formal dining room table. It was such a nice change to NOT have to get up and deal with rioting kids.
The tree was completely filled with presents. It looked like we had a few dozen people getting gifts.
After Dave's family went home, it was time to write letters to Santa. Daddy helped Bella write her letter all by herself while Lexie dictated to me. We took the letters and put them next to the cookies (made with Teta Sherry) and hot cocoa (because it's warm & yummy and Santa likes it better). Oh yeah, we had to ad a napkin in case Santa got his beard dirty.
Uncle Momo (my brother Dan) & Grammy spent the night. While Milenko passed out, Elf Dan put together the Barbie Escalade from Santa. By 1am, we were exhausted and put the wagon (still inside its box) on a footstool with a name tag.
I was so tired come 7:30 that I didn't get to capture their look on camera when they saw what Santa brought. However, I think the excitement lasted all day. The Escalade has a real working radio & cup holders. We haven't put the battery in yet since it has to charge for 18 hours. I'm wondering if the battery is even needed as they find that thing so much fun without it.
At 2pm we headed to Kum & Kuma's (Milenko's godparents) house for dinner. We had the best homemade soup ever. I can't remember the Croatian name for it (let alone spell it), but it was so good! Follow that up with bread, green beans, potatoes, roasted pig, sauerkraut, salad, cauliflower, stuffing and turkey with gravy. That was dinner. Dessert was even more food than dinner. We brought an apple pie to add to the strudel, 3 plates of Croatian cookies, chocolate/raspberry cake, fresh strawberries with cream and a Croatian dessert break that Kum always makes. WOW! There was so much food that I think I've personally eaten for the week. (That's not including the appetizers before dinner of shrimp, proscuitto, crackers, cheese, olives, dips and some spicy sausage that I'm clueless about.) If ever you want a good meal, Kuma will certainly do you justice is preparing a wonderful spread!
The best part was when Kum pulled out the guitar and accordion. Lexie loves music and after she finished her dessert, she delighted us by singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas, You Are My Sunshine and her ABC's. She became disinterested when Kum couldn't play any of the "Anna Montanana" (Hannah Montana) songs.
The best part was when Kum pulled out the guitar and accordion. Lexie loves music and after she finished her dessert, she delighted us by singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas, You Are My Sunshine and her ABC's. She became disinterested when Kum couldn't play any of the "Anna Montanana" (Hannah Montana) songs.
Had to throw in a quick picture of Brayden as he dressed up for Christmas dinner!
We all went to bed around 8pm. Lauren was still a little under the weather, Brayden has developed a very bad cough and I can't swallow anything. (Wouldn't that have come in handy while the desserts were flowing this season?!) :-)
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