Schizophrenic Holiday

Thursday the Miller clan gathered at our house to celebrate Christmas. If you've ever tried combining 2 holidays, you know how tricky it can be!

I couldn't bring myself to remove the pumpkins from the porch or the fall wreath from the front door. But since it was supposed to be Christmas, I lined our kitchen cabinets with greenery, set out a small lighted Christmas tree, and got out the nativity. At least it was festive - even the dinner table paid tribute to both holidays! We had a fall centerpiece and Christmas plates, napkins and cups. With the weather so warm, it felt like we were celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving at Easter.

The turkey - my first ever attempt - turned out to be edible, to my extreme relief. We had so much food I nearly hyperventilated trying to figure out where to put it all, and finally decided that before the next time Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner is at our house, we're going to need to put in at least one more kitchen. I am thankful, though, for a basement large enough for us all to gather and open gifts.

By this time next year 2 more cousins will have been added to the mix. Sarah & Anthony announced they are having a girl (although the sudden appearance of various pink outfits on their registry had clued several of us in already), and Hannah & Kenneth will have a boy in February. This has come as good news for Zekers - he won't be surrounded by princesses and mermaids forever!

Friday I got up at 5:15 and shopped until about 11. The sales were a little disappointing compared to last year, but at least most of our Christmas shopping is now complete. (Oh, who am I kidding . . . there will never be a year when I won't be running out the day before Christmas to get the last couple of gifts.)

After lunch we went to a Christmas tree farm and the kids "helped" Daddy cut a tree. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how exactly we set out to cut a 4-foot tree and came back with seven-footer. They just don't seem as tall out in the field! The good news was, we only lost Zekers twice.

Rach & Zekers helped me decorate the tree while Danny put up our outdoor lights and greenery. (Every once in a while they'd take a stuffed animal and run outside to "go on vacation.") Then we all had dinner at an actual non-fast-food restaurant, thanks to a gift card we've been saving. Is there anything better than having someone else fix dinner every once in a while?

Saturday was Thanks-giving with the Wrights. We had the traditioinal and delicious "manicotti" - which was a welcome change after 2 days of eating turkey. (We had so much left over, I was trying to figure out how to add some to the kids' eggs or breakfast cereal). It was so warm, the kids played outside most of the afternoon and into the evening.

The highlight of the day was a duck that wandered into the next door neighbors' yard and ate some crackers the munchkins gave him. All the other cousins were trying to be extremely quiet so as not to scare the duck away, but not Zekers. He kept yelling, "COME HERE, DUCK!" at the top of his lungs. After deciding he was tired of waiting for the hapless fowl to approach him, he began chasing it around the yard. The wierd thing was, they both ran pretty much the same way - sort of a fast waddle.

It's funny how the atmosphere and mood of an evening can change so quickly - from the idyllic drive home looking at Christmas lights and listening to peaceful music, to Zekers throwing a tantrum on his bedroom floor and doing such a long "no-breathe" cry that his lips actually turned blue. (His mean, abusive parents actually had the gall to try to put him in pajamas).

It's been such a fun weekend . . . sometimes I wish there was no such thing as Monday!