podmom

keepsmiling That is what my sister talks about....that when the grandkids grow up they take up way more room and the house gets crowded it sounds like you are taking it one day at a time and getting there. Me too. I actually wrapped a bunch of presents last night. ( while podad and I watched 2 Star Wars movies which was fun. Haven't seen them for a long time and I'm feeling Star Warsy with the new one coming out. Going to finish the ones I have left tonight and hopefully buy the rest tomorrow online and at the outlets. I hope your cooking went well this weekend!

ML Have a safe, good and problem free trip. SO glad Mlette is going with you. She is an angel as we all know I don't understand why Mr MLs family didn't do Christmas...they are the ones celebrating Christ birth after all Are you relieved not to have to deal with it? Is MrML? I,m guessing yes but maybe not. HAve fun and enjoy the warm weather!!

Wen

MyrnaLynne

Well, his family decided who was having Christmas at the last minute (this week), and now they are FURIOUS at us, that we're not coming! Never realized attendance was mandatory for these things. Cheesh, would they have been happier if we LIED to them, that we were going somewhere?

Oh well, husband is a stubborn Capricorn and nobody is going to tell him what to do. Feel bad for Barbara, because I don't think she'll drive down by herself. Phew, I hate drama with the family.

Yes, it's always more stressful than fun and I'd been looking at cruises that went away over Christmas and New Years, just so we could avoid it. So now we have.. but repercussions seem to be ugly. We've always enjoyed celebrating with his family but it's not our holiday.

Mlette and I are all packed - wasn't too painful a process! The problem is, it's going to snow/sleet tomorrow so we need to bundle up (and I hope the plane flies), and when we get back from the 82 weather, it's going to be around 7 degrees Thurs night, so we'll need winter clothes (or get pneumonia) when we come back. Never flying anywhere in the winter again!

Wrapping gifts with Star Wars sounds like fun! I was up until midnight wrapping last night, and picked up a couple of little things today at CVS, while we were getting tiny travel sized things (and airplane snacks).

podmom

Uggg I didn't realize they were mad AT you guys sorry you are dealing with that drama. I hope it blows over and doesn't cause permanent hurt feelings

Yea I hate flying in the winter. I haven't flown in so long now that I better do it soon before I become a nervous flyer...I feel it creeping onto me

Have a good trip

keepsmiling7

ML.......it is a shame that the holiday season brings out the worst in some people.
I like your idea of a cruise between Christmas and New Years to avoid everything........and everybody. Enjoy the warm climate!

PODMOM......guess you have recovered from your busy Thanksgiving and are in full swing Christmas mode. Hubby and I finished the stocking stuffers today and I have almost everything wrapped. My next chore is cooking for the freezer.......I like to cook ahead as much as possible and pull it out over the weeks that family is visiting.

keepsmiling7

Back again......taking a break from cooking. I'm trying to get as much in the freezer ready for the family when they arrive.
First will be hubby's oldest daughter, she might come by herself or there will be four. They'll only stay two days so that' easy.
The 24th my branch starts arriving for a least three days. That's three meals a day for three days times 17 people. Remember when kids were young and didn't eat much, well this group has grown up with adult appetites. My sons are always going through the refrigerator looking for move.
Hope they all leave by the 28th so I can get the sheets changed for hubby's youngest daughter. That's just a family of five, so seven are easy to feed. They plan to stay only two days.
By New Years I will have collapsed.

MyrnaLynne

keepsmiling I am in awe of the volume of your hospitality! They would be scraping me off the floor if I had to house, feed, entertain, cook for so many waves of relatives! It's true, those guys are always looking in the refrigerator for something else It will be a joyful (but exhausting) holiday. Glad you will see everyone.

I'm back from Florida and we got there and back safely, although the flight had some hand-grabbing bumps going down, and was so rough right before we landed Thurs night, I thought my daughter might get air-sick (which would be a first). Then we had to ride home in the bumpy back of the silverline bus from the airport to the subway. which didn't help matters but we managed not to get sick!

We had a great time with my Dad, he's doing fine and was happy to have us there. It was 84 every day (ahh) and we swam in his (heated) pool a couple of times. My cousins brought their Dad and step over on Wednesday to see us and my Dad and we all ate out together - they are both in Florida but now it's too far for my Uncle to drive from his town to see my Dad (and way too far for my Dad to drive over and see them, plus they are on the 2nd floor). Cousins came down because this is the last winter in FL for my Uncle and his wife, and they want to put their place on the market. It is quite a trip back and forth now that he's 90, plus as I said, it's on the 2nd floor too.

My Christmas miracle was Mr ML did almost all the laundry while Mlette and I were away (and ordinarily, he never does laundry, we both do it). So the dining room was stacked all over with piles of clean clothes! Of course he has no idea which are mine and while are my daughters but still.. nice surprise. And piles of mail to sort out.
And packages to wrap and mail - I blew off work Friday and wrapped and packed instead, and Mlette drove me to the post office to mail them so that's DONE. Yay.

And it was lovely to come back and have a weekend to recover from travelling. Quite a shock to the system, leaving snow, to 80s, and coming back to bitter cold weather.
And then SNOW. But today it went up to 50 and rain again, washing away the snow (yay!). I wouldn't mind winter at all, if it snowed a bit, and then melted again, off an on all winter long.

Anyway, glad I went, glad all went smoothly, glad to be home again - even with the 200+ emails waiting for me at work and piles (and piles) of work. SIGH. And Mr ML and I wrestled with Christmas - I thought we should apologize and go, he said absolutely not (and he drives there) so we're not going. Mlette will go have Christmas with her boyfriend's family. His brother John will send one of his sons to pick up Barbara and take her down there/bring her back, so at least we don't have to feel bad about ruining HER Christmas too.

keepsmiling7

ML........glad you had a good trip south, and that your father was doing well. I know he treasured your visit. Did you son make it too?
Three gold stars for MrML for doing the laundry. That was a very nice surprise, even though you had to sort it all out.
I've never visited any of our daughters or daughter-in-laws that their dryer and washing machines weren't full, not folded. I never minded taking on the chore of finishing that, but never did figure out whose sox were whose or underwear either.

Had a terrible shock this morning going out to church........the temperature was 26 degrees. I'm sure I have mentioned I hate cold weather. This reinforced that feeling.

MyrnaLynne

Wow keepsmiling we are having the same weather today! That is really cold for Texas!

Our weather is so strange- we had a big snow Friday night/Saturday morning, and then Sunday it went up to 50-55 and rained and it all melted and washed away! That's the kind of winter I like. Snow is fine if it's only temporary! Temps plummeted again, but it managed to dry up before it froze so no sheets of ice everywhere either.

LOL, socks are the hardest to figure out, I agree. When Mlette lived at home and we wore similar undies, we resorted to putting our initial inside to tell them apart! Also marked some socks. And Mr ML and Mlette wear some similar waffle fabric sweatshirts that I mix up - finally wrote hubby's name in the back of one, that I kept giving to my daughter.

No, my son didn't come join us, because of his wife - who is NOW mad that he didn't take off this week or next week, so they could vacation in Florida! When he needed to put in for time off, months ago, she didn't want to hear about going anyplace; now that it's too late, she's changed her mind, and is mad they can't go!


Mr ML was really sweet to do the washing. He also brought me home two of my favorite chocolate bars from his store, but since Hanukah is around the corner, I wrapped them up to be a gift!

mezz

Hi guys, just dropping by to say hello and merry Christmas I was wondering if there were any JB pictures and yes there are!! Some excellent ones at that. Pity he's still not in a show of his own but see that KD has another show going. They seem like a lovely couple of down to earth people.

keepsmiling7

Good to hear from you MEZZ........you have missed out on a lot of great Jason and family pictures!

Got another surprise............my ex-daughter-in-law stopped by yesterday afternoon to ask if she could join us for church Christmas Eve. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her daughter who will be here from Ann Arbor, MI. Had to call my son quick and give him a heads-up.

MyrnaLynne

Mezzie glad you stopped by for a Christmas hello!

Keepsmiling oo, ex-daughter-in-law sounds like some potential Christmas drama. How can you say no to church on Christmas though?

Speaking of drama, Mr ML came home and said "I was thinking more about Christmas"... and I said "Too late!" plus our car needs service and probably shouldn't drive it all the way to his brother's house. Five days before Christmas and he still hasn't decided about it? Or keeps almost changing his mind - making me crazy. I said too late, but not too late to call his brother and smooth things over with him, if possible, instead of being angry.

mezz

I'm sorry you're having Christmas drama ML. It took us quite a time to smooth our family Christmas out but it has to be the same date each year or people are already booked even for a family Christmas that they have a year to work into their schedules. We have the large family get together the Saturday before Christmas. This year it was at my place. It took 2 weeks of gradual cleaning and clearing but now my house looks great Everyone had a relaxed time. Cousins said they loved the relaxed atmosphere (The Step, who has been so good lately, said, 'well we all have to do our bit because M isn't going to do it is she'.... sigh). But it's been years since The Step has said something like that so I breathed deeply and the next day I was good. (Mostly) Still this year 4 of the family didn't make it.

It's awful when family blames you for their own inadequacies. Sorry you're dealing with it. Hopefully Mr ML will be able to smooth the waters. You can perhaps do a NYs with them or something.

Poddy I am selfishly pleased you are putting more stuff on FB as it helps me keep up with all your grandkids. So cute. How are the most recently marrieds doing?

K glad you've got excitement for Christmas.

Hi Wen

podmom

Wow while I have been MIA our Mezzie stopped by great to see you here yea I have been better at FB since mom passed...more time for sure. I'm not gret but getting better Thrilled you stopped by!


So glad your trip was good ML!!!!


What ML saidkeepsmiling you are amzing....all you have to cook for makes me feel like a slacker you really do rock

Sorry just a fly by.....bbl

MyrnaLynne

Well, Mr ML's sister-in-law called and asked him to call and talk to her (still angry) husband (but not say she called) so he did, and his brother was still FURIOUS at him and they didn't settle anything at all, and Mr ML may cancel his monthly poker game now - because that brother comes to it! I hope this doesn't escalate to a full-on family meltdown. We really had no idea people would be upset - you give a party, some people can come, some don't, so what? I guess it was a big deal. Plus nobody had even thought about Christmas until we asked, and nobody wanted to host it until this brother stepped up (at the last minute, already December). Hubby is sorry his brother is SO upset but nothing he can do about that. I have been very stressed about this and feeling sick at heart - and Mr ML thought not going would be less stressful this year! Hahahaha (sigh)

Oh Mezz I didn't realize you had the whole family this year! That's a big undertaking. But yes, it is nice, after a family party, you end up with a tidied up place as a bonus. And the Step - always going to say something, isn't she? I'm glad you took some breaths and didn't let it hurt you too much. She probably meant well, like you're only one person so everyone should help out because it's a lot to do - don't think she meant you were inept!

Yes, loved Thomas in his grandfather's boyhood plaid suitjacket in the Christmas concert PodMom that was super too cute!

podmom

ML I'm so sorry MrMLs family are hurt and angry that would be upsetting me too. Yes it is ironic that the reason for not going was to have less stress That would be so sad if MrML stopped his poker game....he should do the opposite and carry on as if nothing happened and hope it blows over.

Thanks for the plaid jacket Tommy love

Mezz I see you up there the young marrieds are doing fine thus far. They will be here in a couple of days. Emily made a beautiful Christmas card....with wedding pix and the word JOY and thinking all for sharing in theirs. Not that wording but that sentiment.