As succinct as the Gettysburg Address

Do you have any idea where the hell time goes? Criminy. I blink an eye and a week has passed. It’s insanity. And all this beta blogger nonsense and the change in Picasa picture posting has me irritated. I’m too old to adjust, dammit. Why do they keep messin’ with my programs? (Said while waving my cane at the screen.)

Think I can manage a quick review of the last week? Sure. But I can’t promise it will be all that interesting. Last Saturday we had a family-visitin’ day. First to Mom’s place to bake Christmas cookies. Her boyfriend has a family tradition of making Christmas cookies with his Grandkids and asked us to join them. It was lovely. Especially when Noah spent almost an hour chasing the 5, 6 and 7 year old girls around and Mark and I didn’t even have to keep tabs on him. Then we headed to my Dad’s where we ordered Chinese takeout and everyone watched me decorate the tree. Noah spent a good deal of time chasing Oma around the house and that seemed to be exactly what she needed to put a smile on her face. Sunday we went to Drexel’s Christmas party. It’s for the entire staff of the University and since about 1500 people attend it’s not entirely lavish, and there is no open bar. But the cranberry punch is delish and they have magicians and story time for the kids. The big draws this year were a performance by the Rockettes and you could get your family photo taken and superimposed on a bunch of silly backgrounds. We stuck with a snowy forest landscape. I know – we’re boring. The party was held in the Great Court, which is (as you can see from the link) stunning, and also the building in which Mark works. However as striking as it is, it doesn’t lend itself well to the sheer size of the party. It’s not only a bit too crowded and hard to navigate, it’s also very sparse on seating which is difficult when you have a toddler. But seatless though we were, we still had a nice time.

On Monday we decided to spend a few hours of the 60 degree day (is this REALLY December?) at Morris Arboretum with Wendy and Victor. On Tuesday we went to Toddler storytime in the morning and then Janette and Jules came by in the evening. Yesterday I had an unpleasant bathroom emergency at BJs, and though I go there for the sole purpose of buying that child giant vats of apple juice and Cheezits, he decided not to be kind and discrete and instead repeatedly and loudly asked me if I was pooping. Ahem. Somehow I survived that. In the evening Mark watched Noah so I could go by some stocking stuffers. I realized just recently that since I told him that Santa will fill our stockings, that I better indeed put something into those belonging to Mark and myself.

Today we met my former co-worker and friend Jeff downtown for lunch. Again with the Chinese food. I’ve got some weird obsession about it lately. The dumplings in particular. After he treated (Bless your heart Jeff! Even after just closing on a new condo!) he sadly had to return to the office and thus did not get to join us when we headed to Macy’s to (YUP) once AGAIN go see the Dickens Village “puppets” and the light show. A grandmother sitting next to me with a cranky two year old little girl asked “What did you do to get such a beautiful and well behaved child?” To which I replied “Got lucky. Got very, very lucky.”

So what do the holidays have in store for us this crazy week? Tomorrow night we pop in to my friend Patty’s Christmas party – long enough to taunt the drunken singletons with the cuteness of our offspring, but not so long that they see what it’s like when said offspring becomes overtired and slightly less manageable. On Saturday we head to Jersey to have lunch with a friend of Mark’s from high school. He and his wife are in staying with his parents over the holidays, that is if they caught their flight out of Colorado despite the massive blizzard. And afterwards we’ll stop by Mark’s Dad's place to “see the tree” because no yuletide season is complete without tree seeing. Hopefully their tree is less crooked and haggard looking than ours after it’s been pawed at by a two year old on a daily basis. On Sunday I have a frenzy of cleaning and cooking while awaiting my Mom, her boyfriend, Mark’s Dad, his wife and Mark’s 94 year old Grandmother for dinner. And if we all survive that, with no food poisoning or whatnot, we’ll head to my Dad’s the next day for an early dinner with my Oma, my brother and his kids, and then to my Mom’s in the evening to see more relatives. Good grief. I’m beat just typing that. I’m hoping to also get my sister Jess to come and spend a few days with us that week, but that hasn’t yet been set in stone.

Okay. So that was far from quick. Sheesh. Sorry. I hope you all have a holly, jolly holiday (if you celebrate that sort of thing) – and that the chaos, the bills and the gifts are just a fleeting blip quickly wiped out by your enjoyment of time with your loved ones. As flawed and wacky as they (and we all) may be.

See you next week with photos of festive festivitiness!