Back on schedule.

Today is the first day that everyone is back at work/school and although I really enjoyed the unstructured time with the family it is nice to get back on schedule. DJ was able to take off several days before and after Christmas, including my birthday which was a real treat. I only had to endure mild teasing this year from my Evil Sister In-Laws but I don't expect them to go so easy on me next year. Hopefully they will show some mercy since they themselves have already made the fabulous 40 mark. Now I just have to make sure that I do the fab. part and the forty part will take care of itself! :-)

The Holidays were enjoyable but quick lived in retrospect. Zoe cantored Christmas Eve mass and Violet was an angel in the pageant. After church we headed up to DJ's sisters house to celebrate with the Polish side of the family. Kids, kids everywhere... The cousins had fun playing with each other and doting on baby Julia. Some cute pictures of Gavin breaking bread with Julia and if I remember I will post them when Suzy forwards them. hint hint... Even though we arrived home late on Christmas Eve, it did not deter the kids from waking up early to see if Santa made an appearance. It was pretty funny because as most parents do we used the Santa is watching line on the kids for at least the last month in an attempt to encourage good behaviour. I think Marina was concerned that Santa might not show up because of her many warnings and transgressions during December. When she came downstairs she scanned the room and her stocking and with a satisfied look on her face she exclaimed " Well, that worked out well then. He came because I cleaned up yesterday" I think her take home message was that she could misbehave all month and do a quick makeup session and still get the goods.
We broke down and bought the wii for the family as the big present and each person received a game. Santa also brought a gift and filled the stockings. This year we tried something a little different and instead of opening presents and heading to my mother's house we stayed put and had my side of the family here for brunch. Everyone brought something (many things) to eat so we had plenty of food, so much so that I never ended up cooking the ham I had purchased to cook up for the evening meal. Later in the day we had friends over and snacked on all the leftovers and the kids had a chance to play with their friends.
DJ was skeptical at first about getting the wii when we are trying to go less plugged in but we are all having so much fun with it and are now considering getting rid of digital cable for a bit. Not a big deal for me but I think DJ will miss his sports coverage.

So far we have spent way too many hours on it but it is been a fun distraction during last weeks cold, snowy days. The favorite game is wii fit so far and everyone wants to weigh in and compete to get the top slot for the games. Sports resort is another popular one and DJ and the older two are fans of Mario smash bothers. So much so that DJ let them stay up until 1am competing the night before my birthday. Yikes!

New Years Eve was spent with friends in our home and Gavin was the only one who didn't make it to midnight. He was also the first one up in the morning but luckily we were able to convince him to snuggle with us in bed until almost 10am but he was not about to go back to sleep. I think that is the latest that we have slept in for many years. I don't think we left the house at all that day but we did manage to take down the tree and inside decorations. The outside will have to wait until it thaws out a little. New England has been totally frozen over.

For my birthday present I got a digital SLR camera that also takes HD video. It was a combined present from several people and I picked it out and ordered it myself after researching options and finding it on sale with two lenses included. It arrived yesterday so there has not been much of an opportunity to play with it yet. I am considering signing up for a class this spring in hopes of improving  my photoghraphy skills.  I am looking forward to seeing what it can do and with the addition of the 75-300mm zoom lens I should be able to get some awesome shots of the Fisher cats while still keeping my distance.