Well we have somehow found ourselves on the other side of the Holidays and here it is January, 2011! Our Christmas was spectacular! Once I got to 4pm on Christmas Eve, everything just went so smoothly. We went to Christmas Eve Mass and then up to Foxboro to visit with my mother's side of the family. It's always a treat to see my Pepere and it was especially nice to meet my new cousin, baby Isabelle. From there we went to my sister in laws and got to visit with Billy's mother's side of the family. I don't think we got home before 10:30! Yet, for once it didn't matter because I knew we had NOWHERE to go on Christmas day and what a fabulous gift in itself that was!
I awoke at 7:oo am Christmas morning to three snoring kids. I tried to fall back to sleep but in all honesty.. I was way too excited and bewildered that the kids were actually still sleeping! So I lay there for about a half hour before I went downstairs and put all the Christmas lights on and the Christmas music. I came back upstairs trying to make as much noise as possible and yet.. not a single one stirred! by 7:45 I couldn't wait any longer and I went into Hannah's room and gave her a kiss. She woke up, looked at me for a millisecond and then hopped out of bed in one leap and started heading for the stairs! I laughed and told her she had to help me wake the others first.
Their faces were priceless as they scanned over all of their gifts. The very moment I had been waiting for. The girls adore their Barbie Mansion and have yet to go an hour without playing with it. Cameron was actually unwrapping his own gifts at age 6 months! Granted he was trying to eat whatever paper he could get to his mouth... but still.. he has such good coordination already. To keep tradition alive I had also prepared my mother's Christmas Breakfast Braid, for the first time. Just the smell of it put me back to when we were kids and how wonderful our Christmas mornings would be. I am so grateful to have three, gorgeous children to carry on these family traditions. We had such a lovely, laid back morning that I didn't want it to end. There was no rushing around or hurrying into showers. I was able to take it all in and I can assure you that it felt so very good.
Our guests began to arrive around 2pm. This too ran so perfectly. There was no rush to sit down to eat or to get through courses. My turkey ... ohhhh it came out unbelievable! I have NEVER tasted a turkey so good. (To be honest, Billy actually went back to BJ's the day after Christmas to try and get another because all 20lbs of that bird went!) The dinner was just scrumptious. By mid-day I could tell the girls were starting to get watery eyes and sniffles and they quickly changed into their jammies, took some Tylenol and were able to carry on in the festivities. It was so perfect to have the family gathered around at our home. It is surely a memory I will cherish forever and I look forward to hosting many more Christmas dinners.
The day after Christmas I had Baby Aria's Baptism. What a beautiful ceremony and a beautiful Church. It was so wonderful to see baby Aria, Sara and Ethan and I even got to meet my girlfriend Val's new little Josephine. She is a doll! Her Gabriel is also getting so big so quickly. Cameron came with me to Church and he was so very good. So glad that I could be a part of that special day. As the snow came in we went on over to my parents to exchange gifts and spend time together and I think I even got to take a 20 minute snooze!
From there it all went down hill. The kids all ended up sick and so did I. I made it to work on Tuesday and then from there on out, I couldn't move. Everything hurt. To be honest, everything still hurts. The kids all had fevers, sore throats, chest coughs, drippy noses and my whole body just ached. It had to have been the flu as we barely got off the couch all week. Today is the first day I have managed to wear normal clothes and get my butt to work, although I am still feeling miserable. I have an appointment after work to get checked and I am hoping to get to the bottom of whatever this is and feel better! I feel so guilty for not being able to do anything fun and exciting with the kids during school break. Yet, at the same time I was so grateful for the rest and cuddles with them.
Yesterday I dusted off my "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook and I have vowed to get my family eating healthy with the proper fruits and vegetables. I am hoping that eating the right nutrients and a well balanced diet will help to keep the entire family healthy and germ free. I have to start somewhere and eating right needs to be it. The next thing we are adding on will be exercising again.
On an extremely sad note, my brother in law Dan's father passed away last Thursday very unexpectedly. I am still in shock as it was just on Christmas Eve that I had seen him last. It doesn't make sense and I can only imagine how Dan feels. He was such a sweet, full of life, type of person with the most amazing, twinking blue eyes I have ever seen. On Christmas Eve I went into Dan and Leanne's family room to greet him and his wife Jean and I was teasing them about being all cozy romantic on the couch by the fire. I just can't believe that less than a week later, he is gone. I am keeping the entire DeMarco Family in my prayers. My Faith tells me that he is in a better place, watching his family from above. May God Bless this entire family and help them through this terrible loss.
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