PS She finally stopped crying

This very moment I am listening to my daughter cry herself to sleep.  It is late.  It is the night after Christmas morning.  It is the end of a week filled with chaos, too much sugar, letdowns and surprises.  So needless to say we are all a little weary.  And if she doesn't stop soon, I am going to cry myself to sleep.

Thursday night, I made the kids a big bed in front of the TV and they fell asleep watching a Christmas movie about a dog and Santa.  It was all very cute and the house was a warm, fuzzy picture of togetherness.  Upon waking the next morning, I expected the same cozy feeling.  But instead, I was greeted by a chilly bite to the air. Josh was awake on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, wearing a toboggan.  (side note here: a toboggan in Alabama is a knitted cap, not a sled)  Anyway, I noticed that the heaters were off.  Then my stomach dropped to my knees.  I suddenly realized we were out of propane.

(Have any of y'all ever had to heat your home with propane?  It is a pain right in the ole derriere.  It's expensive and a little scary--rectangles of fire mounted to your wall, just waiting for a kid to get burned.  But when you live in a rented house, you deal with what you have.)

I had asked my husband several times to check the gauge outside.  Alas, those requests had fallen on selectively deaf ears.  And while I claim to know some things about some things, understanding the crusty meter on our creepy propane tank way off in the yard, is not one of the things I have mastered.  Whatever.  The deed was done.

For the next 2 hours, we tried to reach someone on the "emergency" line at our propane provider.  It was to no avail.  I guess SOME people think Christmas Eve is a holiday or something.  Psssh.  The nerve.  So we came up with plan B.  Which was to see which of my family members felt like putting us up for the weekend.  Oh and did I mention that it was supposed to snow in Alabama?  A white Christmas, woohoo

My dad let us stay with him.  And while it put a kink in our Christmas morning Santa plans for the kids, it has been a really a fun weekend.  But it's all been a little too much for this girl to handle.  I am going to say the thing I never thought I'd say and that is, I am glad Christmas is over.  I cannot wait to get home and pack up all the decorations and put this whole week behind me.

After all the drama of this week, I've realized I have more important things to worry about anyway...like turning 35 in six days.  The terrifying downhill run to 40 is almost here.  Yippee!!!

It's not a party until someone gets hurt.

This past Tuesday marks an event in my life I will never forget.  

Our family was gathered together at my mother's house.  We had all eaten and the presents had been passed out to everyone.  I was sitting at the dining room table with my brother, chatting.  Actually he may have been eating.  I cannot remember.  Some of the details before the life changing event are a little fuzzy now.  One of the younger cousins needed help loading his Nerf gun.  It was one of these wheel gun meets shotgun numbers.  Maybe you've seen it? 

Alden already owns one of these things, so I asked him to help the cousin in the loading.  Alden was glad to help (my dutiful, wonderful son) and then tragedy struck.

I heard the THWACK and hum of the gun being shot.  And I screamed (it was a mini horror movie type scream) as the bullet hit my brother RIGHT IN THE EYE!!!!  If it hurt as badly as it sounded, then I am going straight to hell.  Because my first reaction was to laugh hysterically.  That is my reaction no matter who is hurt or how badly...total knee jerk reaction (plus it's usually pretty funny).  Anyway, for those of you that don't know my brother I'll break it down like this:

Richard BEFORE

Richard AFTER

Except in that AFTER picture, he was holding his eye and wondering if he still had sight in it.  Alden was immensely sorry and asked if my brother was OK.  That is a cardinal sin in my family...wait until the carnage can be surveyed before asking stupid questions like "Are you OK?" or "Can I do anything?"  

Thankfully, he was OK.  He accepted Alden's apology and did not disown me for my involuntary laughter.  And little did I know that this incident was just the beginning of my Christmas week.  

PS  I hope all of y'all are having a Merry Christmas!  If I drank eggnog, I'd drink a toast to you!