Rare occurrence

On Sunday night, we got together with my mom's side of the family for Christmas. We haven't done that in at least 3 years, which is crazy since we used to do something for Christmas and Easter every year.

If my grandparents were alive, they'd be upset at how little we see each other, but it's really hard with everyone's schedule. Both my cousins work crazy hours (Sonya's a retail manager and Russell works at BMW, which is open 24/7).

I was glad Mom and Aunt Barbara didn't do the whole Christmas dinner spread, because that's a lot of cooking, and I know Mom will be doing it on Christmas Day anyway. They had barbecue, since it was easy, and Mom made pot roast for me since I can't have pork. Which is fine with me, by the way. After Dr. Petan told me about all the parasites in pork and chicken...well, let's just say I'm not sad that I can't eat those particular foods.

It was fun, although things got a little tense when my cousin Russell brought gifts for all the kids. We had determined beforehand that we weren't doing that, since we only decided last Wednesday night that we were getting together. That didn't leave a lot of time for shopping, obviously. I was relieved, though, because I have trouble coming up with gift ideas for their birthdays, much less Christmas! Not to mention the money issue, of course. So my cousin Sonya got really annoyed, but there was no scene, thank goodness. We're klassy like that:)

Russell said, "I know I'm going to piss off the adults tonight, since I brought presents when we agreed not to." I told him I wasn't mad. It was a win-win situation. Audrey got two new dresses and leggings and I didn't have to buy anything. Is that awful of me?

The kids had a great time.



And ever since I put a bow on Audrey's head as I was opening a birthday gift, she does it herself now, very enthusiastically, I might add.



Fun times for all.