A very merry Christmas

So Bob was working the night shift on Wednesday night. He got home about 2am Thursday, and woke up about 10am. By 11, we were ready to go.

First stop, Tesco. The pictures were in, so I got those and a jar of Nutella while Bob circled the parking lot. Then we went to RAF Mildenhall. We had lunch there, using 3 "free bread stick" coupons that we'd earned by shopping a few weeks ago. We also used a deal where we bought a $25 gift card and got a free combo meal. So all together it was one of the cheaper meals we've eaten out lately.

Then we went into the store. I'd had an idea about letting the children buy something for each other, and Bob thought it was a good idea, so we went with that. Bob wandered the store with the group, while I took one child at a time to buy a $10 gift for another child. Taryn was indecisive, so it took awhile, but we finally finished. We headed back to RAF Lakenheath by way of Undley, so I could stop at the veg stand there for eggs. It's a little out of the way, but not much, and they have the best and the cheapest (good) eggs I've seen anywhere. (I can get cheaper at Tesco, but they taste like fish.)

We discussed going home to leave the family, and just I going to the commissary, but decided to all go together, as we'd been hours in the BX but not together. Turns out it was a good decision, because they locked up just after we got there. We got the necessary things - milk, butter, grapes, pretzels. :-) Also picked up some chicken cordon blue (I didn't spell that right, did I?) for dinner.

So we came home, cooked the chicken, had dinner... Got the children in bed just after 8, and then our work began. With my back being funny all week I hadn't done any wrapping, so it was all done Christmas Eve. Bob helped. My brother and sister-in-law sent gifts straight from Target, so we wrapped those, our few, and the children's. I also made a coffee cake for breakfast. Elijah (and Bob and I) got to sleep about 1am.

Christmas morning we woke up before 6, and I heard stirring in the other room so we went ahead and got up. First we let the children open the gifts from Wil and Marline, and then play with those for a bit while I fixed breakfast. Then we got dressed and did the rest of the presents. Here's the rundown:

Taryn: Webkinz horse from Wil and Marline, coin purse from Aunt Heather, 2 books from us (Lois Lenski's "Judy's Journey" and "Robinson Crusoe"), lawn darts from Naysha, and a Wii game Littlest Pet Shop to share with Naysha, from us.

Naysha: Tea set from Wil and Marline, coin purse from Aunt Heather, purse and a string of colored lights from us, a small chocolate fountain from Taryn.

Riah: wooden build-a-train kit from Wil and Marline, transformer car/robot from Aunt Heather, a spider robot thing from us, a Nerf ball from Cedwryck, and a Wii hunting game to share with Cedwryck, from us.

Cedwryck: Hot Wheels car track from Wil and Marline, transformer from Aunt Heather Tonka steamroller from us, a stuffed dog from Riah.

Ella: Purse from Wil and Marline, coin purse from Aunt Heather, Faith Friends doll from us, a stuffed horse and a pack of bubbles from William.

William: dump truck from Wil and Marline, transformer from Aunt Heather, a shape sorter gas pump from us, and a "Cars" playground ball from Ella.

All the children got a Wii M&M racing game to share.

Bob: a Wii game "Sports Resort" from me, and a bag of Reese Cups candy from Riah.

Me: a rice cooker/steamer, a bucket organizer, a musical nativity, a snowman on a bicycle, and a box of Hickory Farms smoked cheese with crackers and sausage.

It's a long list considering we only bought 1 thing for each child, plus a couple to share.

In order to maintain peace, we opted for supper instead of lunch. We feasted! Ham with cloves and brown sugar glaze, roast potatoes, homemade rolls, grape salad (3 lbs of grapes mixed with cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar), and stir fry carrots, leeks, and brussels sprouts. I was able to serve everything on Polish pottery, and it looked nice. We ate it all except for 5 rolls and some of the stir fry. We took a little break, and then went back for dessert. We had planned fondue, and then when Naysha got her fountain we were going to use it. But it is battery powered and we don't have the correct size. So back to fondue. I made the sauce by heating 1 c cream, then adding 1 pkg chocolate chips and most of a jar of caramel ice cream topping. WoW it was rich! For dippers we had pound cake, peanut butter balls, pretzels, fresh bananas, clementines, and pineapple. We each got our own small bowl of chocolate, so we didn't mess the whole pot. It was so good.

Then it was bedtime, and we were glad.