We're back home. . .

. . . after a slightly less than three day trip to Maryland for Christmas. I blew out of the office at 5 pm on Tuesday, leaving chart notes undone and picking up Micah from the sitter's (normally she delivers him on Tuesdays and Thursdays) and went home to pack.

With packing and dinner and whatnot, we didn't get on the road until shortly after 9:00 pm - and had to make stops to drop off the sitter's present and a couple of things at work. So we rolled into Southern Maryland after 1 am on the 24th. Micah awoke when were were almost in LaPlata, and when he spotted the turn onto my mother's street he bellowed out, "OMA-A-A-A ! Oma's house!"

Thea immediately changed into her pajamas and went off to her bed and back to sleep- the Queen was not granting audiences to anyone but her pillow and her tigers. Micah was wired until around 3 am. After unpacking the car, my immediate goal was to put together the holiday cards, address labels and letters to be able to drop them off at the post office on my way to the hair salon. So I worked until 4 am or so - thank goodness for my mother, for both folding most of the letters and bringing me snacks to get the taste of envelope adhesive off my tongue. My Mom rocks, especially when it comes to snackage.

The good thing is that the cards were postmarked the 24th (I hope), the bad thing was that I think that Kodak shortchanged me on a few so I have to go back to them, register a complaint and hope I can be given the balance. Next year, back to Snapfish.

Christmas Eve we got to see cousins - Micah is fortunate to have two who are close in age. And thanks to their (very cool) joint present, we are now chasing small horses, saddle blankets and plastic saddles all over the house.

Santa was good to the kids. Micah is thoroughly and completely enamored of a plastic train set that Oma got for him. Paradise runs on six AA batteries, complete with sound effects and smoke. When I finally got the batteries loaded and flipped the switch, the ensuing ruckus probably shortened my life by a few years. Thea got a wooden castle, complete with a dungeon. And the both got books, puzzles, games and things.

We all went to my sister-in-law's aunt's for Christmas dinner, which was very nice - we did it a couple of years ago. This time, instead of Thea being the only kid, we have Micah and my brother's family has Willi - they're two months apart, so it was very much cousin see, cousin do for the little guys. Thea stayed above the fray for the most part. We got turned on to a new game, Whack-A-Mole, which held the boys attention for a few minutes here and there. I could have smacked the little suckers all afternoon.

Friday we came home in the evening, I had to work Saturday - and we had a Hanukah party to go to on Sunday. Other than going to the grocery store, I have not hit the after-Christmas sales, so I am not doing my part for the economy.