Walking Backwards

Right now I am waiting for the windshield repair guy to show up to repair a crack in my windshield that I got this weekend while driving all over the state behind some very inconsiderate truck drivers. I am amazed that its possible for him to come here to do this, I see so few conveniences extended to people and this is a great one for people with irate toddlers. Apparently it is popular because none of the windshield repair services in Austin have an address, they are all mobile. There are some auto body shops that do it, but if repairing cracks is your sole operation - you better have a van. This waiting should allow me time to do a holiday re-cap. If you have read way too many of these by now, you can skip the rest of this entry and tune in tomorrow when we return to regular programming.

Joe and I had decided that we were going to leave for all of our holiday stuff on Thursday night after he got off of work so that we would only have to drive six hours on Christmas eve instead of nine. Having that break in the middle is really important to someone who gets car sick and to a toddler who can't sit still for five minutes much less five hours at a time. With this thought in mind, you would think that I would have had the idea to at least pack and have dinner ready by the time Joe got home at seven so that we didn't show up at Houston at midnight. I must admit that I am a bigger moron than even I suspected because Joe walked in the door just as I was lamenting over my astronomically large and unfinished to do list. We did get packed in record time and did get away with most of the essentials. I did forget numerous gifts, though.

We made it to Houston at about eleven thirty and then proceeded to try to persuade our now hyper toddler to get into bed. Around one, he finally decided it was time to lay down. Since he was laying down with us, we didn't get any sleep, but hey - that's part of the joy of the season. I woke early with the baby and spent the morning playing around the in-laws house waiting for Joe to get up. When he finally did, the day was transformed into a flurry of activity. We had to go to Target to pick up last minute stocking stuffers, wrapping supplies, and gift cards. While I was there, I found a small brass menorah, candles, and a couple of plates that read 'Happy Chanukah'. Yay for that. I was so afraid of last minute shopping, but it really wasn't that bad. We even got to see a small flurry of snow in the parking lot. After we got back to my in-law's house, we finished wrapping our gifts and scrounged in the kitchen for some food. They was little there that Nicholas would eat so we made him some mac and cheese and hoped for more at the husband's grandparents.

Lake Charles was okay. We sat around for about three hours before the celebration began because one of the aunts was singing in the church choir and got there late. Once again, we couldn't find anything for Nicholas to eat, the picky child that he is. I know next time that I am going to have to bring Nicholas' meals for him. Joe's family is Cajun, too, so everything was way too spicy even if it was something that he would eat. The gift giving was chaotic, but we got some nice stuff. Joe and I got DVDs, books, and some clothes. I got a gift card to a craft store. Nicholas got a ton of stuff, almost none of which was on his list. Some of the items he had already. I need to return a lot of it and get something that he will actually play with. I know the whole "look a gift horse in the mouth" thing and I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but you'd think that they wouldn't give him something that was intended for children over twice his age. After the gift opening was over, we packed up the car and drove off to Joe's mother's house two and a half hours away. Joe got lost on the way there and we didn't arrive until after midnight.

I have to say at this point I was feeling rather unfestive. Perfect time to visit my mother-in-law *insert sarcasm here*. I know she doesn't mean to be hurtful about some things, but she comes off that way a lot of the time. I just had a really bad time there. First off, I was up until three in the morning because the baby wouldn't go to sleep when we got there and then after I got him to go down I had to set up stockings. MIL had bought items for Nicholas' stocking even though we had told her it was taken care of (this was all we were getting him this year except a couple of books). She had also gotten all of my brother-in-law's stocking stuff even though we were supposed to split it with her. It just drove me crazy because it made me feel that all of the thought and effort I had put into it was wasted, most of it wasn't even used - just thrown under the tree. After I went to bed, I couldn't go to sleep because I had taken my medication too late in the day and I was still wired from it. Then I woke up before everyone else. Stupid asthma medicine. After everyone woke up we had a breakfast of cookies and coffee, the baby was so sick of junk food that he dropped the cookie when I pulled a whole wheat bagel out of our snack bag. We did get a lot of really cool gifts and my MIL enjoyed the items we got for her. Once again, most of the items Nicholas got weren't on his list and are currently proving to be somewhat useless. Everyone has to get him toys, the brighter and more battery driven the better. Then my brother-in-law called to say that he wouldn't make it. He had to call MY cellphone of course, so his mother looked at me like she was going to kill the messenger when I was talking to him. After all the gift giving and what not, I was wiped out. I had already been up for about seven hours after a very fitful and short night of sleep. I took Nico to the playroom with Joe and sat down to watch a video with him, promptly falling asleep. Joe just left him in the room alone with me. I was awakened to him shoving a remote into my hand. He had emptied out my wallet and the contents of my bag and had strewn my photos all over the place. I had to have Joe come take him so that I could try to sleep off my anger and general bad mood. After waking up we sat around talking to Joe's mom about college to have her tell me that my field is the easiest to get a degree in, that's why so many people do it, and that my brother's degree is a total waste of time. I was so irritated I could barely speak. We did leave shortly afterward.

Back to Houston to sleep until our trip back to Austin. Joe, once again, relied heavily on me to take care of the baby claiming that there would be "someone else" to help. Grrrr . . . I hate that the most I think. The baby hadn't had a real meal in days, so I raided the pantry for whatever I could find. With him finally sated on peanut butter toast, cheese slices, and green beans, he went to bed at one in the morning. By the time we left Sunday afternoon, I just wanted to get home. I am already dreading the trip two years from now.

So that was my trip, it sucked. Bah Humbug! It might have been better under less stressful circumstances, but that just wasn't the case. I also discovered that my child will no longer sleep in the car. What a time to figure that out!