Oh yes, you are loving how the titles of my recent blog posts have been Christmas song titles. Loving it. But, this song is actually one of my all-time favorites and I never heard it once this year. Tear.
Anyway, back to Christmas! On Tuesday, December 23, we went over to Uncle Larry and Aunt Paula’s for a little pasta – it was an Italian Love Fest. We actually spent the day dealing with Maddox’s croup – ugh. He had a barky cough, raspy breathing and newly-developed pink eye. Ugh. But, by the end of the day he was feeling better, and we thought it was only appropriate to spread his germs throughout the Coppola family- it was our little Christmas gift to all of our loved ones. (For all of you moms who are gasping at the thought of us taking our ‘sick’ children out of our house, the Coppola Family denies no one. All are welcome to EVERY celebration- sick or not!)
On the 24th, Joey woke up with a slight temperature, as well. I spent the morning packing and finishing up my wrapping (Yes, I know, very behind this year). We decided to bring our sick kids back to Lake City anyway, as the Remsburg Christmas started around 3 p.m. Once again, spreading the Christmas germs to one and all. Here are some of my favorite memories from the Remsburg Christmas:
· Talking in the bathroom. This year, I took photos so that you could see how much fun you were missing out on. But, the funniest part was when my Uncle Mike had to use the bathroom and he walked in and said, “Oh excuse me…I’m sorry...” and then noticed that we weren’t actually using the bathroom for its intended purpose and then said, “Geez, you kids taking up every room in this house?” He said that because every room was occupied by a sleeping baby – well, let’s just say ‘tired’ babies- not actually sleeping despite all of our attempts. And, then, here we were taking up the bathroom. No big secrets this year, but as usual, the rule is: If you don’t join us in the bathroom, we will talk about you. We had to remind Kelly of this rule when she wasn’t in the bathroom right away. Oh yes, when the restroom meeting is called, you come a runnin’. Even funnier: Little Joey left us all a little gift in the bathroom toilet for this meeting. How special.
· Jenny never brought a side dish. It has to be mentioned. I tried making her feel bad about it all day long. She claims her cookies and pretzels should count for something, but since when is a cookie a side dish? Although Jenny’s mom once tried to pull off a salad as a main dish, and frankly, I think Jenny has been confused ever since.
· Watching Gpa and Gma Remsburg watch us. They love it. Every minute of it. I must admit, there were a lot of sad moments and I often caught myself thinking, “Will this be Gpa’s last Christmas with us?” Only God knows that answer, but if it is, it was the best Christmas. All of the cousins were there. Four kids under the age of 2. Four kids over the age of 2. I caught my Gma reaching for Gpa’s hand and holding it. Still in love after all these years. There were a lot of random tears throughout the day, but most were tears of happiness, and the sadness that it’s not always going to be this way.
· Gpa and Gma, as usual, gave selflessly to all of us this year. But this year, we each got a special monetary gift from them. The only way we can repay them is to hopefully be able to do that for our own grandkids some day. I’m going to spend my money on a new dresser for our bedroom and that way, I’ll be reminded of them.
· As always, the food was fantastico. Gma Remsburg has a true ability to be able to get all the food on the table at one time and have it all be piping hot. I don’t know how she does it.
· Joey came up to me and gave me a hug and said, “Mom, my heart is so happy today.” All together now: Awwwwwww. Seriously, I couldn’t make this crap up if I tried.
· My kids were on meltdown mode at about 6 p.m. so we headed home. Unfortunately, we were not able to attend Christmas Eve church, which made it seem quite odd actually. Not sure I remember the last time I didn’t attend a Christmas Eve service. But, the kids weren’t feeling up to par yet, and neither had their nap, so we had to stay home and deal with that.
On Christmas Eve night, the kids all went to bed, and Heather, Jeff and I (and spouses) all stayed up visiting. Heather, Guthrey and I all slept in the same room with Maddox. At 2 a.m., he graced us with his awakening for an hour and a half. Heather, myself, Joe, mom and dad all got up with him. It was a group effort which worked for no one, but Maddox. Finally, we all turned in and left mom and dad to fend for Maddox on their own. Heather and I chatted at 3 a.m. for a little while and I guess Maddox fell asleep at 3:30 a.m. We all started waking up around 6:30-7:30 and Heather and I chatted for another 45 minutes before actually getting up. Guthrey loves our chatting and idle commentary. He chimes in to make a joke about every 5 minutes, which is a nice contribution I must say.
Once up, dad and mom had pancakes, sausage, bacon and fruit going. Joe gave Grace a gift just from him- the Taylor Swift cd. We put it in and Grace sang and I videotaped and had tears in my eyes. She’s killing me lately- she’s getting so old and grown up. I can’t stand it. Anyway, we cleaned up the kitchen and then proceeded to the piles o’ gifts. My favorite gift: an apron. I know, you’re laughing. But, I’ve had my eye on a couple of them lately and never even told my mom I wanted one. Must be a mother-daughter thing. Anyway, mine is black and yellow and pink and blue and red- all bright colors. LOVE it. And, Joey received his all-time favorite gift: a Batcopter that actually flies in the house. It really is awesome. Joe and I and Jeff got the girls an Easy Bake Oven and accessories and a digital camera. And, then, because I couldn’t resist, I got Maya a cute cardigan sweater and Grace, boots and tights. Pink boots with little pom-poms hanging from them that actually called my name in the store. I had to have them, er, she had to have them. And, she loved them. I scored. Grace loves fashion and I’m determined to turn her into a fashion diva – not snob, but diva. They are not the same things, in case you were wondering.
The other best part of Christmas was watching mom open her gift from dad- a trip to Cape Cod with Heather and I in May! We’ve been planning it for six months and it was finally time to unveil the gift! Mom loved it – and loved it even more when dad wasn’t going! I explained to dad that Cape Cod/Martha’s Vineyard is all about antique shopping and browsing and bed and breakfasts and walks in the morning and eating muffins and tarts for breakfast and oohing and ahhing at this house or that cottage and chatting with the “locals” and going to candy shops and taking ferry rides….this is when he decided to opt out and opt Heather and I in! We go in May and the countdown is officially on! Susan Branch, here we come! (If you don’t know who Susan Branch is, look her up. Adorable.)
Following the present opening, we packed up to head back to Des Moines for Aunt Bobbye’s Christmas. Unfortunately, Joey’s pink eye was flaming and he was not feeling good at all. Maddox was on the up and up though. So, for the second year in a row, we split the kids up. Joey and I stayed home this year, and Joe and Maddox went to Gma Coppola’s Christmas at Aunt Bobbye’s. I just felt Joey needed to rest and wound down a little. I put away all of our gifts and cleaned the house, while Joey rested. It’s kind of sad though not being all together on Christmas day so I was excited for Joe and Maddox to return.
Joey and I left a note for Santa while he rested. I told Joey that Santa was sure to come during his nap. We laid out a Little Debbie S’Mores Cookie because I had no time to make the real cookies. Add to that a glass of water because we were out of milk. A side of old, stale carrots for the reindeer, and a bag of reindeer food Joey made in school. Okay, so it might not be your typical Santa snack, but I tried. And, it reminded me that though things may not be perfect in our house, it always works out in the end. Here is Santa’s snack and note, followed by Santa’s return note to the boys.
By 5 p.m. that night, our boys were once again on melt-down mode- recovering from colds and days of running and never taking a break…so, I made supper quickly, we ate, we did baths and then we did presents. This was the last Christmas out of six Christmas celebrations, so it seemed very anti-climatic. But, Joey was thrilled to receive his Alien Maker- and that actually rivals the Bat Copter in terms of best gifts! Maddox liked his Elmo car toy but didn’t love it. And, Joe and I exchanged a couple of gifts as well.
Following gifts, it was time for our new Christmas tradition: a birthday cake for Jesus. I got this idea from the book, “The Purpose of Christmas” and was excited to start the tradition for our family. I tried a new recipe: Root Beer Float Cake. Love Root Beer. Love Cake. This is going to be fabulous. Joey and I baked the cake together. We put a candle in, we sung to Jesus. Marvelous. We sat down to eat the cake….and I literally spit mine out on my plate. I could not stomach it. I’m not sure what was wrong but there was definitely something wrong. Joe eats it- agrees with me. Joey takes a bite and says, “Yuck!” And, even Maddox tries it, doesn’t like it, and then only eats his ice cream- no cake! At Joe’s request, I went over the recipe and did exactly as it instructed so I have no idea where I went wrong. But, here’s the funniest part, Joey said, “Poor Baby Jesus. His birthday cake was disgusting!” Then, he looks up to heaven and says, “ I’m sorry Baby Jesus that you had a disgusting birthday cake!” So, all night long, Joe and I kept saying, “Poor Baby Jesus….” Like I said, we’re not perfect, but the thought of perfection is never far behind.
Anyway, back to Christmas! On Tuesday, December 23, we went over to Uncle Larry and Aunt Paula’s for a little pasta – it was an Italian Love Fest. We actually spent the day dealing with Maddox’s croup – ugh. He had a barky cough, raspy breathing and newly-developed pink eye. Ugh. But, by the end of the day he was feeling better, and we thought it was only appropriate to spread his germs throughout the Coppola family- it was our little Christmas gift to all of our loved ones. (For all of you moms who are gasping at the thought of us taking our ‘sick’ children out of our house, the Coppola Family denies no one. All are welcome to EVERY celebration- sick or not!)
On the 24th, Joey woke up with a slight temperature, as well. I spent the morning packing and finishing up my wrapping (Yes, I know, very behind this year). We decided to bring our sick kids back to Lake City anyway, as the Remsburg Christmas started around 3 p.m. Once again, spreading the Christmas germs to one and all. Here are some of my favorite memories from the Remsburg Christmas:
· Talking in the bathroom. This year, I took photos so that you could see how much fun you were missing out on. But, the funniest part was when my Uncle Mike had to use the bathroom and he walked in and said, “Oh excuse me…I’m sorry...” and then noticed that we weren’t actually using the bathroom for its intended purpose and then said, “Geez, you kids taking up every room in this house?” He said that because every room was occupied by a sleeping baby – well, let’s just say ‘tired’ babies- not actually sleeping despite all of our attempts. And, then, here we were taking up the bathroom. No big secrets this year, but as usual, the rule is: If you don’t join us in the bathroom, we will talk about you. We had to remind Kelly of this rule when she wasn’t in the bathroom right away. Oh yes, when the restroom meeting is called, you come a runnin’. Even funnier: Little Joey left us all a little gift in the bathroom toilet for this meeting. How special.
· Jenny never brought a side dish. It has to be mentioned. I tried making her feel bad about it all day long. She claims her cookies and pretzels should count for something, but since when is a cookie a side dish? Although Jenny’s mom once tried to pull off a salad as a main dish, and frankly, I think Jenny has been confused ever since.· Watching Gpa and Gma Remsburg watch us. They love it. Every minute of it. I must admit, there were a lot of sad moments and I often caught myself thinking, “Will this be Gpa’s last Christmas with us?” Only God knows that answer, but if it is, it was the best Christmas. All of the cousins were there. Four kids under the age of 2. Four kids over the age of 2. I caught my Gma reaching for Gpa’s hand and holding it. Still in love after all these years. There were a lot of random tears throughout the day, but most were tears of happiness, and the sadness that it’s not always going to be this way.
· Gpa and Gma, as usual, gave selflessly to all of us this year. But this year, we each got a special monetary gift from them. The only way we can repay them is to hopefully be able to do that for our own grandkids some day. I’m going to spend my money on a new dresser for our bedroom and that way, I’ll be reminded of them.
· As always, the food was fantastico. Gma Remsburg has a true ability to be able to get all the food on the table at one time and have it all be piping hot. I don’t know how she does it.
· Joey came up to me and gave me a hug and said, “Mom, my heart is so happy today.” All together now: Awwwwwww. Seriously, I couldn’t make this crap up if I tried.
· My kids were on meltdown mode at about 6 p.m. so we headed home. Unfortunately, we were not able to attend Christmas Eve church, which made it seem quite odd actually. Not sure I remember the last time I didn’t attend a Christmas Eve service. But, the kids weren’t feeling up to par yet, and neither had their nap, so we had to stay home and deal with that.
Here's Gma and Gpa with all of us grandkids. What a good-lookin' bunch, if I do say so myself!
On Christmas Eve night, the kids all went to bed, and Heather, Jeff and I (and spouses) all stayed up visiting. Heather, Guthrey and I all slept in the same room with Maddox. At 2 a.m., he graced us with his awakening for an hour and a half. Heather, myself, Joe, mom and dad all got up with him. It was a group effort which worked for no one, but Maddox. Finally, we all turned in and left mom and dad to fend for Maddox on their own. Heather and I chatted at 3 a.m. for a little while and I guess Maddox fell asleep at 3:30 a.m. We all started waking up around 6:30-7:30 and Heather and I chatted for another 45 minutes before actually getting up. Guthrey loves our chatting and idle commentary. He chimes in to make a joke about every 5 minutes, which is a nice contribution I must say.
Once up, dad and mom had pancakes, sausage, bacon and fruit going. Joe gave Grace a gift just from him- the Taylor Swift cd. We put it in and Grace sang and I videotaped and had tears in my eyes. She’s killing me lately- she’s getting so old and grown up. I can’t stand it. Anyway, we cleaned up the kitchen and then proceeded to the piles o’ gifts. My favorite gift: an apron. I know, you’re laughing. But, I’ve had my eye on a couple of them lately and never even told my mom I wanted one. Must be a mother-daughter thing. Anyway, mine is black and yellow and pink and blue and red- all bright colors. LOVE it. And, Joey received his all-time favorite gift: a Batcopter that actually flies in the house. It really is awesome. Joe and I and Jeff got the girls an Easy Bake Oven and accessories and a digital camera. And, then, because I couldn’t resist, I got Maya a cute cardigan sweater and Grace, boots and tights. Pink boots with little pom-poms hanging from them that actually called my name in the store. I had to have them, er, she had to have them. And, she loved them. I scored. Grace loves fashion and I’m determined to turn her into a fashion diva – not snob, but diva. They are not the same things, in case you were wondering.
The other best part of Christmas was watching mom open her gift from dad- a trip to Cape Cod with Heather and I in May! We’ve been planning it for six months and it was finally time to unveil the gift! Mom loved it – and loved it even more when dad wasn’t going! I explained to dad that Cape Cod/Martha’s Vineyard is all about antique shopping and browsing and bed and breakfasts and walks in the morning and eating muffins and tarts for breakfast and oohing and ahhing at this house or that cottage and chatting with the “locals” and going to candy shops and taking ferry rides….this is when he decided to opt out and opt Heather and I in! We go in May and the countdown is officially on! Susan Branch, here we come! (If you don’t know who Susan Branch is, look her up. Adorable.)
Following the present opening, we packed up to head back to Des Moines for Aunt Bobbye’s Christmas. Unfortunately, Joey’s pink eye was flaming and he was not feeling good at all. Maddox was on the up and up though. So, for the second year in a row, we split the kids up. Joey and I stayed home this year, and Joe and Maddox went to Gma Coppola’s Christmas at Aunt Bobbye’s. I just felt Joey needed to rest and wound down a little. I put away all of our gifts and cleaned the house, while Joey rested. It’s kind of sad though not being all together on Christmas day so I was excited for Joe and Maddox to return.
Joey and I left a note for Santa while he rested. I told Joey that Santa was sure to come during his nap. We laid out a Little Debbie S’Mores Cookie because I had no time to make the real cookies. Add to that a glass of water because we were out of milk. A side of old, stale carrots for the reindeer, and a bag of reindeer food Joey made in school. Okay, so it might not be your typical Santa snack, but I tried. And, it reminded me that though things may not be perfect in our house, it always works out in the end. Here is Santa’s snack and note, followed by Santa’s return note to the boys.
By 5 p.m. that night, our boys were once again on melt-down mode- recovering from colds and days of running and never taking a break…so, I made supper quickly, we ate, we did baths and then we did presents. This was the last Christmas out of six Christmas celebrations, so it seemed very anti-climatic. But, Joey was thrilled to receive his Alien Maker- and that actually rivals the Bat Copter in terms of best gifts! Maddox liked his Elmo car toy but didn’t love it. And, Joe and I exchanged a couple of gifts as well.
Following gifts, it was time for our new Christmas tradition: a birthday cake for Jesus. I got this idea from the book, “The Purpose of Christmas” and was excited to start the tradition for our family. I tried a new recipe: Root Beer Float Cake. Love Root Beer. Love Cake. This is going to be fabulous. Joey and I baked the cake together. We put a candle in, we sung to Jesus. Marvelous. We sat down to eat the cake….and I literally spit mine out on my plate. I could not stomach it. I’m not sure what was wrong but there was definitely something wrong. Joe eats it- agrees with me. Joey takes a bite and says, “Yuck!” And, even Maddox tries it, doesn’t like it, and then only eats his ice cream- no cake! At Joe’s request, I went over the recipe and did exactly as it instructed so I have no idea where I went wrong. But, here’s the funniest part, Joey said, “Poor Baby Jesus. His birthday cake was disgusting!” Then, he looks up to heaven and says, “ I’m sorry Baby Jesus that you had a disgusting birthday cake!” So, all night long, Joe and I kept saying, “Poor Baby Jesus….” Like I said, we’re not perfect, but the thought of perfection is never far behind.
Turns out, we saved the best gift for last. Joe has a good friend, Ben, who spoils our kids. Even though he does not have kids of his own, he is seriously never annoyed with our kids - with their craziness, silliness, or naughtyness! I love that about him- I'm never self-conscious of my kids' behavior around him. Anyway, this year, he shared with our boys one of his favorite Christmas traditions he had as a boy- a train track for the base of the Christmas tree! It was awesomeness- let me tell you. I personally have always wanted a train track for the tree. Here's why: Growing up, I thought trains beneath the trees were for rich kids. I'm not sure where that idea came from- it might have been from the movie 'Miracle on 34th Street' or maybe it was seeing the trains in the stores or something. Anyway, I felt like the gift was for me, as well. Joey, Joe and I put the train together- which also comes with a remote control! We watched it go around and around and around- Joe and I were so impressed! And, Joey loved it. Maddox, on the other hand, wanted to destroy it and run it himself. So, we are really looking forward to next year when Maddox will be old enough to understand the concept. Anyway, we all felt very blessed to have Ben share one of his favorite family memories with us. That's what Christmas is all about- sharing and giving and enjoying all these little moments and things that make Christmas, Christmas! Ben said he always knew Christmas was here when his dad pulled out the train. I can't wait for next year! Joe and I also like this idea because neither of us had a train beneath the tree growing up- so it's something new we can start for the boys.
Boys finally went down for bedtime and Joe and I actually enjoyed the peace and quiet of our house, and ended Christmas night with a 48 Hours Murder Mystery. Once again, we may not be perfect but it works for us! Here’s to another Christmas down…and many more to come!
Boys finally went down for bedtime and Joe and I actually enjoyed the peace and quiet of our house, and ended Christmas night with a 48 Hours Murder Mystery. Once again, we may not be perfect but it works for us! Here’s to another Christmas down…and many more to come!
My blog was meant to end here, but I have one more story to share with you. Joey is currently singing "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" and I overhear Joe saying to him, "Joey, it's "Then one FOGGY Christmas Eve- it's not FROGGY!" And, Joey says, "Oh, it's not Froggy?" I don't know, I kind of like Froggy the more I think about it.
2 comments:
Your stories would be hilarious without your great commentary, but your humor is icing on the root beer cake. LOVE IT! I'm so glad you take the time to blog...you will look back at this "online journal" for years to come. Merry Christmas, Holly, to you and your family!!!
Poor baby Jesus... he got a funfetti cake with pink frosting & sprinkles at our house. Jack really thought Jesus would want the pink over chocolate:) Hope you guys had a great Christmas!!!
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