Updated
December 26, 2000
They call it
the eye of the hurricane -- that quiet time between whirlwind activity!
I call it the week between Christmas and New Years!
Yesterday finished
up all of the traditional Christmas holiday festivities -- capping
off everything from a trip to mom's in Conroe, to long lines of traffic
on the freeways and shoppers in the grocery store; from daybreak mass,
to a flurry of activity at Carolyns; and finally to a peaceful night
at home.
I really had
a good time this Christmas -- the best part of which was being a full-fledged
Dad thoughout it all. Jackson was a little too young last year (we
spent most of the time holding him). This year, though, he's all over
the place -- and having lots of fun with his presents.
Jackson also
had a really good time playing with his cousins -- from the time we
spent at Mimi's and playing with Kaylee and then to playing with the
two Mullen boys at Nana's, he really got his fill of other little
ones! As the years go by, I think we'll be in big trouble . . .
Over the weekend,
we spent time with my mom and Row -- his kids were there and so were
Myra and Kenneth. Friday night we had a really nice dinner (crawfish
pie) and pretty much hung out all night. Row and Chris (his son) had
to leave for a while in the middle of it all to pick up Row's aunt
and bring her over to the house, but we waited on dinner so we could
all be together.
The next morning,
the kitchen was the center of activity as we all pitched in to make
dinner -- standing rib roast, herb-roasted hen, broccoli and rice
casserole, potatoes au gratain, and merlot mushroom sauce. Katie made
cookies, too! We exchanged gifts in the early afternoon, then sat
down to a feast.
By the end of
the night, we were all full -- but it was worth it.
Sunday mid-day
we packed it all up and headed back to Houston. After unpacking from
the trip, Jackson and Katie hung out around the house while I went
to Randall's to get a pork roast and all the fixings to make to take
to Carolyn's on Christmas. When I got back, I made some chex mix and
the Mullen family started arriving for the traditional Christmas Eve
pizza pig-out. By the end of the evening, we were all full again,
and after everyone left, Katie took the presents over to Carolyn's
for Christmas day, and I got busy stuffing Jackson's stocking.
Christmas day
we got up and went to daybreak mass and then came home to see what
Santa had left Jackson. After a full morning of opening gifts and
playing with Jackson, I started cooking the pork loin, and Katie put
her effort into another broccoli and rice casserole.
Of course, Carolyn's
house could only be described as a 'Mullen Christmas Festival'! We
got over there at about 12:30, opened exchanged gifts, ate too much
and took lots of pictures. The kids all played outside on their scooters
-- the gift of the year -- and all told, no one got hurt!
Now it's Tuesday,
the gifts that needed exchangeing are exchanged, photos are posted
on the site, and I'm settling in to some video editing. I'm going
to download the new iMovie 2 and see what upgrades there are. Don't
forget to check out the movie section for the latest.
Now, on to the
New Year -- without fear of the Y2K Bug . . .
