Thursday, December 28, 2006

Christmas Surprises

Christmas is full of surprises but here are a few I hadn't anticipated:

13. Eight inches of snow on the 23rd. Then six more the next day. Apparently the woman I saw leaving the movie theater in flip flops hadn't noticed.

12. Night at the Museum. Not a bad movie, I wasn't sure what to expect. Owen Wilson was pretty funny--though that's no surprise. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

11. Norway is part of the Netherlands. Funny what you learn in a game of Christmas Eve Catchphrase, but when Melissa had to describe her word in a way that would enable her team to correctly guess it, she said "Norway is part of this." Melanie, connecting the dots in a way the rest of us could only marvel at, quickly shouted: "The Netherlands!" Funny thing is, that was it. One mind, two bodies. We were in awe.

10. Lillian begged for bed on Christmas Eve. I wanted to let her stay up for the rest of the party but starting at 6:30 she wanted to go to bed and I held out until 7 then gave in. I LOVE the Santa Factor.

9. Mom swiped her slice of sausage through the whipped cream then ate it. Ugh. Took everyone at the table by surprise and brought our Christmas Eve dinner conversation to a halt. You think you know someone . . . I guess it just proves my theory that if you sit at the table long enough you'll eat anything and everything.

8. The kids actually stuck by the "No waking up until 7am" rule. Sort of. They begged to be able to get up earlier but Andrew was firm. Seven a.m., period. I heard them at around 5:45am getting up to use the bathroom. The sounds of doors carefully opening and closing, feet in the hall, but no flushes. Spencer explained later that they were trying to be quiet by not flushing the toilet. Oh.

7. Moist gifts. Earlier in the week I had been watering the Christmas tree and accidentally knocked over 2 quarts of water. In two seconds not only was the tree watered but the tree skirt, rug and presents were thoroughly irrigated. Most had dried out by Christmas morning, but there's nothing like a gift that sloshes.

6. My beautiful bowl. Made especially for my cereal Spencer tells me. Mmmmm . . . Cinnamon Toast Crunch . . .

5. A broken gum ball machine. Probably shouldn't be surprised that a present broke after ten minutes, but now Spencer has a large gum ball bank that won't take any coins. Fine by him, he didn't want to have to put money in to get the gumballs out anyway, the process has been nicely expedited.

4. A new home theater system that also doesn't quite work. Well, everything works but the remote control, which is harder to figure out than a nuclear reactor. Where's Homer Simpson when I need him?

3. Batteries. Exactly 47 were needed to completely equip the toys received by my children Christmas Day--no lie. Evidently we're single-handedly guaranteeing the continued success of the Energizer Company into the next century. When will they develop a solar-powered toy?

2. My beautiful pearl earrings. My husband has good taste, isn't he sweet?

1. Hunger returning . . . eventually. I thought it impossible to ever feel hungry after all the food I'd consumed the last two days. I thought I'd never eat again.

More about the Thursday Thirteen meme.

Technorati tags:

47 comments:

Rashenbo said...

What a great list! :) I am deliberating about a TT of gifts or the other post I had planned....

That's a lot of batteries! I think we only needed like 20 or so :D

sounds like you had a lovely Christmas... although, I'm not so sure about the sugar and whip cream thing... that just sounds wrong... and I'm not sure to which - the sausage or the whip cream... what kind of sausage was it?

Anonymous said...

The gift that sloshes. *giggle*

Anonymous said...

I usually have something to say, because I'm me, but right now I'm just astounded by the level of funny of this. Thanks for the laughs!

N. Mallory said...

Great list!

I would have said Norway was a part of Maine -- I'm always confused during the International news and the local weather up here.

And my grandfather once ate his mashed potatoes with ranch dressing. He insisted he did it on purpose but I think he thought it was white gravy. I wonder what your mom was thinking.

flip flop mama said...

Well it's only about 55 in San Diego and I'm not even wearing flip flops. That much snow and bare feet?? You gotta be kidding me.

Anonymous said...

Your stories are always a hoot. My wife's only complaint this year wasn't the fact that our dogs decided to open the gifts under the tree (but strangely not to touch the gift itself, just unwrap them all as if they were inspecting them).

It was that hers' was the only gift that wasn't opened :-)

Anonymous said...

#9 made me laugh out loud. Sounds like a great holiday.

J said...

Wow, that's an EARLY TT, but a goodie. :) Love your bowl, very nice. I always thought The Netherlands was the name of the country that is also known as Holland. Hmmm.

Sandy said...

You always crack me up!

On Christmas Eve, it took Kurt about 3 hours to set up Owen's parking garage (1 hour was spent on the stickers alone!) and about 10 minutes for Owen to break it by sitting on it. (sigh!)

Blog said...

Hunger returning...good one! The monkey actually slept in till 10:30 on Christmas day!! That would seem unusual -- except that she's only 17 months, and we celebrate Hanukkah. :) Happy Holidays!

Anonymous said...

Mmmm Sausage ans whipped cream. Yum..he he.

You are a lucky woman. Glad you had a great holiday.

Stephanie Appleton said...

47 batteries! Yikes!

I'm up too! 13 Deals I got after Christmas.

http://stoptheride-stephanie.blogspot.com/2006/12/thursday-13-1-deals-after-christmas.html

Darla said...

Oh, I love the surprises! I'll have to keep an eye out for Night at the Museum. Maybe we'll get lucky & it'll show up here.

Amy said...

Thank you for the great big laugh this morning. I *so* needed that!

Loralee Choate said...

That blue on the bowl is gorgeous.
That bit about the sausage and cream made me hurl a bit. Shudder.

Amy W said...

We went through just as many batteries...Good thing my Mom gave my husband batteries as a gift!

Anonymous said...

A lovely post. A little whip cream is good for everything.

Anonymous said...

Nothing worse than getting a brand new toy with no batteries to put in it. We usually include the batteries with the gifts we give. However, we also stock up ourselves, just in case!

Angela/SciFiChick said...

Sounds like you had a great Christmas! Great list.
We had only a light dusting of snow over Christmas.

Anonymous said...

Your list is always fun to read. Mine is up as well.

Uisce said...

Norway... huh? I've gotta find me a map!

Cinnamon Girl said...

Err...I thought Norway was part of Scandanavia and The Netherlands is another term for Holland. Interesting list!

Scribbit said...

If you're confused it's because Norway IS part of Scandanavia, and Holland/The Netherlands are one and the same. It's my sweet sister's geography that is at odds.

Unknown said...

LOL!My son got a gumball machine as a gift too! It's a good thing yours broke, I'm being nickled and pennied to death! :)

Thanks for the laughs, flipflops in the snow and sausage with whipped cream those are funny!

Wishing you the best in 2007!

Anonymous said...

47 batteries-wow!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh!!! I just love #s 9 and 13!!! They're the best....but I enjoyed them all actually.

Love your humor mixed in...and I bet those pearl earrings are gorgeous.

Happy day, and thanks for the visit.

Anonymous said...

oops!!! I meant #9 and #3!! (the one with 47 batteries and your mom and whipped cream) Sorry....typo.

Damselfly said...

Sounds just perfect!

JO said...

we didn't have a white christmas this year...

EHT said...

I smiled more than once as I read your list.

I wore flip flops on Christmas eve. Of course, I'm not in Alaska.

Chickadee said...

Flip flops in the snow??? You would think that the woman would feel the bitter cold on her toes!!!

And LOL at your mom eating sausage and whipped cream!!!

My 13 are up. I moved my blog and this is my first 13 in my new digs.

Amy The Black said...

Love your list. We needed a bunch of batteries, too, but we did not have enough AAA. That's okay--one less noisy toy to listen to!

*~*Cece*~* said...

Great list!

Lets see, I want to see Night at the Museum. Our girls had us up at 6:45. What were they thinking? I spilled tree water on some gifts, too. LOL And I spent $52 when buying batteries! LOL

Happy New Year

Janice (5 Minutes for Mom) said...

part of the Netherlands?!?!? isn't it part of Scandinavia?

we were up so late at our inlaws on Christmas Eve (my son went to bed at 2am!!!!) so we all slept in! Jackson slept till 11:45am!! So nice. :) (My hubby got up and got the turkey in the oven - so i got to sleep in too) :)

Anonymous said...

That's funny, I thought WE were personally responsible for keeping Energizer alive and well. Sounds like you had a GREAT Christmas!
Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic list! It makes me wish I was at YOUR house for Christmas! lol

Crunchy Carpets said...

Excellent list...

yeh.the batteries..and my mom got some and now I can't find the danged things....

Teena in Toronto said...

Good stuff to know!

My TT13 is up too :)

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love the explanation of children when they don't flush the toilet -- "Didn't want to wake you"...
I am sorry that your gifts got a little wet...Regarding batteries - get rechargeable ones. I know the initial purchase cuts deep, but you will be ahead at the end...
I received a pair of diamond studs about 20 years ago from my hubby. Believe it or not, but I always wear them...
Thank you for sharing your Christmas with us...
BTW - sausage with whipped cream - yikes!

Anonymous said...

Oh...I long for the days of batteries...the plug-in and chargeable stuff is so much more expensive!

Anonymous said...

47 batteries - holy cow.

Happy TT

Leah said...

White Christmas...I suppose that's always true in Alaska...We just wished it here in this part of Canada. Oh well, maybe next year...

Bubba said...

47 batteries??? Hopefully they have a Costco or Sam's Club where you are so you can buy them by the case.

I love your lists...so funny!

Happy TT...and Happy New Year!

Joan said...

this post was very entertaining. I kept finding myself nodding while reading. OMGoodness - the number of batteries we have bought in December over the years!!!

Thanks for coming by my TT.

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

Lots of Christmas surprises. Sounds like you had a great holiday.

Unknown said...

I love your list. It sounds like you had a fantastic Christmas. My kids were pretty good, sleeping in till 7:00. My sister on the other hand, called me at 6:30 am to wake me up. Good thing she's in another city. :)

Thanks for stopping by my site and have a happy New Year!

Mary said...

Your bowl is very pretty! Great list, happy belated tt!