Chaos Is An Understatement

I told our company coming for dinner today that if they find a seat, sit down and don't move.  It may be awhile before another seat becomes available.  Our house is perfect for the two of us, not bad for two more but seven people with Christmas gifts, big dinners, suitcases and visitors gets a bit tricky!  But we are making it.  Terry and Carol as well as Kara's friend Lora, her husband and daughter Hope are coming for dinner today.  An even dozen!

Larry and Kristin arrived right on time on Wednesday and despite six inches of snow overnight in Michigan, Kara and the kids arrived on time too.  We were so thankful for that.  We came home, got settled in and had our Christmas just two days late.

Morgan received a Merida from Brave costume for her Build A Bear Molly.  It included a red wig that was wrapped in a sort of hair net to protect it in the package.  When Kristin helped her dress the bear, Morgan put the hair net on too.  Kristin said she didn't need that, it was just part of the packaging and Morgan pipes up with "No, she's a noon aide!"  I hope all those women working in their school district in Michigan aren't reading this. 

The electronic age dominated our Christmas, probably as much as anyone else's.  If the electric goes out, we are done for.

After dinner we drove to see the lighted house Ted and I visited last Friday.  Larry took lots of pictures.  The display was closing at 10 pm so we were the last people there and talked to the man who builds it all.  He was very nice and passed out candy canes.  Larry said he would bring him a CD with pictures of the house on it.  I don't think he believed him because the next day when Larry did just that, the guy said people tell him that all the time and this was the first time he had received any photos.  You can visit his website at www.dearingdazzle.com.

Friday morning we girls went to the bridal salon to look at gowns.  We all learned some things about bolero jackets, belts, strapless dresses, etc.  This opened up a whole new avenue for Kristin to pursue.  We found a lovely combination that will now be her benchmark as she looks some more.  She is going to LA in February with her friend Sheetal who will be the maid of honor.  There is a big bridal shop out there she wants to visit.  I'm sure her final selection will be lovely.

We went to Olive Garden for dinner compliments of Uncle Terry and Aunt Carol then went to see a couple streets decorated in our own area.  One is an entire area decorated to honor a young man who was killed in an accident.  Apparently it has grown each year with everyone in the neighborhood joining in.  The next was Whoville where one neighbor paints the characters with looks and interests of the children living in that particular house.

Saturday was American Girl store day.  We made our way to Memorial City Mall in Houston despite the drive and traffic for Morgan to use her gift cards from Kristin and me.  Kristin asked Morgan, who was playing a Game Boy in the back seat, how she was doing and she said "I'm OK, I just keep getting my head knocked off and killed." 

These doll clothes are more than you would pay to dress a real person!  She bought a set of PJs for the doll to match a nightgown her mother bought her and an ice skating outfit. 

We tried to eat at their restaurant but there was no availability.  We tried CA Pizza Kitchen, passing the skating rink, but it was a 20 minute wait.  They all wanted to try Cheesecake Factory and I said it would be worse, and it was, one hour.  We ended up at Sweet Tomatoes which was a good choice.  Everyone had what they wanted and we were seated immediately.  When I took Morgan up to get an ice cream she didn't want a brownie under her ice cream nor a cone, she just wanted ice cream with sprinkles.  They happened to have white and green ones for the holidays instead of chocolate.  When we got back to the table she told her mother "I hate Michigan State but they are the only sprinkles they had."  She cracks us up!

We all went to Mass at 5 pm then went to see one more house decorated with lights in time to music.  There was not nearly as much to look at but the music seemed to be synchronized a bit better.  Over the garage door, there were talking Christmas tree outlines in green lights with mouths that moved.  They were hilarious as Miss Piggy, Kermit and another time as the Chipmunks.  All in all, we saw some really neat displays.

My oven continues to give me fits.  It turned itself off again this morning while I was baking a french toast casserole.  We have been watching it like a hawk all day.  Good thing Ted is using his smoker for the brisket.  Let's hope we get this one last big company meal on the table!