Dan, Chloe and I left the morning after Christmas to spend time with Dan's family near Annapolis. Betty and Jerry's home was filled with all three of Dan's siblings, spouses and kids. It was nice catching up with everyone. Sue's daughter Ashley showed photos from her trip to Thailand. The kids had a great time playing on the Wii that we all chipped in for as a gift for Betty (who knows she may win some medals at the next Wii Olympics at the Senior Center). Chloe, being the second youngest cousin, had a grand time with her cousins. She enjoyed playing soccer with them in the backyard and checking out baby David who is now six months old. She enjoyed the attention she received from Mary Kate who loves to hold her. I won't forget how she showed her filipino side as she sat at the kids' dinner table and kept saying, "Rice, please Momma".
The next day, the Miller family helped out the neighbor next door with yard work. The neighbor is an elderly woman who lives alone and for some unknown reason stopped her regular gardener from coming. The Millers chipped in and raked many bags of leaves, cleaned gutters and trimmed some bushes. In the afternoon, the ladies went after-Christmas sale shopping while the men let the kids roll down the hill in the front yard. It was a nice visit, but again it seemed to go by in a flash.
Dan, Chloe and I spent Christmas Eve evening and Christmas at Janice and Jim's. It was a whirlwind getting there with very last minute gift wrapping (I didn't start wrapping gifts until the 23rd and Dan saw how far behind I was that he stayed up until 12 am - way pass his bedtime - to help me wrap). Not to mention the last second baking. The nesting instinct really started to kick in because I felt the need to make Peanut Butter Cookies with Salted Caramel and Mini Pecan Tarts (which in my opinion are way better than a pecan pie). The pecan tarts turned out great while the caramel in the peanut butter cookies was replaced with chocolate chips (Here's a tip - if you've never made caramel before, do not attempt if you're in a hurry and trying to multi-task - apparently, you're suppose to watch over the sugar and water boil and a candy thermometer usually helps!).
We finally arrived at Janice and Jim's at 5:30 - we were suppose to be there by 3:00. It was okay we were late, since my Mom, Dad, Jennifer, Tom and their kids were busily helping Janice and Jim put things away in their baauuuteeeful newly renovated kitchen (the workers had finished up very early that morning). My Dad had a great time cooking in that kitchen. We all did as we pitched in to prepare dinner - Janice fried lumpia; Dad made mashed potatoes and gravy to accompany the prime rib he cooked; I made a holiday salad; Jennifer enjoyed a nice pinot gris.
Later that evening after most folks went to bed, I continued wrapping presents with help from Jennifer while Janice continued to arrange the kitchen. I must remember that while early online shopping is great to avoid crowds at the mall, gift wrapping ASAP is even better! Around midnight, I fell asleep as Jennifer and Janice arranged the gifts in piles so that the kids could pace themselves in opening their gifts.
Christmas morning, Chloe woke Dan, me and everyone else who was still sleeping as she cried and struggled to open the bedroom door to go downstairs. She had heard her cousins Justin and Reid downstairs and wanted to join them. Apparently, the double trouble twins re-arranged the piles that Jennifer and Janice had made the night before! After a nice breakfast of fried rice and eggs, we opened gifts. The rest of the day went by in a blur - the kids played with their new toys; Mom and I baked bibingka and I baked two batches of Altoid Brownies (one for my family and one for Dan's family. If you saw the new kitchen, you'd want to bake or cook something, too!); Unfortunately, Mom was sick most of the day with a stomach virus and Dad was just getting over a cold so they both napped most of the day.
Overall, this was a great Christmas - just wish it didn't go by so quickly.
When I get home from work, I'm often greeted by Chloe running and plowing into me for a hug. Then, I always ask her the following questions: Did you have a good day?, Were you a good girl?, Did you play with your friends. After each question, she nods her head and replies either "Yes Momma", "Yeah" , or "Yes". For a long while, I was amazed that Chloe understood everything I was saying and she was giving me thoughtful answers (for a two-year old). Then one day I ended my wave of questions with "Are monkeys flying out your butt?" To which she answered, "Yes".
