Gud-day mate.

Everybody having a good day?

Yes?

Good.

So.

Here’s a rundown of our Christmas morning.

I feel the need to do this every year.

The husband had to work all night long last night. That stinks a big one for him. This morning, when he got off work, he picked up my mom and brought her over to watch the potatoes open their presents.

By the time they arrived, I had breakfast mostly finished. I served my Grandpas gravy recipe over big biscuits. Grandpas gravy is something I have thought about posting on this blog about a million times, but I always decide that it is just too transcendent to post here.  

It doesn’t look special, but I promise it is. As a vegetarian, this is one of the few, no….wait….maybe the ONLY dish I miss.

Spudman was, by this point, having an aneurysm over the opening of his gifts.

Fun fact:

I really really like to torture him over present-opening. One year, I made him wait 5 minutes between each gift. He would open one, wait, open another, wait, etc. lol

However, now that he’s getting older, he’s more laid back, and it’s harder to drive him insane by making him wait. That makes me sad, but I at least I have another kid to torture for many more years.  

I set up my little video camera, started recording, and let the boys tear into them.

Watching my kids open presents on Christmas morning is one of my most favorite things in the entire world.

I’ve watched the recording of them opening their presents 3 times so far.  

My mom was the only person in the family who didn’t yet have one of the Hub’s handmade pens. Until today.

Zombie shooting game. YES. Mommy and Daddy will like this present too.  

Muffin, who turned 14 this fall, tried to make a bed out of the heaping piles of wrapping paper.  

Fun side story:

A few weeks ago, Spud told me he wanted to get us all Christmas presents.

So, I gave him a money limit. I allowed  him $30 to buy gifts for Tater, Morgan, and I. I gave him 2 twenty dollar bills and told him to make sure he brings me back $10 in change. I explained to him how taxes worked. And then, I left him to wander the huge store on his own. He used the calculator on his phone to calculate prices. He put a lot of thought into his purchases. He did such a great job, and I couldn’t have been more proud of how responsibly he behaved.

I was in the store too, just doing different things. I tried to leave him alone. We stayed connected by our cell phones. Once I was finished with my shopping, and I knew he was almost finished with his, I called to tell him I would be in the car waiting for him.

A few minutes later, I was patiently waiting for him to come out, when he called me. He was practically frantic.

What he said to me on the phone went something like this…….

“Mom, the lady is checking all the stuff out and the total is like 30 cents over! The total is thirty dollars and 32 cents! I won’t be able to bring you exactly ten dollars in change….it will be really close… but it went over just a little bit…I messed up calculating the tax…..”

At this point I interrupted him to say, “Spud, you did perfect. Just pay. It’s fine.”  

The store was *SO* busy. The line of customers he was ahead of was freakishly long. The cashier rang up his items, and he stopped the flow of everything to call me and make sure he could go 30 cents over budget. lol! I just love him.  

Anyway…..

The boys finished opening their gifts, Morgan fell asleep on the couch, and I visited with mom while the potatoes played. After a little while Morgan took mom home, then he came home and went to bed. Tater took a LONG nap. And spud has been plugged into his new game and has barely said a word all day. (Big giant thanks to my sister and nephew for making that gift happen for Spud. Thanks guys!) (And a big giant thanks to one of my husbands co-workers for providing another.)

And me….well…..for the  past week, the weather forecast has been calling for snow today. Snow on Christmas is basically the most perfect thing ever and I was so excited. I stared out the window all day. I tried to nap (I am so tired right now), but couldn’t. I wanted to be awake when it started snowing. I waited….and waited…….AND WAITED…….

…AND NOTHING.

It never came.

Sad face.

But I’ll live.

I’m going to spend the rest of the evening preparing for our big family party that’s happening tomorrow. It has become a family tradition for the whole family to get together on Christmas to eat, play games, and have a dirty Santa gift exchange. This party is also on my list of one of my most favorite things ever.  

Hoping that whoever may read this has had a very Merry Christmas.