CHRISTMAS MORNING

Did I mention that our heater went out day before yesterday? Gary messed with it some, and decided it'd be worth a shot to try and change out the thermostat. We've been wanting a new one anyway. Yesterday, he replaced it, and no, it didn't fix it.

After the Christmas Eve party, we both hopped into our warm bed. Thank goodness when he bought the sleep number bed, he also purchased a heating pad that goes under you. The toe area is warmer than any place else, then the core body is cooler, then the head has no warmth to it at all. It was a god-send. However, it didn't help us wake up early. I tried to wake Gary up at 6:am, but he wouldn't budge. Angie called at 8:00 and we immediately got up and ran over so we could watch the girls open their presents.

Annie (their long haired Dauschand) had already tunneled under the tree, and she had her Xmas stash there. If anyone went near the tree, she growled at them. Stella (Dad's dog) got an edible Christmas Card and a new chew toy. Annie has been sick and throwing up everything except water for two days. She got dog biscuits, which Angie went ahead and let her eat because it was Xmas. Yup....she puked all morning. Annie can unwrap her own gifts, and does a great job. However, Coco, the idiot poodle, eats her gifts paper and all. What a riot animals are at Xmas.

I believe Eric was the most excited... we got him a 1TB portable hard drive. Angie got several medium items... not sure what her favorite was. The girls got their new WII and several games, including Rock Band. Morgan liked her Diamond we bought her (Pier One.... $12), but probably liked the skateboard Santa got her the most. Chloe's favorite was her new books. Dad got socks, Gary got a new blender (smile), new spot light, and I can't remember what else. What can I say?

Every year, Eric buys me tupperware. That's because I always make him a lunch for work when we have something special... like shrimp, that Angie doesn't cook. He never takes the tupperware home from work, needless to say, I'm always out of plastic containers. This year was no different. What a surprise!

The biggest surprise for any of us is what Gary got me. Two days ago, he told Morgan the big box for me contained an oven, and made her promise not to tell. She immediately told me it was an oven. I asked what kind (I already have a convection-microwave, and a convection-radiant oven). She said "microwave, of course". She thinks I'm dumb. He didn't tell Angie anything. I opened it, and it was my very own Wii.... with Wii Fit Balance Board system, extra remotes, games, everything he could think of. I was surprised, to say the least, and happy. It was the first surprise I'd had in a long time. I did too much the past couple of days, and my shoulder is extremely painful, so I didn't get to try the Wii yet. (I am sort of worried about this pain, as it's all in the scar area, and a new burning type of pain.)

We got home from Xmas morning around 12:15, and the phone rang at 12:30. The girls were calling because they were lonesome and I had to go pick them up. Sigh.......... I drove over, and on the way home (it's 4 blocks) they decided they wanted me to drop them off at the park, which I did. Relax, it's only 2 doors away. I came in, got Stella, and Morgan's new remote controlled motor bike contraption, and went back to the park. I tried to help Morgan with her skateboard, but she said I didn't know anything. Gary came down later and relieved me. He tried also to help Morgan, but again, he didn't know anything. Now, you know, it had NOTHING to do with the fact that she was terrified of falling!

Morgan and I then went to our neighbor's house to get their 16 year old son, Alex, to teach Morgan how to ride her skateboard. Get this, he took his own board down to the park with them, and he had Morgan going downhill all by herself and making basic turns within 30 minutes. I guess if you're male, 16, very handsome, very tall, very athletic, just got your own Mustang for Xmas, and very popular with the girls, it makes you smart.

It was a long day. I had Morgan sleeping on the recliner, and Chloe, Angie and Gary were in the family room playing Wii games. Chloe said "I think I'm sick".... and she got almost all the way to the bathroom, not quite, and the upchucking started. Angie cleaned it up, I supervised Chloe in the shower cause she could barely hold her head up, and 45 minutes later, it was all over. Gary and Angie decided it was time to take both girls home. Gary was carrying Chloe out, and she told him she felt sick again.... he put her down and headed the other way (he's not much help), and once again, Angie was cleaning up puke. I now have a clean bathroom hallway, and a clean living room entryway.

Poor baby, everyone has had the bug here except my Dad and I....KNOCK ON WOOD. That's about it. I am going to sleep late tomorrow. No housework, nada tomorrow. Thank goodness Gary has been cleaning while I blogged. Oh yeah... it's still cold here in the house.... still no heat!

Merry Christmas, and hope your Christmas was as merry as mine.