J and I headed up to see our families for about 10 (long) days. We know that every time we visit our days are going to be long and jammed packed, though this year wasn't too bad.
First came my baby shower on the 20th. It was a very nice shower, my moms really did a great job- lots of food, non cheesy games, etc. There were over 50 people there including my best friend K who came up from TX, 3 babies, 1 toddler, 1 preschooler and 3 very pregnant ladies all due around the New Year. In fact one of those ladies is now a momma- Her son was born on the 27th, very exciting! Overall the shower was a success, everyone commented on having a great time, everything was lovely, etc. Now, without meaning to sound ungrateful, I did end up returning about $300 worth of gifts... Why? Because only about 1/3 the guests bought gifts off the registry. I know it is not a prereq that people buy off the registry, but come on. This is our first baby, we need a lot of stuff- what we don't need are lots of cutesy outfits that Ally is only going to wear once. Plus, there were some serious themes to our registry: if there was an organic option it was on our registry and no plastic toys. Apparently only a few people picked up on that. I think I was mostly frustrated that I put so much time and research into creating our registry and people just seemed to ignored it... sigh. I know I sound like a snobby, unappreciative wench, but there it is.
The rest of the week was spent seeing friends & family and finishing up a bit of xmas shopping. We do a pretty good job of splitting up the actually holiday among our immediate family. We spent xmas eve with my Dad & Stepmoms' side, xmas morning with J's side, then xmas evening with my Mom & Stepdads' side. Then, around 10:30 xmas night J started puking. First we thought food poising, then we found out the next morning that there was a horrible stomach bug going around. Apparently J's cousins even brought their sick children to the family party!!! Poor thing was up most of the night puking, then spent the next day on the toilet. I felt so bad, since there wasn't much we could do except let it run its course. We've spent every day since hoping that I don't come down with it- guess time will tell!
J spent Sunday and Monday driving home with our animals and a very packed car, I flew back yesterday with 3 very heavy suitcases, but we got everything home~ which is a Christmas miracle unto itself :o)
Hope you and yours had a lovely holiday!!
