Today was the last of my Christmas celebrations. Although I love Christmas and being with my loved ones, I am ready for some down-time.
Today was not necessarily busy, but it was definitely tiring after the past two days. I got a late start to bed last night, because I had to wait up to put the cheesecake in the refrigerator. Then, although I really would have liked to have not gone, my dad and I went to church this morning. My mom didn't sleep well last night, so she decided to stay home and rest up just a little bit. After church, my dad and I came home and we began helping my mom with some last-minute preparations for our impending feast. I had to make the chocolate ganache for my cheesecake, so I did that right off the bat, so it could set up while we ate. At the last minute, we decided to add another item to our menu: chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. If you haven't had this, you are missing out! When we used to go to Mimi's house for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, she ALWAYS had a huge pot of homemade noodle soup with the fresh noodles. It was always a highly coveted part of the meal, because many of my cousins made a meal out of the soup itself. Of course, since there have been no more gatherings at Mimi's, there was no more chicken noodle soup. My parents make it on occasion, but it's not a common occurence. This year, at Scotty's request, my parents decided to make it once again.
As it turned out, we had a few extra faces this year. Because we had enough food for a small army and we occasionally end up at random family functions of theirs, both Gina and Emily's in-laws joined us for lunch. They are always inviting us for random dinners, so my parents decided to spread the wealth and invite them. It is nice because all three families get along well, and it's like we're one big family. All of the boys enjoyed having both sets of grandparents there, also.
After the meal, we headed to the living room to open presents. Of course, all four boys were excited about opening presents. Cody decided to help me "play Santa", which means that we were the designated ones to dole out the gifts to everyone. He did a great job, but he had to take a gift break every now and then, so he could catch up with everyone else. My living room went from a scene of order and peace to a near warzone in a matter of moments. Wrapping paper was strewn everywhere, piles of presents overlapped each other, and random shrieks of joy came from the boys as they discovered their new treasures. They all happened to receive air rifles that shoot caps, and they were in love immediately. As soon as they could, they got their parents to open the guns, and load them with caps. Then, they threw on their shoes and coats and dashed outside to shoot their guns.
I received lots of wonderful presents. Among my gifts were: a new set of workout clothes, books, lotion, a new sweater dress, a pair of slippers, a new hair dryer, some new curtains that coordinate with my somewhat-new comforter (the green & white striped curtains just didn't jive with my red & black circular patterned comfortor), and a pea coat! I have wanted a pea coat for so long, and I am very thrilled about it!
After we cleaned up the piles of wrapping paper, we broke into the cheesecake. It was a hit with everyone, and I think that my recipe is a keeper, although Gina & Emily had some possible modifications in mind for next time. I thoroughly enjoyed my piece of cheesecake, although I do believe that next time I will get a much smaller slice; I forget how rich cheesecake can be.
After everyone had settled in with the cheesecake, a few of us decided to go over to the Blakley house to deliver presents for the little ones. What was supposed to be a small carload of people turned into two carloads, with three of the four boys. We didn't stay long because they were about to eat, and we didn't want to disturb their meal, but we stayed just long enough to have a nice chat.
When we got back home, I didn't waste anymore time, and I hung my curtains up. They look just great, and I love seeing them! Gina, Emily, my mom, and I also showed off our presents to each other, a tradition of ours. I do believe that I might have some soup and salad here in a bit, and then I will probably hit the hay!
Once again, I hope that everyone had a great day and got to spend time with loved ones!
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