Whew!

[mommax3]

I baked twenty small loaves of strawberry bread yesterday for people who work at the clinic with DH and the boys' teachers. Most of the deliveries were made this morning. I also made two medium-sized loaves for us and put them in the freezer, because after yesterday, I can't even contemplate eating a piece of the bread! The house still smells like it....not a bad thing, exactly, but I feel like it is coming out of my pores! I baked from morning til night yesterday, no kidding.

The in-laws arrive Sunday (staying until the 24th) with our new puppy, Archie, (I can't wait to see the boys' faces!) so at that point, our holiday plans will be in full swing. The older two boys have half days today, and Nathan has a half day tomorrow, and then they are all mine for a couple of weeks. I enjoy having them home around Christmas....they can sleep late, (and they will, since it is dark in the mornings now) watch videos, play Nintendo, and relax.

DH and I have a Christmas party to go to on Friday night, and then we will be doing MAJOR housecleaning on Saturday.....thank GOD he is not on call this weekend. The boys are pretty much over the flu, but I have kind of a nasty cold....hopefully it will clear up in the next couple of days.

What are everybody's holiday plans? Travel? Having company? Let us know! My mom and sisters are coming on the 26th and staying for a week, and we are going to Dallas the 30th-31st for a shopping extravaganza! This will be the first time one of my sisters has visited me in Texas since Joel (5.5) was born! And none of them have ever visited me at Christmas, so I am totally psyched.

Sally

[SuzySunshine]

Holiday plans, what fun!

Sally - ours aren't near as busy as yours.

Our plans. Well DH is interviewing, he's FINALLY DONE on Saturday. So I'm flying home on Saturday, he flies home on Sunday and we drive to my parents through Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve will be the whole family: myself and my DH, my little sister, and my older sister and her family, my parents, two uncles, and my grandparents. Should be lots of fun.

Christmas Day we'll drive to my in-laws and stay with them until the 30th. Christmas with them was fun last year so I don't expect this year to be any different. This is only our second set of holidays together (we did them seperately before we were married), so its great to spend them together.

On the 30th we fly to Denver and then drive to Vail to spend New Years with a girlfriend of mine that was in our wedding, that we haven't seen since our wedding (18 months). We look forward to the relaxing non-family time since the crazy interviews are over and lots of great skiing.

Of course then we have three weeks to turn in his rank list and his match day is Jan. 30th. It never ends!

Happy Holidays to one and all! :!

[houseelf]

We are going home for our first Christmas actually on Christmas day with our families in FOUR years. We've had to go the first week in December the last three years. We are very excited. We are having our family Christmas on Sunday and we'll be flying out on Monday for a whirlwind 7 days. Yipee!

Kelly

[Auspicious]

Tonight is my office holiday party, wherein my boyfriend will meet my co-workers for the first time.

Later we're going to see Lord of the Rings with some friends of his. It usually feels like we've been together forever, but when I realize that every Christmas season we've been together has included going to see a Lord of the Rings movie, our relationship suddenly seems short. 8O

Tomorrow we're going to do our actual Christmas tradition, which is going to see the decorations, skaters, and tree at Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Sak's deparment store windows, etc.

Then my boyfriend will return to his fervent studying for his final on the 23rd, and I'm flying out to Illinois on Sunday for a week with the family.

My brother and sister-in-law always have everyone over for a get-together Christmas Eve. Christmas morning my parents, my younger brother and I open gifts and have breakfast, and then it's back over to my older brother and SIL's place for more gift opening with the kids, playing with the toys all day, and then formal Christmas dinner.

My sister-in-law's mother is a successful caterer, so entertaining is to her family what mountain climbing is to sherpas.

I have no idea what my boyfriend and I are doing for New Year's yet. I kind of vote for just staying home--it's been several years since we did that, and it might be nice to just have a little midnight champagne toast with just the two of us.

[SueC]

Our holidays aren't quite as busy as everyone else's so far. My dh is on call Christmas, so we'll be staying home. My parents and my sister and brother-in-law will all drive here Christmas Eve and go home Christmas day. We'll have our usual big Christmas dinner before everyone goes home, which includes prime rib and black bean soup, so I'm excited about that. Luckily, my dh has the weekend off, and our oldest will celebrate her 4th birthday on Sunday, so we're planning a shin-dig at Chuck E. Cheese. No plans for New Year's--hubby is on call that day as well so we'll just stay home. We're so boring, we usually don't even stay up to ring in the New Year! Hope everyone has a great holiday!!!

[migirl]

I am so excited for those of you who will be able to spend the holidays with your families after going years without! I also love hearing how other people spend the holidays, traditions or not.

We do not have any big plans either. DH is on call Christmas Eve, so I think we're having Christmas Eve dinner at our house with my in-laws (ordinarily we would have it at my MIL's house, the joys of home call!). My MIL has Christmas Day dinner and present-opening at her house every year so we'll be going over there after our own mini-Christmas by ourselves (breakfast and opening our presents to each other). Then, the Saturday after Christmas my parents are having my in-laws and DH and I over for dinner at their house (my parents and DH and in-laws and I all get along remarkably well, so it's not as weird as it sounds! ). New Year's Eve we're going out to dinner with my in-laws and then have been invited to two parties - I don't know if we've decided yet if we're going to one or both or neither. I'm with Julie - I think I prefer a quiet evening at home (although, like Sue, I don't usually make it till midnight), but since DH actually has New Year's Eve and Day off this year he may want to do something different.

I hope everything has a wonderful and safe holiday season!

[migirl]

BTW,

Tomorrow we're going to do our actual Christmas tradition, which is going to see the decorations, skaters, and tree at Rockefeller Plaza, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Sak's deparment store windows, etc.

This sounds like so much fun!! I love New York at Christmas, everything looks so beautiful.

Our own holiday tradition (going together to pick out a new ornament for our tree every year) suddenly seems boring...

[DCJenn]

We are spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my parents. My grandmother (87!!!) will be down from Pittsburgh and my brother and SIL will be there as well. Well be traipsing back and forth from DC to Maryland and back to deal with the doggie but that's OK- I have a much more comfortable bed than the guest bed at moms!!

Christmas Day Rick flies home to LA to see his family and I get to relax and hang out with mine. I haven't been home for a Holiday since '98 ('99 I flew out on Christmas Day and we got engaged on NYE '99 like half the planet!)

We meet again in San Antonio on the 28th and will be there until the 31st. We promised our friends that we would spend every NYE together but Rick has to work on NY Day, as does our friend who is an ER resident. Next year will be even more tricky because his wife will be a NICU fellow. Trying to combine all three schedules for one holiday may be impossible- but we WILL try!

NY Eve, assuming that my husband gets through O'Hare Airport- we will go to my friend's house and have a low key evening.

I don't go back to work until sometime in January so I'm psyched. I leave this survey and that's it until '04!!

Jenn