Christmas in the JMR Household 2015!

It's that time of year again.  Time for the annual (or semiannual) Christmas Journal featuring C, G and DLG.  It was a banner year in the JMR household as I think we got presents that all three of them enjoyed and actually smiled about.  Usually our Christmases feature complaining, whining and general unhappiness at the prizes that we get for the kids, but this year things were different.  And I only had to go to sleep at 1:00am in the morning to put everything together.

Presents for all 3.  It was Santa's turn to take a front seat this year.  The presents that Santa brought for all three kids were pretty good if not size appropriate.  A ping pong table that was too big and a table pool set that was too small.  Their Mom thought that the ping pong table would fit where she thought it would (I measured the table and it fit!), but she didn't measure around the table to make sure that humans could fit around the table.  So far, I just have a couple of bruised fingers from banging my hand into the wall making a shot. Despite our obligatory fight during the set up process we all enjoyed the game on Christmas day.  Everyone got to play the game. 

But the real winner was the table top pool table.  The fraction of the size of an actual table, with balls the fraction of the size, the table made me laugh in a pathetic way.  I felt sorry for the table as it was destined to take its place in the trash within 6 months.  But it was actually a bigger hit than the ping pong table.  My bad back and visions of balls bouncing out of the corners demonstrate how much DLG loved the game.  Although I was down and out for the two of the three days with the stomach flu, I was still able to play 15 games with her.  Maybe 20.  I don't remember.

C.  Of course he got sneakers and Vineyard Vines clothing from Mom and Dad.  The real win was the TV for his room.  And of course, Comcast can come the next day to hook everything up.  I just need to get rid of our subscription to HBO and Cinemax.

G.  Despite warnings of fires and falls, the hover board was an inevitable choice for G.  Starting on September 1, the echoes of getting this fire trap for him was constantly heard in the JMR house hold.  Despite its cost (Grandma shared in the cost, to our delight).  We of course got the thing for him.  It matched his sneakers and his clothes.  Hopefully Mom won't try to ride it again as I think she sustained a concussion on her first attempt to ride it.  She may have fractured her arm too.

DLG.  Although she did not get a spectacular one gift, she did get this cool robot that dances and moves around with a phone app.  Only a year or so before she starts demanding a phone, I suspect.  The funniest thing was that every time it lost its balance, it made this sound of "Uh oh!" Like a funny child.  A telescope was also hers, although I do not plan to watch the stars in the sky with 30 mph winds shipping across our backyards.  Maybe in the summer sweetheart.  Clothes were hers to have as well.

LC.  I ended up getting Mom tickets to see Adele in September.  Although she was excited by the tickets, I think she was more excited by the prospect of selling the tickets to some schmuck for 4 times face value.  Hey, it would save me from hearing "Hello" for the 7 millionth time.

Yours truly got a beer making kit.  It had been 15 years since I last made beer.  Imperial Stout for all when it's ready.

Maybe, I'll age it until next Christmas.

photo courtesy of Mashable

C's 2010 Christmas Blog

This year was a lot different in the JMR household than last year.  Last year at Christmas, between Disney and the Nick Hotel, we tried to find Tiger Woods and attended a Celtics game in Orlando.  And as we're sitting watching the blizzard outside, cleaning up the house from flattened candy, ripped cardboard and wrapping paper, we're reminded of why a Florida Christmas was so enjoyable.  But for the kids, Christmas here this year was just as enjoyable as sun and fun last year.  Here is C's version of A Christmas Story.

At Christmas I got up at 2am to see the presents and I saw that I got an XBox 360 Kinnect.  Then i woke up my brother and we woke up mom and dad. Then we went to our stockings and dumped them out and me and my brother got gift cards for Dunkin Donuts and Burger King. Then we opened all of our presents under our Christmas treee and after a little while we went to our Grampy's house and opened more presents and saw our cousins. I felt really happy when I saw my cousins and all my family members.

I got a really cool football from Caity and Cassie, my cousins, and a basketball hoop and snowboard from my wicked awesome parents.  My favorite present of the whole entire day was the XBox 360 Kinnect.  You can control it with your body.

When we were riding home we played a little bit with our presents and my sister fell asleep.  And when we got home, I played with the XBOX and Wii.  The End.

[under duress:] To me, Christmas means giving and being with your family.  It means spending time with my family -- esepcially Grayden and Sumner and Mom and Dad.