**Holiday DRAMA** (b/c of budget or otherwise ;)

[disneydreamersx4]

Our drama was limited by me biting my tongue. We drove 8 hours with a van full of gifts to spend 50 hours with the family before driving home 8 hours so DH could get to work this morning (after he took off time between Christmas and New Years last year he was told never to ask for it again.) Anyway, my mom stopped talking to me in May. I have spoken to her twice since, once on Thanksgiving and once last week for about 5 minutes trying to break the ice so Christmas wasn't uncomfortable. Both times she was "too busy to talk." Anyway, she repeated 3 things to me over and over but I never took the bait. I was determined not to fight. We wern't even going to go to Christmas this year, but at the last minute my aunt and uncle decided to come with their 2 kids, my only cousins, who I had not seen in 3 and 6 years and our whole family was going to be together for the first time in 10 years, and the first time since my DD8 was alive. My grandma who is 73 and my great grandma who is 98 were so excited by the whole family being together that we couldn't say no. BTW, we all, 16 of us, stayed in my grandparens house. Each family got a room. Cozy for my family of 5. A full bed for DH and an air mattress with a small leak for my 3 girls. And we all got to share 1.5 bathrooms. Actually, it was OK. It was an adventure for sure.

Anyway, the 3 things.

How fat I have gotten. My mom is a rail, aneroxic skinny, I wish I was kidding. My aunt, her sister looks at least 20 years younger then her and they are 4 years apart. My mom's husband does not like any meat on her bones so she doesn't eat to please him. For dinner she ate a little bit of yams and then ate parsley. I didn't even know people ate parsley??? So yeah, I have some meat on my bones but I enjoyed a great meal and then after cuddled up with my meaty, wonderful hubby and bit the H**L out of my tongue! I was not going to bite, and I didn't. I was told probably 20 times how fat I am...yep, fat and happy!

How spoiled my kids are. Over and over how they have too much, don't appreciate anything, on and on. Over and over she said how she is going to write a letter to Santa saying only one gift per child next year, only fruits and nuts in their stockings and we shoudn't give them anything. DD8 was near tears. My kids got 5 gifts each plus stockings and a few shared games. They were thankful and grateful but she feels kids shouldn't have more then one gift each so that is the way it should be. My DH told her to stop the Santa talk, that they are only young once and we have 2 older ones and that if his wife enjoyed being Santa while she could, he was willing to fund it. Since he didn't ask her to pay for the gifts to let it go. She really didn't other then the Santa talk, but that was good enough for me.

That my DD11 looks like a tramp. Yes, her words. Over and over again. About her granddaughter, and to her face! She started middle school this year and like many of the girls has started wearing makeup. She doesn't wear an excessive amount, what she wears is pretty natural looking. I have absolutly no complaints. She is a really good child most of the time. Good kid, helps out, does community service projects, if wearing some makeup and "big earrings" (another complaint along with the makeup) makes her a tramp then I guess I am really proud of my trampy daughter! This one bothered me the most so I did stick up for DD11 but again, mostly left it up to my calm mannered DH so a fight didn't start. He is so good at handleing my mom. I wish he didn't have to be, but boy am I glad I have him or I'd snap.

OMG your mom is a piece of work! I'm so sorry you and your family were put through all that She was so mean to you guys
I hope seeing your other relatives made you happy

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

OMG your mom is a piece of work! I'm so sorry you and your family were put through all that She was so mean to you guys
I hope seeing your other relatives made you happy

Thanks, it felt good getting it out. But I am used to her, she is who she is and always has been. But yes, I did have a nice time visiting with everyone. I was an only child raised by my grandparents. When my cousin was born he was like a gift to me (I thought.) I was 11 when he was born and the joy of my childhood. His parents got divorced when he was a baby and he and his mom, my aunt, moved in with us so for a while we lived together and were really close. But then she remarried and moved far away and I didn't see him but every feew years and we grew apart. I have not seen or spoken to him in 6 years so it was wonderful to see him again, he is 24 now so he's really different from when I last saw him. I can't tell you how wonderful that was. And to see my great-grandma see him, he was 14 last time she saw him. And his sister I last saw 3 years ago, so yeah, it was great!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Big to everyone who had to endure drama this christmas.

Mine wasn't on Christmas (unless you count being bored to death listening to your husband brag/complain about his internet business to the in-laws and listening to the in-laws stories that I've heard again and again for the last 26 years). The kids hung out in my office upstairs playing video games and I wished I could join them.
I couldn't wait for Christmas to be over with so I could quit feeling like the maid and cook.

Mine was before Christmas. The in-laws invited themselves for Christmas, husband says sure. A few days later my crazy/wierd mother invites she and my Dad for Christmas. My mother is so strange that I don't like her to be around our friends or my husbands family. I think it's gotten worse over the years but my Dad says she's fine.

My Dad tells me they aren't coming here - they are going to visit his sister in Arizona. Mom wants me to side with her, Dad wants me to side with him. I finally had to come out and tell Mom they aren't invited here because we already have company coming. Mom is furious and hasn't talked with me since November. Dad is thrilled and is talking to me. They are apparently having a wonderful time in Arizona.

And Mom said since they weren't welcome,the kids wouldn't be receiving gifts from them. Gee, really? No strange knitted items, no bag of shells with dead animals in them?. The kids are just heartbroken. NOT! LOL

Part 2 of the drama is where are the in-laws going to sleep. The only option is in my sons room which means he has to sleep in either my office or in his sisters room. I tell husband to suggest to his Dad that they get a hotel. Nope, husband said he won't do it.

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago. My husband goes up to sons room, sees that the bed is against the wall and tells me I have to get the bed moved and the room cleaned up for his parents. I told him No - his parents, he can do it. I was busy trying to get rest of gifts bought and get house together for Christmas. He decides then that *I* have to find a hotel for his Dad and stepmom and he'll talk with them and see if they are willing to stay in a hotel.

At this point I'm really mad and I told him it was up to him to deal with it all and he was lucky I was cooking and buying all the gifts. He then talked with his Dad who said they had decided to stay in a hotel already and had one booked.

So my husband got me all mad for nothing because he didn't want to handle a few minor things with his Dad up front.

So that was our drama. Not much compared to all the stuff the rest of you have gone through.

 

[momof1princess]

i wasn't going to post this, i've typed it 2-3 times and erased it, but here goes:
first, a little background:
my mom had a nervous breakdown in july, but refuses to admit that's what it was, and will not get any sort of help. mom says it was a withdrawal reaction to abruptly stopping her topamax, and the rest of the family goes along with this delusion, either out of denial or in an effort to appease her, i'm not sure which. i say nothing, because i was with her at the ER, talked to the doctor, and i KNOW it was a nervous breakdown.
she is also going to have surgery soon on a rotator cuff injury, and is currently on pain medication because of it. she is allergic to most pain meds, and apparently, demerol is the only one she can tolerate.

so,
mom says she's going to spend Christmas Eve night with us, as her shoulder hurts too bad to ride 3.5 hours to my brother's (it was his family's year to have her stay over). fine, no problem. on Christmas Eve, my family has lunch at Cracker Barrel, then goes back to my aunt's (mom sister's) for dessert and to open gifts. about 3pm, DH, DD13 and i leave, as we have weekly grocery shopping to do. get a phone call from mom about 5:30pm stating she doesn't have enough gas to make it to our house, as aunt didn't give her any gas money (aunt handles mom's finances-the one concession they all make to her mental state). mom starts crying because aunt was snippy on the phone with her (mom didn't mention needing gas money, and aunt, who is the assistant director of a boys' home, had several of the boys at her house when mom called, so she was kind of stressed, to say the least) and i tell her not to worry, it will all work out, which it does-aunt sends cousin over with gas money.
mom shows up about 8pm, and we all go to bed about 10:30pm. i go to help mom get ready for bed, because of the shoulder injury, and she's got all these pills set out to take! the pain med, a mystery pill she would NOT identify to me (these were for bedtime); a sleep md and THREE soma (these were for when she woke up in the middle of the night)! WTH? THREE soma!?!
i was so afraid of what the combination of all those pills might do to her, or cause her to do to herself or to us, that i stayed awake all night. and of course, the next morning, she goes on and on about how rested and refreshed she is. yeah, i bet! DH was nervous as a cat, because she kept telling him over and over how he should do this or that, when she had NO idea what was going on. she rattles on constantly about nothing, repeats herself, and will not shut up, no matter what you say. it started to snow about 9:00am, and mom was already getting her things together to leave, because she wanted to go to aunt's house to be with my grandmother (her mom), so i told her she'd better hurry, it was snowing. i was so relieved when she left. the rest of the day was wonderfully peaceful.
she really does need to be in a psych ward, and she would've been, but when she had the breakdown and i took her to the hospital, there wasn't a psych bed available in the entire state. guys, i love her, but the condition she's in makes me want to cry, because she refuses to get help, and i don't have the money to hire an attorney to go to court and have her declared incompetent.
oh, and guess who she's telling everyone else she's going to stay with while she recovers from surgery? *sigh* you guessed it! funny, she hasn't said a word about it to me, and i haven't brought it up, because honestly, i don't think i can deal with her. my grandmother WANTS to take care of her, but they're so much alike, they can't spend more than a few hours together before the fighting starts. i'm sorry this was so long, i guess i'm just at the end of my rope.

 

[dfchelbay]

Thanks, it felt good getting it out. But I am used to her, she is who she is and always has been. But yes, I did have a nice time visiting with everyone. I was an only child raised by my grandparents. When my cousin was born he was like a gift to me (I thought.) I was 11 when he was born and the joy of my childhood. His parents got divorced when he was a baby and he and his mom, my aunt, moved in with us so for a while we lived together and were really close. But then she remarried and moved far away and I didn't see him but every feew years and we grew apart. I have not seen or spoken to him in 6 years so it was wonderful to see him again, he is 24 now so he's really different from when I last saw him. I can't tell you how wonderful that was. And to see my great-grandma see him, he was 14 last time she saw him. And his sister I last saw 3 years ago, so yeah, it was great!

Did your grandma and great-grandma hear any of the nasty things your mother said to you...what, if anything did they say, or think about that?

 

[dfchelbay]

i wasn't going to post this, i've typed it 2-3 times and erased it, but here goes:
first, a little background:
my mom had a nervous breakdown in july, but refuses to admit that's what it was, and will not get any sort of help. mom says it was a withdrawal reaction to abruptly stopping her topamax, and the rest of the family goes along with this delusion, either out of denial or in an effort to appease her, i'm not sure which. i say nothing, because i was with her at the ER, talked to the doctor, and i KNOW it was a nervous breakdown.
she is also going to have surgery soon on a rotator cuff injury, and is currently on pain medication because of it. she is allergic to most pain meds, and apparently, demerol is the only one she can tolerate.

so,
mom says she's going to spend Christmas Eve night with us, as her shoulder hurts too bad to ride 3.5 hours to my brother's (it was his family's year to have her stay over). fine, no problem. on Christmas Eve, my family has lunch at Cracker Barrel, then goes back to my aunt's (mom sister's) for dessert and to open gifts. about 3pm, DH, DD13 and i leave, as we have weekly grocery shopping to do. get a phone call from mom about 5:30pm stating she doesn't have enough gas to make it to our house, as aunt didn't give her any gas money (aunt handles mom's finances-the one concession they all make to her mental state). mom starts crying because aunt was snippy on the phone with her (mom didn't mention needing gas money, and aunt, who is the assistant director of a boys' home, had several of the boys at her house when mom called, so she was kind of stressed, to say the least) and i tell her not to worry, it will all work out, which it does-aunt sends cousin over with gas money.
mom shows up about 8pm, and we all go to bed about 10:30pm. i go to help mom get ready for bed, because of the shoulder injury, and she's got all these pills set out to take! the pain med, a mystery pill she would NOT identify to me (these were for bedtime); a sleep md and THREE soma (these were for when she woke up in the middle of the night)! WTH? THREE soma!?!
i was so afraid of what the combination of all those pills might do to her, or cause her to do to herself or to us, that i stayed awake all night. and of course, the next morning, she goes on and on about how rested and refreshed she is. yeah, i bet! DH was nervous as a cat, because she kept telling him over and over how he should do this or that, when she had NO idea what was going on. she rattles on constantly about nothing, repeats herself, and will not shut up, no matter what you say. it started to snow about 9:00am, and mom was already getting her things together to leave, because she wanted to go to aunt's house to be with my grandmother (her mom), so i told her she'd better hurry, it was snowing. i was so relieved when she left. the rest of the day was wonderfully peaceful.
she really does need to be in a psych ward, and she would've been, but when she had the breakdown and i took her to the hospital, there wasn't a psych bed available in the entire state. guys, i love her, but the condition she's in makes me want to cry, because she refuses to get help, and i don't have the money to hire an attorney to go to court and have her declared incompetent.
oh, and guess who she's telling everyone else she's going to stay with while she recovers from surgery? *sigh* you guessed it! funny, she hasn't said a word about it to me, and i haven't brought it up, because honestly, i don't think i can deal with her. my grandmother WANTS to take care of her, but they're so much alike, they can't spend more than a few hours together before the fighting starts. i'm sorry this was so long, i guess i'm just at the end of my rope.

Hang in there.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

i wasn't going to post this, i've typed it 2-3 times and erased it, but here goes:
first, a little background:
my mom had a nervous breakdown in july, but refuses to admit that's what it was, and will not get any sort of help. mom says it was a withdrawal reaction to abruptly stopping her topamax, and the rest of the family goes along with this delusion, either out of denial or in an effort to appease her, i'm not sure which. i say nothing, because i was with her at the ER, talked to the doctor, and i KNOW it was a nervous breakdown.
she is also going to have surgery soon on a rotator cuff injury, and is currently on pain medication because of it. she is allergic to most pain meds, and apparently, demerol is the only one she can tolerate.

so,
mom says she's going to spend Christmas Eve night with us, as her shoulder hurts too bad to ride 3.5 hours to my brother's (it was his family's year to have her stay over). fine, no problem. on Christmas Eve, my family has lunch at Cracker Barrel, then goes back to my aunt's (mom sister's) for dessert and to open gifts. about 3pm, DH, DD13 and i leave, as we have weekly grocery shopping to do. get a phone call from mom about 5:30pm stating she doesn't have enough gas to make it to our house, as aunt didn't give her any gas money (aunt handles mom's finances-the one concession they all make to her mental state). mom starts crying because aunt was snippy on the phone with her (mom didn't mention needing gas money, and aunt, who is the assistant director of a boys' home, had several of the boys at her house when mom called, so she was kind of stressed, to say the least) and i tell her not to worry, it will all work out, which it does-aunt sends cousin over with gas money.
mom shows up about 8pm, and we all go to bed about 10:30pm. i go to help mom get ready for bed, because of the shoulder injury, and she's got all these pills set out to take! the pain med, a mystery pill she would NOT identify to me (these were for bedtime); a sleep md and THREE soma (these were for when she woke up in the middle of the night)! WTH? THREE soma!?!
i was so afraid of what the combination of all those pills might do to her, or cause her to do to herself or to us, that i stayed awake all night. and of course, the next morning, she goes on and on about how rested and refreshed she is. yeah, i bet! DH was nervous as a cat, because she kept telling him over and over how he should do this or that, when she had NO idea what was going on. she rattles on constantly about nothing, repeats herself, and will not shut up, no matter what you say. it started to snow about 9:00am, and mom was already getting her things together to leave, because she wanted to go to aunt's house to be with my grandmother (her mom), so i told her she'd better hurry, it was snowing. i was so relieved when she left. the rest of the day was wonderfully peaceful.
she really does need to be in a psych ward, and she would've been, but when she had the breakdown and i took her to the hospital, there wasn't a psych bed available in the entire state. guys, i love her, but the condition she's in makes me want to cry, because she refuses to get help, and i don't have the money to hire an attorney to go to court and have her declared incompetent.
oh, and guess who she's telling everyone else she's going to stay with while she recovers from surgery? *sigh* you guessed it! funny, she hasn't said a word about it to me, and i haven't brought it up, because honestly, i don't think i can deal with her. my grandmother WANTS to take care of her, but they're so much alike, they can't spend more than a few hours together before the fighting starts. i'm sorry this was so long, i guess i'm just at the end of my rope.

That sounds very very stressful!
I can kind of relate. My gf has dementia, and it has gotten so bad!!
He has paranoia and is convinced his neighbors are out to get him (listening to his phone calls, spying on him, plotting against him, etc.) The day before Christmas Eve, my dad picked him up to take him to lunch. He told my dad the neighbors were planning to break into his garage to steal his things. So, he had decided to take a garden hose (we live in the upper midwest...so it's pretty cold here) and hook it up to his inside faucet, and sprayed the entire contents of his garage with water (which of course meant everything in his garage froze) so that the neighbors couldn't take anything!

We would love to have him committed, but like you said, its not so easy to do

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Did your grandma and great-grandma hear any of the nasty things your mother said to you...what, if anything did they say, or think about that?

My great-grandma does not, she has 2 hearing aids but with so many people in the house they were mostly turned off (too loud.) When we'd talk to her we'd go in small groups into a idfferent room to talk with her.

My grandma yes, sadly, she knows who her daughter is. It's one of those love the person, hate the behaivor situations. My mom and I have had long streches where we don't speak, 3 years was the longest, but as much as it angers my grandma how she is, that hurts her. That is hear daughter and I get that. She is awful to me a lot but I try to keep peace, mostly cause her husband is terminal right now and I don't want to bring more pain to her. So while she always stickes up for me and my kids, we kind of let a lot go for a peaceful Christmas.

My girls unfortunatly know how she is and know that while she lacks in the manners and tact, we only see her a few days a year so we deal with it and we feel sorry for anyone who is as miserable as she must be to hae to put others down to boost herself up.

 

[momof1princess]

thank you both it's much harder than i anticipated, i was hoping she would eventually get better, but you can't get better when you don't acknowledge you have a problem. it would be helpful to have some family support, but, no one else will come out and say she needs help. kelley...your poor grandfather. he must be so scared and confused. i can't imagine.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I made a Disney calendar for our in-laws using pictures from our June trip. MIL flips through it and says to my dh (her son) "Wow! You look really chunky in this picture."

For the record - He is NOT fat.......

Last year right before Christmas she looked at my youngest ds and said, "Kaden, you are sooo cute." Then 2 seconds later said, "You don't look a thing like your Mommy!"

For the record - While I may not be beautiful.... I a NOT ugly either.........

I bought her an ugly handmade scarf that year......

She needs a censor on that mouth.

 

[Virgderon]

Aww. Hugs to my friend MickeyMom and to Momof1. My mom bought me earrings for pierced ears, and I don't have pierced ears. But my mom is an angel who misses me terribly since I moved from Chicago to Tampa, and I would never ruin her fun.

I told her they were lovely and I was thrilled with them. Maybe it's a sign that I should get my ears pierced.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Aww. Hugs to my friend MickeyMom and to Momof1. My mom bought me earrings for pierced ears, and I don't have pierced ears. But my mom is an angel who misses me terribly since I moved from Chicago to Tampa, and I would never ruin her fun.

I told her they were lovely and I was thrilled with them. Maybe it's a sign that I should get my ears pierced.

Back at ya! I don't have my ears pierced either, never have. I haven't known too many women who haven't. All my girls do, they try to get me to but I just never have.

 

[My5Mouseketeers]

My drama was with my FIL (as normal). My in-laws never invite us to there house, never offer to bring anything to our house or too pick up take-out and they are ALWAYS late for everything. So that always makes things stressful to begin with.

I sent an email to my parents and in-laws inviting them for Christmas breakfast (9:00). We always do breakfast - we are the only ones with kids. I also say we will be having a simple dinner Christmas Eve and then leaving for Church at 6:30. (Everyone in my family sings in the choir ). Everyone is invited. FIL responds that they won't be over for breakfast because they don't like to get up early, but they will come for Christmas Eve dinner. That's fine, come at 5:00.

Christmas Eve they show up at 5:30 and we eat. 6:25 - I tell the kids to get there shoes on. people are getting there coats, combing hair. 6:40 in-laws are still sitting at the table. I tell them we need to leave. They act like it's new information. 6:50 I say rather nastily "DID YOU BLOCK BOTH CARS IN AGAIN OR ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET AROUND YOU?". So they get up and start to leave. Acting like we are pushing them out (which we are). FIL knocks a Lenox dish on the floor and it shatters and I yell. IT'S FINE, JUST GO!

Christmas day they show up at 11:30 and ask for food! No mention of the night before.

 

[The Iron Giant]

Ok, my turn!

My sister has 3 kids aged 3 and under.

They show up 45 minutes late for Christmas lunch at my dad's house. They couldn't call? So at about 30 minutes late, my dad says "oh well, they can eat when they get here" and starts bringing out the food.

Finally they arrive, with 3 highchairs to set up (ones that sit on chairs). That's about another 10 minutes and then the kids start rolling in.

Its like watching a train wreck, seriously. The 3 year old takes 2 steps in the house, and falls face first onto hardwood floors and screams for 1/2 hr. Plates flying, sippy cups dropping, poking each other w/ forks, using their hands to eat. AGH!!!

My 3 year old sat on her chair, ate with silverware, and I was so proud of her. Hubby and I kept nudging each other under the table.

HA - Three kids under the age of 3 and they were ONLY 45 minutes late? Sounds like they were doing pretty well.

As a father of 3 young kids myself, I can attest that 3 kids is not triple the work of 1 kid - its more like 10 times the work.

Give your sister a break - or better yet - lend a hand when she needs it

 

[jacksmomma]

Why do people have to be so unfair with gifts at the expense of our kids?! I do not care what you spend on my child, a $5 gift can be just as good as a $50 gift, but for the sake of everyone's feelings please make sure that you spend the same amout on all the kids! My nephew got a $20 gift from a relative while my DS received about about $8 worth of gifts some of which I know the giver got for free. Why do that to a kid?

 

[Mom2SamandJames]

My in-laws gave my niece a new TV and my nephews each an expensive remote control car. Now my boys each got a $5 game from Dollar General. The kids opened them at the same time in front of each other. My MIL actually had the nerve to then ask me to buy pizza for my SIL and her family. That didn't happen. My boys and husband were very hurt! I have come to expect it over the years, but it isn't fun explaining to a 5 year old and a 3 year old that Nana just doesn't do for you like the other grandkids.

 

[MissBritt]

Why do people have to be so unfair with gifts at the expense of our kids?! I do not care what you spend on my child, a $5 gift can be just as good as a $50 gift, but for the sake of everyone's feelings please make sure that you spend the same amout on all the kids! My nephew got a $20 gift from a relative while my DS received about about $8 worth of gifts some of which I know the giver got for free. Why do that to a kid?

How old are the kids? If they themselves aren't both old enough to know that one got twice the $$$ value as the other, it shouldn't matter that much. If you are talking about 15 year olds, it's another story. (Also, the $20 gift could have been purchased on sale...)

 

[jacksmomma]

How old are the kids? If they themselves aren't both old enough to know that one got twice the $$$ value as the other, it shouldn't matter that much. If you are talking about 15 year olds, it's another story. (Also, the $20 gift could have been purchased on sale...)

My son is old enough that he questioned why his cousin got something so cool and he got what he did. I know that he had no conecpt of how much was spent, but he was certainly aware that the gift he got was not in the same class as his cousin's.

 

[Mom2SamandJames]

My son is old enough that he questioned why his cousin got something so cool and he got what he did. I know that he had no conecpt of how much was spent, but he was certainly aware that the gift he got was not in the same class as his cousin's.

I feel your pain. It happens every holiday and birthday for us. It's bad enough that my 5 year old doesn't even want to invite Nana to his birthday party because he feels she doesn't like him.

 

[tiggger1]

We had some drama here too...

Hubby's mom, his aunt and his grandmother are not speaking to each other. It started before Christmas because his 18 year adopted cousin had to be hospitalized because of ongoing mental issues. Well after she was released, she contacted MIL on facebook and basically lied about all this stuff going on at home.. MIL who has some issues herself, fed into the lies by telling her all this "stuff" that happened to her when she was younger and the 2 of them "bonded" and she then went off on her sister and her mother about all these lies and havent spoken to each other since...yes Thanksgiving was fun!

So we get an email a few weeks before xmas from MIL that Christmas eve will be at her house and when I ask what I can bring she says nothing because no one is coming. That same day I get a card from the grandmother with a check asking me to pick up gifts for the kids and just put them under the tree without her name on it. I tried to call her but she never answers the phone or checks the messages. She called me Christmas eve and wants to make sure I did it.. I told her yes and she asks for hubby. She is in tears talking to him and he asks where she is going to be xmas day because we want to see her. She said she is staying home alone and dont waste our time on her. Of course we says we are coming over Christmas night and he ends the call.

Christmas eve at his house was quiet but his aunt and uncle and cousin show up 20 minutes before we are planning to leave to bring the kids gifts, but we had left their gifts at home...

Christmas day we visited him grandmother and she was so happy to see the kids.. I am glad hubby insisted to her we were going!