Christmas 2010

I guess I might as well do my annual Christmas post. We had a great Christmas! As always, our Christmas is divided into three--we spend a few moments opening a few gifts at our house, then we go to my parents and open more, then we go to Trevor's parents and open TONS. That part takes about two hours! I really like this setup--though I'm sure as my kids get older it won't continue to work. Anyway, on Christmas Eve Trevor sent me upstairs to bed while he "got a few things ready" and it took him forever. I had no idea what he's up to, but when he came upstairs at last he said, "MUAHAHAHAH!!" So I knew he was up to something.

When I carried Afton down the next morning, Trevor was standing there with a camera, and this is what I saw:

Really? He got a digital TV? I was so excited! In hindsight, I'm pretty surprised I didn't see it coming. 

1. Trevor talked getting one non-stop and then suddenly seemed to "drop it." He never drops it. I should have known that meant he already bought one.
2. Usually we don't look at the credit card bill items until after Christmas so we are sure to surprise each other, but I noticed the bill was much higher than I expected and I thought there might be fraud on our account. But when I asked Trevor about it, he said, "Don't worry about it."
3. I did, after all, tell him that if he found one from under a certain price, to go ahead and get it. I just believed him when he said he didn't find one. Hmmm...

I think I am purposely obtuse when it comes to Christmas. I want to be surpised so bad I don't let myself think about anything!

I think that Christmas morning at our house was actually my favorite part of the day. Afton was so cute and so excited for each present. She "got it" when it came to unwrapping presents--this year, more excited about the gift than the box and paper! She wasn't yet overloaded by too my presents or distracted by the cat or her other toys. It was so fun.

We then headed to my Mom's, where we had, as usual, a quiet, humble, and practical Christmas. Trevor grew up in a home where there was more disposable income than mine. For his family, Christmas is about getting what you want. My mother is always practical--I totally get it from her. Although we still got things we wanted for Christmas, we also got what we needed. It was a very nice morning. Afton was so darn cute!

We had the traditional quiche that I make, and then we headed to Trevor's family by 11:00. This is a HUGE Christmas. Trevor's dad pretty much goes nuts over the holidays, and Trevor has inherited this. We had a nice big lunch, and then started on the gifts. Both Trevor's siblings are there with their kids, so there's a lot of us, and it takes a while to get through everything. But oh, it is so fun!

Afton immediately made a bee-line to her princess couch, and she and Madison sat on it a lot. It's pretty much her favorite gift. It's in front of the TV now, and she loves to pull it out like a bed and watch movies while she eats her "nacks." (fruit snacks)

Afton wasn't too happy about getting this family photo taken after all the presents are open!

I surprised Trevor, too. I got him the chainsaw he wanted really really bad. I totally splurged. Unfortunately, he totally splurged too. So we both broke our budget rules, had an awesome Christmas, and will now spend the next six months or so trying to get that damn credit card paid off before the twins get here!

It's strange to think about next year's Christmas. I will have THREE FREAKING KIDS! I just can't imagine that. The twins will be about 5-6 months old. So strange. I think next year we'll HAVE to stay in our budget rules no matter what!