Unfortunately, Mellie was under the weather for the majority of my five day Christmas holiday. She had a low fever off an on (sometimes getting "high" although it didn't get high over the Christmas weekend).
Friday: In the morning we stayed home and did stuff around the house. Meaning we mostly vegetated as I was also under the weather. In the afternoon, I called Ms. Betty to see if we could bring her Christmas gift over as Mellie had not been to day care since she was picked up Tuesday with a fever. We got Ms. Betty a bottle of Malbec wine (her son advised us it was her favorite) along with a cheese torta, crackers, and a nice bar of dark chocolate. I figured she has to deal with Mellie all day, she deserves wine. Ms. Betty was very happy about the gift. She had several of her family members over, and showed me how Mellie likes to dance with her. Ms. Betty had her kitchen counters redone with a beautiful back splash, and I complimented her on them and chastised Ronnie for not telling me about them. The adults were preparing a traditional Venezuelan Christmas dish similar to tamales (but much better) and the two adolescents were playing a dance game on the Wii, but they took the time to enthusiastically greet Mellie. When we were leaving, I showed Ms. Betty how Mellie will say tree. Right before we left, she told me a fabulous (depending on your point of view) of Mellie's day care antics. Apparently, one day another child, Juliet, got ahold of Mellie's shoes. Juliet is about six months older than Mellie and significantly larger. Mellie took offense at Juliet having her shoes and proceeded to tackle Juliet, sit on her back, and pull her hair like horses' reins. Juliet, understandably, started screaming bloody murder. Mellie then let go of Juliet's hair and put her fingers in her EARS!!!! So funny. I mean, obviously, it's not ok to tackle someone and sit on their back while pulling their hair, but it IS rather funny. So, after we left Ms. Betty's we went to our local Kroger's for some groceries and stuff to bring to Christmas Eve at Ronnie's sisters house. Mellie did pretty well there. I found one of those Jingles Hallmark books where the little stuffed dog responds when you read certain passages. Ronnie wouldn't let me buy it, and told me it would be cheaper after Christmas. I made a note to go back first thing on Monday and get one.
Saturday: We left around 9:15 to go to Sarah's house. Sarah, her husband Wes, and their two kids live in a house on some land in Lolita, which is in Jackson County, between Edna/Ganado and Port Lavaca. We got there right at 11. Initially, me and Mellie went into the house. My brother and his wife (Ju Ju and Ju Ma) were there, along with a couple of Wes's family members, and Sarah. Mellie ran around in circles in the house for a while before I realized everything was going on in the garage, so I took Mellie out there. The guys fried shrimp and fish, and there was grilled fish and mulled wine. Uncle Harley made a delicious tossed salad, and there was ambrosia, fruit salad, rolls, potato casserole, corn relish, and an array of desserts. Mellie had a good time running around, and when Uncle Jerry got there with her new arm chair, she was very pleased. Grandma Simicek was there, she recently had some heart problems, and it was good to see her. Mellie ate a good amount of food, cried when their yellow lab licked her face, and tried to play darts with Ju Ju and cousin Tanner. They, smartly, decided she should not be trusted with sharp objects. Uncle Dave was there, and so were Ronnie's cousins Greg (and his girlfriend), Kelly, and John John (and his wife). After eating, presents were exchanged. We all made out with quite a bit of money, and Mellie got a new toy and a new outfit (a shirt that says "My Aunt Rocks" from Sarah and Wes). We had planned to go to Mass with the family, Tanner was going to be in the Christmas Pageant, I had even brought nice outfits for both me and Mellie to change into. Unfortunately, I talked to Ronnie, and we weren't really feeling very well, and Mellie hadn't really napped, so we knew she would be a nightmare, and decided to skip mass. We started packing up the car with our goodies, only to discover that Mellie's new armchair did not fit in the trunk. We decided we would have to put it in the backseat, which meant moving her car seat from the middle to the passenger side. About this time, Mellie refused to let me hold her and had been on the porch of the house. Now, of course, she wondered down and was trying to climb on the swing, despite the blistering north wind. I had been trying to move the seat, and when I gave up and asked Ronnie to do it, I realized she was exposed. I went and grabbed her and her UT blanket I had made her when I was still pregnant, and started moving stuff to the trunk to make more room. Fortunately, Uncle Wes took her from me and we found her a hat to help keep her warm while I was moving stuff. Finally, the car seat was re-installed and the armchair was fit in and we were ready to go. Mellie slept most of the way home. When we got home, we opened presents. Ronnie got the clothing I had got him, and we got our stocking presents. Mellie opened her gifts from Nana (she is becoming a pro at unwrapping gifts) and was thrilled with the baby doll she got. Even more than that, she loved the play pots and pans we had bought her, and took everything out of the box and spread across the coffee table, pretending to cook by stirring some of the skillets. Finally, she went to bed. After she went to bed, my neighbor called; she had a gift for Mellie. I went over to get it and it was a rocking horse! She gave me some wrapping paper and asked that I wrap it. I brought it home and attempted to wrap it, but the roll was about empty and there wasn't enough paper so I put a bow on it for her.
Sunday: Merry Christmas Mellie! She slept until 9 or 9:30, bless her little heart. She usually wakes up between 7 and 7:30. She pulled all of her gifts out of her stocking and eyed the rocking horse warily. We didn't feel well so we skipped Mass (it didn't help Mellie slept so late). Basically, we just stayed home all day and enjoyed each other's company.
Monday and Tuesday to come in a future post.
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