Santa Train

Let’s make some precious, seasonal memories, shall we?  Mom’s laid out on the couch, occasionally emitting a burp or a moan, dad’s tired and still taking ibuprofen several times a day to combat post-surgery pain, Charles is in trouble at school and at home, largely because he’s bored out of his mind, and Jamie finally got sick, though hopefully he’ll be the only one to suffer from that particularly nasty stomach bug.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

 

Some years are like this, you know?  I had stomach flu one Christmas and missed out on the egg nog entirely.  Another year, I was pregnant with Jamie and not feeling in any way magical or filled with love for mankind.  I was especially green on Christmas day and spent most of it in bed, while others engaged 3-year-old Charles.  This year, although I think (knock on wood) I am feeling a bit better than a week or more ago, I am not feeling great.  I have not taken my kids to the park in weeks.  I have not held an extra-special Christmas cookie baking party with them.  I have not taken them shopping for Christmas presents.  We did not visit the lights of Christmas as a family.  Shoot, we haven’t even been to church in a couple of months, and singing carols during worship is one of my favorite things about the season.

 

Do the boys care?  Yes, I imagine they do, even if they can’t verbalize it.  Charles really is bored.  He’s not stimulated in preschool and he’s sure as hell not stimulated at home.  The weather’s crappy.  Our normally packed schedule has been reduced to evenings at home, and Tony can’t wrestle with the boys until he recovers fully.  But we’re all doing the best we can, and this too shall pass, as they say.  It’s my hope that I’ll be feeling great by mid-January and then I can start overloading them with character-building, time-consuming activities once again.

 

We did manage to pull together one Christmas event this year: Santa Train.  Thanks to a friend who invited us to go along with her family a couple of months ago, the trip was booked, the tickets paid, and pregnancy-induced nausea’s got nothing on my sense of frugality.  We bought it?  We’re going to use it.

 

The kids had a wonderful time, of course.  So did Tony and I.

 

Waiting for the train

 

Charles asked for a computer game, Jamie asked for “presents”

 

Jamie really, really wanted to climb on the “do not climb” locomotive

 

Cookies from the coal-fired ovens

Walkin’ the tracks

 

On the way home, we stopped at Snoqualmie Falls.  Why not?

 

 

I’m so glad that we went on this little trip, even if, in my current state, it was exhausting.  I’m looking forward to things being a bit easier next year, with more opportunities for making cookies with my two favorite small people.  And a new favorite small person!