Back Into The Routine

Well, after 2 fun weeks of holiday fun things are finally starting to get back to normal. I can't say I wasn't ready to head back toward a normal routine but I'm having a harder time getting on track than I expected. I'm apparently allergic to something in the house and I'm sneezing and sniffing and my eyes are itching like it's April, not January. I'm determined to figure out what it is but for now I'm moderately annoyed and trying not to scratch :)

Christmas vacation was pretty fantastic. This is the first year we spent at home instead of heading to my dad's for Christmas Eve and I'll admit that was sadder than I expected. Many times it's been the only time all year I've gotten to see my grandmother, grandfather, aunts, cousins and assorted others and I really missed that. On the other hand, we didn't have to rush home, instead spending the day relaxing and hanging out with the kids. It was strange getting the kids to bed on time on Christmas Eve and not being completely exhausted by travel but I'm hoping we'll get to go to Fredericksburg for old traditions next year.

Christmas morning was just the 4 of us...the way it's always been. It's easy and quiet and gives us all a chance to spend time together before the rush begins. Olivia got the vanity that she had asked Santa for and Noah was completely surprised with a teeny, tiny camcorder. I'm sure he's got lots of embarrassing video of all of us by now!

Christmas afternoon brought us visitors. Jeremy's parents and brother came up to exchange gifts and have dinner with us. We all had a great time and the hit of the day was the Wii they got us for Christmas. I'm not sure who was more excited, the kids or the parents :) Unfortunately, they couldn't spend the night so after only a few hours they headed back home and, YAY!, they took our kids with them :) Jeremy and I had 6 days to ourselves and we did absolutely nothing. Jeremy worked and I tried to clean up the Christmas chaos but otherwise it was completely low key. Of course, a day or so later we both caught colds so it put a damper on the joy that comes from a kidfree house. We tried to have a date night but after dinner we both felt too terrible to go anywhere else. But, even sniffing and medicated we enjoyed the quiet.

On New Year's Eve we began our whirlwind tour of Virginia. That morning (after searching frantically for a pet sitter - Thanks Beth and Rick!!) we headed to Roanoke. We had dinner out (where I had a fantastic lamb souvlaki - yum!) and then headed to hang out with Jeremy's family. There was dessert and board games and lots of chatting but Olivia and I only made it until 11:30 before calling it quits. Noah and Jeremy toughed it out until midnight and rang in the New Year properly with noisemakers and champagne (or sparkling cider). The next morning we headed out early to see my dad and stepmom in Spotsylvania. We had lunch with them and got to spend several hours visiting. It was unusual for us to be there without the noise and excitement of my 3 other siblings and their kids but it was really nice. We left there around 3 and drove to Stafford to have dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. My brother and sister-in-law were there, my niece and nephews, my cousins, my mom and her friend, John. I got to spend lots of time with a new puppy (I wanted to smuggle it out of the house but Jeremy put his foot down) and we spent the evening laughing (mostly at Jeremy on a Wii Fit) and eating and playing with kids. My nephew, Trenton, has decided that the funniest thing ever is to come over to me again and again and say "Hey Man. Whatcha doing?" to see how I'll respond. He almost makes me wish we had a little one that young in our house. Almost :)

We left Jim and Julie's and headed to mom's for 2 nights. We got some shopping in, kept the kids up too late again and actually thought for a few hours that we might get snowed in. I can't seem to escape that Ohio snow...it follows me everywhere!!

Saturday afternoon we left mom's and did a little shopping on our way back to Ruckersville. We had planned on going to dinner with our old neighbors and I couldn't wait to eat some chips and salsa. We decided that we just couldn't leave so soon-not before playing poker and so we spent the night. Again, up too late but it was worth it. All four of us had a great time. Sunday we left to head back to Ohio making stops along the way...searching for a Wii Fit of our very own, getting lunch at Outback (mmm...decadence) and just taking our time. The ride was a bit subdued because I think it really hit all of us that this was our last trip to Virginia as actual residents. The house no longer belongs to us as of this week and it was a bittersweet goodbye. I'm glad that we're no longer paying double bills and we're moving forward but we had a lot of great memories in that house, in that neighborhood, in that town and we're all going to miss calling the area "home."

So, the whirlwind has ended, the kids are back in school, Jeremy's back at work, and the snow is falling here as I type. This is home now. It's strange to say that and I'm still going to get nostalgic about Charlottesville and hope to visit there often but it no longer belongs to us. A fitting way to end the year, I suppose...