December 22, 2002 - 1:13 p.m.

Giving and Receiving

It's starting. I opened my first Christmas gifts Friday night. :) I like getting gifts just as much as I like giving them. Being the perfectionist that I am, I enjoy the challenge of finding a great gift for my loved ones. I always try to find something they aren't quite expecting, but will love. And I have to say, I usually do a pretty decent job. It cetainly helps that a lot of my friends and family members have pretty distinctive tastes and even collections.

Anyway, I turn into a five year-old kid when it comes to getting presents. I LOVE tearing open the wrapping and the anticipation of what may be inside. I'm not terribly picky in many ways, so I am rarely disappointed in gifts, at least since I stopped asking for clothing. More often than not I would love the item of clothing, but it wouldn't fit, nor would any other size of the same item. I am oddly proportioned (short with a size 4 or so torso and a size 8 lower half - plus most of my short stature comes from my short waist so petite pants are often too short but regular ones are too long - ugh) and once I see a lovely shirt or skirt and then can't have it because it doesn't fit it just irks me.

So, I exchanged gifts with the family I work for Friday night. The kids really seemed to like their presents. B especially loved the Baby Beluga book (he's made me sing the song to him every day at naptime, so I was pretty sure it would be a hit). I got M a picture book about a dragon and unicorn, and H the first book of the Redwall series - I think it's a bit too challenging for her to read on her own, but they can read it at bedtime. They immediately started playing with the puppets I got them, too, but I don't hold out much hope that they'll hold the kids' interest for more than a couple days, but we'll see. The parents seemed to really like the scrapbook (S is as much a shutterbug as I am, so again a no-brainer) and were more amused then disappointed that it wasn't complete. I guess it gives them something more to look forward to. I have to say I am pretty proud of how it turned out.

Then it was my turn. The kids each made a design for a plate for me that they sent out and had made into acrylic plates. They are so cute, and really display the kids' personalities. See below:

This is the plate H, the oldest, made. As you can see, she LOVES dogs. You probably can't read the word bubbles, but the dogs are saying "I love Kris!", "My dog house is right doun [sic] there want to see it?", and "It's pritty [sic] hot"

That's the plate from M. And that's me by the house and two worlds to the right of the hearts and stars. M is very affectionate as you might have guessed from her design. :)

B's plate reflects his favorite color: blue. The big round thing is a pond, with a rainbow above and sun and planes to the right. I love that he wrote his name on it, because this summer with only a little work with me he just leaped into writing it, but he doesn't like to do it much anymore.

H actually made me another as well, but it's upstairs in the dishwasher, since she insisted I use it for dinner. :) It features a Christmas tree and nutcracker and is pretty impressive for an 8 year-old

R and S got me three things other than my annual Christmas bonus:

- an electronic crossword puzzle game, since I like doing crosswords.

- little snowman jam or condiment spreaders, since I like snowmen

- cool folk art measuring cups from the Museum of Fine Arts. They are tin and copper and are pretty enough I thought they were worth posting a photo as well.

This family is insanely generous to me! I have the best job in the world!!!

Tomorrow I leave for New Orleans. My kid brother and his wife live there, so my whole immediate family will be going there for Christmas. I've been down there once before, also for Christmas, and it's certainly nicer than spending the holidays in Chattanowhere (that's Chattanooga, TN where my parents live, for those who aren't in the know). I'm looking forward to seeing my parents (last saw them in July when they came up for a visit) and my borther and his wife (haven't seen them since last Christmas). I also can't wait to get down to the warmer weather and have a break from the everyday wear and tear of being a nanny. I like my job, but it has a lot of built in daily stress. I'm staying in a hotel, so it should be easy to balance quality family time with some quiet me time.

Unfortunately, today I appear to have come down with a less severe version of the stomach bug that H had earlier in the week. I'm not in terrible shape, but the idea of traveling with a stomachache is truly unappealing. Hopefully it will run its course today and I won't have to worry about it tomorrow. Ugh.

today's project: lying on the couch and vegging, basically being an invalid :)

musing about: the David Bowie and Bing Crosby Christmas duet I saw on VH1 this morning - was I hallucinating?

�

flutter back - fly ahead