Nicki's Niche: December 2009

Christmas has been celebrated over the past month for us. It started over Thanksgiving weekend while we were back in Iowa visiting my family. Since we only make it back maybe twice a year (if we are lucky) we had to make the most of our time there. As the month continued we shared the holiday spirit with many friends and of course with family on this very day!

Dyke Christmas . . .

As stated before we celebrated over Thanksgiving weekend. It helped Aunt Nicki get into gear and get half of her Christmas shopping completed early. I made dinner Saturday evening (turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, snacks and who knows what else) while dad played wii with the kids and mom cleaned and who knows what else. Afterward the kids opened gifts, drank homemade egg nog (Thanks Dad!) and watched the movie UP.

While we were back I continued the tradition of going to the movie theater as a family. It was just Matt, Billy, Jayden and I but we had fun. Of course we saw New Moon which had only been out for a week at that point. Don't think it was Billy's top choice but it was for us other three. Yes, even Matt. He has read the books so of course he is going to want to see the movie. But his intentions were for seeing the Werewolves :) All in all we were able to relax and enjoy our time back. There was no running around back and forth like it has been since I left for college. Thank Goodness!! We had such a great time seeing everyone and are so happy we got the chance to make it back when we did.

Rosiere Christmas . . .
The kids got here Christmas Eve night. They frosted cookies, made a gingerbread house AND got to open one gift! Okay so the gift wasn't anything exciting, just a pair of pajamas, but that was tradition in my household growing up. So with Hailey in her Hannah Montana pj's and Logan in his Star Wars get up, we settled down and watch the movie Elf! It was great to relax and laugh before turning out the lights. The kids set out cookies they had frosted for Santa and of course a cup of milk to go with it before shutting their eyes for the night.

Surprisingly enough the kids slept in until 8:30ish! I was up well before them thanks to Matt's alarm (6:30 am) that he forgot to turn off. Once I woke up I was done for. No more sleep for Nicki :( Although the kids were excited to open their gifts, they were quite patient as we fed the dogs and they helped pick up their bedding. It was only once they saw the video cameras on their tripods and a camera around my neck, did their patients waiver. First stockings, then Santa gifts, and lastly dad's/our gifts. They cleaned up pretty well. The big gift of the day was a wii from dad, Matt and I. It was kind of a gift for us adults as well, but we'll never admit it to the kids. After gifts were opened we ate breakfast and waited for grandma and grandpa to get to the house.

**pictures to come soon**

Matt and Lonnie's uncle Ernie came over for most of the day too. He enjoyed playing wii bowling with the kids which surprised us all. We had a late lunch consisting of ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, dips and cheese balls, desserts, and homemade EggNog. Hailey was told the nog was a vanilla shake just so she'd try it. After she was nearly done with her second cup did we tell her what it was. She has an aversion to eggs, yet we have tricked her into eating them a few times this past year. Kind of funny how "this is the best _____" turns into "ew" just by saying the word "egg".

Needless to say we had a great Christmas with the Rosiere side of the family. It was nice not having to worry about packing up the car and traveling to someone else's house. The weather was decent. It started off rainy and ended up freezing cold and snowing most of the day. At least we ended up with a white Christmas by mid day! :)

Sullivan Christmas . . .
Tuesday was my last day for the week seeing the Sullivans. Early in the day, Q had asked if we could do a scavenger hunt with the gifts. I couldn't say no to that. We have done them in the past with a sucker as the prize at the end. Q loves listening to the clues and searching for the spot where the next clue lies. For the Christmas Scavenger Hunt, I hid a gift and a new clue at each spot. Q had so much fun. He ran upstairs and down. Each level of the house had at least two gifts/clues. It made it even more exciting for him and honestly wore him out a bit. After he had found all of his and Sloan's gifts, they opened them up before heading down to St. Louis to see CC and DD.

After such a hectic month, it was a nice way to wind done the year with my "second family". They are a huge part of my life and am blessed to be able to share in theirs.

Holiday Fun with Friends . . .
We are fortunate enough to have some really great friends! It isn't often you connect with a couple as a couple, or in our case two couples. We have so much fun hanging out and spending time with them. Getting together always means good food, drinks and crazy games. Their isn't a minute when we aren't laughing or enjoying each others company. For this I would like to thank Earl 'n Stacey and Jeff 'n Kim for the couple great weekends when they had us over. As a group we get along so well. I am thankful for your friendship and the times we get together. Our lives would not be the same without you in them.