Round 2 .... and 1

Round 1 of the video game marathon ended this morning at 7AM...yes 7. My son and brother were up all night playing the Halo 3 marathon. They were both near zombie state and decided perhaps it was time for some sleep. Brennan sleepily carried the garbage out to the curb, then headed to bed for some much needed sleep. My poor sister-n-law called her long lost husband after he'd been asleep for only an hour :) Gee, no wonder he was so grumpy, she said! It has been such a wonderful care free weekend for me. Just the kind I needed. Of course I didn't get nearly as much done as I would have liked, but I got some things done, had some much needed R&R and had a great time with my brothers. I can't remember a holiday weekend like this one. The girls climbed up on the roof today with their Dad's help and put up the Christmas lights. I had to purchase a few new strands cuz I just can't tolerate all of that 'why doesn't this %#^&@ strand work?' We still need to purchase additional strands for our front hedge (the new addition for this year) and Stephanie and Kristina are begging for one of those spiral light up trees. We'll have to see about that, as they don't really thrill me. We used to have white light up deer for the front lawn, until Kevin ran them over in the garage. (Long story) Anyway, we are looking for something to replace the deer, but haven't decided on just what. After the lights were up, we headed for 'breakfast' today about 1:30 then went to farm and fleet to pick up a few things. I got a cute ornament for my snowman tree, one for Brennan for Christmas, and one for Grandma's package. It's a really cute sparkly rocking horse, perfect for her collection. After that...round 2 of gaming began. Ryan, Shana and Aubrey joined us for pizza and game night. It's 11:15 and round 2 is still going strong. Since Brennan MUST get a haircut and do his homework tomorrow, I'm sensing a 12:00 limit tonight :) Sorry, Uncle Tim! My project today was to clean the dining room including the inside of the icebox and bottom of the china cabinet. I'm 1/2 done and have cleaned out the icebox. I neatly stored all of my off season dining room decor in the ice box and am so pleased with the results. As Aubrey was 'helping' me I discovered the vacuum makes ehr cry! Stephanie had to come take her every time I wanted to vacuum under something, or window sills or whatever. I'm lovin my new $30 vacuum! It works great! Merry Christmas to me early! Tomorrow, I will finish up, and go through the bottom of the china cabinet that has accumulated 18 years of who knows what. I hope to get the tree up tomorrow too. Whew! I feel a bit sad that the R&R is coming to an end. I surely have enjoyed it. The good news is, I have 10 days of R&R coming in 4 short weeks! I absolutely LOVE this time of year! It's good for the soul! I made my Christmas list today and my Christmas card list. My friends and relatives will drop over in a faint if they receive an actual Christmas card, instead of a 'New Year's Card' (That's what you call a late Christmas card you know!) Along with that, it is my brother Bill's birthday today and I haven't mailed the card yet. It has been purchased written and addressed, just not mailed. Bummer...Happy Bday Bubba!! Your card will be on its way Monday...thanks for your patience. Miss you so so much! Well, I must check my ebay (as all the news shows are reporting online shopping takes over after black Friday) especially in the Ruch house! If all goes well...there will be a big box under the tree for the Ruch Kids! Until next time...