Never Ending Christmas

Christmas is over, right? Not quite. Since we were going to Florida for actual Christmas, Shane and I went to my mom's to celebrate Christmas with her and my sister and her family the weekend before Christmas. It was also the weekend of the blizzard in DC. I had Friday off, so I took the train up Thursday night (a week before Christmas Eve) and Shane drove up Friday night. The storm came later Friday night and all day Saturday. We managed to drive ourselves and my mom over to my sister's house (about 5 miles away). We had a nice snowy evening, exchanged gifts, ate pizza and desserts, and, thanks to our trusty SUV, we managed to get back to my mom's house Saturday night. We got about 20 inches of snow at my mom's so I shoveled her out and we drove back to DC and shoveled our own house out, including our roof. My back was killing me.

Thursday night (Christmas Eve) Shane and I had to work half a day and then drove to Baltimore to fly to his mom's house in Florida. It was a nice break from the cold and snow of DC. It was nice and quiet until about 11:30 Christmas Eve night. We were getting ready for bed and I thought it was a little stuffy in our room, so I thought I would crack the window. I did not know the alarm was set, so when it started blaring (louder than any siren I've ever heard) I didn't know what to do. Both Shane and I were undressed and Shane's parents were already in bed. By the time I got my pants on, Shane's stepfather was already deactivating the siren. The alarm company called and because they weren't sure what the password was, they called the police. So much for Silent Night. Luckily, they convinced the alarm company to not send the police and we all finally got to bed. Actually, Shane and I went back to bed and didn't hear anything about the police drama until the next day.

It was a very nice Christmas after that. Shane got to spend Christmas with his family for the first time in years, and his grandmother, who just moved to Florida from Maine after a long illness. His Nana is starting to feel better and that was the best present we got.

We came back from Florida yesterday and, since I have off from work all this week (I love use or lose), after going to the gym this morning, I drove back up to my mom's. I am driving her back to DC tomorrow to celebrate our final Christmas with my friend Elaine (with whom my Mom exchanges gifts). The photo above is my mom in her brand new Snuggie as she examines the book light that came with it.