Christmas

Merry belated Christmas everyone! We're back. Got back last night about 7:30pm. The road trip there AND back went so smoothly I am still in shock. It went by so quickly, despite being stuffed into that car like sardines.

Christmas at the Arffs was pleasant and relaxing, except for constantly shushing the girls and pretending to be shocked at their terrible table manners. I am simply amazed that these kids still burp like truck drivers and blurt out comments on the taste of the food as if we've never even attempted to teach them any ettiquette whatsoever. Oh well, I fear my children will never grasp the concept of using a knife and the back side of a fork to scoop up their food.

There were many lovely meals cooked by Andreas' mom, Lisbeth, and FAR TOO MANY goodies to be eaten at all hours of the day. I am partly to blame for this as I baked for 3 days straight to have enough Christmas treats for an army of sugar addicts. When they weren't getting eaten as fast as I assumed they would, I would try to make up for the slack myself. What a gorge-and-barf-o-rama that was! But I ran every morning before breakfast, up those hilly streets, determined not to return to Denmark 4 sizes bigger. In fact, Andreas found me the nastiest hill (conveniently located a block from the house) to sprint up and down until I was near death.

At one point, I think there were 18 of us around the dinner table. Both Andreas' sisters and brother were there with some or all of their families. I am a shy person by nature and when there are that many people that I'm not entirely familiar with in one space, I shell up even more than usual. They are probably all wondering why Andreas married such a social freak.

Now we have a week here at home to relax or go exploring in our rented Saab. We thought about Paris but it's a 12 hour drive. No thanks. Maybe Germany? Who knows. Maybe we won't go anywhere. But I'd be ok with that too. As long as I'm together with my kids and my love, I'll be satisfied.