Monday, December 26, 2011

A New "Family" Member...

So, it seems there is a new "G" family member; Princess' Uncle EJB and his girlfriend SW had a baby boy the day before Santamas; first name is Liam, middle is James (same as the uncle's middle name), and last is (of course) the same as the uncle's last. Liam was due in early February, but due to some complications, came a little over a month early. He was just over 5lbs, and will be in the NICU a while, but will most likely be fine.

The astonishing part (although, after all these years of secrecy for no reason from that side of Princess' family, you'd think we'd be used to it by now) is that during any number of phone calls over the last 6 or 7 months (ok, we all know he rarely calls, but there have been - on average - one per month since he lost his p/t), her bio never shared with her that she was going to have a new cousin. Did he decide it didn't matter, since she never sees that side anyway? Or, did he think she wouldn't care? Or... what?

I don't know. I also don't know why he (*she* -- 'cuz you know it's bio's wife) thinks it's perfectly appropriate to send Princess a holiday card full of photos of his other family, but nothing else; for the second year in a row, all she got was a Christmas--oriented photo card... no note, no gifts, nothing. I suppose in the long run, these things only add to the ever-lengthening list of reasons why he's most likely never to get any parenting time with her. Because, as a general rule, REAL parents would share familial information with their children, not make them erased.

Santamas Recap

This year, we had three celebrations...

Round One: Sunday, December 18th, I brought the girls to Mimi's church to pick her up, then we drove to the club my mom belongs to. They were hosting/throwing an Xmas Brunch, and we had reservations for 1215p. After about an hour, we had all more than had our fill (definitely got our $30/person worth of food!), and headed up to Mimi's to unwrap some gifts. Highlights of that round -- Princess got books (one of which is all about Australia; their next adventure spot!) & some college money, Squeeks got a hand-made gloves/scarf/hat set & pillowcase and some new ornaments, and I got tickets for Storm Large's show in April (to see with Ace, of course).

Round Two: Saturday, December 24th, we invited Ace's sister & BIL up from Salem and GamerBoy down from the mountain. Everyone arrived between 1230p & 1p. We had a lovely ham dinner, fully prepared by Ace, and finished with lots of goodies for dessert (some made by me, some made by Ace, some bought). A small gift exchange, photos session, & lots of talking ensued soon after. We were happy to find that GamerBoy's next term is already scheduled, and he's really pushing himself to find a job (turning in roughly 15 applications per week); he's had interviews, but nothing's panned out yet. Everyone left around 530p, so the rest of the evening consisted of leftovers for dinner & playing games.

Round Three: Sunday, December 25th, both girls & Ace all slept 'til after 930a, so I spent a quiet morning with my mocha, my laptop, & my dogs... and wishing some friends & friends a Merry Santamas via text messages. Once everyone was up (& Ace was coffee'd), we got to opening the rest of the gifts. Every single gift this year was bought with CASH (or debit; no credit cards); so proud of that. Anyway, highlight gifts included: Ace got a new weather station system, I got a promise for an acrylic craft paint shaker (trust me, this is an awesome thing in my work world -- my arm's starting to hurt from all the bottle shaking I have to do) & Ace had my CND certificate professionally framed, Squeeks & Princess both got books, clothes, and lots of gift cards.

Ace & I spent the afternoon watching Stephen King's miniseries (recorded earlier in the day) "BAG OF BONES", based on his novel of the same name, but with a *lot* of updates. The girls, meanwhile, played on the computer, downloaded some music using their Amazon gift cards, and hung out together.

Today is another quiet day... I took the girls to Target this morning (not super-early though; those "early birds" are certifiably crazy -- NO deal is worth the lack of sleep). With their 50% off, plus using my Target card (an extra 5% off, plus $$ for Princess' school), I spent just under $60 on boxes, tissue, tins, cards, etc... prepping for next year! Princess got herself a new tank top & some new headphones, and Squeeks chose to wait to spend her gift cards for now.

Princess & Ace will get some one-on-one time this afternoon/evening while I drop Squeeks off at her friends' house, head up to work for a few hours, then pick her back up so we all can enjoy one more family dinner before she returns to her mother's tomorrow.