A Very Traditional Birthday Celebration

Lessons learned this Christmas:

1. If your 35 lb. toddler decides that Wintergreen rubbing alcohol would wash down dinner well, there is no need to rush the ER. Really. A very nice lady named Allison at poison control told us exactly what to do. "Watch and see how drunk he gets," she said. If he gets REALLY drunk and vomits more than once, call back immediately. Be more concerned about the chemical in the wintergreen flavor that can give him an aspirin overdose." The best part? "Give him lots of sweets, because the alcohol will lower his blood sugar, and we don't want him in a diabetic coma." The most important part: "Call back in an hour." We aren't quite sure how much of the 16 oz. bottle he ingested, but our C. had a very...happy... Christmas Eve. However much he ingested wasn't enough to require an emergency room trip, though, thank God! That is the LAST place I wanted to spend Christmas Eve!

2. C. loves Santa. J. doesn't; wouldn't go near him.

3. When your husband comes home with a 12 lb. goose for Christmas (even though there are only 2 adults and 2 toddlers for dinner, and you bought 1/2 ham the day before), don't panic. "It'll be nostalgic," he insisted. After a couple of minutes of confusion, like, "Where ARE the giblits in this thing?!"
...it turned out quite delicious, but I prefer it in small doses! A European friend of mine said, "Americans don't have the palate for goose." Consider that your warning. It is very rich, all dark meat, and goes well with a deep red wine-even though it's poultry. Tim loved it, and wants goose every year.

3. Another lesson related to geese: They have a lot of fat. Our 1 goose emitted three mason jars of fat! However, we learned that goose fat is some sort of odd delicacy-though aren't all delicacies a little odd?-and sells for $1-3.00 an ounce. So, don't throw out the fat. You'll have enough to replace all the butter and oil in your house for the new year. Just what you wanted, I know!

4. The traditional Christmas meal is the way to go. Goose, pears in orange sauce, asparagus with cashews, raisin stuffing-baked in the bird-red pepper and paprika breadsticks in the shape of candy canes and cranberry sauce... It did feel nostaligic, Dickens-esque; everyone had something they liked, and we don't have a fridge full of casseroles that jiggle.

5. Presents are good. I know they shouldn't be the emphasis of the day, and we did very well this year reminding the boys that all of these gifts were for Jesus' birthday, and because Jesus is sooooo loving, when it's HIS birthday, he give US presents. That's just how He works, and aren't we glad for it! Some of the biggest hits in red wrapper packages were jet airplanes, new babies (to practice on for the real new baby), Curious George movies, Amnesty International 2008 wall calendars (for me, of course), the Indiana Jones trilogy (for Tim) and pretend shaving kits.

Lesson 6: Above all else, take time to remember that the birth of the Christ child is the reason for the surprise goose, the "hot candy canes", Santa and elf hats, the "very very pretty" tree, school programs, nearly 200 Christmas cards sent out domestically and internationally, gifts with bows, pop-up nativity storybooks, the extra time with Dad, the annoying Chipmunks Christmas CD, the long drive looking at Christmas lights, new perfume, argyle sweaters, and the chocolate birthday cake. Happy Birthday, Jesus!