2009 Holiday round-up

I have mixed feelings about taking a trip right before the holidays. Although we came back relaxed, we still went through the frenzy of the holidays. We got back on the 22nd, bought a tree on the 23rd, and trimmed the tree on the 24th. You can see the tree and other photos here. Actually, this is the first time in three years that the tree has been trimmed before Christmas Day. So, I guess taking a vacation mid-December wasn’t such a bad idea after all?

Because we got back right before Christmas and because of Igor’s swollen lymph node, Christmas Eve was spent at home. Dinner was a simple but delicious meal of lamb plov, accompanied with a very nice Shiraz brought by Liz (the boys’ godmother). For dessert, we had clementines and sort of a nougat cake with almonds – both from Spain (the latter we bought in Puerto Rico – it seemed to be present everywhere for the holidays), so I guess I should’ve made paella instead!

After dinner, Nikita played chess with Liz then helped me trim the tree. He was actually annoyed with us buying a big tree because he wanted a small one to decorate all by himself (when he saw us from the window, he said to his babushka, “What idiots!”). So, I gave him things with which to decorate the lower half of the tree while I decorated the upper half of the tree with the more fragile ornaments. New additions included the butterflies from Puerto Rico (they were on all the trees there), ministockings I knitted, and ornaments the boys drew on Shrinky Dink-type film: Ivan drew a series of red circles (sort of), and Nikita drew an angel with an alien angel (which actually look more like Luke Skywalker and Yoda, but both dressed in yellow).

Presents were opened Christmas morning. In the stockings, Nikita found that Santa left him “Glee soundtrack Vol. 2”, and Ivan play money (Ivan is constantly asking me for money; I fear he’s going to want to be a banker). Under the tree, Nikita was thrilled to receive the Lego Power Miner Thunder Driller, while Ivan was ecstatic seeing a toy electric guitar. So, Santa did really well, perhaps because of the vodka (Igor's suggestion) and Spanish coconut bars we left him as a snack.

Presents from Liz included inflatable sleds, stuffed soccer balls, and hand puppets (reindeer and a small dog – Ivan immediately took to the latter). There were also presents from Uncle Mike and Aunt Erin (Bugs Bunny DVD and more musical toys – the triangle was a hit, but the best was the bongo drums that arrived later) Somehow, we were able to sit down for breakfast (yeasted Belgian waffles – a new tradition from now on since they’re so tasty and quick to make because the batter was put together the day before) and Nikita was able to assemble to build his Thunder Driller before his piano lesson.

My parents came by a few days after Christmas, which was really nice and of course, meant more presents for the boys. The boys really enjoyed their presents from Uncle Vincent: a K’nex roller coaster (Nikita) and NYPD cars (Ivan). They seemed to prefer each other’s presents from Lolo and Lola: Nikita put together Ivan’s puzzle, while Ivan added coins to Nikita’s bank!

Between Galina’s birthday and New Year’s, the end of December always finds me in the kitchen, and this year was no exception. Igor bought a whole leg of lamb the weekend before, which I split into Uzbek plov for Galina’s birthday dinner and a Moldavian moussaka for New Year’s Day dinner. Both were delicious, though the moussaka definitely took longer to prepare. For New Year’s Eve, we had Galina’s salads supplemented with stuff from the Russian store and the leftovers that had accumulated in our fridge. And lemon bars, of course.

As you can guess, we spent New Year’s Eve at home, listening to bad Russian music on Russian TV, but at least the music was festive and there were hardly any commercials. Because of the music, the boys were loath to go to bed. Ivan especially didn’t want to sleep (and he was so cute dancing!), even though he practically was closing his eyes while sitting on Igor’s shoulders. They finally both hit the sack at 11.15(!), but Nikita actually woke up in time to ring in the New Year with the adults. He had cider, of course.

2010 didn’t start very auspiciously. Although there was lovely fresh snow on the ground, I also found that someone had written “F--- U” on our car window. Really classy, our neighbors. And we had to have our pipes cleaned because sewage was coming up in our (unused) basement shower. But, by the end of the day, we were filled with good food (including more yeasted waffles), and the pipes were finally clear (of tree roots!). The boys also got to make snowmen and go sledding outside, and I made the panels of a gingerbread house; the boys decorated them the next day. As you can see, our Puerto Rico trip made me mix up our holiday activities, but at least we fitted them all in before Epiphany!