Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas

                       

It was a very festive evening last night, as my Jelly performed in her first school Christmas program.  It's the first of two that I'll be attending this week, as Peanut will be performing on Thursday evening in the band and choir.

Last night, it was just kindergarten through 2nd grade that performed.  The kids all sat in front of a very large crowd and sang some great Christmas songs.  I was really surprised that the kiddos were able to remember the words to the Christmas songs, being that they'd been out of school for ten days...and they didn't sing easy Christmas songs.  They performed The Grinch, Holly, Jolly Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming Town, and a couple of others that for the life of me I can't remember.  

Being that they were having some technical difficulties with the music, the kids had to sing the songs with barely hearing their accompanying CD.  I was really amazed at how well the kids sang, and how good they sounded.  I was also shocked that Jelly was sitting in the back row of her class, and we were sitting in the back row of the bleachers, yet we were still able to hear her sing.

The kids all looked so cute in their Christmassy outfits.  The kids were instructed to dress nice for the occasion.  Many kids were really dressed up, in Christmassy gowns and shirt and ties.  Jelly, not being a big dress wearer, opted to wear a Christmas shirt, jeans, and her cowgirl boots.  She even wanted her hair fixed in braids to go with the whole "country feel".  

Once the program was over, I took the kids out to eat dinner.  We went and tried the first Chinese/Thai restaurant to open in the small town close to our school.  It opened on Monday.  When we got there, we were a little confused by the menu.  I'm not very familiar with Thai food, so we had to decipher what each meal was and ask a few questions.  But we finally figured out what sounded good, and ordered.

The only beef (no pun intended) I had with the place was not having a kid's menu.  I had to order Jelly a regular entree, and it was WAY too much food for her.  And even though I understand that it's a Thai restaurant, there are many kids that aren't really "in" to Chinese/Thai food.  Jelly would much rather have had some chicken or macaroni and cheese.  I will say, though, that she did a good job on her Sesame Chicken.  Peanut and Butter ordered General Chicken, and I had pork Thai curry which was the special for the night.

Here's what the food looked like when it arrived...cause, you know, I have to be one of those people that take pictures of their food...

Peanut's General Chicken

                              

Jelly's Sesame Chicken (she wanted crispy noodles instead of rice)

                              

My Thai Curry

                              

It all tasted really good, I just wish I had ordered the General Chicken.  My food tasted good, but there was WAY too many vegetables for my liking.  We also ordered some Crab Rangoons to go with it, and the kids REALLY liked those.  Our entrees came with egg drop soup, and I realized after we were all said and done that I didn't get the egg roll that was supposed to come with my dinner.  But, all in all, it was pretty good, not too expensive, and something different.

Will I make it a regular place to go?  Probably not.  The kids made it perfectly clear that they'd much rather go to a Chinese buffet, being that they can sample smaller selections of different types of food than have such a large plate of one thing.

On the way home, we managed to drive by the Christmas tree in town that "dances" along with music that's played through a specific radio station.  I managed to catch a little bit of it on video... I really enjoyed it.  The kids were tired and cranky, and were not feeling the Christmas spirit because they just whined about going home.  

                                   

When we did finally get home, I was met by Hubby with his "something's wrong and I'm in a really bad mood" face.  I got to find out that the water pipe he's fixed twice broke AGAIN.  UGH!!!  That makes the third time in a matter of a couple of months.  

Of course something like this has to happen a week before Christmas, when we are a little short on funds because we have done all of our Christmas shopping.  I am voting to call a plumber and have them fix it once and for all, but Hubby is doing his "we can't afford it, and I just need to try and figure out how to fix it" thing again.  

I love that man, I really do, but when we have problems with the house or the cars or anything else, he goes all dramatic and moody on me.  It's like his whole world has come crashing down around him, and it will be severe torture, pain, and agony for him to take care of it.  I'd rather he didn't take care of it.  I'd rather he called someone to come and take care of it.  Yes, it's expensive, but at least it will be fixed.  Properly.  Hubby just isn't the "handy man" type.  And if he does manage to get under the house today to fix the problem (again), I know I'll hear about it for the next few days as he complains about how sore he is from the whole ordeal.

I just don't understand why the pipe keeps breaking.  It's been replaced twice.  It's even been adjusted so it's not in such an awkward position.  Yet, here we are again, with another leak under the house, another crack in the new piping, and no running water for us to use.

Of course I'm upset about it all, but I'm not going to let it put me in to a dark mood and act like it's the end of the world.  Sure, it's definitely not an ideal situation to be in, but after what my family has been through lately..there are far worse situations that could have occurred.  So I don't get to take a shower this morning... I think I'll survive.

I know that the next few days are going to be rough in my house.  There's going to be anger and moodiness thrown my way, but I'm just going to do everything I can to let it slide right off my back.  I'm not going to take it personal.  I'm going to try and come up with a solution to the problem, and if it means borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, then so be it.  We'll manage.  We always do.

OK, time to start getting ready for work.  Today is the first day that I can start doing fun Christmas activities with my class.  We've finished up all of our units and loose ends before Snowmaggedon, and I can now focus on having a Holly, Jolly time with my kiddos.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.... just one more week till Christmas!!!