Christmas Eve

We didn't get our anual family-in-front-of-the-tree picture this year.  As soon as we arrived at Christmas eve dinner, I asked my sister-in-law to take our picture.

 It was at this point that I said "wait, let me take my scarf off."

 and then Sebby decided he was done. So there's a wrap on another fabulous family photoshoot.

French cuff shirts work beautifully with Moojie's cast.

 Keeping Sebby from opening presents was not a delightful experience until we gave him a foam sword. That kept him happy until around 10pm.

 Zita chose and shopped for her whole outfit this year.

 I have a huge feeling of relief that homecoming dances and the prom don't exist in Portugal. Once a year Christmas dress shopping is plenty.

 Waiting for dessert...

 By 11pm, a few of the little cousins put on a music concert. Poor Fred was a little tired to be playing cello at that hour, but he did a great job.

 This was the least blurry shot of Zita.

By 11:30pm , Seb was still awake and had long since short-circuited. I slipped out to the car and cuddled him into my shoulder where he fell right to sleep. I slowly started to freeze without my coat, but didn't want to move Seb.  I reached around in the dark, finding only a Roman guard costume that I covered myself with until the rest of the family came out to the car.

I was so happy that we have no Santa believers anymore which meant no charade of sneaking downstairs to fill stockings and put presents under the tree. Everything was done. Even so, it was 2am before we got to bed. 

Christmas day pictures still to come.

Christmas Day At The Beach

The weather has been beautiful beyond expectations. 

For three years in a row, we have done this Guincho walk at Christmas which seals it as a traditon, I think. It's the best way to work off the abundance of yummy food we've been eating. 

Christmas Magic

We just finished decorating the tree, brining down the presents, and setting the table for our big Christmas lunch tomorrow. I didn't want to have to worry about getting ready for lunch amidst the happy buzz and glow of morning presents. 

Zita and Freddy just crammed in last minute practice sessions of clarinet and cello, respectively, for their Christmas concert for extended family tonight, and they are both ready.

The best news of the day was that my mom's box arrived, full of presents for Moojie. An Amazon box also made it just in time. The six of us drove into Lisbon to pick them up before dropping Pai and Freddy at the ferris wheel. 

It's sad without my mom here, but I'm more grateful than ever to have the six of us together. 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! 

(I moved our little Charlie Brown tree onto a table to give it more presence in the room. It's also more visible when one sits at the dining room table.) 

The Staples Are Out!

Moojie got his staples out today! They were irritating his skin a lot so this is a great early Christmas present. This might be his only Christmas present with three boxes- all containing presents for Mooojie- still missing. 

In house news, the scaffolding is supposed to come down today, but it's 3 o'clock and no sign of the scaffolding company. 

Freddy's School Christmas Play

 

Freddy was the king in a loose rendition of Snow White.

Plans were a little wobbly, and I wound up alone with Sebby. I thought it would mean missing most of the show and having to chase Sebby around outside, but he actually sat still enough through all of it. It might be because I took him to icecream just before hand. Can't go wrong with ice cream.

 There were professional musicians playing bass, classical guitar, ukelele, and trumpet. They alone made the show worth seeing.

 The kids somehow lined up backwards in an attempt to spell "Portugal," so they spelled out A-G-U-T-R-O-P. The ´L' was missing. What would a children's play be without these endearing mishaps?

 I can't get enough of this sweet Freddy.

 As we left and drove down the bend of Cascais bay, the ferris wheel was changing colors and looking spectacular.

Noise Is A Good Thing, Right?

I hear banging, and sawing, and shouting, and more banging all day long. Actually, during lunch, I only hear shouting and loud booming conversations, but for the rest of the day it sounds busy.

This is why it is a little frustrating that I don't have the finished pictures of the house to share.

I have these:
That looks like a fresh new roof, I know.

 Those are all new tiles and the main part of the rook looks done, but you will also notice the wood with the peeling paint. That all still has to be taken off and replaced with new wood, primed, and then painted.

 I took this picture a few days ago and that overhanging bit has since been finished.

 Freddy has made some pretty elaborate obstacle courses out of stones and pallets. Sebby has so much fun going through this "tunnel," and then down the ramp/boogy board. It must also be said that Sebby has never been happier. Big trucks in and out is all he could ever want.

 It's impossible to see beyond the scaffolding and green netting, but there is some intricate, brand new wood work up around the tipy top of the house now. It looks great, for sure. So at least they are doing a good job. It's not even that they are unreliable. They show up every day and work all day long. It's more that this is an old house, and fixing anything in an old house is never straight forward.

 I ran into my neighbor who stopped me to say "you must be going crazy by now! How can any light get in your house?" Crazy is not the exact right word, but I am a little disheartened that Christmas is, like, in two minutes and the house still looks like this.

 Dear beautifully handcrafted wooden gutters, please turn white so we can wrap up this project. Yours sincerely, the entire household.

I am 100% aware of the entitled whiney nature of these updates, but GRACIOUS I am impatient.

Back To School And Little Updates

Mooj had his first full day back at school yesterday and then went straight to Lisbon with his rugby team to watch their game. He only got home just after 11pm so it was a very long day.

On the healing front, his staples have been bothering him, but there is a possiblity they will come out today for his weekly check-up. We have no idea what is going on with his bonés or the inside of his arm.


Zita had her school Christmas play on Friday where she sang and played clarinet. I have no pictures since Pai went to that while I went to Freddy's Christmas choral concert that was happening simultaneously.

I rushed out the door with Seb, leaving the camera by the front door, so I only got vídeo on my phone. I absolutely love these shows. Freddy has another one for his school this afternoon, and I'l be ready with my camera this time. That will be the last formal activity of the season. Then its pajamas and card games in front of the tree until January.

Zita has inherited my mom's ability to create centerpieces out of nothing. She took clippings from what is left of our poor garden and made the dining room more festive.

 More of Zita's touches

 Freddy has three songs to learn over the break. It's still a trick keeping Seb from trying to pluck at the strings and "help" Freddy practice.

This is how Mooj rolls now. It looks odd, but his arm doesn't fit in any sleeves, and it is too cold to leave it unzipped.

I took this last picture for my mom and sister who joke that Pai is never seen without a book in his hand. Seb is taking cues from Pai and carried this dictionary around for the day.

Kicking Off The Holidays

Last night, Mooj had friends over for a poker night that lasted until 2am. It has given us all the card playing bug. What better time than Christmas holidays to gather by the Christmas tree and play cards? 

Re-Cap of The Last Few Days

Monday was a holiday so we had a long weekend filled with Christmas prep plans and we were all looking forward to a calm few days with the family.

Mooj had a rugby game on Saturday where in the last seconds of the game he broke his arm. 

The above picture is seconds before the accident. 

 

 

By Sunday, the above arm became this (see below) after a 2.5 hour surgery that was supposed to be "about an hour." Is there anything that makes a parent more nervous than a surgery that runs over?

The recovery period was brutal for Moojie who it turns out is allergic to certain opioids. Yes, truly allergic. We've done a lot of reading on adverse reactions vs. allergic reactions since then. Follow-up on that is on the to-do list.

By Sunday night we were settled into a room and I swapped out with Pai who did both night shifts. 

Early Monday evening, we all came home and settled Moojie into his new normal. It looked something like this as of Tuesday.

Tuesday morning we went back to the hospital to check his dressing and incisions. Sebby was a treat in the waiting room and really loves the wrench that has been thrown into his routine :-) I'm kicking myself for never having established any sort of a relationship with a babysitter before. 

 This might look like a pretty sweet set-up, but Moojie is missing out on so much. School, for one. Rugby is over and done with, along with any chance at a spot on the national team. He was right in the middle of try-outs. We had to cancel his driver's test right along with his Christmas trip to California.

Mooj is not your typical couch potato video game playing teenager. He was constantly excercising and doing either tennis, rugby, or gym time. Just a few days of sitting around and he's a little stir crazy. 

Friends showed up on the day he came home, and a group came by during their lunch hour yesterday. So it's not too bleak. I'm sure he'll be able to do more in a few days, but for now it's a little rough around here.

I have a lot more pictures, but I haven't run them by Moojie, and nothing (about him) gets posted here without his approval so those will have to wait. 

Weekend Rugby

Moojie went up to Lousã on Sunday for an away game. He scored two tries and of course I was not there to see it:( The coach did get a few pictures of him, which is always appreciated.

This weekend is a home game and my plan is to get more vídeo footage. Let's hope Seb cooperates.