The Hard Wok, Tomatoes and what vomit looks like on a wall at 1:30 am

This is one of those heartwarming stories that you will sit back and say, I’ve been there and I’m glad it was you and not me.
Teri was Christmas shopping on Monday and got home late. I on the other hand got home early so there was no time to fix dinner or that is what I told myself when Teri said lets go out to dinner. I said yes almost as quickly as she said lets go.
We chose the Hard Wok because it is cheaper, relatively and it was close by and quick and it was late.
We got there about 8pm or so, Teri took Nastia and I took Elena to get them some food. I put French fries and chicken on her plate and Elena moved too quickly and some of the food slid off and went on the ground, a preview of later events. Elena went back to the food area about six or so times and we never thought anything of it. Some nights she would eat some nights she would not. We were happy she did tonight. Nastia went up almost as much. Near the end of the meal they discover plum tomatoes in the salad bar and proceed to eat over a dozen and a half each, Elena more. They finish the meal with ice cream and I am wondering if they are going to need to go on diets the way they eat. They are both talking about how big their bellies are after eating all that food and the only thing on my mind is getting home to get into bed.
   I get into bed about eleven and Teri is on the computer doing Christmas cards. I fall asleep and wake back up when she is getting into bed just before midnight. I kiss her good night and fall back to sleep.
I wake back up to a bright light shining in my face. Being it is Christmas time I am expecting to see the second of three ghosts. It turns out to be Elena and she is in the bathroom. It is rare for her to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and it is rare for her to close the door. I wait for her to finish so I can use the bathroom. I begin to get tired of waiting and get back into bed when she comes out and I say hi to her and get no response, which is not unusual. Then I notice the bits of vomit on her pajamas, it’s not a lot and it is red just like her pajamas. I ask her if she is alright and get no answer. I ask a second time and that is when she points to the wall near the light switch and the pretty pattern of vomit dripping down the wall. There are little white and red chunks and it is all very Christmas in color. I don’t remember how I find out about the pile in the bedroom, but I set to work cleaning it up Teri wakes up and I know her feeling about vomit and don’t invite her to join me. She does get up and helps Elena change out of her pajamas into something a little cleaner. I clean up the bathroom and Teri and Elena go in there because Elena is feeling a little sick. I go clean up the pile in the bedroom. I go in and turn on the light, Nastia turns over and goes back to sleep, orphanage behavior, if it doesn’t involve you turn over and go back to sleep. When I am down in the bedroom and am heading for the bathroom I hear Elena vomit against the wall between the sink and the toilet, missing the toilet and the garbage can and the sink. A final small round erupts and she finally hits the sink.
It takes a little more time to clean up this new mess and Teri gets involved cleaning up stray bits of this and that that was missed. We get back in bed about an hour later mostly none the worse for the wear. The house smelled a little but we were back in bed.
The cat didn’t want to be out done so he decides to break a few cheap old ornaments off the Christmas tree and scare the crap out of us. Hey it’s just another day in paradise.
The next day we sent Elena to school. She is quiet and sore, but has not temperature. Says she feels good. Within two hours the school is calling and Teri is picking her up from school. She spent the day with Teri. And just like Nastia’s arm the other day it was nothing.
I might have forgotten to tell you about that one. It was nothing. Nastia got pushed down by her sister and the school asked us to pick her up and said we should have the arm looked at. Teri was have dental surgery and I was in Danbury so I got to leave work early on a Friday and I met my mother and Lynn at the hospital and Teri came after her dental surgery. When we first got there Nastia refused to bend her arm. After the doctor looks at her and before the x-ray she is jumping all around and hanging from my neck. Surprise, the x-ray was negative. We have not gotten the bill for that one yet and hopefully Teri’s insurance will cover the bill.

Oh, Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, Oh fake and plastic Christmas tree

Having tried buying a live tree that we would plant next spring and neither of us satisfied with the way it looked. we have gone back to the tried and true fake tree that we have had for about a dozen years.
In the beginning it was supposed to be fake one year, real the next. I got lazy and we have done fake for some time.
   I pulled the tree down from the attic its green plastic storage bag covered with a year’s accumulation of dust and wear bumping down each step in time to the opening notes of the little drummer boy.
Many years ago I lost the directions to putting the tree together so each year it takes me a little time to remember which letters go where on the tree. I did have the good sense every year to tape the branches for the same level together, mostly because a lot of the letters have fallen off the tree.
When the girls saw I was putting up the tree they complained that it was too short until I showed them the final foot of the tree. Then I got an approving ‘ahhh’ from them. When the tree was together I got another ‘ahhh’ of approval and when the lights were put on the tree and they were different colors and were big I got a third ‘ahhh’ from them.
I have hallmark ornaments that I have been collecting since the early 1990’s and they have become important to me and each year I see them get a little older and work a little less or not at all so I try to appreciate them more as the years go by and each one has a special place on the tree and is put up with care and the wrappings are put back in the box to be rewrapped for next year. That almost is what happened this year. The girls were very interested in decorating the tree and Teri and I both wanted it to be a special time for both so they put ornaments up on the tree and we both tried to help them while making sure that the important ones did not get dropped or put in places one of the cats might find the perfect height to hit with his paw. The tree came out very nice and nothing got broken and the girls had fun doing it.
We watched ‘Christmas Vacation’ while we did the tree. The girls asked when Christmas is only a few times while we were doing the tree, and that was a record.
My mother remarked that the difference between here and Russia has to be extreme and do they really know what to expect for Christmas? She said when she asked Nastia what she wanted for Christmas her answer was her ears pierced and that was it. I hope we don’t spoil them.