Christmas Eve...Part Deux..."The Improvement"

The day got steadily better after our rough start this morning. For starters, Monkey (I know, creative name he's got there, right? Talk to the kid. I didn't come up with it) came clean. He's not technically supposed to be washable so I took a big risk by throwing him in the delicate cycle. I put him in a pillowcase and used Woolite and crossed my fingers but when he was covered in barf, it was a risk worth taking because you know, a damp cloth wasn't cutting it in the smell removal department. Hooray for risks. Monkey, you look smashing dahling.

Also, this is the PILE, yes the PILE of clothes that also came clean of barf. Yes, we had one hell of a morning. And, as anyone with my vomit-aversion knows, I came through it like a champ and only gagged once. It was a pretty fair gag because lemme tell ya folks, the smell was pretty darn atrocious. P.S. like my laundry room floor? Base housing rocks.

Collin even felt the need to celebrate the change of fortune. Look these are "hooray/hallelujah" arms. Or not. Really, they are "thanks to whopping doses of steroids and breathing treatments, I feel way better than I actually am, so I'm pumped with enough energy to run around." Thus, he threw a balloon around the room until he flicked it at my face in two-year-old anger and I took it away. No mercy for the sick.

Daddy celebrated the positive turn of events by losing his mind and becoming psychotic. I mean really, look at him. Our Christmas Eve tradition is homemade pizza, dough and all. I think he was so exhausted by the whole situation this year, that he went a little looney with the added burden. I'm not sure where a butcher knife fits into pizza. I think he just liked holding it, you know, just in case.

Collin was briefly miffed by the discovery that cookies for Santa don't follow a one-for-you-one-for-me rule. But, his attitude improved when Daddy let him push his own inhaler button thingie. Apparently, this is the bees knees. He's getting good at breathing the thing in and it's really helping. Wahoo! He may stop coughing this year! That sounds more impressive when there's a lot of days left in the year; I know.

And, I think he's getting this whole "Christmas is tomorrow" business because we laid our stockings outside our door for Santa to fill just before bed.

He held his up for me to take a picture, with typical Collin cuteness, that told me he's feeling better. Then, he held himself, which told me he's feeling much, much better. The best part? I didn't even notice this part until I was writing this. I just thought his expression was cute! I've got to get this Mommy innocence blanket off my eyes, apparently.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a (cough-free) good night!