Holland family update

In case anyone's wondering -- and I'm sure you are -- here's a little Holland family update for you. Not sure where to start or what direction to pursue, so there's a 100 percent chance of some ridiculous rambling on the horizon.

* The new due date is 2/29, which is of course Leap Day. Kristie's not a big fan of this idea... but she is a fan of having just the one baby.

* We're still in a lovely pattern of being sick more than well, collectively. On Tuesday of this week Jack was diagnosed with pinkeye, an ear infection and "some goo on his tonsils." Ever try to give eye drops to a three-year-old four times a day? I think I'd rather give the cats suppositories. Anyhow, the drugs helped him shake it off pretty well, but not before some of it passed to Kristie. Her concert was Thursday, a day on which she was as sick as she's been for quite a while. Smiles all around on that one, as it lingers a bit today.

* The Christmas schedule is as follows: We're in Fulton this weekend. The Libertyville crew comes to Ottawa Tuesday. We go to Libertyville next weekend. Sometime after that weekend, Kristie and Jack likely will return to Fulton for a few days.

We got here Friday afternoon/evening after braving some spectacular fog. Saturday morning I took Jack up to the nursing home in Elizabeth to see Great Grandma Holland. I think he was a bit confused because he'd never been in Grandma's new room. This is the third Christmas he's done at the nursing home, but it was by far his worst one. I opened most of the presents and he insisted on running out into the hall. He did say thank you each time he left the room, though. We ended up staying less than an hour, which was pretty disappointing since I haven't seen Grandma since September, and it wasn't under the best of circumstances.

As is the usual Christmas routine, we went from the nursing home to Kristie's maternal grandmother's house in Savanna, where a good chunk of the family had graciously assembled to see us even though they'll all be together again tomorrow. Big lunch up there, then Jack and I took power naps before we all headed back to Fulton. By the time we got done with dinner and a bath, we were opening presents around 9 p.m., which is the early part of bed time.

Jack understands presents, he can read his name and is good at handing things to other people. However, he also is trapped in a permanent desire to play intensely with whatever he just opened. BY 10 or 10:30 his temper was shot, he'd opened about five gifts and the rest are still under the tree.

This morning Kristie and I got up and headed to Second Reformed in Fulton to see the annual cantata, the first one we haven't played in since the pre-Jack days. Jack stayed home because we figured he's too big/demanding for the nursery. My favorite part was spending 15 minutes in the driveway getting enough ice scraped off the car so I could see to drive the 13 blocks to church.

After church it was over to Kristie's paternal grandparents for a nice lunch and more presents Jack refused to open on any schedule other than his own. He knows what his presents are when he opens them (this year we're heavy on the cars and cleaning supplies -- he's got a mop and a working vacuum) and excitedly announces what they are. Then he goes back to pretending a lamp is a video camera that needs to be set up on a tripod, because that's what Grandpa is doing.

As I type, he's passed out upstairs. We're trying to figure out whether to eat here or on the road and guess how long it will take us to make a trip that's supposed to last 1:45. I get to go to work tomorrow but should be done early (which is good because I have to help cook food for Tuesday). Then Wednesday through Friday are full days, and we repeat the schedule next week.

There's a ridiculous amount of people on vacation next week, but we've got good plans for year-end coverage and a lot of good people still around, and since these are the main nonfamily people I see in Ottawa, I'm actually looking forward to spending time with them when the pace is a little more relaxed.

Now Kristie is informing me she thinks she has pinkeye. This wouldn't be a horrible problem, given all the eye medicine we have leftover from Jack... except the Internet tells us she can't use that medicine due to the fetus. So if she is so afflicted, it'll require a separate trip to the pharmacy... so long as we can find a doctor on Christmas Eve willing to write her a prescription.

So... that's our life. What's new with you?