Christmas 2025

Here’s a recap of our Christmas 2025 – including the family gift exchange and an unexpected two day stay in the hospital!!

Ups and Hard Downs!

We had a Christmas break full of ups and downs – particularly Mazen who hit his down hard enough to break 3 ribs! More on that below.

Christmas Eve

Rewinding back to Christmas Eve, the boys were with their dads, and I was invited to my friends’ house for a lovely three-course dinner.

We had the most delicious fancy food! Clam chowder, scallops over white bean hash, and lobster and steak!! I couldn’t thank them enough for including me in their celebration.

Christmas Morning

On Christmas morning I went over to the house to open Santa gifts with Birch.

His favorite gifts were a little electronic safe and a Harry Potter diary with invisible ink that locks.

After lunch, we packed up the car and headed to Hillsborough where my family was waiting, including the cousins!

They put on a beautiful Christmas dinner with flashlights and chocolates as favors.

Afterwards, we did our annual Elfster secret santa exchange (for the adults).

My favorite gift was this Scorpio necklace!

I also got some of this great old fashioned mix, these cubes, and this wooden 3D puzzle. And a meat thermometer!

Dad loved his football bragging shirt!

A Christmas miracle: getting these three to sleep!

Boxing Day

We spent Boxing Day hanging out and taking the kids to the playground before they left for home.

Yogurt bowl for breakfast:

Trying on my old dance costumes!

Scootering hard

Playing at the elementary school

Quiche and leftovers for lunch

Lunch dessert!

For dinner, we went to Vinny’s Pizza with the boys. They were tuckered out!

Grammie Toast

The next morning Birch couldn’t wait to have Grammie toast. We’ve had this smile maker for 30+ years. (Soccer jams are new from Old Navy!)

First Watch Mini Reunion

For brunch we met some of Mazen’s side of the family who live in the area – his great-grandmother, Bonnie, and his great Uncle and his wife and daughter. We had a great meal together.

This lavender tea with vanilla cold foam was the highlight of my lunch!

The Mall

Then we went to THE MALL! I felt like I was in a 90s movie it was so classic.

The Bike Accident

When we got home, things took a turn for the worse. Mazen took his bike out and was going down a hill at the cemetery when he lost control on a jump (I know, I know) and landed on his side on a gravestone. He was a block away and called me to say he was hurt and to come right away. When we saw he was standing we were relieved, but he was having trouble breathing and VERY shaken. In a lot of pain. So we rushed him to the UNC ER in Hillsborough.

It was here where we found out he had 3 fractured ribs.

He was given pain medicine, and then when we talked to the doctors, they wanted to send him to UNC Main’s Pediatric Trauma unit to be sure he didn’t have any internal injuries, which can be common with rib injuries near the organs, especially the liver.

We made the switch in an ambulance, and I rode up front while he was in the back having vitals checked.

We were told the trauma unit is a bit overwhelming with lots of doctors surrounding him, and it was. At this point, I was still thinking any internal damage was unlikely (because the doctors told me so) but had I known he actually DID have organ damage I probably would have been freaking out a bit more! He got a CT scan and then we settled into a bay in the peds ER for the night.

Here his is looking happy on some good pain meds.

We were told the scan results and an overnight room might take a few hours, but five hours later, we still didn’t have any updates. Mazen eventually fell asleep. In the morning, we found out that he had a stage 3 liver laceration, a punctured lung, and injured spleen!!

Luckily, when we finally did meet with the doctors, they assured us that M was doing well, and that all of his injuries would heal on their own. We were VERY lucky not to need surgery of any kind, and he was also praised for wearing his helmet because who knows how bad it could have been.

Mid-day we did get a room, which was a thousand times more comfortable, and he spent a second night for observation.

Grammie, Pea and Birch came for a visit on Day 2 as well. M was not feeling great, but by the morning, he was much improved.

The next morning M met with PT/OT and was cleared to go home.

After a shower, a meal, and a fresh set of clothes, he was almost good as new! Now a couple days later you’d really only know he was healing because he moves a little slower than usual. (He’s not allowed to do anything rough-housing or sports for six weeks.)

I spent some time with Birch after we got home, and it was strange and relieving knowing that I would not need to rush to the hospital in the morning.

Mom and Dad got the boys their favorite dinner the final night: Domino’s!

We drove home on Tuesday, Dec 30, a few days later than planned, and immediately hung the Christmas art. One of Grammie’s paintings for Mazen, and a cool Darth Vader for B!

That concludes 2025 for us, which was not my favorite year. On to 2026!!!

New Years

On New Years Eve I went to a wild party – but I was not wild!

I wanted to wake up on 1/1/26 refreshed, and I did exactly that! I went for a hike with a few of my friends and had a great few days after too.

Happy New Year!