You can pick your nose...

Snow on the tree branches, Christmas lights, jingle bells, hot cocoa, and your sister's kids. Tis' the season? Blood is thicker than water, but not snot. My mother currently has 8 grandkids and 1 more on the way. One child is in grade-school. The rest are under 4. So we have a lot of snot. It makes for interesting family gatherings. We went from quiet, adult friendly gathering to pure chaos. Especially since my sister, sister in law, and myself all had our children within a few months of each other. We used to play family games, now we all have children in our arms so it's almost impossible to hold your cards. We used to retire after the meal and sneak in a nap. Now,we enjoy a different activity every 8-12 minutes. My husband thinks we are finally close to normal, since he was born number 5 in a family with 9 children. I think we are verging on, well, whatever the opposite of normal is. My poor mother. She lives by herself, so when we all invade her house the population increases by 16. Her living room converts into the play area for 1 grade-schooler, 2 pre-schoolers, 3 toddlers and 2 infants, oh, and her dog. Amazingly enough, last year we could all still fit at the same 20+year old table with a few little ones in our laps. This year we've increased yet again, so we'll see just exactly where everyone ends up sitting. About 10 dirty diapers, 16 dirty fingers, and 10 headaches later we all pack up into our separate family vehicles and leave mom to her quiet peace until the next family gathering. Now, I am not complaining. I know that my family is very lucky to be able to get together at all. Our family has changed drastically in the past two or three years and each time we get together I learn more about why family is so important. We may currently have more snot than other families, but that's nothing a few tissues can't take care of...sometimes we even have to use a wet wipe.