The meatballs are in the sauce. Joe-maha left over an hour ago and has most likely already crossed the moat into the Castle 1526. My head-ache has mercifully subsided (after drinking about a gallon of water and several cups of coffee). The boys are gaming, gaming, gaming. Christmas rocks (at least the part about getting gifts -- not so much the shopping part, Ellie). I'm not sure what to think of Cookie's victory dances and trash-talking -- but when I had him out in the driveway yesterday to kick the soccer ball back and forth, I noticed how big he's gotten. Maybe big isn't the right word... Athletic? Accomplished? He kicked the ball very well once I convinced him to kick for aim not power. And he added some fancy flourishes that I didn't expect from him. He's growing up. And he definitely likes to win.

And Mojo's a maniac. We showed him Joe-maha's ID so he'd see that they both had the same name. He laughed. I don't suspect my brother is accustomed to having kids jump all over him, but that's what they did -- even before they saw he had brought them such a cool piece of equipment. We had Cookie suit up as Sonic this morning, at least without the eyes and hands, so Airport Guy could see for himself how good a job Ellie did. That was after the bagels (sorry, Vin, Alane forgot the Swiss-cheese).

So now I'll settle down, play some Melee with Cookie, hopefully get a nap. Maybe I should place a mercy phone call to Brooklyn to check on progress. In any event, the blog awaits a full after-action report.