Christmas Highlights

1. Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's house. She caught Benny in the pantry eating dog treats. What's worse is that he didn't think they were gross and didn't want to spit them out. Such a strange kid. He got peanut butter in his stocking this year since he goes through about a jar a week. ;)


2. I just love this picture of Benny and my niece.


3. Gracie had a long talk with my aunt about Santa, Rudolph and Ernie the elf. It was fun to see her little brain working and explaining it all.


4. Cousins! One of my fav parts of the holidays is watching the cousins play together and make memories like I have of playing on Christmas Eve.


5. Driving home, looking for a sign of the sleigh. Gracie and Benny fell asleep pretty quickly, but Tate was soo excited. He kept his eyes on the sky and saw an airplane with just a blinking red light that he was sure was Rudolph. He was clapping his hands and saying "I think it's him!!" Then he was so worried we wouldn't get home in time to get in bed before Santa got to our house. I have such vivid memories of driving home from my Great Gma's on Christmas Eve's looking for the same thing, so it was fun to watch. When we got home he was the only one awake to put out cookies, milk and carrots. He carefully selected them all and
it was very sweet.

6. Santa Came!




Waking them up, Tate jumped out of bed and said he heard a 'ho ho ho' when he was sleeping. That excited everyone!
Gracie said the doll house wasn't the one she wanted, but after I showed her the lights turn on she changed her tune.

My favorite was when she opened the Cinderella doll I got her. She said "Wow! Thanks!" and kissed me on the cheek. Melt my heart.

7. Christmas day was filled with more family time and more gifts




All I really wanted for Christmas was for everyone to be healthy and happy, we got so much more and I feel very blessed!

Merry Christmas!

NoSpace

Kind.of.a.toddler.appocolypse.around.here.Benny.broke.the.space.bar.by.pouring.coke.on.it.

I.got.food.poisoning.or.the.flu.Thursday.night.and.they.all.have.had.a.cold/flu.since.then.
We.are.up.to.our.eyeballs.in.kleenex.and.dirty.laundry.

Yestersday.Tate.decided.he.can't.walk.We.honestly.can't.tell.if.the.kid.is.faking.or.not.Not.other.symptoms.just.won't.put.weight.on.his.leg.Called.the.nurse.and.we.are.giving.him.ib.profen.but.this.morning.he's.doing.the.same.ugh.

Benny.dunked.our.house.phone.in.the.bath.tub.

As.you.can.see.this.has.put.a.damper.on.our.weekend.and.my.ability.to.blog.
Merry.Christmas.

Gingerbread "House"

and I use the term house loosely. More like gingerbread "ghetto" or perhaps once was a lovely home before the riots.

This was our first attempt as a family, and perhaps should be our last for a few years.


Fun was had though, and that's the point, right?

Let's Not Lick People and Other Lectures I Hadn't Prepared

So I pick the kids up from day care yesterday and she stops me to say "Oh I've meaning to talk to you about a behavior we are having." I immediately glare at Benny, must be hitting the girls again, or no, maybe Gracie, Miss Bossy Pants is probably at it again.

Me: "Oh ok, what is it?"
Her: "Well Tate and Gracie have been licking the furniture and I've asked them repeatedly to stop..."
Me: "Wait, what?"
Her: "Yeah, they've been licking the tables, doors and walls. I've reminded them not to till I'm blue in the face..."
Me (I interrupt a lot): "They've done this more than once?!" *putting on my best teacher face* "You guys! That is SO GROSS! WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?!"
Her: "Well I might as well tell you, today, I turned around and they were actually licking Aisha."
Me: "Her face?! The one whose been out sick with the cough and fever?!"
Her: "Yeah...so I just wanted to warn you they will probably get those germs."
Me: "Yeah, I would assume."
*HEAVY SIGH*

I assured her I would squelch the licking. On the way home I lectured, shamed, and bribed them into promising never to lick anything other than food again. Naturally, they had air tight logic. He did it because she did it. She did it because he was doing it. I wanted to tell them not to be a horrible twin cliche, but I'll save that for high school. instead I informed them they would probably get a cough and runny nose and a fever from licking the other girl. That seemed to spook them enough. Luckily, this season we also have the gift of threatening to call Santa.

At least Benny could loudly proclaim from the back seat, "I not lick the table, mama!"
Me: "Good job, Buddy"
Him: "Yeah! My a HERO!"

Still keeping those high standards around here.

Homemade Wrapping Paper

Ingredients:
3 restless on children on a freezing afternoon.
Several Large sheets of paper left over from one parent's art classes in college
3 trays of water colors and cups of water (also possible, in theory, to share)
3 or more large towels to protect carpet

This was easy to do, fun for the kids, and gives us something to do with the "priceless" artwork they create! I'm not ungrateful, I just only have so many refrigerator magnets.




Paint then let dry! Several lucky family members will receive gifts wrapped in one of a kind paper! Voila!

Meet Ernie

So far I like him. He was well received and they think his hiding spots are magical and hilarious every morning. We also have used him for behavior management, perhaps too much. Gracie cried all the way to the sitters because she didn't want Ernie to tell Santa that she wasn't listening to me. We're to new this, so we are backing off the whole "naughty list" threat unless absolutely necessary. We are trying to focus on the magic for now, because really, isn't that the best part of Christmas? That feeling of anticipation and magic on Christmas morning? Ernie gives us a little bit of that every day and I think that's fantastic!

He's got these rules though.

No touching him and he can't talk back to you. The problem is when he falls off the chandelier on which he was perched and the kids scream in horror. "DON"T TOUCH HIM MAMA! PICK HIM UP! HE FELL! BUT HE WILL LOSE HIS MAGIC!!!"

I had no choice but to stretch the rules a little and explain how grown-ups can touch him sometimes and pretend that he whispered (in a tiny elf whisper that only grown-ups can hear, naturally) that I could carry him and put him on the tree to rest.

Pretty sure they bought it.

The real magic was in finding him holding a banana in the kitchen this morning, and coming home to find it half eaten.