Christmas :)

It can get pretty tough to think of post titles year after year, so I asked Ginger what I should call this post. She replied, "Christmas." Way to be creative, Ginger. Then Bud walked into the room and I asked him what I should call the post. He said, "Christmas." Whatever.

We slept in on Christmas morning as we always do, and then my mom came over at about 9 am to join us for our traditional Christmas morning breakfast of bran muffins and cheesy scrambled eggs. Delectable, as usual. 

The three youngest really got into dressing up for Christmas morning this year, so I had them pose for a quick photo before we lined up to see what Santa brought. So cute. 

Then it was time to line up by age to see what Santa dropped off on his way around the world. 

I love that Edith always seems so uncertain as she goes out to find her stocking. It's almost like she can't believe it's really happening, like she expects someone to tell her it's all a joke at any minute. One of these days I hope she'll learn to let go and just really let herself enjoy the moment. 

Plus, she looks dead on her feet. I don't think she slept much the previous night.

I didn't get a picture of Big opening his present from Santa, but he got the exact truck with a trailer and hay bales that he was hoping for. It doesn't get much better than that. 

That grandma! She's such a crack up.

Not that you can tell from how restrained she's being here, but Edith was actually super excited to receive these socks. She gave them a hug and a kiss. Off camera, of course.

It looks like Rophone may be more excited than just about anyone! 

Bud asked for some animals he could use in his stop motion videos-- so glad Santa came through. 

I kinda want to steal this beanie Santa gave to Ginger. Okay, not just kinda. It's super cute and I want it!

I didn't take any more pictures of the present opening, but I do have a photo of the kind of stuff that happens when there's a lull in the present opening...

I love my family! Ha!

We are so glad my mom could join us for our nice, quiet Christmas. It was just the way we like it. Plus, we knew in a few more days it wouldn't be so quiet anymore...

The Christmas Lead-In

As usual, time seems to both drag and fly by in the last few weeks leading up to Christmas. We were able to meet up with my bestie, Hoolio, and her two girls one morning. Hoolio came into town with her youngest to watch her eldest sing with her choir.  It was so good and fun to see them! The morning just flew by and I wished we could have spent the whole day together. We need to make that happen one of these days soon, I think.

We got some snow a few days later and Edith and I decided it would be fun to build a snowman. Well, we were wrong! It wasn't fun at all. I know the saying goes that we have the greatest snow on earth, but it sure isn't great for building a snowman very often. After trying and trying to make a snowman out of the way-too-dry-and-powdery stuff that was on the ground that day, Edith and I finally had to concede defeat. Such a bummer.

We were able to attend the boys' elementary school Christmas programs that week, too. It was so wonderful to hear a few new songs this year. The parents all cheered with happy grins plastering their faces, so happy to hear something different than in years (many years) past. I still have "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" running on a loop in the deep recesses of my mind, though. That one I'm pretty sure they'll never do away with. They'd better not before Edith gets a chance to sing it next year, that's for sure. She's so excited that next year she'll finally get a chance to sing it in the program.

We had my mom over for breakfast-for-dinner on the 23rd so I could use the waffle iron she gave me for Christmas. Plus, I figured it would be nice to have some leftovers for an easy breakfast the next morning so I could just worry about the big Christmas Eve meal. After dinner, we left Pen at home to work on college applications and drove around to look at Christmas lights. As usual it was a lot of fun. We're always happy to see our pal Farting Santa.

We had my mom over again for dinner on Christmas Eve and added on Grandma and Grandpa Gorilla, too. It was so great to have all of the kids' grandparents together with us for our special (and nummy!) meal. The meal tasted so good that I forgot to snap a photo until it was all gone. 

Eating great food and creating special memories--what could be better?! I sure do love my family.

We all know what comes next...

On Their Lists

It's that time of year again! I love seeing what the kids ask Santa to bring-- I think it really reveals their personalities. I tell the kids they should try to not be too greedy as they make their lists, but to make sure to give enough options for Santa to choose from. I'm too lazy to blur out their real names this time around, so don't stalk us, okay?

Edith wrote her list all by herself this year (with just a little help with spelling). Short and sweet. I love it. 

You can definitely tell where Big's interests lie when you look at his list. I'm happy there are still some Bruder requests-- it would seem weird and wrong if there weren't. And, yes, there's pizza all over his list. That seems pretty fitting, too. I really love the effort he made with the block lettering. 

Bud's list really shows how he's turning tween. The abyss between kid and teen can be a tough one to straddle, but he does pretty well. I love the notes he added to his request for socks-- first using parentheses, then brackets, then braces. He gave Santa some great things to choose from, that's for sure. 

Ginger kept hers pretty short and sweet. Just like her. Ha! Ginger knows who she is and what she wants, except when it comes to shoes and boots, apparently. Santa might make her figure that one out on her own after she earns a bit more babysitting money. :)

Pen's list, even more so than Bud's, is a clear indicator of the duality that exists within-- for Pen it's part teen, part adult. I still can't believe she's a senior this year. I guess next year she'll have to email her list from afar. I love #7 on her list-- she put a blouse into the laundry with no special instructions, so I washed it and dried it with the rest of the load. Now she knows that if she doesn't want her size M women's shirt to end up about a girls' size 10, she should wash it herself. Oops.

I just love seeing how the kids' lists evolve as they get older. They all contain a bunch of stuff consistent with the children I know, a few emerging things that I'm excited to become acquainted with, and maybe just a teeny glimpse of who they'll be in the future in there, too. It makes me excited to see how they continue to grow and change as time goes by. Who knew Christmas lists could reveal so much?

The Rest of November and Into December

As I mentioned at the end of the last post, Crayons Go Berserk met its Kickstarter funding goal! So, so awesome. 

I'm just so thrilled for the opportunity this is giving all of the kids to continue to work on making their dreams come true. I'm especially excited because of how much Bud loves to build the game. It makes him sparkle with excitement. It's so great to see.

Edith finally decided to officially become a reader! She has been mostly-a-reader for a long time, so I knew it was coming. I love hearing her read to me in her little voice.

I never imagined that I'd purchase a black turtleneck for anyone in my family unless I was being held at gunpoint, but when Bud said he wanted to portray Steve Jobs for his 5th grade wax museum I was eager to do it! What a great idea, Bud! I love all of facts and quotes he came up with through his research. So cool.

My sister came into town just before Thanksgiving and brought Josef along. It was so great to see them. We enlisted them to test Crayons Go Berserk when they were over for dinner, and I just had to snap a photo of Bud's face as he watched them play. He loved watching them try to make it through all the levels he has built. So cute. 

Thanksgiving was nice and quiet with just our little not-so-little family this year. So relaxing. I really love being together. 

The food was super delish (if I do say so myself). Just looking at the picture makes me super hungry. I can't say I'm bummed to have it again in a few weeks. 

We put up our Christmas decorations the next day. The past few years we haven't gotten them up until after the 1st, which gives us a late start on the advent calendar, and that's lame. Can I just say again how much I love this house? It's so warm and cozy feeling, especially with the Christmas decorations up. 

It's funny how people either love this house and think its retro-ness is totally cool, or they tell me that I must be sad that it's a rental and I can't do anything to it (usually those who love new-build houses) and then act awkward after I tell them how much I love it. I mean, if it were a run down 70s home it would be gross, but LOOK at it. It's pristine, well-built, and awesome. The only thing I wish I could do was paint the front door to better show off the wreath I made. 

I think I'll ask the owner if I can paint it in the Spring. Edith totally cracks me up. She was looking at some Christmas decorations given to us by a sweet, elderly neighbor and said, "The moose is wearing a Santa hat, the polar bear is wearing an elf hat, and the snowman is wearing a human hat." I will never be able to call a top hat anything else from now on.

I played the boys in a cutthroat game of Scrabble. It was pretty intense, as you can see.

With the house feeling so cozy, comfort food seemed to be in order. Pot pie fit the bill perfectly, plus it was a great (and tasty!) way to use up the last of the leftover chicken from Thanksgiving.

I drew my sister, Martha's, name for Christmas this year. I decided to go the homemade route and made her some ornaments like the ones I made last year. I made 5 in various colors, but I really love this new, really cool yarn I found. I think it's looks great, don't you?

Edith read me her word flashcards as I made the ornaments (multi-tasking, don't you know). After Edith finished reading me the flashcards a few times, she tried to convince me that they would be great for us to use to play a game of "War." After I expressed my skepticism, she began to attempt the hard sell:

E-- "It's really not that hard. If 'elf' goes against 'gate', the 'elf' wins because it can just walk through the 'gate.' Then if 'dog' goes against 'cold,' of course 'cold' wins. But if 'elf' goes against 'dog' it's a tie. Got me so far?"

Me (befuddled)-- "Uhhh..."

Merit then proceeds to assign either strength or number values to all of the flash cards, making sure that I'm following along as she goes.

E-- "So that's how it works. Do you understand?"

Me-- "Uhhh..."

(Even Edith knows when it's hopeless.)

E-- "You're right, maybe it is too hard for you. Especially since I change the rules every day. I'll just go play with Muffin." 

After she played for a while with Muffin (her stuffed dog), I heard her say, "Muffin, you're going to lose." 

I love how she even admits to me that she changes the rules every day (more like mid-game, poor Muffin). She's hilarious.

That night, Rophone and I were able to take my mom and go watch Pen perform in her dance concert. Since it's her senior year, she had the chance to choreograph and perform a solo in addition to dancing with the company. It was so great to watch.

That Saturday, Rophone got up early to run Pen to the big city to take the SAT and then we went to the big annual Christmas party put on by his dad's side of the family. It's always so great to see everyone.

Big started up with a new basketball season. We're excited this year because he's on a team with a bunch of friends in a new, more competitive league. It should be great for him to be able to stick with his friends and such a great coach. He's going to play city ball, too, but that doesn't start for a few months. 

We gave Edith an old phone to use to take photos every so often. She asked me if she could take some the other morning when I was trying to get some work done, so I told her she could. She came back up to me, so sad, because her phone was only at 1% charge. Still needing to get my work done, I decided to let her use my phone. One of my best decisions ever! Seriously, this girl really cracks me up. 

She's really fun to snuggle with, too.

I went with Rophone to the post office the other day, and saw THE BEST thing on the car in front of us as we were exiting the parking lot. 

I don't know if the owner noticed it said "Oddles" instead of "Oodles" but decided to put it on anyway because they shelled out so much dough and couldn't afford to have it remade (plus, the puppies are sooooo adorable), or if they had no clue it was wrong. Either way, it made my day. My week, really. I can't believe how blessed I am to see something like that in real life! Ha!