Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 11

Tonight we celebrated the holiday with some of our dear friends with a red and green dinner. As part of the red and green dinner celebration they also make a cake to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  I had to threaten taking away dessert from my kids if they didn't eat their dinner. This is about how the conversation went;

Noelle: "If I don't eat my dinner I won't get any Jesus birthday cake?"
Me: "Nope, and you won't get any ice cream either."
Noelle: "You mean Christcream."

And that my friends, is why we're awesome.

In her defense, all of the kids were calling the cake Jesus' birthday cake.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 10

We actually kicked off the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving when we went to see the lights at the Mesa Temple. We felt lucky to have some of our out-of-town family with us to enjoy the evening. As with any family outing, there is always someone who has a hard time seeing the fun of the moment. There was a fluctuation between Noelle and JW throughout the evening. See how happy she was to have her picture taken? Plus she didn't want to get out of the stroller and walk, but when she did she got a little lost.

Also, this is one of my favorite pictures because JW was so upset that we put him on this giant rock for a Kodak moment. Total insanity. Sis was happy to be with Papa Randy and wins the prize for having the best attitude of the night.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 9

Christmas cards. Some people have a love-hate relationship with sending Christmas cards. I've always liked sending out cards and in 2003 we started our traditional photo card. Over the years I've tried to be original and make and design my own cards. Some years I have to take a pass and just have a retailer print my cards for me. I really do love making my cards. This year I borrowed designs from Becky Higgin's blog.  You'll notice however that I have two versions. One for those we don't see very often and one for those who probably could care less if they got a picture of our whole family because they see us more than they want to. Either way, we wish you all the Merriest Christmas.

P.S. - If any of my five readers keeps copies of cards they recieve, I need one of my cards from 2004 (Red Sox theme, tri-fold, cute.) I'll send you a prize if you have one for me to put in my Christmas card album.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 8

Christmas dresses seem to be on my list of essential gifts. Call me old fashion, but really I think I only buy my kids dresses at Christmas and Easter. These are the dresses they got from Grandma Nay last year. Luckily they still fit and are great to have during the colder times which are rare in this neck of the woods.

 P.S. I think this picture is pretty fantastic of Noelle and makes her look all sorts of grown up to me. Scary. She did good picture taking right before church because we bribed her. When we were done and she was ready to cash in on said bribe, we told her she had to wait until after church. Rude, eh?

Lets just assume they are singing Christmas carols.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 7

Ok so I haven't posted in a few days, but that won't stop Christmas from coming and hasn't stopped miracles from happening. So for the seventh day I will share my Christmas miracle.

On Tuesday, which is when this should have posted, I did some shopping and then ran to the post office to get some more stamps and to mail a package. While I was standing in a good size line, (not the worst I've ever experienced) I see a lady reading all the signs and looking around holding a simple letter. She turned to all of us standing in line and asked if any of us knew how much it would cost to mail a letter to England? Most people turned their head and pretended not to hear the question. I said I thought it would probably take three or four stamps but that I would check on my super handy smart phone. (I love my phone!) So I started Googling postage rates to England. I found a rate but told the nice stranger to just stand with me and we would ask when it was my turn at the counter. She looked concerned that the ten or twelve people who where now behind us would be angry. I told her that none would "bludgeon" her. Yes, that was the word I used. Anyhow, we got to the counter and she got her postage and my merry stranger went on her way, happy to mail her letter to England. I was happy that I could make someones post office experience be a little less miserable.

Oh but the miracle happened the next day when I had to return with the box of stuff I had to mail. Not only was there next to no line, but the postal worker was kind and helpful. That my friends is the Christmas miracle.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 6

Tonight we did tag team gingerbread house decorating. Our houses look a little bit like something you'd find in a Dr. Suess book, very crooked. I think Sydney ate half her weight in candy before we even started. Noelle was very methodical and had to keep things in a pattern. I think it has something to do with her kindergarten AB patterns. Sydney keeps climbing up on the stool to examine her house and then tells me its not Christmas yet.

A little side story, a week or so ago Boo and I were putting out some gifts that we've been storing in our bedroom since mid November. These are gifts from grandparent visits that we thought would be most safe if kept out of the main thorough fairs of the house. As we were arranging the gifts underneath the tree Noelle came out of her room sleep walking, but staring at us in wonder of what we were doing. It was as if Boo and I were reading each other's minds. One of us burst out "Noelle its Christmas! Look Santa came!" Her face was blank as we could see her mind trying to process. Boo then swept her away for a bathroom break and then back to bed. Awesome cruel.

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 5

Tonight we were at a holiday party and the topic of Santa Claus came up. We were all sharing stories of the mistakes we'd made when discussing Santa in front of our kids. I also have been thinking about all the lore that is associated with St. Nicholas and how it evolved over the hundreds of years. The story is actually quite nice and brings a Christian view of St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus.)

A couple of the slip-ups we've had that I can remember is when Boo asked Noelle if she wanted to help him put some stuff in my stocking. She couldn't understand why he would fill it up and not Santa. Whoops!

One friend said that she remembered that every year their gifts from Santa were wrapped in a different paper from all the rest of the gifts. (We do this.) She said that after Christmas or on Christmas night her mom sent her out to the car to get something from the trunk. There she spied the "special' Santa wrapping paper. She remembers being super disappointed.

Another friend said that her kids noticed the handwriting on the tags was similar to that of her mother's.

Another remembers being old enough that his dad told him and his older brother to come out to the garage to help him assemble some toys for his younger siblings.

This has got me thinking about when the time will come that our kids will figure it out. Will they be super disappointed or will they just say they knew it all the time?

I think I figured it out when I found some presents in my mom's closet and then on Christmas saw that they were from Santa. Knowing how I was as I kid I was probably pretty proud that I had figured it out thinking that no one could pull a fast one on me.

As I've read in some of the Christmas books we have and some of what I've found on the internet and also a nice talk given recently at a church meeting, to believe that St. Nicholas did indeed live and did kind things is to believe in the spirit of Santa. Although I know there is no magical man that wiggles his nose to get from one place to another, I believe in the good that is Santa. Do you still believe?

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 4

Ah the gift exchanging...love it or hate it? I guess the answer depends on the gift and the giftee. There are some years that I am up for the challenge to find the perfect gift or to sacrifice something to afford that perfect gift. However it seems that with my increased brood that my gift giving has been lacking in past years. We have been getting smarter and try to get more utilitarian type gifts even if its not on the giftee's wish list.

I was trying to think back to some of the best Christmas exchanges between Boo and I. Sadly, I can hardly remember any of them. I do remember our first Christmas, I was so excited because the company I was working for had a client that made snowboards and was able to get a sweet deal on a cool board for Boo. Even better was that I kept it at my parents house so that he had no idea it was coming. It was a good surprise. I think the wisest gift I ever received was my KitchenAid mixer. I bought it for myself and told Boo he had to wrap it. I love it and use it all the time.

One of my favorite gifting stories occurred in 2001. On Christmas morning we were opening gifts with all of Boo's family at his parent's house. Everyone had a main gift and then each married couple was given a gift card. With that arrangement opening gifts was very organized so we went around the room one at a time and opened up our present from Boo's parents. When it was my turn I remember Boo looking at me with a grin of anticipation for my reaction. I unwrapped a set of red satin sheets. I was a little stunned, as I had never thought of requesting satin sheets for Christmas, let alone from my mother-in-law. Needless to say I was confused and I think my reaction was a huge let down. I said thanks and then tucked my new fancy red sheets next to me. My  mother-in-law said that Boo told her that I wanted some sheets from Costco but that she didn't see any satin sheets there so she ordered these online. That only added to my confusion. I wanted satin sheets from Costco? Who knew?

It took me several days to process the whole exchange and to piece together what actually happened. I had mentioned in passing to Boo that there were some sheets that I wanted to get from Costco. He thought he was so clever and passed it on to his mom. Somewhere along the line there was a loss of translation, it wasn't red satin sheets I wanted, it was Sateen. Very different indeed.

Before I could clear up any confusion, Boo thought he'd wash up our new sheets so we could put them on our bed. He came home from the laundry mat with our fancy red sheets and said that everyone was looking at him strangely. "I feel like such a hooker," he said as he was shaking them out. I could only grin and reassure him that they'd look great with our duvet. The only problem was that the duvet wouldn't stay on the bed with the sheets. They were too slippery. We definitely never got the use out of those sheets for the price that was paid, but it is my favorite Christmas story.

Reminds me of the leg lamp from the movie A Christmas Story.

Twelve Days of Christmas: Day 3

Hello friends, I'd like to introduce you to Tommy the Elf on our shelf. He's a great helper, in that he doesn't back talk and is supposed to help keep my kids in line because they're supposed to believe that he's going to take all sorts of information back to Santa. I can't be sure if Noelle actually thinks he's magic or that he really will disappear at night. Tommy has been know to be on top of the Christmas tree, on top of kitchen cabinets, on top of our entertainment unit, etc. Do you see a theme in his locations? Yes we have to put him high up because the instructions told the kids that if they touch him he'll lose his magic. However Sis would like to test this theory and I can't have Noelle all up in arms over lost magic. Also he needs to stay up high enough so that Noelle can't get a good of a look at him. She has already said things about how she thinks he's just made of fabric and that he doesn't look like an elf, because you know she has all sorts of elf knowledge and wisdom. Its believed by Noelle that Tommy was sent by his elf friend Hermy. Hermy appeared at our house one day when we had some out-of-town cousins staying at our house. Those kids were so excited to see their elf, but how could it be theirs if it was at our house? Noelle was so upset that he hadn't returned. So after a few stops around my local three mile range of shopping I found Tommy.

Yesterday Tommy didn't come back from the North Pole. You see Noelle had been super sassy about how her mom doesn't make any good cookies with anything on them and then some other tirade of how we never eat anything good. Truth be told her words stung a lot, but that wasn't actually why Tommy didn't come.
The problem with the Elf on the Shelf is that he has to be moved everyday. It sounds so great in theory but I can't move him until I'm about to put my head to a pillow. Our darned two year old has become a night owl and makes moving Tommy a hard task. So often times he doesn't get moved until the morning when we remember and one of us distracts the kids while the other scrambles to find a new location for Tommy.

So yesterday Tommy didn't comeback because he was actually stuffed in the top of a cupboard as not to be seen sitting in the same place as the day before. I didn't have time to actually move him and I could hear my girls making their way around the corner. I panicked! Needless to say I had a good MO for why he didn't come back due to my stinker child's behavior.

I think its been the most effective to Sis. Her little neighbor friend's elf told Santa she'd been really naughty and so Santa sent her a letter to let her know her elf wouldn't be back until she was nice to her mom. So just tonight Sis kept telling me that Annie wasn't going to get any presents because her elf said she was naughty. Glad to know one of my children has been paying attention.

Here's a link to a great post that gave me a great laugh regarding other's experiences with their elf friends.
http://peopleiwanttopunchinthethroat.blogspot.com/2011/12/over-achieving-elf-on-shelf-mommies.html

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 2

We have had the opportunity to help some other families with Christmas this year. We have tried to use these as teaching moments for our kids, especially Noelle. We have been trying to help her understand that there are other kids in our community who probably won't get a lot of presents this Christmas. Its harder than you think to explain to a five year old. I knew it was starting to sink in for her but was still perplexing. She asks very detailed questions about the kids, details we just don't have. I think the excitement finally set in when we wrapped up the gifts.

The other day when UPS brought a doll house that Grandma had shipped to us, Sydney saw the picture on the outside of the box and being all excited asked if it was for her. Of course I lied and said no and then she asked, "Its for other kids?" That has been our tag line while shopping for our unknown recipients, "gifts for other kids."

We have been the recipients of the generosity of others in past years and feel really grateful that we can teach this charity to our children. Hopefully this is something we can continue to do each year as a reminder of all the good that we're blessed with in our lives.

Twelve Days of Christmas, Day 1

'Tis the season and what says Merry Christmas more than a visit to see Santa? Well a trip to the BassPro Shops of course. This was awesome! Sis thought Santa was fantastic and had no fear. Brotherman just went with it like usual and Noelle, well she's rockin' her red boots. The store had a whole Christmas village-like area set up for kids with games they could play (marketing at its finest) and a carousel that we could ride on. The best part was it was all free. Merry Christmas to us!

We took advantage of an early release school day so there were no crowds which was good, because Sis kept running up to Santa to give him a hug and then would go back to whatever it was she was doing before. Also, Noelle shocked me by writing up a list for Santa. It was something like this:

e z bac (Easy Bake Oven)
Brbe has (Barbie House)
spic kids (Spy Kids)
noe brb (New Barbie)

The best part was that she was helping another girl write the same list. Ha!

Picture Explanation

A few people have asked me about the black and white pictures that I've posted on the blog and on the wall in my family room. Here's the long and short of the whole thing; back in 2009 I was encouraged to enter Noelle into a picture contest. In order to do that I needed to take some pictures of her because I didn't have anything recent. So in my usual form I used my crazy mad skillz and taped my dark purple sheet to a wall in my bedroom. I think it was the magic of the packing tape used, but I took some pretty fantastic pictures and even though we didn't win any contests it has turned into a great tradition three years running. So each fall when the light comes through the large windows at just the right time we have a photo shoot. Thanks to the glory of digital I can take a ton of pictures and if it doesn't turn out how I want then I delete them and start over. I love they way they've turned out each time, different but wonderful. Here is the link for 2009 and 2010. Enjoy the look back into the past.