Christmas - Or the longest day in recorded history

The stockings were hung off the hutch with care.  Mom and Dad and kids were ready.  Or so we thought...

Christmas morning was great.  The older kids were told that they couldn't get up until seven.  At about 6:30 I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I was ready when Libby appeared at the foot of my bed at 7:00 sharp.  The rest of the kids showed up within a couple of minutes and the festivities began. 

We opened stockings and ate candy and fruit.

Then we opened our family presents.  The kids put on their newly-received Christmas finery and we headed to the in-laws for breakfast.

This picture was taken before the children ate.  It was the last picture we took because the day soon went crazy.  We had a large yummy breakfast and then piled in the car to go to church with my in-laws.  Three wards were meeting together and it was packed.   Crowds are not my thing so by the time we left my stress level was already climbing.  The kids did fine though, especially Sam. Sam probably did so well because he didn't actually come to church with us.  We left him with his aunt and uncle while we went to church.  Love the aunt and uncle.  We got back to the in-laws at 12:30 and then exchanged gifts.  A lot of gifts.  It was wonderful and special and magical but it was also stressful and exhausting.  We got home around 2:30, put the babies down for nap, and I made snacks to bring to Christmas with my family.  At 4:00 we loaded the van, woke the babies, and headed out to my family gathering where once again there were mountains of food and presents.  Cue the eating and gift exchange.  Wonderful, magical, stressful and exhausting again.  We left there around 8 and came home to dump the sticky present-laden children in bed while Michael and I collapsed in wobbling masses on the couch.

I think maybe it was going to church on Christmas that made the whole day longer and more taxing.  And that makes me feel a little guilty.  Shouldn't church be the first priority on Christmas?  Guilt or no I still looked up when Christmas fell on a Sunday again.  It's in 2016 in case you care.  I figure by then the babies won't need naps and the kids will be old enough to help.  Until then I need to remind myself that all these events are blessings.  I'm complaining about an overabundance of blessings. Yep, there is definitely something wrong with that.  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that you (and me) have a peaceful and calm New Year's.

Ethan's Birthday

This boy of mine just turned eight.  I really can't believe it.  Somehow eight seems so much older than seven.  He was so excited to get a scooter.  He said it was worth three presents and he didn't seem to give a fig that it was gently used.

He also got a book about mythology (mythology is one of his great loves). As the pictures show being eight doesn't mean you've outgrown pop up books. Michael wanted one for himself even.  Truly cool book.

And of course a pocket knife.  He's lost his other one he got for his fifth birthday (I assume he will lose this one soon) so he needed a new one. 

I Submit More Evidence

This child thrives on chaos.

Christmas Tree

It was going all according to plan.  We went to the Ward Christmas Party and then headed over to a Christmas tree lot to pick the perfect tree.  The weather wasn't freezing, it wasn't dark, and we weren't in a rush.  So instead of it taking 20 minutes to find the perfect tree it took about 4.  There was a minor snafu when we realized the lot didn't take cards but our bank had an ATM just a couple blocks away.  We ran to the ATM and the the nice guys at the lot strapped the tree to the top of the van and we drove on home.  I pulled out the Christmas decorations (all handily stored in red and green totes) and I took a moment to marvel at how smoothly this was going.  Then...the kids told me Michael couldn't find the Christmas tree stand.

So we looked in the shed, then we looked in the other shed, then the other shed, then we looked in the crawl space, then we called everyone to see if they had an extra stand.  Our stand had completely disappeared.  Our huge, green, plastic Christmas tree stand had gone AWOL.  Michael checked craigslist for a replacement without much luck.  I started to call thriftstores.  On call number four I got lucky.  Goodwill assured me they had six.

I loaded up Ethan and Libby and drove back across town (scarcely three blocks from where we got the tree).  After searching high and low and with the assistance of three employees, we found the tree stand.  Mission accomplished.  Then we ran home to set up the tree.  Michael grabbed the stand to put on the tree and commented, "Did you notice the bottom of this is cracked?"  No, I hadn't.  I'd like to think I wouldn't have bought it if I had noticed.  So Michael and Ethan made one more trip to Goodwill and we were ready to rumble.  Unfortunately the babies were now getting up from nap.  Toddlers do not help set up trees.  But it is hard to hold it against them because they are so excited and confused that there is a tree...in...the...house. 

While Michael was gone to Goodwill I untangled the lights.  The kids came home and "untangled" them some more.

Sam just stared at the tree when he woke up.  He couldn't figure out why there was a tree in the house but he thought it was a good thing.

He was also excited by all the balls we had hung on the tree for him.  They were the perfect size to carry and throw.  Rest assured they are plastic and that we didn't hang any of my breakable ornaments on the tree this year.  Also Sam has made sure the bottom half of the tree is now bare. 

Merry Christmas to all.

Danger!? I Laugh in the Face of Danger! Hahaha!

Sam is kid number four.  It seems that would mean I'm calmer and have pretty much seen it all.  My gross-out threshold is pretty high.  I don't freak out when I find him playing in the toilet (he thinks it's his own private swimming pool); I wash his hands and send him on his way.  He shovels in the dog food and I just watch to make sure he doesn't choke on it.  He stands naked in the middle of the dining room table and gets his groove on and I just shrug, hoping he won't do on the table what's meant for his diaper.  After enduring his three older siblings through this stage my standards have sunk to an all-time low.  But here's the rub:  Sam is the most destructive, dangerous, kamikaze toddler I've ever seen.  He can not sit still to save his life.  His favorite hobby is climbing on, well, everything.  I've adopted the attitude to let him do what he wants as long as the consequences are only bumps and bruises and not ER visits.  Sam has not yet adopted my way of thinking.  

Case in point:  I was in the living room and Sam was in the kitchen, which I can see from the living room.  I lost sight of him for just a couple minutes during which he was too quiet.  I walked into the kitchen to find he had pushed a chair up to the counter and discovered an apple next to the knife block.  This knife block has been on the counter through three kids and has remained untouched.  Sam was sure there was something he could do with these shiny objects with the handy handles.  Behold!  Sam's work of art and mom's source of heart failure.  When I walked in he was trying to find a place to stick the butcher knife.

 

The knife block now faces the wall, making it impossible for a short little man to pull out the knives.  But he, refusing to be outdone, spent the rest of the day trying to push his chair up to the gas range to play with the knobs.

At the end of the day, all of us were miraculously and completely unscathed.  I hope our luck holds - it's all we have left.

Traditions

What can I say?  This is our third year running of sugar-induced madness or gingerbread house making, whichever you prefer.  Aunt Kristal and Uncle Tom joined us this year in our sticky goodness.  We bought actual decorating bags this year and it worked out so much better.  Michael didn't mutter and curse under his breath about cheap bags and most of the icing ended up on the house.  Success. The pictures tell the rest of the story.

 

Grace look at the camera.  Grace, Grace, look, Grace, look.

"You can't make me.  I'm two."

Growing Like Weeds

Man these kids of mine are getting big.  Sometimes it just takes me a while to notice.  Following is the pictorial evidence:

My back was turned.  Things were quiet.  That made me suspicious.  This is what I found.  I had no idea he could climb up onto the counter (Ethan had moved the chairs so Sam wouldn't climb up onto the table while he was playing with Legos).  Nothing is safe anymore.  Nor are my dishes done.  Sigh.

Ethan and Libby have decided to write to pen-pals.  They always fight me on writing so I was very pleased to see these samples.  Ethan's handwriting is usually almost incomprehensible so I was shocked when he showed me the letter.  I asked when he learned to write like that.  He explained that he actually tried because he was writing it for someone other than myself.  Sigh.

Grace is not as big as she thinks she is yet.  I tried to help her get dressed and she was adamant that she could do it.  Underwear, sister's socks and sister's church shoes.  What more does a two year old need, and in the middle of winter no less?  So starts the battle of weather-appropriate clothing.  Sigh.

Yes, I've been doing a lot of "sigh"-ing.  Four kids will do that to you.

Thanksgiving Break

Yes, I know Thanksgiving was two weeks ago and Christmas is fast approaching.  I like to be fashionably late.  

We had a lovely break.  The kids and I all enjoyed a break from schoolwork.  We trotted off to the Discovery Center (along with all the other citizens of Boise).  We pulled levers, played on the swing, made robots and in Sam's case, made a new friend and then pushed him over and stole his book.  So pretty much your typical outing.

He looks so innocent but he is really plotting how to get the ducky book.  His sweet innocent face is a sham.

Then we had Thanksgiving.  Twice.  Here's hoping everyone had a family- and pie-filled day.  If not, let me know next year.  I know where there is more than enough family and pie to go around.

Michael's Annual Blog Post

And guess what?  It has to do with bicycling and the awesome things I can carry on my Xtracycle FreeRadical.

As some of you know from Katie's blog posts, we order produce from Bountiful Baskets.  I'm usually the one that goes down to pick it up and I am usually picking up someone else's in addition to our own.  Why doesn't Katie ever pick up the baskets?  You'll have to ask her, but I think it's because she's lazy.

As it happens, yesterday I picked up THREE baskets, each weighing about 30 pounds.  For those of you who are math-challenged, that's 90 pounds of fruits and veggies riding around on my caboose.  A 30# box on each side and one on top.  I don't think it's the most I have ever carried, but it's definitely my best-documented load.  For other loads, see two sleeping kids, a ton of someone's dirty laundry, kids, tent, and floor lamp, and finally two steel floor sign holders for work plus my fixed gear.

For visualization purposes, I present to you the following infinitely-awesome-and-forever-looping-"roundabout". Click the image to begin. Be patient - it will start in a moment. Press ESC on your keyboard to stop the animation.

An Epiphany

For a long time I thought nobody read my blog.  I thought it was my quiet little corner of the internet.  Then I posted about how I was starting to sleep through the night and what a joy it was.  My children then got sick, stayed sick, got better, got sick again and then shared their sickness with their siblings.  This has resulted in my not getting a full night's sleep in weeks.  That's when I came to this startling realization: The Fates are reading my blog, and they are laughing at me.

 Shrews.

Just Another Day

This afternoon we were all sitting quietly in the living room.  Sam had just got up from nap and I had taken his diaper off to let him air a bit.  I was sitting on the couch taking a break and Sam was sitting on the rug with his back to me looking at a book.  All of a sudden he went very still.  I said, "Michael, is Sam peeing on the rug?"  Michael looked over and said he didn't see anything.  Sam continued to sit very still.  I said, "Sam, whatcha doing?"  He turned around with his mouth wide open with a look of great concern.  I pointed this out to Michael.  Sam then looked back at me again with the same open mouth and look of concern.  The expression was frozen on his face.  I said, "Michael, would you check on Sam.  You don't think he...?"

By that point Michael had walked around Sam and found out, yes he had, shut a sensitive bit of his body in the book.  The worst part was he couldn't figure out how to get it out.  Michael opened the book back up and Sam started to cry.  I guess the blood rushing back was more painful than the smashing.  Poor unfortunate boy.

This is something he will be thankful to forget.  That's why we have to memorialize the story on our blog.  We will remind him many times throughout his life, being sure to include the story in his wedding toast.  That's the kind of parents we are.

C is for Cookie

The kids made cookies for a church activity.  I put them in the oven because they didn't want to.  Other than that they don't seem to need me anymore.  Next thing I know they are going to be cooking for their own families.

Poor Sick Baby Boy

Lately we've been sick more than we've been well.  Just as one kid is getting over the crud another one comes down with it.  Sam decided he slept better in our bed than his.

New Year's Resolutions

Yes, I know it is November.  I just had to write because...wait for it...I accomplished my 2011 goals!  Pretty exciting, huh?  It probably helps that my goals weren't very lofty.  They included sleeping through the night, putting pictures on my wall, and printing my blog in a book.  It's taken me 11 months but I did all of them.

Sam was weaned back in August and started sleeping through the night shortly thereafter.  I now get to sleep through the night as well.  It is a blessed event because I hadn't had a full nights sleep in three years before that.  I was going a little (or a lot) crazy.  Now though I get to sleep through most nights, I'm still usually up once a week with someone.  I can manage that.

Ta-Da!  Goal number two: a bad picture of pictures.  Doesn't that make your visit here seem worthwhile?  But the point is that there are finally pictures on my wall as well.  I gave up the notion of getting the perfect family picture and just framed up a few snapshots that we loved.  It's not perfect but I don't think perfect is going to happen anytime in the near future.  Right now I'm going for good enough.

My third goal was to print my blog.  I wanted to print the whole thing but once again I settled.  Printing the whole thing would have been expensive and tedious so I decided to do it in chunks.  I've printed 2006-2007 for 32 dollars which was much more manageable.  I'll print the rest off a year at a time.  So, maybe I didn't fully accomplish my goals but I'm settling for good enough.  Sometimes that's all I get.

Sugar Highs

Halloween started for us on Saturday (it would have started on Thursday but we were sick and missed our homeschool party).  Saturday was soon enough.  We loaded everyone and their costumes  and some rolls and some cookies and the diaper bag and the candy and the treat baskets and...well you get the idea, in the car and headed to the church for dinner and trunk or treat.  We did not load the camera as Michael dropped it on the way out the door.  That's another story though.  So back on topic, we tried to put Grace in her costume before we left.  She has been excited for weeks to be a "pink 'neigh'" for Halloween.  She found the costume in the box and fell in love.  So Saturday came and we tried to put it on her.  Her expression tells you just how likely that was to happen.  Even the enticement of candy wouldn't sway her.  She was not putting that blessed thing on for any reason.  Despite the rough start, the kids had a ball and got a ton of candy.  I also only have the one picture because of the aforementioned camera incident.

Monday night went much smoother.  We went out for gyros because I don't think I should have to cook on my birthday.  We came home and got everyone in costumes, even Grace who by now realized costume meant candy.  We even got pictures.  Thank you craigslist.

 

This is my kids trying hard to be cute and listen because there is candy involved.

This is a much more accurate picture of how things generally go. 

Sam was entranced with the candle in the pumpkin.  He would have been content to skip the candy and play with the flame.  I'm not sure this bodes well for our future.

Sam didn't feel the need to unwrap his candy.  It still tastes good with the paper on.  Grace is once again glowering at us.  I don't know what we did to her but we will pay for it.  For the rest of our lives.

This is the haul - all 12.6 pounds of it.  We started all this with about 11 pounds of candy we bought from the store.  How did we wind up with more than we started?  Tis' the season to be well-sugared.

P.S.  Is anyone else having problems with the new blogger?  I'm trying to decide if I hate it because I am inept or if they made it a pain.