Christmas Wishes

Can't believe Christmas has already come and gone! Our Christmas started off with a very sick Alex last week who had a stomach bug up until Christmas Eve. With the big snowstorm we got here, it was probably for the best that we didn't leave the house. Earlier in the day, Chris got his wish of using his new snowblower that he got as an early Christmas gift a few weeks ago. Doesn't he look happy?

It was the first and only Christmas Eve we have spent at home, just us, and it was quite peaceful. We decided to let them open the gifts they had bought for each other on Christmas Eve. Anna bought Alex some skull/rock n roll pajamas and Alex bought Anna a miniature bear playset. They both bought Sarah clothes and Anna got her a really fun stacking game that she figured out right away.

 

The kids were actually begging to go to bed by 6:30. We got our wish of an early, uneventful bedtime! But, not without a plate full of cookies for Santa, a note and some milk!

Christmas morning arrives! Alex and Anna were beside themselves with excitement. Alex was feeling better and was up by 4:30 begging us to wake up. We convinced him to go watch cartoons for a couple of hours until the more manageable hour of 6:30 arrived. Then, the chaos ensued!

Alex's favorite gift of Christmas morning was his deer decoy he received from Santa along with the mighty crossbow. Had to get the obligate dead deer shot :)

We spent the next couple of days with family and the kids got even more spoiled!

In the end, I think we all got what we wished for- a little time to ourselves, a little time with family and a lot of good memories. Now comes my favorite picture of the holiday- gotta read the shirt to appreciate it :) Merry Christmas!

Santa, Reindeer and the Gingerbread House

Just a random posting about our last few weeks of getting ready for Christmas. We took the kids to see Santa- although as you can tell from the pictures, only Anna actually spoke to him. Alex was in one of his moods that day and refused to talk to him and Sarah basically screamed and clutched onto me as I tried to pry her hands off and put her on this stranger's lap. It was then that I decided it was not worth the battle. We have always felt there are certain things in life we have to make the kids do- sitting on Santa's lap for a cute picture is just not one of them. Oh well, she was much more entertained by the "real life" reindeer anyways.

Speaking of the reindeer, Alex and Anna have been asking harder and harder questions about how Santa actually gets all of this done and can his reindeer really fly, etc. It has become more difficult to lie to them and I'm finding my own made up stories more and more pathetic. I think there is a part of Alex that secretly knows the truth but is afraid to say anything. Oh well, I will try and relish this Christmas because I think it may be the last one where Alex will buy the lies. It's sad that they have to grow up so fast!

In other holiday type news, I spent some time in Anna's classroom last week making Gingerbread houses. It was really fun to see her in the classroom setting and meet some of her friends and their parents. She absolutely loves school and was so proud to show me everything she has been working on. It was a far cry from earlier in the week when I chaperoned a field trip in Alex's class and he refused to sit by me and barely even acknowledged that he knew me.

Here's hoping for a very Merry Christmas!

Top Ten

These are the top 10 signs that your 7 year old has watched a few too many infomercials......

10. He thinks everything costs 19.95

9. He knows what the Sham Wow is and does and can use it appropriately in a sentence

8. He has the phone number memorized to order the Bendaroos

7. He has an ongoing memorized list of ordering websites and can tell you them instantly if you even mention an item

6. He knows several easy recipes for the Magic Bullet

5. He received a Snuggie after begging us to understand that his regular blanket just "slips and falls" and this would actually make doing his homework a "breeze"

4. He has attempted to order me the Buxton over the shoulder organizer on more than one occasion and whenever I am unable to find something in my current purse reminds me that if only I had let him buy aforementioned item for me, I wouldn't have this problem

3. Never misses an opportunity to tell us how dry and cracked his heels are and if we'd only gotten the ped-egg how this dilemma would be solved (note- we did purchase this item and it actually does work!)

2. Actually put on his Christmas list a request for a new mattress since his current one has "springs" that are "poking into his back" (nevermind that I don't even think there are springs in his mattress, pretty sure it's all foam)

AND....the #1 sign that your 7 year old has watched just one too many infomercials.....


 Loudly exclaimed tonight that as soon as he turns 25 he is going to order the "penis pills" because everybody knows that after 25 your penis just stops working

Oh God, help us.

All About Me....and other "fun" activities

So, it is Alex's "All About Me" week at school this week. In preparation for this, he had to do a whole packet of homework describing his likes, dislikes, family, etc. We also had to put pictures in it to show the class. Pretty harmless and he's pretty excited for this week. At dinner tonight, we were asking him what else he gets to do besides share his book and his favorite toy. He proceeded to list off the following:

1. Count how many students are taking hot lunch or cold lunch each day- record on lunch sheet
2. Carry all of the cold lunches down to the lunch room
3. Sharpen all the pencils
4. "Tattle" on the other kids if they break the rules when the teacher leaves the room
5. Deliver all of the classroom mail
6. Bring all notes and other paperwork to the office
7. Take out the classroom trash

Ok- don't know about the rest of you, but sure doesn't sound like anything I'd be looking forward to! Oh, to be 7 again :)

The Stealth Ninja

The other day we asked Alex to watch Sarah in the living room while we were making dinner in the kitchen. He kept up with her for a little while......however, anyone who has been over lately knows that Sarah will keep you hopping. She is on the table, couch, over the gates, so fast you barely see her coming. The other thing about Sarah is she is very quiet- most of the time. She hardly makes a sound which makes keeping an eye on her from another room nearly impossible. Thus, why we needed Alex's help. After about 10 minutes of taking her down from the window sills, the table, the couch....Alex came to the kitchen gate with a huff of, "This is impossible mom, she is like a stealth ninja." Can't argue with that, she really is quite ninja like. It got me thinking about what a "stealth" ninja really is. Yes, many times I am schooled by my 7 year old. Or, in this case google. Here's what I found:

The ninja is a supreme master of stealth, able to vanish in a puff of smoke or change into a wild animal form in order to facilitate an escape.....hmmm....yes, definitely wild animal like and most of the time an escape is the goal....

The ninja uses the ever-elusive method of "silent movement". Everything must be approached in a subtle manner if ones endeavors are to remain a secret- most definitely has this one down...

Another ninja tactic is the art of using animals. This makes use of wild animals as a diversion. I wonder if Jazz counts as a wild animal and if Sarah using him to climb up onto things would count. Not technically a diversion, more of an assistive device.

So, now you are all schooled on what it really means to be ninja- like. And, we are keeping our heads above water, trying to manage the care of such a creature. Mostly, it's just a continuous mission to keep our little ninja from accidentally breaking her neck. Here is hoping the ninja likes turkey day!

The Lost and (sometimes) Found

For those of you who have followed the blog for any length of time, you are probably guessing this post is going to be about Alex. Actually, (now I'll probably regret saying this), he has had a good year. Aside from the first day when he lost his lunch box, all things are still accounted for. Anna, of course, hasn't even lost one crayon, but I'm not surprised. No, this post is about sweet litte Sarah. Looking for things where you last left them has taken on an entirely new meaning. Sarah is very good at "picking up". We actually play this game with her and encourage her to pick up her toys and put them away. She does and we clap. However, she also picks up everything else and shoves it in various places as well. It is not unsual to put on a shoe and find a pacifier or a stray toy of some kind in the toe. She also really likes car keys and has hidden them in some very creative places. The worst thing she hides, though is her milk cups. It wouldn't be bad if they were all empty, but sometimes there is just a little milk left in the bottom. Not so fun finding these in a drawer 2 weeks later. Disgusting. Ok, so what actually made me post about this was the phone. For about the past week, one of the cordless phones has been missing. We have taken apart couch cushions, toy boxes and looked in every drawer that Sarah could possibly get to. No phone. We've even asked Sarah where she put the phone. She just gives us a really cute look and puts her hands up as if to say, "I don't know what you people are talking about, but how could you possibly be mad at this face?" Well, today I was digging through the shoe closet trying to find a matching pair of shoes for Sarah since we had to go to Alexis' birthday party. The phone rings. It is in the closet somewhere. I start ripping apart the closet looking for the lost phone. After about 20 minutes and a missed call (I didn't bother grabbing the other one since I was so excited the lost one was nearly found) I located the wayward phone in a coat pocket. I'm guessing she shoved it in the pocket and then it got hung up in the closet. Probably the last place we would have looked. Just never know what you'll find at our house. I guess it's kind of like living in a real life hide and seek game all the time. I wonder if secretly Sarah really knows what she is doing and is taking some kind of evil enjoyment in watching us look all over for her hidden little treasures. Wonder what she'll hide next....

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all! We survived the cold, thankfully no rain or snow. The kids had a great time and are a bit hopped up on sugar. Hopefully they will sleep tonight once the sugar low hits :) Thanks to Beth, Brandon and Lindsay for a super fun evening and great company. Here are some pictures. Sarah didn't actually trick or treat, but she sure did look cute dressed up anyways. I even dressed up poor Jazz this year, it's hard to tell in the pictures but he is a karate master. Enjoy.