Christmas Afternoon, Nana and Papa's house

After breakfast, lots of toy playing and assembling, and showers, we fed the kids some lunch and headed to Nana and Papa's to continue the festivities (and so Eric and I could eat leftovers for lunch).

Eme got her fist Madame Alexander doll, with some awsome outfits by nana

star wars, playmobil, books, pillow pets, oh my!



oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh-she sings too!



The kids had fun opening up more gifts.  They loved seeing their cousins, and had fun playing with each other.  Eric and I had fun opening our stockings and some great gifts too.  Did you know that See's makes a Scotchmallow BAR?!  It was so good too!  We had a great time with Eric's siblings laughing and playing impossible to solve manipulation puzzles.

Christmas Morning, our house

Ah, that peacful moment before the kids wake up and chaos ensues.

 True to form, our children didn't wake up until after 7 am (love them).  Eme came out and asked me: "Um, is it very much after midnight yet?"  After being told that it was, indeed, Christmas morning, she went and woke everyone else up.

 Maddie came running in and told us Merry Christmas.  Eric asked her if Santa came, she said yeah.  He then asked if he brought them presents, um, no.  We then suggested we go look downstairs to see what Santa left them.  After gathering on the stairs, and proceeding into the family room (fireplace) by age, this is what happened:

a playmobil Egypt set and a star wars guy w/ speeder bike

a new doll!

Funny story about this doll.  Maddie got one for her birthday and loved it.  But somehow, about 4 months ago, she got lost.  We searched everywhere, our house, the cars, nana and papa's house, both cousins' homes, nothing.  We gave up on ever finding her, and decided to just get Maddie a new one for Christmas.  When we went to Church two weeks later, the library had out their lost and found table.  And there she was.  Which is odd, since we don't remember her coming to church with us, toys don't usually leave the car.  But oh, was Maddie so thrilled to see her baby again.  And super happy to have sister babies now.

This is, perhaps, my favorite picture of Christmas.  Everything unwrapped, Dad is trying to free toys from their box prisons, and everyone is in that post-gift euphoria.

Christmas Eve

 I will be forever grateful to my sil Jen for the idea of giving a family game on Christmas Eve.  It has made the day go by so much smoother with our young family.  This year, however, we did a craft: perler beads.  Those little plastic beads saved us from certain doom this summer, they kept the kids busy for hours. 

 So we added glow in the dark beads to our stash, along with some fun animal shape peg boards.  The kids loved them and went straight to work.  Once again, those beads saved us from certain bordom and fights.

 Eric's mom began a talent show a few years ago for our after dinner entertainment.  And as the kids have gotten older, the talent shows are, um, more talent filled?  Aidan played "Jingle Bells" on the flute- he taught himself just for the talent show.  Eme danced along while Aidan played (Eric tried to teach her an interpretive dance entitled "Christmas tree", but she declined with giggles).

 Davin, who is really into Egypt right now, wrote "Merry Christmas" in heiroglyphics.

 Other cousins performed, some were impromptu.

 Others well rehersed.

 Back at home just before bed for our pj's, cookies, and family prayer.

Christmas Books and Music: update

Every year we add a new book, which I date on the inside cover, and CD to our Christmas collections.  I'm not sure what I want for this year's book.  Any good suggestions?  My only caveat is that it be a hard cover picture book, the prettier the better.  Here is our current list, only in the order they are on the shelf:

• The Polar Express
• Who Will Guide my Sleigh Tonight?
• Who Will Help Santa This Year? both by Pallotta
• Snow Happy to be Here
• Russell's Christmas Treasure, by Rob Scotton
• Little Tree, by Cummings
• Twas the Night Before Christmas, with the proper name of DONDER
• The Nutcracker
• Great Joy, by Di Camillo
• Angel Pig and the Hidden Christmas
• Frosty the Snowman (the same illustrated one that we had as kids!)
• Holly Claus, the Christmas Princess, by Britany Ryan (she adapted this from her novel)
• Auntie Claus
• Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas
• Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays, by Primavera
• Fancy Nancy, Splendiferous Christmas
• Christmas Day in the Morning, by Pearl S Buck
• The Crippled Lamb, by Max Lucado
• I Believe in Santa Claus, by Adamson
• Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree (my all time favorite Christmas book when I was a kid)

This year we added Alex Boye's My Christmas Wish to our itunes library, along with "You're a mean one Mister Grinch".  I think that my all time favorite song is "O Holy Night" sung by Condor Man (more commonly known as Micheal Crawford).  What's your's?

 We ended up getting  The Gingerbread Pirates, and it is one of the best books for boys we've ever gotten.  The pics are fabulous, and the story is so cute.  Love it.

Ah, Christmastime: the sights, the smells, the crafts

Here are a few of my favorite sights this year, enjoy.

Last year, you may recall, I made these ornaments to add to my chocolate/gold tree. I only finished assembling half of them, because we only decorated half the tree (no point decorating the bottom half with an 19 month old about).

my tree, all dressed up for the season.

 I wanted to do something else for my tree this year, and my inspiration came from a craft blog I stumbled across, here. I bought a cuttlebug and embossing folders with these ornaments in mind, I'm a little bit obsessive, or just plain crazy, I'm aware of that.

my new ornaments, and the ones I made last year.

  I'm so glad that I did, I love how these ornaments turned out.  And they were far, far less time consuming, and expensive, as last year's ornaments.  The colors are hard to see, but they're chocolate and bronze and gold and champagne.  I ordered the metal sheets here, they've got such amazing colors!

 One of my favorite sights during the holiday season is that of our advent wreath.  I love to see the candles burned further down each week, all in anticipation of Christmas.  And for me, this one tradition is a small, but constant reminder of the coming of Christ's birth.

 I was so excited to find this Jim Shore Santa at the Boyd's Bear store in August, and half price too!  I am totally in love with the man's work (although, not always of his styles).  I was also determined to get one of his nativities, and was thrilled when I found this one.

Including the Little People and Playmobil sets, we're up to 6 nativities.  I think I've got a the beginings of a collection.  We'll see what I add next year.

And since Eric had borrowed his dad's ladder to take a look at our clock, I found another use for it before we return it.  I love the garland in the chandelier with the gold snowflakes dropping down on us.




This is the kids' advent calendar, they love it.  The only caveat is that the holy family be placed nicely in the stable, and that they save space for the star at the top.  Maddie put the donkey under the palm tree that Davin put on top.

Now, lest you think my house is awash in gold, I've contained the warmer tones to the front of the house, the back rooms are in the cooler tones, the whites, reds, silvers, and crystal. 

The Fruits (or vegetables) of our Labors

We love our garden, particularly in the fall.  We love that the kids help pick out what we plant, they help up plant, and occationally, they help us weed.  But most of all, we love the food!  We love beans, and they grow really well in the fall.  So this year we planted 6 rows of them: 2 of contender, 2 of wax, and 2 of blue lake.  That gave us somewhere between 60 and 80 plants.  Yes, that's a lot, but beans are so tasty (everyone here loves them), and they put up really easily.



don't adjust your screen, that is a nasty rash.

  We've had some pretty unseasonably warm weather here this past month, which has been great for the garden (but makes it hard to put one in the holiday mood).  So when I went out on Monday to pick the beans, I wore shorts and a t-shirt (we were in the mid-upper 70's).  Normally, I wear jeans and a long sleeved shirt with my gardening gloves. 

 And I'm pretty sure that I'll be wearing full gear next time I go out to pick.  I spent at least 30 minutes out picking beans in my shorts, and when I came in, I noticed my legs and arms: I had a rash from my knees to my ankles, and from my elbows down.  A horrible raised, itchy rash.  I pulled out the OTC hydorcortizone (I decided to wait on the Rx stuff), and used it as lotion, and took a claritin as well.  Two days later, I'm still itching, but not as badly.  Who knew one could be allergic to bean leaves?

 I pulled so many beans (and this is only a third of what was on), it took me 45 minutes just to trim the ends.  It only took an additional 20 to snap them, blanch them, and bag them for freezing.

 But now, despite my bad reaction, we've got beans for later.  We did 6 1/2 quart bags, enough to fill the bowl we usually have veggies in for dinner.  The only problem is, I've got to do this all again this weekend.  Maybe I'll send Eric out to pick.



Davin's 7th Birthday

Oh, my goodness.  I love this kid, dispite the more than occational attack of the grumpies.  He had a great 7th birthday, and was in great spirits all day long!  We started the day off with his choice of breakfast: orange rolls, juice, and cereal (no eggs today I guess).  Followed by his first gift of the day: Dixon! A bit about Dixon.  When we went to PA in August, Davin found Mason and Dixon (he'd been wanting his own "civil war bear" for 2 years), and we brought Mason home to live with us.  Within a week of being home, Davin was beside himself, Mason needed his brother Dixon.  It was all he wanted for his birthday, he had to have them both.  So, after a quick call to Gramma, and a good excuse for her to head to the bear store again, it was all done.

The week before I had made chocolate chip cookies and sent one a day with the boys' lunches.  Davin told me that his teacher, Miss Kress, wanted me to bring them in for his birthday treat.  I'm never sure how kids interprete those around them, I'm sure she just made a passing comment about his cookies, and he then put it down as a request for them.  But, it being a Thursday, with no baby to watch, I happily whipped up 4 dozen cookies, enough for the kids to each have 2.  We got there just in time to deliver the still-warm treats.  They were a success, and I was so in love with the smile he gave me when I came in.  Totally worth it.

After school brought sibling gifts.  And thus, new reasons to play with older toys.  I was, of course, grateful for their pre-occupation, as I had a forest-jungle-swamp cake to decorate (he took quite the creative route to get to swamp).  It was really fun to do, and went together rather quickly.  And while not one of my fanciest cakes, Davin was thrilled with the results. 

After dinner (Davin wanted pizza rolls, so I made a candied corned beef with roasted potatoes for Eric and I), we got to enjoy Nana, Papa, Grandpa J, aunts and uncles and cousins while eating cake and opening gifts.

Davin got more books, a lego set, some clothes, and the thing he's always wanted: an electronic, talking globe.  That kid was in heaven.  He spent the rest of the night playing with it.

Thank you all for everything!  He had a great day.

Band Concert

Our school starts band at 5th grade, so this was Aidan's first year playing any instrument (we bought a piano last February, but the kids haven't done lessons, yet).  He's been really dedicated to the flute and has put in quite a bit of practice time.  He'll work on a piece until it's correct, often times playing it 3 or 4 times through, just to get that one note he'd missed.

They had their first concert on December 1st, so we got to invite Nana for her birthday! Yes, we rocked it in the gift department this year.  And as an added bonus, Papa and Grandpa J were both in attendance too.





The 5th grade band played first, followed by 6th grade.  And I have to say how impressed I am with 6th grade.  Those kids did really well, and there were a few who took it upon themselves to learn a couple of extra songs, just because they wanted to.  I'm hoping that Aidan will be one of those kids next year (he's already on his way, he's teaching himself how to play Joy to the World for Christmas).

Aidan was really quite nervous about his first concert, but wouldn't admit it.  As we were getting ready to go, Aidan was walking to the door and our conversation went as follows:
me: So Aidan, how are feeling about your first concert?
Aidan: Why does everyone keep asking me that? ____ asked me that at recess today.  I'm fine!
me: okay honey.  Um, I was only asking because you put your coat on upside-down, and although you've got your music, you forgot your flute.

The funny part was that his flute had been sitting on top of his music.

He did calm down, the band teacher let the kids play a joke on us, playing one note really badly for their warm-up, just to help all the little 5th graders relax.  They all did a great job too.