Christmas

The Sunday before Christmas is always one of my favorites- nothing better than a short meeting full of pretty music. My favorite Sunday almost got ruined when I was asked to read a passage as part of the program- hello anxiety! But thankfully my request for a short one was granted and I literally had a 2 liner to read. I also was the first reader so I got done with it quickly and then I was able to sit back and enjoy the music. The only mishap during the program was when the organist lost her place and everyone was a capella for a verse but besides that it was a good one. I especially loved "Mary's Lullaby"- one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Getting the kids to take their Sunday picture is always a fiasco but it's tradition! I even got the boy's Christmas ties this year because they always feel neglected (Steven's has gingerbread men and Ben's has reindeer). 

For our Christmas countdown on Sunday we opened a new family game- 5 Second Rule. The kids really loved this game and wanted to play lots. Unfortunately a certain few started to whine when they weren't able to list 3 things in 5 seconds so we could not play it forever. My kids are not the most gracious losers which makes game playing challenging.

Monday was Christmas Eve and we decided that would be the night for our fancy ham dinner. This meant that Monday involved lots and lots of cooking. I made ham, mashed potatoes, a sweet potato casserole and rolls. It was not exactly a fun day for me- I don't love cooking so much- but I did enjoy having a nice meal with champagne glasses and my Gram Brady's china. Penny really loved drinking juice out of the cup and "chinking" glasses with everyone.

I also made sugar cookies in all my cooking and after dinner we all decorated some cookies for Santa. Lucy probably ate more frosting than she put on cookies. Penny coated her cookies with every imaginable decoration, making them look extremely unappetizing. And Steven was super proud of his cookie decorating skills. He kept saying his cookies looked as good as dads and that Santa wouldn't want to eat them. I would definitely say his looked better than mine ;)

After cookie decorating the kids unwrapped their PJ's. This year I decided we would all have matching dinosaur Christmas PJ's- I was real happy with that choice. My only disappointment is due to my crummy camera and complaining children we didn't get a real good family jammie picture.

After we put on jammies we loaded the kids in the car to go see Christmas lights. This had a very rocky beginning with children fighting but I insisted on sticking with tradition and eventually we had a nice little drive seeing the lights.

The rest of Christmas Eve was nice and chill because after we got the kids to bed we actually didn't have any toys to build for once which meant we could just sit back and watch "It's a Wonderful Life." On retrospect the love story in it is a little awkward but I still love that movie- there's just something about it.

Night/Early morning was a little rough with the girls thinking it was time to get up when it most definitely wasn't. There was also the sound of Steven checking his little clock often to see if it was 7am yet(his clock makes a nice beeping noise when he moves it). When at last it was 7, we let the kids go downstairs. Except first I made them all sit for a pic at the top of the stairs. After they tortured us through the night, I thought it was only fair that we tortured them :)

When we got downstairs they immediately checked out their Santa gifts. Lucy- House Magformers, Penny- dinosaur train set, Steven- Minecraft Lego set, Ben- Car Magformers. Lots of happy kids!

Then it was time for the kids to unwrap their gifts. Each kid was given a gift and then they all opened their gifts at the same time. Tyler thought I was evil and torturing them to make them wait for each other to be ready but I just hate how fast it all goes and was trying to prolong it- if only for a minute or two. The kids all made out really well with way too many things but I think they would call it a successful Christmas. 

Grams and Poppy Hatch got everyone a membership to the Zoo and a gift card to Chuck-e-Cheese. Grams and Poppy Brady got all the kids a Lego set. They also got the boys a drone (that Tyler crashed into Lucy's hair while trying to learn how to fly it) and the girls got some Hatchimals to share. Tyler got all the kids a "dad gift" which consisted of a ream of paper and a long reach stapler because the kids love making books (and killing trees). 

From me and Tyler Steven got a weather station, a globe, a Minecraft book and a game called Kanoodle. The weather station was definitely his favorite and he spent a lot of the day reading the manual and learning how to use it. I love that he is interested in weather and things- maybe someday he'll be a meteorologist ;)

We got Ben a Beach Lego set, a Pokemon color by letter, Pokemon cards and a Pokemon binder. Ben said thank you a lot throughout the day and it made my heart happy. It always feels good to know that all your efforts were worth it.

From us Lucy got a unicorn blanket, a Scientist set for her doll, a book and Shopkins underwear. She really did request the underwear- although I think she felt a lot less excited about it when she opened it up for reals, ha ha. In the end I think the blanket was her favorite gift.

We gave Penny a Baby Alive Doll, diapers for the doll, some wooden trains, and a book. Penny had really wanted the doll but I regret my decision to get it for her. Penny can't figure out how to put the diapers on it and her and Lucy spend most of Christmas day making it pee on it's underwear that it came with or just on the floor. This does not bode well for what might happen if I happen to have a fifth child and need their help.

For Christmas I got a Christmas Puzzle and a couple DVD's from my parents. Tyler got me an Jurassic Park Ugly Sweater, a Magic Bullet, a puzzle, some small weights, Oregon Trail Card Game and an awesome "Don't Hug Me" cactus shirt. Tyler was real proud of the sweater but I think I am more partial to the puzzles because I have been pretty puzzle obsessed lately.

Tyler got a Mary and Pippen Funko figures, and a Hobbit Lego set from my parents. From Tyler's brother-in-law (we do secret Santa gifts) he got a beard kit which included some pretty fun beard ornaments. From me Tyler got a NES Classic, Pokemon cards, and a bidet. He had a lot of fun playing Zelda on the NES with the boys but he was less excited about the bidet than I thought he would be- probably because it involves the work of him installing it.

After all the present shenanigans I made the kids our traditional reindeer pancakes. This time I threw in some bacon antlers and that was appreciated by everyone but Penny. She wanted no bacon on her reindeer- I'm not sure whose child she is.

I am super glad that I decided to do the fancy meal on Christmas Eve because this meant the rest of my Christmas day was really nice and relaxing. I took a long shower, worked on my puzzle, took a nap...And all the while the kids had a great time with their new gifts. 

For dinner we had our Jerusalem meal which consisted of hummus, pitas, fish sticks, grapes, cheese, fig newtons and grape juice. Such an easy meal and the kids always love it. After dinner the Mays came over for Christmas dessert. I had bought some chocolate pies and Caroline brought a fancy cake. The kids had a blast playing with their family and Caroline helped me out with my puzzle. It was a great way to end the day. 

The day after Christmas I hit all the after Christmas sales and got some fun new Christmas decorations. I got a small blow up nutcraker for the yard and 3 new nutcrackers for the mantle (a drummer, a Santa and a hipster in an ugly sweater). I am really loving our new tradition of of collecting nutcrackers. I also got new ornaments so our tree won't be confused with a Hanukkah tree again. I'm going for red, white and lime green next year- extremely Christmas colors. My last fun find was a lazy gnome- I don't have the book that goes with it but the lazy gnome is pretty much the opposite of Elf on the Shelf and I am real excited to add his cuteness to our decor. Anyways I clearly spent all my sub money in one swoop but they were all such great deals that I can't be too upset about that.

Thursday we watched 3 kids for a single dad in the ward that had to work that day. Trying to help get through the long day (we had them from 8am to 7pm) with these three extra kids who are not good at sitting in front of a TV screen (I didn't realize what a blessing that is) we took all the kids to the library. Penny ended up puking in the parking lot when we arrived and then napping on my lap the entire time we were there. I feel bad that we not only contaminated the kids we were watching but also that arm chair at the library. At least whatever she had seemed real mild. That was her one major puke for the day and after her library nap she seemed pretty good and by dinner time she was ravenous and ready to eat again.

After the kids we were watching left, we played my Oregon Trail game for the first time. The boys love this game and it's a pretty good one because you are supposed to work together so for the most part they play nicely. Ben, unfortunately, found himself constantly picking the calamity card that says he broke his arm. I hope this is not foreshadowing anything.

Friday was a super warm day with temps in the 50's. I started the day running a mile which was a good choice- pretty much haven't exercised in weeks so I felt a little better about myself after the run. That afternoon we decided it would be a good day to use our new zoo membership. I am glad we did. It was so nice to be outside and a lot of the animals were more active than usual. We actually saw the kangaroos hopping around and even watched two of them box (and then mate-awkward). The water turtles were fighting over lettuce and a Python was weaving against the glass (slightly scary). The wolf came up to the glass to greet the kids and the chimps were all grooming each other. A funny moment at the zoo was when a Gorilla turned it's back to us and Penny giggled, "It's naked!" I think Disney is ruining our kids.

Saturday we took the kids to The Commons in Brighton. They had fun playing soccer against their dad- who does not make it easy on them to score a goal and then they all played really well together on in the indoor playgrounds. The sign says it's only for ages 10 and under which makes me sad- that means Steven is technically only allowed on it for 2 more months. How is it possible that my kid will be 11 so soon!?

Christmas Festivities

This week has been super busy as we countdown the days to Christmas. On Sunday the kids made some Christmas cards for their Grandparents- I was really happy with how fun they turned out. They are definitely homemade :)

On Monday we went on our traditional outing to Wayne County Light Fest. The kids love going here every year. This year the car line in was probably the longest we've been in but it moved quickly and I gave the kids their traditional doughnuts and juice to help the time pass more quickly.The lights were fun as always and the kids all had fun getting to drive for a bit. Tyler decided that this was the boys last year driving though- they are getting way to big to sit on his lap.

Tuesday morning I picked up groceries, volunteered and watched my friend's two kids. Her youngest is 11 months and when I turned my back to her, she pulled down the girl's Christmas tree on herself. I felt like the most negligent babysitter ever. But thankfully it was just a small tree and she was totally fine (as was the tree). That evening I babysat for another friend so her and her hubby could go out on their anniversary date. It was kind of fun hanging with someone else's two little ones for the night- way more chill than my four ;)

Wednesday morning I had the fun of trying to get supplies for Lucy's party. I ended up spending way too much money on craft supplies because it just seemed like a really cute craft that parents would actually save(snowman fingerprint magnet). 

After those errands I had to take Penny to her official speech eval with the school district. On my way there my mind was lost in thoughts over if I should stick with the craft or not and I honestly was not paying a bit of attention to speed limits and my lead foot. Not paying a bit of attention UNTIL I saw the officer sneakily parked at the side of the road. I looked down at my speed and knew I was a goner. Penny very cheerfully alerted me of the police lights behind me. I was very apologetic because I felt extremely bad. I was going a ridiculous 22 over and I told him I was grateful that he pulled me over because I was lost in my thoughts and needed that wake up call. Thankfully he took pity on this hot mess mom and I didn't get a ticket. T am so grateful for that tender, undeserved, mercy.

The Speech Eval itself went smoothly. Penny was very cooperative and I am 99% sure she'll qualify for services. That means that she will probably be going to the Early Childhood Center a couple times a week to work on her speech with a small group and a teacher. Hopefully that will help her to speak more clearly.

Thursday Tyler was off work and since we had nothing going on that morning we took Penny to the Hands On Museum in Ann Arbor. We hit a lot of traffic on the way there (apparently driving in rain is challenging) but Penny had a good time once we got there. Because it was just her for once, she finally got to go into the room that was for kids ages 4 and under. It was fun because it was not as super crowded as the rest of the museum tends to get. 

Thursday afternoon I hung out at my friend's house for a bit. She was feeling kind of down and overwhelmed so I went to give her some emotional support and also helped her with folding laundry. I was glad to be able to help her and grateful for her friendship.

That evening we surprised the kids by taking them out to Chili's for dinner as part of the countdown. It was nice to not have to worry about cooking, dishes and messes and it's always good to have family time. Usually I love the food there but this time around it didn't taste so good. Maybe it was the cook that night?

Friday was a long, busy day. I ran Lucy's class party that morning and that felt very chaotic and exhausting. My cute craft did not work out quite as planned- mostly because the fact that their was only one of me so I couldn't help quite as much as needed. Some kids gloped on the paint a bit too much so it took too long to dry. Unfortunately kids tried to use Sharpie's on the wet paint and all the new Sharpies I bought ended up being ruined. I would say about half the magnets turned out cute- thankfully Lucy's was one of them. 

There were 4 other stations and I think the snowman doughnut hole kabob/snack station was an obvious hit. The snowball toss one seemed to go well too. Pin the nose on the snowman seemed chaotic every time I looked over and the lady who ran "Don't Eat Pete" had obviously never played it before and did not play it quite right. She kept the kids blindfolded the entire time. She was supposed to blindfold the kid while the rest of the group picked which square was Pete and then she needed to take the blindfold off and they would try not to "eat Pete". She left the blindfold on the entire time so the kids were picking m&m's off squares blind- it was real weird, ha ha! Honestly I am just so relieved to have the party over. It was a fiasco setting up with Lucy's teacher gone the entire week (her teacher's dad had passed away) and I think it was such a fiasco because the teacher wasn't there. Now I have a whole month break until the Valentine's Day Party.

Friday night we had our annual Graham Cracker House Party. This year we invited our old Milford neighbors (the Farquharson's) and some new neighbors (the Deaplonty's). It was a lot of fun! Tyler spent the morning building houses for all the kids and even built a replica of our own house. Everyone had a lot of fun decorating and hanging out together. We even played "Don't Eat Pete" - the correct way- and some Pin the Nose on the Snowman. It was seriously a great night all around and I am so grateful for new and old friends. The only not great thing was the Ben and Beck ate way too much candy and then proceeded to run around so neither kid felt too great by the end of the night. 

Saturday morning I overheard Lucy tell Penny that it was not morning yet and Penny replied with "I know- I didn't hear the cock-a-doodle." I wasn't aware that we've ever had a rooster nearby , ha ha! We had tickets to go see the new Grinch movie that morning and the kids were still a hot mess from their sugar overload. We were really regretting buying tickets ahead of time but it ended up being a good time. I love that all our kids are able to sit through movies now.

And now believe it or not we only have 3 more sleeps until Christmas!