Christmas

Sunday we had a nice Christmas Church Service in the morning. The girls sang a few songs with the primary and choir and Ben played the chimes for a few songs. Their was a perfect variety of music and short talks. I wish every sacrament meeting could be like that. I took my traditional pic of everyone in their "Christmas" church clothes and I took it in my traditional place. Only now my traditional place has a dumb TV above it so my pics all have a dumb TV in the background. Time for a new picture place.

After church Tyler got the turkey ready while the kids and I got cookies cut out and ready for frosting. It was nice to not have anyone to host for Christmas dinner but with church basically taking up our whole morning, it felt like there was still lots to do before dinner. But cookie decorating is always a good time. Lucy made Ruby a crown and the kids (and Tyler) had fun putting candy eyes on their cookies. The kids are also doing better at not completely covering every single cookie with sprinkles.

Around 6pm the turkey was ready and Ruby was super cranky. She has another tooth coming in and I think it was bothering her because she basically cried through dinner and the rest of the evening. The dinner was delicious, just hard to enjoy with a crabby pants. After dinner, we opened our traditional Christmas Jammies. This year I did a "Home Alone" theme. Everyone's shirt had a quote from "Home Alone". When jammies were all opened and on, I ended up taking Ruby upstairs to nurse her to sleep. The rest of the kids went with Tyler to see Christmas lights in the neighborhood. I was a bit sad to miss out on this tradition but also, Ruby was much too fussy for it to be enjoyable.

That night we didn't stay up very late. Now that all the kids are not Santa believers, it meant stocking could be filled much earlier than usual. The next morning Ruby wasn't up until 7 and then I had to nurse her so Christmas didn't start until 8am. I know that the older kids didn't love having to wait but I appreciate that they are old enough to BE ABLE to wait. They were all downstairs eagerly awaiting my arrival but they all insisted on going back upstairs to take their traditional picture at the top of the stairs. I thought that was funny that they wanted to do that. We only did that before because they had to wait upstairs so that their unwrapped Santa gifts could be a surprise but since there weren't any unwrapped Santa gifts this year...it was just about the picture tradition...

I think I did good with presents this year, everyone really seemed excited by their gifts and they have all been pretty entertained with them this past week. 

Ben got Pokemon Cards, a Star Wars Lego set, a Zelda Book, Luigi Mansion Game, a puzzle to do with me, a 7-11 giftcard and Crest Whitening Strips (he was complaining about having yellow teeth and said he wanted them). His favorite Christmas gift was the Luigi game. 

Steven got a NY Skyline Lego Set, a Golden Snitch Perplexus Ball, Blue Mtn Dew, a Steam giftcard and gaming remote. He immeaditely bought himself a game to play on Steam so I think that one was a hit. He does love gaming with his friends and honestly, when he is interacting with friends while playing, I don't mind it too much.

Lucy got an air fort (and a box fan to go with it), a wiggle board, a duffle bag for sleep overs, a light board, a fashion/drawing book, a reading light and more film for her camera. Lucy's favorite gift was the air fort. Her and Penny even slept in it that night. I attempted to go in the door of it but my bum got stuck and I made the fan tip over. I don't think I will be invited back in.

Penny got an Our Generation Doll, a Stitch Costume for the doll, a dog house and dog, Paw Patrol Liberty toy, a fashion/drawing book, Stitch Doll, and an LOL doll (I am not a fan of the LOL doll, their clothes are not very modest). Her favorite gift was the Our Generation Doll and the Stitch costume for it. Seeing how I gave her one of those dolls years ago and she gave it away...let's hope this one lasts...Maybe she just needed to be a little older.

Ruby got some "indestructible" books, a book with pics of all her cousins and aunts and uncles, "A Christmas Story" Fisher Price People, a crab that moves and plays music, and a toy that will suction to her high chair tray and has lots of things to chew on. The crab has really helped with tummy time. She loves watching it move around but the repetitive music on it might drive me crazy.

I got a new purse and wallet, Nike shoes, a coatigan, Lego plants and new pots and pans. It's hard to pick a favorite but I really did enjoy making my Lego plants this year while watching shows. It was very relaxing. And I love joking with the kids about how cool I am in my Nike kicks. Honestly these are the coolest sneakers I have ever owned. I am usually just a Skechers shoe person.

Tyler got a Harry Potter Lego Set, illustrated Lord of the Rings, a "stupid" shirt, a lock picking kit and a record player. He spent all of Christmas listening to his records (especially the Johnny Cash one his sister got him) so I am going to say that was his favorite gift. I think I did pretty good this year.

From the grandparents the kids got a really awesome tablet with all sorts of "board" games. They have loved playing Life, Guess Who, Monopoly, Clue...My favorites are the more arcade like ones- Whack-a-Mole and Air Hockey. The tablet has definitely gotten a lot of use this Winter Break and I think it will be great for the long winter months. I love that it brings the kids together (even if they fight sometimes).

After the presents were opened, Tyler called his sister to see how they were doing and ended up inviting them over for lunch (shrimp and leftover turkey). That meant I had to do some quick cleaning since our house was a bit of a disaster from all the present mayham and cooking from the day before. The kids also did some cleaning up of their gifts because they didn't want Mariah's kids to destroy any of their new things. Her family ended up staying for a few hours and then we went back to playing with our new things and just having a chill day. We did our typical Bethlehem dinner that night(hummus, pita chips, fish sticks, grapes...) which I love because it's so easy to put together.

Tuesday morning I woke up ready to take down Christmas. I love all the decorations but they also make the house feel really cluttered and messy. It felt so good to clean it all up and in the process clean up the house and put away all the new things. I basically spent the day getting my house back in order. That afternoon Lucy did have a friend over and they were bored as per usual. All the new things and still they're coming to me asking for entertainment *sigh* I don't know why Lucy struggles with finding things to do with her friends here. The rest of the kids don't seem to have any problem with that.

Wednesday I went to check out some of the after Christmas sales. I restrained myself and didn't buy much. Just got some Christmas books and a cute Christmas sweater for Lucy for next year. I enjoy trying different Christmas Tree color themes each year but I couldn't justify buying new ornaments and things- even at 50% off. Mostly because I am not sure where we will store more things. Lucy also went with me on these errands because she was jealous of Penny's Our Generation Doll and wanted her own. I had thought we were done with having to give them both similar gifts but maybe not? So Lucy cleaned and vacuumed my car out to earn the extra money she needed to buy one. Now her and Penny can play with their new dolls together.

Thursday afternoon I took the kids to the church in Brighton that has an indoor field and playground. Penny had been begging to go there so I finally complied. Once there I think she had a realization that this place was more fun when she was younger. They did have some fun playing soccer for a bit on the field (I even joined in and got some pointers from Ben) but the indoor playgrounds were just not as fun as they had been when they were younger. After we had been there for a bit Ruby decided to erupt and I mean erupt- massive puddle of spit up on the ground that needed multiple wipes, paper towels and a spit up rag to clean. I had just been grabbing the diaper bag to go change her diaper when she did this. After cleaning up the mess and changing her diaper, we all decided that this outing was over and headed home. I am not sure we will be going back anytime soon.

Friday Mariah's preemie, Maverick, came home. That was an exciting text to receive. I am happy that they can all be together and at home now. Friday morning Tyler and I did a little outing to Hobby Lobby. He needed some frames- 1 for a certificate that Steven got in his Cyber Security Class and 1 for some maps from his new Lord of the Rings books. I tagged along just because it's Hobby Lobby and it has all sorts of things I like to look at. We were going to go out to lunch too but the one place we stopped at (Lena's Kitchen) was so busy that we decided to just pick up Jimmy John's instead. We had to take a pic of Ruby with the sub because the last time we had done that she was just a newborn. She has grown immensely in the last 4 months.

That afternoon Lucy went to Claire's for a sleep over and the boys went to a roller skating church activity. The rest of us went on a super thrilling outing to Costco. Penny was feeling left out so I asked her if she could have anything for dinner what would it be. She chose Wendy's, so we had some super fancy Wendy's for dinner. 

Saturday morning Grace and I took Caroline out to breakfast for her birthday. Once again I probably talked too much, having a baby gives you a lot of things to vent about. That was pretty much the highlight of my Saturday. The rest of the day was spent just chilling together.

Christmas Countdown

This week was an at home week for school for the middle 3. I hate at home weeks and I was even less thrilled that it meant that I had to help the kids with school work a week before Christmas. This is really making me want to quit this hybrid program. I was not so good at helping them get things done because I was so disgruntled about things. Monday morning I went to Grace's so she could fix my terrible haircut. She did amazing as usual. I wish she didn't have hand issues so I didn't feel guilty asking her to cut my hair. Monday night the girls had an activity and Tyler took them. Apparently with temperature drops the roads had iced over and one of the leaders got in an accident on the way to the activity. Thankfully nothing too major but what a bummer.

I spent a lot of Tuesday having the kids root through their toys and their rooms so that we could make some room for the new things that will be coming on Christmas. It was quite the ordeal and I was reminded why I usually do this without them. They do not like to give away/get rid of things. That evening, while the boys were at their youth Christmas party, I decided to have some fun and took some Christmas pictures of Ruby. The hardest part was that she kept trying to put everything in her mouth. I'm grateful for a fancy phone camera that allowed me to do some editing to where I think they almost look professional. 

Wednesday evening Lucy had her last volleyball game. Grams Hatch was able to come so that was nice. Her team won the first round and then lost the last two but their were some good volley's to watch and Lucy made some good efforts. Afterwards I went home with Ruby but Tyler and the rest of the kids went to DQ with Lucy's team to celebrate the end of the season. This is an outdoor DQ so I think that was a weird (and very cold) way to celebrate but the kids did not mind.

Thursday morning we discovered that Ruby had a tooth! That would explain a lot of her behavior. 

Thursday was a bit busy. I made a quick trip to Kroger's for some last minute things. Then I went and had lunch with Grace and Caroline where I talked way to much- it was clear I was needing a vent session. After that I had a dentist appointment with a very chatty hygenist. I also like to chat so I think the cleaning took twice as long as necessary but I won't complain too much about that. I will complain that apparently an old filling as cracked and there is now a cavity under it. Dentist says it's close to the root so I might need a root canal. Boooo. After my appointment I went home and made a quick dinner and then we went on our traditional outing to the Wayne County Lightfest. Only this time we had Mariah's family join us. We met at their house, the boys got in Mariah's car (because her boys love our boys) and then we followed each other there. Once we paid our car fee and were in the gates, we pulled over and Jessie came in our car (they hadn't wanted to move out her car seat). I also changed Ruby's diaper because she had a major blow out. She still has the yucky poop, it just hasn't been as frequent. But it always seems to be messy. I changed her formula and can't decided if it's better or worse. Less frequent pooping but more frequent spitting up... Anyways back to the lights, they were a good time as per usual.

Friday evening we had our annual Graham Cracker House Party so I spent the day getting the inside ready while Tyler spent the day making trophies for the party. This year we shook things up and Tyler didn't make houses for any of the kids (mostly because he didn't have time) but I do think that was a good change. It led to a lot more creativity from the kids. We also had new winning categories (most beautiful, most creative, most epic scene- instead of 1st, 2nd, 3rd). The kids all spent a good hour creating and then we all voted. Jenna won "the most beautiful". She was the first place winner last year so she seems to be reatining her title. Ben won "most creative" and he was so happy. He has been desperate to win an award for years. He had made a factory. Steven won "most epic scene". Steven had made a boat in space. The girls were both very sad that they were not winners. Penny had tried for "most beautiful" and Lucy went for "epic scene" by making Rapunzel in a tower. I really liked Lucy's tower. Tyler was happy that we actually got to keep 2 of the trophies in our house.

After the graham cracker making was done, we did the Saran Wrap Ball. They were much less crazy with it this year- maybe because Jacob wasn't there? I was suprised by how calm everyone was. Then we did "Don't Eat Pete" but with a twist- we used Bean Boozled Beans. It had flavors like toothpaste, dirty socks and fish...Less kids played and the ones that did, were really hoping to get to "Pete" quickly. It was pretty entertaining to watch the kids faces when they got gross flavors. They had me play too and thankfully the worst I got was toothpaste. I was pretty lucky and got "Pete" after eating 2 beans. Their Uncle Jeff played and was way less lucky- he pretty much ate every gross flavor possible. I would say it was another successful party hosted by us and even Ruby did a good job of not being fussy.

Saturday was a day for last minute Christmas prep- wrapping the rest of the gifts, going to Kroger's for a few more things, making sugar cookies to decorate the next day...That night we had a White Elephant party at Melissa's house. It was a pretty good time. Chatting, snacks and treats and a of course, a white elephant gift exchange. Tyler got a cookbook by Snoop Dawg and I got a "People of Walmart" coloring book. Steven got a Frozen lunchbox (that he gave to Isla), Lucy got a chicken hat and yellow gloves (she loves them), Penny got a deck of Harry Potter cards and Ben got an obnoxious rubber honking pig (really don't know what to call it). I was grateful they did not get the pet goldfish because we do not need another pet, lol. Once again Ruby did really good so that helped us all have a good time. We also tricked the men into all wearing matching shirts- "Go Jesus It's Your Birthday."