Christmas as it Comes

So another Christmas has come and gone.  This year seemed quieter, less giddy.  For me, mostly.  

The kids of course, were off their rockers, so excited for it all.  

Our family dinner was smaller, with my bro-in-law and his wife home with a brand new baby.

My family was back home in GC.

So it was just our family unit and the inlaws.  Good company.

GoGo added several new things to her American Girl collection.

Walks With Purpose needed very little assistance this year with her gifts.

She was so fun to watch.

And listen to her yell "I Got A Tar, Mommy!"

Translation:  I got a guitar, mommy!

D got his first "real" rod and reel - set up to handle salt water fishing as well and he is psyched. 

                              What It Is All About.


 

The girls wore matching dresses but little else was alike between the two.  GoGo wore Barbie make up at 8am and WWP ate Santa's leftover cookies at 8am.

D with his first pocket knife!

Merry Christmas, Health and Happiness in 2012!

I Wish I Could Get A Soundtrack For Today

It is our first weekday of Christmas vacation.

Two of us are still in our jammies and it's past lunchtime.

My 3 little people have been playing well together for about the last hour upstairs.  

I have been downstairs pretending to do my "chores" while really surfing Pinterest and FB.

It has gone from bliss - where you hear your kids talking, planning their pretend play, reading stories to each other, laughing.

To whining, crying, yelling.

In between there were lots of noises that sounded as if large dressers being moved across the floor.

A few quotes from today:

"No, roll me UP in the Twister mat."  

"Let the epic battle begin!"

"Get a tissue for that booger, Nora."

"I farted, I farted!  HaHaHa!"

"I didn't mean to hit you that hard!  Don't tell Mom!"  

When I finally did make it upstairs to survey the damage, this is what met me.

Seriously, I could barely make it up my own stairs.

What could possibly be going on here?

My bedroom is beyond trashed.  But that's a pretty good fort.

This, apparently, is the girls' fort.  A little less organized than D's.

An Epic Trashing of the Second Floor.

The End.

Sometimes You Don't Realize You are Speaking Out Loud

It's Christmas time.  Everyone is supposed to be full of love, joy, peace.

So.
Hubs buys a bench and some weights and installs it in our closet, for some reason.
The other night he and Walks With Purpose are checking it out.  He swings a weight around and accidentally scrapes the wall with it.  Naturally, Dammit escapes him.
WWP is on the bench attempting sit-ups.  Which, for those who have seen her Buddha belly, was really quite a sight to behold, I'm sure.  Anyway, each time she is able to come up for a sit-up, a Dammit escapes her.  Thankfully, she was only able to complete about 3 sit-ups before the Buddha got tired.

This Dammit thing is her go-to, apparently.  The other night GoGo was working on her math homework on the computer and must have missed a question and a sigh of frustration escapes her.
Next to her, a Dammit escapes Walks With Purpose.
GoGo calmly calls to me in the other room - "Mom, Nora said dammit."
Just as one would let you know there was someone on the phone for you or it was your turn in Monopoly.

This morning I consumed most of an entire pot of coffee so I'm a bit of a spaz.
WWP asks me to turn the Rudolph song on in the playroom, on GoGo's cd player.  I am attempting to turn it on as I lean precariously over the pile of toys/junk/etc that occupies that corner of the room.  I am hitting the button and nothing is happening and I'm becoming a wee bit frustrated.  I feel something not nice about to come out.
GoGo comes to my rescue.
"Mom, do you want me to show you how to use that?"  Pause.  "Because I know everything."
"Use what?", I ask.
"The cd player.  Because you were hitting it and that is NOT how you use it."

One of my sweet kids from my Faith Formation class was kind enough to give me a gift card to Dunkin' Doughnuts so I load all 3 kids up to go dine on bagels and fried dough.  Everyone of course is jockeying for a seat in the van (they really are ALL the same, people) and in the chaos, WWP bites GoGo on the belly.  I mean broke skin.  So now I have GoGo crying in the back with WWP yelling and blocking my path and D playing his DS mumbling something about how he just wanted a bacon/egg/cheese bagel.
Jesus-Mary-and Joseph people!!!  Can't we even ride to the DD in peace???  It IS Christmas after all.

We are officially on Christmas break.  Beginning today, we have 16 days to enjoy one another.
And I fully intend to do so, dammit.  Merry Christmas!

Today

I did a lot of "feel good" things.

I had coffee with a good friend and her sweet baby.

I dropped off 4 bags of toys to Goodwill.  Hope some little people out there enjoy them.

I dropped off a huge bag of shoes and coats for kids going without in our area.

I volunteered for 2 hours in GoGo's classroom.  I used a hot glue gun, cut ribbon, addressed envelopes and got Gingerbread houses ready for decoration.

I spied on D in his class.

I ordered 36 holiday cupcakes for GoGo's class holiday party.

I dropped off treats and holiday paper products for Walks With Purpose's class holiday party.

I took pictures of my Christmas decorations.  With Christmas music blaring.

Much better than yesterday.


I argued with D about his math homework.
Me-"Oh!  I didn't know you guys were learning to carry the 1."
D-"We're not."
Me-"Yes, you are."
D-"No, we're not, Mom."
Me-"Um, yes you are.  Right here."
D-"I have no idea what you are talking about."

Turns out they don't call it that anymore.  It's grouping, which is basically a bunch of sticks and dots.  WTF?  Must they change everything?

I had a bit of a row, with GoGo yesterday.  Over piano.  And her lack of practice.
I gave her my best mom-knows-best lecture about the need for practice, how it makes perfect, and other such nonsense.
She doesn't give in and I drive her to her lesson, convinced she will not pass this week's song.
Alas, I am proven wrong.  Not only did she pass, she was assigned 2 new songs and her teacher tells me "She has a knack for this.  A natural ability".  What does GoGo say?  "HA-HA-HA, mom."
I just got schooled.  Again.

Recently, I have  lost my patience with Walks with Purpose for a multitude of things and I may or may not have said a few potty words under my breath.  Have we met?  Maybe they weren't quite under my breath.
Purpose picked up a doozy and now I am begging her not to repeat.  I remind her it's potty talk, not nice talk, not good manners talk.  She pauses.  She looks at me.  She repeats her potty talk.
My thoughts exactly.

Confessions, Christmas Craziness and More

D took a big step towards his First Communion this past weekend - First Reconciliation.  Or, Confession, if you are old school like me but that seems to confuse the youngsters now.
He was so nervous - he has this little finger twisting thing going on when he's anxious about something.  It was palpable and I felt for him.  But he marched right on up to the front of the Church and laid it out there.
Somehow in the midst of his soul baring, he found it important to tell the Priest that "his sister drives him nuts".  I suspect this was to explain some of his sins away.  Which, he "only told him 3 things because that's all I could remember."
Sounds like plenty for a first-timer.  Then he came back to the pew and we prayed his Penance together (only ONE Our Father!) and he beamed at me and asked me how he did.
I could have eaten him up right then and there-so proud.
GoGo will be next year and that may be a longer process...

So we are in high Christmas spirits around here.  Lights a-blazing, music blaring, Elf on the Shelf out.
Each and every year I tell myself to slow down and really enjoy the Season for what it is, not what it's marketed to be.  Because each and every year I am a bit depressed after Christmas is over.  It goes by in a blur and all that seems to be left are shards of wrapping paper and cardboard boxes being turned into forts.
Are my kids really getting the message?  Do I have to remind them of the Birthday that IS Christmas?
No and Yes are the answers, unfortunately.
So this year we are adopting a family in need-not just an Angel Tree gift, although we've done those before.  This is the whole kit and caboodle-adults and kids both, food and gifts, bare necessities.  I don't know if it will help but we're going to give it a go.

Meanwhile, my little people are trying hard to be good, for that Elf is watching closely.
Walks With Purpose has repeated a few choice phrases recently (picked up from none other than Mommy) and both GoGo and D have reminded her that the Elf is watching and she may not get any presents for having such a potty mouth.  Ugh Oh.

I feel like so much is crammed into the next 2 weeks between school functions, parties, extra holiday projects, etc.  I'm sure I will forget a thing or 2 between now and then.

Like moving that Elf each night...