Christmas Eve with the Noble side has come and gone - this year we tried something new and got together in the afternoon so the kids could play outside. The annual feasting, Christmas Eve service, stockings and present exchange went well.
Back at home, the little ones slept in on Christmas morning. Our traditional Christmas runs like this:
When the kids (and parents) wake up, they discover their stockings at the foot of their beds! They can open them as soon as they're awake. The kids usually end up with a good dose of candy before breakfast (although we went easy on the goodies this year - only a handful of special treats).
We have a special breakfast. This year was chocolate crepes, stuffed with berries and bananas, served with chocolate flavoured whipped cream.
Daddy said grace, and we all ate together, taking our time.
Next, Daddy read the Christmas story from Luke.
At this point, the kids are getting a bit impatient...Mommy, too :)
Then, we open presents!
Here's Graedy, with his Black & Decker tool kit. He's been "drilling" anything and everything in the house.
Maddie got a pogo stick. She needs to gain a few pounds to make it work right, but she's been trying hard to get it to bounce.
Eva with her very big doll. She named it Lucy-Anna.
Baby Gen was my best present this year!
Later, we congregate at Grammy & Grampy Patterson's for the traditional Christmas turkey dinner.
What's missing is a part that describes How Mothers Shower. Here's how that would look:
Around 11:45 am, realize husband is about to come home for lunch. Glance in the mirror. You look like crap. Plop kids in front of TV to ensure relative safety while you hose down. Lock all the doors. Put up all the baby gates. Order the kids not to open the door, answer the phone or touch anything. Make them repeat it.
Grab clothes from the dryer. Slip on a puddle on the bathroom floor. Turn on the water. Shut off the water. Go back to the kitchen and turn off the dishwasher, since you want an even water temperature during your shower. Try again.
Put your jammies (the flannel ones) into the separated hamper. Sigh. Take all the clothes out and put them back into the hamper in the right place. Make a mental note to show the kids and the husband how neat and tidy the bathroom is when the hamper is used correctly.
Step into the tub. Grab the shower rod when you slip on an entire shampoo bottle's contents all over the bottom of the tub. Rip down the shower curtain while trying to save yourself. Tread carefully.
Grab a cloth. Look for the soap. Try and salvage all the little bitty pieces on the edge of the tub leftover from the kids' game of "Make Barbie Soap". Give up. Rub the bottom of the tub with the cloth and use the leftover shampoo instead.
Stick your head out the curtain (what's left of it). Yell, "WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING?" Don't believe the, "Nothing!!" Yell back, "I CAN SEE YOU!!" Smirk satisfactorily when you hear them scamper back to the couch.
Open the peanut butter jar that the 4 year old just stuck through the curtain.
Look for your razor. Find it next to a bald Barbie doll. Skip it. Make a mental note to put razors on the shopping list.
Yell, "WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING?" again, for good measure. Step back and trip over the naked 2 year old who decided a shower sounded like fun. Sigh. Hose him off.
Shut off the water. Puzzle at the silence from the other room.
Get out of the tub. Grab the only towel and dry off the kid. Do your best to dry yourself with the wet towel.
Write "razors" on the steamy mirror. Write "Tylenol" as an afterthought. Write "liquor" as a joke. Well, not a funny joke.
Start dressing the kid, back into his old clothes. Shiver, since you're still wet. Pull on your own clothes. Realize you took 2 shirts out of the dryer, instead of 1 shirt and pants. Make a run for the dryer, again. On the way to the laundry room, trip over the toys, crayons and books that weren't all over the floor when the shower began. Evidently the kids didn't stay on the couch like they were supposed to.
Pick up the baby for some much needed cuddles. Get spit up on. Decide paper towel will work just as well as a shower to clean up with. Answer the door bell to let the husband in, since you forgot to unlock the doors and dismantle the baby gates.
Decide to "go green" and save water with monthly showers (worked in the middle ages!). It's the only way to save the earth, AND your sanity.
The craft fair is done, over, finito! It went quite well, I think. I'm a bit biased, but I think we had the most interesting table at the fair. Here's a quick look:
We've got quilting, candles, painting, prints, ornaments and kids' toys.
This is my stuff, below. The crayon rolls sold the best, followed by the I-Spy bags. I sold every one of my Play-Dough mixes.
Our strategy was simple: Bait the crowd of holiday shoppers using cute and cuddly babies.
See, it worked! Hi, Bob!
Most men ... can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it obligates them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught others, and which they have woven thread by thread into the fabric of their lives." - Tolstoy
My little niece, K, turned one a few weeks ago. I'd been knitting her little finger puppets and I'm so glad she's received them because now I can share them with you!
I went with a 5 Little Monkeys theme. I printed and laminated the poem, and made 5 monkey puppets. They're all a little bit different from each other.
Here's a close-up of one of the little fellas. I hope she likes them and has fun playing with them!
Last night was our annual Homeschool Christmas Concert/Get Together. Each family or child can participate. All you need to do is let the coordinator know what you are planning to do, and sign up. Usually, our family does a little something for each get together. It's usually a reading, or a poem or something simple. This year I just hadn't had the chance to organize anything that involves practice. Lack of time and sleep, I guess.
So, we went to the Christmas party to watch and encourage the other kids. And for the food.
We sang some carols, listened to a couple poems and enjoyed some piano playing. Those kids are pretty good! Better than me, anyway. We were all having a good time when I noticed Eva fidgeting in her seat and whispering with our coordinator. After the last kid was done, wouldn't you know it - the coordinator announced....Eva!
Now, understand, we hadn't practiced anything and Eva hadn't mentionned a thing to me about performing. She marched up to the piano, sat at the bench and played a little melody that she just made up as she went along. It was actually pretty good for a first time at the piano. She finished her song, got up, turned around, smiled at everyone and sat down. I'm pretty sure I clapped the loudest of all the parents.
The girls were pretending to be mommies having their babies. Maddie and Eva discussed which one of them was going to have the breech baby, and which would have their baby head first. Eva lay on the floor, crying out while she pushed. I watched from the couch and finally said, "You know, Eva, you don't have to lie on your back to push the baby out." Maddie pipes up from across the room, "Yeah, you could just squat!"
