Christmas 2016

We had a beautiful Christmas day, just our little family.  We woke up and opened presents, followed by cinnamon rolls (a family tradition, with a recipe passed down from my grandma) and cold milk.  The boys spent the day playing with their new toys and we all rotated playing games-- Yahtzee, Sorry, Checkers...

I also worked on my Christmas puzzle and read more of Winter Storms by Elin Hildebrand.

For dinner Josh made a turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing.  I made a new creamed corn recipe that I got from Julie at Thanksgiving.  Wyatt ate his weight in olives (placed on his fingertips first, of course) and I ate dill pickles. Yum!  For dessert we all ate Hello Dolly's (also known as seven layer bars). It was a delicious dinner that was enjoyed by everyone.

***

We are so blessed.

Around Here: Week 52

Opening... presents on Christmas Eve, Christmas day and on Wednesday at my parents & at aunt Julie's house. Holy spoiled children!  (wink wink) They were so excited and grateful for everything.  It's fun to get them exactly what I know they'd love.  Logan got Star Wars toys & Monopoly, Jack got walkie talkies and a Seahawks football, and Wyatt got the Paw Patroller and some new books.  They all got games (Jenga, Sorry, Yahtzee and Checkers) plus slinkies.

Keeping... our family traditions, despite the fact that I broke down in tears on Christmas Eve because the kids had been fighting so bad all day.  I felt better after crying and we managed to make homemade pizza and watch Polar Express like we always do. It was exactly what I needed to end what was an exhaustive parenting day.

Moving... Wyatt to and from his bed, depending on how long it takes Carly to cry it out at night. Sometimes by bedtime I have just had enough and if she is uncooperative, I leave her to her own devices at bedtime. I hate doing it, but my sanity requires that I have some time to myself with all four kids in bed.  Luckily Wyatt doesn't mind sleeping in mom & dad's bed.

Continuing... to sort and KonMari the house.  I have done my clothes, my books and our linens.  I can't wait to dive in again after the new year!

Traveling... to Vancouver Wednesday to spend some of our Christmas break with family.  We have spent time with everyone except my grandparents who are sick.  I am so bummed we didn't get to go visit with them while we were here.  I do miss them.

Watching... Logan do Carly's hair in the bath tub.  He loves to get it wet, then comb it all different directions or give her baby mohawks. He's such a good brother.

Celebrating... Carly's first birthday a month early.  We decided to have a party while we are here in town because having everyone travel to us is hard to accomplish.  Her party was precious-- all her loved ones were there; she was so cute opening her presents and playing with her toys; and her little dress was like a dream come true.

Leaving... Carly for the first time yesterday.  We left her for a few hours with my parents to see a movie with just the twins and Wyatt.  It was so lovely to spend some time with our boys.  We saw Sing and they really enjoyed it.  Carly spent half the time asleep in my dad's lap, which just melted my heart.  And in the afternoon we dropped her off with Josh's mom (while my mom had our boys) and went on our first real date since Carly was born in January.  We did a little shopping at the mall (which felt so luxurious sans children!) and then had dinner at Red Lobster.  Dinner was quiet and delicious.  It was wonderful.  Although my favorite part may have been when we went back to pick Carly up. She squealed upon seeing me and crawled with impressive speed to where I kneeled on the rug.  (Spoken like a true mom, right? I finally get a break from the kids, and all I wanted was to be reunited with the kids. Go figure!)

Accepting... that snow is a real part of my life now.  It snowed three more inches over Christmas Eve and even more is expected this weekend.  My biggest complaint is just the kids' gear. So much ever living gear to keep track of. We've lost more gloves since November than I'd have imagined possible! After weeks of yelling at the boys about it, I have resigned myself to buying more pairs and letting it go. I'm tired of nagging.

Witnessing... Wyatt bloom.  He is really just coming into his own.  School has taught him more than I ever thought possible in four short months.  He is writing and reading with increasing accuracy, and his coloring and cutting have improved tenfold.  A few days ago Josh caught him with one of the twins' chapter books sounding out words.  We're just so proud of him.

Anticipating... the new year and all it will hold.

Looking... for my word of the year for 2017.

and

Contemplating... goals for the new year.

***

Around Here: Week 51

{"Before" of my closet} 

Cleaning... the house before we left last weekend to visit my parents.  I so love when it's clean!  Luckily I've learned to just enjoy it while it lasts and not stress over how quickly it meets its demise.

Enjoying... a quick trip to Vancouver.  It was my mom's birthday party weekend and I am so glad we were able to make it. I've missed her birthday for years since we were in Alaska.  It felt great to make a reappearance. Even if we did stay up until 2 in the morning talking.  Totally worth the tiredness the next day to have had some one on one time with my mom.

Thanking... my lucky stars that Carly slept most of the drive there and back.

Making... all the treats for the boys' school parties.  Rice Christmas krispie treats & cinnamon rolls, yum!

Staying... home on Tuesday since school was canceled for freezing rain.  Unfortunately for Logan & Wyatt, their class parties were supposed to be Tuesday, so instead of sharing with their classmates, they got to share their class treats with their brothers.

Wrapping... gifts like mad yesterday during Carly's nap time.  I hadn't wrapped a single gift before then, so I had my work cut out for me!

Reading... Bird by Bird and hoping to finish today.  I'd like to read Chasers of Light and finish Believing God before the new year.

Finishing... Winter Stroll and Winter Storms by Elin Hildebrand.  Gah, they were SO good!!!

Starting... a Christmas puzzle two days ago. Doing puzzles makes me ridiculously happy.

Feeling grateful... that Dashy our Christmas Elf goes home tonight. I'm exhausted from all the forced creativity. Buh-bye Dash. Have a safe trip North!

Sorting... through all my clothes and books via the KonMari method. I read the book in three days (found it on my library's ebook page!)) and then got started.  I got rid of so.many.clothes. Probably 2/3 of my clothes.  I am selling some stuff, but donated a lot at Goodwill.  I also sorted through my  jewelry which felt great (it's so good to have only what I love in my jewelry box) and I went through all my books.  I had 126 books, 6 magazines, 2 bibles and 19 misc/empty journals. ...and that's just my collection of books.  The boys collection probably has double that!  I made good headway though, getting rid of 42 of them!

Watching... my Christmas-card-covered-door fill up.  All the love from my people makes me happy!

Painting... my toenails the happiest shade of red. I finally got around to getting them done and I'm so glad I did!

Loving... my new drying rack for all the snow clothes that I got at Ikea last weekend.  My mom and sister swore by theirs, so I purchased one for myself and it is awesome!

Cursing... my children's need for glasses.  Yesterday Logan & Jack were fighting and the new glasses just got Logan (at Halloween) got broke.  They were $75. And they only lasted two months! Grrr!

Goals for this week:
Today I will be making Cinnamon Rolls & Special K bars
After Christmas I want to hit the post-Christmas sales to find a fake tree & a new star topper
Other than that, it's family time and relaxing!

Around Here: Weeks 47 & 48

Whew! Last week was an amazing whirlwind.  Because of that and our spending the holiday with family out of town, my regular Friday post never happened. So I will combine this week and last week.  Thanksgiving will have its own post soon.

Jack & Logan 2010

Wyatt 2012

Celebrating... my birthday (again!) with my parents when we arrived at their house last week.  The boys (& my nephew Ferris) got to try lighting matches and helped my parents light all thirty-four of my birthday cake candles!

Reading... Flight Behavior. It took nearly half the book for me to get hooked and now instead of showering this morning I read while eating Froot Loops as the kids got ready for school. I am so anxious to see how it ends!
The twins and I are also finishing up My Side of the Mountain. When that's done, we are going to read BFG by Roald Dahl.  I am loving that time with them each night after the little kids are down.

Decorating... for Christmas! We got our tree at Lowe's, but the kids were content to check out the blow up decorations, so I refuse to feel guilty that we didn't do the whole "Christmas Tree Farm" thing. They enjoyed decorating the tree and Wyatt has enjoyed un-decorating it everyday.  He takes a handful of ornaments off each morning and afternoon to use as makeshift toys. I remember loving to play with some glass bears we had growing up, so I let him, even though rearranging ornaments every night is getting old already.

Starting... our Elf on the Shelf holiday tradition with Dashy our friendly elf.  So far he has turned our milk green, held baby Jesus from our manger scene, climbed up on the clock on the wall, and been caught drinking syrup through a straw on the kitchen table. The boys really love his shenanigans.

Preparing... to do 25 days of kindness.  Each day has a simple thing we can do to bring a little more love into the world and I'm excited to get the kids on board.

Done... Christmas shopping.  We only bought gifts for the kids this year, and I bought every single thing except one online. I felt great about that until Jack snuck in my room and peeked into the box from Amazon that had all their gifts in it. Gulp.  Ah, parenting.

Hoping... to get our Christmas cards done over the weekend so I can get them out early since we moved.  I like people to have our new address before they send out their Christmas cards.

Enjoying... the roses Josh got me for my birthday. They lasted a super long time and made me smile each time I walked into the kitchen.

Watching... sweet Carly suffer from a terrible cold. She's snotty and coughing and so, so sad.  I wish I could make it go away!

Finishing... my first puzzle in our new house. It was so fun to work on it off and on over the last two weeks. I love doing puzzles so much.  I have a great one waiting for Christmas break. I can't wait!

Getting angry... at Ramona (our cat) for scooping water out of the tree stand in the living room like a person who can't swim bailing out of a boat that's taking on water. She is SO naughty!!!

Feeling... inadequate, especially at bedtime. There are four children in this house, and only one mother. I could really use another me, or three.  I often have Wyatt requesting that I lay with him, the twins waiting for me to read with them and do bedtime prayers, and Carly screaming to be fed and put to sleep.  It's so hard to juggle it all.  By the time they are all in bed each night, I feel as if I've completed a marathon.

Jumping... for joy as our ice maker and garage door opener have been repaired.  (New Home Warranty for the win!)  I've never been so happy to push a button and have something do what it is supposed to!

Choosing... the material I want to use for the taggies my mom is going to make for Carly. She's currently using Wyatt's, but we want her to have her own girly ones.  I am in love with the material choices I found in my mom's stash!

Looking back... at the twins and Wyatt when they were babies, as well as paging through photo albums at my mom's house. So much fun!

Rejoicing... that we got good, normal results from Logan's EEG a few weeks back. It seems that seizure was a fluke.  I am so relieved and grateful.

***

Weekly goals:

1) Write my Christmas letter

2) Address our Christmas cards

3) Paint my toenails