Avalanche of Posts

Oh my gosh, I am so incredibly behind on my holiday posting. So many pictures, so little internet time on our trip!

Get ready, when I have a chance, there will be an avalanche of posts.....

Twas The Night Before (an Early) Christmas!

Since we are traveling for Christmas this year, we asked Santa if he would mind stopping by our house a bit early this year. He said it would take a little extra effort, but was not a problem and he understood why we wouldn't want to pack all those extra things on our trip!

So, for us, last night was Christmas Eve! I have to admit that it did feel a bit jarring to have it this early, but we made a fun and festive night out of it. The kids are at SUCH fun ages for this sort of magic. I loved it. Join me as I document our Christmas Eve Story 2008:

************

First activity was to make chocolate chip cookies for Santa. I did something I don't usually do and I let the girls roll their own cookie balls! They really loved it. You can see Pey in the background....she ate more than she rolled.

Just one of the 75 pictures from Peyton on my camera. This one was actually cute and not of someones toe or ear like all the others!

Had to snap this photo. Peyton is absolutely obsessed with being perched on the counter. Especially if I am baking/cooking anything. The entire time I made the cookie dough, she asked "what's that mom?" and wouldn't stop until I told her the actual name of what I was putting in there (which, I have to add, it must be really confusing to a two year old why I am putting "flowers" (flour) into cookies!). The other thing she is doing in this pic is using a pen inappropriately, which is another one of her obsessions lately.


We watched our Christmas home movies from last year. They loved remembering what they got and seeing how they looked. I think that might be a fun tradition to start.


Of course, they opened their Christmas eve matching jammies. Gotta do that tradition. I got these on clearance last year after Christmas for like $1.50 each set! They loved the bunny on the front.



I have to include this as part of our evening. This sweet little girl below has been acting pre-teen lately to an extreme degree. I seriously need the Supernanny. Anyway, we had a babysitter (Emily) earlier in the day for a while, and apparently Jordyn was rude when Emily told her she wasn't allowed to have our neighbor over to play while I was gone. She did her attitude and backtalking, which I had thought she saved just for Tucker and I. I was really upset when I found this out. But I kept my cool and told her that she needed to write an apology letter to Emily. So she did and we delivered it with some treats to Emily's house!

Here's the note. It's the third draft. The first two, she tried to justify why she was rude! (She wrote "I'm sorry for speaking meanly to you, but I really wanted to have Emma come over and play....". What a stinker!


OK, so we hopped in the car to run a few errands, and most importantly, look at the lights! One of our favorite things to do this time of year. Peyton would be happy if we did this for 7 hours each night.


The girls ran some of their cookies up to one of their favorite Young Women, Silvina.


Then we came home to play a few rounds of our new game! Katie & fam sent us a fun game for Christmas called "Don't Eat Pete". Simple and fun. The girls thought it was really funny. We had to remind Daddy not to yell with too much enthusiasm because it was startling us (and making mommy and Lexi feel grumpy). Fun game, thanks Katie!



This is just a photo of one of my very favorite Christmas Decorations. It lights up, showing the Nativity, and plays "Oh Holy Night" my fav Christmas song.


Time for bed, and time to set out the cookies for Santa!


Santa set up the presents just right and brought the girls their most requested gift....a Baby Alive!


Santa always left me a special note growing up, so I'm glad he does the same for my girls.


This is the baby Alive called "Wets and Wiggles". She moves, coos and pees. Just the thing I want around the house! But the girls....well, this is a dream come true for them. Much more fun than the other 15 dolls we have who don't do anything but lay there.




Done helping Santa....ready for bed. Around midnight, not to bad.




On to the next morning! Peyton got up at 5:00, but went back to bed around 6:00 (just layed in our bed while we tried to sleep, while telling me she "needs" eggies. She got milk instead.). That was the exact time Jordyn got up and layed in our bed. For an hour we told her to stop wiggling, stop figiting, wait for Lexi and Peyton to get up. Anyway, by 7:00 we were all up and ready for fun! The girls were SOOOOOO excited to see their Baby Alive Dolls. Everything else was fun, but more of a formality. It was actually a fairly simple Christmas, but perfect too.


Pey got into the unwrapping this year!


Mommy Mistake: Jordyn and Lexi got the same doll, the Baby Alive Wets & Wiggles. But I told Santa that Peyton was little and didn't need the elaborate one, so she got on that opens and shuts her eyes when you turn the bottle. Funny that I did that because I learned long ago that you triple it, or you don't get it at all! So we spent the day with the older girls crying to me "Mommy, Peyton won't give me my Baby Alive!". Who wants to fight with a two year old all day long everyday? Plus, to give Pey some credit, their dolls were really fun how they talk and wiggle.

So, after the girls went to bed, Tucker went to KMart and exchanged Pey's simple doll for the "real thing". So tomorrow we will officially have THREE Baby Alive Dolls crying, peeing and wiggling around our house! Glad I don't have a real one to add to the mix.....I think I would have to take the batteries out of theirs!

It was a fun early Christmas eve/day. And we have a few more celebrations to look forward to still! I love making things magical and memorable for the girls. (I also love Amazon, and online shopping more than I can explain).

Merry Christmas

For some reason, the more society tries to eliminate the term "Christmas", the more I want to smear and yell "MERRY CHRISTMAS" all over everything!

Regardless of a person's religion, it has been termed "Christmas" for hundreds of years. Why change it now?

"Christmas" as "Christ's Mass," the celebration of Christ's birthday, originated when the Roman Catholic Church decided to consecrate pagan traditions. The Church wanted to convert the pagans of Europe to Christianity, and as a way of doing so, they established a Christian religious meaning to the important and popular celebration of the winter solstice. (more here)

So what used to be "Christmas Break" for school, is now officially "Winter Break". 90% of cards say Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings. Many stores around here won't even play traditional Christmas music! Everyone's trying to be politically correct. But, essentially, aren't we still celebrating Christmas? (those of us that do). I mean, eventually will our kids be so exciting for "Holiday" to come? Or will we all celebrate "Winter Solstice" someday? I wonder, will my grandkids even know what "Christmas" is?

It's just a strange society to me. Porn is commonly acceptable (and that is pretty much what you can see even on MTV now), but be careful uttering the name "Christ" so you don't offend someone who doesn't believe! Backwards.

Call me old fashioned, and that's okay. I love it all. The traditions, the memories, the remembering the life of the Savior. It won't change for me, and my grandkids will know what Christmas is.

Oh, and by the way.....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

2 Year Old Shots

I took Pey to Dr Saigal yesterday. I'm usually (intentionally) behind on shots, but what prompted this appointment was a possible day-care I may use a few days a week while I student teach. Really good day care, by the way. But I'm still figuring out what our schedule will be while I'm teaching...Speaking of that, I have an "interview" today with National University for them to place me in a school. They said "dress to impress and bring your resume!". Two things I haven't done in about 8 years!

Anyway, she is the funniest kid. She was really unsure of the Doctor. And then felt quite offended when the nice nurse handed her some cute Barbie stickers...and then a minute later stabbed three shots in her leg! Sad. By the third kid, you'd think I'd be a little more tough skinned when it come to shots, but nope. Hate 'em still.

To pass the time and avoid Peyton running through the halls of the pediatritian's office, we had some camera fun.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Then They Go and Do This....

After wallowing in my mommy-vent still today, I decided to buck up and give it my all tonight since I was alone in the bedtime ritual. Tucker is so much more patient at it than me, but when he's gone, I try to step it up a bit.

So, tonight went a little better. And, if I do say so myself, it was 100% because I tried harder and made the right move at every little tiny dip in the road. There were about 15 places we could have flown right off track into melt-down mode, but somehow I kept my game on. That happens on occasion. It's like a perfect ping-pong match, where somehow I hit every ball just right and won the game (all three in bed at 8:20, no complete melt-downs, everyone basically still happy).

And I even got a cute picture of the subjects-at-hand! Love when that happens.



Some funny things I KNOW I'll forget:

• Peyton is SO aware of smells. The other night, we walked outside and it smelled like cow manure (who knows?) and she said "Mommy, it smells STINKY!". I love when she says "smells", by the way, because she nearly omits the "s" and it's more like "mells". Then tonight, she said "Mommy, 'mells GOOD!" as she sniffed her blankie. She noticed that I washed it today! How funny is that for a two year old? She talks about smells like 5 times a day.
• Lexi asked me the other day if she could have this house when she's a mommy because she loves it so much. Cute!
• Lexi very decidedly tells us that she HATES races (competitions, not ethnicities...). Tucker will sometimes try to motivate them with things like "Who can brush their teeth first?" or "Who can buckle first?". It used to work, and still works like a charm with Jordyn. But Lexi doesn't budge and says "I don't like races!!". Takes after her mommy on that one.
• Jordyn really really really doesn't want to be considered a "little kid" anymore. Afterall, she's nearly 7 ya know. She tries to act so old and wants to be a grown-up so bad, but doesn't quite have the maturity to match. So it's a fun balancing act for all of us. Her favorite thing right now is to wear any shoes of mine that have a heel (preferrably that make a clicking noise when you walk) all over the house. If I can't find my shoes, they are in her room!
• Jordyn and Lexi reluctantly helped me clean out the toy room the other day so we could donate lots of their toys to needy children. But once they got into it, they were so helpful! They even helped take them to the donation place today! Lexi said she wanted to give the needy kids a hug. Jordyn said she felt both sad and happy to do it. I was proud of them.
• Jordyn and Lexi both ask me very often "Mommy, why does Peyton love you the most?" or "Why do you love Peyton so much?". I try to give an explanation, but that is how they see it I guess! Every morning, they argue over who gets to have Peyton sit/lay by them. They are very protective over her!
• Peyton likes to tell me everything she likes or doesn't like. All day long. I love it actually. So, recently it's been "I like Santa Mommy!" or "I like the pretty lights". She often tells me, "I like pretty hair mommy" (meaning mine) or "I like Baby Einstein". Sometimes, as she throws her quesadilla she'll yell "I don' LIKE it Mommy!" (the don't doesn't have the "t", emphasis on the LIKE).
• Peyton is incredible and knows all of her ABCs (capitals and lots of lowercase) - thank you signing time and Letter Factory!
  
• Lexi makes absolutely SURE I give her tons of hugs before I leave her classroom (after volunteering). I love it and soak it up because someday in the future I'm sure she'd rather die than do that at school.

*by the way, Beth's coffee cake recipe is linked on the side. Check it out!

Mommy Vent

All I have to say is: Anyone who has/is/plans to raise three or more children deserves a special spot in Heaven, no questions asked. Seriously.

(not that anyone who raises one or two children is any less important or amazing!)

I can't believe how overwhelmed I am as a mother on a constant basis. All too often, I think to myself "what have I gotten myself into!" and "Can I REALLY do this?". Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing it all wrong to make me feel this way, or if this is just how mothers feel even when they look like they've got it under control on the outside?

Come to think of it, I think that's probably how people see me. I don't walk around like a big, messy tornado....and my children and I often look like we've got it all under control when really, inside, I often feel like I'm walking a tightrope and I'm ready to fall off. I don't know. It's so harmful to judge "a book by its cover" I guess.

It's such a conflict of emotions to love these children so much, feel so protective of them, so thankful for them and to truly cherish the role I play of a mother. While at the same time feeling totally inadequate, frustrated, short-tempered and like I'm surrounded by total chaos. ALWAYS. Okay, to be fair, maybe 7% of the time I don't feel this way, but at LEAST 90% of the time I feel totally frazzled.

How do people have more kids? Is it my kids ages, stages, personalities? Who knows.

Before entering motherhood, the things you think about when you picture being a mom are the logistics. Feeding them, bathing them, driving them around, doing homework with them, taking them to soccer, having Christmas morning with them with their huge smiles, etc. What you DON'T picture beforehand are all the pitfalls.....the tantrums, the fighting, the ridiculously huge messes, the spills, the opinions, the disobedience, and the emotional wear-and-tear it takes to know how to handle all of this!

Growing up, I remember my mom occasionally making the comment (when she was frustrated) "I'm not cut out for this!" (meaning motherhood). And, honestly, I really hated it! I never understood WHY she'd say that because I thought she was such a good mom. And even when she'd get upset, I'd forgive her so quickly that my love for her always overrode my frustrations. So I really, really try to not say things like that to my kids (sometime it's hard). Instead, I'll try to explain that "mommy is having a hard time right now, or mommy is frustrated and I need your help" etc. But what I WANT to say is "Everyone get away from me! I am NOT the mommy right now!".

I took dinner to one of my friends from church tonight who has an 11 day old baby. She was so snuggly and tiny and sweet and....most importantly, quiet!! I said "Awww, don't you just LOVE snuggling with her??". And her response was slightly hesitant as she said "Yeeeaahhhh, sometimes". Quickly, my mind raced back to 6 1/2 years ago and remembered how overwhelming it was to have ONE little baby. How my world was turned upside down. And how tired I felt all the time! It really wasn't until my third child that I could really feel what I inquired of my friend of "Awwww, I LOVE snuggling with her!" because it was THEN that I really knew how- even through the exhaustion - short, quiet, precious and simple a small baby really is.

In all honesty, I don't want to back-out, I don't want to erase my kids, but I also don't want to feel totally overwhelmed by the task-at-hand! It just takes CONSTANT balance. And really, I don't know where the energy is supposed to come from to raise these kids! I probably need to pray more, who knows. Raising these children is stretching me so much farther than I ever thought possible...that it actually hurts. I guess I've got constant "growing pains", huh?

To end my vent, I have to say if I could thank God for only one single thing right now, it would probably be that the kids go to bed before me! That way I can refuel for the next day's adventures :-)

Lindy's New Do!

Look how cute Lindy's hew hair cut is! I can't believe she did it, but she was so ready for a change she said, so I watched the kids while she spontaneously got it cut and shocked the heck out of Mike when he got home!

BEFORE

AFTER (Mom came to watch us sing last night for the first time since she's been out of Harmony....4 1/2 years!!)

Tis the Season for Baking!

I LOVE baking! If I could, I would probably do it ALL day, seriously. Well, if I had someone to clean up after me, and do all the chores around the house and pick up the kids, etc.....then I would happily bake all day (and be 600 lbs probably).






I made Beth's "famous" coffee cakes this year. They are a lot of work because there are two fillings, but they are so worth it! I'll have to see if the recipe is top secret or not, so if you're interested let me know.



Peyton is ALWAYS next to me when I'm in the kitchen. I think she will be the next Rachael Ray!

Chuck E Cheese's - Happy 4th Birthday Lyric!

Lindy had Lyric's fourth birthday part last week at Chuck E Cheese's, and the kids LOVED it! We got there early and didn't realize how lucky we were until the HOARDS of people started pouring in the later it got! Talk about LOUD and CRAZY!! But my kids are still talking about how much they loved it. And I was so glad to be able to make Lyric a Snow White doll cake for her birthday!

Mr. Claus

Typical of my children when they are under 3, Peyton HATED Santa if she was within 6 feet of him. But she loved him from afar! Luckily, Jordyn and Lexi have grown out of that!



Apparently, Paxton is unsure as well, but just a little less hysterical than Pey. Lyric looks as happy as ever!

Christmas 2008 Piano Recital

Have I mentioned how much I love this piano program? LOVE it, and so do the girls. The recital is so fun because they get to perform both as a class, AND their solo pieces. So they aren't as nervous because they have their cute friends up there with them.

Lexi's Class: Sarah, Logan, Andrea, Lexi

Cute princess on stage! She didn't even act nervous this year!

Another cute princess on stage! Jordyn Lyn.

Jordyn's class: Calvin, Nolan, Atticus, Stephanie, Jordyn and Tommy