Christmas!!

After all of the build up, work, and anticipation, it arrived! And it was a ton of fun.

Christmas for us always starts on Christmas Eve. It is one of my favorite family traditions. It used to involve going to my grandparents' house for pea and potato soup, pierogies, and ham. I have always loved being with my grandma (and, when he was alive, my grandpa). Especially since my parent's divorce when I was 11, they always made me feel safe and good. In some years, that was also the only time I really saw my aunt and uncle, which is always a treat. Add to the mix my mom, who I can't get enough of, and of course, Dale and my sisters, and it is no wonder that Christmas Eve is one of the best days of the year.

The location and the menu have changed a bit, but the spirit of the day is still the same.

This year we gathered at my mom's house. The snacks, drinks, and conversation were enough to keep the adults busy, but the kids were restless. I was empathetic, since I vividly remember feeling the exact same way when I was younger. We had to wait until after dinner to open gifts, and I remember my mom saying that we had to wait because everyone was relaxing and talking. When I was younger, I wondered what was so great about talking. Now I get it, but I also understand the temptation of a huge pile of gifts. So we let the kids open early.

check out the massive pile of gifts!

a beautiful bracelet for my beautiful girl. she loves accessories. we joke that it must have skipped a generation or two.

Oli figuring out a puzzle with Uncle Bob. That ball haunted us for days until Tim finally "won" the game.

misteltoe

My amazing (and stylish) grandma. I love her so much!

Oli in the coolest coat ever.

a Miles meltdown

My wonderful mom and amazing Miles. We don't have enough pictures together. I lover her so much!

Enjoying time with people I don't see nearly enough of!

My sisters are the best aunts ever!

For the first year EVER, we weren't traveling anywhere on Christmas. And I mean the first time since I was 11. Until I started dating Tim, Beth and I would wake up and open gifts with whomever had "custody" of us Christmas morning (or just my mom's house once we got older), then go to church and see my dad for lunch, and then head to Suz's house for dinner. Once I started dating Tim, we cut out Suz's house to visit his parents instead. This year, since we saw Tim's parents on Sunday, we decided we would just stay home on Christmas. I was a little afraid it would be a bit boring, given my previously detailed traveling history, but I should have known better. I actually knew it would be a lot of fun, but was worried that it wouldn't feel like Christmas. I have to say, it was a TON of fun, but by the time we sat down to watch TV at night, I did kind of forget it was Christmas.

a pre-gift shot

Without fail, Oli fell in love with all of Miles' toys

After gift opening and relaxing (i.e. playing video games. Oli got the xbox 360), we headed to our local Chinese restaurant to celebrate Christmas a la A Christmas story.

They didn't have a full duck (which is a good thing), but, since it is not strictly chinese food, they did have Tom Yum soup and sushi. Oli and Miles went traditional with sweet and sour chicken

But Mac, Tim, and I couldn't resist the Sushi.

Mac asked if we could do this every year. I'm not sure if a new tradition was born or not. But either way, it was a wonderful day!

And I Thought I Wasn't Running a Half Marathon Until the Spring...

 The sheer number of things to do before Christmas is enough to make the most patient person crazy. And the older the kids get, the more things get added to the list.In general, I make a concerted effort to not get stressed out. It is not the point of Christmas, and I refuse to let Christmas-related activities get me down. They are meant to be fun.

When I think about everything we have done in the last week, and what we still have to do, I am  amazed. Here is a look at our last week.

Even though I hate the snow, I couldn't help but love the view. Driving to Aunt Beth's for cookie making.

Aunt Amanda got in on the action.

On Sunday, we headed to Beth's house for our annual cookie making day. What started 8 years ago as a somewhat drunken, totally failed attempt at making Christmas cookies for our church's cookie walk has evolved into a pretty successful venture. This year, we stuck to store mixes with homemade buckeye's and had a successful turn out. I really got into the baking spirit this year, giving cookies to teachers and co-workers. In turn, I got two jars of homemade jamr. From now on, I think that homemade gifts are a great way to go!

In between activities, Miles keeps us really busy with his love for grabbing things off of the tree.

Cookie baking, again. This time, with church community group.

It wore sniper and Miles out.

My talented artist at her holiday concert on Wednesday!

More cookie making Wednesday night!

Homemade photo gifts!

My attempt at snacks for the kids' holiday parties. I got to go to Oli's party on Thursday.

Enjoying a gift card and a break on Saturday. Tim worked all day, so we all needed a night out :)

Sunday again! Starting the Christmas celebration at Tim's parents' house.

Looking forward to a fun-filled holiday week, and wishing everyone the same!

Captain Underpants

As always, a lot has been going on. Especially with this guy.




I went in for parent-teacher conferences last week, and had my suspicions confirmed. Mac and Oli are both doing well in school. Mac is "one of the top students in the class," and Oli is -- wait for it -- performing at grade level! He is doing overall well, although he needs to improve his handwriting and work on becoming a bit more mature (Kindergarten is a whole new place these days). And, when I asked about reading support, I was told that he didn't need it right now!!! Reading support was the bane of my existence last year, and now, it's not even part of our school year. Happy day!

One thing that the teacher mentioned is that when Oli gets his diaper changed, he says that he is embarrassed that his diapers peek out of the waistband of his pants, and that he wants underwear. My heart sank. He never mentioned it to me. He is definitely starting to notice all of his differences. I had been holding off on getting underwear in order for it to be a reward once his bowel and bladder program was completely under control. But, given our setbacks (again) with the bowel program, I figured that could be far in the future, and if underwear would make him happy in the short term, why not.

So out to Target we went, and picked out two packs of superhero underwear. I wanted to laugh and cry. I have been eye-ing up the underwear ever since he was a toddler (that looks really weird in writing). Like shoes, underwear has always served as a painful reminder to me of the things that Oli can't have/do. While I am generally pretty positive about things, little boy underwear and shoes always tug at my heart. So, this was a momentous occasion for both of us. It felt so good to let Oli pick them out. He was SO excited. And every day we put them on (over his diaper) he is still so excited. He tells everyone what underwear he is wearing (which I realize has to stop, but it's pretty funny to hear).

We have also been decorating for Christmas, and the result is a really relaxing atmosphere in the house. The living room is now my zen! We got Miles a new stocking, and our stairway now looks complete!

This guy can't keep his hands off the tree.

Decorating with Aunt Amanda

A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner

Relaxing during the parade.

Thanksgiving Eve

Remember when...

The day before Thanksgiving was for drinking? I do. Those were the days! We had some good pre-Thanksgiving parties/nights out, followed by some pretty hung over Thanksgivings. Even just going out for dinner and a few drinks was a great way of celebrating.

Then, a few years ago, we started the tradition of going to NYC to see the floats the day before Thanksgiving. That was one of my favorite family traditions! But, now that we live in PA, and Tim works the day before Thanksgiving, our plans have shifted again. Last year, we had a newborn and couldn't do much of anything. This year, Tim is working and we are housebound since I can't lift anyone to go out.

It's still aiming for a  magical day. I love Thanksgiving, and as everyone knows, I love to drag out celebrations as long and far as I can. So I like for today to feel like a holiday. Today it sort of has/sort of hasn't. But as the night goes on, I'm feeling the holiday mood.

I prepped ahead, and set up a double play date. That could have backfired, but it actually worked out just like I hoped it would. Mac and her friend Zoe, and Oli and his friend Owen, played all afternoon. To make things more festive, I bought hot chocolate, marshmallows, and whipped cream. One big mess and a hyper daughter later, I kind of regretted that, but it was all in the name of "holiday."

The kids are pretty mellow now, including Miles, who has found his new favorite place to hang out. It has allowed me to search for Christmas gifts online, and even order Miles' Christmas stocking.

It's almost time for a warm, kid-pleasing dinner (baked chicken fingers dipped in almond meal and breadcrumbs. The paleo bug has bitten just a little here), followed by desert, a Star Wars special on TV, and bed.

And then, I'll have my Thanksgiving drink or two. Some traditions are too good to let go of altogether!

And be very thankful to be exactly where I am.

Little Brag

There are many times each day that I am proud of my kids.

Today: Oli was able to read all of his word ring words!

As I've mentioned, we are in Oli's second go-round of Kindergarten. We aren't sure if he has learning disabilities, or was just a young 5, with a birthday so close to the cut-off for school, and needed an extra year to get started. So far, this year, he seems to be doing well and keeping up. By the end of last year, he could only recognize a few of the words on his word ring, which is paper cut-outs of words that he is supposed to memorize. After reading his homework book, we pulled out his word ring from last year, and Oli went through every word! There were a few that he was way off on, but when I called him out on it, he go the right word immediately. I'm assuming that he was joking with me when he missed them, but with Oli, you never know. Either way, I am so happy that he is making progress. I am looking forward to parent/teacher conferences in two weeks to see if he is doing as well as I think he is.

My little tenderoni -- cute and smart. This guy has it all!