Month: December 2013

We spent the day unpacking and finding homes for the new Christmas items. We had originally planned to be in Memphis today so other plans were made for our neighborhood New Year’s Eve party. Thankfully we could now join in the fun at Nicki’s. The boys were charged with making Whiskey Sours. Alex loved the leftover lemons but Teague took a single lick before walking away.

Then it was on to the party. Good food. Good drinks. Happy New Year!

We got home and had the boys in bed by 9. Then Wade held the first meeting of the Tosa Bourbon Club (consisting of just himself and Mike) to try out his new bourbons and ring in the new year.

Today we had breakfast as a family – with eggs scrambled by Teague.

Then we loaded up the car for the long drive home. We got settled in the car and ready to pull out of the driveway when we noticed the rather large crack in the windshield. I immediately called and have an appointment for a new windshield to be installed tomorrow.

The boys were fantastic during the drive and were largely entertained by electronic devices. (I figure if they have to be strapped into a seat for 10 hours they can pretty much watch as much TV as they want.)

I married into Wade’s family nine years ago and they came with some interesting traditions. One of those is the Christmas Poop. Years and years ago someone shellacked dog poop and gave it anonymously to someone else in the family. Now it reappears in random ways each Christmas. Alex was a little confused and bewildered to receive it this year. It took some convincing to get him to believe it was actually dog poop and had been a gift.

It seems Wade may have actually inherited some of his creativeness. Pop has taken up turning wooden bowls (see here) and Uncle John has started turning ink pens (and numerous other items). Both of them made toys for the boys this year for Christmas and I was once again blown away by what some people can make.
Pop made crow sounders – which the boys love as noise makers.

Uncle John made wooden cars – using scrap wood from shotgun stock.

Today was the day for presents at Granny and Pop’s house. The boys were pretty well behaved through breakfast (including Judy’s excellent coffee cake) and then they went bonkers.

When we thought every box and bag had been opened, the boys were told there were still two gifts left. They finally eyed the bags on the mantle and found pictures of the items inside. They couldn’t wait to find their shoes and head outside to try them out.

And what holiday celebration would be complete without a ride in a Japanese fire truck? The boys loved going for a ride in the yard.

Our new holiday plans included staying at home (and having Gram come up for Christmas) and then traveling to Memphis for a few days. (The grand plan will be to switch that next year and visit Paducah after Christmas. I think we’ve given up on visiting every grandparent house for the holidays.) The boys were great on the 10 hour drive and Mom was super happy that we found a Waffle House for dinner. We arrived at Granny and Pop’s just in time for bed. The boys seemed excited to be sleeping in the same room and Alex decided on the couch instead of an air mattress.

The boys were so excited to see what Santa left under the tree. Alex got his much desired Fire station and Teague got his police car. The boys played and played most of the day and we all just enjoyed being at home.

This is the first year we have not traveled for Christmas. We were excited to try this new arrangement and make some new traditions. We decided to open most of our gifts on Christmas Eve Day (which is what my family has always done) and leave Christmas Day for Santa and playing. The boys were super excited and couldn’t wait for our breakfast (biscuits and sawmill gravy) to end so that present opening could begin!

Then we played, decorated cookies for Santa, napped, had a big dinner, and attended a Christmas Eve service. The boys were excited to get home and in bed so tomorrow morning would come quickly. They did take time to spread the reindeer feed on the font porch and set cookies and milk out for Santa.

If you look to the right, on the toolbar. You will see a new icon – Instagram. I have decided to make my instagram public and so included a link to make it easier for people to see even more pictures from our crazy life.

This just might be my favorite winter yet. We got another good snow and spent the day enjoying it with our neighbors! It’s definitely going to be a white Christmas.

It is a rare occurrence when we get crafty, but it does happen.

My kids don’t really seem to care about temporary tattoos (and I certainly don’t) so we rarely have to remove them. In the last few months, Teague has come home from school with a tattoo at least once a week. Normally we leave them for a day or two and then really scrub in the shower. Wade commented on one that just would not come off. I happened to mention it to the teachers and they told me the secret to removal – packing tape. I never would have thought to try it, but it works like a charm!

It’s the year of music programs. Mother’s Day Out had it’s first Christmas program this year. Wade and I arrived to a packed sanctuary and watched the kids file into place. I walked up front to get a few pictures and say hi to Teague. I’m not sure if he was overwhelmed by the situation or seeing me and then not knowing where I went. Throughout the songs (which he knew) he kept repeating, “Mommy mommy” over and over. (Poor little guy.)

After the program, Santa came to their room to say hi. He handed out candy canes to everyone but only a few lucky little kids got to sit in his lap – Teague being one of them!

Alex, Teague, and I were sitting down to lunch. Alex suddenly asked if we could Skype with Aunt Lissy after nap. I asked him why. His response, “We need to tell her not to send any more Christmas presents or Santa won’t have anywhere to put his gifts.” (This is more humorous knowing that Melissa only sent one medium sized box of gifts. Other people have sent boxes and we have wrapped quite a few too.)

You know you live in the North (with lots of snow) when your jeans look like this at the end of the day:

Tabit seems to appreciate all the extra boxes around our house the last week.

We have finally started wrapping presents at our house, but I haven’t remembered to buy tags. For me that means I have strategically placed piles. For Wade, a sharpie was the solution. Wade is always a little creative with his tags, and these were some of my favorites:

Most of Alex’s friends have birthdays between December and February. Abram’s started off the birthday season at Alex’s favorite place – Swiss Turners. (Alex is already requesting to have his birthday there again – just like last year.) My favorite picture is definitely the last one – Abram and Alex and a birthday hug.

Neither Wade nor I are very particular about our shampoo. To make my life easier I buy a large bottle at Sam’s that we both use. I do switch up the brands every time but that’s just for fun. I rarely pay much attention to what I am buying. A few weeks ago I noticed that my hair was feeling different – much more coarse (normally it is very fine) and difficult to manage. I blamed it on the weather till our trip to Boston where it was suddenly back to normal. Then it occurred to me that it might be the shampoo. It turns out I bought shampoo for frizzy, dry, or damaged hair. Oops. Lesson learned. I need to pay at least a little attention to what I buy.

Alex had his first school music program today. He has been talking about his songs all week and even told me at the end we would clap and he would take a bow. Today Wade and I sat in the auditorium and watched the Junior Kindergardeners file in. All of the children were trying to find their parents and then waving and talking when they did. You notice my child is one of the few still standing after having been asked to sit by their teacher.

Then the principal announced a time for all the parents to come up front and take their pictures – genius! After we all had pictures it was time for the singing. The group did a great job with their three songs and then took their bow.

After the program we went to Alex’s room to pick him up. Our little reindeer was happy to cheese for some additional pictures.