Cookie Swap

I had no idea how busy our Saturday would end up being when I declared in November I wanted to do a small cookie swap with my mom friends. I made brownies and Roo decorated all the tags for me. As it happened my little get together forced Mike and I to clean up the front of the house (dining room and Christmas tree area) which I was immensely grateful for. Nothing else mattered for a few hours. I would sit at my pretty table with friends and converse completely uninterrupted by children. It was a much smaller group than I anticipated, but that didn't matter either. It was about taking a break in the middle of all the craziness for an hour or two. It was wonderful! I'm blessed to have friends who bake wonderful things and make beautiful jewelry.

A Special Saturday

Haircuts, princess bun, Birthday party!, loved ones, cupcakes, silly kids, visits with grandmas and greats, presents, cookies, lots of silly fun and an evening with co-workers with thanks from the boss. We started our day early and Mike and I ended it late. It was a wonderful day and so great to see everyone. Happy Birthday(s) & Merry Christmas friends and family!

Party with the Preschoolers

"Make new friends, but keep the old one is silver and the other gold."

We party-ed with the old gang tonight. It was so fun to get everybody together and do Christmas stuff. We watched Polar Express, ate pizza, made treats, exchanged gifts and played with the train! S'munks are marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate (or Nutella in our case) and rolled in crushed graham cracker. I brought a rainbow of sprinkles choices for them to add at the end too.

It's hard to believe our teeny babies are in preschool! They were all big enough to converse with us and hand out their gifts to their friends. There were lots sweet hugs and silly play. They're so lucky to have "old friends" at four. It was a lovely evening. A great kick off to our festive weekend!

Train Night 2013

Train night is a tradition my father-in-law started. We spend an evening in early December playing with trains and watching Polar Express. We used to go to his house because he has the official "Polar Express" train. Last year he brought his train to us since we had a copy of Polar Express 3D. Since last train night, Grandpa took Isaac to a train show and he got his picture in the paper.

This Picture:

A kind gentlemen saw that picture and tracked down my father-in-law because he thought upon seeing the picture, "That little boy needs a train." As it turned out he had a wonderful train and no children to pass it to and he wanted Isaac to have it. Can you imagine? It was one of the most pleasant surprises we've ever had. So, this year we set up Isaac's amazing inherited train around the Christmas tree.

Mike spent weeks cleaning, repairing, testing and setting up. This train set has a working crane that can lift small magnetic objects, a gatehouse with a gatekeeper who emerges when the train goes by, buildings with lighted windows, a milk car that dispenses milk onto the platform with the push of a button and an operating coal station (among other awesomeness)!

As of train night the set up was still a bit of a work in progress, but we had a blast!

More Recent Train Pictures:

Decking the Rest

All the decorations made their appearance a little on the early side this year. Mike couldn't find the tree lights so he pulled everything out of the shed looking for them. It's hard to tell a four year old who hasn't seen her sparkly pink tree in a year that now that it's out of storage we have to put it away again. That just won't fly. We had to replace the lights on her tree because they were stored with the batteries still in, but Dad found her a sting of purple only mini lights. Pretty snazzy.

After her tree was decorated I dug out the pieces to her Christmas village and we set them up next to it. She built that sleigh at a Lowes workshop last year. Did you notice the my little ponies pulling the sleigh? So Riley! Isaac put up a his little green tree and his multicolored lights were still working. I even found him a green tree skirt that I decorated with gold glitter snow flakes.

We got in the mood with Christmas music and some festive head gear. Most of the inside stuff has a set spot so my job was pretty easy.

Mike put up my winter pond scene with a little help from Riley. All our friends returned even my peacock. Although, the tail lights er...lights on the tail feathers gave us trouble for a few days. I observed a handful of times how much more I was seeing that peacock sell for (more than double what I paid). I started joking that maybe I got a deal because ours was for one time use. In the end Mike got it straightened out. Our mom and baby deer were joined by an animated daddy deer. He drinks from the pond. We had to expand the pond this year actually. Our collection of animals grew I suppose.

Ta-da!

Trimming the Tree

We donned some festive shirts before we set to work. I got Roo's on after Christmas clearance last year it says "Santa's Little Helper." It looks like she has an elf body when she wears it. Cute, right. While the adorable seasonable shirts for a 4yr old girl are bountiful I didn't find anything for the big kid so he put on his "Shrek the Halls." Roo's shirt wasn't the only thing I bought and put away either. I got the kids each a Hallmark ornament too. Isaac's is E.T. and he clips on a light and his heart glows red. Riley's is Tinkerbell peeking around a leaf. It was so nice to just have those ready to go.

Mike came into our relationship with a tradition passed down from his father's bachelor days. Ordering Dominos Pizza on tree decorating night. This is non-negotiable for Mike. This is also the one night a year Isaac is allowed to have Coke. In pervious years we got Riley a milkshake so she didn't feel left out, but this year my big girl had Sprite. I had no idea how emotional I'd be about my baby joining in the yearly soda tradition, but I cried a little. She felt like a rock star though. After a floor picnic with a view of the tree it was time to decorate.

Pretty amazing, isn't it? They did a great job being gentle with the ornaments and not moving them once they were in place. I think the tree looks stunning. Now if the kids in front of it would slow this growing up nonsense down. Looking at pictures of tree decorating from the last couple years I teared up. Everything changes so quickly it's nice to have these yearly traditions to come back to. As grateful as I am for the constancy they are an unavoidable benchmark for change. Happy decking your halls everybody!

Visit With the Big Man

I took the kids to see Santa before Thanksgiving this year. Before you become disgusted with how corporate American has brainwashed me and my priorities are all out of whack, let me explain. Last year's Santa visit...well, it left a lot to be desired. We didn't get any of our usual opportunities and the next thing you know we were running out of time. The kids had a good time, but Santa didn't look great or have any lap to speak of. The pictures weren't anything special. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but Isaac is right on the cusp of not wanting to participate and it was really important to me to get what may be the last picture of the kids together with Santa. I needed a good one in case this was it. So, I knew I couldn't wait this year. I got a half off photos coupon that expired on Thanksgiving. I decided to bring the kids down first thing the day Santa arrived.

I got them fed and dressed in an approximation of their Christmas clothes and headed to the mall. We were first in line. We watched Santa ride in on the train. As he passed he smiled warmly and took Riley's hand long enough to squeeze it. She was star struck. We had discussed that this visit was early and it was best to leave their requests general. Isaac struggled with this idea, but in the end politely requested "more Legos." Riley sweetly requested "princess dolls." The kids had a nice visit.

Be careful with your cynicism friends we are all believers here. It is the last magic of childhood I'm trying to preserve for him and the first memories of the magic for her.