It really is a bit of a crash after Christmas isn't it? My kids are in sugar induced hyperactivity on Christmas day and there is usually still a bunch of candy for them to stay on the sugar induced high the day after Christmas. Today though it's a whole different world. The candy is gone, dad is back at work and all of a sudden four kids all need mom at the same time. Of course I am looking around trying to figure out what project I want to tackle first- the laundry that's piled up from the weekend, the tree that is dieing in the corner and needs to be undecorated, the rooms that are a mess and need to be cleaned up and toys sorted so there is room for the new toys...
Nothing on my list will get accomplished today and I was getting upset about it. I was starting to stress over why oh why I can't ever get anything done around here. But this Blog is theraputic. Now all of a sudden it doesn't really matter. I'll take another day and sit and play with the kids, watch some movies and tv, play some games and the other stuff will keep. I think we've got another 2-3 days worth of clothes to wear. If they don't match the greatest that's okay because we aren't planning on going anywhere... lol! The toys can be sorted next week just as easily as this week and we'll just have to make sure we clear a path in the rooms till then. The tree is a bit of a fire hazard in the making so we'll have to get to that sooner than later, but I think we'll be fine for another day or two.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Christmas
Well we had a fun Christmas at our house this year. The kids were up bright and early Christmas morning. Santa left some Christmas Captain Crunch cereal for the kids to have for a special Christmas breakfast treat (Captain crunch is loved in this house, but mommy never buys it so it is really a treat in two ways... sugarry and sweet, and they only get it on very rare occasions). Rich and I laid in bed listening to them talking and being so excited about all the presents... Rich got up a few times when we could hear them moving boxes around. By 6:50 am we decided to go ahead and get up and start the fun. 
I hope all of you had a fun and enjoyable Christmas.
We make the kids sit down and we open presents one at a time starting with the youngest person. Then we go around the family opening one present at a time until people don't have anymore presents and then we start giving the kids family presents to open. This was the first year that Angela was really able to get into unwrapping the presents, and the first year that Alyssa really got into the Santa fun. We got a lot of games this year so we are excited to have so many new games to put in our game closet for us to play with. The kids were happy with the presents that they got and we had an enjoyable day without any real arguments at all.
In the past I've had some years that I've felt I've gone overboard on buying stuff for the kids, and some years that I really felt like I should have gotten something better or more- I don't know I just didn't feel like the kids got the right gifts... this year seemed to be a happy level. We got the kids about 3-4 gifts and then they each got a gift from each set of grandparents. It seemed to be just about right so I'm very content about what we did for Christmas this year. Here are a few more pictures... Alyssa was very into helping us clean up the mess.
I hope all of you had a fun and enjoyable Christmas.
Christmas Eve
I LOVED having Christmas Eve on a Sunday this year. I'm sure it has fallen on a Sunday in the past, but it didn't really register with me like it did this year that it was so wonderful. In the past Christmas Eve would be filled with stressfull stuff of making sure I had everything we needed and running out to the store to get the last minute stuff, then stressing about getting the meal done on time, having time to get in the Christmas Story and putting out the cookies and milk for Santa before bedtime. At least the kids always would go to sleep very willingly on Christmas Eve, but it always felt stressfull and not calm and quiet.
This year it was so much more peaceful and calm. A huge part of it was because Rich did so much for Christmas. I just have an aversion to going out and shopping and spending money and stuff. I don't enjoy it at all and get stressed out and overwhelmed when I go to the stores. Last year and this year Rich has done almost all of the christmas shopping for the kids. We would sit and look at toys online and talk about the different ideas that we had for the kids and then he would go to the toy store and buy it all and make the decisions from what was there. He has taken over the stressful part of Christmas for me and left me to deal with the part I like. I like the baking and cooking and decorating. That part really didn't have anything to do with Christmas Eve being on a Sunday, but I do have to acknowledge that it was a major part of it being less stressfull for me this year.
The part I loved about it being on a Sunday, was that we spent Christmas Eve at church in the morning, and just relaxing as a family in the afternoon. I did some cooking in the kitchen, but the kids and Rich played games and just spent the afternoon doing quiet and peaceful activities that seemed to complement the spirit that we want for Christmas instead of us being so busy and stressed over things that we are fighting to have a peaceful evening before the kids go to bed. We still had to wrap presents after the kids went to sleep, but that is always fun to sit and wrap presents with Rich and fill the stockings. Angela was still awake, but she's young enough not to be able to tell the other kids what she saw. :)
This year it was so much more peaceful and calm. A huge part of it was because Rich did so much for Christmas. I just have an aversion to going out and shopping and spending money and stuff. I don't enjoy it at all and get stressed out and overwhelmed when I go to the stores. Last year and this year Rich has done almost all of the christmas shopping for the kids. We would sit and look at toys online and talk about the different ideas that we had for the kids and then he would go to the toy store and buy it all and make the decisions from what was there. He has taken over the stressful part of Christmas for me and left me to deal with the part I like. I like the baking and cooking and decorating. That part really didn't have anything to do with Christmas Eve being on a Sunday, but I do have to acknowledge that it was a major part of it being less stressfull for me this year.
The part I loved about it being on a Sunday, was that we spent Christmas Eve at church in the morning, and just relaxing as a family in the afternoon. I did some cooking in the kitchen, but the kids and Rich played games and just spent the afternoon doing quiet and peaceful activities that seemed to complement the spirit that we want for Christmas instead of us being so busy and stressed over things that we are fighting to have a peaceful evening before the kids go to bed. We still had to wrap presents after the kids went to sleep, but that is always fun to sit and wrap presents with Rich and fill the stockings. Angela was still awake, but she's young enough not to be able to tell the other kids what she saw. :)
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
I should be making dinner right now... but I decided to do breakfast for dinner tonight so it should be fast and easy to make. The kids are all home from school now for the holiday and the next two weeks should hopefully be full of fun. I'll admit it is a bit apprehensive for me to think of all four of them home all day long to keep them busy without just letting them sit and vegitate in front of the tv or computer all day long. Next week should be a little easier because there will be new toys from Christmas presents to keep them playing happily without fighting as much.
We made gingerbread houses last night... below are a couple of pictures. Not the most fancy houses, but it was fun decorating them. :)
We've been having problems with our washing machine. It keeps stopping in the drain cycle. So
after two months of dealing with this I finally called the appliance repair guy and had them come out and look at it. Turns out there were about 6 fabric softener sheets that were down in the pump. They had somehow squeezed through the little drain holes and were clogging the pump so the water wasn't draining as fast as it should and the washer was "timing out" basically because the water was taking too long to drain. The repair guy was really nice about it and didn't even charge us anything for the service call! I was so grateful about that.
I've been working on christmas cards all day long and I think I'll be able to get them out tomorrow. I read somewhere that if you get it in the mail by the 20th it can still get there by saturday, so we'll put that to the test... :)
ok... off to make some hashbrowns and eggs- uh oh... I forgot I'm out of ketchup... hmm... change of plans- I need to figure out something else...
We made gingerbread houses last night... below are a couple of pictures. Not the most fancy houses, but it was fun decorating them. :)
We've been having problems with our washing machine. It keeps stopping in the drain cycle. So
after two months of dealing with this I finally called the appliance repair guy and had them come out and look at it. Turns out there were about 6 fabric softener sheets that were down in the pump. They had somehow squeezed through the little drain holes and were clogging the pump so the water wasn't draining as fast as it should and the washer was "timing out" basically because the water was taking too long to drain. The repair guy was really nice about it and didn't even charge us anything for the service call! I was so grateful about that.
I've been working on christmas cards all day long and I think I'll be able to get them out tomorrow. I read somewhere that if you get it in the mail by the 20th it can still get there by saturday, so we'll put that to the test... :)
ok... off to make some hashbrowns and eggs- uh oh... I forgot I'm out of ketchup... hmm... change of plans- I need to figure out something else...
Monday, December 18, 2006
As much as I hate Rich being out of town, it does give me a greater appreciation for all that he does around the house. I am so fortunate that he does so much that I feel I can't complain about the little things he does that occasionally bug me. :) Rich got home on Saturday and it was wonderful to not feel like a single parent again. Yesterday we had the Christmas programs at church and the fireside last night too. It was nice and I was able to sit and listen to a portion of each of the programs before I felt I needed to take Alyssa out because she was being too loud. She is such a tiny little girl, but her voice just carries and is very loud. I think I need to start doing some whisper games more at home to help her learn the difference between whispering and talking loudly.
Speaking of Alyssa... she is finally really wearing underwear and keeping it dryall day long! She's gone three days without any accidents at all and before that was averaging only one accident a day for about a week. I'm so looking forward to one less diaper size to buy on a regular basis. I'm sure we'll still use pullups at night for a while, but it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel that I'll have more kids in underwear than diapers. :)
Tonight we are going to make gingerbread houses for FHE. In the past I've made the gingerbread and baked it and everything, but this year we are taking the short cut method and just "glueing" graham crackers to milk cartons. We'll then let all of the kids decorate a carton and have a little "village" to put out for the next week... I'm sure by christmas half the candy will be picked off of it, but it's fun to make.
Speaking of Alyssa... she is finally really wearing underwear and keeping it dryall day long! She's gone three days without any accidents at all and before that was averaging only one accident a day for about a week. I'm so looking forward to one less diaper size to buy on a regular basis. I'm sure we'll still use pullups at night for a while, but it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel that I'll have more kids in underwear than diapers. :)
Tonight we are going to make gingerbread houses for FHE. In the past I've made the gingerbread and baked it and everything, but this year we are taking the short cut method and just "glueing" graham crackers to milk cartons. We'll then let all of the kids decorate a carton and have a little "village" to put out for the next week... I'm sure by christmas half the candy will be picked off of it, but it's fun to make.
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