Really . . . the final Christmas Post

I forgot . . . the State of the Gingerbread house.  This year I decided that I wasn't fighting the "little mice" around here over the candy on the gingerbread house.  So there were no gingerbread house rules.  While decorating, they ate as much candy as they used to decorate.  And the house sat on the dinner table so that it was always in view.  Surprisingly, it was not the focus of every meal or activity.  They picked at it and pulled candy off from time to time.  But overall, it was much less an ordeal than last year because it was not a "forbidden delicacy."  Of course it helped that little man is 2.5 years old and I am not as worried about every single choking hazard.  And they brought so much candy home from school and we made cookies and fudge.  So they didn't need to tear it apart as frequently.  But here are some of the shots we captured of the "State of the Gingerbread House."  Enjoy!  And HAPPY NEW YEAR!


Gingerbread House Dec 12th



A little snack . . .

 
















Gingerbread House Dec 31st



Final 2010 Christmas Post

OMG - this house north of the river WINS the awesome light display given by the B-M household.  Several friends told us about the display but I didn't really describe it to Disco or his brother before we packed up the kiddos to check it out.  Even if I had described the house, it wouldn't have made any difference.  It was definitely a sight worth seeing in person!  The pictures uncle Scott do not fully depict the enormity of the display.  Every inch of yard, tree, and house was COVERED in lights, inflatables, and decorations.  The best part was that it sat at the bottom of a small hill so you drive along a normal street and then BAM!  Christmas explosion.  I hope the neighbors don't squash this guy's enthusiasm . . . we want to see it again next year.  A final Merry Christmas to you all!

Summing up Christmas

Christmas was one happy and busy whirlwind of not one, not two,  . . . but 5 days of family activities.  I would have posted earlier but activities + internet issues slowed my blogging down.



On the 23rd we spent time with my extended family:



 

 

On Christmas Eve we baked cookies for Santa with Uncle Scott:



On Christmas Day we visited Bondo and Gaga as well as Grandmother, Grandad, and Uncle Scott:

The day after Christmas we visited Mamaw.  She loved seeing the kiddos:

And finally, today Aunt K came by for a bit more after Christmas shopping and some beauty shop/princess time with the kiddos.  Big sis was Cinderella, Aunt K was a princess (name unknown), and little man was the necklace maker.  Too cute:

The State of the Nativity Scene

Christmas Eve has been lovely!  We had no specific plans, since it was Christmas the kiddos did what they wanted all day (eat cookies/candy and watch TV), and we didn't have to hurry or run anywhere.  I've got pictures to post from one of the holiday celebrations with my side of the family, decorating cookies with Uncle Scott, and pictures of a house decorated with the most Santa spirit (it was amazing!) but those will all wait until tomorrow.

For now I'll post the current state of our Nativity scene.  The kiddos drag the pieces of the Nativity scene around the house the entire month of December.  This month it spent quite a bit of time in the car for some reason.  Tonight we decided to forgo our usual Christmas Eve service at a church.  It is usually my absolute favorite church service of the year.  However, Disco and I were both in need of a quiet evening with the kiddos instead of trying to entertain two wiggly kiddos through oddly timed services.  The quiet reading of the Christmas story from the bible fit our mindset much more closely this year.  And it gave us time to focus once again on the Nativity scene.

After the reading tonight, little man took his board book that explains Christmas in toddler terms and tried to match up all the characters from the book with his Nativity set.  He picked out "the mommy", "the daddy", "baby de-sus", "the cow", and "the donkey".  Apparently the sheep and the wise men were out of luck, because Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, cow and donkey got to sleep in little man's bed. 

I love the quiet Christmas moments.  And I hope as the children get older they will love the peace and quiet of Christmas eve, when our family takes a moment, as small as it may be, to focus on the real reason for the season.

Christmas Spirit

I've been feeling very grinchy this year.  For some reason Christmas has just felt like something else on my LONG to do list.  All that remains of my final school project for this semester is a bit of editing and I turn it in later tonight.  So one more thing to mark off the to do list.  But all weekend I've been a bit grumpy anyway . . .

Today we visited a church with friends.  And the sermon was about The Grinch and how Christmas means "a little bit more" than presents and the commercialism that has taken over the holiday.  It was a good reminder to look for Christmas spirit in its different forms.  And to remember that the first Christmas didn't involve all the to do lists, wrapping, and extra stress.  It was much more simple than that.

So here is the Christmas spirit we found today . . . their sweet voices just melt my heart!

The Nutcracker Suite

We attended the local ballet company's performance of The Nutcracker Suite. This year big sis was SO EXCITED about attending The Nutcracker!!  She made it through last year about 3/4 of the way before she got 'the wiggles.'  This year, she wasn't about to go home early!  And the sweetest part was that she wanted her little brother to go with us.  Next year it will be an event for the whole family :)



Us girls before our night out



A Home for the Gingerbread Man

It is 6:30 am on Saturday and the kiddos have been up since 5:00 am.  Ugh!  I wasn't going to post on the blog again until my semester ended.  But now I am tired and grumpy after getting up so early.  Also, the HUGE project that I am still working on for school (yup, I missed the deadline completely) isn't going to be done until Monday.  So I am hoping that a little blogging break will be a nice "treat" this morning, remind me how cute these little early birds can be, and motivate me to get moving on my project.  At the very least it forces me to turn on my computer . . . which is the first step to working on the project again. 

Here are our pictures from creating a gingerbread house last weekend.  Big sis told us that once it was finished the gingerbread man would move in at midnight.  So far we haven't seen him.  The process included a lot of candy eating - I think every picture below includes someone chewing while they decorate.  Closer to Christmas I plan on posting a picture of the final product before and after the kiddos pulled off the all the candy to eat it.

O Christmas Tree

Here are the photos from our pilgrimage last weekend to cut down our Christmas tree.  This is our first year to have a tree that really lives up to our 12 ft ceilings.  No - it isn't 12 feet, more like 8 1/2 feet.  But it definitely FILLS the room with holiday spirit!

We went late in the day so the light was fading fast.  Please excuse the picture quality due to the lighting conditions ;)



The light was bright right before we got there . . .
and these were the only "shades" in the car!





Ridin' the cow train






















He was looking for his free hot cocoa . . .




. . . he found that hot cocoa!



Finals

Blogging may be put on hold for a week as I muddle through finals/end of the term projects.   I want to post a few Christmas tree pics but that may be all that I can manage this week. 

Today was my last final in the last "classroom setting" course I have to take.  The exam today was 4 HOURS LONG and I found some of the problems difficult (programming biostat code is not my greatest skill).  But I am not worried about my score.  It just feels good not to have to step back into a classroom as a student again!  I have one more project to complete for my other class this term.  It is due next week and I better getting moving on it!

Next semester I have one project due at the end of January.  And I have one on-line class.  It will be a light course load compared to 2010.  Then my last degree requirement is a "thesis-type" project in the fall of 2011.

Disco and I have talked many times about whether I should quit school because I was so burned out on the home/work/school schedule.  In the end, we decided together, that it is worth it for me to finish.  Not because I get anything specific out of obtaining the degree right now.  But because at this point I am so close to finishing and we have both made sacrifices of time and money to get here.  And in the future, when the kids are older and I have more time to concentrate on my career, I hope it gives me some options.

These are all mundane details.  But listing it out, checking off completed items, and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel feels GOOD!

Silly Santa Babies

Here are some of the silly shots of the recent Christmas photo session.  There are more cute pictures from the photo session still to post.  And we are working on decorating the tree this week so hopefully I can post a few pictures from that soon as well.  For now, here are our Silly Santa Babies:



Nothing says Christmas like
hanging onto your sister's ears



Drop baby . . . rub eyes


 


















Squeeze brother as tight as possible . . .



 













. . . and then fall over!!!



 

Funny Faces



Super Big Smiles!



Breakfast with Santa

Today we hit a local breakfast with Santa extravaganza.  It was fun!  Little man wasn't sick this time around so the whole family got to go.  And we got to visit with several of our friends while we were there - some planned and some unexpected. 

Big sis actually sat in Santa's lap - I was so proud of her!  The whole time we were in line she kept telling us she would stand near Santa but didn't want to get in his lap.  And then once we got up there she was so brave and just hopped in his lap and didn't seem concerned at all.  For our cautious big sis that was a quite a feat!  Little man was concerned about sitting with Santa but I had expected that.  As long as I stayed near he was fine. 

Both kiddos created their own letters to Santa before we went.  Big sis wrote hers out with a little help.  And then I just transcribed what little man had to say.  I thought both lists were pretty cute :).  Disco took a picture of them before the kiddos dropped them in the mailbox today:

And here are the photos from our adventure.  Ho, ho, ho!

Daddy and Daughter

Disco is a great dad!  He does a lot with the kiddos and puts in a lot of time doing things around the house.  But somehow when we split up activities it ends up girls vs boys.  For example, big sis and I typically go together to her friends' b-day parties while the boys hang out at home.  There are many times when I do stuff with little man alone but that is generally because he is still in his mommy phase (I like still being cool to that little guy!).  But usually when little man and I take our own adventures big sis ends up playing while Disco watches sports on TV or big sis watches cartoons while Disco works on the house.  Neither is on purpose, it just seems to work out that way.

But big sis is four now and daddy time is getting to be much more fun!  Disco jumps in to do "science" things with the kids and likes to take outdoor/nature adventures with the kids.  We both could easily fill that role but I like to stand back as much as possible because I remember learning these lessons from my own dad.  The kids and I already like to bake together and do crafts and "chores".  Gotta leave something cool for Disco activities ;)

Tonight big sis and Disco attended their first father/daughter event at school.  Big sis was super excited about "the party" at school tonight.  And she was talking all about it when they got home.  It was good for me and little man too.  We squished some cookie dough onto a baking sheet and made cookies.  And we did a few chores like feeding the dogs and doing the laundry (his FAVORITES). 

I know it is important to encourage strong bonds with both parents.  And sometimes it is just good to break up the routine a bit!  We should do this more often . . .

'tis the season

We had our first "Santa Baby" photo shoot over the weekend.  By far the easiest one with the least amount of crying/frustration.  Most likely the happiness was due to the fact that big sis has been obsessed with getting to wear her holiday dress this year.  I found a "dolly and me" dress last year for $5 at an after Christmas sale.  I snatched that thing up and hid it away in big sis' closet.  She finally found it about September when I was switching out clothes that didn't fit anymore.  And she has asked about it ever since . . .

Note to self - continue to find something to save as a special treat for holiday pictures every year.  Because I wouldn't let her wear the dress until we got photos and it worked like a charm.  :). 

Little man was willing to take pictures this time around as well.  I credit his willingness to the fact that he wanted to play with big sis' doll the entire time. 

We forgot to have the kiddos to put on their Santa hats.  And I like using a white background as an option for photos as well.  But this was such an easy photo shoot that we may just end the year on a high note and not attempt the other shots . . . oh who am I kidding!  We are gluttons for photographic punishment around here :)

Too many sweet pictures for one post so I'll just add a few today.  Enjoy!