Highlights from the Season

Gingerbread Non-Houses

Those of you who have seen me try to do crafts will not be surprised that our gingerbread houses turned into gingerbread "non-houses." After several times of trying to get the house to stick together with the icing provided in the kit and trying REALLY hard not to blurt out any expletives in front of my children or my parents, we improvised. Each child got a side of the house to do with as they pleased. The girls decorated house-like things, and I helped Little Buddy make something that slightly resembled a car. They had fun, and since it was our first year doing it, they didn't really know it was supposed to be 3-dimensional. And they really enjoyed the slightly stale pre-packaged candy. We may have to try something different next year, like maybe hire some kind of gingerbread house professional.

Happy Birthday, Jesus

Today was kind of monumental. Not only did we celebrate our Savior's birth at church, but also our timid child stood in front of an auditorium full of people and sang. With all of her heart. There was hardly a dry eye in the place. This is only the first half of it, but I thought I'd share the sweetness with you. Grab a tissue...

Keep It Simple

I don't know about you, but I get a little overwhelmed at Christmas. I love it all--the music, the lights, the traditions. It's all the expectations that get to me. I barely have time to get a tree up every year. Forget doing anything outside. Then there's all the presents. Our extended family is huge, and even though we've scaled back to a big degree I have this deep fear that I'm going to show up somewhere without a present that I'm supposed to have for someone. I think that gift giving is one of my love languages, so it overwhelms me to feel the pressure to find the perfect gift for all the people I love all at once. What I really want to do is just hang out with my family, play games, bake cookies, decorate gingerbread houses, and talk about the true meaning of Christmas.

We "do Santa" at our house. Barely. Big Sissy knows he's not real but just can't figure out what the real deal is. I won't tell her yet because I'm scared to death she'll be THAT KID that ruins it for everyone else in kindergarten. But we always start our conversations about Santa with, "The legend goes that..." I just don't want to lie to them. But I don't want to steal the childhood magical moments either. Aaaahhhh....such conflict belies every Christmas for me.

I was refreshed--and possibly a little embarrassed--when someone asked my kids what they were hoping to get from Santa. Since we don't dwell on it, they hadn't really thought about the question before. So here's what they're hoping for. Big Sissy wants a Webkinz (even though she already has 6). Little Sissy wants Silly Bandz ($2). and Levi wants a candy cane. ($1 for a box) Whew. Thanks for taking the pressure off. Maybe they like to keep it simple too!

Kids, Kids...

I was supposed to have dinner with my long lost friend tonight. And hubby was going to keep the kids. Except hubby works for UPS, and they don't actually allow you to make plans in December. So what happened was that I had to take all 3 kids to dinner with my friend because we don't get to see each other often...and selfishly, I just wanted to see her AND not make dinner.

You would think my children have never been in a restaurant or that I hadn't already prepped them in the van about what kind of behavior I expected. Because the way the night went makes me feel COMPLETELY responsible if aforementioned friend never has children. In an hour and a half (roughly), here's what we experienced:

1. Little Buddy shoving a chip up his nose, then jamming his finger in to try to get it out, burying it further. He eventually was able to blow hard enough to get it out.

2. All 3 children fighting over the "play dough" at Chevy's, resulting in some of it getting thrown at aforementioned friend.

3. Little Buddy throwing his hat into the air, resulting in a hat covered with beans and rice (which I made him wear home because..well, it's cold out there.)

4. Keeping the waitress extra busy bringing us new forks as ours mysteriously kept ending up on the floor.

5. Little Buddy eating chips off of the floor.

6. Little Sissy crawling on the chip-covered floor, pretending to be a puppy.

They're my children and even I was feeling overwhelmed, so I'm sure we didn't make the "larger family" life seem so appealing. My heart was kind of won over at the end, at least, by the tortilla dough rings they made before we left. I better start posting some "cute kid" anecdotes quick! :)

Oh Lord It's Hard to be Humble

But I'm doing the best that I can.

I'm pretty sure my dad's parenting goal was to make sure that his children didn't have an ounce of pride. Growing up the way we did, there was no way to blend into a crowd. Anywhere. We wore skirts when everyone else wore jeans. We pinched our cheeks and put Vaseline on our eyelashes when everyone else wore makeup. We used hot sticks until our hair fell off in premeditated places when everyone else was getting bangs cut. Nope. We weren't about to blend into a crowd.

Then it came time to drive. It wouldn't be enough that we had to drive a station wagon with wood panels on the side. THEN we got to drive a car that had a horn that played tunes like the wedding march. But that wouldn't be enough. Our horn had a short in it so that it played any time we stopped at a stop light. We took routes home from school specifically to avoid having to stop.

But it still happened. I developed pride anyway. So today I was reminded of that pride when I had to drive my father-in-law's truck to a vendor show. Don't get me wrong. It is soooo nice of him to let us use his truck for 2 weeks while our car has been in the shop. I've learned in this family when you say your car is in the shop it means your car is sitting in Hubby's cousin's garage until he gets time to work on it. So that's where our car has been. So the only vehicle we have that will fit our children in it is the van. Today Hubby had to pick up Little Sissy from preschool while I was working so I had to drive the truck. The truck runs well, but it has a few little issues: One, the left blinker doesn't turn itself off automatically after you turn. And it doesn't make a clicking noise to remind you that it's still on; two, the brake light is constantly on, which makes a girl continue to pull on the emergency brake even though it's really not on; three, there is not a cupholder in the vehicle, which is a little dilemma for anyone with my genetic composition. My people are known for needing to have a beverage while we drive. I think trucks like this are a dream for most boys, but I don't know any girl who thinks so. Unless you're Bella from Twilight. Which I'm not. I don't like my man cold and pale with sharp teeth either.


The first trick today was getting all of my products that I need to display and to sell into a small one-seater truck. I literally had bags piled to the ceiling, and I had to keep one hand on the bags beside me to keep them from falling on me as I drove. I felt like Jed Clampett driving down the highway with my bags toppling onto me and my left blinker constantly on. Then I had to get lunch on the way. Since there was no cupholder and my hand was busy blockading the 31 products, I asked for a drink holder for my unusually large soda. The soda barely fit into the holder, so once I got it wedged in there, there was no getting it back out. Not without 2 hands, anyway. And I didn't have 2 free hands. Now I had one hand on the steering wheel, one hand blockading the 31 products, and a humongous soda cup wedged into a holder, all of which was precariously situated on my lap. So when I wanted a drink, I had to use my shoulder to keep the products from falling on me, and lift the whole mechanism, holder and all, up to my mouth.

I finally pulled into the mental health clinic where I was the only vendor for the day and they put me in a special corner so I wouldn't be too bothered by the patients. Nope, I'm not kidding. It turned out fine, but I would be remiss if I didn't make some jokes about the day and let my blog readers know about my special pride issue. On that note, let me leave with you with a little diddy that I love. Sorry about the h___ word a few times. Please remove all children from the premises despite the fact that this is a MUPPETS snippet.

I Miss You

Yes, you--my friends and family who love me enough to read my blog even though my posts are very sporadic these days.

And I miss you--my time to read and blog and teach my children things and get my house organized and have coffee with friends.

And I miss you--my ability to go to bed by midnight and not feel guilty because I'm not getting things done.

And I miss you--my family, some of whom I haven't seen in a few months.

So I got a promotion this month. Most people are happy about that. I am feeling stressed and busy and missing my life. My old pastor who I used to work for told me once that just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should. Lots of people tell me I'm good at this, but I'm still wondering if I should wear the shoe just because it looks on the outside like it fits. I may feel differently after the crazy holiday season is over, but right now I'm just missing my old life. And how are you?

The Corn Box

We haven't been on a beach vacation in a few years; in fact, none of our children remember being at the beach. We discovered something almost as good this season, though--the corn box at the pumpkin patch. The kids could scoop it, pour it, and bury themselves in it just like sand; but it was MUCH easier to clean up. It was fun for hours. Literally. I had to leave to go do a party, but Hubby and the kids ended up coming back for more.

This is my favorite shot of the day: The girls in the hay maze. Someone said it looks like the cover of a country music album. Maybe we just need to replace the pink Crocs with some boots, then it would be perfect. Happy fall, y'all!

The Holy City

We drove to Alton, IL, the other day to deliver a 31 order. As we crossed the bridge, Little Sissy looked out the window at the downtown buildings in varying sizes and said in awe, "Oh, Mommy! Are we in Jerusalem?"

BFF's

Little Sissy and Lydia. I think this could be a friendship that will last a lifetime.

First Cycle Break

I hated that my kids started school in July, when everyone else was still going to the pool and enjoying their days of leisure. But here is where the reward comes in. We've already had a week of our first cycle break. I'm pretty sure Big Sissy is ready to go back to school now, but we've enjoyed having her home--and we get her for 2 more weeks! I haven't done a very good job of planning, so we've literally been to the park every day this week--except for the day we tried to go to Grant's Farm and found out after we got there that they're not open every day this time of year.

The end of the first quarter meant our first round of parent/teacher conferences. Big Sissy's conference went pretty much as expected. Her teacher said she is sweet and smart and very quiet. Next quarter she will start the firecrackers program, which is an enrichment program, and get hooked up with a reading group. I think we both agreed that trying to put her in 1st grade now isn't a good idea. She's just starting to settle in to her class, and I think the social aspects of Kindergarten have been exhausting for her. I'm glad now that she can skate a little in the area of academics while she gets used to everything else.

One thing that was soooo uncomfortable was that I had to have a conference with the art teacher. Big Sissy has been getting stomachaches every art day, and she writes me heart wrenching notes on those days like, "I'm really coming close to not liking school at all. Not at all." She asked if she could be homeschooled just on art days. After days and days of probing, I finally gathered that she feels flooded--the teacher is loud, she feels rushed, and both of those things stress her out. I had NO idea what to say, so I just went in saying that she came home upset on those days and wondered if the teacher could help me figure out what was going on. She came up with all the things that I thought were the case, and I'm hoping that the awareness of the personality differences will help that go smoother.

Little Sissy's conference was next. Her teacher said that she is funny and comfortable and she has no worries. She went through the checklist of what she is able to do and not do, and every time I started to get worried she would finish with, "but that's a 6-year-old skill." I don't know why she told me all the 6-year-old skills that she can't do, but at least I have a heads up for what's coming...you know, in 2 years. I have to confess that since I decided to enroll the girls in school I haven't done hardly ANY homeschooling. And since poor Little Sissy is a 2nd child, I had no idea that she has learned to write her name. So imagine my surprise when I asked her to do it and she showed me this:

She's even drawing people so much better than the last time I actually paid attention to her artwork. I love that her stick person has great hair and shoes. Who needs a torso when you have great hair and shoes? I feel bad that I haven't been great at keeping up, but I will say that I LOVE this preschool and her teachers. Good job, everyone!!!

Day on the Farm

It's that time again...apple picking at Eckert's Farm! We never want to overdo it, so we end up not getting enough and having to go back again. I suppose now we'll wait until we can get pumpkins too. Here are the little apples of my eye...with the sun in theirs.

This picture makes me laugh. Little Sissy so rarely gets to pick what she wants to do AND get to do it by herself. She was just so chilled out and relaxed waiting for the swing ride to begin.

Big Sissy, on the other hand, is an adrenaline junkie. She had to choose the ride she was barely tall enough to ride.

I always say that Little Sissy and Little Buddy have the same face. They're just the girl version and the boy version. I think you'll see that here.

Big Sissy on the John Deere...tricycle.

Three little monkeys on the swing.

For all those who ask me how tall my kids are...it looks like about 3, 3 1/2, and 4 feet.

See you again at pumpkin time on the farm!

Pajama Party!

I figured I should hurry and post about Little Sissy's party before my next child has a birthday. She decided that she wanted a pajama party. Since I am nowhere near brave enough to have multiple children actually spend the night with us yet, we had an afternoon pajama party after church. The kids brought pajamas, a pillow, and their favorite stuffed animal. We had a dance party that included such hits as "Dance With Your Teddy Bear" and "Popcorn."

After a "breakfast" of biscuits and gravy (Thanks, Mom!!!), breakfast sandwiches, french toast sticks, and fruit; we had sleeping bag races. Sorry for the blurry pictures. They were just so fast!

Then came "Pin the Button on the Pajamas."

All the ruckus (and the fact that it was naptime) prompted the children to spontaneously go lie down on their blankets.

I felt a little bad waking them back up, but they needed to sample the cutest cake ever before the parents came to pick them up.

Happy birthday to my sweet girl!