Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was so much fun -- for most of us. Poor Tanner ate a glass prnament shortly before the festivities began, so he and Hans ended up in the ER until 7:30 at night. We had soup in bread bowls and the weather was warm enough (80 degrees) for the girls to eat outside. The only dowfall of them eating outside: we're not sure if they ate anything, leaving way too much room in their bellies for sugary treats.

Tasha prepared a little Nativity story and we put the nativity costumes I sewed to good use (well, I should probably give a lot of the credit to Joyce for helping me sew them). Ellie was Mary, Ashley was Joseph, Abby and Dustin were shepards, Tasha, Tony and Papa Rogers were the Wisemen and I made an appearance as the angel. It was pretty stinking cute.

Michelle brought sugar cookies and sprinkles and Cheryl made frosting so the girls could decorate cookies to leave for Santa. Although, I think Santa wasn't quite sure if he should eat them or not, seeing how often the girls licked their knoves and stuck them back in the frosting.

After that, they went back into Ellie's room and played. The doorbell rang and there was a loud HO HO HO so the girls ran to the front door to find pajamas from Santa. They all changed into them and looked so darn adorable. Dustin looked incredibly cool in his blue moose pajamas. I'll have to wait for Tony to get back from Utah to get pictures of all that. :)

I seriously thought Ellie would just crash after everyone left. Grandma and Papa Rogers had been in town for a few days, she hadn't had a nap since Tuesday, and she had quite the exciting evening. However, by the time everyone left it was well after 8 and the exhaustion had turned into a sugar rush. That girl stayed up until well after 9 pm singing Jingle Bells at the top of her lungs.

We still managed to drag out all the presents and climb into bed ourselves by 10 pm. Plus the kids didn't even wake up after 7:30 the next morning. I plan on cherishing one of the last years we'll be so lucky.

In other news!

Nate is FINALLY wearing shoes. After months of struggling with the little turd to get him to wear his shoes, he has finally shown an interest. The other night we hear him grunting down the hall. Turns out he is trying to put on Ellie's dress up shoes. So after laughing at cute it is, I finally remember that this is the kid who cries anytime he sees me nearing him with shoes. I ran and got his shoes out of the closet and sure enough, he wore them around the house all night.

Of course the next day we were out in the backyard with them on and he tripped and face planted into the cement pavers. OUCH! Obviously he needs some more practice. It also explains the lovely red scab on his nose in all of the Christmas photos.

Santa Claus

The whole Santa coming to pre-school thing went well, thankfully. I'd been telling Ellie that not every Santa she sees is the real thing and that Santa doesn't give into commericalism for the last few weeks. I think the abundance of Santas really takes away the magic of Christmas. It also gets me out waiting in line at the mall or any of those other hokey Christmas traditions we force upon our children.

Then last week I get a letter from Ellie's Pre-school teacher saying that Santa would be coming to visit. Immediately the panic set in. Would Ellie announce that it wasn't the real Santa? Would she tell him that Santa doesn't give in to commercialism? I was nervous! So this morning, I started prepping her for what would happen.

Me: Ellie, I heard there might be a special visitor today at school.
Ellie: Who is it?
Me: Maybe Santa Claus will come.
Ellie: No, Santa only comes on Christmas.
Me: But he might make a special appearance today.
Ellie: No, he's coming in two weeks.
Me: Actually, it's only one week now.
Ellie: Nooooooooo, it's two weeks.
And then I decided just to drop it because she was getting upset with me and I hadn't finished her hair.

Luckily, the whole thing went perfectly! WHEW! Santa came in and Ellie was the first kid to run up and sit in his lap. She smiled and told him what she wanted for Christmas: 2 barbies -- a Sleeping Beauty barbie (check) and an Ariel barbie (uhhhh, not checked, I hope Target isn't out of them). Then he gave her a little bell and told her to ring it every time she did soemthing good. Isn't that too cute? I think I'm going to force her to wear the bell forever, because I've already gotten a few good deeds out of her.

After the visit with Santa, she did come and ask me if it was the real Santa or the fake Santa. I told her it was the real one. What other choice did I have?? It made her so stinking happy. Totally worth the hoopla. Nate also got a chance to sit on his lap. I was surprised he wasn't scared.

I am getting so excited for Christmas. Ellie has Girl School tomorrow, so I have to run and do last minute shopping and then we'll be ready to go!

Gluttony

And so it begins. . . the holiday season. Thanksgiving was pretty bad, but no where near as bad as Christmas is going to be. For friend gifts this year, I gave out rolls of wrapping paper with an ornament tied on. Mainly because I didn't want to contribute to the never ending supply of treats that seem to appear around Christmas -- although I fully appreciate the sweets.

It started off fine. A cute decorative snowman that now sits on the piano and a bundle of candles with an ornament and a cute scripture, but slowly the food started pouring in. Some homemade fudge, peanut brittle, then came the loaves of poppy seed bread. I left town in time to miss the dessert bars (they must have been good because Dustin and the kids didn't leave any for me), but came back just in time to hit the mother load.

Starting at about 6 last night, our door bell rang all night long. Homemade salsa, sugar cookies, fudge, caramel, some sort of marshmallow concotion, an assortment of dip mixes, a tin of chocolate covered cookies, hot cocoa and marshmallows, and cups full of chocolate covered pretzels. All part of what I like to call, "Holiday Gluttony."

They are now sitting on my kitchen counter, beckoning to me everytime I walk in there -- reminding me of how little I have worked out this month. They also remind me of how blessed I am. Here I am, thousands of miles away from family, and I have so many people who love and care about me and my family. We are so blessed.

I was reminded this weekend that there are only two things you get to take with you when you leave this world -- your testimony, and the relationships you have with others. As Christmas approaches, I am so lucky to have both. A wonderful testimony of Christ that has only grown as I've followed the prophets challenge to finish the Book of Mormon, and an incredible amount of people who I love and rely on. I am so blessed with an amazing family and thoughtful friends. I truly hope that everyone will be able to feel the same joy this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

Catch up

I did it! I figures out how to get the pictures from my camera to my computer all by myself. And it was actually really easy. I'm brilliant!!!!!!!

Anyway, here is a little recap of what has been going on here over the last month. Sort of a random collection of pictures I downloaded today. Well, a random collection from the ones I didn't delete. Went I was looking through them on the computer, I noticed a large chunk of pictures (say 10-15) that Ellie had taken of the TV set while she was watching Mulan the other day. How did kids get so smart? It took me forever to figure out how to use a digital camera, yet now my daughter can get a stool, get mommy's camera down from it's hiding place, open it, take some pictures, close it back up and put it back where she found it?? That's clever.

It's a good thing we live in AZ

That is the face of trouble. Little girls can be so devious when left to their own devices. Today Ellie had a little buddy over for the afternoon. They played so sweetly inside until they asked in their most polite way if they could go outside and swing. So we all headed outside for awhile until the phone rang. I ran inside to get it and left the door open so I could hear the girls play. The enitre phone conversation, I can hear little squeals and giggles, so I figure all is well. Yeah, not so much. When I got off the phone, I see two dripping wet girls running around in the sprinklers out back! (They used to go off at 1 pm, I guess no one told me they had been switched to 3)

All I can say is, it's a good thing they are so stinking cute and it's a really good thing we live where it's nice enough outside in December to get a little wet. But I did make them strip and come inside and get some dry clothes on. After I made them pose for pictures.

We put our tree up. . .

and more proof that Nate is a cuddle ho. Seriously, that kid will cuddle anything. I'm not even kidding. He's cuddled water bottles before. When he's tired, anything will do -- a napkin, paper, a cell phone and now we can add out tree skirt to the list.

Nate's new face

I know every child goes through this stage, but it's just so much funnier and cuter when it is your own child. Nate has finally decided to "pose" for pictures. Niiiiiiiiiiice! For the next 5 months, every picture I take of him will have that horrible pained expression. Good thing he's so stinking cute!!!

Have I ever mentioned that I love to use exclamaton points?

Ellie's Thanksgiving Party

I remember teaching school and loving this time of year (and of course being totally overwhelmed at the same time). It is just party after party. So of course, Ellie is having a ball. All November they practiced songs and the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we got to hear them. Welllllll, we got to hear Ms. Becky sing them and the kids kind of mumble along. Of course I video taped the whole thing. One day the kids will watch the video and wonder why thei rmom taped that jumk, but I loooooooove it!

They had a Thanksgiving Feast before hand. The Thursday before the feast, Ellie came home with a slip of paper that read, "Ellie has volunteered to bring apple juice and cups." Volunteered?? I can just see the planning meeting now. "Ellie, what would you like to bring?" I'm surprised she didn't say candy if she was "volunteering." So then I ask my girlfriend who brought Ellie home what her little girl had volunteered to bring. Apparently Ashely volunteered to bring mashed potatoes. Ha ha ha!!!!!! I got apple juice and cups and poor Tasha was up the night before making mashed potatoes. I also feel badly for the moms whose children "volunteered" to bring stuffing and pies. :)

Nate and I got haircuts

Just a cute picture of sweet Nate after we buzzed his hair off. It makes him look so much older. And you notice his sweet brown eyes so much better. I'm not sure if you can see any difference in my hair. I just got a few inches chopped off. And according to a certain person who reads this blog. . .Ellie and I have the exact same hairstyle. I think she would be pleased to hear that today we both have pig tails in.

OK, Ellie will obly ever do chores for someone else. Or maybe she thinks hanging out on the hood of a car is cool. My sister hates touching paper towels and of course that was all I had to offer her when she needed to clean of her windshield. So tricky girl that she is talks Ellie into doing it. I'm sure her little plan back fired though since there was no way a 3 year was going to be able to clean all of those bug guts off of her windows.

The yard

We finally got our backyard done! I looooooove it. It of course no longer looks like this. We now have a swing and children's toys littered all over. But it doesn't matter. As you can see from an earlier picture, the kids are already putting it to good use. And my house is staying so much cleaner.

Christmas

I was reading the Ensign this morning and I loved reading, "The Real Christmas" which is from a devotional given by President Howard W. Hunter in 1972. I thought I'd come on and share some of the quotes I loved the most.

"The real Christmas comes to him who has taken Christ into his life as a moving, dynamic, vitalizing force. The real spirit of Christmas lies in the life and mission of the Master.

. . .

'It consits of a willingness to forget what you have done for others and to remember what others have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you to think of your duties in the middle distance and your chance to do good and aid your fellow-men in the foreground -- to see that your fellow-men are just as good as you, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts -- to close your book of grievances against the universe, and look about you for a place to sow a few seeds of happiness and go your way unobserved.'

"If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees -- alone or with loved ones -- give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that his Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve him and keep his commandments. He will take you by the hand and his promises will be kept."

Getting my Christmas Cards done

If you know me at all, then you know that I've had my christmas cards done since October. We're talking envelopes addressed and everything (but not stamped in case they raise the price of stamps). I've just been sitting around waiting to take a picture to put in them. So FINALLY, my sweet and awesome friend Shanna agreed to take some photos of us. The poor girl did not know what she was getting in for.

I don't think anyone should have to take pictures of my children. Ellie has this new thing where she refuses to look at the camera. And Nate was getting a little tired, so I was shoving candy corn into his mouth just to keep him sitting. Awwwww, such sweet children.

Anyway, so here are what we have left in the bunch that are useable. I'm trying to decide which one to go with (let me know if you have opinions). If only we had waited a week or two. I buzzed Nate's head and he now makes the most ridiculous face when he sees the camera. I have some on my camera, but alas. . . I still haven't bought a CF card reader or bothered to try to figur eout how the cords work.

Boo hoo

My CF card reader isn't working. You know, the little thing that hooks up to your computer and transfers the pictures from your CF card to your computer. Anyway, it appears to be kaput. I am majorly bummed. How will I get my pictures onto my computer??? I am sure there is some way to do it with all those cords they give you, but I prefer the ease of my CF card reader. So I'll be running out to buy one this weekend!

However, until I get my car reader, I cannot blog. Without photos, I'd have to rely on words to entertain you all and that just isn't going to happen. I need PICTURES so you can see what I'm talking about.

Let me tell you what you are missing out on here.

Pictures of the girls at girl school. At one point every single one of them had on dress up shoes and they were click clacking down the hall. I made the mistake of asking the "girls" if they wanted to read a story. I was then informed that they were not girls, but princesses. And then I had to hear which princess each of them was (heck if I can remember any of them). It's a good thing there are a zillion Disney Princesses, that way you can still have 10 girls over and you don't have to double up. Although, I'd hate to be the girl who was stuck being Pocahontas. There really are "lesser" princesses. You know, the ones that don't get played very much. The top 3 are Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White. The next tier is Ariel, Jasmin and Belle. After that you get left with Mulan, Pochohontas and Meg. None of them are really Princesses, but Disney will play them up that way just to squeeze some more money out of you. But the girls are smart. They know who the "real" princesses are.

Maybe I should write my thesis on Disney princesses??? You can tell I've put a lot of thought into the whole thing.

The other picture I wish you could see is of my back yard. As we speak, the landscapers are putting on the finishing touches. It is so green and beautiful. I am beyond excited. And the kids are pumped up too. Every night this week, Ellie takes us out back to show us her "beautiful" yard. The grass just came last night, so the grass area has been just dirt and Ellie will race around the dirt yelling, "Go me!"

And so there you have it. Everything you're missing out on!

Is it over yet?

That was it? I feel a little let down after all the excitement leading up to Halloween. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but an hour of trick-or-treating in the Church parking lot, was not all the grandeur it's made out to be. I think the barbecue before was more fun than the actual event itself.

But it's done! Over! I seriously could be a happy woman if I never saw that Sleeping beauty costume again. Although, it was worth every penny for the amount of times Ellie wore it. Do you think she could let me get a good picture of her in it? No. The girl refuses to smile at me. She'll smile at her friends, smile at the ground, but actually *looking* at the camera and smiling is not something Ellie is into right now. Thank heavens I can still strap Nate into something and force him to pose for me.

Nate actually wore his costume without freaking out. I guess slowly breaking him into it by making him wear it every single day for a week before hand actually did the trick. Is he not adorable? Look at him holding his little tin. Like he's going to be able to eat any of the candy people gave him. He was just happy to have something to keep his hands busy.

He was happy as could be just getting strolled around, looking at all of the costumes and all of the different people. I would have let him walk, but the silly boy refuses to wear shoes *and* walk. If I put shoes on him, he sort of stares, sits down and won't move. Even if I try to stand him up. He won't budge if there are things on his feet.

After 30 minutes, Ellie decided that she was done trick-or-treating (fine by me). She also decided that she wanted out of her costume and wanted to go home despite the fact that there were still kids coming around. Dustin was off visiting people with Nate and there was no way I was backing out of a parking spot with that many kids swarming around, so I did as all good moms do -- I threw her in the back of the car with one of her buddies (who was also done trick-or-treating) and let them eat M&Ms until the whinning died down.

After it was all over we went over to some friends to let the kids watch a movie and wind down. I was *shocked* that they didn't want to dig into their candy stash right away, but I'm guessing Ellie might have been full from her chocolate binge earlier. And that was Halloween. Must be my Jewish blood that can stretch a holiday out for an entire week.