Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

There is no way I am super frustrated that my kids keep adding items to their Christmas lists less than a week before Christmas!

I did not decide I simply did not have time (or the energy) to make homemade cookies for Wesley's school party and just sent in a bag of mint Oreos instead. And I certainly didn't neglect to send anything in to Ryan's party, opting to go read a story instead.

I did not get overly anxious driving to my early morning meeting since the last early morning meeting I went to was when I had my car accident. It would be silly for my body to react in such a was to something that happened months ago.

I did not have to explain writer's block to my eight-year-old when he became near hysterical at running out of ideas for a book he is making for someone for Christmas.

I know I didn't ask my mom (who got the kids off to school one morning) if Ryan remembered to put underpants on. I certainly didn't ask because it was pajama day in his class and he prefers to "go commando" under his PJs.

I certainly did not re-gift a banana bread a neighbor gave us to one of Wesley's teachers because I thought I miscounted the coffee cakes I had made as teacher gifts. And even if I did, I know I didn't find the "missing" coffee cake in the back of the fridge after we got home from the last day of school before break.

The Holiday Whirlwind

I know I posted on Thursday, but I feel like things have been a non-stop whirlwind  that I haven't posted in much longer.

Let's see - I told you all about the holiday concert. That night Wesley and I had our mommy-son date night. It was the date night that almost didn't happen because when I got home from work Wesley has absolutely distraught. He's been spending all his spare time writing and illustrating a nearly 200 page book that he wants to give as a Christmas gift and with something like 30 pages to go, Wesley has developed writer's block. Duane and I had to calm him down by explaining that writer's block is a real thing and every single author gets it at some point.  For the rest of the night he'd occasionally tell me that he had "that author thing."

Luckily the rest of our mommy-son night went well. Wesley really wanted to go eat at the cafe at Target, so that's what we did. Then we did some Christmas shopping so Wesley could pick out out gifts for Daddy and Ryan. I managed to talk him out of a pair of socks with a gigantic wolf on them for Duane, but Ryan is, in fact, getting a gigantic container of cheesy puffs.  After shopping we went to Starbucks for coffee/hot chocolate and brownies, then we mailed Wesley's letter to Santa at a special mailbox near my work.

I think Wesley is on the cusp of not believing in Santa any more. He hasn't asked any questions and that letter he wrote was awesome, but I've noticed that whenever anyone talks about Santa, Wesley shoots me the side eye. Kind of like he's checking my reaction to the whole thing.  This may end up being the last year for him.

Friday was a day of last minute errands and Christmas parties. My mom and I hit one of the area shopping centers first thing in the morning after dropping the kids off at school. I haven't done Christmas shopping with my mom in a long time and we had so much fun. Yes, some of the stores were crowded. Yes, we had to keep an eye on the clock since I had to be at the school to help with holiday parties, but we laughed and talked and drank peppermint mocha and had fun. We even stopped at a beat up taco truck that Duane and I love and had lunch.

After shopping and tacos, I headed to the boys' school to help with their Christmas parties. In the Kindergarten class I helped with crafts and read a story. In Wesley's room, I handed out snacks, then Wesley begged me read to his class too. I told him I would if his teacher said it was OK. So I ended up reading to the second grade class too, which was tons of fun.

Friday night was the great Christmas gift wrapping night. One more night ought to take care of it all - if only the gifts would get here!

Last night we babysat my friend's kids for awhile, which was actually great fun, but did kind of make Duane and I wish we had a little girl of our own. But don't worry - that is NOT going to happen.

Today will bring work, a few more presents to be wrapped, choir practice for Wesley and some baking on my part. I am hoping for a trip to the zoo lights tomorrow night, but we'll just have to see.

And all that is why I've been slacking on the blog. 

Christmas Concert

Wesley and Ryan had their Christmas Concert at school yesterday. And just when I think I have my kids figured out, they throw me for a loop. Wesley was very subdued for the concert - almost like he wanted to be anywhere else - but Ryan totally rocked it out.

 

Ryan's Letter to Santa

Yesterday I featured Wesley's sweet letter to Santa. It's sitting on our desk in a lovely decorated envelope, waiting for Wesley and I to mail it in the special Santa mailbox that is up near the library.

Today, I have Ryan's letter. Ryan is a bit less enamored of Santa. He had absolutely no interest in sitting on Santa's lap and having a picture taken. Ryan's letter is straight talk and to the point.

"Santa, have a good chismas eve. and i was sooo Amaysin this year!"

Translation: Santa, Have a good Christmas Eve. And I was sooo amazing this year!"

I don't know if this is a work in progress, a first draft, or the whole darn thing, but it cracks me up whenever I look at it.

Wesley's Letter to Santa

Wesley and Ryan each received a letter from Santa in the mail yesterday. The letter included some stickers and an ornament and some coloring pages. Wesley was so excited to get mail from Santa, that he ran upstairs to write a letter back.

Here's the transcript of it, complete with misspellings:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Clause,
  Hi, thank you for the note and stickers and the coloring pages. I wrote a few jokes on the back that you might like. How are your reindeer? I will leave out at least eightteen carots for your reindeer. I do want "art books and drawing paper", but I also want Minecraft Legos and a spy kit. How are your elves? How many ride your sleigh? Please, do you think you can get something for Cleo? Do you know the time I got a book for gaduawatauin in Kindergarden? Well, can you make a blank one, no coloring book stuff?

Thank you, sincerealy,
Wesley W

PS: I will leave some cookies, carrots and milk"

I love it so much!!

Church Christmas Party

Our family belongs to a great small group at church and last night was our Christmas party! The W. family has had to miss the party for the last couple of years, but we really enjoyed ourselves last night!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not chose to make a new kind of Christmas cookie, despite all the reviews saying that the recipe didn't seem to work right. That would be the baking equivalent of dating/marrying someone thinking you could change them - and I've never done that, right?

I was not up at 6:30 on both the mornings I was able to sleep in. That would have been terribly unfair of my body.

I know I was not in such a bad mood while getting ready to go out one night that I actually told Wesley to "eat the damn pizza" because I was so tired of hearing him whine.

I have reached the point where I am too busy to shop for stocking-stuffers for Duane and the boys without having them with me, so I ordered all of little stuff online. That would feel like cheating to me.

There is absolutely no way that I put a run in two pairs of panty hose, lost my fancy clutch and had a stone fall out of my new necklace while getting ready to go to my work party. And I know I'm not lucky enough to be married to a man who willingly went to Target on the way to the party to buy me new hose, a new necklace, a new clutch AND an umbrella to keep the rain off my pretty dress and "party" makeup. And even if all that were true, I certainly didn't dash into the Target bathroom and have to do the one legged flamingo "please don't let me put my foot down on this public restroom floor" dance while attempting to put the new hose on. And even if all that happened, we certainly didn't manage to arrive at the party only "fashionably late" instead of all out late because that would have been a miracle.

Some Kind of Saturday

Yesterday was a super busy, whirlwind kind of day. It was another one of those days that's full of fun stuff, but FULL of fun stuff. Duane and I usually like to spend weekends that I'm off work together as a family, but yesterday it was necessary to divide and conquer.

Wesley had a cub scout event yesterday, so Duane went off to the scout camp a bit north of here and spent part of the day in the snow, slush and rain helping Wesley learn to shoot an arrow and and a BB gun.

Doesn't look like a great day to traipse around outside?

Wesley making his way to the archery range

Wesley and Jack

Ready. Aim.

Fire!

Lunch and a cookie reward for all the hard work outside

While Duane and Wesley were outside doing their father/son thing, Ryan and I hung out at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s for our annual cookie day. I really had to work to get Ryan to not feel bad that he didn't get to go to the scout thing - siblings were allowed to go, but Duane and I want Ryan to wait until he's an actual scout to do this stuff - so I made Ryan the official cookie taster and told him what an important job it was.

In addition to tasting, Ryan also helped bake

Sweet reward!

Duane and Wesley showed up to cookie day around 2:30. They were soaked, but I think Wesley had a good time. Duane went to work helping Grandpa H. fix a leak in the basement while Grandma and I finished up the cookies for day. Then we headed home for a quick rest and to get ready for my work party last night. Getting ready was kind of a disaster (as you'll read on Not Me Monday), but the party was fun and we even went out for a late dinner afterwards.

Caricature from the party last night - never mind that the date says 2012.

Today is going to be another full day. Duane and I are teaching Sunday School this morning, then I'm going to tea with my mom, then we have our church group Christmas party this evening.  Tis the season, I guess!

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, which is good because I have absolutely no idea what was going on in this picture. All I know is this is how my youngest son looked when I left the house to go out with the girls Friday night.

Morning Madness

I am a morning person.  I am one of those people who gets up relatively early and is actually perky. I get the most accomplished in the morning and like to get up and get going.

Or at least I did until I had kids.

I don't think my kids are morning people. Yes, they generally wake up on their own these days. They get themselves dressed and brush their own teeth. They make their own breakfast. Sounds pretty good, right? Wrong!

Wesley only wants to wear one of two shirts to school, which is a problem when there are five school days a week. That means three days I have to tell him to chose something else, or else I pick out his clothes and he complains the entire time.

Breakfast should be a no-brainer since they make their own. I get their plates out of the cupboard - identical plates to minimize the fighting. I also put their vitamins on the plates, making sure that they each have the same colors, again to minimize fighting. They each get one piece of breakfast in the morning and we buy the pre-cooked stuff, so the pieces look pretty much the same. They pick pop-tarts, or pancakes, or cereal, or a peanut butter sandwich, or a breakfast cookie to finish off their breakfast.

Let me tell you, it's amazing how much conflict can arise over breakfast despite my best efforts.

They fight over who gets to get the bacon out of the refrigerator. They fight over who gets to use the microwave first. They fight over who gets which identical plate with the same color vitamins. They fight over the dishwasher being opened and who left their dishes on the table. It's exhausting.

And heaven forbid it's gym day and Wesley has to wear tennis shoes that tie instead of the slip on shoes he prefers! You would think this child had no idea how to tie shoes.

So this morning I did what any mom clinging to sanity would do. I told them to work it out, completely ignored it all and got on the computer to type out my frustration. Ryan ended up eating in his room, but the fighting stopped and I didn't have to yell once.

Now we just need to find something for Ryan's share time today.....

House That Ryan and Wesley Built

Every year I try to make a gingerbread house with the boys. Well, "make" is kind of an ambitious word. I buy one of the kits that comes with a per-assembled house, frosting and the candy already included. I usually save it until Christmas Eve day because it gives the boys something to do while waiting for the festivities to start.

This year there was no waiting until Christmas Eve. Ryan started bugging me about a gingerbread house the day after Thanksgiving. Every time we went to Target (which we do a couple of times a week) or the grocery store Ryan would ask for one. Every. Single. Time.

I finally broke down and bought one Monday night. I reasoned that since there was no school today, the boys could take it Grandma and Grandpa H.'s house and do it there (and maybe it would keep them busy for a little bit.)

Monday night when we returned from Target, Ryan asked if he could do the gingerbread house. Tuesday after school he asked if he could do the gingerbread house. Tuesday night he asked if he could do the gingerbread house - and when I said that he was taking it to Grandma and Grandpa's the next day, he put the bag by the door so I wouldn't forget it.

This morning Ryan woke up early, as my children usually do on days they have off school. "Are we supposed to be at Grandma and Grandpa's yet? Are we late? I want to do the gingerbread house," Ryan said.

I dropped the boys off at Grandma and Grandpa's at 8:35. The first thing Ryan asked was if they could do the gingerbread house. Grandma managed to hold him off until 10:00.

Wesley helped decorate it, but I have a feeling this was mostly Ryan and Grandma's project. I didn't ask how long the construction took, however, I do know that as soon as they finished decorating it Ryan wanted to know if he could eat it. Grandma managed to get him to wait so Duane and I would have a chance to see it. But guess what Ryan wanted for dessert tonight?

Top Ten Tuesday

I have nothing to blog about tonight - except for holiday stress, and really, who wants to read about that? So I've decided to borrow from all the book blogs I read and do a Top Ten Tuesday post tonight. 

This week's bookish top ten is the "top ten books on your winter to read list."  I'm going to adapt that to the "top ten books sitting on my self that I want to read before year's end"

1) Merry Market Murder by Paige Shelton - I am addicted to cozy mysteries and I really enjoy this series (as well as her other series). The author is a Facebook friend of mine and actually comments on my posts sometimes. She's very sweet and her books put me in a good mood. Well, as much as a book about a murder can. This is the first actual book I have purchased in a very long time.

2) Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich - Stephanie Plum would totally be my BFF. And I have the hots for Ranger.

3) The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt - I've been hearing good things about this title, as well as some award buzz.

4) If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan - very intrigued by the premise of this one

5) From Scratch: Inside the Food Network by Allen Salkin - I watch the Food Network at some point nearly every day. I love Emeril, Michael Symon, Ree Drummond, the show Chopped. I need to read this!

6) The Real Boy by Anne Ursu - another one that's getting some award buzz and I'd like to check off

7) Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson - I've been hearing good things about this book since I went to Book Expo America back in May.

8) Champion by Marie Lu - In addition to cozy mysteries, I also have a thing for dystopian/post-apocalyptic books. This series was billed as "the next Hunger Games," which kind of ticked me off. Turns out it's really good all on it's own and doesn't need the comparison to gain readership

9) Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koetrge - one of my dearest friends recommended this to me, which is all the reason I need to crack this one open.

10) Allegiant by Veronica Roth - I've enjoyed the Divergent series thus far (can't wait for the movie) and even though I know this title has some haters, I am anxious to see how the series ends.

So there you go. Out of the 50 books I have checked out on my library card right now (plus the one I bought) , these are the top ones I want to read before saying goodbye to 2013.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not try to unlock my friend's car using the key fob to my SUV.

I did not have a full blown panic attack because Wesley didn't have a pair of boots for the upcoming winter weather, even though Duane assured me he'd take of it before the snow arrived.

And there is no way I overcompensated for not having any outlets near the front of our house by purchasing an eighty foot extension cord so we could run it out from the garage and actually have outdoor Christmas lights for the first time ever.

I know there was no way I was a mean mommy and made Wesley do extra math homework on a Friday snow day!  And I certainly didn't feed them the lunches we had packed the night before for dinner on the snow day night.

When the boys asked if we could please get an "elf on the shelf" for our house, I did not tell them that the reason we don't have one is that Santa thinks they are really well behaved and he doesn't need an elf to report back to him on their behavior, when in reality Duane and I just don't want the responsibility of coming up with new elf ideas every night.

I did not accidentally use my maiden name to introduce myself to someone at church when I haven't gone by my maiden name since my first marriage in 1996!

Strength of Love

Mommy: Wesley, I'm starting to feel really tired. If I fall asleep will you carry me upstairs and tuck me in?"

Wesley: I will if I'm strong enough, but for now I might just have to push you up the stairs.

Snow Day

The boys lucked out and had a snow day today. Even luckier, they got to spend it with Grandma and Grandpa H. while Duane and I knocked out a bunch of Christmas shopping.

I cannot tell you how much I love Christmas shopping day with Duane. He just makes the day perfect. He never complains. He carries the bags. He smiles and laughs and helps chose gifts. The snow was falling but the roads were clear and the stores weren't crowded. We even had lunch at a restaurant where we didn't even have to consider whether or not there would be a kids menu. It was perfect. I think my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.

By the time we got home and the boys were returned, the snow was falling at a pretty good clip. That didn't stop Duane from hanging out the rest of our Christmas lights - and it certainly didn't stop the boys from wanting to go out and play!

Wesley began using his sled as a snow scoop

And of course, Ryan followed Wesley's example

Duane finishing up the Christmas lights

One of my little angels in the snow (and by the way, within an hour, no more grass was visible beneath and you couldn't tell where the angel had been)

There might not have been enough snow to really go sledding this afternoon, but Wesley and Ryan figured out the next best thing. See, our driveway has a bit of a slope to it, and our subdivision only has one way in or out which equals very little traffic, so the boys just used the driveway as their hill.

Ready to launch

GO!!!

 

 

 

I stayed inside for most of the fun - but I did have hot chocolate ready for the boys when they came in!

Rehearsal for the church musical was canceled for the night because the snow just kept falling. Duane and I took advantage of the free evening to clean out the play area before Christmas and now we're just having a quiet night - as evidenced by Cleo.

To Shop or to Hibernate?

Tomorrow is supposed to be the annual Christmas shopping day/date for me and Duane. The plan is to spend the day shopping together, going out to lunch and having a fabulous day. That's the plan, anyway. The weather may throw a bit of a crimp in it. Lots of ice and snow headed our way.

 Part of me is really stressed out by the thought that we might be stuck at the house instead of shopping, but the other part of me says, "who cares?" I mean, worst case scenario is that Duane and I have a whole day off together watching Christmas movies in our decorated house.

We didn't necessarily go all out with the decorations this year, but I think it all looks quite nice.

Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care - along with stockings for Aunt Susan and Uncle Kirk. I'd like to dress up the mantle a bit more next year - maybe greenery and lights and something kind of fancy looking. But for this year, my Christmas village libraries will be just fine.

This is the family tree. Sorry the picture is so dark, but we were having "family movie night" when I took the picture. This is the tree with colored lights and fun ornaments that the boys have been asking for the last couple of years.

This is the tree Duane and I love - creams and whites and golds. I love having it by the front window and the way it really lights up the living room. Next year maybe we'll have some fancier furniture that ugly wallpaper border will be gone.

We also have white lights outside, but the rain/freezing rain has started here and I wasn't going to brave it to take a picture. Maybe another night soon.

If we end up having to stay home tomorrow, at least we can do it surrounded by the comforts of Christmas.