Weekend in Review

What we like to call...Fondue Friday. This is one of our favorite meals. I make one of the fondue recipes from my The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak. The "cheese" fondue is made of many ingredients including tahini, flour, and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is probably not something that sounds yummy nor is it necessarily yummy if eaten plain, but we love using it to make different kinds of cheese. We dipped steamed Brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, garlic toast pieces, and Tofurky kielbasas (and not pictured, cherry tomatoes). Okay, spellcheck just taught me something. Who knew it was "Brussels sprouts"? All this time, I have thought it was "brussel sprouts." Weird. That's impossible to pronounce.

We set it all out on a sheet in the living room. Fondue, for us, is best eaten while sitting on the floor. It would be nice if we had a coffee table. I'm still lobbying Ryan for one. He likes the floor space open, and I'd really like to have something to put my feet on when I'm sitting on the couch.

Earlier Friday we had journeyed over to our local jump/play place. This was actually our second visit of the week. We had never been before, and I used it as a bribe. Yes, I sometimes bribe my children. I'm sorry. I do.

It would be really helpful if I could start working out during the day, instead of at night which takes away from family time. Plus, for some reason, I've been hitting a wall about 7:00, and I can't make myself head to the gym as spryly at night as I've been used to. Anyway, it is necessary, therefore, to leave my kids in the fitness center daycare. Tornado is just fine with this. I actually used to work at this particular place when he was 3 years old, and he went to work with me everyday, which he remembers. That was a great situation. It was about a mile from our house, too, and I would push him (quickly, as we were usually running late) in the stroller to work every morning at 8:00. We didn't have a second car at the time, which is why I took the job in the first place. After a couple of months we were able to put a downpayment on a car. Anyway...do you enjoy how distracted I get when I write...what was I talking about...yes, so I knew it would be a challenge to leave Sissy and Dash in the daycare. Sissy, I assumed, would just cry, and Dash...I couldn't even imagine as all attempts have failed in the past. I looked around for the extra childproof door knob to take with us, but I haven't found it yet. He has tried to run out of the room before. My beautiful, precious 3 year old son can be infuriating sometimes. Every single time we leave him in the church nursery (for which the other childproof door knob was bought), he throws a FIT. Even though he knows to expect this every week, no matter how much truth and love we speak to him beforehand, no matter what disciplinary action is taken afterward...and he loves his Carrie and Bo, who watch over him. But he continues to do it.

So...I promised the kids that if they did a good job at the daycare we would go to the JumpZone. And it worked. I was a little nervous at first because Dash wouldn't go in. I let him sit with me while I talked to the trainer for a few minutes, but then he went on in the room on his own. Sometimes he just needs a few minutes.

They loved the JumpZone, and I had a lot of fun myself. The slides were really fast. We had the place pretty much to ourselves most of the time, and we could just run amok. Two little boys came later, and those two followed my kids around everywhere. One of the little boys was Sissy's age, and he kept pushing her. She was not having it, and I was proud of her. She would give him these angry "Don't mess with me" faces and push him back. I explained to her that sometimes that's just how guys are, and I was counting on her, in life, to continue not putting up with it.

A team of housekeepers came to our home on Wednesday to help me get caught up on chores. That was part of the reason we took another trip away from home. Just more time that the house stays clean. We were gone almost all day on Thursday, too. The boys needed haircuts, and my friend had pointed out a new place, Pigtails & Crewcuts. Haircuts have been such a point of stress in our lives. I used to cut Tornado's hair all the time, and I think I always did a decent job. However, that was one or two children ago. I could sit him in front of a video and take my time. It doesn't work out that way now. Now that he is 8, he has done much better at willingly sitting at the beauty shop, but it is never without a little trepidation on my part. Dash is not predictable either, and it makes me all tight inside wondering how he is going to react each time. However, this new place, totally catered to kids, seems to be the answer to our problems. They both sat very still in their automobile seats, watching "Peter Pan." I even got my hair cut while they happily played. That was extremely nice as I needed a little trim in the front. What was NOT extremely nice is watching about three inches from the back of my hair fall to the floor. I almost cried. I almost cried all day long. I told her I just wanted the ends cut. I still haven't fully recovered from my loss.

After we got our hair cuts, we ate lunch at Panera Bread, then went on to the library and Whole Foods. I was proud of Tornado at the library. He had an idea for a certain type of book he wanted (Martha Speaks), and he looked it up on the computer and found it on the shelf. Because we homeschool, I have to remind myself sometimes to push him to be a little more independent.

On Friday at the JumpZone, we even ran into one of Tornado's favorite friends. It really wasn't so much of a coincidence. He was there for the home school field trip...that I had forgotten about. Had forgotten about even with the email his mother sent that week, asking me if I was going...really, where has my short term memory gone...I forget things ALL the time. At least Tornado and his friend got to run around and enjoy playing together. It was a little silly I had to pay full price. I asked if there was a discounted field trip admission, and she said that was over at 11:30. It was 11:32. Good grief.

Saturday we took a 3 hour road trip to visit my brother and his family, plus my Grandpa and Winnie. There were a few other reasons for the trip, but those are not to be disclosed at this time. My kids don't get to see Grandpa and Winnie often, and it takes a bit of time each visit for the two little ones to warm up to them. Sissy finally left my leg after a little while. He gave her a silver dollar for her upcoming birthday, which is what broke the ice. That is what he gives all the grandkids on their birthdays, which is a fun idea. She was very happy to carry around that silver dollar. She was showing Grandpa her tiny pig light. He showed her his big flashlight.

This isn't a good quality photo, but I like it because Sissy was being ornery and teasing Grandpa, which Grandpa enjoyed. She'd pretend to give him the silver dollar, then take off running away from him, giggling. I love to see my kids interacting with my Grandpa...because he's 88...and I want to cherish every second.

Here is Sissy showing Winnie her silver dollar.

Dash was actually asleep for the entire visit. He woke up just long enough to screech crankily and refuse to say goodbye. That kid does not perform well when he is tired. We had a nice day, and I was proud of my husband for his spontaneity in taking a day trip. I was proud that he let me sleep on the way home, too. I just kind of fell over on my pillow halfway home, and the next thing I knew we were pulling into our neighborhood. My favorite way to fall asleep...in the car. I wish I was little and someone would carry me in, straight to bed.

School Day

We've come a long way in the past 6 months to a year...Sissy and Dash are "growing up," and we are able to get more done in the way of school and housework. They are all three focusing on their own workbook pages here. Dash whizzed through this I Can Learn with Pooh: Early Skills workbook in two sittings. He likes to trace shapes and letters. Wearing his Spiderman costume, nonetheless. Tornado is continuing to work in his phonics workbooks. We began a United States study this week, and I'm really excited about many of the activities I've got planned.

It's been so much fun with Sissy learning to talk. Her favorite word right now is "boys." She got this from me calling, "Boys!" whenever I need them. Now, all the time, when she's looking for them, she calls out, "Boys!" as her little ten inch legs go padding through the house. She says it very clear. Another adorable thing she does is say "bye" every time she leaves my side. She'll stand there, wave at me, and say "bye" - it's a big production - until I say "bye!" back to her. She's so used to being glued to my hip, in my lap, next to my legs, etc. that I think she thinks I'm going to miss her if she leaves my sight for a few minutes. She's also very quick to bury her face against my leg and say, "Sorry," when I've disciplined her in the slightest. She's started getting some sentences down. She says, "I want some," or "I want this (or that)." I love it.

Just Enjoying the Week

I can't even believe how nice it was today. There wasn't a chill in the air at all. We have spent a lot of time outside the past few days. We've played at the park and played outside our house a lot. Yesterday we went to a library that has a lake behind it. There is a boardwalk all around the lake, and it was really nice and peaceful walking around it. I did have plenty of - "Be careful!" "Not so close!" moments because there is only a simple chain separating my children from a high plunge into the water. I was mentally preparing myself as to what I would do if one of them fell in...scream for help, dial 911, and hand the phone to another child before I dove in. That was the plan. If you knew my swimming skills and my children's phone skills, you might know it was not a foolproof plan. There were ducks (geese? I don't know.) that started swimming our way, thinking the kids' pebbles being thrown in were treats for them, and we made plans to go back very soon with food in hand. I just read that it's not really that healthy to give them bread so we'll be researching the best snack for them. The boys rode their four wheelers outside today for a long time. We played football and ate our apples, cheese, and crackers outside on the steps. Sissy tried out the roller coaster for the first time all by herself. It was the first time we've played with it in a couple of months, and I'd always held onto her before, being overprotective. She did great. They took turns over and over and over again. The incline takes the car all the way to the end of the pavement ahead. When I came inside to get snacks, I looked out the window and saw Sissy going down backwards, too.Dash was proud of his Lego robot he made the other day. That funny kid...is getting funnier by the day. This morning, we were all sitting on the couch together, and he crawled into a little hole between my legs and the back of the couch.

He grinned really big and said, "I'm visiting you."

I said, "Well, thanks for coming to see me! I haven't seen you in so long. What have you been doing lately?"

He said, "Going to work...and drinking soda." (funny - things his daddy does)

"Really? How old are you?"

"Five." (He's 3; "5" must have seemed like the age he'd be old enough to do those things.)

"Oh, you work and drink soda now? Wow."

"I have a baby, too."

I asked him if he was married, and he said he wasn't.

"She jus' has a daddy. She can talk and say 'apple'."

"What's her name?"

"....her name is...Winnie. She eats big carrots. I'll show you my baby." He went over to where Sissy was now standing and said that she was his baby. He picked up an empty plastic paint tray that was sitting there. (I don't know why it was sitting there, and yes, I need to clean my house.) He said that was where he changed her diaper.

He said he's also been eating sandwiches lately and riding his cowboy horse.

"He's a real one. I ride my pterodactyl, too. He's got a big, long tail."

He's a silly one.

Books, Birdhouses, and Kittens

Scott and Jyldyz gave Tornado a wooden birdhouse to paint for Christmas. He worked on it a few days ago, and it turned out great. He painted his name across the roof.

Today we walked around outside and looked for the perfect place to hang it. We found it indeed.

Since I haven't included many of our educational endeavors lately, here is a picture of our kitten books that I set out this week. I checked these books out from the library a couple of months ago, but I had to keep rechecking them because we never got around to the kitten part of our next section of the letter of the week curriculum. Tornado and I had been working on other skills in his workbooks and reading a lot. Also, taking weekend trips and celebrating the holiday caused our routine ("routine," hee, hee; I'm trying to sound like my other home school friends I admire so) to change up a bit.

Besides reading kitten books the past couple of days, we have worked on our The Owl and the Pussycat word-find and coloring pages. He added words to his Word Chart and completed a couple of pages in his Big A, Little A...What begins with A? book. (Word Chart: file folder with pages stapled in it - blanks under each letter to fill in appropriate words. Big A book: He loves Dr. Seuss's book ABC that goes like that. There was a print off on the Mailbox magazine website that could be used to make your own sentences. For example, today he did V: Big V, Little V, what begins with V? A vacuum eats a violin. V, V, V. And then he drew a picture of it.)

We also took quizzes with Book Adventure on some of the books we read today. We love this site; I may have mentioned it before. Kids read books, and there are quizzes (not for every book out there, but there are a lot) for them to take. He can read the questions and answers all on his own now. In the past few months, something has flipped the switch to his confidence in reading. It's not like he's reading chapter books by himself, but we are proud of what he is doing. They receive points for all their correct answers, then work toward prizes like posters or books. It's all free. He has earned almost 3,000 points so far. That kid remembers more details about the books than I do. Ryan was mentioning that tonight when they were doing a page out of his reading comprehension workbook that Scott and Jyldyz also got him. It's like how kids are always better at Memory, etc. than I am. And better than most adults, I think. Why is that?

Christmas Comes to a Close

Finally, here are some pictures from our final Christmas get-together this past weekend. Ryan's parents and sister-in-law Kristi came with our niece. Unfortunately, the rest of the gang were unable to make it. Sissy, with her matching 9 month old cousin - the only cousin, so far, on Ryan's side of the family. Grandma bought them these outfits and made the scarves. I should add that yes, 22 month old Sissy appears to be the same size as her 9 month old cousin. It might have something to do with the fact that her mom is over 6 inches taller than me, and her dad, Jeff, is much taller than his big brother, Ryan. It was her first visit to our house. She's such a happy baby! She and Kristi were the first overnight guests in our house.

Since my fine husband and I don't often appear together in pictures...brother/sister/cousin love
Ryan's parents

The kids enjoyed another round of presents...that's Tornado looking in the gift bag while Dash reads on.

Bowling Fun and Product Review

We culminated our weekend activities (more blogging on that tomorrow) with a trip to the bowling alley with Ryan's parents and our sister-in-law and niece. The boys love, love going bowling. I'd probably love bowling, too, if I got to use bumpers and the ball roller thing. Okay, I'm just being a sore loser because I got the lowest score.
Here's Dash, in the middle of one of his victory dances. The big surprise of the day was just how good Grandma and Grandpa are at bowling. It was strike after strike. Who knew.

I took so many pictures of Sissy posing and entertaining herself, sitting on the little step up to the lanes. She helped the boys polish off the three bags of peanut butter crackers and carried the empty bags around with her the rest of the time.

The four of us (minus Dad...he really needs to start taking chances when he gets them) all took naps when we got home. The kids slept about three hours. They apparently had some catching up to do. Hopefully, the boys will be rested up for their looming dentist appointments tomorrow. Argh...I don't even want to think about that. Anyway, the kids have had lots to do tonight, playing with new Christmas gifts. They all three got into the bag of Magic Nuudles, a gift from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kristi. Tornado and I had gotten these once a long time ago and had really enjoyed them. I had always meant to buy them again so we were very pleased to receive this gift. They are biodegradable building blocks made of cornstarch. You press a moistened Nuudle against a dry noodle, and they instantly become glued together. They made forks, rafts, spaceships, letters, and even an anteater. Tornado just told me to tell you that "Sissy destroyed Dash's spaceship, and he had to use the bottom part and build another one." We highly recommend Magic Nuudles. You heard it here.

Braggin' Rights

I started writing this post last week, but then I got distracted with Christmas. I have videos, but I haven't figured out how to get them on my computer. We knew Daddy was excited about the Mizzou-Illini game so we all dressed up in orange and blue before he got home from work. The boys and I made signs to welcome him, as well. Tornado was very adamant about our signs saying things like "Illini fans, enter here" and "Illini fans party entrance, this way," complete with an arrow. Ryan pointed out later that it was very typical for Tornado's sign to be directional as he loves everything map-related. Dash's sign was very impressive, too. He started out drawing a picture of a basketball, then made the basketball have a face, then drew a whole basketball family. I asked him what he wanted the basketball to say, and he exclaimed grandly, "The Illinois show!" I don't really know what he meant by that, but it was very cute so that is what I wrote.

After supper, Ryan watched the game with the kids coming in and out occasionally to cheer. I tried sitting there for a few minutes in support of my husband and what he loves...but honestly it's so painful for me to watch sports (besides tennis) on television. I just can't take it. I think I should have earned enough points wearing his orange t-shirt when I'm really a Missouri girl at heart. It's actually good that I'm not a sports fan in that way so that I don't have an opinion of what team our children should be raised on.
I made milkshakes, and Ryan made popcorn, and we all exchanged high fives when Illinois pulled out a victory, 75 to 59. Sorry, Uncle Matt.

Let It Be Christmas

I had a few last minute shopping errands to run early on Christmas Eve, then it was on to the celebrating. Actually, first Ryan and I cleaned house while Googie and Papaw took the kids to the park that afternoon. Yes, my dreams for a white Christmas were dashed as it was warm enough to play at the park without even bundling up too much. Oh, well...maybe next year. We went to a local field of lights that you pay $5 to drive through. The kids loved it. Then you park and go inside and watch the fabulous electric train that took up the entire room. They really loved that, of course.

Tornado was pretty agreeable about sitting with Santa. Dash went along with it because he knew there was a candy cane in his future if he did. This is as close as he would get.

And this was as close as Sissy would get. Why are kids so afraid of a jolly man who's going to stuff their stockings with presents? He does have a whole lot of hair on his face.

There was also a craft table set up, and the boys made snowmen. Tornado wanted to keep his, but Dash was very adamant about going back in and giving his to Santa. There's a sweet, kind heart lurking under that tough exterior after all.

I got my pictures out of order. Here is our midday snack on Christmas. I got the idea from veganlunchbox. I mixed Simply Organic French Onion Dip mix with Tofutti sour cream for the dip. We ate the whole thing.

We left Santa a glass of soy milk and vegan snickerdoodles and lemon wafers. He loved them, of course.

Tornado was talking about the scavenger hunt all day...actually for weeks. "It's time for the scavenger hunt yet?" I was just having a conversation with my friend Lori the other day about how hard it is for me to withhold information. She said she won't tell her kids about fun activities until the moment they are going to begin. I know this is wise. I know it. I know it. I just can't help myself, though. I can't help talking about all the exciting things we're going to do the week before. I can't help showing them projects. Then, of course, they won't stop talking about it and begging me to do it immediately, and then that drives me batty having to say "not yet" all the time. Why won't I learn my lesson? I'm a child; one day, I'll grow up. It wouldn't really matter in the case of the scavenger hunt, though. It's one of Tornado's favorite activities of the year. It is right up his alley. I had about 30 clues this year, the biggest yet. He's usually so disappointed when it's over, but I think this year satisfied him. I wrote the clues on the back of photos that are like the ones in Highlights magazine - the ones you have to look closely to figure out what they are. It was fun to watch them run up and down the stairs, all over the house. Even Sissy led us to one I made a lot easier for her. It was a picture of her shoe basket. Of course, she knew where that was. I scribbled out the rhyming clues only a couple of hours ahead of time so I admit, they were pretty lame and cheesey. For example, one picture, close-up of a child on a Christmas picture that's hanging on the pantry door, read, "This is something close-up on something a bit bigger...if you eat a lot of what's behind the door, you'll be a pigger!" Yeah, seriously, I was in a rush to finish them this year; I never said they were award-winning. The good thing about my kids, though - the cheesier, the better. They think it's funny. Their new matching pajamas and house shoes were found at the end of the hunt - along with baby Jesus and the angel. Tornado was insistent that the angel also be hidden. He always does that - one year, it was the cow. I said it was okay; the angel could be watching over Jesus. I make the last clue say something about the real meaning of Christmas.

Here are the boys, finding a clue under one of the decorative trees...after the kids got into their pajamas, we cuddled on the couch and read Christmas books. When I offered them a snack before bed, they immediately declined and went to bed ON THEIR OWN. They always want a snack before bed. They always delay bedtime as much as possible. It was amazing. They knew the quicker they went to bed, the quicker it would be time for presents. Ryan and I stayed up until about 1:30. He had to put together the boys' four wheelers that day, then finish up with Sissy's kitchen set that night. I had to wrap stocking stuffers and put them in the stockings. My parents asked him why he waited until the last minute to undertake such a project (as if they never procrastinate, ha). He told them I wouldn't let him put it together yet. For the record, I never said that. He had asked once if he could put it together and lock it in her bedroom. All I said was he'd have to put it in the attic or something; I couldn't have her room locked all week. When he was grumbling about all the many pieces - and yes, there were A LOT of pieces, I reminded him that I had waited all my life to give my daughter a kitchen set and all the grumbling was taking away from that joy. Okay, actually I might have said I'd waited all my life for another kitchen set, but that's what I really meant.

And the morning arrives! We had great fun. Of course. It took us hours, and we left the mess strewn across the living room and kitchen for days. It wasn't pretty. Sissy was very territorial of her kitchen set, and we're working with her on that because the boys always want to play with it, too. She crawled right into her doll cradle like it was meant for her. They loved trying on their new dress-up clothes, and they immediately wanted to get dressed and try out their 4 wheelers. Those 4 wheelers deserve a later post of their own; they've had such a good time with them. I prepared our gingerbread house pancakes while they were outside. Googie, Papaw, and Tracy came over to visit and bring extra treats. The kids and I made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and frosting. We decorated them with pretzels, sprinkles, and leftover Halloween candy that I'd stuck in the freezer. That night we all snuggled on the couch together and watched Jim Carrey's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," because we had never seen it. It was cute. Did I mention what amazing gifts my husband surprised me with? A dressing table like I've wanted all my life, a PINK iPod, a box of chocolates, scarves, boots, etc. I have the greatest husband, I'm pretty sure.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

I got my pictures back from my parents' family Christmas. Here is the large mound of presents and stockings before we got started opening. I enjoy this picture because I was begging in a high-pitched voice for everyone to smile for the camera, but I had no such luck in any of the ones I took. Winnie had to be removed from the scene entirely because she was crying. Dash and Tornado, lest anyone thinks my children are always well-behaved, are fighting because Dash wanted to hold a stocking and Tornado was afraid he was going to look inside it too early. It's like they're all purposely staring off into space instead of looking at me like I wanted, ha. Believe it or not, this mound is actually about half the size as normal. We pleaded with my Mom to not go overboard this year - there are 17 of us, after all - and she very begrudgingly scaled down. Trust me, she was not happy about it. There was the perfect amount of wonderful gifts for everyone, though.

Mid-opening, the kids engaged in an all-out wrapping paper war. Dash is wearing his pirate gear from Uncle Matt and Aunt Michele.

This is 8 month old Winnie who was missing from the picture above.

This is my handsome father and my pretty momma.

The Holidays in Review

Our first "Christmas" get-together was at Ryan's grandparents' house.

Almost the entire

side of the family

was present on Thanksgiving Day, and the kids all exchanged presents. That weekend back at home, I cooked a vegan Thanksgiving meal for Ryan, the kids, and I, and we were joined by my parents, my sisters, and niece. I just realized I never picked up a roll of film from Wal-Mart that includes pictures of Christmas at my parents' house last weekend. Yes, I do have a digital camera, but I take pictures with my Canon, too. I'm still old-school and enjoy dropping off film and getting it developed. Anyway, I do have a picture of all the cousins together. We took many pictures in order to get one good one for my Mom's birthday gift. I've never seen six adults jumping around, making faces, and offering bribes as much as we were that day, to get 8 children ages 8 and under to cooperate. They did very well, considering. The 17 of us enjoyed our weekend, eating, celebrating Mom's and Tracy's birthdays, playing games, and catching up. I love my parents and brothers and sisters and would want to be friends with them even if we weren't related.

I had a girls' weekend this month in KC with four of my best girlfriends - Sarah, Elizabeth, Missy, and Angie, and we enjoyed the lights of downtown. The next weekend, I took a trip to St. Louis for my niece's baptism. We had fun hanging out with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece on Saturday while Ryan went up to U of Illinois with his brothers and Dad to watch highschool basketball games.

I can't even describe the angst I felt while trying to get the kids into our hotel room that night. I was practically wailing in misery and disbelief in downtown St. Louis as we parked in the wrong garage (the parking attendant's fault, not mine) and then got turned around and had to make two trips back into our 14th floor room with winding hallways, while I was trying to lug a sleeping Sissy in addition to my luggage. Thank goodness the boys were great helps pulling their own suitcases. The next morning we were running late for church (imagine that), and we couldn't find our car in the parking garage. Since we had to move our car multiple times, I had gotten confused about which level we were on. I was almost in tears, getting on and off the elevator with the three kids (Sissy is not light to carry anymore) and running up and down the different levels. Finally, an angel was sent in the form of a parking attendant, and she let us ride with her on the golf cart until we found it. Mom sent me a text message as we pulled into the church parking lot, telling me to "run! they're getting ready to start," so I ran uphill, dragging the kids with me, and we burst into the sanctuary just in time. Cary told me she was afraid I'd come bursting onto the stage entrance. I'm really shocked that isn't what happened, considering the way my night and morning had gone. After church, Cary and Andy threw a lovely party at their loft.

The kids and I have enjoyed many winter and Christmas craft projects this month. They are making cotton ball snowmen here. Sissy was very disturbed that the cotton kept sticking to her finger. I was very proud of Tornado's creativity. He didn't fill in the snowman's stomach and instead drew pictures of what it had eaten. He said it was like "The Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly," one of his favorite series of books.

One of our favorite holiday activities this month was attending Bethlehem Revisited at a local church. We stepped into life during Jesus' time, and the kids enjoyed many activities such as sampling candy made of walnuts and dates and dipping their own candles.

I'll post about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day later...I need to start working on the mass of mess that lingers from a fun and eventful holiday.

Countdown to Christmas

Here is a picture of Dash when we were in the middle of decorating our tree. I am answering Christmas questions I got from the Lee family blog.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Definitely not egg nog...a sip of hot chocolate here and there is okay.
2. Does Santa wrap gifts, or place them under the tree? Everything has to be wrapped, even stocking stuffers.
3. Colored lights on the house/tree or white? Mostly white, one strand of green

4. Do you hang mistletoe? We have some in our entryway. Of course.
5. When do you put up decorations? Usually after Thanksgiving, this year - weekend before.
6. What is your favorite Christmas dish? We don't have any special Christmas dishes...we usually make gingerbread house shaped pancakes for breakfast and decorate them with berries, icing, nuts, chocolate chips, etc. Ryan has requested Thanksgiving-type food for Christmas dinner because that's his favorite kind of food, and we don't eat a lot of big meals like that around here.

7. Favorite Christmas memory? It would be hard to pick a favorite from growing up. There were always special times with my parents and three siblings. I remember getting in bed with my brother at 4:00 a.m. because we were too excited to sleep. I miss Christmas Eve with Mert and Donald. I remember fondly the Christmas Eve my youngest sister was born. I have loved every Christmas with my children. A few years ago, there was beautiful snow on the ground on Christmas Day.

8. When did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember. I think it was gradual, nothing traumatic.

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? The kids have a scavenger hunt which leads them ultimately to baby Jesus who needs to be put in the nativity and their Christmas pajamas plus new house shoes.

10. How do you decorate your tree? Many ornaments are from my tree growing up or other heirloom or ones we've bought on vacation or other special times...I have a lot of wood and metal ornaments, old-fashioned ornaments.
11. Snow: love it or dread it? I like it. I would be so happy if it would snow on Christmas Day.

12. Can you ice skate? Kind of. I can't do twirls or anything.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Impossible to narrow it down; I'm a very cheerful receiver.
14. What is the most important thing about Christmas for you? My children are still so young to fully grasp what Christmas means, but all the little moments when I think they understand a portion of it - I love those moments.

15. What is your favorite Christmas dessert? buckeyes, I guess

16. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? waking up and opening stockings and presents together

17. What tops your tree? brown metal star

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? I would definitely pick giving, but I'm not going to lie...I love receiving presents. But I don't want to know what I'm getting. I just love surprises in general. On both ends. I'm excited about what my kids are getting this year.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? O, Little Town of Bethlehem and Let it Be Christmas by Alan Jackson

20. Candy Canes: yum or yuck? I'm not a big candy person, but I'll eat part of one like they sell at Whole Foods every once in awhile.

21. What do you want for Christmas? Oh, I'm not picky. Clothes, things for the house, etc. I probably shouldn't get too specific as gifts have already been purchased, ha.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? no, just family get togethers usually

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear pjs? I prefer to keep my pjs on all day.

24. Do you own a Santa hat? yes

25. With whom do you normally spend Christmas? the five of us...then go to my parents, but this year we had Christmas at my parents the weekend before Christmas so we're staying in all day...we'll get together with Ryan's family sometime, too.

Why We Homeschool

Last week, I found Dash playing Starfall on the computer, like it was the most normal thing in the world to be sitting there in a clown suit. At the same moment, Tornado was putting a

puzzle together while wearing his Hulk costume.

Let it ice, let it ice, let it ice...?

At 7:30 p.m. tonight and 20-something degrees, the kids were begging to play outside in the "snow." It's really just ice, but you can't be picky here in the south. I chose the ol', "Go ask your dad," and fun for them, Dad said, "yes." Dash gets a little lost in the picture here with his snow mask on.

She did have gloves on at some point. Dad walked around the house with them several times as they had fun crunching the snow with their matching frog boots. The boys picked icicles to taste.

They immediately wanted hot chocolate as soon as they walked inside, but since we didn't have any mix, they settled for shots of Soyatoo whipped cream in their mouths. They insisted that it would help warm them up.

O Christmas Tree Farm

We made it to the Christmas Tree Farm earlier than usual this year. My sister and niece came for a visit the weekend of Thanksgiving so we went the Sunday before Thanksgiving to get our tree. We had a really fun day, starting with a nice lunch at PF Chang's. The kids were so well-behaved, Ryan and I were grinning from ear to ear. At the gas station afterward, I went to give him a high-five to celebrate a successful restaurant outing, and he said it deserved a hug instead.

The tree farm we usually visit but missed out on last year, now has pig races. The kids loved it, and the little piggies were very cute. They seemed to enjoy racing around the track toward their

prize, and the owner was funny and entertaining.

Sissy had fallen asleep in the car, and it took her a bit to wake up and realize where we were. The kids enjoyed the hayride and playing with the farm animals. The boys enjoyed just racing up and down the rows of trees. We had to keep reminding them we had to slow down and pick out a tree.

And the winner is...! They strapped the tree on our car for us, and we were on our way home to decorate. Many ornaments were shattered in the process (that darn concrete floor), but it was a nice evening with Alvin and the Chipmunks egging us on.