It's Christmas!

Christmas Eve:

Because Saturday Allen and Sahar had all the Baker's over to their place, we stuck with just the Charlotte Bakers for Christmas Eve.  And because I'm an anal retentive perfectionist who wants everything done my way and would prefer to do it myself than ask anyone for help, I spent the entire day getting ready for dinner.  After breakfast, the kids helped me make rolls, then cake, then the mashed potatoes.  Then I did dishes, made a second set of rolls because they first ones turned out flat, talked to my family via Google Hangout for like 45 minutes while we waited for Hannah to log on.  Anyway, you don't care about the nitty gritty details, but the point is: I spent all day cooking and cleaning, but I did it!  I had all the food cooked, the dishes done, the table set (with the china that I had to dig out of a box), and well-dressed children when the family arrived at 5:30.  Worth a full day of stress?  Yes.  Because I'm an anal perfectionist.

I know this is a little tacky, but check out my center pieces (we had two tables for dinner, plus a food table--I combined everything for the breakfast table. ) Total cost: $3--I win

The kids wanted to practice playing Bingo before the real game later.

So we ate.  Then we cleared the table, which was easy because the sink was empty!  We played traditional Robins-style Bingo, of which I took no pictures.  Cleaned up that mess.  Then we had a little Christmas pageant.  This may or may not be my favorite part of Christmas and I take it super seriously.  As in, this year, I printed out a script with stage notes; the kids and I practiced for three days; and I made them memorize a few things.  Rex was the angel and had three lines and Alice was Mary and had one.  They mostly knew their lines.  Because I was once again stage managing (remember, I take this super seriously), I failed to get any pictures.  But the kids did great.  Worth three days of practicing?  Yes--in fact already planning next year's already.

Mary and the angel

The angel got to stand on a stool--I think that's why Rex wanted to be the angel.

Finally, we had dessert.  Mine did not turn out as well I had hoped--actually none of the food did, even the second batch of roles, but the dishes were all done when everyone arrived.

Then the kids opened their Christmas Eve package from G-ma and G-pa; played with their Boeing toys for a while before asking to go to bed--seriously.  They asked.  And they didn't even demand stories--they just went to bed.

Look--they're both looking at the camera and almost smiling.  I win.

The men then sat around while the women folk loaded the dish washer and returned the house to normal.  And the family left.  I finished cleaning up, made the french toast casserole for the morning, put out the presents then fell asleep on the couch at 10:30.

Christmas:

7 am: I wake up.  No children.  Roll over.  Greg gets up and brushes his teeth.  Still, no children.  We both attempt to go back to sleep.  Fail.  I read for a while.  

8:15 am: I hear Alice get up, but my little plan to keep the kids in their rooms for just a few more minutes so Greg and I could sleep longer worked--she discovered her stocking next to her door, and was eating the applesauce pouch I'd, I mean Santa, had left her.  Still no Rex.  We had a mini photo shoot while we waited for Rex.

Good morning Princess!

Greg got bored of waiting for Rex so he got his stocking out too.

8:25 am: Greg finally wakes Rex up.

8:30 am: What is wrong with my children that they sleep in so late on Christmas?  We go to the living room and discover what Santa left us just as Allen and Sahar pull up--they were supposed to come for breakfast we thought that by 8:30 surely we'd be done opening presents because who sleeps in on Christmas?  Allen and Sahar made country ham, biscuits and gravy while we opened presents.

Our Christmas highlight--Rex's bike

that he refused to get off

and insisted had to be in the family picture

and opened his other presents while on the bike.

Rex made Alice a new sheet set for Christmas.  Notice how he is still on the bike.

Greg is also a member of our family.

He finally got off the bike, but notice how close he still is to said bike

Alice took her life into her hands by touching the sacred bike.

Sahar helped Alice tuck her new baby in.

And I lost track of time here, but then Grandma and Grandpa came over with more presents and breakfast was ready.  So we ate.  Cleaned up a bit, then everyone else headed out for Maurine's while the kids and I finally got dressed.  We left at 12 for a day of loafing with the cousins in Greensboro.

Yes, we had to bring the bike to Greensboro with us.

Alice was very proud of herself--she got into cousin Cora's make up.

Alice and Cora playing.

Christmas +1: 

Because Christmas is a holiday, I refuse to clean on Christmas.  So the house still looked like Christmas morning when we woke up the next day.  Greg was off hunting so the kids and I called for another PJ day and spent the morning rolling around in the wrapping paper and playing.  Around lunch, Greg got home so we headed outside to enjoy more playing.  Then the kids watched TV while Greg and I slept.  Then Greg got in a fight with Amazon over them not exchanging the boots he bought me (he won).  I decided to finally do some dishes.  Greg took the kids to Home Depot to get something for his next project.  I stayed home and cleaned up finally.  Put the kids to bed, and that's it.  Christmas is over.  All the mess and magic is gone and I'm relieved that I don't have to worry about it any more, sad that I don't have it to look forward to it any more, and missing the special spirit that follows me around as I hum Christmas carols and put a little extra effort into my scripture study.  I guess I can just wait another 363 days to get all the stress and fun and anticipation back.

See still looks like Christmas morning--even down to the same PJs.

Santa brought Alice a swing.  She wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry.

Advent

I don't want to sound like a Scrooge or a Grinch, but something about Christmas just rubs me the wrong way, which wasn't helped when I read several Wikipedia articles about Santa Clause and the original St. Nicholas and found out that our version of Christmas really came about in the 1950's and that gift-giving has nothing to do with the Wise Men giving the Christ child presents and more to do with Norwegian pagan gods mixed with the Catholic St. Nicholas mixed with Macy's and Coke wanting us to spend more money.  Don't get me wrong, I like getting gifts and if I find a good gift that I know you'll love, I like giving gifts too.  But I don't like getting so wrapped up in the giving and receiving and purchasing and wrapping and searching for and pondering upon what to get people that the Christ disappears from Christmas.  

What I do LOVE about Christmas is advent and Christmas cards.  I love Christmas cards so much that I have endlessly harassed by poor in-laws about them getting my Christmas cards, which may have accidently gotten delivered to the Big House and then forwarded to them.  They didn't get any of my cards.  My name is Heather and I have a problem.  BUT this post is not about my love of Christmas cards.  It's about my LOVE of advent.  

We started this four years ago when we had our first Christmas of just us and I was afraid of being bored/sad that I wouldn't be spending the holidays with my family.  And it's become the highlight of the Christmas season for me--an activity every single day with my little family.  If you had my children and husband as your children and husband, you would know how wonderful and amazing it is to spend time with them.

Day 1: We always put up the tree and Christmas decorations.  Later we cut out snowflakes and made a winter wonderland around the tree.

Another day we carved snowmen out of soap and put an entire can of shaving cream in the bath for a snow bath.

Greg's--he still wanted to be able to use his as soap so kept the carving to a minimun.  I had failed to count how much soap we had, so we were carving our last 4 bars, and if you know me, you know how much I hate shopping, even for essentials like soap so...Greg is a wise man.

Mine/Rex's.  Rex accidentally carved his in half so I gave him mine to finish.

Alice went with an abstract approach.

 The first week of December we go to the Speedway Lights (the race track where NASCAR races take place--it's the South remember?), which is my kids' favorite thing.  This year, we even got to drive on TWO of the embanked turns and I made the mistake of telling Greg that one of my friend's husbands drove to the top of the turn, so of course Greg had to too.  It's pretty steep.  As in, Rex and Alice were hanging from the windows trying not to fall out of the car (it was a warm night so we rolled down the windows and let them out of their car seats so they could see better).  It's not often that I nag Greg on his driving, but that one...he was about to roll my brand new van!

The kids wrote letters to Santa

Doesn't Alice look like she's actually writing something?  She draws scribbles in straight lines like she's writing.  What can I say?  She's advanced.

Alice couldn't decide whether or not to be terrified of the petting zoo.

We took Aunt Sahar with us to the Speedway Lights and were lucky enough to score some free tickets from a family leaving, so the kids took a train ride with Sahar.

 Other favorite activities include:
--Sub for Santa Shopping
--making hot chocolate from scratch
--watching a Christmas movie as a family
--buying a new Christmas book (this year we got Little Santa by Jon Agee--super cute, we love it)
--reading and acting out various parts of the Christmas story every Sunday (we start with Isaiah and Samuel the Laminite--I also make Greg sing carols with me while the kids roll around on the ground--he's a good sport)
--Getting pictures taken with the free Santa at Bass Pro
--Today we played bored games and watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas while Alice hid under her blanket because apparently the Grinch, who she's seen a million times in the book, is scary.

And today was Christmas Sunday so I tried to get a cute picture of the kids all dressed up for church, but...well, I tried.

Back blogging: Pumpkin carving/ Even we're not perfect

While I am generally anti-back blogging because it just sets people up for failure (if I went back and tried to document every thing that I considered posting on this blog, I'd be hundred's of posts behind and would feel so defeated that I'd just give up and you'd never hear from me again), Greg is doing Christmas-y stuff that I'm not allowed to see so I am pretty much stuck with either the computer or a book.  Obviously, I picked computer.  So here I am back blogging.  About carving our pumpkins.  Almost 2 months ago.  Here's how it went down:

Rex, being a 4-year-old, was pretty excited about carving pumpkins.  He talked the WHOLE day about what he was going to carve and who was going to do what.  And if you know Rex, you know that he literally did not stop talking, even while peeing.  

After dinner, we cleared the counter off and got to work.  I forgot (how I don't know after all his talking) that Rex had predetermined that I was to help him carve his, and Greg was to help Alice carve hers.  Greg decided to help Rex.  Which upset Rex.  Because he's four, he didn't verbalize well his predetermined plan, and threw a tantrum instead.   Then Greg, who doesn't deal all day with children, started getting bored of carving pumpkins and began rushing Rex to move faster.  More tantrum by Rex.  Greg gets annoyed and sends Rex to his room. More tantrum.  And I just stood by not sure what to do--really Rex didn't need to throw a tantrum, but then again, neither did Greg.  I wanted to support Greg, as we've decided that at least in front of the children we will be united on the child discipline thing--we can disagree with no children around but we don't want them playing on that weakness.  So I just stood there.  It was horrible.  Horrible.  And I just stood there thinking--how am I supposed to put this mess of a situation on the blog and pretend like we all had a good time?  

While the boys threw their tantrums, Alice and I continued carving, but then she also decided to throw a tantrum because she was a whole two-years and one-month old by this time, and an experienced pumpkin carver and needed no help from her mother while wielding a knife.

This is not to mention the fights between Alice and Rex over whose turn it was to use the special pumpkin carving knife or who got which plastic eyes.

After many tears and lots of frustration, the pumpkins were finished and we managed to get a few decent pictures and then it was bedtime, at which point, I'm sure I got out my annoyed voice and maybe even raised my voice a bit to get the kids to just get in bed already.  I was done for the day.

See, despite my very blatant and obvious attempt to only post happy good things on this blog because you don't need to know all my drama, we aren't perfect either.  But you couldn't tell by these pictures now could?  Who says pictures say a thousand words, because these ones are liar liar pants on fire ones.