Pre-Christmas Shinanigans

December is a long-list of to-dos.  Am I right?  Yes, I'm always right.

Just after getting home from Thanksgiving in DC, we got out the ol' Christmas tree and had the usual fights about not sticking all the ornaments on the same branch and who got to put the star on the tree.  Alice ended up screaming in her room because we didn't let her put every single ornament on the same branch and Rex cried, because despite the picture showing him putting the star on the tree last year, he insisted that he get another turn this year.  I super hate Christmas trees.  I hate the fight. I hate rearranging my house so I put a frigging tree it in.  I hate putting on the lights.  I hate taking it down.  When I grow up, I am not putting up a stupid tree.

We ended up letting Rex attempt to put the star on the tree as well as Alice.  Our tree is funky and Greg has to put the star on every year because he's the only one who is really tall enough.

When Rex was a baby, my parents made a recording of The Night Before Christmas.  Henry loves it and memorized most of the book before Greg couldn't handle it anymore and took the batteries out.

Next on the to-do list was the Speedway Lights.  This is my kids' favorite and this year the guy running the best game was super chill and let Alice and Henry play even though they were both technically too short.  It was a Christmas miracle leaving the Speedway without any crying about being too short again.

They even had fake snow this year which the kids thought was great.

We went to a Nativity Festival with a friend of mine and this is my new favorite nativity.  The midwives are there!  Of course the midwives would be there but they are conveniently left out of the scriptures, but of course they were there.  I'm getting this picture and hanging up on my wall when I start teaching birthing classes...in like 50 years when all my kids are grown.

Christmas jammies: check

This year I'm the room mom for Rex and Alice's classes, which meant a few late nights of prepping but the parties both went pretty well.  We played the same games at both but they went a lot better with third grade than with kindergarten.  Of course, Rex's teacher is a lot more laid back than Alice's so maybe that's why.  We survived and the kids said they had fun so we'll call it a win. 

Playing "Do you want to build a snow man?"

Making marshmellow penguin houses.

Rex's class building snowmen

Next: Rex really wanted to make gingerbread houses so I bought a few kits from Target and we had a fun evening putting them together.  The little kids finished theirs first and then started eating theirs so Greg got out the almonds and goldfish to make up for the lack of candy.  Rex and Alice took their sweet time on theirs and swore to never eat theirs.  It was gone a few days later.

Then there was the annual Christmas Recital.  And I loved it.  If I haven't said this before, I'd be shocked, but I just love our teacher.  She is so patient and kind and keeps my kids motivated.  In fact, the fact that she is so young is extra motivating because Rex figured out how much money she makes each month and realized that if he sticks with piano, he can teach like her when he's in high school so he's been practicing extra hard lately.  Anyway, the recital this year was as an adult day care facility.  I mean, seriously, what a good idea.  I just love Elizabeth.  She graduates from high school in two years.  I'm trying to figure out a way I can bust her knee caps in and make it look like an accident so she can't leave.

And just like that it was Christmas.