Where did all the trash go?

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and is now gone. It's amazing to see all the boxes of presents around the tree and then to see the plethora of trash that goes out after the mayhem is over. We decided to take Christmas day a little different this year. We would let the kids open Santa's stuff, play, make a mess, get bored, open some more stuff, repeat process and then do our gifts in the afternoon. It was a good idea for a few reasons we didn't have mega disaster on our hands all at once, we could keep up with all the ribbon and paper pretty well each time. The other thing we realized is that our kids didn't need nearly as much as they got. They would have been just fine with their "first session" of gifts. (It seems that the best gifts are not the ones we give then anyway. They got some great stuff from grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Santa doesn't always know best!!!We now know for next year, if you get the right thing you don't need 50 things, it's just a matter of figuring out what the right thing is. Anywhoo here we are-like Cam said he feels like George Banks on Father of The Bride shaking out the confetti from his shoe now that it is all over and he has a minute to breathe.



Here is a breakdown of the events.... We had the Ellingsons (great next door neighbors) and the Missionaries over for Christmas Eve dinner. We had a great dinner, potato soup in bread bowls, ham, green bean casserole, "Christmas salad", sparkling cider and a trifle for dessert. Dinner went well, it was fun and the kids had a good time. After dinner I had to scramble to make cookies for Santa, Claire had said Chocolate and Grant had said Sugar Cookies, luckily Grant ended up saying that Chocolate would be fine. I whipped some up and we attempted to get the kids down for bed. So here is where I have to explain a little. For the past 3 nights for one reason or another Grant has not slept well, on Tuesday he was up for a while coughing, he has been pretty sick. I had given him some Motrin and Delsyum to help his cough and help him sleep. I was not thinking at the time I did that that he had really had nothing to eat all day, around 9:30 up it came. Luckily he was sitting on the couch with me watching the classic White Christmas, he had blanket on so it caught it. We stayed up until around 11:30 and went to bed. The next morning at 5 he was WIDE AWAKE!!! Hello, I couldn't believe it, I was baffled. So we thought for sure he would sleep well last night (Christmas Eve) ya that's funny isn't it. A 5 yr old sleep well on Christmas Eve. We did all we could to get him down, Vicks on his feet and chest and Delsyum to sleep (we made sure he had at least a little to eat) We settled in for our Santa's helpers jobs, got it done and went to bed around 9:30. We were so tired I am surprised our eyes were not hanging out of our heads. So lo and behold here come Grant and Claire into our room this morning at 2:37!!!! I about died!!!! We told them Brig would not be awake for at least 5 more hours so they had to go back to bed, Claire went without a fight (gee I wonder if Grant woke her up?) Grant on the other hand played the "everything in the room is making dust and causing me to cough" routine. Cam and I were at our wits end. I pulled out the Dramamine and sat at the computer for a while trying to see if we would kill Grant if we gave him some with Delsyum in his system. (Mind you this is 3 AM in our freezing house in a COLD leather chair with not much on. I was ready for a dip in a warm bed ASAP. We decided not to give him Dramamine unless he came in again. Lucky for him he held out until 6:20. We told the kids Brig was still asleep and we weren't going downstairs without him. Grant and Claire went back to bed and Grant conveniently decide to kick his wall a few times (Brig is on the other side of the wall) I'm sure you can guess what happened next-you got it, CRANKY Brig here we come! Once I said Merry Christmas he seemed o.k. -check it out we've come full circle from the beginning of my post, now we sit, our eyes burning with tiredness watching silly TV, wondering why we are not it bed......who knows what tonight will bring...all I can say is there is a crapload of toys downstairs if anyone is up before 7!



p.s. Grant is awesome, he said before bed last night, it's o.k. if I just get coal in my stocking, I can use it at load it into my dump truck! What a kid!!



p.p.s. I am really working on being greatful I have my kids living with us, not in a hospital, or someplace else, and also that they have bodies that work so well too. I know too many times I take these sweet little spirits for granted when they are underfoot and more then willing to help with anything and everything. What a blessing to be a family and have such a great husband and kids too!! Enjoy the journey, it only comes around once.



last but no least, we are posting pics tomorrow morning so check back!

Merry Christmas To All!

Picaso's mother must have been a very patient woman...

Lunch gone incredibly wrong...

The boys helping in the kitchen...

So it has pretty much been since Thanksgiving since we posted last. Time flies. The kids are getting excited for Christmas to come(Grant tells us everyday how many more days are left). Brig managed to pull off a stocking which was connected to a heavy stocking holder and got a quick lesson in gravity! It is a constant battle to keep Claire and Brig out from the tree. In other news Claire is potty training, Hooray!!! She is going to have her teeth rot out of her head with all of the treats she is getting for going though. She got a very beautiful dress for Christmas and loves to wear it!! Grant keeps us laughing. A few weeks ago, the kids were in bed and we heard Grant yelling something. We went in and he was saying, "Extolame! Extolame!" Appearantly he had seen a kids' show with some Spanish in it and Grant said the translation is Help! He had fallen down into the space next to his bed against the wall and was being silly. He says he wants to be a scientist...Ho Boy. Brig is pretty much a giant parakeet. He will repeat or copy words or actions shown to him by Grant and Claire, or his parents. Case in point, Audrey was driving the other day and the car was stopped at a Stop sign and Brig shouted, "Go people! Go people!", in a frustrated voice. Wonder who he got that from...The kids love Christmas songs and a favorite is Rudolph. Claire insists that it goes, "All of the other Raindeer used to laugh and call him Nate." Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!