We got back from our jaunt to Florida and it was suddenly December!
Time to break out the Lego Advent Calendar!
The first week of December was a blur of:
- Christmas shopping and shipping
- Various doctor appointments for Katie's eyes (she has glasses now) and tonsils (recommended she have them out)
- Scouring the crawl space for dead rats
(Two were found. One in a trap. One in the insulation, quite dead and full of maggots. Fun.)
- Mikey being sick and then puking all over the art table at preschool
Then, at the end of the week, it was time for the annual preschool holiday party.
They had an ugly sweater contest.
Here's my pals Kerri and Kerri participating.
They didn't win.
Neither did I.
Sorry, I don't have a picture of the winner.
But it was a pretty ugly sweater.
The kids got to watch Frosty the Snowman at the end of the party.
I didn't get to take many pictures as I was running around helping with stuff.
Oh well.
So it goes at the preschool holiday party.
I did win a silent auction to have our preschool teacher come babysit again.
That was awesome.
Our friends, Gillian and Jon, invited us to a fancy Santa Brunch Buffet.
It was really fun and super delicious!
Here are the kiddos with The Man.
Getting ready to eat.
And eat.
And eat.
As usual Katie tried a little of everything we put on her plate.
But didn't eat much.
In the end, I think she ate some fruit, some ham and some rainbow colored whipped cream.
And then topped off with some Hershey kisses, and more whipped cream, and a candy cane.
NEED MORE SUGAR.
Mikey ate croissants and grapes.
Oh. And a blue candy cane.
Despite the fact that our children ate only heaping helpings of sugar for breakfast, we really enjoyed the brunch eating about six plates of food between us.
And then on Friday, the 13th, I opened the door to pick a package up off the porch and found two kids and three adults standing out there.
They had balloons and flowers.
Turns out they were there for my 40th birthday.
Surprise!
Wish I had thought to take a picture of them standing there before they came in.
But, I think they got a picture of me looking dumbfounded in the doorway.
The kids were overjoyed. Cousins!!!
The cousins managed to sit still for about 20 minutes to do this craft.
Other than that, it was constant craziness from Friday until Sunday night.
As it should be when cousins come calling.
One of the best parts of the weekend was going with everyone to pick out a Christmas tree.
We had missed out on any local U-Cut trees. So, we went to a tree farm and selected a pre-cut.
Kid majority ruled and we purchased this little crooked tree.
If you were wondering what was on Katie's head, here you go.
Self applied candy cane tattoos.
While the tree was being baled and stuff, I tried to get a shot of the kids together.
Hmmm.
Good enough.
The crew - Uncle Nick, Aunt Kelly, Granma (aka Nana, LaLa), Aunt Kari,
Sophia, Katie, Joey and Mikey - made their way back to the truck after receiving the second most important part of any Christmas tree selecting trip: candy canes.
Huzbend was already at work back at the truck.
Here is another attempt at a nice shot of "the cousins with Granma".
Hmmm.
Good enough.
I have no idea what's going on in this picture.
Candy cane cornballs.
On Sunday, Huzbend cooked up a feast.
Eggplant and chicken parmigiano with homemade sauce, pasta and bread.
In the middle of his culinary craziness, he made time for a quick jam session with the kids.
Then I got my favorite for dessert.
Apple crisp a la mode.
That would be twice in the space of a month I got apple crisp.
SCORE!
Wow! A family picture!
With apple crisp in it!
And a decent one at that!
"Fffffffffffffffffff"
Nope. I can't tell you what I wished for.
It was time to say goodbye.
Sigh.
What a great surprise that was.
It was nice to share our Christmas tree trip and a special birthday meal with my family.
Thanks, guys!
After the exodus of the family, it was quite quiet around here.
Huzbend was on vacation and was just hanging out.
Mikey took full advantage by cuddling with him every morning to watch his "show".
On my actual birthday, we sent Katie off to school and Mikey went to visit with his best friend while
Huzbend and I went to the movies to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
On Imax. In 3D. At 48fps.
Really, could this birthday get any better?!?!?!?
Alas, Katie came down with a really nasty stomach virus the day after my actual birthday.
As I write this, multiple days later, she is STILL recovering from it.
She has spent a lot of time in the bathroom; being tired, having tummy cramps, and feeling altogether blecky.
There has been one thing that's made her happy though.
Harry Potter.
Huzbend started reading her The Sorcerer's Stone.
She LOVES it.
I caught her trying to read a chapter by herself the other day.
Hooray for the boy wizard!
