The Set Up

Every year I have a picture in my mind of the family decorating the Christmas tree. It goes something like this: The tree is magically put together ahead of time. (I think an elf must do that part.) One by one, we take out the ornaments and pass them from person to person admiring each of them and telling stories about their origin. There is music playing in the background and we start singing to some of the songs. I smile and find it charming that one of the kids has put all the ornaments on one branch. That's so cute, I tell myself. After all the ornaments are on the tree, we sit together in the living room and sip the hot cocoa that I made (from scratch) in our holiday themed mugs. We also have those delightful homemade marshmallows that I saw Martha make on t.v. Everyone says, "These marshmallows are the best."That is not exactly how it happens (ever). Here is how it really goes: The tree takes longer than expected to assemble so the kids become restless and begin hurting each other with parts of it. Once the tree is finally assembled, everyone fights over what ornaments belong to them (usually at least two of the kids are crying as a result). Ornaments that bear any resemblance to candy are eaten by the smaller children. (We haven't had glass ornaments or ornaments with hooks since 2006). We forget to turn on the Christmas music. All of the ornaments are put on the VERY BOTTOM branches and we are not allowed to rearrange any or we are hit with the wrath of Luke. I try not to let this bother me, but IT DOES. Everyone gradually wanders off since I didn't have time to shave the chocolate for the homemade hot chocolate. And I didn't buy any holiday themed mugs.

My new tree skirt! It matches the stockings.

We put the stockings up with duct tape again this year. I highly recommend it (unless you have a wood mantle).

This is my favorite new decoration. Felted wool "goody gumdrop" garland. I better stop calling it "goody gumdrop" garland or someone might climb on a chair and try to eat that too!

I need a vacation

I'm exhausted from my vacation!

Here's some tidbits:

Ruby screamed a horrible, gut-churning, four alarm scream on the airplane (both ways). Some people said, "Oh, poor thing. Her ears must be hurting." Others shot us looks that could have killed entire countries. We did our best. If anyone knows of some kind of escort service where you fly separate from your children and safely meet them at your destination, I'd be interested.

Luke wasn't old enough to do the Jedi Training Academy and he was crushed. I told my sob story to one of the workers and they arranged a special backstage meeting with Darth Vader and two Storm Troopers. All the workers thought Luke would be scared when they came out to meet him, but he was ready to do battle. (I'm still confused about whether or not Mike named him after Luke Skywalker. He denies it, but he insisted on that name.)

We were rockin' the blister pads by day two, but no one complained about it. It was hotter than sin, but no one complained about that either. We were one sweaty, happy family.

I was picked to be in the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I displayed amazing acting ability and I'm sure they'll be calling me any day to come back and be a regular. We might be moving.

We came home with some fun new toys and super cute farmer tans. What more could we ask for?

They're GONE!

They are on the bus. Actually, by now they are in their classes, I hope. Here's how it all went down...
I'm still obsessed with homemade chalkboards, so that's what we gave the teachers for the first day. (I think this obsession has something to do with the fact that they take three minutes to make and I always seem to be short on time.) Here's the breakfast table (the night before). This year I stole my sister's idea and painted letters that I will use next year. That way, I can decorate around them, but not have to "reinvent the wheel" every year.

The paper on the table said, "Hope your day goes write!" Sophie happily informed me that I had not used the correct form of the word. Then Reed asked if Sophie was smarter than me.

Sophie was practicing her times tables (as I tried to keep from laughing). Reed asked me to tell him lots of stuff that he might need to know before first grade. Darling children, maybe you should have done this BEFORE BREAKFAST ON YOUR FIRST DAY!

Reed packed his giant pencil in his backpack. I told him that would be for home and he said, "But mom, the school supply list said I have to bring pencils." I'm sure his teacher would have LOVED it if he showed up with that on the first day!

School

Yes, I'm ready for school to start. I'm excited for the "break." It will be easier to do errands and keep the house tidy with fewer kids. I imagine there will be moments of quiet (and I LOVE quiet).
We went up to the school today to see the class lists. Both of the kids have been anxious about who will be in their class and who their teachers will be. Reed was pleased to find out that he has two friends in his class. Sophie was relieved that she got the teacher she wanted. I caught her quickly wipe a tear when she located her name. In that moment, I was reminded that I'm not going to be there when school starts. I will miss lots of things. I cannot control who is nice to them and who is not. I cannot hug them when they are sad. I cannot play with them at recess when they can't find a friend. I cannot cheer them on when they need a little encouragement. I won't know every detail of their day.
Despite all of that, I have lots of hopes for this school year. I hope that they will make new friends. I hope they will be kind. I hope they will respect their teachers. I hope they will ask lots of questions. I hope they won't write on all their clothes with dry erase markers (Reed). I hope they will eat the lunch I pack them. Mostly, I hope they will be happy.
I'll be there at the end of the day asking all kinds of annoying questions and counting down the days until summer comes.

Baby Musings

It was another first birthday party! I love a good party theme, and we all had fun prepping the house in The Very Hungry Caterpillar decor. The kids spent the afternoon coloring the big pictures for the windows. The baby seemed totally confused (as most one year olds are). She gave us blank stares as we sang, cheered, and ripped open presents. She was all about the cake though. She loves her treats!
Mia's Cupcakes designed the "cake" and it was even better than I imagined! Yummy too!

If you're still reading this, notice the beautiful balloons on the side. I took the kids (all of them) to the party store to get balloons. We chose an assortment of colors and waited patiently (okay, no one was patient) as they were assembled into two "floor displays." I walked out with two beautiful "floor displays" and as soon as we got to the van I began to panic. The were instantly tangled together. I wasn't quite sure what my strategy would be to get them untangled and into the car. Seems like it shouldn't be that difficult, right? I had Sophie buckle the little kids and began the long process of trying to shove them into every area of the van. I've never really purchased or transported large quantities of balloons prior to this event and I will tell you it was quite an ordeal. They started popping, and it was like someone was firing several gunshots. The little kids were screaming. The baby was terrified. I was using some "choice words." I was sweating, yelling different strategies at the kids who were trying to help me. I asked a woman walking by if she had any ideas how to get them in and she just kept walking--avoiding all eye contact. I hardly blame her. It must have been quite a scene. We made it home with fewer balloons. Lesson learned.

Stop That!

I'm watching my baby (my last baby!?!) walk. She has only been walking (and crawling for that matter) for a few days, so her steps are the Frankenstein kind. Every step takes a lot of effort and thought. She clearly loves the new freedom and wants to do it all the time. And it has hit me--bam--she's trying to grow up. Just who does she think she is? She's supposed to be my baby. She is supposed to want me to hold her FOREVER. She shouldn't be trying to crawl out of my lap or let go of my hand. She is not supposed to assert her independence from me in any way. I want to say, "Stop that." But it's so adorable. I love watching her. She is always so surprised that she can do new things. Bittersweet is the word that most describes this time.

Now, if her brother could get a little more independent and finally figure out this potty training thing...seriously.

You've Got Your Hands Full

It seems that at least once a day I hear the phrase, "You've got your hands full." Mike has noticed this phenomenon too. Just the other night, we were eating at a "real" restaurant with all the kiddies--a first since the baby has exited the infant car seat. On our way out a man said, "My, you two have your hands full." I'm sure in some way our lovely children probably ruined his lovely meal with his lovely companion and that was his way of saying, "Don't take your wicked children to another restaurant within 100 miles of here." I thought they did pretty good. Mike and I were both sweating bullets by the end of the meal and we couldn't get the check fast enough, but we did it. I asked Mike why he thought people kept saying this to us (grocery store, soccer games, school...) He started laughing and said, "It's true." Yep, it is.

I wish I had more time to be a better friend, volunteer more, go more places by myself, do more service, cook better meals, host more parties, watch more movies, get my graduate degree, finish writing my book (no laughing at that one--you know who you are), sew all the quilts I have planned, learn to can food (okay, I might not actually do that one if I had time), take more pictures, squeeze in some exercise time, and copy all the fun stuff out of the Pottery Barn catalog.

I also wish I wasn't "that mom" who always forgets things like sunscreen, baby wipes, snacks, tissues, my camera, and occasionally the children's shoes. Honestly, it takes so much effort to get out the door these days, that I'm destined to forget at least one thing every time. Thanks to all the wonderful moms who have donated to our cause.

Despite all the things I wish I could do, I never forget what EVERYONE with older children tells me: the time goes too quickly. They will be big so soon. I won't have a baby who begs to be held or a little boy who always wants "just one more story." It is busy. It is hard. Other people don't always get it. But I don't mind. This is better than I could have possibly imagined it.