Merry Christmas Eve!

We are so excited around here for the big day. In fact, the boys got Santa's plate with cookies and his glass of milk ready for him yesterday because they are so excited. We have fun plans for today and tonight and I can't wait to watch the boys' excitement tomorrow.

I haven't blogged in a while and we have done tons of stuff since then but here is a quick rundown of a few of the highlights.

Last week we had some friends from school (most of whom happen to be neighbors as well) over for a little afterschool party. The kids all got to make a reindeer cookie, color a Christmas coloring page and then just played. It was lots of fun and included a funny face making contest:

Last Saturday some of our friends had us over for a Gingerbread House making party. They had really nice kits for us to use-better than any other kit I have ever used. Jack was my partner and Nathan and Josh were partners. I had so much fun. In fact after everyone else was done decorating I was till going just because I was enjoying myself so much.



This family also lives on "Christmas Card Lane"- a group of streets near us that all go all out for Christmas. Their claim to fame is that they all have wooden cutouts of familiar characters in their front yards along with Christmas lights and decorations. They have everything from Superman to Veggie Tales, Peanuts Characters to Monsters Inc, 101 Dalmations, Star Wars, Spiderman, Wall-E, space shuttles, and the traditional nativity. There are probably at least 100 houses that participate. It is a lot of fun to see.

We have also had fun taking treats to our neighbors and I just had to take a picture because I thought they turned out so cute. I have loved seeing the boys get so excited to deliver them-I think when we do that they can feel that great Spirit of Christmas feeling that we all know and love.

Those are a few highlights of our last week or two. It has been like a non-stop party around here. Josh finally had to make me cut things off of my list of things I wanted to do this Christmas because there wasn't enough time to do everything I wanted to. Thanks Josh! We have also had some nice family time snuggling and watching movies, and things.

Rainy days and Mondays...

I haven't listened the the Carpenters in years, but today is bringing me back. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down...

I can't really say that today is getting me down exactly, but it has been an interesting day.

Not so great things that have happened today:

1. It is raining and cold! I have not seen weather like this in San Diego. It is windy, steady rain, and just downright blustery. (Honestly though, I don't really mind that other than when I have to leave the house to get Nathan from school and when I stepped in a large puddle this morning. Feels kind of cozy.)

2. I found out at about 9 this morning that my website has been down since yesterday afternoon at around 2. OK, things like that happen, but this literally means hundreds of dollars lost probably since it is the very end of the Christmas shopping season and Sunday evenings and Monday mornings are probably my best time for sales during Christmas. Luckily the site came back up about 30 minutes ago. Still no email, but the site is up.

3. Found out today that Target is not going to ship Nathan's Christmas jammies until January. That is extremely convenient since I ordered them October 30th. They could have at least let me know that they couldn't ship them sometime prior to Dec. 15th! I found some replacements on Amazon but the only size they have is 10, so looks like Nathan will have large jammies this Christmas.

4. Jack spilled Cheerios ALL OVER the floor. I told him he needed to clean them up. He refused. I told him he needed to clean them up or no lunch. He refused. I told him he needed to clean them up in the next 6 minutes or no lunch and straight to nap. He refused. So Jack went down for nap with no lunch.

Good things that have happened today:

1. I snuggled with Jack in my bed this morning and read stories. That is one of my 2 favorite things to do with my kids.

2. Dallen is in a really fun mood today and has just been happy and cute all morning.

3. I saved lots of $$ Grocery Gaming again. :) Went to Vons and CVS first thing this morning. Oh ye unbelievers-you should give it a try.

4. This afternoon I am planning to bake cookies with my boys. My other top favorite thing to do with my kiddos.

Recent Funnies

Here are a few funny things the boys have said this week:

Today I was making myself a master list of things I need to do between now and Christmas. I was really just thinking outloud but I said"hmm, Jack, what do I still need to do between now and Christmas" and was suprised when he said "let's see..." as though he was really thinking about it for me. Then he responded "buy more presents!" (Have I mentioned that he prays every night for "toys and toys and more toys, and toys and lots of toys?" I promise we are trying to teach him the true meaning of Christmas.)

On Sunday night Jack came out of his room a while after going to bed and he had a bloody nose. After I cleaned him up and got it stopped I asked him if there was any blood on his pillow. He said no so I asked him how he knew he had a bloody nose. He said" Oh, three drops went into my mouth. It tasted kind of good!" I responded "You must be a vampire!" He got really excited about that. He ran to his room saying "I am a vampire." Then he said "I don't think vampires listen to their moms do they?" Nice try Jack. "Vampires ALWAYS listen to their moms."

Last night I was driving with the boys and one of the young women from church. The teenager turned around and asked the boys if they have any pets. Nathan said "well, not really." I laughed and said "why 'not really?' We don't have any so shouldn't the answer be no?" Nathan said "well, there's the ants..." I explained to him that usually if you don't want it in your house, it isn't considered a pet! :)

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

We just got home from enjoying a white Christmas-San Diego style and now the children are nestled all snug in their beds (it's nap time) and by the looks of things all 3 (yes Nathan too) are down for the count for several hours. Ah blessed peace!

So, here in San Diego, this is how we enjoy a white Christmas:

Yes, that is snow-real snow. I don't know where they got it or made it, but they brought it in to the local park and made a day full of fun out of it. Imagine, some of the kids here probably have never seen snow before. In fact, our neighbor friend (adult neighbor friend) showed up and said "I didn't know we were supposed to bring sliding things, uh, boogie boards." Nope, she didn't know what sleds were called! Love it! And check this out, people even made snowmen:

(No, that snowmen is not more than 6 inches tall)

The whole event was a ton of fun. They had face painting:

Santa visits:

(Love the way Jack is looking at Santa in this picture)

Train rides:

Bouncy castles, carriage rides, hotdogs, entertainment, and even International Folk Dancers:

(Well bummer-I can't get the video to upload but just know that Nathan, Jack and I had some serious dance moves-it was a kangaroo dance)

This video is really long but just a few seconds of watching and you can see-yes, that is talent, pure talent. An Australian dance.

Did I mention that it was in the 70s outside? Ahh, this is my kind of White Christmas!

Wat I Wont for Kristmas

My kids have had a great day for making me smile. Here are the things I can remember:

Nathan started out the day by writing his letter to Santa (this was all of his own accord). He had it in an envelope before I could write down exactly what it said, but it went something like this:

Deare Santa
Wat I wont for kristmas is a batman toy Nathan

Then he proceeded to write Jack's letter for him as well. He wrote it as if he was Jack and signed Jack's name (by the way, Jack's said he wants a Superman toy). Then he wrote North Pol Santa on them and I sent them both out to mail them. It was so cute to watch the two of them run out to the mailbox and stuff their letters inside. They were so excited and being such good friends.

Soon after this I found Dallen eating food from our trash can. He was pulling dry bread crusts out and eating them. At that point I decided I should feed him breakfast. :) OK, this one shouldn't make me laugh, it should make me cringe but it was sort of funny.

My grandparents were in town and took us to lunch. At lunch we were talking about Santa and talking about how Santa only brings presents to kids who have been good. My grandpa asked Jack if he has been good. His response? "Um...no!" At least he is honest! (Actually he is a good little guy.)

Then at lunch he all of a sudden bursts out with "Mom, you are amazing." Completely unprovoked. That's right kid, and don't you forget it.

There were several more but of course that is all my brain still recalls. I love the things kids do and say!