Christmas 2012

 Our neighbor made the kids' names in sugar cookies. 

Then the neighbor took pictures for our Christmas card. It's the first year we have sent cards.  Now that we have done it once, hopefully we will continue.

I made cheese bread for friends and neighbors.  I would have made it for more people, but, you know, I have four little kids all up in my business. I made ten loaves all together.  I was supposed to make twelve.  Christmas is not over yet.  Maybe I will still make them.  We just barely pulled off Holy Supper this year.  Someday, the kids will participate in making Holy Supper and then we will enjoy it's meaning more.

Kids enjoying gifts.

Now we have the whole series. It's a family favorite.

Woooohooo! Now she's cruisin'!  Mommy found an outrageously awesome deal on this bike that fit into our minuscule budget.  Kristiana cracks me up with her tutu skirt and new pink boots.  It was freezing outside.

Alex received a "lego" table, which also conveniently fit into our budget. ;-) This where he has been quietly playing for three days.  Oh the things he thinks up.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!

Baby's First Christmas

 

Lucy received a big toy.

Mommy broke it.  I put it together wrong.  It had snap together parts and I snapped in one part too early and it does not come apart once snapped in.  Now I cannot finish snapping in the rest of the parts together. I cannot get Playskool on the phone.  Stupid toy-stupid mommy.  Then the family started to make fun of me and as the master of Christmas joy, I was not amused.

But it's okay, because Lucy thought the box was great.

And her siblings are having fun with the rest of her toys.

The Icon of Saint Nicholas

...Icon work for this Advent.

Let's Move

Homeschool P.E.:  We just move and have fun. It's a break in the middle of studying.  Annie has this helmet on backwards.  She's loves baseball. 

Baby Got Back

This blog is a little premature, but I was so excited because my old jeans fit! Yay!  I still have ten pounds to go to be back to my lightest adult weight, twenty pounds to ideal weight.  But, I think getting back into old jeans is enough to celebrate.

8 weeks post Lucy

16 weeks post Lucy

24 weeks post Lucy

26 weeks - Sporting Leggings

30 weeks - The Jeans

Blog Blocked

Here is one of the reasons I have not been able to blog as much lately.  If I have any energy left over after the kids go to bed, I have laundry to work on.  Between washing, folding and putting away, I have laundry to care for about five days a week.  Are there any mom's with many young kids who have ideas on how to not be doing laundry all the time?!  I want my free time back!  I know a lot of my friends are just not on top of it.  My house really is not big enough to hide unattended laundry, so I really have to stay on top of it.  Not to mention the icky, smelly things that the kids create that must be washed.  Can I teach a six year old to wash laundry? Probably. I need to put that on my to do list.

Another reason I have not been able to blog is because Annie does not go to bed well.  She does not nap and most nights she tries to stay up and hang with mom and dad. If we do get her to go to bed, whenever she wakes up in the night she comes to our bed. Ugh.  She has been more difficult about sleeping than any of the other kids.  I don't know why.  She used to be so good.  I think she is feeling the squeeze of being a middle child and so she is getting attention and cuddles however she can get it.  

She's awesome. We love her.  If it weren't for the otter kids pointing out the unfairness of her staying up and our desire to watch that zombie T.V. show with all the violence and gore, we would be fine with her staying up and coming to our bed.   She, honestly, is sweet and nonintrusive, because she has our undivided attention.

Zombie Baby

We've started to call Lucy, Zombie Baby.  She has started to vocalize by growling at everyone.  That's how we know she is happy and in a good mood.  She starts growling like zombies do in the zombie movies.  Then the baby slobbers all over us.  Zombies like to eat people and so does Lucy.  Funny, huh? One of these days I will get it on video.  She has quite a guttural growl.  We are always shocked the noise is coming from the baby.

Happy 4th Birthday

Well, I am a little late on this one, but I thought I would go ahead and show how we celebrated Princess K-dawg's 4th birthday. She had mississippi mud brownies with her best friend.  We're all birthday-ed out now.  Thank goodness there won't be another until May.  This fall we celebrated 5 family birthdays.  It's funny how I am not a fan of birthday cake like I was in my youth.  But, I confessed to Andrew my favorite cake this year and he had it made for me.  Yay.  Enough about me--more Kristiana.

I love the anticipation on kids' faces as the open presents

Joy as they hug the gift because it is just perfect.

Disappointment and anguish as Annie realizes the present is not for her.

Look Mom, I'm A Teacher

Every stay-at-home mom feels it every once in a while. "I should get a part-time job."  Lest anyone think I am not pulling my own weight because no one writes me a paycheck.  But, I have physical evidence of my product.  I have students and my students perform on tests. Woot!  My little son is a smart little guy and I cannot take credit for that fact, but I can take credit for a lot of his knowledge.  I know that he would not have learned anything and would not have had the discipline to do so without my help.

In other home schooling news, our new classroom setup is working out well.  The only complaint I have is that I cannot work on dinner prep or laundry from the classroom.  I have to stay in the classroom and focus on my students.  If I leave to put on a load of laundry, my students do not stay on task.  Typical.  I guess I ought to be focused on the teaching anyway.  

I also made arrangements with my neighbor to watch Annie three days a week while we home school.  Annie continues to be our in to everything, two year old, trouble-maker.  I cannot begrudge her curiosity.  But, it certainly does drive me mad to be running around the house trying to keep her happy and out of trouble.  Going over to the neighbor's house actually seems to help keep her even and she seems more mature.  

One day last week she and Kristiana started playing house in the dog kennel.  I told Kristiana to come out and work on school.  Then I threw blankets and pillows in the dog kennel, and baby dolls.  I told Annie that she was playing house with her babies and if she were tired she should lay down and take a nap.  She played in there long enough to get some school done and keep me sane for a while.  Oh the things the mommy of a toddler will do.  I DO NOT expect to be getting any visits from CPS.  She was not locked in.  She could get out at any point.  This little playhouse idea is no different than a pack-n-play.

Fallen Asleep

Tonight we went to Kristiana's ballet show.  It was not a "recital" as the teachers said.  It was just an opportunity for parents to see what the girls do in class.  Well our little darling froze.  She did not move.  Then she was given a helper girl to guide her along and she moved, but she did not do much.  She kept staring blankly into the audience.  My husband was none too pleased to say the least. He asked me how much I paid for the class. ;-) I smirked. Nothing.  But, Kristiana is having a good time.

Everything makes sense. Even though she is our little performer and our little clown, she always tells us, "Tomorrow," when we ask her to perform for others.  It is funny to think that this was Kristiana earlier in the day.

And at ballet she was this little girl--scared as could be.  When we asked her why she did not move, she said she fell asleep.