Winter Blues

I'm going through a bit of a Winter Blues right now. Maybe because of the weather--gray and chilly? Or the monotony of day to day activity--the same thing everyday? Maybe the fact that I don't want to settle and get comfortable in this house since we are hoping to resume our house search soon? Maybe having the kids home all day, everyday?

I've never been one to favor Eeyore, but I swear it feels like my tail is missing and I need to be noticed.

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas, Everyone! I hope your Christmas was a great as ours!

Polar Express

We started our Christmas Eve off with a challenge for the kids. We began watching The Polar Express and were talking about how cool it would be for the Polar Express to show up in our yard. But the problem was that we didn't have any snow at our house. So, we realized we needed snow. Also, the train seemed to go through a canyon of some sort. We put the two clues together and figured out that we could go to the Grand Canyon to look for the Polar Express.

The kids were worried about missing Santa, so I told them that we could for sure be back in time for Santa. To sweeten the deal, I told them they could each bring one present to open. The catch to that was that they had to chose the present labeled "Don't open until Dec 24."

We drove to Flagstaff and then headed west toward the Grand Canyon. In the book, the boy's sister discovers the bell from Santa, so family is also very important to the story. Because of that, we decided to stop in a town called Williams (my maiden name). We had the choice to go either right (toward the Grand Canyon) or left (toward Williams). Abby needed the restroom, so we decided to stop in Williams and take the Historic Route 66 like in the movie Cars.

We got in to town and low-and-behold there was a train station with a giant train labeled Polar Express!!! We saw that the people there were all wearing their pajamas and we wondered if we'd be allowed on the train. We all got really nervous. While the rest of us went to the potty, Josh went to see if the train was expecting us, like they did for the kids in the story.

We found Josh and discovered that we couldn't enter the train without jammies. Then the train left. It left without us! We couldn't believe it! I thought we needed something to help us feel better, so the kids opened their presents. They were shocked to discover that each of them just opened a gift of PAJAMAS!!!

We still needed tickets. Josh asked the kids what the conductor told the boy to do in the movie. The conductor said to check his pocket. Josh looked in his pocket--nothing. Then we remembered the conductor told the boy to look in his other pocket. And there were the tickets! So we had tickets for the next train, pajamas, and a picnic dinner which we ate out in the freezing cold.

Matt was a bit miserable.

Abby remembered how to bundle up.

Emma happily gobbled her homemade sugar cookie as we waited.

Josh and Millie were so cute!!

This picture almost didn't make it on here. Who's that fattie with Emma? Gross. ('Fess Up Friday resumes next week!)

We entered the train, rode to the North Pole, listened to a reading of the Polar Express, got to the North Pole, saw Santa and his elves, got a gift from Santa and a few gifts from the Polar Express people, sang carols, and had a magical time. It was a great trip, but I think our anticipation was the most exciting part of the whole thing. I'll happily go again. But probably not on Christmas Eve. We'll do our exploring earlier in the season next year, I think.

In case you didn't get a good idea of what Josh's jammies looked like, here's a better shot. Isn't he the cutest thing in the whole world? Just ask the people of Black Canyon, AZ. Sorry, inside joke.

Christmas Morning

To avoid the huge montage of pictures we took this morning, here is one of each kid. This year's homemade gift was a pottery piece I painted with my sister, Tara. Tara made piggy banks for her boys and I made collectibles for each of my kids.

Emma has been asking for a turtle, so I got her one.

Abby loves horses, princesses and pink. So she got a pink unicorn.

Matt likes frogs.

I didn't know what Millie would grow up to like, so I chose this really cute lady bug for her. And it was really cool that we found a really cute new onesie with a lady bug on it too. It was on sale.

We had a wonderful time together. Josh shocked me with getting me Rockband Beatles. How the heck he pulled it off is a mystery. He's tricky. I can't wait to rock out with him.

With Love, From Me to You

Dear Rockband Beatles,
You are really cool. You are the best video game I have ever played. Usually I can't play video games. Whether it's because I lack the hand/eye coordination or because I lack the ability to care about the game, I just don't play video games well. But you, RBB, are awesome. I love you. In fact, I want you for Christmas. I love you so much that I used a Beatles song as my title tonight. RBB, you rock my world.

Dear Shaun T.,
As the creator of the Insanity workout by Beachbody, I'm sure you realize how much of a butt-whooping your program is. But, did you realize that it is also an ab-whooping? And a rib-whooping? And a calf-whooping? And a thigh-whooping? It also whoops every other part of my body. Places I didn't even know could be whooped. This is my first week of your program and already I know it's going to be a great thing if I can keep up with you and your INSANITY!!! I get why you called it that, Shaun T. You're killing me, Smalls.

Dear Huggy-Bear (our white car),
I miss you. You've been away from the house much more than you've been home. I know you're doing your duty by taking Josh to work, not only for his regularly-scheduled shifts, but also all of the much-needed overtime he's been given. But I also missed you when you were stuck in the parking lot at the hospital with a dead battery. And I missed you this morning while you were stuck on the side of the road devoid of gas. It's nice to have you home tonight. But now I miss the van.

Dear Christmas Decorations,
I can't wait to see you! When I do it will be because we've moved in to our house and you've been salvaged from the storage unit. I can't wait to hang you, display you, and plug you in. Then maybe it will feel a little more like Christmas. Today was a cold day. It was in the 50s. I know, CD, you're totally laughing about it like I was, aren't you? I wore a short sleeved shirt while others around me wore sweatshirts and even parkas. This is fall weather, not Christmas weather. I look forward to you helping me feel the spirit of the season a little better. It will be a good day and then maybe I'll believe that Christmas is only 20 days away. Maybe.

Snow Day

Because of the snow, church was cancelled today. After spending all day yesterday in the house I was hoping to at least get out to church today. Oh well. By tomorrow it's supposed to be a bit better out and Emma is feeling better and should be able to have a good day at school tomorrow. We can't even play in the snow, mostly because some important kid snow gear is wrapped up under the Christmas tree. I'm not about to have three sick kids!

On another note, we are now in the single digits for Millie's countdown. Only eight days left. The house is pretty much ready, Millie's clothes have been washed and put away, the car seat is in the van...still in its box, but it's out there.

I was reminded this morning about how incredible the Christmas story really is, even when you just look at the aspect of Mary and Joseph's role of our Savior's birth. On the Kidz blog, Tara has published a great post that is absolutely worth reading. Be sure to watch the video. And yes, I'm so proud of myself for knowing how to hyperlink. Give me a few weeks to get past my glee and it won't be such a big deal anymore.

I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say "No"

Here's the view out our back window taken yesterday morning. Our yard goes to the fence, then there's the ballfield, then a few ponds are by the trees in the background. Beyond those are fields but the clouds are covering them. It's really a very pretty sight.

On with the rambling...

Oklahoma is such a great show. I often am reminded of this musical when I begin to take on too many projects that I don't really want to take on. (Hence, "I'm Just the Girl Who Can't Say 'No'" reference.) This transition into full-time motherhood has been rough. I love my children beyond anything else in the world, but the uncertainty of parenthood scares the living daylights out of me. In school just about anything I did I excelled in. Motherhood is not that easy. You have to listen to whining, crying and fighting and actually know how to deal with it. You have to teach these little souls right vs wrong, and why what you're doing that's wrong is not okay for them to do (self-evaluations are often needed at our house). You have to make big decisions, like permission for heart surgery, and smaller decisions, like becoming a Head Room Mother. You have to be sure to hug and kiss and love each little child sufficiently each day, and the number varies per child per day (sometimes more than usual but you won't know that until after the fact). Of course, those are just the perks. Okay, not really. But it is a lot more difficult than I ever expected. Anyway, that was a long rant I didn't expect to sojourn on. My point is that, in trying to be a good mother and do everything possible to better my children, sometimes I feel like I take on more than I can do. Plus, I've agreed to host a party for Home Interiors, which actually has great products. I've thought about becoming a representative for them and making a little side money, but I don't think I will right now because I don't want to commit to something like this before the baby's born. Anyway, I guess I'm going to host a party, which consists of everyone coming to my house for some fingerfoods and ordering some really nice stuff for their home. By the way, you are all invited.