Just the Five of Us

Happy (Belated) New Year

One New Year's Eve, we had our annual junk food feast and watched Harry Potter movies until the kids fell asleep, one by one. Owen went first at 10:30. Jake followed at 11:00, and Emma made it to 11:30 before crashing on the couch. No one got to look for the champagne cork this year as they were all in bed. Emma was mad that we didn't wake her, but we did try--once she's out, she's out!

I bought hats and noisemakers. Emma and Owen were all over those--Jake wasn't interested at all. Owen was actually really annoying with the noisemaker . . . he used it VERY frequently for days until I desperately threw out the last one before he could find it.

I also bought a can of silly string that I surprised the kids with--they had never seen it before and got a big kick out of it.

We had a low-key New Year's Day, relaxing for most of the day and trying to recover from the late night before. We make pork and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, and as a treat, I bought the sweetened applesauce. The kids ate almost the whole jar!

Chocolate World

Advent Activities 2010

Here we go again! The list is made and coordinated with our crazy schedule, and we are ready to have some holiday fun. This year's calendar is not as pretty as last year's, but it works.

My gift to myself is to try to keep up with blogging our holiday fun--we'll see how I do. It's hard to belive that December starts tomorrow!

Easter

Easter is always fairly low key for us. This year, the most prep I did was to make sure everyone had somewhat coordinated outfits to wear to Mass. I didn't decorate, but I did find tiny bunny figures at the thrift store that normally I would consider clutter. I bought them, brought them home, and Emma gleefully set up a bunny scene on the mantel with some fake grass (which I cannot stand and will not buy, but it came home in her school Easter bag). It was really cute.

We did eggs on Saturday. Owen and I went to birthday party for one of his friends that night, and Doug took the kids down to Lancaster for a cousin's birthday party and egg hunt. On Sunday we all woke up early, got dressed, and got to Mass about a half hour early, getting some of the last seats.

 

Owen last five minutes. He wasn't misbehaving, but he was talking so loudly and refusing to be quiet. We're almost positive he does it on purpose, but we're kind of stuck about what to do about it. If we make him stay and don't give in, he disrupts Mass for everyone around us. If we take him out, he gets to play and hang out in the vestibule. Normally, he's in the nursery, but it's closed on holidays. I wish it weren't.

After church, we had a relaxing day. There was an egg hunt with tons of eggs, lots of bubble blowing, a nap for Owen and some relaxing in the beach chairs in the backyard for Doug and I. There was ham and asparagus and a LOT of chocolate. Emma and Owen walked around with the butterfly nets and magnifying glasses from their Easter buckets, playing Backyardigans. Jake read his new Percy Jackson book twice. We played the Wii. We played soccer in the backyard. And we ended it all with a fire in the fire pit and showers for all the kids before tucking them into bed.

It was a beautiful day.

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There was A LOT of chocolate.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Emma was in her first parade this weekend. We all marched behind here with the other parents and families, and we had a blast. Jake liked seeing the bands, Owen rode in the wagon and snacked, occasionally waving his Irish flag, and Emma made us all laugh when she asked, "Is that the Pope?" when a man dressed at St. Patrick walked by.

It was a long afternoon and it was warm. Emma was exhausted when she was done--over two hours of practicing, standing, marching, and dancing. Her school got lots of cheers and they were all fantastic. Doug and I were a little jealous watching all the people hanging out at the bars to watch the parade.

We left after Emma was done, but next year, we'll stay for the whole thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Patrick's Day

As usual, the day started off discovering what those pesky leprechauns did. And though Emma set a trap--one of my hair clips tied to the bathroom door with two feet of toilet paper--he eluded all attempts to catch him, both here and at school.

He did the usual--peed in the toilet, dumped toys and books, and turned the milk green. He turned over all the photos on the mantle and threw the kids coats on the floor before hanging their shoes on the coat hooks. He left Lucky Charms and "treasure" on the table . . . under the careful watch of Snowy. 

 

One of the funniest things he did was tape over Jake's door so that when he tried to walk through it in the morning, he ran into tape. That pesky leprechaun! 

I sent the kids off to school and Owen and I went to a St. Patrick's Day breakfast at Colleen's. More Lucky Charms, scones, brown bread, lots of playtime, and lots of friends--Owen was pretty tired when we left. We came home and played outside until Gram and Travis arrived. Owen took him for a walk with Gram--I drove past them on my way to the gym, and he looked so cute leading Travis on his leash.

The kids came home, we played more, and then we went to Applebee's for dinner. We were going to go to an Irish pub, but we figured they'd be packed. Applebee's was practically empty. We had a great dinner though I had to take Owen out a couple times to read him the riot act about behaving in the restaurant. Then I realized I had never given him a snack in the afternoon--poor kid was starving!

Emma wanted to make sure she was festive enough. We started off dinner with lots of glass clinging and exclamations of "Slainte!" It was the only Irish word I taught the kids this year :). Even Owen joined in.

 

We came home, played outside even more, and waited for Doug to come home from his company dinner. A simple but fun day.

One More Day

It was a good Advent.

Advent Activity #24

#24. It’s Christmas Eve! Tonight, we’ll go to Mass and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Don’t forget to feed the reindeer tonight!

We had a very relaxing Christmas Eve. Owen continued to work on healing, I did some baking, Jake played on the computer and watched Star Wars movies, and Emma and Doug ran some errands. We started tracking Santa around noon, and at two o'clock, Jake asked when he could go to bed. Emma busied herself making an elephant ornament for Doug since he said they were his favorite animal.

 

The back legs are longer because it's standing up.

We were ready to go to Mass by 3:00, and arrived by 3:25--plenty of time to get a seat. Emma wanted to sit with Julianna's family, and it was cute to see them talking before Mass.

 

We ordered our pizza from the parking lot and drove around to look at lights for a bit until it was time to pick it up. We started having pizza on Christmas Eve last year, and it makes for such an easy night.

 

Owen didn't want anyone messing with his pizza.

 

The kids chatted with Mag and Lars on the phone while I hung the stockings. As I did, I remembered back three Christmases ago when I hung Owen's for the first time, and Emma, upon seeing them, said, "Mommy! We are now five!"

 

Doug built a fire, and we flipped back and forth between some movies . . . Santa Clause 2, A Christmas Story, and Night at the Museum. The kids played on Webkinz, and Owen enjoyed the fire.

 

 

Before bed, Emma sprinkled reindeer food outside. She came running in, and seriously told us we all had to go to bed because she thought she saw Santa's sleigh . . . that it could have been a plane but it had a blinking red light and maybe that was Rudolph. She was so convinced, and even Jake seemed to believe her. So we got out the cookies and carrots, and Jake set them up on a stool by the fireplace.

 

Emma was adorable. She went into the kitchen, climbed up into the cabinets, got out a glass and a mug, and poured some egg nog and milk all by herself. She couldn't decide between a paper napkin or a cloth one, and agreed with me that cloth would be best since it was a special occaison. She set the drinks up, arranged the napkin just so, and warned Doug not to wipe his face on it because it was for Santa only.

For now, the children are nestled snug in their beds. Poor Owen is having a coughing fit, so Doug's going to try to get him back to sleep before he starts crying and wakes the kids. I have a feeling Santa is coming soon :).

Chocolate Calendars

In addition to our activity calendar, the kids also do traditional chocolate calendars. Every year, Gram brings them up at Thanksgiving, and the kids open them every night. Owen really got into it this year . . . anything for candy. Jake or Emma will help him with his calendar.

Next year, Jake wants a LEGO advent calendar. I might get us the Playmobil nativity set too . . . I'd like the kids to have a nativity they can play with.

Advent Activity #23

#23. Daddy did such a great job on our outdoor lights. Let’s drive around tonight with hot chocolate to look at all the other lights. When we come home, we’ll watch The Grinch!

We didn't get to watch The Grinch because Jake had basketball. We picked him up at 7:30 and headed off on our drive. Owen drank his hot chocolate in the first five minutes, and Jake gulped his down as soon as he got in the car. So there was a little begging for more. And there was a lot of fighting. We have Owen by the door to make it easier for me to help him into the car, so Jake and Emma sit next to each other. They fight CONSTANTLY and last night was no different. Doug even raised his voice a couple times, and that's rare. By the time we packed it in and headed for home, the kids lost their candy Advent calendars for the night and had to go straight to bed. That was not so pleasant. You know it's bad when the three year old is the best behaved.

But there were lots of beautiful lights to look at, especially on the mansions on the mountain. Jake wants to live in one . . . we had to laugh at that. And I burned all our Christmas music to CD, so we had great music. We had to laugh at Owen singing his favorite songs in the back in protest when we wouldn't turn off the songs he didn't like.