Tuesday, December 18, 2007

LESS THAN A WEEK



So I went Xmas shopping last night. My mom has a credit card to Meijers and they offer an additional 15% off general merchandise on certain days- yesterday was one of those days. Littlest Sis came over to play with my oldest 2 children, bringing along family friend Chels who recently got a puppy. The kids had a blast- it's just like grandkids, play with the puppy, enjoy how cute it is and then it goes home! I snuck out the door with the youngest 2 children and met Hubby at the store. Once we were close to being done I called my mom and she came and checked us out, now I owe her a check...*tie little ribbon around finger* She did have some shopping to do, but I have to say thanks to her for being willing to drive in and save us that 15% (HI MOM- THANKS) So anyways, this is all leading up to my question. We drew names for an Aunt and Uncle who's kids are grown, the kids are into acting, comedy, theater- he likes history, factual things, she likes anything you give her...not kidding, she will smile and be happy with anything- the theme this year is games or toys....any ideas??? I am having trouble with this one. Do you know any fun games? I heard Cranium was fun, but I got that for another Aunt. Hmmmm. Ok, so if you know any-HELP!!!
Lolo has her school Xmas program tonight. I am really looking forward to it because she has been practicing so hard and is so excited. This is the kickoff to our school parties. Lolo's is on Wednesday- I have offered to help out, not sure what I just got myself into, but hopefully it will be fun. We are MAKING a nativity scene- I am a self proclaimed two left thumbs crafty person. It's not for lack of trying. See my picture of my front door...I made that door hanger...yup me- well kinda...my mom says that I made it, but in all honesty she brought over all the supplies, the basket, the foamy stuff inside and then helped me put it all together. So I literally stuck the things in the basket, but she helped me decide where to put it all. Then she is declaring to everyone that I MADE IT- she is trying to boost my craft esteem- she knows I am not crafty- I'm on to you MOM! :) Back to the parties... Maddy's is on Thursday and again I have offered to help...I still have 13 days left to get the MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD... wanna know how I am going to get it- Littlest Sis, yup she is babysitting for me so I can attend all of these parties with limited kids in tow- isn't she great! After the school parties we head into the family parties. We party everyday from the 22nd till the 26th, then again on the 30th and the 1st. Let's Count...that's 7 Parties (Xmas Eve isn't technically a party but we go to the children's mass and usually go around seeing people before or after- enough work associated to count as a party) I was telling Molly and Lolo about all of these parties that we are going to and they had the nerve to reply... "That's it!!"
THAT'S IT- WHAT?? 9 parties isn't enough, and I am not even including last weekends parties, so I have decided that this year, they can do all the food prep, gift wrapping, party dress, hair bow wearing prep work and I will sit down and play with the toys ( I do love my laptop)
The funny thing is, even with all the work that goes into Christmas, I wouldn't want it any other way. With all the kids in bed on Christmas night, I always stand in front of the tree and think back through the day, the year, the kids' faces and reactions and think to myself...it was worth it. It never fails, a few tears fall down my cheeks as I turn off the lights and anticipate next year.
Remember to check this out... http://thereddooreats.blogspot.com/

12 comments:

kimmy said...

I know what you mean about Christmas. I love it when the kids go to bed and my husband and I bring out all the gifts. Everything looks absolutely perfect! I am just as excited as the kids on Christmas morning. I am just hoping that this won't be my son's last year of believing in Santa (his is 8 years old).

How about the games Stratego, Risk or Electrinic Battleship for the boy? And, Taboo or Balderdash for the girl? Those are all fun games!

Kimmy

http://talesofablenderkimmy.blogspot.com/

Amy said...

i can't agree with you more - though it is an extremely busy time and i feel like everything is in disarray, i love this entire christmas season. christmas night is a nice night for me too. it's not because i want everything to be over, it's just a very peaceful, relaxing night. good luck with your parties and your nice eats!!!

Lizzy in the Burbs said...

How about the game "Scene it?" ? There are several different versions, you play it on the tv, it's a DVD. It's all trivia questions about entertainment. We've played it with friends before and it's alot of fun!
Good luck with all the parties, I'm sure you'll enjoy them all. (well, making a manger, maybe not as much! :) ) You never know! I'm going to be posting some recipes on my blog later today. I'm not sure if I have any pictures, though. That might be tough. I'll let you know. Your recipe blog is great! The pepperoni swirls sound delicious!

Kat said...

Wow! You should get mother of the year! Sheesh, lady!
I LOVE Christmas time. It is such a magical time of year. Especially when you have little ones. It is so fun making it magical for them too. You seem to do a wonderful job of doing that for your girls.

That pic of the deer eating the carrot is too cute!

lindsey said...

You have a recipe blog!?!?! Yay!

This is such a crazy time of year, but somehow mine hasn't been as crazy this year as past years.

I love Christmas Eve, it is always less hectic than Christmas Day.

Kellan said...

WOW - you are very busy with so many parties!! I have my share too, but not that many. I love the parties though - I love all of it, really - I just wish I didn't feel so stressed sometimes. Have a good day. See you later. Kellan

KATE said...

I LOVE the Scene it games!! We actually have the Disney Scene it for the kids. But, we LOVE the Big Kid Scene It! My husband & I battle! (& I win!! ha ha)
We also love the 80's Trivia games! Trivial Pursuit 80's edition. Also I think I LOVe the 80's is another. We love them!!

Valarie said...

My family is game crazy!! Have you ever heard of the game Don't Be A Dork...? It's a pretty fun game and not many people have it. So is Apples to Apples and Would You Rather....you should check them out.

Lizzy in the Burbs said...

Hi, again!

Just wanted to let you know that I did post a few recipes on my blog. I tried to get pictures of them, but unfortunately I wasn't able to download them from the internet, I don't know what is going on with my computer today! My recipes are just written down on notebook paper so I don't have any pictures, sorry. :( If I can get the darn pictures to load later I'll add them, okay?

Anonymous said...

My goodness! Just reading all of that makes me tired! How exciting to see the girls perform - another thing I look forward to as the children get older. Happy holidays!

Debra said...

I just found your site, and what attracted me to it, is that you have four girls. I have four daughters ages 13-20. They are very close in age, so looking at your pictures reminded me of when they were small. Mine are all teenagers, and a 20 year old, now, so life is quite different. I really miss the days when they were little. Enjoy because it goes so fast! Stop by some time to see what your future might look like!

Debbie
Fourangelsmomma.blogspot.com

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

I totally get this post. Tis the season (to be totally busy and imperfect). Hope the Christmas show is a raving success!