12 Days of Christmas

In an effort to update my bloggin' life, I'll put events into song format.
Be afraid...

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
ONE GREAT visit from mom (are there any other kind?) complete with snuggles, kid entertainment while I found the perfect pair of jeans or two, lunches out, shopping for Christmas and me!, and a holiday boutique that made my sisters some $$$ (me, not so much), AND a fixed garbage disposal. Whew. I'm out of breath. Mom went home sick from all that craziness.



On the second day of Christmas me true love gave to me,



TWO sleeping men, because you know, all that cooking for Thanksgiving really tires a guy out.

We were so lucky to have the Madsen's come up from Virginia to join our feast. Friends from the beginning, pre babies, husbands commuting into DC together, neighboring condos...

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
THREE crazy boys (Yes, Ashton is clucking like a chicken in this picture and would not stop)



...Wyatt goes missing at the ward Xmas party. I'm looking. Jeremy's looking. Then out pokes his funny head from behind the curtain while the program is being narrated and he makes himself the star of the show. Found.

...Ashton is naughty during a baptism and is out in the hall. I go to find him later and his Christmas tie is missing. Still missing. Didn't make it to December 6. So much for matching Christmas outfits. Haven't taken the pix yet in hopes it shows up.

...Cade fires one too many Nerf darts in vicinity of Christmas tree. Weapons are banished to garage for duration of the season.

...While singing "Joy to the World" as a Primary during sacrament meeting, Ashton starts rubbing bald counselor's head and won't stop. He's cracking himself up.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
FOUR parties in the works (Primary Board and spouses, Cade's bday, Annual Christmas ladies lunch, fourth grade class).

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
FIVE pans of toffee -- packed and ready to go!

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
SIX Christmas concerts (retirement home, Cade piano, Ruby and Ash piano, Cade trombone at school hahaha -- twice, church Xmas party Ruby sings "What Child is This" and Cade plays "PataPan.")



On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

SEVEN days without Jeremy (on a week long trip to Taiwan to speak at ??? Sorry, Jer, I forgot...some kind of conference having to do with corporate law and business) What I learned is foreign travel stinks, especially if you're trying to wrap up Christmas shopping, cards, and decorating, solo at home. No picture necessary.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
EIGHT Thanksgiving day friends: Fletcher, Connor, Alyese, and Blake Madsen; Cade, Ruby, Ashton, and Wyatt




On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
NINE Nutcracker angels.



Ruby does three Nutcracker performances as a meringue angel for Mid-Atlantic Ballet. Lots of twirls. Jeremy (again) struggles to stay awake.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
A TEN-year-old kid. Can hardly believe it?!



On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
ELEVEN yards of ribbon. All is wrapped and hidden in basement suitcases. One per kid.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,
TWELVE loves from Wyatt who always says, "I've got you mom," and nuzzles his cheek next to mine when the wind is blowing, the snow is about to fall, and we're running from car to store and back. I LOVE it.

Premonition

Today's going to be bad. I can feel it.

My mom's ETA is 7 p.m. With a little counting backward for travel time, Cub Scouts, dinner and school pickup, I need to have the house and laundry done by 3.

Things are a little behind schedule. Maybe it was the wash that got stopped by Ashton mid cycle last night. I didn't realize, moved it to the dryer, wondered why is wasn't drying through three cycles, and then pulled out a bunch of stiff super stinky clothes that are now being rewashed through the sanitary 2 hour cycle.

Maybe it was the garbage disposal that broke, even though there are no clogs AND the motor hums....

Maybe it was the shower war with Cade this morning. "Shower, or I will NOT take you to school." And he showered because I've made good on my threat in the past. (Yea Mom.)

But I can tell things aren't going well.

There's little signs: Wyatt throws his sippy cup over and on my seat in the millisecond of space between strapping him in and climbing into the car myself. Milk is all over my seat.

A pocketful of rocks spills out of the dryer and still need to be cleaned. A random set of screws comes out too. Do these belong to something else broken I need to fix?

The kids shower/bath is leaking and everyone's piling into mine until I can figure out why the overflow isn't functioning right.

The computer just shut down for no reason except "configuring" and it takes forever to start this thing up again. Which is exactly why I have this thing autosaving by the second. ARGH.

And the thing about it is, I have my schedule highly organized and itemized according to kids schedules (ie. when they're out of the house). Can't vacuum during nap time. Can't clean floors when everyone is home after school. But, can't clean too early or it's messy. Can't clean too late or it doesn't get done. I'm sure this would all compute into a super complicated algebraic equation -- something I could never solve myself.

Good thing it's just my mom. The one person who's opinion matters most but who doesn't mind the least.

Maybe I can post a pix of the two of us later? One more thing for the list.

Veteran's Day

The kids had Veteran's Day off from school and we headed down to Fort McHenry (of "O Say Can You See" fame) in Baltimore for some educational fun.

















We toured the fort, climbed the ramparts, inspected the cannon and then the kids got to take place in a giant flag unfurling.



When the flag was hoisted in the air the kids let out a cheer. It was an awesome sight. To imagine the size of this thing, look at Wyatt (running away from me) in the corner.























At day's end the kids were literally made junior rangers, given a badge, and with right hands up (and Ashton's left) sworn in as junior rangers and obedient kids. Big Ranger must have added in that last part for my benefit after seeing me shuffle the herd into the bathroom before heading home. Or maybe he was questioning MY parenting after Ashton asked him if they killed the prisoners who wouldn't fit into the jail cells.

Falling in Love with Fall

The leaves are falling and I count my blessings.



I'm amazed I get to live in a place where I see squirrels gather nuts from my kitchen window; where the crimson and golds of fall color my world; where the crisp chill pulls my family tighter together.



It's my favorite season of the year. My Super Tudes go back to school. New goals are set. The holiday decorations come out. Sweater season.

Halloween

Wow my kids love Halloween.



Finally an excuse to dress up -- not like they needed one.



The animation comes out full force.



Ashton goes to bed this year in peace instead of screaming (like last year) that all he wants to do is "smell his treats," when we won't let him sleep with his orange bucket.



Ruby comes clean when Jeremy finds Wyatt's full size Starburst missing. "How could you steal from your baby?" I ask, implying, "the brother you adore, the one you want to take into second grade for Show and Tell, the baby you wish I would let sleep with you."



As if that weren't enough...she almost was not allowed to go to school today (serious punishment in our household!) because I caught her chasing Cade around the kitchen and punching him in the back during breakfast. He was laughing, not crying, but still...I exploded! All this because she wasn't happy with her outfit for school. There's a lot of tude circulating our household. The drama.



What a relief to volunteer in Cade's class today where I'm treated like a celebrity because I bring my baby.



The moms had set up crafts at the desks and there was an enormous treat spread on the front table, but when the kids walked in the classroom from lunch all they cared about was Wyatt. People in this part of the country rarely have babies, and when they do, they go straight to daycare. Wyatt's a novelty. It's like the kids never see a baby and they couldn't keep away. He's full of cuteness.



And not to be forgotten, Ashton. When I dropped him off at preschool today he was the only kid in costume. Some kids would be shy. Some kids would be embarrassed. Ashton LOVED it. AND he decided this morning he was NOT a knight, but Captain Moroni.

In he runs to school. "Wow, Ashton," his teacher says. "What are you?"

"Captain Moroni," says Ashton.

"Who????" says his teacher.

"Captain Moroni," says Ashton, "You KNOW, from the scriptures, the Book of Mormon, the guy who was in all the wars." (I wish there was a way here for me to explain Ash's tone, as in, are you an idiot? How can you NOT know who Captain Moroni is?)



Best of all, Jeremy sets his all time record and gets home at 5:45 p.m. The kids are out the door by 6:00 p.m. and I even have time for some last minute pix. I'm savoring the moment.

Personal Responsibility

Just for the record: My kids get themselves dressed.



Ashton puts together a crazy get-up, wild socks, wristbands, and broken watches. On a lucky day this also includes rain boots even if it's sunny.



Ruby has an innate sense of style and fashion.



And Cade has no clue, but at least knows it, and has the good sense to ask Ruby's advice.

...just some of the little things I want to remember...

Ashton's cowboy boots with shorts.

The day Cade decided to grow out his buzz and use gel (still waiting for this on a REGULAR basis).

The year Cade (second grade) decided it was OK for shoes to "touch the sides of his feet" and could finally wear shoes his right size instead of boats two sizes too big.

How Ashton loves his Captain Heartbreaker PJ's and slippers and gave them so much love the soles fell out and it took me three trash days to get rid of them because he kept fishing them out of the can.

The way Ruby lays out her outfit for the next day not because she's rushed for time but because she loves to mix and match her options.

Wyatt rummaging through my closet to try on my high heels.

Picture Perfect

Not all days have to be crazy. Like today. Just a trip to Milburn Orchard and Farm.



Feeding the baby goats.



Coaxing Wyatt's hand open.



Swinging



Local wildlife. A chickenduck?



Chillen in the train.





Picking a pumpkin.



Basking in the sun.



But still a little crazy.