Christmas Joy

Christmas was magical this year.

This year, Jamie was old enough to really get the whole concept of Santa and opening presents - he could get into the wonder of it all.  Also, he was not sick for Christmas this year - which is an immediate improvement over last year.

Liam, of course, loves Christmas and was practically vibrating through the walls on Christmas Eve.  That was Scot's birthday and we had to keep reminding him that while the next day was Christmas, right then it was DADDY'S BIRTHDAY.

Leaving cookies for Santa

I don't have a picture of the stockings or the tree or all the presents because I was having too much fun with the kids.  We came downstairs Christmas morning and they were so excited.  Santa brought stuffed Totoros (thanks to his sneaky elf helpers, Trista and Dan) and they both loved them.  It's been Jamie's favorite pillow ever since.

For the first time ever, Liam told Santa what he wanted for Christmas.  He asked Santa for the Lego Ninjago Fire Temple.  After shunting one of his larger gifts over to his birthday pile (in February), Santa was able to bring the Fire Temple.  The pictures say it all.

One happy Spud

Jamie enjoyed stocking gifts as well - his favorites being Totoro and the chocolate candy.  

After stockings it was time to make breakfast.  After discovering them last year, I again made individual Monkey Breads for breakfast.  OM NOM NOM.

Seriously, folks, these are heaven in a ramekin.

After breakfast we got down the big gifting.  The kids were spoiled by one and all.  Scot spoiled me rotten and bought me a Kindle Fire as well as a new lens for my camera.  It was also a very kitchen-y Christmas as I received (from various generous family members) some new fun baking accoutrements, a panini press, and spices.

More Legos for Liam - clearly he doesn't mind.

One of Jamie's favorite presents - no more high chair!

It was also a very book-y Christmas.  Books, books, and more books! For everyone!

Scot's parents joined us in the afternoon for round two of gifting.  Jamie was napping when they got here so we let Liam open his presents first so he wouldn't die from antici. . . pation.

Grandma and Granddad were very generous.

The contents of the large red bag.

After Liam was done the adults exchanged gifts and when Jamie got up he got to open his stack.  And then, finally, we were done with presents and could move on to playing with our toys and eating dinner.

We had NY strips for Christmas dinner.  As well as risotto, fresh steamed broccoli, salad, rolls, and cranberry orange tart for dessert.  We were tired of the same old roasts so we did something different this year. It was delicious.

I ended the day content, happy, and NOT completely exhausted.  The boys had a blast, we enjoyed all of their excitement and joy and Christmas felt like a holiday instead of a chore this year.  

I hope your holiday was merry and bright!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you a joyous and merry Christmas and love and happiness in the New Year!

HO HO HO!

Wordless Wednesday: Decorating The Tree

Christmas Outtakes 2: Electric Boogaloo

I got to playing around with one of the pictures last night and this is what resulted.  These kids have to learn not to give me this kind of fodder.

Christmas Outtakes

It's that time again - time to hustle the children into their Christmas finery, schlep them down to Phipps, and try to get some passable shots of them for use on the Christmas cards.  It was an especially futile attempt this year.  Out of over 100 shots, I got about 5 usable ones.  Four, if you ask Scot because he didn't want to be on the card.

The outtakes, on the other hand, are glorious.

We begin with Liam.  I love the kid but he's in that stage where he simply CANNOT smile naturally unless you make him laugh.  Making him laugh was simply not on the agenda today so I have a lot of pictures like this:

With that lack of upper lip, I should rename him Frank Burns.

If you didn't get that joke, get off my lawn.

I actually don't have many outtakes of Jamie by himself because they're all blurry.  He would run away from the camera.  I did get a couple of decent close ups of him (though mostly profile) that are being used on the Christmas card, however.

Moving on to the group shots...

This was the best I got all day.  Clearly, they're thrilled.  It was all downhill after this.

"ALL DONE!"

"Again? We have to do this again?"

Liam is looking at the ceiling and Jamie smells something bad.

Passable one of Spud.  Jamie disapproves.  Of everything.

Jamie seems to have misplaced his neck.

I have no idea what's going on with Liam here.

I can't imagine what these two are going to come up with next year.

UPDATE: I forgot to leave you with this sign from Phipps.

So, I Guess I Should Tell You About Christmas, Huh?

The short version:  It was hectic, tiring, good, and I'm glad it's over.

Now, for the long version.

Remember how Jamie woke up sick the Wednesday before Christmas?  Well, he didn't get better.  We spent the next two days fighting the fever (with limited success) and I powered through cleaning and Christmas prep to get it finished within 40 min of my parents arrival on Thursday.  In the wee hours of Christmas Eve Jamie awoke with a spiking fever and was pretty inconsolable.  We gave him meds for the fever but they just didn't seem to want to work.  At 4 am we woke my parents to tell them we were leaving Liam in their care and heading to the ER with Jamie.

After a fairly short visit (and a doctor who used the word gestalt - remind me to blog about that sometime) we got the diagnosis - ear infection.  This was no surprise to us.  He was running a pretty good fever and had green snot pouring out his nose.  They gave us a dose of amoxicillin in the hospital and sent us home with a prescription for more.

We stumbled home to grab some extra sleep.

Christmas Eve is a bit of a blur for me.  It was Scot's birthday (Happy Birthday, love!) and we were supposed to go out for a nice lunch but that got cancelled because J-man was so sick and Scot didn't want to go out without him and me.  So, we got takeout from the Chinese place for everyone and ate at our house - which was fine.

Jamie continued to be difficult and unhappy most of the day.  I was hoping that after a full day of antibiotics, he'd wake up on Christmas and at least be a little happier.

After we got the kids in bed, we put together one of Jamie's gifts, got the gifts put under the tree, and the stockings stuffed (after I spent a frantic 20 minutes looking for the damn Santa Candy).

(PS - forgive my picture quality.  Most of them suck and I'm seriously considering getting a DSLR)

We got up Christmas morning with the kids and Liam raced to see what Santa had left.  He took one look at the loot, turned around and said, "This is the best Christmas EVER!"  He hadn't even opened a single gift yet.

We set about opening our stockings and I got breakfast prepped and in the oven.

So sinfully delicious.

After breakfast we got down to business with all the stuff under the tree.  Liam was a whirlwind and I missed a lot of what he was opening even though I was sitting next to him.  He seemed genuinely excited by just about every thing he got and the AT-AT was a big hit.

(that's a Trooper Blaster he's holding, I promise.)

Jamie, on the other hand, was difficult.  Nothing pleased him, we couldn't assemble toys fast enough, he was displeased when they didn't meet his standards.  He was all around a complete and utter crankpot that made my Christmas morning very difficult and stressful.  The toy we assembled for him the night before was a play kitchen from his Aunt and Uncle.

When the crying and pissed off toddler finally shattered my nerves entirely, I broke out the kitchen.  He immediately ignored the pile of wrapped gifts, stopped crying and started playing.

A Christmas Miracle!  The play kitchen saved Christmas.  

Eventually it was time for him to nap and us to clean up.  While he was asleep, we unwrapped all his gifts and assembled anything that needed it and got every toy out of its box.  I just couldn't take the shrieking of his unhappy waiting and he didn't care about the unwrapping part so we took care of it.

Then, I discovered that the ice cream cake I made for dessert had melted overnight because apparently leaving it outside in a snowstorm was not adequate to keep it frozen.  This is already going too long so I'll just say that I had extra ingredients in the house, managed to salvage the actual cake layers, and rebuilt the sucker 10 mins before I served it.  It was delicious.

In the afternoon, Scot's parents arrived and we did Round Three on the gifting.  Then I cooked supper with some help from my Mom (great gravy, Mom!) and we all had a lovely meal.  By that point I was so tired and worn out from early mornings, a cranky sick kid, and running non-stop for 2 days that I didn't even finish my meal.  But what I did eat was yummy.

Once the kids were in bed and Scot's parents headed home, I collapsed thankyouverymuch.  As did everyone else.

My parents were with us for 2.5 days and we had a nice visit despite all the craziness.  They got to see Liam do his thing at Tae Kwon-Do on Thursday and enjoyed being able to stuff stockings and get all the gifts out like they haven't done in years.  I could wish that Jamie wasn't feeling so crappy so they could have had more fun with him but it wasn't in the cards.  The antibiotics finally kicked in the day they left. Poo.  At least he's better now, though.  

I've spent the majority of this week taking it easy.  I got to see "Toy Story 3" and "Shrek Forever After" both of which I missed seeing in the theaters over the summer.  I read Anthony Bourdain's "Medium Raw" and a book called "Waiter Rant."  Thanks to Scot being home, I've gotten to sleep in on more than one morning.  It's the closest thing I've had to a vacation in years and I'm reveling in it.  Next week it's back to reality but this week is all about loafing.

I hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful, your Festivus was Merry, and the Airing of Grievances few and trivial!

I Expect Santa To Bring Coal

Since he's already torturing us with illness, that bearded bastard.

I woke up Sunday feeling really nauseated.  I thought I had eaten bad food the night before and it was just one of those things that would pass quickly.  I gulped some anti-nausea meds we had in the house and waited for the feeling of imminent upchucking to pass.

When it did, I got dressed, left the kids home with Scot, and went to the grocery store to do the shopping.  I had it all planned out and I couldn't deviate from the schedule - too much to do.

What a mistake.

By the time I was done, I was aching all over and ready to collapse.  I came home, unloaded the food, put away the cold things, and flopped over in bed.  Scot had to care for the kids the rest of the day.  Sunday was the *only* day I had to give up to being sick.  Every other day before Christmas I needed to be functional so that I could finish prepping.

I spent the vast majority of Sunday in bed sleeping and reading.  I ate very little and choked down what liquids I could stand.  The body aches SUCKED.

Monday I was more functional.  Not 100% but I could watch the kids, Scot could head to work, and I could get some things done around the house in short bursts with lots of rest in between.  Tuesday was even closer to normal - just some random spaciness and dizziness to deal with.  Today, I'm fine.

Jamie, on the other hand, woke up with 102.2 fever.  Thanks a lot, Santa.  You could have kept that gift in that giant sack of yours.

In the hour and half between when he woke up and when I could call the doc, he dropped to 100.2.  Now I was confused.  I was going to take him to the doc to rule out an ear infection because he's been known to get them without any symptoms at all so I tend to worry that he has them and I don't know.  But at 100.2, it could be anything.

I called the nurses line at my pediatrician:  "We don't need to see him unless the fever persists for 72 hours."  Thanks for reciting to me what I already know.  But, it just so happens that 72 hours from now is CHRISTMAS DAY.  Grr.  We're left with watching him closely and hoping he's fine.

By waking up with a fever this morning, Jamie has also managed to screw me out of his two days at daycare this week.  He couldn't go today and he has to be fever free for 24 hours before he can go back, so he's not going tomorrow either.  I was really counting on those days to finish prepping for Christmas.  Now I have to do it with both kids underfoot which is infinitely more difficult.  Doable?  Oh sure.  Pain in my ass?  Assuredly.

So Santa?  This is not the Jolly Old Gentlemen I was expecting.  If this is your idea of a Merry Christmas, you've got another thing coming.  I'd call it Ho-ho-rrendous and you need to get those elves in line.

The Sign, It Taunts Me

Every day the number ticks down and as it does my panic grows.

Eight days until Christmas and still a shit ton to do.  Pardon me, I have to hyperventilate in the corner for 10 minutes.  But that's all I can spare because I have things to do.

Christmas Photos

It's the time again, folks - time for Christmas pictures.  Once again, a look back:

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

This year we did some professional shots of both the boys and we got one of them together as well.  

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Merry Festivus to one and all!

The Return of Kipperbuckles, Part Deux

"Mommy?  When I get home from school today can you tell me if Jamie was good or bad?"

"Yes," I replied, "But why?"

"I want to know if Jamie was bad in front of Kipperbuckles."

Oh dear.  I had a feeling I knew where this was headed.  The last thing I wanted was Liam turning into more of a tiny police officer because he didn't want his brother to screw up his chance at good loot from Santa.

I explained to Liam that Jamie's behavior has no bearing on whether or not he got presents from Santa.  As long as he behaved, he would get stuff.  I asked him if that was what he was worried about.  My fears proved to be unfounded.

"No, I'm not worried about any of that stuff but I don't want Jamie to be without presents if we all get them."

[melt]

I explained that Santa didn't expect the same kind of behavior out of Jamie that he expects out of Liam because Liam is 5 and Jamie isn't.  That being good for Jamie isn't about picking up his toys or not being rude because we're still trying to teach Jamie all of that.

"Oh good," he said.

The Return of Kipperbuckles

On a snowy 1st of December morning...

 

Kipperbuckles returned to our lives.

When we came downstairs this morning, I pointed him out to Liam and he got a look of excitement and wonder on his face.  "He's sitting on the gargoyle!" 

[runs to find his Dad]

"Daddy!  Kipperbuckles is back and he's sitting on the gargoyle!"

[comes running back to me]

"I didn't know he was coming today!"

WIN.  I wasn't sure how he was going to take it this year and I was half afraid he would be completely underwhelmed and see straight through our little gambit.  But no, Christmas wonder is alive and well and living on our mantlepiece.  I'm hoping that having Kipperbuckles around will help him toe the line as we approach the holidays.  I'm figuring we'll be good for about 3 weeks but that last week before Christmas ought to be . . . interesting.

We went out this morning to do the weekly grocery shopping and when we came home and were pulling in the driveway Liam piped up from the back seat, "Mommy, I miss Kipperbuckles."  My kid is super awesome.

That Solves The "What To Get Liam" Problem

Well, this should solve all our "what do we get the kid for Christmas" woes next year.

The AT-AT Imperial Walker

This will go perfectly with his 2.5 foot long Millenium Falcon! It comes out in August and I bet we buy it then just to avoid the Christmas Rush.

Now that we have that little problem solved I should probably move on to the "what the heck do we get Jamie for his birthday?!" problem. That one needs to be solved in the next two weeks.

Finally. Life Returns to Normal.

Life is slowly returning to normal and I could not be happier about that fact. If I had to live one more day with my routines all out of whack I was, quite possibly, going to do something rash and destructive.

As of Monday Scot went back to work and Mean Mommy® reemerged. Liam didn’t like that so much but I was tired of his behavior being obnoxious because it was Christmas. After one tantrum, an attempt to hit me, and then being dumped in his room he began to realize that I meant business. Things have been getting better since then. He’s still whiny every. single. time. I ask him to get dressed or, GOD FORBID, I ask him to wait 20 minutes to eat a meal. Those two occurrences generally make him whine so much I want to flush him down the toilet.

I’m doing my best to return the house to some semblance of clean. I took the tree down yesterday and put away all the decorations around the house. Today I had the lovely task of trying to find a way to deal with the influx of Christmas toys. So, I got to haul out the bins of stored toys, rotate toys into and out of them, and try to get the mass chaos down to a dull roar. Now, instead of it looking like a toy factory blew up in the living room, it merely looks as though the toy factory had a minor bout with the barfs.

Jamie is Jamie. He’s teething (still!) and screechy and cranky. As well as chubby and giggly and cute. It just depends which second of the day it is. I started the process of weaning him today and I have discovered that pumping really sucks. Luckily the whole thing is finite and at the end of it I will be FREE! [cue “I’m Free” from Tommy by The Who]. So far things are going well. When I put him to bed tonight he drank a full 8 ounce bottle and passed out like frat boy during pledge week.

So, life returns to normal, slowly but surely, and I’m glad to be back to routine.

Just Like A Kid On Christmas

The presents were tucked under the tree with great care....




The stockings were stuffed, Saint Nick had been there.


The children awoke to see Christmas bounty...


And soon the wrappings were in a pile quite jaunty.


Merry Christmas to all..

From a Spud and his bear...


And Jamie the Red with his flaming orange hair.