Santa's Brain

The strangest thing happened today (today meaning Christmas Eve... silly blog didn't post it till much later!)... I felt like I could just read Santa's mind.  Weird.  We musta had a brain connection or something.  A temporary psychic experience. 

I could tell Santa felt like he was mostly done, ready to go, but little things were still looming.  No big deal, right?  That's what the elves are for!  Lucky Santa. Lucky to have all those helpers.  

And then, Santa had the feeling that he was so good at hiding things, that he might've lost a few.  Aww.  Poor Santa.  Poor guy.  I'm sure it'll all work out.  It's not like it happens like that every year, right?  Or maybe it does.  

Santa tries not to be stressed out, I mean it's so close to the best day of the year, right?  It says so right in the song.  But he is stressed.  Just a tad.  Have an extra cup of coffee, Santa, my man.  Not like you'll be sleeping tonight anyway. But no worries, 'cuz you're Magic.  And Magic doesn't need to sleep, does it?

And speaking of sleep... and I could REALLY feel this one....I guess I was wrong about Magic and sleep... ... Santa was just so darn tired he wanted to curl up in nice warm blankets and take a long nap.  Not the long winter's nap like in the story (that's a bunch of crap anyway, I definitely felt that thought), but just a nap.  A regular one.  But naps are like fantasy land for Santa.  Keep movin,' Santa.  Keep movin.'  No rest for the weary.  

So Santa, he's magical, right, but he's also just like a normal person.  So he made a list.  Not THAT list... stop thinking of books and stories!  So anyway, he made a list, just of things to do today and tonight... and hopefully that will keep him on track.  And then he felt a little better.  And I was happy to know that Santa felt a little better.  'Cause no one needs Santa being stressed out at Christmas time, right? Definitely not.  

So after that I tried to use that brain connection in reverse... just send a little love and support... and tell Santa that he's done a good job, that everything's gonna work out fine.  Children will be happy and Merry, family will be loving as always and Christmas 2013 will be the Best Day Ever! 

And hopefully when it's all said and done maybe he can get that nap.  Good luck, Santa!!

The Countdown to Christmas!

Even Chase is asking why Time is moving so fast... 

We are mostly ready.  We didn't put outside lights up, but ours have been not quite right for two years anyway.  Eventually we'll pick something new.  We thought we loved what we called the "Snoopy lights" as they looked like what is on Snoopy's doghouse, but it turns out they just weren't designed well and the house doesn't look so festive when half the lights aren't working.  Santa seems mostly set and the Tricker the Elf goes back nightly to report all that he sees.  

We've got a new nephew/cousin, un-named as of yet but cute as a button and doing well.  His mama had a wonderful Mother's intuition and told me on the phone yesterday that even though her doctors had scheduled her for an induction this Monday at 41 weeks + 2, she would be having this baby tomorrow (which meant today).  She said it very matter-of-factly.  And there was no reason to doubt her.  Except apparently if you're a doctor.  Honestly, with some of the things her practice of doctors was coming up with, I was beginning to think they were doctors of philosophy instead of anything to do with babies or a woman's body.   

So here's some highlights and happenings: 

Falls asleep reading as usual. 

The Rogers resting together.  

RJ's favorite game. 

Riley as her preschool holiday program. 

Close up of our tree.  We do not have a matching-ornament tree, a store-display pretty tree, an expensive-ornament tree or a "show" tree of any sort.  Each ornament of ours has a story.  We know where it came from, who gifted it, who made it or why we have it.  Most of our ornaments have been clustered up high for years, due to little curious hands.  Our lights are uneven because a child placed them on the tree.  Because of all these things, our tree is beyond perfect and representative of our family and our values.

Mom's Club holiday party.  RJ smiles on purpose now when you ask him to for the camera.  We had lots of head bumps this day as you can see. 

RJ also loves to put the pieces in Connect4.  There is not much that keeps him occupied for more than 5 minutes! 

Bring On the Snow

Not really sure where the week went, but it went!  We've had snow twice more since my last post a week ago, but it's been more like snow, then rain and melt.  Then turn nighttime and get icy, then slush.  Pretty disappointing if you're a kid and pretty disgusting and messy if you're an adult.  Yesterday's storm was wicked icy for a few hours until 10:30 at night when it strangely warmed up about 4 degrees and starting to rain, washing away the ice and allowing people like my DJ'ing husband to drive home safely.  Chase got a brief lesson in something all Pennsylvanians (and anyone North of us) need to know how to do - push a stuck car out of a snowy rut and get it moving again.  I always love to see how crappy weather can bring random people together to help someone out.  We happened to see a car or two slip and slide on our road and get stuck right outside of our house so I put my coat on and went out to join the fun.  My awesome neighbor Howie was also there to push as well as another couple who stopped their car to lend a hand.  Everyone knows what to do, jumps right in, takes a role and gets it done.  No intro, no goodbyes.  Sometimes a "thanks" but never necessary.  It's a part of the winters here like putting on a coat to go outside.  

Saturday we knew the snow was coming and so had no grand plan.  Most of us stayed in pajamas (or the interesting tank top/sweatpants/knee socks/leg warmers combination that I was rocking) all day.  The snow started and stopped for the better part of morning and afternoon and didn't get rolling until about 4:30.  The kids went out for a little but were rather unimpressed with the icy/fluff combination, not suitable for snowballs OR sledding.  Bummer.  

But our day was filled with lots of fun, and few expectations.  

After breakfast we played Restaurant.  Chase cooked, Indigo was our waitress and Riley and I were paying customers.  RJ helped by stealing food and running it back and forth across the room while giggling like a madman. Yes, Indy is wearing G.I. Joe PJ's!

Indy writes the menu on the chalkboard wall. 

Riley traced her bubble letters and then turned them into Letter Animals

Indy got to choose what we did next - make Popsicle Stick Puppets!  They were so creative, Indy made people and Chase made a Gorilla and two Army Tanks.  

We grabbed an empty box for a small stage and the kids performed their Puppet Shows.  Chase is a regular stage comedian.  

Riley played Fishing for Sight Words and thought she was being slick by telling me which ones to fish for.

Sunday morning outside their were still beautiful icy trees on the opposite side of the street.  We get hit with the sun all day so most of ours was melted.  

Weekly View

Ry and her "Sun Snack" while working on patterns, or "patt-er-ins" as she calls them

Homemade Hot Cocoa (click here for the recipe we used) on Friday night while we (finally!) put our decorations on the tree after acquiring new lights

RJ puts something on the tree.  Then takes it back off again.  Then puts it on again.  Repeat. 

All Done! 

Indy

Rog and I went to the Valley Forge Beerfest on Saturday to check out craft brews from local and afar and be social with people taller than 5 feet.  We found one or two beers worth talking about and ran into a few friends.

Sunday brought snow, which I wasn't really expecting.  We got about 3 inches, more fluffy than packing snow.  Sleddable tho, as you can see.  We thought RJ would not want to stay out long but he lasted for an hour and a half, mostly sledding, before going up and knocking on the front door.

Those Alpaca mittens sure kept those little hands warm... thanks Avia! 

Giving Thanks... for Railings!

This Thanksgiving we kept it simple.  We brought a few side dishes up to my moms, where 5 other adult family members joined us and had a lovely dinner.  Chase helped me make the sweet potato and green bean casseroles and was in shock at how much time it takes to cook something start to finish, without using anything pre-made or out of a can.  It all came out delicious tho and we had a great time.  

The boys reading early Thanksgiving Morning

A rowdy game of Battleship (with grapes in the center) after our return home

Roger decided that since he was home that morning, it was a grand time to start on the stair railing for the upper stairs, one that we've lived without for nearly 3 years now.  The kids are all so well-trained to "hold the wall!" that they still don't use the railing now that it's there.  

BEFORE - Good for little monkeys to swing on 

AFTER - "Aww Dad, now I can't swing on it anymore!"

Friday, when masses of people were out trampling each other for the best deal on something they probably don't need anyway, we cleaned up and got out our Christmas decorations.  Since we live very close to one of the biggest malls in this country, we choose to stay in and not go near any of the roads.  

The kids were chomping at the bit to get the tree up.  But I explained that FIRST we had clean up the toys in the living room.  Every one.  Not just some.  THEN we had to pull out the furniture and find the OTHER toys that were hiding back there, along with Dust Bunnies, random socks and one lonely lollipop wrapper.  NEXT we had to sweep and mop the floors.  AFTER THAT we had to decide where the tree was going.  AND THEN, ONLY THEN, could the tree come down from the attic.  

So we did all that.  Roger was out working and the rest of stayed in our PJ's and did all that in order.  'Till we got to the part about where the tree was going.  I just could not decide.  So the kids, poor kids, patient kids - they helped me move the couches this way and that.  They sat with their little eyes wide open while I pondered and "hmmm'd."  They humored me when I had them move things AGAIN.  And finally I said, "We're moving the TV."  

And now THAT took about an hour, there were even more Lost Pets back there, Dust Bunnies triple the size of the ones under the couch, because who really has time to clean behind the speaker that's behind the TV?  So we recovered that area, wrapped up all the random cords that went nowhere and used wire-ties to make everything neat and orderly.  Then we moved the TV, which is bolted to the cabinet (because of me) and connected (because Roger is Roger) to 2 side-speakers and a giant sub-woofer thingie. 

 We moved it to this corner, then that corner, then the middle of the outer wall, then to another corner.  Still the kids were patient.  Each time we moved the TV, I put the couches in a different spot.  The living room is not that big.  It's just a square with 2 sets of doors.  You would think there are not that many options for all of this. We had to consider certain things tho, like not leaving open access to the bay window, as one tiny hand could probably pull down our entire nutcracker collection that sits on a wooden structure on top of our fake snow.  But finally, we got it.  According to Chase, we had to move the TV "19 times."  

And then we put our tree up.  Only to realize that last year's lights had burnt out last year and we hadn't replaced them yet.  Aaaargh. 

2 little elves take a break from couch-moving to draw a picture.

Riley concentrates hard as she fluffs out each tree limb and hands it to Chase. 

Chase adds the top piece.  

RJ could care less about the tree.  He spent the whole time pressing the button on the vacuum, which I borrowed every 3 pieces or so to clean up the needles that were underfoot.

In other news, the Farmhouse got a new roof!  It looks great and makes the rest of the house look terrible - lol.  Now we can finalize our layout for the inside and get started on electrical and plumbing.  

Bare front.

Bare back.  Here's the addition, except we're moving the 2nd story windows now after changing the layout a thousand times. 

Here's our Sunday night, on the 3rd floor, framing out a window so the roof can get shingled on Monday.  

I had no other choice except to bring RJ up in his carseat.  He enjoyed the noise of the saw and the nailgun, but other that, he was not entirely happy with us.

Nice new roof!  

Totally random and exciting - 

My Christmas Cactus is in bloom!  More flowers than ever - so pretty! It seems that all my indoor plants thrive in the master bathroom, where no guests will ever see them.... bah.