Finishing up the 12 Days

A goal of 2013 is to complete unfinished projects instead of starting new ones...so:
On the 12th day of Christmas my children left for me:

12 extra hangers

11 times slipping/falling on the ice

10 royal Little People (we have 2 princes as well)


9 candy balls on the kitchen floor
8 Christmas decorations
7 minute wait to see Santa
6 Hannah Montana songs
5 infected ears
4 brand new tires
3 new prescriptions
2 stinky pumpkins
and a toilet that runs by itself.

And that my friends is the end of that.

On the 9th Day of Christmas

On the 9th Day of Christmas my children left for me:

9 candy balls on the kitchen floor
8 Christmas decorations
7 minute wait to see Santa
6 Hannah Montana songs
5 infected ears
4 brand new tires
3 new prescriptions
2 stinky pumpkins
and a toilet that runs by itself.

**While decorating the gingerbread house apparently a few of these got away from the construction crew.  Hopefully found my last one this morning.

Happy 35th Birthday to my wonderful husband Tim.  Without his help this week getting everything ready for Christmas my sanity could have been in serious jeopardy.  And yes, that is a backwards 2 we used as a 5, I considered it recycling. 

On the 8th Day of Christmas

On the 8th Day of Christmas my children left for me:

8 ornaments on the floor
7 minute wait to see Santa
6 Hannah Montana songs
5 infected ears
4 brand new tires
3 new prescriptions
2 stinky pumpkins
and a toilet that runs by itself.....

**so there might be more than 8 ornaments but this is getting tricky!

Abby and Megan (plus Tim since he was elected to help since he knows how to build houses) decorated their yearly gingerbread house.  This one is Rudolph's (he's on the roof) and Santa and the Abominable Snowman are out front.  It's still standing today so all is well.

Also - Happy 35th Birthday to Tim.  In the middle of all the crazy that is going on for Christmas preparations we still try to let him have his day.  We'll see how that goes tonight.......I could really use an Elf right now to help get some things done.

On the 7th Day of Christmas

On the 7th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

A 7 minute wait to see Santa!!!
6 Hannah Montana Songs
5 Infected Ears
4 brand new tires
3 new prescriptions
2 stinky pumpkins
and a toilet that runs by itself.

***7 minute wait including walking from truck to Santa - we were that lucky!!!  Sorry for the disappointed people looking forwards to our crying photo this year, I'm sure next year will be a different story with Emma.
Isn't our Santa awesome!!

On the 6th Day of Christmas....

On the 6th Day of Christmas my children sang to me:





 

 6 songs from the Hannah Montana movie
5 infected ears!!!
4 brand new tires
3 new prescriptions
2 stinky pumpkins
and a toilet that flushes by itself

Happy Birthday Theo!

This past weekend was our nephew Theo's 3rd birthday.  So we packed up the clan and headed to Collinsville.

Betsy made a Rice Krispie train cake for the first party.  Theo loves Thomas the Train - and anything on wheels really.  The first part of the party was at the YMCA and they rented out the gymnastic room for us to play in.
Note to other parents:  Yes the foam pit looks fun to jump in, but if you do, jump close to the side, IT WILL SUCK YOU IN!  Being the fun kid at heart that I am at times still I took a running leap into the middle of the foam pit.  30 minutes later (covered in sweat) I finally managed to get out - with BJ's help to pull me up out of the pit (there should really be a ladder).  Adults can not walk on foam like kids, we can awkwardly try to and make no progress quickly.  Kids 6 and under think it's hilarious to watch an adult try to get out of the foam pit.  At this point and time, exhausted adult stuck in foam pit can resolve to start throwing foam at other kids laughing - it won't hurt them, just your pride.  Moral of the story, jump in by the side.

However it was a great time and we followed it up with a family dinner at the Bovee residence.  Of course Abby was asking about gymnastic lessons.  She was pretty amazing on the high balance beam and uneven bars.  Who knew?  She definitely does not get any of that talent from Tim or I.

I haven't had an Emma photo for a while and this kid seems to be changing and growing daily so had to get one in there.  She also had her first high chair experience with us.  Thankfully my purse fits perfectly behind her to help take up the extra space.  She loved being at the table with us and enjoyed crinkling a wrapper.  She did try to steal Megan's dinner (which you can see in the picture) a couple of times.  If I had to guess, she's going to enjoy learning how to eat.

5th day of Christmas (yes I am behind)

On the 5th Day of Christmas my husband gave to me:

5 INFECTED EARS!!!!!

4 brand new tires



3 new prescriptions
2 stinky pumpkins
and a toilet that runs by itself