An Extra Room
Bedtime is what you would say the storm before the calm. It was getting so bad that we decided to try putting the boys in the same room. So we put the boys' bunk bed together and let them have a go at it. The first couple of nights were a bit crazy, but now they go right to sleep without crying or trying to convince us to let them sleep in our bed. Now we have an extra room in the house! Of course it had to become Mommy's drum room. : )
Painting the Bathroom
When we moved into our house, we looked at every wall and decided every inch of wall and ceiling needed to be painted. Which is why almost a year later we still haven't finished that feat. But we did get to our bathroom finally! It was a lovely shade of pee pee yellow. Yum. I'm not a yellow fan, never have been. So we hooked ourselves up with some nice cool blue paint and some oil rubbed bronze spray paint and got to work. It's a lot more relaxing now.
DURING:
AFTER:
Our amazing realtor's office had a Christmas party at the beginning of the month, so I drove to Orem just so the boys could see Santa and Buddy the Elf and tell them they wanted a big car for Christmas. They had all sorts of games, crafts and food. But what did my children do? Walk in, sit on Santa's lap, visit Buddy, and head back out to the car. They were there on a mission and would not be distracted.
Thanksgiving Point Reindeer
We love living so close to Thanksgiving Point. One evening we decided to drive through the lights show which was pretty fun for the boys, then we headed to the water tower to visit a couple of Santa's reindeer.
Cruise's Class Party
I am a room mom for Cruise's class at school. The other moms and I planned a Polar Express themed party and the kids enjoyed it a lot. But probably the best part was Santa coming! My Uncle Dodd has a couple Santa outfits (we decided against the Scottish Santa) and so I asked him if he'd be able to come to Cruise's class. The parents were so impressed with how interactive he was with the kids, especially since some of them have a hard time talking and having a conversation. But Santa was so understanding and loved visiting with each of the kids. Even yours truly got to sit on Santa's lap...but now that I think of it, he didn't ask me what I wanted for Christmas. Hmmm...he probably knew I'd ask for a nap or something. We provided Santa with some bells to be given to each child, which proved to be a very noisy afternoon afterwards.
Gingerbread Snoopy Houses
I found this adorable kit at Macey's and because Cruise reminded me every day that we needed to build gingerbread houses, I had to get it. I didn't know how the kids would do with it, but they actually were really into it and didn't make TOO much of a mess. I also provided some chocolate sprinkles for the dog poop. Yay for gingerbread kits!
Christmas Eve
Growing up, my family always had a spaghetti dinner and opened family gifts on Christmas Eve. So that's what we did. I made spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and salad and then the boys were all over the presents. We received gifts from my sister Charlotte's family and Dave's sister Katie's family. Cruise got a Super Why board game and a pilot's hat with some blow up airplanes. Jett got an Angry Birds puzzle and a giant Spiderman puzzle. Both of which he had to put together immediately. The boys opened their presents from us which were pajamas and a book. Cruise got The Lorax and Jett got a Superhero book. Afterwards, we read the Christmas story and sang some songs. And then, of course, the boys had to play with all their toys.
We left Santa milk, cookies, and the reindeer apple slices. The boys each drew a picture for Santa.
I don't think the boys have ever gone to bed as quickly as they did on Christmas Eve. They were so excited for Santa to come and to bring them their big car! After the boys fell asleep, we went out to the shed and got the car out. We had bought it in October and assembled it so that Christmas Eve we wouldn't have to. After we had the stockings stuffed and the rest of the gifts wrapped, we looked at the car and decided, 'Let's wrap this too!'. It actually wasn't too complicated.
Christmas Day
This year, being our first Christmas in our new house, we decided to do our own Christmas. We never have actually had our own Christmas. I would have to say it was a lot less stressful than having to drive all over the place first thing in the morning.
The boys woke up at about 6:30am and were ready to open presents! They were so excited about the car and wanted to drive it immediately! But it was still dark outside, so they had to wait a little while.
The other big present we got them was this Imaginext castle. They had been asking for it for months, so we decided Santa should bring it. Santa brought them slippers, a movie, and a homemade activity. I made Cruise a book of laminated dot-to-dots since he's been really into those lately. I made some lacing cards for Jett, but I don't think he even cared. We stuffed their stocking with Bubble Tape bubble gum, Lifesavers, a candy bar, a toothbrush, crayons and a coloring book, and a Lego guy.
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| Cruise discovering Santa had eaten his cookies! |
After opening all their presents, the boys moved to the playroom to play with their castle and watch their new movies while Daddy passed out on the floor and I made the waffle breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of sausage (no eggs due to Jett's new egg allergy), hot chocolate, orange juice, and waffles and it's toppings: bananas, strawberries, syrup & whipped cream.
Then finally it was light enough out for the boys to try out their new car. The ice and snow weren't exactly ideal driving conditions, but the boys still had a lot of fun despite getting stuck a few hundred times.
I finally was able to shower, get ready and nap start making the Christmas feast. My first ever! The menu consisted of prime rib, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, spinach dip, rolls, and sparkling cider. Dessert was chocolate cream pie and pumpkin pie.
The rest of the day consisted of watching movies, playing with toys, and napping, yes, napping. As in, I GOT A NAP! It was awesome. Later in the evening we went to my parents' house to open presents and see my sister and her kids who had come from SoCal to visit. Then we stopped off at Dave's parents and visited with them as well. The day was great, but never seemed to end. But thankfully, it eventually did.
And that was our Christmas.
