Now imagine this, 14+ hours a day, 7 days a week, and you know what my life is like.
Happy (exhausted) holidays to you and yours.
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And there you have it
I always knew there would be a point that my kids would be way more hip than I am, but I just didn't think it would happen so soon.
The boys were having some guitar time, so I pulled out the camera. After I took about 15 pictures, Shep slung his guitar behind him (the last photo) and said, "That's enough pictures, mom."
Spoken like a true rock star to the paparazzi.
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Paper bead necklaces and gratitude
Neko's school has this amazing program called "partners." A few weeks after school starts, each kindergartner is assigned a seventh or eighth grade partner. For the rest of the year, this is their big kid helper. The goal is for the little kids to have an older kid to help show them the ropes. They help them read. They take field trips together. They help them make their way to the bathroom and find lost mittens. The goal for the bigger kids is to teach them to give back. To look backwards from where they are, and remember what it was like to be the little one.
Neko's partner has been Kaili, who has been nothing short of spectacular. She plays with Neko at recess, always goes out of her way to be friendly and helpful, and draws her pictures and notes that I uncover in Neko's backpack.
So last night, as our last gift to prepare in the day, we made a paper bead necklace for Kaili. (A special shout-out to the Martha Stewart craft aisle at Michael's for making it all possible.) Making the beads was a little tough for Neko, but she selected the papers and strung the beads. I let her do it all herself, but when she made the pattern symmetrical on both sides, the designer in me was rather proud.
Then Neko carefully decorated and redecorated the box, making it just so.
I think it turned out beautifully, and will definitely be one of the most heartfelt gifts we give this year.
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School delay
A two hour delay due to the freezing ice meant some stir-crazy kids, stuck in the house with no place to go. I pulled the water table out of the basement, and set them all to work.
And they were extremely busy! For 20 minutes!
But it was great while it lasted.
And then they went bananas bouncing off the couches while I washed a load of towels, which I trashed cleaning up the big mess.
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Channeling my inner Martha
I have lately fallen back in love with Martha Stewart.
These days I'm a bit more in need of her crafty ideas, and unlike many other crafty folk, she doesn't fill me with feelings of inadequacy. I mean, if I had a staff of thousands helping me formulate amazing ideas and my children closing in on 40, I might be Martha, too.
Anyway, when doing a quick tally of my children's teachers, I realized that I had to produce 20 gifts in the next week. Which, um, is a little daunting, particularly during the season where I was determined to simplify.
Martha to the rescue! I picked up her special holiday issue, and then realized she had loads of ideas and templates on her website as well.
So if you're on the hunt for a last-minute idea, check here. Some might take you until next summer, but others seem quick and simple.
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Happy birthday, Tom
I wish I had it in me to write a long eloquent entry about Tom, but omigosh, his birthday always rolls around right in the crazy before Xmas and I am SO TIRED. I try hard not to let it get lost in the shuffle, and thus we celebrate his half-birthday. But on this actual day of his birth, we like to celebrate just a little.
In the wee hours, Shellie brought over scones with birthday candles, so we sang and blew out candles as the sun rose. Tom took off for the afternoon and evening to see a movie and have a day off, but before he left, he finished the volcano project he started with the kids the day before.
These projects are the things that remind me how lucky we are to have him in our lives. I can't imagine these kids without him. They wouldn't blare Joan Jett at 9am on a Saturday. We'd have far less box houses and pirate ships. Colored ice cubes and frozen balloons are ideas for baths I never would have thought of. We wouldn't blow out candles at a random Thursday dinner.
I can hardly list all the amazing stuff he does for the kids, myself, and our friends and family. But the list is long, and he always does it with a smile.
Happy birthday, T.
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Realization
If I had known how much food preparation was involved in parenthood, I might have taken a pass.
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Holiday cheer
Tonight we attended Wally and Jackie's annual Christmas party. It's a great chance to get together with friends from the Big City.
I barely took any photos, and the only one that turned out was this one.
I left the party thinking three things:
1. All my children love the idea of Santa, but are terrified of seeing the man in person.
2. We don't get to see any of these friends anywhere near enough.
3. There may be a air hockey table in our future.
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O, Christmas tree
I have low expectations for the Christmas tree process. The first year we had children, I was all full of wonder and hoping it would be something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but inevitably year after year, it’s not quite as I imagined. Someone throws a tantrum. Or takes the term “Christmas ball” too literally, and spends the whole evening lobbing them across the room. Or my favorite ornament gets broken.
This year we were going to get our tree after we picked up Neko from school and the kids got flu shots. It was a full moon and cold and overcast. So really, the cards were stacked against us.
But the universe must have known that I needed a peak that day instead of a valley. After the traumatic shot process, things started looking up.
We have a favorite Christmas tree farm. Run by a family, they’re always friendly, there are trees to cut as far as the eye can see. While they get your tree bundled and on your car, you can sip hot chocolate and check out the old tractors.
When we got there, Neko and Shep went running. Despite the cold, they hunted for the perfect tree. Shep almost picked out a Charlie Brown tree, which more resembled a poorly pruned shrub than anything else. “This is the PERFECT tree!” he declared. I love that kid.
We fed the kids in the car, and then Tom set up the tree and strung the lights while I gave everyone a bath. By the time 2 out of 3 were in pajamas, we started decorating.
And I’ll be darned, Norman Rockwell paid us a visit.
Neko set to work like a master decorator, and Shep followed her lead. Ellery happily admired the ornaments and even tried to hang a few. The fire roared, Christmas music played in the background and we all happily admired our work when we were done.
Thank you universe. I needed that.
