Christmas Eve 2011

Christmas Eve is my favorite.  The anticipation makes me giddy.  In the midst of all my festiveness, I had grown a bit behind on my Holiday To Do Lists.  A batch of Christmas Cards would have to be New Years Cards and on Christmas Eve morning I found myself at Costco picking up the last of the goods for the next few days of entertaining.  While I felt like a last minute loser, I made myself useful by picking up items the neighbors needed for their festivities.  

Once the food was handled, we could focus on family and fun. Mr. Man & Mr. Boy played "Ping Dong*" in Mr. Man's new Garage-Mahal.  The Garage-Mahal was a byproduct of the big Cleanout of 2011, and now he has lots of space for manly things.  

*Mr. Boy constantly mispronounces or makes up words, and I love it. Fortune Cookies = Future Cookies, Moonhole = Moon Roof, Wonder Woven = Wonder Woman, Ping Dong = Ping Pong

Mr. Uncle arrived in time to join for afternoon cocktails of "Christmas Soda". 

Soon the mini cousins arrived.  (Mini cousins are Mr. Man's Cousin's kids)  Cookies were made for Santa, including a Darth Vader and a Yoda.  AK knows Santa is a big Star Wars Fan. 

We caroled in costume to the neighbors, who loved it!

The best part of the evening was the outfits.  When I was at White Christmas with the Extended Family, I joked that during the Finale, I expected everyone to come to Christmas Eve Dinner at my house dressed just like the dancers in the finale.  Big Red Fur Trimmed Skirts, muffs, and Santa Hats.   Ross's Aunt D, who is someone I aspire to be like, took the idea and ran with it.

 Her family showed up in costume and brought outfits for everyone in attendance.   It made my Christmas!  I couldn't believe she did that.  I had been joking, but we did look mighty festive in our muffs and fur trimmed skirts. I LOVED IT!  We even dressed Zoey up! 

Luke 2 was read and acted out by the children.... 

Santa was tracked by Uncle Mike, thanks to NORAD. 

 

After lots of laughter and good food, our guests went home and it was time to put our kids to bed.  I love our annual picture in Christmas Jammies by the tree.  The kids are always so excited that they wrestle each other instead of posing.  I love that their is a puppy in the middle of the brawl, it just is such a snapshot into our life right now. 

Then... All is calm, All is Bright.

December: Leading up to Christmas

I love Mr. Man, I do, he is loyal, dedicated, a great father, motivated, and the man does not know how to relax. He started his "vacation" with a bang and a plan, "Let's clean out the house!" 

I kept protesting, "Pourquoi? Mr. Man, it's Christmas!  I still have gifts to buy, to wrap, and baking to do."  Mr. Man assured me it would all get done and he was right, even though I threw several tantrums along the way.    We worked as a team and everything came together for the most part.  

The kids decorated Gingerbread houses while Mr. Man & I purged the closets. 

They turned out great, and the best thing I did this year was buy the ones that are pre-assembled, I'll have to remember that for next year. 

Mr. Boys looks a bit like it's frowning, but no worries it's actually a door with two upstairs windows. 

We took one day off and ventured to Universal Studios for the day!  It's just a stone's throw away from our house and we ended up getting passes for the year.   

So very fun, and a fun break from cleaning out closets.

My favorite was that they had an actual Kwik E Mart from The Simpsons. While the studio tour had some fun features, but it wasn't nearly as fun as hanging out with Mr. Man on the Warner Bros lot.  Even Mr. Boy said, "What we can't go into the soundstages? Daddy.. tell them it's okay!"  I don't think Mr. Boy knows that not everyone has a dad who works in the Entertainment Biz. 

One of the nights, Mr. Man arranged for a night out for me to see the musical, "White Christmas" with Mr. Mans extended family and cousins.  Ms. Cousin and I shared lots of laughs during the evening. 

One day Mr. Man and I split up the kids and went on our own "dates".   AK and I headed over to Nordstroms for lunch and some shopping.   We were on the hunt for the holy grail of all gifts for Mr. Boy and were coming up empty handed, yikes!

We attended my company Christmas Party, which I love because it is a family affair.  The kids love it because they get all the root beer they want plus gifts. 

Mr. Boy was hiding out under the table anxiously awaiting his gift. 

We ended the day with a marathon Merry Go Round session on this fabulous Merry Go Round that has Reindeer and Sleighs. 

The house was cleaned out and tidy, the holiday activities complete, the Christmas Cards were mostly out, gifts were purchased, and it was the evening of December 23rd.  Phew!  We had packed in the festivities!

December: The Third Week

We hosted our 5th Annual Cookie Decorating Party.  (Is it really the 5th, if the 4th got rained out?)  Mr. Boy wore his scout uniform, not because he had scouts that day, but because he LOVES Scouts. 

 We learned a valuable lesson the first year, NEVER host the cookie party indoors.  You will still be vacumming sprinkles around the 4th of July. Trust me.

This is one of my favorite gatherings during the holidays. Lots of Sugar, Lots of Kids...

 And Lots of Cookies that look like this.  I swear there is a cookie underneath all those sprinkles.

 There are also lots of cute faces stuffing themselves on cookies, candy, and cupcakes. 

 The last day of school for the year was Pajama Day, I loved that Mr. Boy was brave enough to wear these jammies to school.  It was easy to spot him on the playground at lunch.

 That night was AK's "Nutcracker in a Nutshell" performance where she performed "Waltz of the Flowers".  

The next day, myself and some friends went to Disneyland for the day, but Disneyland was "Closed" that day, in spite of the fact that two of us checked our calendars.  Closed as in, a blackout day for annual passholders.  Have you ever sat 8 children down and said, "Yes, I know we are sitting here at the gates of Disneyland and people are going in, but we can't go today."  Of course, just as we break the news, the monorail whizzes by. filled with happy kids and parents who don't have passes with blackout dates. We tried to make the best of the day and went to the beach for lunch and to play.  I love this playground on the beach, it's one of my favorite spots in the nation.  

 Later, we rode the Ferry over to Balboa Island.  

Our family attended the Church Christmas Party in full Bethlehem attire, with the exception of Mr. Boy who was a Roman Soldier commanding people to be taxed.  I looked more like a nun than an ancient traveler.   Mr. Man was a Jedi Sheppard, who watched over his flock wearing Star Wars sheets, and hauled around LuLu the Rocking Sheep.

 

Guess who had the staring role as "The Baby Jesus" in our church's Living Nativity,  Baby Roller Hand!  AK was so proud of her baby in a manger, and would visit her in the stable and whisper, "It's okay Roller Hand, shhhh, just remember to stay swaddled, and no crying!"

   

And thus begun Mr. Man's two week vacation from work...  

December 2011: The Second Week

Mr. Man and I enjoyed a shared work at home day, which is rare for us.  He and I held hands and stared adoringly at each other while we worked. Maybe that's an exaggeration, but we did chat and enjoy our time together.  Even better, we got the Christmas List hammered out and gifts ordered! PS His new look, makes him look like a zombie.

While not super festive, it was fun and a change from my normal routine.  The good folks at GoGoSqueez, my very favorite snack food, sent over a researcher to document the "A Day in the Life of a GoGoSqueez Mom".  I love their product, and I've declared my love previously.   I'm so tired of feeling like I'm losing the "good food" battle, and GoGoSqueez is my secret weapon in making sure my kids are eating well. 

Charlie (Mr. Research Man) got a peek in Chalet Life, and spent ample time in my filthy mom-mobile shuttling kids around. AK was deep into Nutcracker Practice and that night I hosted a small gathering for some people I volunteer with. 

Zoey, after getting fixed, and her last round of vaccinations as an early Christmas Present, got to finally go out the back gate to explore the "Back 40".   She and Rupert had quite the standoff for their first meeting until Rupert took a good sniff of her rear end and declared to the heard, "It's okay, she's one of those domesticated things!

I attended the annual Holiday Handmade Party again this year.  Last year I made fancy tea towels, that were not a hit.   This year I bought an old frame from a thrift store, painted it white, and made it into a  magnetic chalkboard.  This year I hit a homerun, and it was hit!!

Mr. Man and I attended his swanky company party.   I ended up changing my outfit at the last minute, and ditched the giant flower and the white jacket for something a bit more black. I naturally stuck my foot in my mouth when I implied someone was old who was only 26.  Mr. Man is good to put up with me.

AK & I went to see the "Real" Nutcracker and loved every minute of it.  She was in awe of the dancers and the costumes and can't wait to grow up to be a ballerina.  While we were waiting to go to the performance, we wrote our letters to Santa   AK asked for an American Girl Doll, Monster High Girls, and her very own cup.  She always throws something in her letter that is odd, but sweet.  Last year it was Scotch Tape. 

Mr.Boy had 100 items on his list, but in the end narrowed it down to three.   A skateboard, a leather jacket, and a ridiculously expensive Volcom Hoodie.  The kid has expensive taste just like his mama.

The next day I prepped for our annual Holiday Cookie Party.  While out grabbing the last minute items, I got into a car accident, when someone decided to change lanes and hit my car. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it is a pain in the rear, especially during the Christmas Holiday when you have 10,000 things to do.   I spent my evening baking away my frustration in the form of sugar cookies. 

December: The First Week

Last year, I chronicled our Daily Christmas Activities daily..  It was too time consuming so this year I'm trying to summarize by week.  Each day we try to do something festive for the holidays, and it has been something the kids look forward to each day.  

Dec. 1 - Decorate the Tree

and unpack Christmas Books. 

Dec. 2 - Unpack and Wash Christmas Jammies so they are toasty from the dryer by bedtime. 

They have insisted on sleeping in Santa Hats this month.

Dec. 3 - Mr. Man puts up the Christmas Lights.

Zoey helps.

Squirrel!

Dec. 4 - Elf Dinner  After watching the movie Elf, we were inspired by the scene where Buddy the Elf makes spaghetti for breakfast, topping it with maple syrup, candy, and pop tarts.   The kids wanted to make "Elf's Spaghetti"  so we had it for dinner.

Mr. Man couldn't even watch, he was gagging the whole time.

 They LOVED it!  But could only handle about five bites of it! 

 Dec. 5 - Mr. Man and I have a teeny tiny little side business during the holidays.  It's a fun project to work on together, and Mr. Man is a great business partner.  We talk while we package up stuff to ship out, it's not as glamorous as a date, but it works. 

Dec. 6 - My Dad makes his weekly Tuesday visit, and AK ends up falling asleep with him on the couch while they were talking. That night I went out to celebrate my friend EllJayJay's birthday and ate Alligator for the first time.  It's true, it really does "taste like chicken".  Last year I shared a heartwarming story about how EllJayJay and I became friends. Read it! But fair warning it will make you cry!

 Dec. 7 - We attend Miss AK's Kindergarten performance of "The GingerBread Man"  She is a smash hit as she plays the part of Mrs. Baker. 

 

Later that day, I got a phone call that Mr. Boy got punched several times by a boy in his class.  As I drove to the school, I felt like a Mama Bear, ready to growl and attack those who try to harm my cub.  It reminded me of my mom as she was the Ultimate Mama Bear.