Christmas Was Cold

Fairy garden!

Christmas morning dawned, bright, sunny, a few snow flurries, and cold. Like really, really cold. Like some twenty odd degrees below zero cold. Brrrrr! Luckily, it was holly, jolly, and warm inside Gma and Gpa's house.

We sang Happy Birthday to baby Jesus and then checked out our stockings. Santa comes to Gma and Gpa's every year and fills everyone's stockings. But he also swings by our house and leaves their presents under our tree (which they open when we get home). Santa's stocking game did not disappoint and everyone was pleased with their contents. The girls got JoJo bows, which delighted them to no end. If you don't know what a JoJo bow is (I didn't), it's a ginormous bow for their hair. Like really big! But they love them - and look cute as can be. Dec got some Hot Wheels and a superhero Lego set.

Hulk action figure

The morning was such fun and everyone got gifts that they loved. I was thrilled when I opened a new Nespresso coffee/espresso maker. Mike and I have been having the best time experimenting with it. His lattes are just as good as Caribou's. And much cheaper! Fiona was delightfully surprised by a fairy garden from Auntie and Dec was super pumped with his Lego sets and Hot Wheels stunt track. Quinn was so excited with the How To Draw book, sketch pad, and erasable colored pencils we got her.

After presents, we got ready, convinced Mike's car to start despite the cold, and headed over to Tracey and Kyle's for Mike's family Christmas. I love how laid back our celebration is there. We eat, relax, and hang out together. Low key and perfect. We were all sad that Gma and Gpa N were not able to make it over due to the weather - but Gpa V was there and that made everyone happy! There was a saxophone concert, video game challenges, lots of Barbie playing, and treat sneaking.

Learning to draw a penguin

The two littler ones could have used an afternoon nap, so we snuggled on the couch and watched Cars 2 with cousin Nate. Dec loved it and will tell anyone who will listen that the bad guys were so silly because they thought Lightning McQueen would say "Ka-Boom" when he actually says "Ka-Chow."

We headed back to my parents' house just before dinner and gave short people some very needed baths. It was early(ish) to bed for the gang. After it was quiet downstairs (which did not take long), we broke out the new game that Tracey had given Mike for his birthday - "Fun-Employed."

You guys, it is the most ridiculous game ever and we laughed harder than I've laughed in years. It was hysterical and so so so SO inappropriate. PSA: best played with alcohol. But we had the very best time. And my sister and I almost fell off our chairs when my dad asked my mom to tell him "more about your Resting B*tch Face."

Matching jammies

Auntie Tracey got out her big camera ...

and captured them perfectly

She also captured a photo of the JoJo bow

My sister during Fun-Employed

Christmas Eve with the Cousins

Alternate Title: The Last Day with Above Zero Temps for the Foreseeable Future

Christmas Eve morning, we got up bright and early to get the girls ready to go out with Auntie to her annual high school friends brunch. Bugs goes every year and Q decided to join this year as well. They had the best time with Auntie and her friends and enjoyed Auntie's looser breakfast rules (like hot chocolate). Dec fully enjoyed having Mike and my undivided attention for a while before church.

We met the girls and Auntie at church - as well as the rest of the cousins. Dec and Otto could barely contain themselves, hugging each other and then walking into the sanctuary hand-in-hand, leaving all the rest of us behind. By the time we got settled, we took up the entire sidewall pew AND all six kids had decided to sit by each other. We made it about 10 minutes before Anna and Liv took them all to the nursery. They were simply too excited to see each other to be quiet. After the service, they ran around the fellowship hall on Christmas cookie and lemonade highs. They played chase, kicked balls, rolled on big balls, and watched Hux run into a table and give himself a black eye.

Mama tried but nap was pretty much a bust. It's hard to control the excitement level on Christmas Eve. So we threw in the towel and bundled up while the weather was still "warm" (again, relatively speaking) to meet Anna and Otto for Christmas Eve sledding. It's another one of our very favorite traditions and we were so glad the weather cooperated enough this year.

We laughed, avoided running into trees, continued to haul children up the hill, froze our cheeks, and relished our time together. We stayed out for maybe 25 minutes before the kids got cold, and then we headed over to B's house for the annual Johnson family party. There were 26 of us there this year and we ate, drank, and were very very merry! The kids played together so well and at one point, we realized they were all down in the basement with no adult supervision. And doing just fine. (Note: not Milo. He's good, but at not quite a year, we do supervise him)

We stayed until 8:30 or so and then headed back to Gma and Gpa's to put out cookies, write a note to Santa, read The Night Before Christmas, and settle our brains for a long winter's nap.

Up North and Outside

We headed up north last Saturday on our first official day of Christmas break. The girls had school through the 22nd and Mike worked on that Friday too. Dec and I had the day off and spent it doing all the laundry, packing all the stuff, and building all the Hot Wheels tracks. We were all so excited to hit the road on Saturday morning and couldn't wait to find some more snow!

The road trip was fairly uneventful - which was eventful in itself. Nobody puked. Nobody threatened to puke. Q threatened to threaten to puke - but a giant burp later and all was well. We stopped just over halfway at a little cafe in Garrison and made really good time (which karma punished us for on the drive home). I fixed the portable DVD player en route, astonishing us all. It just wouldn't be a Christmas trip north without our Mickey's Christmas carols show.

The weather forecast for break was bone-chilling cold. Like days on end without getting above zero. So when the weather was "warm" (relatively speaking), sunny, and not windy on Saturday afternoon, we put on our gear, grabbed Gma, Gpa, and Auntie and headed to the town sledding hill. The snow was well-packed and the hill was really fast. It was also very sloped to the left (I remember that now from back in the day) - so we were in constant danger of going over the embankment or running into the tree and/or fence. But we had soooooo much fun!

Auntie did not account for the sloping on the first run (to be fair, none of us did) and Fiona made it about a third of the way down the hill before she went over the embankment. Then later, I scraped up my back when I took the sled to the spine to stop Fiona and I from going over it. Mike and Quinn ran into the fence. Dec was the power rider and he and Auntie slid almost all the way to the parking lot once. It was death-defying and giggle-inducing. And just the best time.

The kids wanted to warm up, so we headed back to Gma and Gpa's to decorate Christmas cookies. All three were really into the process and were taking such pride in their work. Lots of creativity and good sharing of frosting and sprinkles. It was clearly fun because I had to take the sprinkles dispenser apart to wash all the frosting off of it when they were done! Gma also learned that all three Vanneste children like burned cookies too. Looks like she and Mike are the only two non-burned cookie eaters.

After dinner, we bundled back up and went for a moonlight walk in the woods. This is something we did two years ago and loved it. Last year, the weather didn't cooperate and we greatly missed our walk tradition. We were so happy to be able to do it again!

It was only a crescent moon, so we also grabbed several flashlights. Gma and Gpa had packed trail for the last few weeks, so we had a great sled path. It was a lovely way to get out and enjoy the woods and each other. Dec and Fiona even took a couple runs down the little sledding hill. But it was pretty tame compared to our earlier sledding adventure.

When we got back home, Grandpa built a fire and the kids enjoyed sitting in front of it and watching the flames. Then after they went to bed, Yogs enjoyed taking a nap by it. Such a fun first day!

Our Weekend? Don't Ask.

Unsure

I took Friday afternoon off because I needed to use or lose some vacation before the end of the year. I ran a few errands, finished the last tiny bit of Christmas shopping, and came home to finish most of the wrapping. I was feeling pretty good about our holiday readiness and was looking forward to a relatively quiet and fun weekend. BIG. MISTAKE.

As Mike and I drove to pick up the kids, I mentioned to him that lice was going around school and Q had alarmed me by scratching her head like crazy in the morning. He assured me that I was doing my usual overreaction. When we got home, I asked him to check her head - just to make me feel better. He did. I was right. Lice. And I definitely did NOT feel better. I immediately called up the Ladibugs clinic to see if we could get in. Because it was already 5:30 at night, they were setting up appointments for Saturday morning. I made one of those. And then sent Mike out to get an over-the-counter treatment so we could at least do something that night.

Crazy hair

While he was gone, Bugs tripped in the dining room, sending markers flying to the far corners of the house, and ripping her big toenail in half. While I was trying to trim her nail to a point where it wouldn't hurt her anymore, I heard a huge crash in the kitchen. Because Declan had fallen off the counter. And then I understood how the universe was going to play the weekend.

We got treatment in Q's hair and were just putting plates in front of people when my phone rang. It was the lice clinic. They had a no show and if we were willing to leave in the next 10 minutes, they would squeeze us in that night. Executive decision ... off we went. Turns out everyone had lice to some degree. Q's was the worst. Mike had one nit total. And Dec, Fiona, and I were all extremely mild cases. We opted to do the obscenely expensive heat treatment on all three female heads. Which meant we left Ladibugs at 9:17 Friday night. In case you don't remember, our people do not stay up that late. But these kids. They were troopers and exceeded all expectations for behavior.

Coping

Family up north who will see us in a few short days and who are considering what your casual cancellation excuse will be to not see us because of the aforementioned lice situation ... fear not. The reason we paid an obscene amount of money (and it really really was) is because the treatment kills the bugs AND the nits immediately. Like it's done. Game over, lice. And we go back for a "complementary" recheck before we head north this weekend. So you can hug us with full confidence that our heads are free and clear. Casually cancel your casual cancellation!

So ... we got home, had to strip the kids' beds, vacuum mattresses, treat Dec's hair, feed them something because they only got a few bites of their dinner. And eventually put them to bed around 10:30. OMG. Then Mike and I ran around like crazy people, putting most of our worldly possessions in garbage bags on the deck (to freeze treat), vacuuming, covering couches with sheets, treating Mike's hair, etc. Thank the heavens that the kids slept until after 8:00 Saturday morning!

Winter Wonderland

We spent Saturday doing more laundry than I ever want to do in a single day ever again. We also took all three kids to the dentist, where, again, they were so well behaved! We made some Christmas cookies and did our best to not let the unexpected curveball ruin the weekend. Overall, we did well with that goal. The universe, however, didn't let up. While I was combing out Mike's hair on Saturday, Dec went running by, saying "mama, I have to poop." Followed shortly by "mama, I didn't make it." He also cried so hard while I was combing out his hair that he made himself puke. And then had another accident on Sunday morning. We had a discussion about not creating more laundry for mommy!

By dinnertime, we were done. So we went out for Mexican food. The kids and I coped with chips and salsa and Mike and I coped with a giant margarita. Q really enjoyed the chips and salsa and almost took other peoples' hands off if they were in her way for the salsa bowl. Then we made our annual trip to Winter Wonderland. Which we enjoyed just slightly less than usual in our fall fleece coats, no hats, and no mittens (all the winter gear was still in quarantine).

Don't mind us. Just out in
December with no hats ...

We took the sheets off the couches today and all rejoiced at the return of the pillows and throw blankets. I'd say we didn't realize how much we loved them until they were gone. But we did. We knew we loved our pillows and blankets. It was a long few days without them.

The weekend was not what we had planned. But we had fun. We laughed uncontrollably at Mike needing to pee after Winter Wonderland. We made cookies. We ate our weight in salsa. We watched The Polar Express. We survived. And we took a leap of faith on Monday morning and put hats back on our heads.

Buddy the Elf Would Be Proud

"I planned out our whole day: First, we'll make snow angels for two hours, and then we'll go ice skating, and then we'll eat a whole roll of Toll-House cookie dough as fast as we can, and then to finish, we'll snuggle." This is a) a line from one of our favorite Christmas movies, Elf and b) a pretty solid description of our last Saturday, where we did all.the.things and had a lot of fun.

We started the day with some Christmas coloring, some yogurt and fruit to tide us over, and holiday headbands.

Then we headed off to see Santa. We ate breakfast, did crafts, talked to the big guy, and petted a reindeer.

On the drive home, the kids looked longingly at the sledding hill. And because we are suckers, we helped everyone into full winter gear and trudged on over to the hill with three kids and three sleds in tow. The kids discovered the fun sledding hill jumps (or "bumps" as D called it). By the end, they all wanted to "jump the bump." We enjoyed the fact that they could all bring their own sleds back up the hill. And enjoyed even more that they invited us to join them for a few runs.

After sledding, we came home, ate a quick lunch, and tried to convince super tired people to take a short nap. They were too amped up and no one slept. But mama tried.

Then it was off to Marvel Universe Live at the Excel. We got up there with plenty of time, so picked a less expensive, farther away parking spot. Sometimes you need to take a break during the long walk to your seats.

The show was so much fun and Dec lived his best life there. He was captivated the entire time. Mike even saw him waving his arms in his seat during the final battle - as if he thought he was part of it too. Spiderman was his very favorite part. Especially the part where Spiderman "didn't know how" to ride a motorcycle. "I-RUN-MAN" was not so bad either.

Fiona was very nervous during the first part, but finally realized it was pretend and really enjoyed the second half. I could hear her belly laugh several times. She thought Groot and his only words ("I am Groot") were hysterical. Quinn enjoyed it, but perhaps should have participated in that nap thing that was suggested earlier in the day. She was pretty squirrely during the second half. But she was not disruptive and didn't ruin it for anyone. So we'll take it.

When the show was done, we bundled up and headed outside to walk through Rice Park and see the Christmas lights. It was so pretty! We also walked over to the Landmark Center to see the outdoor skating rink. We knew it would be tight with dinner time, so we didn't bring our skates along. But some year, we will definitely go up there to skate. [In case you thought Quinn was 100% mine, when we were watching the skaters on the rink, a girl fell down and Q let out the biggest laugh. She is also her father's daughter!]

We wrapped up the day with dinner on the way home at Noodles. There was lots of conversation around our favorite parts of the day, the amazing motorcycle scene in the Marvel show, why mommy won't let daddy have a motorcycle, and how many candy canes are too many to eat in a single day. And then, to paraphrase Buddy the Elf, to finish, we snuggled.