Garage-Giving

The whole gang

Since we've had kids, Mike and I decided that we will go north for either Thanksgiving or Christmas - but not both. The people up north have unanimously agreed that they want us there for Christmas (which is good, because we like being there for Christmas). So we make a turkey at our house. I announce every year that whoever would like to come is welcome. I am so thankful that this year, everyone took me up on that offer! We had 16 people at our holiday table(s) - my parents and sister, Mike's sister and her family, Mike's dad, and Mike's mom, her husband Bill, and their friend Val. 

Serious ball hockey players

As Thanksgiving loomed nearer, I looked around our house to try to figure out where I was going to seat 16 people. We have no area that is big enough to fit everyone. And while we could spread between rooms, it felt more festive and welcoming to all be together. So I proposed to my dear husband that we eat dinner in the garage. However, we live in Minnesota and November is not known for its unheated garage-friendly temps. Mike is the owner of several propane and electric heaters, so I knew we could heat it up if we tried.

While not entirely onboard with the plan (as it was my brainchild and his labor), Mike gamely hung plastic on the rafters to keep the heat in, hung Christmas lights because I wanted it to be "pretty," and set up the garage for dinner. We had a beautiful, snowy day with pretty mild temps and the garage held the temp very well. We jokingly referred to the meal as "garage-giving" and all agreed that it was a wonderful success. We were together and it was wonderful to share our meal with so many loved ones! 

The best part of garage-giving: a rousing ball hockey game as soon as the meal was over! Perfect way to keep the big, medium, and little boys - and the blondes - busy during clean up. The only downfall was that we had the food set up in the dining room inside and I don't think people overindulged as they may have if it was right in front of them. Although we didn't have too many leftovers ...

We also took advantage of the snow and lovely balmy temps and went sledding once dinner (and the ball hockey game) were done. More on that coming up in the next post!

Little Hostess

Sweet Quinn is such a wonderful little hostess. The kitchen down in the playroom is her domain and she always has a plan for what she is making (and oh the woe if the sibs do not fall in line with the plan!). The duplos have come out upstairs and her most favorite thing is to make a birthday cake out of blocks. For me or dad. For a sib. For a baby doll. For Yogi. The living room is in a constant state of decorated for a party.

For the first time this year, Ms. A is doing a Thanksgiving potluck with the kids. Quinn and I discussed our options and decided to sign up for bread/rolls. Then instead of putting rolls on the grocery list, we decided to make pumpkin bread together. So Saturday afternoon, we set up in the kitchen and she put all the ingredients in (except the eggs - we figured our friends didn't need to eat shells) and did alot of the stirring. My arm was thankful for the stirring break!

On Sunday, both girls joined me to make the pumpkin cupcakes for Thanksgiving. They got the cutest aprons from my cousin Rachel last year for Christmas and both went running downstairs to get their aprons so they were properly attired. They took turns putting in the ingredients and stirring. There was also some quality control tasting - just to be sure Mom didn't miss any ingredients. 

And tonight, we ate the "basgetti" (spaghetti) pie that Quinny helped me make yesterday. Girlfriend is quickly learning her way around the kitchen - and she can already throw an top notch duplo cake party.

Brace Yourself

You may remember that at the last spina bifida clinic day, we were told that Fiona needed braces for her feet to correct the collapsing in of her ankles. In early November, we headed to meet Mr. John, who casted her feet for the molds. She was mostly patient with the process, although slightly annoyed that we had to cast her right foot twice. We entertained Mr. John by singing with her, telling stories, and all sorts of "entertain the 5 year old" things.

On Thursday, Fiona and I packed her a bag of dry cereal (mom of the year) that she then had to share with her chirping sibs in the back seat until we dropped them off at A's - because heaven forbid they didn't get to eat immediately as well ... ha! And then went to meet Mr. John again to get her braces fitted. The blue butterfly braces were quite a hit. The three revisions on the sizing was not. I kept explaining to her that we wanted them to fit just right, but she was annoyed by the "see John for five minutes and he disappears for 10 to make adjustments" routine. Plus she was very concerned about being late for school.

The fit met Mr. John's satisfaction and the cut met mine (we cut them off a bit shorter on the bottom so she still can go up on her tiptoes while wearing them). AND we made it to school right on time. Whew!

We need to go shoe shopping to find some shoes that will fit over the braces. And since she is my short sock girl, we need to go buy higher socks. But she's been wearing them an hour or so at home over the last few days to start getting used to them (thanks to a high sock loan from little sis!) and so far, so good. She has a great attitude about them and seems to feel more secure in the ankle area. Little sibs are sufficiently impressed (and a tinge jealous) and her buddies Jack and Coop were also amazed last night by her "metal shoes." She likes that she still has decent range of motion in them.

Blue butterflies don't hurt either.

A New Chapter

First school picture!
(really, they couldn't have
tucked that stray hair ...)

We are in a nice bedtime rhythm right now (except tonight, when the girls lost their book. because one can only say "settle down" so many times. Especially when they eventually start running and screaming half a second after you remind them. I digress ...). We read and sing to Declan while the girls brush their teeth, and then after he gets popped in his crib, the girls and I snuggle up on the couch to read together.

I decided to change it up last weekend and started telling them about Chapter Books. There was a warning that the Chapter Books didn't have very many pictures and we could only read part of it each night. That was a strange concept to them. We wouldn't finish the book!?!? Can you really do that?

I still remember the first time my mom read a Chapter Book to me (Charlotte's Web) and it was such a magical new world. I've been putting a lot of thought toward which book we would start with and it felt like such a big choice. I finally settled on Beezus and Ramona. The sister dynamic felt like it would be a fun fit for the blondes - and I knew they would get a kick out of Ramona's antics. 

The girls are doing very well with their first foray into the world of chapters. Bugs is really intrigued and Quinn is hanging in there with the adventures of "Beezus and Arona" (hee hee!). They were sufficiently scandalized by Ramona writing in a library book. Of all things! They have fun guessing what will happen next when we stop each night.

Hopefully we will return to the book tomorrow - assuming our listening ears are in better working order.

A Beautiful November Day

As Mike and I held our coffee tight this morning and the kids watched a cartoon, we talked about what we wanted to do today. The last few weekends have been really busy and we haven't had the opportunity to just live in the moment on a Saturday for a while. We've had fun, so there are no complaints - it was just a nice feeling.

Mike was feeling overwhelmed by some of the outside projects that needed attention, so I sent him outside to work. He brought the girls with him and I put Dec down for a nap (partly so I could shower). Dec was still awake in his crib when I was done, so I let him out - I was impressed that he had played nicely for the whole time. We headed outside to join the gang and see how we could help. After gathering some sticks in the yard and throwing them in the fire pit, we joked about starting a fire. The crisp chill in the air was enough to turn our joke into reality. The kids thought it was fantastic to sit in their chairs and watch the fire. The roasted marshmallows didn't hurt their enthusiasm either!

After rest, we decided to rake up the few leaves that have settled in the front yard since we finished the fall raking. We underestimated the amount of leaves trapped along the fence line! We had a HUGE pile in the front yard, to the great joy of our three resident leaf jumpers. They all helped us move the pile from the fence line to the front yard and then ran, jump, twirled, safety fell, and were thrown by dad into the giant pile. Poor Mike had to un-winterize the trailer so we could pile it full of leaves and make trip number five to our neighbor's farm to dump them in the field.

It was a glorious fall day outside and we all enjoyed the fresh air and fun, which was made even by marking a couple things off the to-do list.