Santa and Some Randomness

Yeah, so I have post ideas, and then I just never open the Dashboard to write them. I get sidetracked with the kids, and don't comment on blogs as well (but rest assured I still read every post in my Google Reader and open most of them thinking I will comment later). Here is one topic I have been thinking about:

I am glad we haven't done the Santa thing. Reading and seeing things on Facebook makes me really glad we don't want the pictures of the kids with the jolly man. The lines. The grumpy Santas. The kids scared of the big man. Yeah, I don't think it is worth it. Now, there are some good pics of kids with Santa too. But, they are not the majority!

So why haven't we done Santa? Well, there was no way AJU5 would have had a picture with Santa before her first Christmas as she got home from the hospital 4 days before and was still on oxygen. Plus, it wasn't even on my radar that year, as I was still recovering from all the insanity that was her birth.

Then there is the whole lying/hiding/being secretive thing. I just don't think it is worth it. I want the kids to actually thank the person who got them things - and you can't really thank Santa... Okay, you could write a thank you card, but it isn't the same. And I am not great at being secretive anyways, so it would be difficult for me.

And then there is the part where we don't go all out at Christmas anyways. With their birthdays so close to Christmas, we only get them a few things. They get enough toys from family that they don't need more and won't really appreciate it, especially at this age.

And then at this age,t hey don't get it anyways really. AJU5 has been watching Saint Nicholas - the Veggie Tales version - a lot lately. Maybe she has a little idea that there is a person called Santa now. But, before that show she was completely clueless. She saw a few Santa decorations, and she thought they were Noah (since she has a few Noah books and a Noah Little People set). It would be a battle to get her to completely understand Santa even at 3, so it is just easier.

Now I just have to remember not to ruin it for my nephews that still believe. Last year I almost blew it because I was telling my sister how the kids only got a few things from us, including the things in the stockings. Luckily the boys weren't listening closely...

I Survived!

I don't know how military wives do it. DH was gone for almost a full week, and I was so ready for him to be home!

He left last Sunday from church, and he got back around 6pm on Saturday. And some how I survived the week with both kids. AJU5 asked where Daddy every day. She actually does this during the week too, but she did it a little more frequently (normally it is just when she gets up, and she will tell me where he is). Of course AJU6 can't talk much, so I don't know how much he noticed.

Luckily it was a fairly busy week. Monday I had to pick up exams and grade them. Tuesday I had to drop them back off at campus so they could be mailed to the students. Wednesday I got a call from the neighbor inviting us to a cookie exchange on Friday. We also had church that night. Thursday was our normal walk and then Cubbies at night. Friday, we went to a Christmas Corral (the Pumpkin Stand transformed), then to the cookie exchange (minus Amos who I left with a friend), and then dinner at the friends'. That was 9 hours away from home - minus a quick run to the potty and grabbing of cookies. Saturday was our church's Christmas potluck, so we were gone for about 4 or so hours as well. Between Friday and Saturday, I bakes two double batches of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and a batch of butter rolls. I also had to make to morning trips to the store as we were out of oatmeal, Crisco, and butter before it was all done. Luckily the "bribe" of cookie making made it easy to get AJU5 out of the house.

I also got one 22 page mini scrapbook album done for my MIL and got all my shopping for the niece, nephews, and husband done. Now I just have a TINY bit for the kids (AJU6 socks and AJU5 tights or leggings) left, plus my mom and sister. Not too bad!

This week will be crazy too. Tomorrow is AJU5's birthday, Thursday I am in charge of Cubbies craft and snack, Finals are this week, and Saturday is the kids' birthday party. So, if you don't hear from me - don't worry!

What We Have Been Up To

We left for the inlaws on Friday, Nov. 19. We left around 11 am, and drove about 11 hours. Then, Saturday, we had "6" hours left (except there was snow, so it was about 7 hours plus we stopped for about 2 hours at family for lunch - you get the picture). We stayed until Saturday (the 27th). We did the same driving - 11 hours the first day and 6 the second - and again there was snow.

The kids did fairly well in the car. We quickly realized AJU5 could actually hold it when there wasn't a potty to stop at. We just rationed her drinking, and we didn't have to stop too much for her. AJU6 had a few fussy times, but in general he was happy sitting next to me in his car seat.

While we were at the inlaws, the kids got to play in the snow a tiny bit. It was VERY cold (below 0 on morning, and it never got over 32), so we didn't stay out long. But, I think they enjoyed it a little bit. The snow was too dry to do much with it though.

Of course we celebrated Thanksgiving while we were there. None of the "extras" came, so there were only 10 of us. AJU5 fell asleep in my lap just before dinner was served, but she woke up before everyone was done (and dessert was served). AJU6 went down for a nap before dessert was over. It was "fun" trying to deal with their nap needs for sure.

Thanksgiving night we let AJU6 have his cake. We knew Friday would be crazy, and since he was born on Thanksgiving, we thought it was appropriate. I baked a banana cake, cut it in the shape of a tractor (with two extra square cakes for the kids), and then frosted with cream cheese frosting. It looked okay and tasted pretty good. We gave AJU6 his square whole, and he picked it up and destroyed the frosting. Then, we cut it, and he ate some. He definitely made a mess and consumed some of it!

The inlaws got the kids a tricycle for birthdays/Christmas, so we let them see that Thanksgiving too. AJU5 was in love, and AJU6 enjoyed it too, even after he hurt himself on the trailer hitch and drew blood. It will be a hit for years to come at their place I bet, as AJU5 can't totally reach the pedals at the shortest seat setting and the uncles enjoyed "riding" it too.

Since then I have been trying to keep my head above water. The term is drawing to a close, so I have had work work to do. Then there is AJU5's actual birthday and their party. Oh, and Christmas cards and Christmas shopping. It is a busy time of year for us!

More Fun

So, after the ick of Saturday morning, things looked up. AJU5 returned to her normal self by 11am, and we were able to run a few errands in the afternoon. Easter Sunday started off great. AJU5 loved her basket and found a few of the eggs before heading to church. Church went well, and we came home to enjoy a nice dinner with a recent widower in our church. After he left, we all ended up napping. When AJU1 woke up, he didn't feel good. It only got worse. He spent about 8 hours running to the bathroom every half hour to hour. Luckily, by Monday morning he was starting to feel better. He spent yesterday home in bed, but today he made it to work. He even survived watching AJU5 last night so AJU6 and I could go to class (he normally goes and we watch at home, but since he wasn't 100% he decided to let me go). Then 12:30am came, and AJU5 woke up throwing up again. Luckily it was a once and done sort of thing. Later today I am taking AJU6 to get his 4 month shots, so hopefully we will all stay healthy...

I actually have a hypothesis as to why AJU5 threw up yesterday. I think she had hidden a pickle somewhere and found it. That girl is getting very sneaky about things, and she LOVES pickles. Based on what I saw last night, it was what she threw up and neither AJU1 nor I had given her one yesterday...

Here are some pictures from Easter. I took the easy route and didn't dye eggs with the kids this year again. We went with the plastic eggs with fun foam stickers (which AJU5 likes to peel off the eggs). Maybe next year I will be ambitious enough to let the kids dye eggs...

Ready!

Baskets are done and out.
Eggs (plastic) are hidden.
Clothes are clean and ready to be worn.
Two parts to dinner are made (deviled eggs and orange jello salad).

Now to wait until morning!

Adjusting

AJU1 went back to work today. There are no plans for holidays or vacations until at least March, so it is time to adjust to the new normal. So far - so good!

AJU5 was a handful last week at times. She has gotten very demanding and will throw a tantrum when she doesn't get her way. There is a hint that this might be partly due to teething, but we aren't sure. Last night, she was also running a temperature (or so I guessed based totally on feel), so I drugged her with Motrin. This morning she has been great. She isn't hot anymore, but she is a little stuffy. So, I drugged her with a little Benadryl before nap time :) I think the stuffiness may just be allergies ebcause AJU6 and I woke up stuffy too (but we have cleared up by now).

So, not to figure out our new "routine" during the week... School starts for me on Monday, but I have a lot of prep work to do. Library storytime starts next week. So, this week will be a good trial run of just normal days. I can figure out when it is best for me to work. I can figure out the best times to figure out what is for dinner (because I haven't had to cook much since November). Hopefully we will get "organized" so AJU5 will be happier and not take things out out AJU6...

And as for that - she kicked him Saturday morning! I had them both in my lap, and she kicked him in the head trying to get him off my lap. Luckily AJU1 and my sister were there, and she got removed from the room. She is definitely jealous of him! She has also requested to be held like a baby (laying in our arms) and requests that he be moved from places where she wants to lay/play. We also learned the hard way to not use her blanket for him EVER! I used it once to cover myself up while feeding him, and she pulled it off. Another time AJU1 had wrapped AJU6 up in it and had him laying on the couch. AJU5 tried to pull her blanket away and almost pulled him with it (luckily multiple adults were there to stop her). Ahh, the joys of two kids!

Are you getting back into the swing of things this week?

Gifts...

I keep giong back and forth. AJU6 has only two gifts from us this year - a duck in his stocking and an outfit under the tree. AJU5 has twice as many - a whole 4 presents! She has two books and a DVD set under the tree and candy in her stocking. Now, part of the reason they have so few things is because they end up with so much from family this time of year. With their birthdays and Christmas all within a month, they get lots of new things. Plus, they are at an age when they don't care who things are from and often forget about presents when they get a new one.

But, then I feel like I am a cheap-skate. AJU5's presents are worth a total of about $20. AJU6's are even less. Now, I bet AJU5 will love the things she is getting. And, I know she will have other gifts too. AJU6 will be totally oblivious to everything, so no issues there either. And, it does mean I don't feel like I am spoiling them other times of the year when I buy them things.

I guess I just wonder what we will do in a few years when they know who is buying them what and expect things. I hope to teach them to be happy with what they get, but I am almost 100% sure that I will have to spend at least a little bit more on them in the future (especially since I spend $20-25 on each of their cousins for Christmas)...

Do you feel like you spoiled your kids this year? Do you feel like you didn't get them enough?

Am I Insane?

So, we are staying home for Christmas. We decided traveling with an almost 1 month old was just not going to be any fun! Luckily, we have friends in town who aren't traveling either, so they are coming over around 12:30 Christmas day. So, it will be 4 adults, a 2 yr old, a 1 yr old, and an almost 1 month old for Christmas dinner!

So, to the insanity part... Here is what I am planning on for dinner;
Turkey (10lb)
Ham
Homemade rolls
Twice baked potatoes
Jelly salad
Olives
Green beans
Sparkling cider

Now, my husband isn't inept in the kitchen, but he is going to be busy entertaining AJU5 Christmas morning I bet... So, I get to do all of that myself - plus feed AJU6 when he is hungry! Hopefully I will survive...

"Wordless" Wednesday - Painting

"Fun" Father's Day

Here is a recap of our day so far:
AJU5 wakes at 11:30pm - I go and lay down with her on the futon in her room for about 30 minutes and then put her back to bed.
AJU5 screams at 1:00am. AJU1 retrieves her and bring her to our bed.
By 1:30, AJU5 leads me to her room and we again lay on the futon. She had led both AJU1 and I to the bedroom and office during this 30 minutes.
5:30am - AJU5 is awake for the day. She wants to see Daddy, and then she leads both of us downstairs for TV watching (one of us is not good enough - that was met with lots of cries).
6:00-7:00 - I dose on the couch while AJU1 studies for Sunday School (he is the teacher) and AJU5 plays.
6:45ish - AJU1 starts breakfast while getting AJU5 a snack. I help finish breakfast when I wake up.
During breakfast, AJU1 opens his Father's Day present - bubbles and water guns. He "covers" AJU5 in bubbles after she is done eating (and still in her chair).
Then, I take a shower. When I get out of the shower, AJU5 is ready for hers (AJU1 had already started it). So, AJU1 and AJU5 both take baths (in separate tubs). After bath, AJU5 is ready for a nap.
8:30-10:15am - AJU5 and I rest. Around 9:30 AJU1 leaves for church (Sunday School is at 9:45).
We make it to church in time - nothing abnormal there (other than missing Sunday School which we did on Mother's Day for the same reason - hmmm...).
After church, AJU1 isn't feeling good. So, he heads home and AJU5 and I stop and get a take-and-bake pizza for lunch.
AJU5 snacks and goes down for another nap before the pizza is ready.
AJU1 and AJU5 both asleep...

It is 2:30 here. All quiet at least! Hopefully AJU1 will feel better when he wakes up. Hopefully AJU5 will be cheer when she gets up. Hopefully I will keep my energy/feeling fairly good up (just allergies and normal nausea).

Oh, and I hate Murphy's Law! Yesterday I returned AJU5's futon to the couch mode because we hadn't had to lay with her in over a month. It made for a long night of snuggling because she liked to lay sideways!
On top of all of this - AJU5 broke out in a rash. At first I thought it might be an allergic reaction. But, the spots I saw got better and new ones appeared. So, I think it is just heat rash!

Oh , Yeah, My Blog...

Life has been a little crazy around here. Sorry for the lack of posts! Hopefully things are calming down though... Nothing major - just the normal life busy-ness - but it is crazy enough.

Easter was nothing too special. I did get AJU5 some plastic eggs and two balls - but that is it. She has enjoyed opening and closing the eggs (and throwing them). The balls have joined the others - coming out when she finds them for some throwing fun and then disappearing for another day. She did get to wear her Easter dress, but no pictures were taken. She needed a bath since she didn't get one the night before, so the morning was a little rushed. Then, when we got home from church (accidentally left camera at home), she got changed quickly because (a) it was kind of chilly around here and (b) we wanted to keep the food off of it. I do have pictures of her eating a chicken leg for the first time though (still on the camera...).

Well, the semester is almost over - which means I am up to my ears in grading... so I better be off...

The New Year

Not much is going on here. We didn't even try to stay up until midnight last night - something we gave up at least 2 years ago. This week AJU1 has been working some on the family room - removing the last bits of the fire place surround and damaged drywall. Now we have to reinstall drywall and get everything put back together. We have finally decided on the layout for the room, which was a big pain because there are 4 doorways/hallways and one cove to work around plus the fireplace.

AJU5 still isn't walking, but she is getting more adventurous everyday. She is standing up a lot more without holding on and is stepping to us without being coaxed. I think she is just working on the balance thing with her large head and all. Hopefully by the end of the month she will be a true walker! She has been sleeping okay - except for the waking up an hour later around 4am this morning. Other than that, she has been going at least 3 hours each time with at least one 4+ hour stretch a night. I am going to start "requiring" 4 hours here soon I think...

We are also weaning her. She no longer nurses during the day and is drink 12-16 oz of milk (with a little yogurt mixed in for flavor) during the day and then nursing to sleep and in the middle of the night. Until she sleeps through the night, this is about as good as we are going to get! AJU1 tried to give her milk out of her cup at 4ish this morning - but she refused it (as she has done for me before).

Now to go be lazy some more! Hope everyone is having a great new year!

Christmas Recap - Minus Pictures...

We left Christmas Eve morning for my parents. They live 10 hours away by car before AJU5, and luckily it was only about 11 hours each way this time! She did fairly well, but she did prefer that I sit next to her (which wasn't very comfortable since her car seat is in the middle).

We were the first ones to my parents. My sister and her son arrived around midnight (he spent Christmas Eve with his dad). My brother and other sister (and their families) arrived just after noon on Christmas Day after doing the Santa thing at home. AJU5 went down for a nap about 15 minutes before they showed up because she was exhausted! She woke up about 2 hours earlier than normal (the time we had left the day before actually), so she missed the first half of the presents. She wasn't too interested in the present anyways!

The opening was a little chaotic! With five kids pulling presents (AJU5 and cousin G were too little to participate in this), there were often 5+ presents being opened at once. But, it was fun none the less. After presents we hung out until dinner time (we had snacks when everyone arrived). The kids played with their new toys and the Wii's (there were 2 hooked up at that point). I got my first experience with the Wii - and enjoyed it. We just don't think we need to spend $400 right now on it (Wii + Fit).

The kids ate dinner while the adults done everything else ready. Then the kids watched a movie and played while we ate (AJU5 ate during all of this because she is a huge eater!). After dinner and dessert (about 2 hours later), my brother and his family went home (and we didn't see them again).

AJU% kept her 5:00-5:30 wake up time the whole time we were there. She also had a 3:00-3:30 time where she refused to sleep in her bed (without a lot of crying). So, our sleep wasn't the best. Luckily with all of the kids to play with and not having much responsibility in terms of cooking, I didn't get too exhausted! Luckily she did go down to sleep on her own - something she didn't do at the in-laws over Thanksgiving!

Friday the big kids went on a hike with the guys. The rest of the day was spent playing as usual. My mom and sisters are addicted to books and tv, so I often spent my time with AJU1 and my brother-in-law (Dad was usually playing with the kids or with us). Saturday we did a little birthday party of AJU5 and her cousin M who had a birthday on the 19th. AJU5 was actually interested in her presents at this point - at least a little - so that was fun. The biggest issue was that cousin G liked her presents too (He will turn 2 in January). Luckily the whole time we were there AJU5 only pulled him down once to get a toy!

All in all, it was a good trip. My mom had her usual blow-ups, but we all survived those. Last night AJU5 slept great - 5 hours then 3 and 3, so we are happy there. Now to get the house done (AJU1 has this week off as well)...

Pictures to come eventually!

Trip in Review...

We left last Monday morning for our trip to the in-laws. We fly Southwest with one de-planing in the middle. With the reduced number of flights, we now have a two hour lay-over each direction in Las Vegas (not my favorite of airports to say the least). AJU5 flew WONDERFULLY! She slept on all four flights! On the way there, we would get in our seat, install her car seat (the flights weren't full so they let us take her seat), and then top her off. I would then put her in her seat and give her a pretzel. Within minutes of takeoff she would be asleep! Once we are done flying, we have a bout 2.5 hours to car travel to the in-laws. This time we stopped twice on the way there. The first stop was about 30 minutes in for a little shopping and delaying. Then we went to my husbands aunt and uncle's for dinner (about 1 hour farther). We were there until AJU5's bedtime, which worked well in that I was able to top her off and get her to sleep just before we hit the road. Unfortunately she woke up fairly close to the in-laws and didn't go to sleep for a while...

Sleep was the hardest part of the trip. She didn't want to fall asleep on her own. We had to rock her until she was cmpletely out and then transfer her to her bed (or let her sleep in our arms for a nap). With the exception of the last two nights, she didn't sleep for more than 2.5 hours at a time either! Needless to say we were exhausted! On top of AJU5 being a sleep hinderance for us, the bed and pillows weren't great, so the sleep we did get wasn't the most comfortable...

AJU5 did get her first YoBaby though. She loved the stuff! We will have to go tot he grocery store tomorrow to get some (we did Costco today for the basics). She also get corn flakes which she liked. But we don't think she liked what we had for lunch on Sunday. We went to a "Chinese" place. I gave her some chicken (fried but the batter peeled off), french fries, and rice. She ate well, but ended up with a very upset stomach! We went through 5 diapers in about 6 hours! She also did a little spit up/throw up action in there too. Luckily once she got it all out of her she slept for 6 hours straight!

AJU5 also got a new word - CAT. The in-laws have an indoor cat named Kitty. AJU5 loved to watch her! She wasn't too interested in touching the cat, but whenever she saw her, she would smile (and stop crying if she had been upset). It Kitty was in my lap, she would come over and "ask" to sit in my lap too and just be near Kitty. It was fun to watch the two of them interact. Kitty would sit near AJU5 but not close enough to be touched. AJU5 would crawl over to Kitty, but normally wouldn't get close enough to touch her.

Teh in-laws bought this instead of a standard high chair. I think I prefer the regular high chair. Food kept falling between the table and the chair. Plus, it is a non-machine washable fabric that kept getting dirty. I washed it in the sink, but vinyl is a lot nicer...

ON the way home, we ended up being delayed in Las Vegas for over an hour. We ended up sitting at a gate other than the one we were to depart from because ours was packed with people on another flight that was delyed two hours (and took off just before ours). We ended up talking to a "couple" - high school seniors - one from Indiana and one from Austrailia. She (Indiana) had spent 5 months in Austrailia studying (friends of the family were there on sabbatical). She met him at school. So, when it was time for her to come back to the States, he came with her (it is summer there, so he was free to travel). They had been traveling for 40 hours so far and weren't to land in Indiana until 2 am local time after all of the delays. I felt sorry for them, but we did have a good time chatting with them while waiting!

Okay, I think that is it... Now that we are home I can be more diligent at reading blogs and posting comments!

X is for...

Well, I can't think of an x word.

So, here is a post about something else...

Today was Thanksgiving. There is a lot to be thankful for:
A house
A job
Food
A wonderful husband
A beautiful daughter
Family
Friends

There are often times I forget about the little things - like clothes - that I should be thankful for. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

To NaBloPoMo or Not....

November is the national blogging month where they want you to blog daily. Now I have to decide if I am going to do it or not. The biggest problem will be Thanksgiving while we are at the in-laws for a week. I don't know if I will be able to blog then or not. I could set up post to automatically post for those days, but I am not sure.

Last night went fairly well. We got our first trick-or-treaters when we were getting ready to go vote. I was upstairs looking to see if we needed our voter id cards or not when the door bell rang. Since I was upstairs, AJU1 got the opportunity to give out candy at Halloween for the first time in his life! We then went a voted - NO LINE! - in a swing state! It was a great choice of when to vote. I will post a picture of AJU5 outside of the voting place later. When we got home, we went ahead and turned on the lights (since I was making dinner anyways). We got more than I expected. We turned off the lights when we went upstairs to put AJU1 to bed. We got one more set of kids while we were getting her in her pjs, and then it was quiet the rest of the night.

Now we are getting ready to go on a short hike this morning with one of my husband's coworkers and his 5 year old son. We are only going as far as the 5 year old can go, so it should be a lot shorter than last weekend! Now to go get ready...

Halloween

My husband never celebrated Halloween growing up. Part of it is because of our beliefs, and part of it is that up until he was 13, it was over a mile to the nearest neighbors (other than his grandparents). The past 6 years we haven't done anything. One year we did play games at a friend's house, last year we had church, and every other year we locked ourselves in our home and watched tv or a movie in the back room. The back room in this house is one of the two rooms that isn't done, so we can't just act like we aren't home. So, we bought some tracts and some candy to hand out if anyone comes by. We aren't going to turn on the front porch light, but the office is on the front of the house and we will probably turn on the upstairs hall light which is visible through the entryway window (two story entry)...

Did we dress AJU5 up? No. She is wearing an orange shirt with a squirral and fall leaves on it. So, she is sort of in a Halloween outfit. I thought about putting her in her cheerleading outfit, but I decided to save it for tomorrow (big game against the other team I root for!).

So, why are we not all for Halloween? Well, first there is the pagan background. We (as a nation) have moved away from some of this, but the ghosts and goblins are still part of the day. Also, there is all of the scary things that I don't think kids need to be exposed to. Plus, what is the redeeming quality of the day? Dressing up? Candy? I think you can give your kids an opportunity to do these things at other times of the year. We will have dress-up constumes and probably have at least one themed birthday party. Candy will be allowed in moderation at other times of the year (and even at Halloween when she is older).

What about Fall Parties? We aren't against these but we also are for them. We go to a really little church, so we don't have one. If the curch did have one, we might go. It just depends...

Feel free to comment about your thoughts on Halloween. Some of our best friends celebrate it - others don't. It is a personal decision...