Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve was spent at home with my babies. I cooked, cleaned, and played. Tralee helped me make a birthday cake for Jesus, and we ate a piece for dessert after dinner. We even lit some candles and sang Happy Birthday to our Elder Brother. The kids were bathed, we watched some Christmas movies, and we spent a cozy night together waiting for Santa to come AND for Daddy to come home. We had a long day of prep and play, and before I knew it, it was time for sugar plums to dance in my children's heads, so I put them to bed and waited for Santa to come. Before tucking them in we played with our nativity and I told them the story of Jesus' birth, and reminded them once more why we celebrate Christmas. Even with all the excitement, it didn't take long for my babes to drift into their dreams. I promptly went downstairs and finished preparing for Santa's arrival.

Here's what the living room looked like after Santa's visit:

I went to bed late, and couldn't really fall asleep cause I was so excited for Jim to come home! I was also excited for Christmas to come!!

Jim finally made it home in the middle of the night and he and I spent a few hours laughing, talking, and wondering what the babies would think when they saw Jim AND when they remembered it was Christmas. Jim and I finally got a few winks when Tralee wandered into our bedroom (like she does most mornings), climbed into our bed, rolled over and saw Jim, and instantly became glued to him. She kept saying, "Oh!!!" She couldn't believe her eyes. Hunter was excited too when he woke up and noticed Daddy was home, but not as much as Tralee. Tralee's a little Daddy's girl. After all the excitement of having Jim home wore off a bit we asked, "Tralee and Hunter, do you want to see if Santa came?" That brought a whole new level of wonder, so off we went to see if we were good little boys and girls.

The consensus was we were all on the nice list. Tralee had been asking for a "Puffing Pig" (among other things) for weeks. Every time we talked about Santa, or saw Santa, she mentioned the Puffing Pig game. She even told her friends, "Santa's going to bring me a puffing pig." Sure enough, the game (which is really called Pop the Pig) was waiting for Tralee with a letter from Santa. Tralee couldn't believe her eyes, and as she crept up to it a breathless "Whoa!" escaped her lips. Jim and I started playing a game of Pop the Pig with Tralee right away, and became a bit confused when Tralee ran away scared. We figured out she thought the pig was REALLY going to explode and its insides were going to get everywhere. We showed her this wasn't the case, and she warmed up to it again. Since Christmas morning I think we've playing Pop the Pig about a million times.
Hunter on the other hand, wasn't all that impressed with all the gifts. Probably because they just looked like red and green boxes and not toys. The gift he did like right away was a ball that was wrapped up. Hunter loves balls, and before this ball was even unwrapped, Hunter was rolling it around. Imagine his joy when he realized, he didn't have to play with it wrapped up in silly Christmas wrapping paper. Other than that, he wasn't very interested in unwrapping gifts. Tralee was quite the opposite, so we let her help Hunter with his. She frantically unwrapped each gift and then exclaimed, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Look! Look! Look!" It was really cute.

Tralee even helped Corky with her stocking.

Candy for breakfast? Yes, please.

Tralee got some princess shoes. As soon as she unwrapped them she ran up to her room and put on a dress. I guess princess shoes and pj's don't go together.

Hunter's favorite present was this ball game thing. He kept going, "Whoa!!!" and then cracking up as each ball popped out. Tralee also had fun playing with it.

And. . . . here's the aftermath:

We didn't get it cleaned up until the next day. In fact, later that day Jim and I let the kids play with all their new toys while we went and took a nap in our new bed we got each other for Christmas. But, before that we ate Christmas brunch.

When I grew up in Wisconsin, where all my family is from, our Christmas tradition was eating Christmas brunch at Nana's house. It's still a tradition there, but since I can't be there, I fix the same Christmas brunch for my family:

Frozen Peaches

Creme filled crepes with raspberry sauce

Ham

Quiche Lorraine

Kielbasa

Cherry Kringle

Cranberry bread

and give or take a few more menu items

It's just not Christmas without crepes, quiche, and all the rest.

We had a wonderful Christmas together as a family. We all spent the day in our pajamas (except Tralee who probably changed outfits five or six times), we watched Christmas movies snuggled up together, played games together, ate yummy food, played pretend (Tralee got a princess castle and she and I spent a few hours playing pretend), we called and talked to family, took naps, ate more yummy food, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was perfect!

I hope that everyone else had a wonderful holiday as well.

Christmas Eve Eve

Two nights before Christmas Audie, myself, and all of our kiddos went to the Idaho Botanical Gardens to see their display of Christmas lights. The husbands were still in Oregon working, so this was our last hooray as single moms before Christmas. Despite the chilly weather, we had a blast.Hunter was fine as long as we kept walking. He didn't like it when we stopped. The only time he behaved when we were standing still was when we were in the tent that was handing out hot chocolate and cookies. He was fine just sitting there with a cookie in his mouth and hot cocoa to sip on.
The picture below looks like the girls are singing Christmas carols. They're not, but let's just pretend they are. It looks cuter that way.

More lights.

You may or may not believe this, but one of Santa's reindeer was there! The kids got to pet him! I think it was Prancer. It could have been Dancer. . . I forget.

Jovie, Audie, and Oaks pictured below.

Next picture is Hunter, Oakley, Tralee, me, and Jovie. See that white spot in the corner? That's Audie's glove. So, I guess we're ALL in this picture.

We had a great night, but Tralee was SOOOOOO overtired she fell asleep in two seconds when we were driving home.

Next up? CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Night Out

The kids and I met up the the other Jacobs clan at the mall on Saturday. We window shopped, ate at the food court, and sat on Santa's lap. Good times.

Jovie and Tralee waiting to sit on Santa's lap. In case you were wondering, Tralee put her outfit together. Lovely.

Hunter waiting in line. Look at Oakley's face in the background. She wasn't happy about something. Don't worry Oaks, it's almost our turn to see Santa.

This was the first year Tralee walked right up to Santa without trepidation. She also got right down to business. After the first hug she said, "I want a toy that goes like this." Then she started to mimic rocking a baby. Cute!

Hunter, Oakley, Jovie, and Tralee sitting with Santa. This was the first year Hunter saw Santa too, but he was more impressed with all the fake snow surrounding the photo area than seeing the Man-in-Red.

If you're thinking, "Wow! These next few pictures look like they belong in a Pottery Barn catalog, you would be close! We were in the Pottery Barn store. Tralee and Jovie both took a chair and started reading the books Santa gave them. A few minutes later Tralee said, "We're relaxing!" They're too cute!

That was our big night out.

Simple, fun, fantastic!

Tired Self Partaking of Some Love Soup

If you know me well (I mean REALLY well) you know I'm not the most pleasant person to be around when I'm running low on sleep. I'm a brat really if I don't get a solid six or so. The last few nights have been rough in the shut-eye department. The night before last Tralee peed the bed which woke everyone up when I started the steam cleaner. Jim's out of town, so I had to deal with this situation all by my lonesome. After I got everything cleaned up, and the laundry going, I was too wired to fall back asleep. When I finally started drifting off, I heard Hunter's morning request, "MILK!" loud and clear which was my cue to get up and fulfill my motherly duties. A sippy cup full of milk later, and I was able to lay back down for a bit while the kids climbed all over me. I rested, but the sandman stayed at bay.

Last night Hunter woke up at 4am, a bit earlier than usual with his milk request. I got him his sippy cup and an hour later he fell back asleep (thankfully), but I had some stuff for my primary lesson I needed to finish, so I just stayed up and took care of it. Again, when I finally felt like I could fall back asleep the kids were up and ready to groove. Jim's usually the one to get up with the kids in the morning and let me sleep an extra hour or so before he leaves for work. I LOVE him for that, but when he's out of town, I get no extra hour. So, to sum it up, I'm TIRED!!!

I was hoping for a nice Sunday nap after church today. I thought to myself, "If I feed the kids, and then put on a movie, maybe I can sneak into my bedroom and take a little snooze." Yeah, that didn't happen. Hunter followed me in, and began using my body as a launching pad to jump from. I layed him down a few times and sternly told him, "It's time for night night! Go to sleep!" He laughed in my face. I tried laying him in his own bed, then going back to my own, only to hear Tralee and Hunter jumping on his bed squealing with delight a few minutes later. They eventually found their way back into my bedroom where I was finally getting to that super comfortable state right before you drift off to sleep. They climbed up by me as I pretended I was sleeping, hoping they would give up on me. They didn't. Tralee started whispering in my ear, "Mommy. I'm still hungry. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. I'm hungry!" I still didn't move until the fowl aroma of Hunter's dirty diaper seeped into my nose. At this point I slammed the covers off of me, got up and said (maybe it was more like I yelled), "FINE!! I give up!!!"

I went about my motherly duties with a grump on my face. I changed Hunter's bum (for the third time today) while asking him, "Didn't you JUST poop after church? Why did you go and poop again?" I fixed Tralee another plate of food while lecturing her, "If you were still hungry you should have told me while I had all the lunch stuff out earlier!" So basically, I was a tired grump. In the middle of one of my scowls I noticed Tralee tentatively creeping into the kitchen, then she said in a voice that could melt butter it was so sweet,

"Mom. You're mad at me, but you need to be patient too. You're a grown up. I'm a little girl."

Yup.

I melted.

I ran over to Tralee, scooped her up into my arms, and told her how much I love her. I apologized for yelling, and told her that she's such a good girl. I fixed her more food with an extra dollop of love, and vowed to not let my grumpy tired self take over again. . . EVER!

I know what I signed up for when I decided to become a mother, but not really. People always tell you it's the hardest job in the world, but you can't really understand what "hard" is until you're up all night pacing the floor with your sick child praying that they'll just get comfortable enough to fall back asleep. Wishing that you could get EVERY sickness for them so they never have to feel pain. People also warn, "you'll be tired" but that doesn't even cover half of what I sometimes feel. The kind of tired I feel as a mother is completely different than the tired I've ever felt before. And it never goes away.

And then there's the worrying. Worrying that you're not a good enough mom. Worrying that you didn't spend enough quality time with them today. Worrying about too much TV time. Worrying that they didn't eat enough fruits, veggies, and protein. Worrying that their teeth will rot if you let them eat another piece of candy. Worrying that you didn't read to them enough, or spend enough learning time with them. Worrying that every time you sit on the computer, decide to clean, or work on a craft you're neglecting the quality time you SHOULD be spending with the babies. Worry what someone would think if they dropped in and saw your house looking the way it does (like a giant toy box puked all over the floor). Worrying about other kids being nice to them on the playground. Worrying about the runny nose they have and praying that it doesn't turn into a full fledged cold. The worrying also never ends. Yet, if I could go back in time to my childless self, I would sign up all over again for this crazy train of parenting. Yes I'm tired a lot, and yes my house is NEVER clean, and YES sometimes I lock myself in my closet just to get a minute to myself. But as crazy as it sounds, it's all worth it. Every hour of sleep I've lost, every cold dinner I've eaten, every stain on our furniture from leaky sippy cups or paint covered fingers, is all worth it for the moments that melt me into a goopy soup of love.

People warn you that you'll never love a being as much as you will your kids. I ALSO knew this to be true, but not really. I didn't know that I could sit and stare at my child's sleeping face all hours of the night and feel like my heart would burst with love for them. I wasn't aware that watching my child accomplish one of their milestones (crawling, walking, climbing, talking) would feel like the proudest moment of my life. Even more proud than when I graduated from college. I didn't know that I would tear up so easily when my three-year-old begins to understand the concept of Christmas. I've never laughed so hard, as when my kids do or say something so funny I laugh until my sides hurt. Then there are the teaching moments, moments where my kids teach me something (like tonight, with Tralee innocently explaining to me our positions, "you're a grown up. I'm just a little girl.") where I realize just how brilliant, smart, and innocent they are. I wasn't aware of the heart melting capabilities children hold in a glance or a simple sentence. Only my kids could turn me from a brat into a puddle of love in two seconds flat.

Oh how I love them, and I so badly want to be the mother I'm capable of. Cause these two:

They deserve the best.

My Apologies

Dear Man in Blue Jacket at Walgreens,

I'm so very sorry my daughter kept pointing at you while saying, "Mom look! There's an old man!" I know the fact that my face turned bright red as I muffled to you, "I'm sorry" was enough for you to know that I was mortified by my daughter's actions. I also know the fact that she began to sing a made-up song about an old man while we continued our shopping x-ed out my red-faced apology. Thank you for graciously saying, "Well, she's got that right, I AM an old man" instead of giving us the evil-eye. Just to inform you, I explained to my daughter on the way home about how it isn't always polite to call those in your generation "old" . . . at least to their faces. If we ever meet again, I hope it's in less awkward circumstances.

Best to you and yours,

Mother of the Three-Year-Old who Repeatedly Pointed at You While Calling You Old

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Dear Woman in a Scooter in Line in Front of Us at Winco,

I'm very sorry my daughter pointed at your hair and said, "look Mom, she has bird brain hair." I know the fact that she said to you, "I like your bird brain hair" didn't make it any less embarrassing for the both of us, but hopefully the knowledge that she's only three will make it a bit more understandable. I have no idea where she learned the term "bird brain" but as far as I can tell, she thinks it's a positive. Furthermore, I thought you, your husband, and your hair all looked lovely and I hope there are no long-lasting hurt feelings. I wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Mother of a Three-Year-Old that Needs a Lesson or Two in Manners

New Crafty Center

Jim just finished my craft cabinet he's been working on for me. He built it out of a couple of old doors he found at thrift stores and

I LOVE IT!

There's still a bit of tweaking to do, but for now all my craft stuff looks to much nicer than it did before.

Thank you Jim! Thank you for being so creative, kind, and manly. I love when you build me stuff.

Many cute crafts are waiting to be made right here.

Quite a WHAT?

Tralee loves to sing. She loves to make up her own songs, substitute words in songs she already knows, belt out the old classics, she just LOVES to sing. Sometimes Jim and I scratch our heads at some of her lyrics. For instance, she likes the old classic, Mary had a Little Lamb. She says it's a "purple" song. Purple and pink songs are songs she likes. Orange and blue songs are songs she doesn't like (don't worry, we're still Boise State fans, apparently our daughter just doesn't like their team colors). While in the car the other night she was singing the purply song Mary had a Little Lamb and Jim and I had to ask her to sing it again to make sure we heard her correctly. She's sang it a few times since, and the lyrics are still the same. Instead of:

". . . its fleece is white as snow" Tralee sings,

". . . its fleece is quite a hoe."

We're sure it's just a technical oversight, and we're trying to fix the lyrics in Tralee's version. Until she gets it right, Mary's lamb's fleece seems to be a little scandalous.

Tralee said a few other things lately that got us laughing. After she got out of the tub the other night I rubbed lotion on her as she was crouched down in her towel. I asked her to, "stand up straight please" so I could get to the areas that weren't accessible to me in her crouched position to which she replied, "I don't want to stand up straight. I want to stand up small."

The other cute thing Tralee told me was, "I'm not upside down, I'm up-side-up."

Not to be out-sillied by his sister, Hunter had us laughing yesterday when he hid behind the Christmas tree, started grunting like he was lifting a grand piano, and through one of the grunts said, "I pooping." Yeah, we were rolling. Sorry if you don't like poop-talk. It's a regular topic in our household. Hunter fits right in.

What did we ever do for entertainment before kids?