Wordless Wednesday

{my little lovelies, in lights}

{guess who likes peppermint?}

Our Christmas {video style}

{Video: Christmas 2013}

Is it just me?

Is it bad to admit that Christmas stresses me out?  I can't help it - it's true.

I stress about the presents and the money and finding the perfect gifts for everyone on our shopping list.

I stress about the wrapping.  And about having the house clean for Christmas.  I stress about when is the right time to buy food for Christmas celebrations.  I stress about finding time to make cookies and decorate gingerbread houses with the kids.  I stress about making sure we create strong, happy Christmas memories for our little lovelies.

I stress a lot.  And when I get stressed, I get a little agitated and definitely less patient than I should be.  I don't like myself when I'm like that - but every year, at what should be only a happy, special time, it happens.  I can't seem to help it, no matter how hard I try to stay organized and on top of things.

This year?  No different.  I found myself feeling rushed and frantic, planning out our days and thinking about how I couldn't truly relax until the day after Christmas.  Then we'd have some true down-time.  And yet I knew that wishing away Christmas is such an unhappy thing - so this inner battle continues and I found myself having a near panic attack when our doorbell rang on Christmas Day announcing that our family was starting to arrive.  My hair was still wet from my rushed shower, my makeup was not on, and I was only half dressed.  I think Hannah might've been naked and Jack was still in his pajamas.  I almost cried.

Instead, I finished my makeup, got dressed, pulled my hair back, and went downstairs to host Christmas as best I could.  And the truth is - once everything is under way, I'm fine.  But the anticipation of these things is too much.  I know it's weird, but it's true.

We had a lovely Christmas, but I need to find a way to make the days leading up to Christmas less stressful for me.  I've already made a shopping list for next year and I've vowed to start my shopping sooner.  I typically wait until after all of our family birthdays are over (post-Thanksgiving) to start, and this plan hasn't worked. Ever.  So I'm changing the way I think about this, and next year, I'm starting after Halloween.  I'm also going to wrap as presents come into the house (you know, to avoid the staying up until 3 am one night every year to finish this task).

Hopefully, these things make a difference in the stress level next year.  I do not want my kids to grow up associating Christmas with stress and anxiety, so I have to start somewhere.

Suggestions, anyone?

Merry Christmas!

May your days be merry and bright!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

...when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, 

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

*****

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Our Santa Visit

Tonight, my mom and I took the kids to see Santa after school.  They were oh-so-excited.  We arrived while Santa was eating dinner, but they waited semi-patiently in line, and were in awe as Santa made his way down to his chair.

{I now notice that the sign behind my children's heads says no cell phone cameras permitted.  Oops.}

She was waiting so nicely.

No screamers this year - I deem this a success!  

Poor Jack smiled in the other pictures the photographer took, but Hannah did not, and this was the one they picked.  Next year, I'll have to remember to ask if I can choose - I'm sure they'll love that;)

You may not be able to tell from this picture, but this shows my very detail-oriented son showing Santa the specific Lego catalog items he would like, so Santa wouldn't get confused.  I had to talk him down from taking the entire catalog, and finally we agreed he could put a page or two in his pocket.

Hannah proudly told Santa she would like Boots and Dora, all by herself.

This year, Christmas is going to be so much fun - the littles are into all things Christmas!  They love our advent calendars and Oliver, our elf.  They talk frequently about how Santa's watching:)  They're excited to bake and to have Christmas parties.  

Now if I can only survive this work-week, we'll be in a good place!

Christmas 2012

Hoping your Christmas was as happy and magical as ours!

Merry and Bright

May all your days be MERRY and BRIGHT!

Merry Christmas!

Love, Brad, Erika, Jack, and Hannah

Too Smart for Oliver?

I think Jack might be onto me about Oliver, our Elf on the Shelf.

To be honest, I'd never heard of The Elf on the Shelf until I was introduced to Pinterest last year, but the Elf is all over Pinterest, and it piqued my curiosity.

I decided that it might help with some behavior issues leading up to Christmas, and I thought it would be fun to set up our elf each night for the children to find the next morning.

On November 26th, we introduced Jack to our Elf on the Shelf, and Oliver came to be part of our household.  Jack loves to find out where he'll be each morning.  Hannah isn't really too aware of his existence.

A few things I've noticed thus far:

• it's tricky to find a month full of places to creatively hide an elf in which little ones can't reach, and therefore won't be tempted to touch, said Elf
• it's tricky to remember to move said Elf each night before I fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion
• it's tricky to ensure that a bright little boy believes his Elf is real

The other night, we tucked Jack into bed, and then before I got ready for bed, I decided to move Oliver so that I wouldn't forget.  

Because once I've literally had to race downstairs ahead of Jack, toss Oliver across the room, and hope he landed some place great.  It worked!  

Another time, we had to tell Jack that Oliver must have fallen asleep because he's so tired from making so many toys and that was why he remained in the same spot for two days.  Being an Elf is hard work.

Alright - so back to the other night.  I wanted Oliver to have some fun with Jack's toy cars, and I was beginning to set Oliver up on the banister with the cars when Jack came out of his bedroom announcing he had to go potty.  In my hands were toy cars, and Oliver was sitting happily on the banister with Lightning McQueen.  So what else could I do?

I said, "Oh my goodness, that silly Oliver is making a mess with all of these cars.  What is he doing?"  And I set everything down and helped get Jack back to bed.  I thought I'd wait awhile before moving Oliver again.  Clearly, he could not stay on the banister with the cars.

About half an hour later, I took Oliver downstairs with me and decided he could color.  As I made my way to the kitchen, I heard Jack moving around upstairs again.  He called down, "Mommy, Oliver's not there anymore!  Where did he go?"

"Hmm...I don't know.  He must have gone to the North Pole.  We'll have to look for him in the morning."

Obviously, Jack was continually getting out of bed to check on Oliver's status.  This was my first clue that he might not be buying the Elf story.

The next morning, Jack found Oliver happily coloring a picture of an elf, not necessarily to Jack's liking.  He didn't love Oliver's color choices, but he seemed pleased with Oliver using his crayons and coloring books.  

But...

when we sat down to dinner later that night, I noticed that the feather in the elf's hat was colored red.  And I knew that I hadn't colored the feather.  (Go ahead - go back and check the picture again.)  I decided not to say anything.

We started to eat, and that, my friends...

...is when Jack said, "Oh my goodness, Mommy!  Look at that feather - Oliver must have just colored that feather because it wasn't like that this afternoon.  He's doing such a good job coloring!"

And what could I say?

"Wow!  That silly Oliver.  He really is doing such a nice job!"

*****

I told Brad this story later that night, and we just about died laughing.  He's playing my own game, and I'm pretty sure he's winning.  Oh, how I love that smart, little man of ours!

Wordless Wednesday

{so this is how that went...}