Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas

Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas

today

today?

Well, we have already been to the dentist and back. (Elise's tooth was fixable so she won't be toothless for a few years.) The rest of the day will be filled with baking cookies, sneaking in some pj time during naps and possibly (if the weather holds up, so cross your fingers) a visit to zoolights. And I am such a lazy photographer that you don't get any pictures to prove any of this. I guess I could be making it all up, eh? Let me make it better then. We will be baking homemade gingerbread houses (2 stories, of course) in my sparkling clean house while the kids twitter about, being sweet as candy canes to each other. We might take a break for my homemade chili and hot cocoa and deliver some homemade treats to all of the neighbors. Gee, this no picture things is pretty nice. As Chris likes to say, with a twinkle in his eye, "Everything you read on the internet is true!"

because I said so!

Today:

•My children will wake up and play quietly while mommy sleeps in, even though they have cousins here to run about with.

•A certain 3 year old (and her partner in crime) will not draw on my fridge with permanent marker AGAIN.

•The magic eraser I go buy will take off all signs of previous art work on the fridge. (and the table.)

•We will be watching Elf at the Grand Lodge (and they won't cancel this time.)

•The UPS man will deliver my Christmas cards way before his normal delivery time of 5pm so I can stick the cards in their envelopes and drop them off at the post office before closing.

•I will stay up late working on jammies instead of surfing. (the net, of course)

•I will sip my peppermint tea in my splendid new mug (a la anthropologie) in the shadows of our Christmas tree, in absolute silence. (of course!)

How do I know all of this? Because I said so, of course. (And everything us moms wish for comes true, right? RIGHT?) And just because I am feeling especially upfront with all of you blog friends out there, I am not going to schedule this post to publish at a reasonable hour so you can see just how late I have stayed up tonight.

update: Erase all of that. Really, I would just like my hot water to work today.

Hotel Kang is up and running

Yes, our guest rooms are filled to the brim (not hard, seeing as we only have the one and all...) and all is a party with the "cool aunt" visiting for a brief (but now less brief) visit. Today was makeover day, which including Aunt Rachel making up my daughters in an effort to freak me out about my near future. (you know...make up, dating, growing up....all of that stuff!) We got so excited about her cute hair that we ran out for a little (as in 10 minutes or less) impromptu photo shoot. (All the while, leaving two very mischievous three olds with little supervision. Good thing the freezing cold kept us hurrying, eh?)

And why is she called the cool aunt? Because she does things like this (a lot):

to pj or not to pj

I am really struggling with this and I think mainly because I don't want to make jammies this year and my kids, of course, want me to.

Since it was just Rachel and Autumn, there have been handmade jammies made out of $1/ yd flannel that was bought on the day after Thanksgiving. This year, Lilly helped me only get 1 1/2 hours of sleep before the big sale. Joann's fabric wasn't quite as cheap. And now, laziness and enjoying a very slow December is taking over. I like the relaxed mode that is going on at the Kang abode.

Ok...now for the pro argument. I mentioned to Rachel the possibility of not doing pj's, thinking that with her teenageness she would be absolutely with me on this decision. And she wasn't. She was shocked that I would think of getting rid of a tradition that, in all honesty, was made when I didn't think we would ever have more than 4 kids. Six pairs of jammies are more of a time commitment than four! So do I hold on to the tradition seeing that there might be a time in the near future when my kids will not be keen on matching pj's for Christmas Eve?

Input?

the search is over.

I have been searching for a copy of The Night Before Christmas (not actively, but here and there as I have been out) and the search is now over. Being a slight book snob has its disadvantages, kind of like being a crafter. (A lot of times, I end up making things just because I can't find something that meets my expectations at the store...luckily, I am not so great at whipping out children's books.)

Saturday night, Chris and I had a little compromise date that led us out for sushi (bleh!) and to Barnes and Noble (yeah!). I was picking up some copies of The Christmas Carol for the family to read this month and ran across this fabulously illustrated The Night Before Christmas. Gyo Fujikawa's sweet artwork has graced our bookshelves before and I must say I was more than slightly pleased to hear each girl immediately identify his other works. This is a beautifully done book and is pretty much just what I was looking for. My other search that I would love your help on? A just as fabulous book that tells the nativity story.

Ah, Elise...

Elise's new "thing"? Whenever she does anything wrong, whether it be sneaking candy, hitting a sister on accident or just being a typical 3 year old, she always apologizes very quickly. And if you aren't quick enough, she will repetitively tell you to say "it's okay" until you do. And if you tell her that you are sorry when she has fallen or when she has gotten hurt, she clarifies that it wasn't your fault.

On another cute note? The kids are all conspiring on Christmas presents for Chris and I. It sure is fun watching them be sneaky and thoughtful, but I am also very pleased with how much my kids get caught up in the giving and care very little about the getting during Christmas. I sure do love my girlies! (Even if they didn't let me change our appointment with Santa. I SO want to celebrate St. Nicholas' Day and take Christmas over as a 100% celebration of the birth of Christ! Next year, my pretty! *picture me tapping my fingers together in a conniving fashion*)

Wiping the drool.

The book lover in me is going crazy over these. Apparently, Penguin Books understands my love for beautiful versions of the classics. I'm sorry...did I say beautiful? That doesn't even begin to describe these books. They are selling for $20 at Anthropologie, but my dear sweet Amazon has them for $13. Sigh. Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility....and if I was in England, I would have access to Little Women and more! Are they not just fabulous? I am in love. And now I will go do some laundry while I continue to drool.

Side Note: Hannah is calling me Marmee, too! (Although hers is a more blatant kissing up, using it directly after getting in trouble throughout the day. Maybe with age, she will learn how to sneak it in to earn more points.)

Oh, Christmas tree!

Yesterday was the day for our yearly outing to find the perfect gargantuan tree for our Christmas celebrations. (oh, how daring of me. Calling it a Christmas tree instead of something more politically correct!) It was a little different because our time at the u-cut place went a little like this:

Me: So. Do you think you could get us a tree cut and on our car in 20 minutes or less?

Parry: Sure thing! What kind of tree are thinking of?

Me: At least 12 feet. Ok....at least 11.

Parry: Did you know there is another u cut down the street for crazies? (nah...that's just what he wanted to say.)

So it turns out that taking a picture of a 12 ft tree with a 50 mm lens is quite the task, which is why I have, for you, a picture of the bottom half of my tree. "What is in the delicious red suitcase at the bottom of your tree?" you ask. Why, that is a genius idea I had around 11 pm last night that required minimal effort on my part. You see, we have a bundle of Bethlehem dress up that we pull out every Christmas Eve for a little Nativity Skit starring the Kang Girls. This year, those costumes are staying in said suitcase, along with a baby Jesus, to be played with all December long. If I may say so myself, it is brilliant.