Yippee! T has the kiddos at the grocery store, and I have approximately thirty mintues to myself! During which I intend to post on the highlights of life in the last week or so...
The greenery is out, the tree is up, the lights are strung, and the tinsel's been flung! And getting there has been another story...I'm sure while I was growing up, we had at least one Christmas decorating experience that was "idealistic" pertaining to tree shopping and decorating, I just don't remember it. I seem to remember the "highlights," like when Dad cut too much off the tree and it was lopsided, or the time I had a horrendously horrid attitude and got sent through the "bailing" machine (that they put trees through), and was tied to the top of the car...by BOYSCOUTS!!! How EMBARRASSING! (I was in grade school.) There was the year we scoured the tree lot and every tree was too expensive! And the year my youngest sister had a melt down, got sent through the bailer (which didn't bring a smile to her face), and I think she wound up crying in the van...and then when we got home all the ornaments and decorations had to be pulled out of the attic...and we'd play Evie's version of "Come on Ring Those Bells" and drink egg nog. Mom would get the lights "just so" and we'd hang the ornaments. I remember pulling things out of boxes faster than Mom could keep up with us...and each of us girls had our own box of ornaments and our own little tree in our bedroom...so what does all this have to do with our "Christmas decorating experience?" Only that I determined that we'd all have great attitudes, that I'd pull out all the "kid safe" ornaments for MW to hang. I just knew T would want to help. We'd all pitch in together and in one afternoon we'd get the house ready. I would be laid back about things. I wouldn't stress if MW hung every ornament on the same branch. I would go with the flow.We'd listen to Harry Connick Jr. and drink egg nog. It would be a twist on my childhood decorating tradition...
We go to Lowes to get our tree. MW tells me she feels "mellow" and starts to cry. T3 is wiggly and squiriming. We scour the lot for a frasier fir, T's favorite, but none can be found for our ceiling height. We decide to try a Douglass Fir. I'm holding T3, MW is begging me to hold her, between tears, and T is holding up different trees. I just knew MW was going to LOVE picking out a tree. I was wrong. We decided on the first tree T held...I was thinking, life is too short to agonize over the "perfect tree." I was also thinking, what is it about girls and having a bad attitude on "tree" day?????
So T is in line to purchase the tree and I spot the most gorgeous wreath! I mention to T how much I like it, and my most wonderful husband tells me to pick one out...so, he goes ahead and pays for the tree, hauls it to the car, we pick out a wreath, and of course, the line is soooo long at this point. We're all in line when I spot the scraps from trees that have been trimmed and cut down to size, and I find out all that greenery is up for grabs. I take T's place in line, he goes to haul greenery scraps to the truck, and this lady in line in front of me sees him doing this and tells him she wants some and that the gray F250 is hers (with her husband standing in front of it) and to just "load some in there." Before I can even ask why her husband can't do this for her, since I am juggling two children and this huge beautiful wreath, T tells her he's more than happy to do this for her. Finally, he comes back to the line, all the greenery loaded, and she realizes he doesn't work there!
We get home, T gets the tree trimmed and in the stand, and it's the most beautiful tree we've ever had! I got the lights on it and invited MW to come decorate...she wasn't at all interested. By that evening I found myself, alone, decorating the tree. The house was a wreck with decorations spilling out of boxes...MW was more interested in painting wooden ornaments my Mom gave her, than in decorating our tree. And T was reading Popular Woodworking. The Christmas music was playing, and we'd all had "egg milk" as MW calls it. It took me about four days this year. Having an 8 month old and a 3.5 year old complicated things just a little, but in a fun way! I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Oh, we put tinsel on the tree this year! Which means it's also all over our house! I love it! Oh how it sparkles!
I spent a few hours late one afternoon piecing together greenery for a garland over our front door. (I'm a "live" fan - and I LOVE the fact that I get to throw it away after Christmas...I can't stand storing stuff!) So I'm outside wiring greenery and T comes out with the kids to check progress. MW steps through the "forest" growing around our front door and exclaims, "How BOOTIFUL! Mama, woo did soooo good!" I love having a little girl!!!
Since then, Mom came for a visit and helped me finish up decorating. We added white lights to the garland, greenery on the mantels, and made a gingerbread house with MW. (Translation: We watched MW put one piece of candy on house, and eat a piece, add a piece, eat a piece...that house is all hers! Spitty germs and all!)
Sunday afternoon MW and T decided to build a manger! It's so cool! They cut all the wood and then T would get a screw started, and let MW drive it in with the cordless drill. That Monday MW was begging to go get some hay for the manger. She was so disappointed when we pulled up at a store, rather than a barn. Poor thing! Now the manger is full of hay, and the imprint of a helpless brother, who couldn't voice a protest to being put in the manger. It's pretty cool! We're leaving it empty and talking about the expected birth of baby Jesus, with plans to place a baby in the manger Christmas morning. Maybe a little hokey...but MW is 3 and we think it will be a neat teaching tool and way to put the focus on Jesus.
Three more blog worthy items to post:
Wednesday night I came home from church with both children. T stayed for a meeting. I sat down in the living room to feed T3. All of the sudden, Scout hiked her leg and tee teed on our Christmas tree!!! What in the world????? I screamed at her, which resulted in T3 screaming! I threw him in the pack-n-play, along with MW. I've never spanked Scout as hard as I did that night! She'd run and hidden in our bedroom. I drug that 65lb dog, literally drug her, from our bedroom into the living room, pulling up three rugs along the way, back to the scene, and spanked the stew out of her! How disgusting???!!!!!
I found T3 holding a piece of Christmas tree branch with drool pouring out of his mouth. One swipe with my index finger brought forth a small piece of Christmas Tree! Tasty!
And last, MW had a friend over to play Thursday afternoon. Her little friend arrived and asked to see MW's room, to which MW replied, "You got to see my room. It is SOOOOOOooooo COOL!" Then she drug her friend by the hand upstairs. They put on dress up clothes, then makeup, and then painted their own fingernails and toenails. And then, MW's friend invited MW to go to dance class with her. MW LOVED IT!!!!!! They did plee-ays and relevays and then "rocked out to rock n roll." I asked MW to show me. She eagerly performed the first two moves, but told me she just couldn't do "the rock n roll because it just makes my body so tired."
With all that typed, I'm going to run. MW received sticker Christmas labels from Grandma and Grandpa and she's "labeling" herself. What a present!
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I love the family picture on the porch - SO cute!
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