Merry Christmas!

One of our favorite neighbors is moving and looking to offload some of their furniture. It's not what I would have gone into a store and picked out, but it was definitely an upgrade from what we had. We have such amazing friends who are willing to join us on Christmas Eve (with their truck!) and lend a little man-power. Since it was just down the block, Brent and our home-teacher John jumped on the back of one of the trucks and went for an illegal ride.

The rebels.

We spent Christmas Eve rearranging our existing furniture and new-to-us furniture. As night fell, we read the pop-up 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to four little girls in braids and Christmas pjs. Brent and I stuffed stockings while watching Better Off Dead. A classic.

 I really cherish that time alone with Brent just before all the chaos and excitement of Christmas. The house is all poised for the festivities but it's quiet and peaceful. Cuddling up on the new-to-us couch (which made me realize how uncomfortable our old couch was!) and just being together. It's the best.

Eventually, we have to jump into that chaos and excitement. For some reason I'm not privy to, the girls (mostly Liesel, I think) insist on a "sisters sleepover" in Brigitta and Ireland's room. They even cram into one bed. I heard the pitter patter of little feet around 3AM and I knew the girls were taking turns sneaking downstairs for a peak. Rather than scold them, I let it pass remembering a time in my own childhood when I did the same.

Brent arose early to start making breakfast, and at long last it was time to ring the bell and let the girls come down the stairs. I'm sure when they are all sulky teenagers I'll go back and cry over videos like this:

Christmas was finally here!

The excitement was palpable.

Brigitta finished her breakfast lickety split and then had to wait for all her sisters.

Soon she was joined by Ireland.

At long last, Liesel and Sydney finished up and they were ready to tackle those stockings.

Brent's aviators became mangled in an incident with one of the girls. Even though he'd owned them for years, he was pretty bummed because they were expensive. I gambled a bit- Brent doesn't like me spending big money on him- and found a similar pair, deeply discounted, at Nordstrom Rack. Turns out this gift was a winner!

Brigitta really loved the elf hat that came with her Elf on the Shelf Magazine. She wore that thing all day.

 Everyone delighted in digging through the layers of treats in their stockings to find the traditional items as well as some surprises.

On to presents around the tree! Remember the neighbors I mentioned before? They have a daughter , Addison, just older than Liesel. Over the years have given us some fantastic hand-me-downs because Addison is an equestrian. The thick, black leggings, wool sweaters and riding boots are such high quality I feel guilty taking them for free, but the girls love wearing them. In the most recent haul, there were some boots that Brigitta fell in love with because they were "high heeled". Even though they were WAY too big for her, she slipped them into her backpack and put them on at school because I'd said no so often. I finally had to take them away from her and said maybe we could get her some in the New Year after our tax return. After all, they are meant for horseback riding and are SO expensive! Thanks to Santa (and Poshmark), she got those boots in her very own size on Christmas morning.

 She's been living in them ever since.

Santa gave Liesel some of her very own make-up brushes. I've been slipping her some makeup I'm no longer using so she can play around and lately she's been doing a little mascara for school.

Sydney was happy with all her gifts. She received some headphones with a unicorn horn on top from Ireland that she can use when she's on the computer and she was pretty thrilled with those.

I don't know how I managed to miss a picture of Ireland opening gifts, but she really loved her American Girl clothes and accessories. This was her first year helping out with the Elf on the Shelf and she did a fantastic job along with Liesel. We really are right smack dab in the middle of having two in-the-know helpers and two little believers. It's kind of a sweet spot that I really enjoyed this year.

Traditional Pringles pic!

Holiday Happenings

This was the first year I decided that no matter how much I prepare, the holidays are simply going to have a certain amount of stress built into them. In years past, I would quietly chide myself for not being more on the ball- even those years when I had all the presents purchased and wrapped before Thanksgiving, for crying out loud! Oddly enough, that admission of the inherent frenzied activity made it less stressful, at least in my mind. Whenever I felt overwhelmed, I told myself it's an inevitability, and to just do my best. Cut, print, moving on. So here's a snapshot of some things we managed to fit in over the holidays:

Weather never seems to be on our side for the Festival of Lights Parade! But three of the four girls were in it and my sweet niece kept me company. We hid out in the nearby Starbucks for most of it, but caught some photos of the girls as they went by. 

First Ireland with her Brownie troop:

Then Liesel with her Junior Troop:

Then Brent and Sydney with her preschool float:

Brigitta was happier than a pig at slop to stay home with the Aunts and Uncle Tim playing video games. As if they weren't already cherished by the girls, Whitney and Tim brought their Xbox and set it up for them to play to their heart's content over Thanksgiving.

Uncle Craig and Aunt Suzanne sent each of the girls their very own Starbucks gift card, so one chilly day we stopped in for some hot chocolate and a treat. We've done Starbucks before, but it was fun to watch them budget their money so carefully.

Reagan took the photo for our Christmas card and I'm so, so, SO happy with the result! I tried half a dozen different templates and when I found this one that perfectly encircles the RSOXNTN on the license plate, I knew it was the one. We had so much fun cheering our Red Sox on through the World Series this year! Usually I send a newsy letter along with our card but I've noticed fewer and fewer people are doing that these days. I've always been worried people open our card, see the letter and think, "Great, this one comes with homework!" After agonizing for a few days, I decided to just send the card and ya know what? No one seemed to miss the letter.

Sydney was a trooper helping me to mail all those cards at the post office! As I stamped them, she'd take a little pile and put them in the mail slot. Pretty soon everyone else was asking her to put their mail in the slot. It's a little thing, but she really loved it. Here we are waiting in line to mail our cards headed overseas along with a little package.

Brent feels strongly that Sydney is a bit spoiled- she gets the computer to herself and snacks all morning long rather than eating a proper breakfast. The truth is that Sydney gets dragged along to a lot of my errands like this and she's such a good sport about it. I'll miss having her along next year when she's in school full-time.

We had another great visit with Santa! Liesel hinted that she's getting too old for this, but she graciously smiled for the photo along with her sisters.

Brigitta was particularly excited to get her time with St. Nick:

I love this photo! She's so genuinely happy.

Ireland was doing double duty that day- her troop was bell ringing just outside the Santa House so she needed to get back.

For some reason Ireland is really averse to looking straight at the camera. I'm glad we caught this one:

Oh Sydney! Always so excited to see Santa!

And finally Liesel. Hmmm, maybe next year she can just sit on the floor in front of Santa? She really is getting to be too big to be on his knee...

...not too big to think of things to ask him for Christmas!

We had something called a "freezing fog" which created the most incredible winter wonderland in these parts. Throughout the night, the moisture on the trees froze over and over and the result was just stunning.

Of course, the pictures just don't do it justice.

As the sun burned off the last of the fog, there were only a couple of hours to enjoy this before it melted.

So pretty!

One day, I found myself with a little bit of time and no agenda so I ran over to Panera for a quiet lunch. The hot chocolate was just too good to pass up on that chilly day and when asked if I wanted it in a mug or a to go cup I said mug, "Make it look like something from the coffee house in Friends." This is what I was given and I kid you not, people still waiting in line gasped.

Yummy!

One day the girls were driving me bat crap crazy with the bickering, complaining, whining and general grumpiness. I made them all sit down at the kitchen table with a blank sheet of paper and told them they weren't allowed to get up until they'd written 20 things they were grateful for. Liesel took it to the next level and created this:

Which reminded me to be grateful for my children who are so creative.

Pajama run for ice cream! Unlike the first year when we scared them to death screaming, "Pajama run for ice cream! Pajama run for ice cream!", they are getting wise to us. When we sent them to bed early on a Friday night (sans the traditional movie night), they suspected something was up.

Some holiday happenings will have to be reserved for their own post, but these are a few of the things we fit in amidst all the hoopla!

Sydney's Visit With Santa

I'm pretty sure preschools that acknowledge Christmas in any form are disappearing. I have nothing against celebrating other cultures and traditions, but it feels like the defacto is to not celebrate anything at all to keep from offending anyone. It's understandable, but of course I grew up in a school where Christmas was celebrated.

I'm so glad Sydney is able to have the same experience because it really does amp up the joy and anticipation of Christmas a notch. Aside from learning carols and getting a visit from Santa, their December craft was creating these banners with Christmas lights and their name in glitter. The room looked so charming with these hanging from the ceiling!

I thought this song was really cute with the kids doing all the actions.

Sydney is really in that sweet spot where she believes in Santa Claus but she isn't terrified by him either. She just happily sits on his lap and tells him her hopes and dreams- it's such a brief moment of time! Look at how honest-to-goodness excited she is:

I truly treasure photos like this!

Winter Recital

Dance recitals are such a fun excuse for me to try out new makeup. I really wanted the girls eyeshadow to sparkle onstage so I stopped by MAC and picked up their loose pigment in Bronze as well as liquid shadow in Every Day is Sunshine and Not Afraid to Sparkle. The girls were delighted to have some new choices and we had fun experimenting with application (clearly I still need practice!)

My friend snapped this photo of all the girls from our ward before the recital began. I love running into them at the studio throughout the week!

Liesel and Ireland's number was a battle of the ballerinas. Ireland was on one side while Liesel was on the other. Rather fitting if you ask me!

My favorite part of Brigitta's is at 1:30 when they try to figure out the intricate hand hold for the pas de trois. These little swans aren't quite ready for Swan Lake but they are trying!


I love how Sydney does her hula-hoop. Shes the one in the solid red top and fluffy black skirt.

The girls with their generous benefactor.

Another recital in the books!