Merrwii Christmas

I am so lucky to be married to a man who DOES NOT play video games. Or maybe I should say a man who hasn't played video games until now...We had been resisting getting a gaming system for a couple of years. This year, we finally gave in. But we had Emma COMPLETELY convinced that we were ABSOLUTELY NOT getting a Wii for Christmas. There alsowould not be a DS. She even said "Santa is my only hope." We shattered her fantasy when we told her that Santa never goes against the parents rules. What a sad, deprived child she was :(

We came up with the perfect plan for the ultimate surprise. Christmas morning they woke up to all of this awesome loot from Santa:

And then..lots of clothes from mom and dad, including these cool Hannah Montana Tees.
Through it all, they were so appreciative and did not act one bit disappointed. Lastly, it was time to read the message for Advent Day 25. Here's how it went down:

The rest of the day, everyone was all smiles. We had so much fun playing Wii. I cannot believe we waited this long to join the rest of the world! It was a Merrwii Christmas, indeed.

Trail of Lights (AKA ARE YOU INSANE???)

So, the only day that fit into our schedule to go to Zilker Park to see the Trail of Lights also happened to be one of the coldest damn days of the year! So, we bundled the kids and piled into the Expedition with the Lewtons and Grace (you know, Emma's BFF) and headed down. Last year we went on a cold night and had SUCH a WONDERFUL time. This year was bound to be just as great, right? No. Wrong. Very, very wrong :(

First, right when we stopped the car, my husband decided to be a good Samaritan and get Cayden (the Lewtons' 4 year old child) out of the car. He proceeds to set him down and walk the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Cayden's parents are on the other side of the car, in the dark. Poor Cayden goes looking for his parents and before the 3 adults outside the car (I was still inside the car, helpingthe other 4 children with their hats, scarves and mittens) realize that he is missing, he has wandered several cars away and is in tears. After Amanda reamed my husband a new one, I followed suit.

So, now that we were all brimming with Christmas Spirit, we headed to the big tree. Yep, nice tree. Spinning, however, does not make it any warmer than the 30 degrees with windchill. Okay, so let's get some hot chocolate. What is better than hot chocolate on a freezing cold night? Oh, I KNOW! I KNOW! Trying to push a stroller and walk over uneven terrain whilst holding said hot chocolate and having it slosh all over your mittens and down your pants. Double that if you are under age 10!

Okay, fuck it. Everyone throw out the $20 worth of now-cold chocolate. Let's do this thing. NO STOPPING!! It's too cold! Oh, sorry kids, Santa's not here tonight. We were out of there in one hour flat. If someone offered me one million dollars to describe just one display, sadly I couldn't :( We'll certainly do it again next year!

We did get a few photos:
Chad must have been shivering because he cut off Beto's head.

The Lewtons: Chad, Amanda and Cayden

Vinny looked this thrilled the entire time. Poor baby :(

Emma and Grace

Beto and Vinny

Mommy and Vinny

Advent Day 20: Bake Christmas Cookies!

Vinny and Ava were the most adorable baker's assistants ever!

Ava did some decorating while Emma was out singing Christmas Carols to the neighbors with several other girls on the block.
AND, she was still working on the same 4 cookies when Emma came home to join in.
She used no less than 4 pounds of sprinkles per square inch.
By the time Emma and I finished decorating the other 305 cookies, Ava was finally finished with her 4 :)

Vinny, with his senior citizen bed time, didn't stay up late enough to partake in the decorating.

Sing Sing

Ava had her Christmas sing-along on Dec 11. She was so cute but had just started getting sick. In the car on the way there, I reminded her to cough into her arm, not onto her hands to lessen the germfest. She is so cute.




Emma had her choir tour today. We went to the Whole Foods performance. Emma is the one in the front who looks utterly thrilled to be there. (In her defense, she came home with a sore throat and fever)



We had some time to kill between Whole Foods and meeting up for pizza so naturally I decided to take the car in for an oil change with both of the kids. What is wrong with me? It was 30 degrees outside so our only option for waiting was in a 10x10 cell and you can bet the bank that it was my kind of clean. There was a middle-aged man waiting there when we arrived on the scene. His life became a living hell when the nice mechanic gave Ava and Vinny balloons. When they finally called his name, he was out of there like a flash of light. Poor Guy. I, on the other hand, got swindled into a new fuel filter, air filter, wiper blades and battery cable-connector-cover thingies. They totally took advantage of obvious inability to make a decision and corral my children at the same time. My husband is going back to kick their asses tomorrow. That's my man :)

25 Days of Christmas

For the first time, the kids and I have been keeping an Advent calendar. And in the spirit of all Christmastime activity in our home, it has nothing to do with religion or Jesus. We just want to do something fun everyday and we like the package:
So we have been doing things like watching Christmas movies and sipping hot cocoa stirred with candy canes (don't get me started...I'll never be able to look at another candy cane without thinking of Jesus), baking cookies, reading Christmas stories, and looking at light displays. We will do most of the super fun stuff starting Friday when Emma gets out of school. On day 10, the kids wrote letters to Santa.
Emma's letter was very sweet until the very end when she wrote "Even though our tree looks really bad this year, I hope you will still come." :( I admit, it is the worst tree we've ever had but this is what happens when you share a home with a 17 month old Tasmanian devil:
That's right. No decorations. The lights are just thrown back on after he has pulled them down and attempted to strangle himself, oh 49 times.
I did try to put some ornaments on. As soon as he caught sight of them it was "BALL!!" and the ball broke :( It is dying from the heat and the constant stripping of the lights has left 11 billion needles on the carpet. I can't begin to quantify the amount of joy this tree has brought our family.
At least I have one pretty place in my house. So far, the boychild has not figured out a way to get his grubby little fingers on my favorite snowfamily.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We got a sweet little dusting last night and I missed it AGAIN!! It has only snowed here 3 times since we've lived here and I've been stuck inside at work everytime. Here's what our neighbood looked like this morning when I got home. It is all of 34 degrees right now. Happy Winter!!

I'm Going to Hell Anyway...

While I fully realize that this is what I get for sending my kid to a Lutheran preschool, how does your God expect me to keep a straight face when she brings this home??? Seriously.

In case you can't read it, it is the "story" (actually a myth according to Snopes http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp) of the origin of the candy cane. Pureness and blood. You are shitting me, right?
And, yes, that is supposed to be Baby Jesus in the manger of the giant candy cane with a North Star thrown in for good measure. In the spirit of this enlightening discovery, the kids and I will be stirring our hot cocoa with the pureness and blood of Jesus tonight.

One trick pony

Vinny sees a camera pointed at him and he smiles. It really is that simple.

How can it be???

I am really 34. I can totally remember when my mom was 34. This is crap. Who stole my skinny and my pretty? I want it back bitch!!

OR

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Thanksgiving

We had an awesome Thanksgiving. My mom and aunt Peggy were here from San Diego. The Lewtons joined us as well. I was too concerned with getting my gravy just right to photojournalize the day's events. By the time the camera came out, Beto and Vinny were already in bed and my lipstick was apparently on my coffee cup. We did have a great meal and a good time.

The Girls.

Emma and My mom (NuNu)

Ava and Cayden (this will look so cute at their wedding reception)