santa train

December 2009

Christmas Activities...
1. getting the tree- we chopped it down... or should i say the guy at the tree farm chopped it down for us- either way, we got our tree at alan acres in stanwood for $25 and it fit in the van to get it home. and did you know that alan acres gives out THE best hot cocoa ever? yep- just ask jonathan the hot cocoa expert. we will be back next year. all i had to do is look ever-so-slightly pathetic near my saw and some guy came to our rescue. so between that kind of service and the hot cocoa, we're sold on alan acres!

2. the kids decorated the house- jake was the chief decorator and continues to love and cling to traditions. so cute. we put a little tree in he and jayden's room and they decorated it together. jonathan sat on his duff playing video games or his electric guitar (on full blast i might add) while we decorated. i mean, who really wants christmas music in the background when you can have guns and roses instead?? (did i mention the "on full blast" part already?) he DID manage to put a few ornaments on the tree when we got everything out though. way to go jonathan. that's the spirit!

3. jake dressed up like santa (his own idea just to make jayden happy)... i had to put safety pins all over him to get the white paper he cut out to fit onto his costume. and yes, that actually IS scotch tape on his face holding the beard/ moustache in place. he then invited jayden to come see him. and while she did, she was told at one point that she was on the "noty" (naughty) list. it was VERY cute. jake is so sweet to jayden (and me too!). he had a big black garbage bag full of laundry to look like toys for his visitor, and had a basket of candy canes to pass out too!

4. jake's school christmas concert- the pic of the boys together says it all- they are hyper!!! every last one of 'em. hyper i tell you... and i could NOT get a nice shot of all of them smiling to save my soul, but i think it is still cute. jake is one of the calmer kids in the bunch! is that possible? and i must give jake some kuddos for his singing performance this year. there was not a single yawn the entire show... and he actually looked like he was mumbling a few lyrics here and there, too!... and for the first time in years, he didn't look like he was about to vomit or like he was enduring some type of horrific torture while up on stage. nice job bops!

5. if you notice jake's fake smile, that would be because he took it upon himself to rip apart his lips (picking at the chapped parts until they bleed)- thus being the "cool" kid in class- because evidentally he got a great deal of attention at his table for this self mutilization. so it came down to (a) pain or (b) attention.... hmmm... jake chose "b"- pain- and as a result his lip was soooo damaged that he couldn't move it to smile (like he just got a votox treatment- or is it botox? i'll have to look that one up). good grief.

6. the lights of christmas... over a million lights. we went on a saturday night- along with the rest of the planet. i waited in line for an hour for hot chocolate and it was "gross" according to jonathan, the hot cocoa expert. it was fun anyway!

7. christmas event with the scouts at the senior center. we went to "help"- but not much help was needed- we made bookmarks for the people at josephine's home . but then the balloon man got the brilliant idea to make swords out of the balloons. so 6 boys with sword balloons and nothing to do.. neat. way to go balloon man... and the rest was, well, history... quite possibly the longest 2 hours of my lifetime. but i think it was still fun. not sure yet...

8. gingerbread houses- jake and jayden wanted to do one (not jonathan) and they turned out super cute! note jayden's "ta-da" pose that she has just perfected- and her matching gingerbread shirt too... yep, that's right folks, i'm a weirdo! but she is awfully cute and i plan to dress her how i want for as long as she allows it by golly!

9. some pix were at the children's museum in everett. fun place for kids for sure. jayden calls it the "kids-children's museum"- and in december we went after nearly every hockey game, as the museum is fairly close to the ymca.

10. sports- jayden is playing floor hockey at the ymca and she typically plays the whole game (cuz most of the boys on her team are 3 and refuse to play/ have fits)- though she rarely makes any effort to approach the puck. but at least she played w/o complaints. i officially have the 3 LEAST competitive children on the planet. jonathan is playing basketball at pt. susan and enjoys his team. i haven't been able to attend many of his games due to scheduling conflicts. but i hope to see more in january! he is a good player and is fun to watch!

11. jake and jayden in his bed reading books together. we all love his new electric blanket- though when we do his reading homework together in bed, i almost fall asleep cuz it's too cozy to get up! i wrapped christmas books and placed them under their little tree, so they each open up a book at night for us to read. they esp. loved the reindeer-find book (like where's waldo). jayden's a pro at it! jake too. me- not so much.

12. snow day- we had NONE at our house so had to drive to school to get a glimpse of it... we were the ONLY school district to cancel school that day.

13. jonathan typed up christmas wish lists for both he and jake. my favorite part was his final request on the lists for "random cool stuff." i'm on it boys!

and i think that covers all the pix i posted. tomorrow the kids come back to me... and i can't wait! we are gonna go see a movie (alvin and the chipmunks- the squeakuel) and then tomorrow night will be OUR christmas eve (dec. 25). then the 26th will be our christmas. this was REALLY important to jake, so that's what we're gonna do!

by the way, jake still believes in santa and he told me about a month ago how lucky i was cuz i was gonna get to save MY money and not have to spend it on christmas presents cuz santa buys/ makes everything. it was sooo cute and innocently said. i tried hard not to look stunned or laugh! yep jake... december is a month for saving alrighty!!! good ole santa...

Ballet Recital... Winter Showcase

Jayden had her first dance recital in December. It was a much anticipated event around here (well at least it was for ME anyway!). We all came to watch the show... and I must say the boys were excited too! Jayden looked so cute in her ballet stuff- and clearly was soaking up all the attention she received from us. Her attire included a bun and tiara. I dropped her off backstage and then sat with the boys in the SHS Performing Arts Center and waited...and waited...and waited... Luckily my friend Erika was there to keep me company- and also Jessica. and so after a fair amount of grumbling from the boys about how disgracefully long the wait was.. and how they were sooooo hungry,,, and how they were SOOOO bored... and how they could NOT imagine why anyone would possibly find this ballet stuff "fun"... and how they should have brought their gameboys... and well... you get the picture... the show began at last!

I must say, her 1 minute long performance was worth the wait!!! She was in the back row so I could barely see her, but it was still fun- Luckily I sit and watch her every Monday at her lessons, so I get to see her dance all the time. It's one of the highlights of my week! Really! Her dance consisted of knee dips (I am sure there is a ballet-term for this) and a spin.

She was also in the last dance with everyone where she fluttered around stage doing whatever dance move she could do and then when the music ended "melted" to the floor up front. In the group pix she is the tiny one on the far left front.

I forgot to get flowers for the star... but don't worry, she was pretty sure she was "all that" afterwards anyway!!! She got to choose where we ate and first picked Applebees- but settled for DQ because it was close (and plus Jonathan wanted DQ and he persuaded her a bit!)

I am already looking forward to her "real" recital on June 26th! She will be a mouse for this. I am glad she seems to be enjoying ballet as much as I am! She tells me her favorite part is the sticker for her ballet "sticker-book" she gets after each class for a job well done from her teachers Miss Terah and Miss Becky. i could probably buy her a pack of stickers and save myself $40 bucks a month, but let's not talk about that...