Christmas 2011

The kids woke us at 7AM on Christmas morning with crazy excitement, "SANTA CAME!  SANTA CAME!"  It was awesome seeing Currier get Wii and the games he wanted and Rya get a cool vintage kitchen set and all the accessories.  Santa did good this year.  Best Christmas yet!

Festival of Lights

This holiday season has been crazy busy but we still managed to squeeze in the annual tradition of seeing the Holiday Festival of Lights on James Island.  As we were rushing there to get in the gate before it closed, we got a lovely speeding ticket for $85.  Merry Friggin Christmas! 

Wishing You a Merry Christmas...

Froehliche Weinachten, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Kala Christouyenna and Mele Kalikimaka from our family to yours! 

Gingerbread Nightmare

Last Saturday night we hosted a sleepover for a small army of kids and I had the brilliant idea of keeping them busy by building gingerbread houses.  It was an absolute nightmare trying to get six gingerbread houses to keep from collapsing while the icing dried.  And trying to teach patience to six kids all cracked out on sugar was impossible.  Everyone cried at some point in the evening including me!  Merry Christmas. 

Preschool Holiday Show

Last week Rya's preschool class entertained us with a holiday show.  They sang Dreidel, Feliz Navidad and Jingle Bells.  For the first two songs she couldn't see us out in the sea of parents and siblings and she looked so sad.  When she finally caught a glimpse of us her eyes lit up and my heart grew two sizes too big! 

Daniel Island Flag Football

Currier started his 3rd season of Flag Football with the Daniel Island YMCA.  It's impressive how much he "gets it" this year.  He's not just goofing around.  He's pulling flags with a vengeance and scoring touchdowns like he owns the field. 

Kindergarten Gingerbread

Last week I volunteered at Currier's Kindergarten to help the kids make gingerbread houses.  This is where I discovered that eating a Skittle and an M&M at the same time tastes just like a Tootsie Roll.  It's true—all you really need to know you learn in Kindergarten. 

Oh, Christmas Tree

The annual "Get over there and pretend you're hanging an ornament on the Christmas tree and I'll take your picture.  No, make it look realistic like you're actually hanging it not just touching it!  No, touch the hook part not the actual ornament!  That's not the hook part!  Just touch the... oh, forget it and just smile!" 

Visiting Santa

We took the kids to see Santa last week.  Rya asked for "housekeeping" and Santa said, "What?  Ice skates? You want ice skates?"  Currier asked for Wii and Santa asked, "What kind of games do you want to go with the Wii?"  Currier replied, "Lego Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean!"  Santa said, "Those are Legos to build not video games to play.  What kind of Wii games do you want?"  Currier had to explain to Santa that Lego has Wii games and he was quite shocked that Santa didn't know that!  Way to go Santa!     

Opening Doors for Prizes

This is the first year that we did advent calendars.  We usually just do the paper chain for our Christmas countdown but this year we decided to add to the excitement of Santa's ETA.  If you ask Currier what he's been up to lately he'll say, "Opening doors for prizes!"    

Friday Favorites—Dunkin Donuts Christmas Ornament 2011

I've been collecting Dunkin Donuts Christmas ornaments for years and this year is by far my favorite.  Be sure to run out and get one before I buy them all up!  Happy Friday!   

Split Lip

Rya took a face plant yesterday and split her lip.  Just like all wounds above the neck, it bled and bled and bled.  This was one of those wounds that probably could have used a stitch or two but we opted for vitimin E and butterfly bandaids.  Let's hope we made the right decision. 

Letters to the Bearded Fat Man

The kids drafted their wish lists for Santa and mailed them to the North Pole.  Currier wants Wii, Wii games, Legos and chocolate covered cherries.  Rya wants "housekeeping" (a kitchen set), Tinkerbell Barbie, books and chocolate covered cherries.  Santa might have to put in some overtime to pull this off!

Black Friday Crafts

The kids and I went to Michael's craft store on Black Friday and overflowed the cart with lots of Christmas crafts to keep us busy over the next couple of weeks.  Every window in our house is adorned with Christmas cheer.  We love love love this time of the year!

Friday Favorites—Santa's Key

Currier has been losing sleep over the fact that we don't have a chimney and fireplace for Santa to enter our house on Christmas Eve.  I found the solution at Wonder Works of Charleston.  This is a magic key that we leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve so he may enter our home in a more dignified way.  Problem solved!  Happy Friday.