Christmas 2018

We were all very, merry in Moline for Christmas! Santa proved to be as bad at following through on threats as we are and gave the kids a bounty of toys, when we all know they should have received sticks and coal. In truth, Nick probably would have loved that just as much! Definitely more than the Wowwee Fingerling that he greeted with a disappointed, “Awwww! Why did Santa bring me this?!” No worries, Nick; Santa kept the receipt. He also had zero interest in his Hatchimal (that he asked for) and passed it off to his cousins to hatch. The winners of Christmas in Nick’s world were a six-foot stuffed snake and the Batman vs. Superman Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots (courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Brandi). No batteries, sound effects, or animation required to please this kid! He likes things simple.

Lainey, on the other hand, very much liked her little finger monkey and all the other fancy, schmancy electronic toys. The stuffed snow leopard from Brookfield Zoo that she’s been begging for got little attention (but, that purchase is how Nick ended up with his beloved snake, so no regrets). Even though the high-tech toys grabbed most of her attention Christmas day, she loved the simple things, too, like her Mad Libs. I laughed so hard watching her crack up over those! They weren’t even particularly funny combinations, but her laughter was contagious.

As always, we ate very well and had lots of good family time together. I love seeing all the cousins together and watching how they evolve as playmates. I also love that they keep each other busy, so we have more kid-free time to catch up with the adults!

Now we’re back home and gearing up for the Anderson crew to crash Chicago on Friday and ring in the new year with us! Let the festivities continue!

Evolution of a Christmas family photo...

Nailed it!

Honeybunches and Family Planning

The caption to the photo from our holiday lights adventure alluded that it wasn’t the brightest of evenings. The kids were overtired from a busy day and their behavior was fueled by all the kids around them who were overtired from busy days, so there was a lot of whining and stomping and yelling.

But, there was one moment that I keep playing over in my head and know I’ll regret it if I don't capture it in this family diary I’ve created.

 After a pretty big blow-up between Mark and Elaine (the root cause I can’t remember—proof that it’s the happy moments that stick!), I sat crouched in front of two grumpy kids, blowing on hot chocolate to cool it, and quite frankly, wishing we’d just stayed home. Then I heard Nick’s small voice say:

 “Mama, I want a baby sister. I will chub her cheeks and call her honeybunches.”

He said it with such sincerity and his big brown eyes were filled with such longing that it’s a good thing you can’t just pick-up a baby sister at the gift shop. I would have bought him 10!

My heart and my temper melted immediately. I smiled at my sweet boy and explained that I was sorry, but I am not going to make any more babies in here and pointed to my belly. At which point Lainey chimed in with surprise and wonder: “You can control that?!”

Yes, Elaine. Yes, you can, and we will be having LENGTHY discussions about it when you’re older.

 

Ho, Ho, Holy Smokes, I'm Tired!

As promised in my last post, December is moving at a breakneck pace, and I'm white-knuckling it all the way. Mark ended up getting sick with the plague (a.k.a. a cold) this week, so that's really added to the fun. I'd rather have two projectile vomiting kids and shingles than have Mark be sick.

So while I came into the weekend with visions of quiet writing time, where I sat in my favorite chair with a mug of peppermint tea and wrote a humorous, but heartwarming post about our holiday adventures, I am instead going to throw a bunch of photos on the page and let your imaginations carry you. A picture is worth 1,000 words after all...

Zoo lights! Warm weather made for a lovely night...if only we'd left the kids at home.
(These smiles were heavily bribed and very fleeting.)

One of us let our child's whimsy run wild...the other is an engineer.

Girls' night when Nick had movie night at school! 

Another warm day got us downtown last night and
reminded us how much we love this city!

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season! It has been crazy around here, but I still have the Christmas spirit. Actually, now that I think of it, I have all of the spirits...vodka, gin, and scotch...forget the peppermint tea!