T’was the night before Christmas,

And then the morning aft!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

The family met up at church Christmas Eve (where we ended service with an awesome snowball fight!) before enjoying an evening beautifully hosted by Keith and Julie. As the kids will recount, we (finally!) got to open gifts.

To make Christmas Eve pass faster for the kids, we wait to do our Gingerbread House that day.  I was hoping they would start making it look pretty rather than…this, but, well, maybe this is tradition.

But it turned out to be a photoblog about Piper’s true character.  We still had fun as a family picking out ornaments and having cocoa and scones.

We don’t go every year, but usually I try to get tickets for a local production of the Nutcracker for Me & 3.  (Dwayne usually volunteers to not come.)

This is from 3 years ago, when Wesley celebrated going to his first ballet by wearing a tutu.  My heart still melts.

This year, I went with a good friend and her daughter.  As always, the break dancers for the Russian dance was all our favorite.  We even had real snowflakes dancing outside!

I wish I remembered to take a “before” picture, but I got a bee in my bonnet the week before to patch up all the holes in the drywall (um, thanks, Wesley). To make it more fun, I removed the ugly towel rack, aka acrobat bar, from the kids’ bath, and added a few more holes to patch.  This led to repainting Wesley’s room, the bathroom, and eventually, the hallway. The last time I decorated that bath, Wesley hadn’t been born and I put up cute baby pics of Piper and Kyla.  Now I’ve gone with a Calvin and Hobbes theme, as after having my 3, I see Bill Watterson as a spiritual guide.

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Want another Wesley story?  I’m sure I’ve mentioned how early in 2016, Wesley used scissors, and the cover his bunk bed gave him, to begin a tunnel between him and Kyla, so he could just reach through when he needed her. (It’s sweet, how much they love each other, but AUGH!)

I finally patched it, but never finished it with texture and paint.  So over time, Wesley scraped off the plaster, too.  Then last week, I decided to properly fix all the holes and dents upstairs.  To Wesley, I implied strongly to not touch the wet mud in anyway.  As soon as my back was turned, he stuck his foot in it (on the &#$*@-ing wall!)…and wiped the mud off on his carpet and bedding.  I redid that patch.

The next day, it was ready for texture.  Remembering who my son was, I bought the 5-minute dry can, looked Wesley in the eye and told him quite firmly not to touch the texture, and went to work on the bath and hall patches.  Before it was dry, he had rubbed some of it off…because he wanted to know how it felt. 

Wesley spent the rest of the day under his father’s care, downstairs, banished from his room. Alive.  And I finally finished all the patches, and while Wesley was in disgrace and out of reach, repainted his room and the bathroom. 

I lost all the battles but somehow won the war.

Every place looks better in winter white, and even the 1/2” we got was enough to give us a face lift…and a day off school!

Kyla had a terrible cold that day, so she stayed in bed, but Wesley and Piper had an extra shot of energy from their unexpected holiday.

Piper made herself a little snowman (baby carrot and paperclip serve as nose and mouth), and when that got dull, she made a snow fort and made her snowman the winner in a epic miniature snowball fight.

For Parents:
This master art kid desk will fill your child with a deep sense of purpose and perseverance.  Your child will crave to become an organized genius while practicing the skills to become a wildly acclaimed architect, artist, author, or actuary. The exterior cubbies are just right for organizing your child’s magazines and award-winning novels, and everyone will coo over the secret compartment for unfinished work. The built-in battery-operated light gives your child the sense of feeling grown up will reducing eye-strain.  You will appreciate how the stool is just the right size for your child, and slides perfectly under the desk to be out of the way when your child is not using it.  You’ll love what this desk can inspire in your child!

For kids:
This sturdy desk will take you places you’ve never been!  With no sharp corners, a stool, and the desk itself, you can leverage it to climb places you’ve previously been denied!  Need to hide candy wrappers from parents?  No problem!  Just lift up the top of the desk and throw it in there!  Want to drive your parents crazy with another lost library book?  Toss it in the cubbies behind the desk, and they will never find it!  Works well for more expensive CDs and DVDs, too.  Stuff toy cars, broken crayons, doll clothes, and dirty underwear in any of its easy-to-reach storage spaces.  The best part is the light that you can turn on after your foolish parents think you are a sleep.  The light itself practically doubles the mischief you can make.  You’ll love what this desk can inspire in you!

Great for kids ages 2-6.  Come take a look–Santa can hold on to it until Christmas Eve for you.

[No nibbles yet.]

I love my helper elves!

National Swear Day is kinda becoming a dud, as Dwayne hasn’t sworn while getting and setting up our Christmas tree for years now.  In spite of that, we still make it one of my favorite days of the year.

Check out the blue sky and perfect weather!

We are going to find the perfect 11’ tree…

at our favorite farm that has always had perfect, tall trees, until all of us consumers bought them out the last few years.

We finally had to settle for a pre-cut, and more expensive, tree.  But we’ve gotten screaming deals the last two years, so it evens out, especially when you consider the s’mores.

Dwayne and I even found a cute little place to practice our kissing.

I’m also a big fan of the letters to Santa.

Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year.  Well, except for the one time I hid Grampa’s wine materials.  I would really like to find a book of edible foods in the forests of Washington, and Love, under the tree.

From,

Kyla

Dear Santa,

I have been very good this year. Well, except for the one time when I been kinda bad. I would really like to find a vet kit under the tree.

From,

Piper

Dear Santa,
I have been very good this year. Well, except for the one time when I didn’t. I would really like to find a phone under the tree.

From,

Wesley