Week of Christmas (with a few others I missed from before)

 The second weekend of December, we put up our tree.  If you look closely, you can see Santa's elf running.  My camera phone is just that good to catch it.

 Also in December, Will read a very short summary of World War 1, and determined that he could have done a much better strategy.  Luckily, we have a Risk board for just such a situation.  Eric happened to be studying a bit on World War 1 at the time and we had lengthy discussions on who were allies, why they were allies, and the tragedy of war.  Not the most uplifting of dinner conversations, but good discussions all the same. 

 I knew I had a photo somewhere of the completed puzzle.  Isn't is pretty?  I want to frame it, but who has time to do something like that in December.  It is currently in 7 or 8 large chunks in the box.  I'm sure I will get to it soon.

 The Monday before Christmas, we began to bake cookies.  Last year, 1 or 2 of us was out with some sort of stomach bug, so I twas nice to have everyone healthy.  I even had aprons and hats for all!

 There are some that are more helpful than others, but I have to say the Hershey kiss cookies are the best for kids.  They help roll the balls, unwrap the kisses, and put them all in the cookies.  They knew I had the power to take away all additional Hershey kisses, so they were pretty well behaved.

 We have had a couple of water tables, and never used them.  You know what works really well?  The kitchen sink.  John spends an hour playing and really doesn't make too big of a mess.  He'd wash dishes, if I let him. 

 A few days before Christmas, Molly, John, and our neighbor pseudo-adopted a cat who showed up.  I told them they could give it milk, but it could not come in the house (it was very warm leading into Christmas).  Eventually, our neighbor's grandmother took the cat in.  And it had kittens!  Apparently 'it' is a 'she'.  For the record, we are not adopting a kitten.

 We made the traditional Christmas plates for our friends and neighbors.  John kept trying to sneak a cooking and Molly told him they were only for 'Awesome People', to which he replied: 'I am Awesome People, I'm an Awesome Boy!'  I gave him a piece or two of fudge.

 My 5th attempt at some cookies my neighbors in Ohio made for us.  I loved their cookies, and these were the closest, yet.  Maybe I'll get it next year!

 Molly and I attempted to curl her hair.  We watched youtube videos and everything.  It didn't last the night, but it was cute for the photo ops.

 This year it was John's turn to put in Baby Jesus.  And that was a good thing, but he was going to insist it was his turn whether it was or not.  Next year, Molly will get to do it for the first time since she was 3.  We have a list provided by Will in 2014 to insure he would get a turn in 2015.  Now everything is Even Steven, just the way he likes it!

The evening ended with the watching of The Muppets Christmas Carol, cookies and milk left out, a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas, and everyone getting snuggly tucked into bed.

The next morning, we heard tiny feet running up and down the steps.  Not too tiny, about 11 year old, 9 year old, and nearly 7 year old sized feet.  We had said they needed to stay in bed until 7, but Will and Molly could not handle it.  And Dom, who tried so hard to do what was requested, just couldn't be left out. John, was still sleeping soundly, and not being in the mood to deal with a cranky 3 year old on Christmas Day...I told everyone to let him stay asleep.

The older three had plenty to look at and as the morning wore on, they realized that really that early morning is the best before any of the presents are opened. 

That said, they all had wonderful gifts from Santa and Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles and Sibling and Parents and Friends.  The highlights included a Ping Pong table, Veterinarian kit, Bows and Arrows, Millenium Falcon Lego, Remote Control Cars, and some pink boots (guess for whom?). 

and 16 pairs of socks. 

Oh, and a giant soup mug.

And a bathrobe. 

And a Harry Potter Lego Castle, that no one thought was possible as we all knew it was discontinued.  But, Santa can do just about anything!

We had a wonderful holiday, and spent the next day preparing for our trip to Oklahoma!

Next: Oklahoma!  (Or, Molly gets her hair curled)

December in Review

 We had a wonderful December in preparation for Christmas.  It is has been a while that there have been both parents in the house for the whole month of December, and that really made a difference in my stress level!

 We got the ball rolling on the evening of December 1st as I took the older three out to pick out special Christmas mugs.  There was a complaint or two from the youngest on the next morning, as he wanted the snowman or Santa option, but his siblings had picked out the reindeer for him.  Eventually, peace was restored to our morning hot chocolate routine, and John learned a valuable lesson about falling asleep before 6 at night. 

 That weekend we had kids in 2 parades in the area.  Dom and Will rode on the boy scout float in the night parade for Prattville, and Molly rode on the American Heritage Girl float in the Millbrook parade the next afternoon.  And John got loads of candy.

 We spent Sunday decorating the house in the 70 degree temperatures, which was good, as it turned cold and snowed within 5 days. 

 Evenings were spent singing carols, playing games, putting together puzzles and watching movies.

 This year we added Home Alone 2 to our viewing repetoire.  I was opposed initially, but it is a pretty funny movie with a cameo of our current president.

 John was enthralled with our downhill skiers.  He actually did a good job of not interfering with their journey.  They both survived the whole of December, and had we not elected to keep our village up for January, one of them might still be attached to his skis.  Ah well...that is what Duco Cement is for! 

 This year a dream I've had for a few years now became reality.  The 5 oldest all took part in our Christmas Card assembly.  Will complained the most, but Dom and Molly worked very diligently and it was a pleasant arrangement all around.  Even Will's grousing was done with good humor...mostly!

I needed a mug tree to display our cute Christmas mugs.  Ridiculously thing to be proud of...but, I am.  So it gets a shout out on the blog. 

 St. Nicholas arrived on December 6th.  I think Dom was a bit disappointed he knew exactly what had come for him.  But, in all fairness to St. Nicholas, Dom had announced the night before that he really would like a new basketball.  Right in hearing distance of Buddy our house elf...Ok, fine, our Elf on a Shelf.  Overall, everyone was thrilled with the gifts left by the good saint and all are used frequently to this day.  He knows his stuff!

 Our tree toppers

 Eric doing his best impression of a professor.  He loves school.

 The week before Christmas was our Christmas Pageant.  Dom was Dominic The Donkey.  His costume was a bit of a letdown.

 I spent the majority of the show attempting to catch the eye of Will who felt it necessary to carry on a conversation with the boy next to him through the ENTIRE production.  Except when he saw me looking right at him. 

 Molly epitomizing the concept that there are not small roles, only small actors.  She was a delight to watch and brought a great deal of personality to her small role.  Seeing her enthusiasm for singing and the motions probably saved Will from a greater punishment.  Which was basically just letting him know I was disappointed in his lack of self-control.  For the record, his conversation was entirely on how to make the show more interesting for all of the kids aside from just walking up and sitting down and singing a few songs.

 I really enjoy puzzles, but having small children around makes it difficult to do anything bigger than a 250 piece puzzle (which are hard to find, by the way).  However, I succeeded in completing a 500 piece puzzle over the course of a week.  I had help from all of the children.  One memorable time was with Will (He gets a lot of attention in this post, I believe).  He would alternate between saying how hard the puzzle was and quoting a Bill Cosby comedy CD that he and Dom were listening to over and over and over again.  He needs to work a bit on his delivery, but I laughed none the less. 

Next: Christmas and our trip to Oklahoma...as soon as I figure out where the pictures are hiding on my computer.

Happy Birthday, Molly!

  January 5th, 2011 was 7 years ago, so by my calculations...Molly has now reached the age of Reason:  Look out world!  She is a girl with a powerful brain, and meeting her will leave a lasting impression on you.

Molly's 6th year was pretty huge as these things go.  Skills were learned that will serve her for the rest of her life.  Early in the year, she hopped on our neighbor's bike and just took off.  Proving her mother a liar.  Mea Culpa!  I had just told my neighbor (the little boy's mother) that Molly was just not interested in riding a bike after a nasty crash the previous summer when we put training wheels on her bike.  Something tells me this is going to be a trend.  I say she can't do something and she says: Watch Me!  Actually, I'm a pretty fast learner...I'll just stand back and yell: Watch Out! Not so much for her, but the people in her path.

A couple weeks after this, she traded in her bike for an elephant.  Go big or go home is her motto.  And it was a flying one at that!  Typical Molly...

I believe it was around our trip to Disney World that she started to take more interesting pictures than that boring "smile" variety.  Many of our photos have quite a bit more personality when Molly is involved.

Molly has developed into a very fluent reader.  I'm not entirely sure when this happened as she learned how to read without my help (we credit 2 years in speech therapy for this).  As such, she now has an opinion about books from the library.  She discovered Pinkalicious...and let's just say I am very grateful that she can read these to herself.  Note to all parents of girls (and boys) out there: Read Fancy Nancy!!  She is awesome...Pinkalicious is just very....pink....like that lemonade in Sound of Music.

In the last year, Molly and John have become playmates with similar interests.  Play doh, dress-up, and painting are three of their favorite activities.  I encourage dress-up for obvious reasons.

Our Molly-girl is generally up for anything.  She and I took a bike ride in the spring to check out the donut shop that recently opened.  #WillRideForDonuts

She, being only around a math-nerd Mom, is equally excited about Pi Day and other random math facts.  #Don'tChange

One day, she left on a Great Adventure around the block.  She took our camera and came back with many delightful pictures like the above.  Don't worry...she took snacks.  I've taught her well.

Molly is a very self-motivated student.  We technically completed her first semester of 1st grade, but only did school a couple of days a week.  Still aced the final.  Just like her Mom.  #SoProud

Math is probably not her favorite subject, much to my dismay. (She has many interests that she would rank ahead of math...not that she doesn't like it)  But, she is very good at it.  Her favorite way of doing her exercises is when I sit and watch her do problems declaring she will never, ever get them right...and she absolutely nails them.  (See second paragraph)

Molly still enjoys watching Pioneer Woman when we get to watch it, and we both have opinions about HGTV. (Who doesn't? What are those people thinking!)

She is still my sidekick and loves being on team Girl.  When I was knocked out a couple of days with the flu, she made me these delicious pancakes.  Which is good, because I don't make pancakes.  That is a special Molly and Dad activity...though, I don't think he has ever received DAD pancakes.

Molly drawings are regularly featured in our home.  Her imagination knows no bounds...though, her drawings tend to be of girls doing fun things like swimming, sliding, and standing around with flowers. Girls Just Want to have Fun!

Fun like driving a GoKart.

Or staying in on a Saturday Night. (That's my girl!)

Or sporting a Pi Tattoo #YKTR

She is a beauty.

Who is fearless.  She was introduced to a kayak in June and she and Will just took off across the lake.  And came back, so it's all good.

Molly has a huge heart and loves to write letters and draw pictures for people.  On Father's Day, she drew this on the white sands of Destin. 

There was one day, she came out dressed 'as a boy'.  She wanted to know if I thought anyone would realize she was a girl.  I didn't tell her that the pink frames were a bit of a giveaway.

But, she would never want to be a boy anyway.  She loves being a girl.

And, frankly, she is really good at it.

She is good at many things. 

Even subbing in for the tooth fairy when the tooth fairy was inexplicably delayed one night.

This year, Molly got involved in her first organized activity.  American Heritage Girls.  She loves attending and made friends immediately.  As has been her way for several years now.  Who needs organized activities when you can pick up BFFs at the beach, park, or grocery store?

For Halloween, Molly picked out and designed her costume: Tux, my parents' Boston Terrier.  

The years go by fast these days.  Sometimes she looks so grown up.

Other days, she is her silly self and I know we have many more years to go.

She was type-casted in the church Christmas pageant.  Get it?  It was a lot of fun to watch her sing with gusto.  She was put on the edge on purpose, otherwise she quite likely would have stolen the show.  Something her RE director pointed out as she introduced the cast.  That's our Molly-girl.  She and I attended the Nutcracker with a friend and her mom.  When I told Molly we were going, in typical Molly fashion, she wanted to know if she would be in the audience or on the stage.  This is improvement over her assumption for the last several years that she should always be on the stage.  I believe Bill Shakespeare has a quote about this...

Molly is a girly-girl with a mom who is not so much a girly-girl.  But, I'm going to have to up my game because her aunts that could help her live the dream reside in states many hours away.  She and I spent an hour or so one morning trying to figure out how to get her hair to curl.  We had some success Christmas Eve night, and she looked like a doll.  Apparently, there is a chemical one can spray in her hair to maintain a curl for longer than a few minutes.  I need to do some more research into this phenomenon.

We are pretty proud of our Molly.  She is spunky, intelligent, talented, fun loving, and has great love for her family and friends.  And quite a bit of self-awareness.  Last Spring, we attended her cousin's First Communion.  While sitting and reading a prayer book she came across a prayer and leaned over and whispered: This is me!

   Lord, let my family know how much I love them

Even at the times I don't show it.

Happy Birthday, Molly!  I've typed some version of this every year, but we thank God for your presence in our family.  You bring a bit of sparkle to every day and help me grow in patience and understanding as we travel this road together.  I am so proud of the kind heart you are growing, and your understanding of forgiveness and how we all need this in our lives.  You feel 100% with your emotions, and that is refreshing to everyone who meets you.  I love watching people ask you a question and then see the looks of astonishment as you give a thorough, articulate, and completely honest response.  I hope you will always be someone people think of with a smile and an anecdote.  Because, the world needs more people like you.  People that give compliments freely, hugs enthusiastically, and dance with complete abandon!

We love you, Miss Molly!  The table looks lovely, now it is time to make the refreshments for your tea party!