Holiday Happenings

Here's a little rundown of what we've been up to this holiday season.....

Grandpa, Debbie, and Great Grandma Helen came to our house for Thanksgiving. Grandma Helen taught Matt and I some fun new card games, and she even got the chance to help Jillian learn to play Go Fish.

I cooked for two days straight, so literally, this is my only picture from their visit.  So it goes.

We hit the mall for a visit to our beloved Rochester Santa--real hair, real beard, same guy every year. It's pretty cool. I was relieved that we didn't have a repeat of last year.

Adrienne excitedly ran up to Santa

When he asked them what they wanted, Jillian said, "It's a secret. I'll write you a letter!" and Adrienne said, "Bubble Guppies stuff".

A still looks a bit unsure. J looks SO tall to me here.

Jillian has discovered the joy of wrapping presents. She literally spent 2/3 of a day standing in one spot at the table wrapping some of our old toys "for kids who don't have toys". I didn't have the heart to tell her that we can't donate used, wrapped presents, so I am working on a way to have her help me load them up in a bag so that I can unwrap (without her knowledge) and donate some day she is at school She has such a big heart.

I highly recommend present-wrapping as an activity for a busy 5 year old. Best entertainer EVER. I didn't even mind that she used FOUR rolls of tape that day.

After the present wrapping she wanted to make a necklace and requested some beads. I didn't have any beads, so she did what any resourceful kid would do--she made some. From paper.

Paper beads with a wrapping paper string. Resourceful, indeed.

Matt and I have had a couple of really fun nights out. First, we attended a Cloud Cult concert at the Rochester Art Center. Cloud Cult is a local-ish band that we were unfamiliar with, but went to this concert as a benefit for a man Matt works with who was recently diagnosed with ALS. Cloud Cult is unique in that in addition to musicians, they have 2 artists on stage who create paintings during the performance and then auction them off (proceeds to the family with ALS on this night). The music was amazing--acoustic and tight harmonies (total heaven for me), and the paintings were really cool. A fun night that we will remember for a long time.

Painting one

Painting 2. I wanted this one for our basement. Unfortunately, so did our friends. Matt didn't want to bid against his colleague's wife, so we let it go....

Just a short 3 days later, we headed to a friend's house for a Martin Zellar house concert. If you are unfamiliar, Martin Zellar is head of the Gear Daddies, and they originated down the road in Austin, MN. They are quite popular with the local crowd, and while once again we were not very in tune with the music beforehand, we were nicely surprised with a super great night. Martin was an awesome storyteller, had great lyrics to his songs, and did an fantastic cover of "Little Red Corvette". Pretty cool to have such an intimate, acoustic concert. He opened up the mic for anyone who wanted to play his guitar and sing afterwards, but despite my best nudging, Matt refused to play in front of anyone (even if I offered to do the singing!).

Martin Zellar tuning up

On Monday, we had Jillian's big school Christmas program. She prepared for months, and was so excited to sing all 6 songs at the top of her lungs, have cookies with friends after, and attend pajama day the following day. Unfortunately, the night ended with Jillian (literally) getting sick during song number 5.  Despite being devastated for missing the last song, the cookies, and the subsequent day of pajama-wearing at school, she was young enough to not be embarrassed, and for that we are thankful. The story of it all deserves its own post, and of course some video of the earlier songs, but I've yet to upload anything. For now, enjoy a pic of our beauties pre-performance.

About one hour pre-vomit...Adrienne wanted to wear her Christmas dress, too

Daddy and A, pre-show. I love this pic for so many reasons, most of which is the classic 2 year old fingers-in-nose pose. 

When I Was A Little Girl.....

Sometimes it's easy to think that Adrienne doesn't catch everything that goes on in our conversations, mostly because she is really into "being a baby" and proclaiming "I can't!" to everything I ask her to do, or just running around like a wild woman while the rest of us chat. But, she has proved me wrong many times this week as she spouts off some hilarious verbiage that indicates she tunes into everything. A couple examples that make me smile....

-She and I were driving in the car yesterday and we drove past a Wendy's restaurant. I do not frequent Wendy's (Oh, but a frosty sounds pretty good!), nor have I ever taken my children to Wendy's. Adrienne said, "What's dat over dare, Mama?" I told her it was a restaurant named Wendy's, to which she replied, "Oh yeah, I went dare when I was a wittle girl". And this morning, as she descended the stairs with Jillian (who was holding her Dorothy doll). "Hey, Jee-yan! Is dat yo Dorfy doll?" Jillian affirmed that it was in fact, her Dorothy doll, and then Adrienne said, "I had one of doze when I was a wittle girl!" I guess she has been paying attention to all the conversations Jillian and I have been having about the things I did, toys I had, movies I saw, and places I went as a little girl.

-Matt came home from work to find Adrienne (as usual) dressed in her Sleeping Beauty (aka Pwincess Auwowa) dress. He really made over the outfit and told her how lovely she looked, and what a beautiful dress she was wearing. Her response: "Thanks! I made it." Clearly she has been listening to Jillian showcase all the inventions, crafts, and pictures that she makes. 

Per Adrienne

Adrienne is really saying some funny things these days. Because of Jillian's Wizard of Oz obsession, Adrienne is well-versed in the ways of the wicked witch. You may recall that the famous line from the movie is, "I'll get you my pretty....and your little dog, too!!" Well, I have heard Adrienne taunting Jillian with her own version of the warning: "I'm gonna get you little girl....and I want your puppy!"

And today, we put up our Christmas tree. Matt was the master of ceremonies and he handed out ornaments one at a time, so that everyone got to put an equal amount on the tree. Often, he had the girls close their eyes and hold out their hands to see what kind of 'surprise' ornament would be given to them. Adrienne was delighted to open her eyes and discover a fun kid ornament, but her response took us by surprise: "Oh wow! Look! A potty treat!"

We call it an M&M, Adrienne, but you DO know it as a potty treat!

We have a potty treat on our Christmas tree!

LIttle Blessings

It is true that I find the girls to be quite a handful most of the time these days. They are busy, full of spirit, energy, independence, and desire to strongly assert themselves in most all situations. This week (probably as a result of the upcoming holiday, and all the thankful themes that permeate every blog, story, or devotion I read) I have really been trying to let some of it go--to take a few deep breaths, let them be little, try to keep my cool, and just be thankful that I have these children. To be thankful they are healthy. To be thankful they are smart. To be thankful they love each other, and want to play together. To be thankful for the slimy kisses. To be thankful for the paper scraps all over the floor after a creative burst of energy. To be thankful for the little hands clinging to and pinching my legs as I try to cook dinner. To be thankful for the innocence of their minds and the purity of their hearts. To be thankful for the joyful noise that threatens to make my head explode most days. To be thankful for their questions. Oh, the endless questions. To be thankful for the Cheerios I step on multiple times a day. To be thankful for the expression of personality in wildly mismatched outfits. To be thankful for orneriness that ends up making me giggle. To be thankful for Jillian. To be thankful for Adrienne. Thank you, God, for these beautiful little blessings.

And sleep. I am thankful for the sweet peace of slumber.

Matt took the girls out for some errands and a trip to Chuck E Cheese today so I could have some alone time to get some holiday cooking done (add this to my thankful list!). They came home with a new little friend. We may not be eating turkey at our house this year (5 weeks until the pescetarian/vegetarian year ends....everyone better get out of my way at Newt's on New Year's Eve. Nothing will stand between me and my marvin's burger. Nothing.), but we still have turkey in 'da house! Happy Thanksgiving from all three of the little turkeys!

We were about to watch a rest time movie, hence the pajamas. Jillian insists all movies be watched in pajamas, even if they are seasonally inappropriate. I think it slightly ironic that while turkey is not part of our thanksgiving feast this year, the cute little crabs on the pajamas just happen to be....it's a low country Thanksgiving over here, y'all.

Glamping

Matt bought a tent about a year ago with the intent of taking Jillian camping. They planned to start out in the backyard, and thought they could work their way up to a local campground with friends (because Mommy doesn't camp!). It always seems that time and weather get in the way, but tonight, the tent was erected in the playroom, along with a pretty cushy air mattress. Jillian got out her sleeping bag and hauled her beloved blanket and stuffed animal (and the picture on her bedside table--the one of her and her dear departed goldfish, Dorothy) into the cushy space they created. I suppose this would be more aptly termed "glamping".

Waiting for Dad to get downstairs. Check out the hot pink picture frame close to her head. She is really good with simulating details.

Soon they were in place, with lights out (and lantern on) and the featured film on the iPAD rolling: The Wizard of Oz. As a side note, Jillian begged to watch this movie last weekend. We (I) hesitated because I am still scared of the Wicked Witch of the West, and I was sure she would be too. Matt decided we should watch it, and Jillian was enamored. Adrienne watched most of it, too, and thought it was hilarious. I guess this is just an example of how we shouldn't project our own current or past fears on our kids. The game of the week has been "good witch, bad witch" (which I guess is a little girl's version of Good Cop, Bad Cop?), and we have already had lengthy discussions about a family Wizard of Oz-themed Halloween costume next year (with Jillian assigning roles, of course). End of side note.

The campers requested some snacks about midway through their movie, so I just ran down to deliver popcorn, M&Ms, and peanuts. Looks like they are having fun!

Matt is such a good dad

North Americans

I got a kick out of the explanation that went along with this little project Jillian brought home from school. "Mom, this is me as a North American. You know, those people who were with the pilgrims on the first Thanksgiving"

Um, you mean the Native Americans?

"Yep, I'm a North American!"

My little "North" American

Thankful

A crafty mom I am not. But, I have a craft-loving 5 year old, so every now and then I manage to get my act together and do something "not boring" (meaning something outside of 'just' coloring) for her. I have seen the idea for a 'thankful tree' on Pinterest for many years now, and knew that I finally had a kid old enough to appreciate the activity and to fully participate in reflecting on things she is thankful for. So, after school today I surprised my crafter with the activity and she was over the moon. I was blown away by the depth of her responses. At first, we focused on thinking of four things we were especially thankful for.

Jillian is thankful for:

Top to bottom: God, warm clothes, light, and Adrienne (tear in my eye over this one)

Adrienne is thankful for:

Princess Sofia and a cozy bed (pretty sure she heard Jillian rattle that one off in the car as we were talking about this, but props to her for retaining the idea). 

After Jillian's original four, she requested to do more. We ended up with thankful "leaves" for teachers, cat (when I reminded her that we don't have one, she said she is thankful for Grammy's cat, Urban), Dad, a bed, friends, and "someone who takes care of me that starts with an 'M'"--that's me!

Our thankful tree

In case you were wondering, Mom and Dad also participated. Jillian nearly knocked Matt over as he came through the door excited to tell him about this activity. She was bursting with curiosity about what he would write on his leaves. 

Love seeing that sweet 5 year old penmanship mixed in with the grown up writing.