Christmas shrapnel.

I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying all of the post-holiday blogging about afore-mentioned holidays (and by "afore" I mean the ones I just mentioned in the same sentence). There was adventure, intrigue, illness, stitches, lots of family and even more food. I tried so hard to keep things under control but found myself on Christmas morning calling my children back repeatedly to finish opening gifts. I say this every year, but next year WILL be different. We got so much from family I felt overwhelmed as I lugged basket after basket up the stairs to find places for all of our new, fun things...things that will have to be packed in a car in a few months...so maybe I should have solicited donations for a hitch and trailer to get everything back home. But the gifts were so thoughtful and so appreciated. But if I have to eat another meatball, I'm gonna puke.
So really, I hope despite all the stress of the times, your holidays were truly as enjoyable as ours.
Here is another week in pictures:
We got to talk to Clark a bunch this week. His port call made me jealous and sad at the same time. What a fun place to be, stinks that he had to be there all alone and missing Christmas with his family. I could tell you where he was, but then I would have to kill you...OK, not really since it already happened...he was in the south of France eating cheese, poor boy.We went to the Nutcracker put on by Salt Lake's own Ballet West. It was a great show and the girls started out very happy though only one was in "good" spirits enough by the end for pictures (we took this while we were all still very happy to be there...)
Christmas morning didn't wake us until 8am, yipee! We were greeted by lots of fun gifts from lots of loving people. And I'm glad to report that they are still playing with their new toys five days after Christmas...lookin good.
We went to the SLC Church History Museum where they have a fun kids' display. This is me preaching from a pulpit...we get the same effect whenever I open my mouth to talk to my kids.
The grandkids present at Christmas Eve put on a most adorable Nativity where they actually agreed upon playing different roles...last year we had a dozen angels...this year we had all the roles filled...including Mia who we convinced to be a shepherd, though she wouldn't let go of baby Jesus.
We had only one illness which landed me in the hospital for a totally entertaining 12 hours...if the illness hadn't killed me the boredom surely would have...that goes for Mo too who sat with me the entire time...she didn't get to play with the mechanical bed but she did get to keep her entire body covered during our stay (and no samples were taken from anywhere off her body.)

We took the girls to Build A Bear to spend their gifts from their Dad. He gave them gift cards for Christmas and a pre-recorded voice box for their new pets. They are adorable...though when Mia's monkey in the Snow White dress is talking with Clark's manly sailor voice it makes me slightly uncomfortable.

And so it goes...and keeps going.

We are flinstone kids...ten million strong, and growing?

Let me just state for the record, that I find Flintstone vitamins to be a perfectly suitable side dish substitute for vegetables.
I would also like to state for the record that kids watching TV whilst the mother is in the throws of pregnancy induced illness/fatigue is also perfectly acceptable.
For instance, my first trimester pregnant with my second child, my first child ate her weight each day in Saltine crackers and watched TONS of TV, and she is really smart now and doesn't have any lasting behavioral or relational issues (that have emerged thus far...)
And while we're on the subject, sometimes just sitting and playing in soapy water is good enough for a bath...

And having your kids rub your feet with lotion CAN be a fun game...

So pregnant ladies of the world, involve your kids in this time...and by that I mean don't knock yourself out trying to act like life is normal when you're pregnant. I mean, coddle them and give them plenty of hugs and kisses and daily affirmations, but don't worry too much about how acquainted they are becoming with Arthur or how often they eat pasta, frozen pizza or cold cereal for dinner.
Please feel free to add your own advice...just don't tell me what to do.(This is me trying to look credible with my advice...I don't really wear glasses but I still know a lot, OK?)

Mullets anyone?

Do you know that I have actually had the conscious thought in my head “Gee I’m glad my girls have made it passed that age where they thought it was a good idea to cut their own hair.” I love my children, I really do. But sometimes, just sometimes, I overestimate them.

(Doesn't it just hurt to look at?...although with the actual occurrence a day behind me now, I laugh every time I look at them....They didn't even get punished for it...besides the no more scissors thing. I told them that their punishment was going to be living with it for the next 2 years while it grows out.)

If they had wanted a mullet of any kind they really should have asked first. As you can see, Haley got the worst end of it. Sometimes kids can be dumb. They are grounded from ever using scissors for anything until the hair grows back to a normal length. I am truly questioning their intellect this evening. I want to know not only how the six year old convinced the four year old, but how then the four year old convinced the six year old that this was a good idea.

Even though they were all playing together today, somehow Mia escaped this temporary lapse of judgment of her sisters and went to bed tonight with all of her hair intact.

So tonight I put their hair in sponge curlers for church tomorrow and let them wear shower caps for a while...do you think anyone would notice if they wore them permanently for the next couple of years?

Winter Wonder'freakin'land

(This is me giving the evil eye to the snow.)

So here is my recent realization and guilt stricken confession...I hate the snow.
You think it's beautiful? Think again. It falls deceivingly graceful to the ground where it lays in wait silently to maim and destroy all who come in contact. It beguiles even the smartest winterer into playing and frolicking..."come look how fluffy and fun I am"...I know it too well but my poor naive daughters run into it's icy arms only to return 30 minutes later with frostbitten toes and fingers.
It is slippery and cold and wet. My car thinks so too. I vow not to go out in it again until it melts away into Spring...after I go to Costco. Texas is looking pretty good to me this December. (Note the driveway of death to the right...Mo is concocting new inventions that would prevent the shoveling and salting of this precarious situation including an electric net that you throw over it to immediately melt and clear its path...she hasn't worked out the kinks of the electric shock factor...it has tried to take the life of Grandpa and Dad already...evil and plotting...)

(On the upside, everyone is shopping
at the Macy's one day sale.)