Our Christmas in a (big) Nutshell

I think this was probably my favorite Christmas, in terms of the gifts that the kids received.  And we all know that is what Christmas is really about right?!?!  (Kidding).  Seriously though, there are only so many years that Santa can bring new bikes or that the kids can get handheld game systems.  And there's only so much longer that Calli will believe in the magic of Santa.  Thinking about her not believing makes me get a lump in my throat: I know that it's not something that is really important, but it certainly helps bring the Christmas spirit into the house.  Having all of your kids jumping up and down, excited to leave cookies and milk for Santa and see the gifts he leaves in the morning is just so special.  I know that even when she no longer believes we will still have two others, but it's not the same.  And it's just one more reminder that she is growing up.  I can't remember the ages that kids find out the truth, but I am sure our years are numbered!!

We cut down our tree when my dad was here visiting a couple weeks ago.  For a week it just sat in the living room corner undecorated and we finally went to work the following weekend.  It went very quickly and everyone pitched in, even the littlest ones.

 Christmas Eve started out blistery and wet, a change from the weather we had been accustomed to for the last month. I was happy for the cold though!!  We had our annual tradition of going to meet Santa at the mall on Christmas Eve. The mall was surprisingly quiet at 10am when we got there, which was nice, but bizarre. The line for Santa was just twenty minutes long or so and as I thought, Serena and Jameson were not fans. Richard and I ended up having to hold the little ones in the photo while Calli happily sat on Santa's lap. There has only been one year that she didn't like Santa and that was when she was eighteen-months-old. Every other year she has been a huge fan. Hopefully the others will come around someday too.


We walked around the mall for a bit and let the kids play in the play area as well. I had to find Christmas pjs for the kids still, way to leave it to the last minute!! I found some at Disney, after deliberating over them for way too long. We also got a Christmas ornament at a kiosk; one of the ones that you can have your names and the year written on it. I have decided that getting an ornament like that will be another yearly tradition.
We had lunch at Chick-Fil-A and Richard and I were able to fulfill our long suffering cravings for the peppermint ice cream that seems to be nonexistent here! Chick-Fil-A has these great peppermint chocolate chip shakes at the holidays and they are sooooo good. I am all about the peppermint during Christmastime.
We headed home after and Serena and Jameson were able to get naps. I decided to head back out to Toys R Us because the Leapster system and game I had bought Serena was 50% off that day!! Toys R Us said I could bring in my receipt for a price adjustment and so I decided to do just that. I saved $40!! I had to drive across town, but I ended up getting an awesome parking spot and walking right up to the customer service desk; the whole thing took about two minutes. When I walked back outside it had started raining and was quickly getting harder. On the drive over I had noticed the sky was literally black. It felt more like 5pm than 12pm and I knew it was only a matter of time. I was so lucky that I managed to get in and out without having to deal with the brunt of the storm. I did have to deal with it on the drive home however, and I always hate driving in that kind of rain. I can't see five feet in front of me and am driving as slow as I can. Meanwhile other people, who in normal weather can't figure out how to even get up to the speed limit, are zipping by me and it is truly scary. I made it home safe and sound and the rain had cleared up when I pulled back into the driveway.

 Calli was pretty much bouncing off the walls and driving us all a little nutty this whole day. She couldn't wait to open presents and was anxious for dinner to be over so she could open the one present we promised her she could. We always give pjs for Christmas Eve and although it's not very exciting, it's a fun tradition that they will appreciate more as they get older. I actually expected Calli to be a lot more disappointed by it than she was. She was pretty excited to see her new Princess Tiana pjs.

 Jameson was being extremely uncooperative!!

 But he did enjoy stealing my camera and taking many photos of the carpet, the cat, my socks, his socks, the fan, and once in awhile his face

 After the kids went to bed, Santa went to work!!  (S)he stuffed stockings and put together bikes and power wheels.  Calli's bike was the most challenging, but it all worked out and we couldn't wait to see the looks on the kids faces in the morning!!  Of course Christmas dawned bright and early in our house; around 6am to be exact.  I told Richard to hold them off until I got downstairs and ready with the video camera.  I literally just turned it on when Calli came bounding down the stairs and gasped in excitement.  They all dug right into their stockings and couldn't wait to move onto the big gifts.  Calli had already figured out that hers was a bike, but it was still fun to watch them all tear the wrapping paper down.  She wanted to quickly move onto the other presents, but I tried to slow things down because I knew we would be finished before 7am if we moved at that pace!!  I have to draw out the fun and magic as long as I can and relish it.

Jameson got this Mickey cell phone in his stocking.  Perhaps it will deter him from wanting Mommy's new phone??!!

 Jameson did not get a bike, but he did a Kawasaki power wheels.  He rode it around the house a little at first and seemed to love it.

 Here is this fabulous bike that I went to Toys R Us to get at 2am on Black Friday.  You are welcome Calli!!  It fits her perfectly.  It is an 18 inch bike; we had looked at the 16 inch ones and at the 20 inches.  The 20s didn't have training wheels so that was out and the 16s just looked like she would grow out of it too quickly.  The 18 was always perfect, but they aren't widely made for some reason.  We only have found a couple and we knew we wanted a Schwinn and it just all worked out.  She loves having a big bike now!

 Serena got a Minnie Mouse bike, the last one they had at Toys R Us on Black Friday and 40% off.  It was just meant to be!!  It is only a 10 inch and I would have preferred a 12, but I just could not pass it up.  It fits her well now and will last a good two years or so.  And it is MINNIE MOUSE.  Need I say more??

 Finally I let them tear into the presents and they sure made out...

 I got these dress ups at the Disney Store when all their Halloween costumes went on sale for 40% off.  Disney dress ups are the best quality and the best looking by far.  We have been saving them since October and I have been so excited to give them to my girls.  I think I am living a little vicariously through them because they just didn't make dress up clothes like this when I was a girl!!

Serena got Cinderella and Snow White

 And Calli got Tiana and Ariel.

 I had decided awhile ago that I wanted some kind of handheld game system for Calli.  Richard talks about a Wii a lot, but I am just not ready to have those video games in the house.  I was willing to get something handheld and educational and I knew Calli would love it.  There are several things on the market and I finally settled on the Leapster Explorer.  Then I realized that if Calli had one her and Serena would just fight over it and I would need TWO.   I decided to get a different model for Serena and it worked out perfectly.  They both love them and Serena is picking up on her games faster than I thought she would.  The only problem now is that Jameson gets his hands on them sometimes...looks like I know what he is getting for his birthday!!

 I had a bit of trouble coming up with good presents for Jameson, but I think I did surprisingly well.  We got him this Little Tykes basketball hoop and it will grow with him as he grows for a few years.  He already loves it and we're planning to put it out in the backyard sometime soon.  For now he plays in the living room and is getting good at making baskets.

 Jameson also got some monster trucks (I think??), hot wheel cars and a ramp/rollercoaster for the cars.  He got a great little toolbox from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Molly too.

One of Calli's absolute favorite gifts was her American Girl doll, Felicity.  I read the American Girl books as a child, back when there were just four girls.  Now it has really expanded and there are way too many to keep track of.  They still write the series of six books for a girl like they used to and they also do individual books for random girls.  The ones with the series of books have dolls and other fun things you can buy and the others don't.  Confusing I know!!  Anyway, Calli and I had been checking out the books from the library and she really liked them.  I told her about the dolls and how I used to have one when I was a little girl (I had Kirsten).  I ended up asking my mom if she still had that doll around; I thought maybe I could clean her off and regift her to Calli.  My mom said she didn't, but that they would love to buy one for Calli for Christmas.  Unfortunately they have retired Kirsten for some reason and are getting ready to retire Felicity.  My mom wanted to get her a Julie doll because Julie is from San Francisco (funny enough the author lives in Sebastopol, CA where my mom was born and raised), but we hadn't read those books yet.  And besides if Felicity was going away, I thought it made more sense to get her now.  AND she is a lot like Calli: a little sister and a little brother and very spirited.  I managed to drop hints before Christmas and convince Calli she wanted a Felicity doll (it really didn't take much work).  I couldn't wait for her open that gift and her reaction didn't disappoint.  She was thrilled and keeps Felicity with her all around the house.

The other very notable gift of the day was for Richard.  Should I get him an iPad, should I not??!!  Thanks to a very generous gift from his parents (who really deserve all the credit...after all, I basically just went to the store to get it!) I was able to buy it for him.  Unfortunately Calli was on Christmas break and I had to take that big mouth shopping with me.  She didn't know exactly what I was getting, which was GOOD.  I told her not to say anything to Daddy when he got home and to not even tell him there was a present for him and what does she do the minute he walks through the door?  "Daddy, we got you a present but it's a secret and I can't tell you!!"  Thanks, Calli!!  I think I did a pretty good job throwing Richard off for the next few days.  He kept talking about other e-readers and how he eventually wanted something.  I knew he would be surprised.  His gift was the last one to be opened and he was very taken aback, but happy with it.  So we all had a great Christmas!!

 After the last gift was open I started on breakfast.  I made blueberry muffins, croissants, potatoes o'brien, bacon, scrambled eggs with sausage and orange juice.  It was all so yummy and we were stuffed for hours.

 We spent the rest of the day outside riding bikes (where Serena and Jameson decided to switch).  Then we found out the Starbucks near us was open and I heard a peppermint mocha calling my name (remember my peppermint cravings around Christmas!??!).  We also went to Redbox to rent a family movie, Shrek Happily Ever After (I think that's what it's called?).  By the time we got home though, Serena and Jameson had fallen asleep so we ended up watching the family movie with just half the family.  After that I really wanted to watch Beauty and the Beast, which is my favorite Disney movie (and one of my favorite movies period) of all time!!  However, I was the only one who was really into it.  I tried to explain to my kids that this movie was like, the only animated movie ever to be nominated for best picture and one of the songs won the Academy Award (I think), but I don't think they truly appreciated the greatness of it.  Oh well.

All in all, we had a great day.  We wish we could have been celebrating with family over, as we saw lots of neighbors doing, but it is what it is.  We made the best of it and the kids had a fantastic holiday.  Now we (mostly me) look SO forward to the new year and all the changes it WILL bring.  Hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a happy New Years!!