Christmas Photo Synopsis

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. I got most of my shopping done really early, so I got to enjoy the more fun parts of the season. One of my favorite things we did this Christmas was to go see "Savior of the World" at the Conference Center.

The decorations were beautiful both inside . . .

. . . and outside

The cast members were very friendly and let us take their pictures. The shepherd wasn't nearly as dirty and smelly as he looks.

And Mary was much younger than she looks - good makeup. The play was beautifully done and a perfect reminder of what the season was about. As long as we can get tickets, I'd love this play to become a yearly tradition for our family.

We had so much fun spending the night with Sammie.

We decided on Friday before Christmas to go to California (we would leave Christmas afternoon), but I couldn't feel good about going unless my toy closet and office were cleaned up. They've been weighing on me for a long time.

Isn't that the prettiest picture you've ever seen? DI was very happy to see us that night.

Sam doesn't care much for our vacuum so he hid under the table and climbed on top of boxes as an evasive maneuver.

Sam got to open Nana's present early so he could wear it to church.

Sheryl and Dave Babcock came over on Christmas Eve and had a nice dinner with us. But on Christmas morning, Sam woke up sick, so we realized that we wouldn't be able to make the drive to California after all.

Can you guess what Sam's bowl is for?

In spite of Sam's puking all day, we had a really fun Christmas. And, sad though we were to not see our family in California, it was really nice to just stay home and do nothing for a few days. And there are lots of pictures to help compensate.

Steve really likes his book from Rich. It has a place of honor on the tank of Steve's throne.

Sarah and Abby both got a couple of Webkinz from Santa. Now I have to fight with them for computer time.

Abby and Sarah also love their giant Indian Paint horses (I know they're Indian Paint horses because Sarah, the horse expert, told me).

Matt loves his cool drumsticks from his Washington cousins.

He's anxious to take them to school and show them off.

Anna loves her new purse. She talks about how much she loves it every time we go anywhere. I love it, too, and told her that I want it for myself when she's tired of it.

Matthew couldn't act like a savage by ripping paper off of Oma's present because it was packaged in a gift bag, so instead, he used his mouth to rip out the tissue paper.

Nana and Grandpa's gift will help him act like a savage, though.

Princess Abby loves her Cinderella Barbie from Oma. Notice that everyone is in jeans or pajamas except for Abby. She had to put on her satin and lace dress for the occasion.

Steve wondered why Abby and Sarah got a truck from Nana and Grandpa until they also opened a horse trailer - that cleared it all up. They are doing very well sharing their joint gifts.

Anna really wanted an Ipod for Christmas. But Santa gave her an Ipod pad of paper in her stocking, so she thought that's as close as she was going to get.

When it was time for her to open her "big gift," she thought it was another book. We told her it was a very good book (Human Neuropsychology) - she was very gracious in hiding her disappointment.

But she quickly discovered that the book had a big hole cut in the center that hid a little Ipod Nano. She has hardly put it down for nearly a week now.

Matthew's "big gift" was also disguised. We put a bunch of big books in a box to add some weight and act as a decoy. He'd seen Anna open her gift, so when he opened the package, he started flipping madly through the books looking for his real gift's hiding place. Can you see the real gift sitting right on top in the box? He gave us a good laugh with all his searching.

He was very happy with his green Nano, too.

Sam only opened one or two presents on Christmas morning - we saved the rest until he was feeling better a couple of days later. So Thursday, he finally opened a truck from one of his Washington cousins and liked it so much that he didn't want to open anything else. But that's okay; we'll just save his presents for next year. Babies are great that way!

Christmas Card Quiz

• Guest post from Steve.

Can you guess which kid has a photoshopped head?

Isn't Photoshop great? You have 5 kids that you're trying to get to smile all at the same time without blinking or making rabbit ears (or any other kind of finger gesture, for that matter). If you're lucky, one out of 50 shots will look good. But with Photoshop, you don't need to take 50 pictures. Just a few. Then cut and paste the best head shots into the best overall picture. And voila, a decent picture! And that's what Susan did with our Christmas picture this year. (She hasn't mastered the airbrush and nip/tuck techniques of Photoshop yet, or I would be in the picture too). Can you guess the kid with the head that was cut/paste?

First, place your vote in the poll to the right, then you can check your answer in the comments. Don't peek!

Getting Christmas Under Control

Every year, I start off my Christmas shopping with a reasonable list. But somehow, I always end up with too many presents for one child. Then I have to find more gifts for all the other children so they won't compare numbers of gifts and find their own massive pile lacking. Every Christmas morning, I find myself disgusted at the excess, and I vow that next year will be different. Then I repeat the pattern again. It's a vicious cycle.

Until this year.

This year, a friend taught me a poem that she uses to control her Christmas gifting:

Something they want
Something they need
Something to wear &
Something to read

It was exactly what I needed - concrete and easy to remember boundaries before I even started shopping. I told the kids that they would be getting 4 gifts each. They liked the little poem enough that they're excited about their 4 gifts instead of feeling like they're getting gypped.


So when I'm out shopping and see something that Anna just has to have, I can remind myself that she already has her "something she wants" and pass it right by. Now I just have to practice enough self control to not stuff 5 outfits into one box and call it "something to wear."

And really, if you add the 4 gifts from me and Steve to the gifts from Nana and Grandpa, the gifts from Oma, and the gifts from their cousins, it's still going to be excess, but at least I feel better about it.

Sam's Man Suit

Doesn't Sam like his new suit?

Or maybe he just wants his bottle that I'm holding hostage over my head.

I tried so hard to get a decent picture of Sam in his hilarious suit, one where he wasn't sucking on his bottle. You can't look like a little man with a bottle hanging out of your mouth, can you? It was a no-go. I finally got him to look up and smile briefly by banging myself on the top of the head with his bottle. But you can still see the tears in his eyes.

I Learned Something New Today

Did you know that if you get Drano on your hands, it burns? But you won't notice the burn for a few hours because alkaline burns sink in deep before they burn you. So once you do notice the burn, there's not a whole lot you can do about it. If you know you've touched Drano, you should rinse it off well with water and then rinse it in vinegar to neutralize it. You should rinse it for several minutes.

Around noon yesterday, Abby washed her hands in my sink that I'd just poured Drano into. Then around 8:00 last night, she started complaining of this sore spot on her hand. 8 HOURS LATER! I called poison control like the bottle told me to, and they said there's not a whole lot I could do for it besides watch it in case it gets worse. Alkaline burns can keep getting worse for several hours because they penetrate deep and kill tissue. It doesn't look like much now, but last night it was weepy and raw and even looked a little bruised and gray. And it sure caused a ruckus around here. Even little burns hurt a lot, especially to a 6 year old.

The first picture above is about 20 hours after she first got Drano on her hand. The second picture is about 30 hours after, and it's gotten significantly worse. At least it's not hurting her anymore unless you touch it, but it kind of freaks me out!

Tree Decorating

We had fun decorating the Christmas tree last night. The kids were very excited to pull out all of the ornaments and find the ones they had made throughout the past several years of school. It's always a challenge for me to come up with creative ways to tell them to hang one of their handmade ornaments in the back of the tree without hurting their feelings. Sarah finally caught on to what I was doing, so I had to explain to her, "I love all of the ornaments you made, but some of them are prettier than others, so I want those ones in the front!" She seemed to take it okay. They took turns using the ladder to get all of the good ornaments up high so Sam couldn't reach them.

Of course, it didn't take Sam long to figure out how to reach the best, most breakable ornaments.

While decorating the tree was fun, Matthew, pubescent boy that he is, was especially excited to hang up the kissing balls.

Everyone wanted to put the star on the top of the tree, but Matthew was the loudest and most obnoxious about it, so he got to do it.

All of the tree decorators were happy with our beautiful tree even though they had to decorate it almost exclusively on the top half.

Unfortunately, a tree that is decorated only on the top half tends to be very top heavy, so it looked somewhat like this in the morning only with fewer ornaments still on it. Luckily, no one was sleeping under it like we usually do the first night.

Abby was very happy, though. After we re-decorated the tree and strapped it to a bolt in the wall, she got to put the star back on the top.

And now we have fewer breakable ornaments for Sam to target.

The True Story

Last night was parent teacher conferences at our junior high. We knew going in what we would find with Anna's grades. We've been dealing with ADHD since kindergarten when I came home from our first ever parent teacher conference in tears. Looking back, I realize that the teacher was an idiot - she didn't have a single positive thing to say to us. Hello . . . it's kindergarten!

Last night, we went ahead and met with her counselor to see what our options are for her. She's in 9th grade, so her grades count now. She can do well and gets A's on nearly everything she turns in, but she works so slowly that she falls behind quickly. And when she falls behind, she falls hard because not handing in homework is a foolproof way to fail all of your classes. The good news is that the counselor told us about this magic thing called a 504 plan. It's for kids with disabilities, including learning disabilities, to help put them on an even playing field. So the counselor is going to start the process of getting a 504 plan in place for her on Monday. I'm very excited to find out about this option for her and wonder why I've never heard of it before. When we reviewed her standardized tests from 3rd grade to the present, we saw such a strong pattern. She always tests very well (in the 80 - 95th percentile) unless the test is timed. If it is timed, she tests in the 20 - 30th percentile. Among other things, this 504 plan will mean more time for her on important state tests and even, eventually, on the ACT and SAT. So, although her grades still need some serious work, at least we are moving in the right direction with her.

Matthew's grades were a little more of a surprise to all of us. First, he got us all psyched up by saying he thinks he has A's in every class. He was really happy because he's trying to get straight A's so he can earn a drum set. (This is his reward if he gets a 4.0 - sadly, we feel pretty safe offering this as a reward.) But it turns out that getting us all excited to see his grades was not a wise move for Matthew. When we saw his actual grades, it was so much more painful than it would have been. He does have A's, but unfortunately, they're only in percussion and PE. In his classes that matter, he's not doing quite so well. I don't get how he can think he's getting an A in English, but then find out he only has 33%. We're now working on the concept of "you get out what you put in."

Anna and Matthew are both grounded until their grades are up. No friends, TV, computer, video games, books, or anything else they like to do until every single assignment is turned in. And, since they apparently need me standing over them for every second of their homework, I'm effectively grounded, too.

An Exercise in Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Tonight was parent teacher conference at our junior high. It is my favorite day of the whole year. I get to sit with a smile on my face while the teachers all congratulate me on what exemplary students my children are. They both have straight A's and are on the high honor roll! And neither one has a single tardy which means outstanding citizenship grades all around.

Time To Get My Thyroid Checked

On Friday, I very nearly backed my car out through the closed garage door. I caught myself in the nick of time. Heart pounding, I drove Abby to school and went in with her to help in her class. While I was there, I realized we'd forgotten her birthday cupcakes . . . again - her birthday was the day before. Since I only live 1/4 mile away, I went home really quick to get them. I ran in, yelled to Anna that I came home to get the cupcakes so she wouldn't think there was an intruder in the house, and got back to the school within 5 minutes. I parked and turned to get the cupcakes, only to realize I'D FORGOTTEN THEM AGAIN!!! So I drove back home, cursing myself the whole way.

Last time I had this severe of a lapse in brain function, my thyroid was really messed up. That was when I left 18 month old Abby in the bathtub by herself for 15 minutes, completely forgotten (the water was only a few inches deep, but still!!); I ladled soup out onto a plate; and I left the iron sitting on the floor. It must be time to get checked again.

I Love You Mama

I got this from my wonderful aunt, Jaynee, and had to share it. This happens in reverse at my house - my kids are the ones in prison.

Happy Birthday Abby!!!

Abby is 6 today!!! If you don't know Abby, but you do know Liahona, then that's almost like knowing Abby.

Six of My Favorite Abbyisms

6) When she was 2-3 years old, she loved to sing "Shake Your Booty" while she grabbed poor Molly's hind end and shook it back and forth. It was especially sweet when the dog's behind would hit her in the face (anybody want a kiss?).

5) Abby has a very contradictory personality. She is a total bulldozer, very strong-minded and persistent. It can be a difficult quality in a child, but will be awesome in an adult. At the same time, she is also very tender-hearted and nurturing (especially to crickets). It's such a funny combination.

4) She came home from preschool last January with a picture of Martin Luther King and told me, "This is Rosa Parks' friend."

3) She calls Box Elder bugs "Ox Gelder" bugs. It's a strong bug that can geld an ox!

3.5) She is a true princess at heart. For her 4th birthday, she got a bunch of princess paraphernalia: crown, fancy gloves, fancy shoes, a crown, and a Cinderella dress. She also got sick that night. But even though she didn't feel well, she put on all of her princess gear and posed for us over and over until she was throwing up.

2) When I asked her, "How do you help crickets that are missing a leg?" she answered totally straight faced and matter-of-fact, "I kill them." (age 5 5/6 - see posts from September 5 and September 18)

1) Finally, the best Abbyism of all, the one that will haunt her for the rest of her life, "I like the smell of fireworks . . . they're like a really good fart." (age 4)

Happy birthday funny girl.

Nervous Breakdown

My last post about the pies was somewhat deceptive in that it made me look very organized and efficient. So I told Paige my next post would be about my messy house and my nervous breakdown. I took pictures but can only bring myself to post the most mild of them - too embarrassing.

left to right: scary toy closet, boxes sitting in my living room, Sam's work on the kitchen floor, the least scary picture of my office

These are the reasons for my fast approaching nervous breakdown (the speed of its approach depends a lot on the time of the month):

• Sam won't stay out of the dogfood. It is his favorite snack. The other day, I caught him with his cheeks bulging. When I asked him what he had, he started spitting it out to give to me. He gave me an entire handful of soggy dogfood. It took him several spits to get it all out, and then he cried because I took away his snack.



• Yesterday, Sam took apart a pen and got blue ink all over himself - I'm still trying to figure out what else he got the ink on. It's even on his butt. (Don't ask me how - he had a diaper on.)



• This morning, Sam took apart another pen, and I found him sticking its various parts into an electrical outlet.



• He has lately learned to turn on the fireplace.



• I recently found 9 cans of food in the trashcan. Sam is obsessed with the trashcan, so we lose shoes, homework, books, toys, stainless steel mixing bowls, etc. to the trash. Steve finally put a lock on the pantry door. We had to put the lock high enough so that Sam couldn't just drag a chair over to unlock the pantry.



• My older kids leave the diswasher unlocked or open. Yesterday, Sam grabbed a 10 inch long sharp knife, and came running across the kitchen with it pointed straight at me to give it to me. I had just a second to decide: grab the knife or grab the kid, grab the knife or grab the kid. I nearly had a heart attack.

Abby posing with the knife for size perspective (Abby is 6 and very responsible with knives. She also only held this knife under close adult supervision, so no need to call CPS)

With the first few babies, we used to be pretty baby proof. Now, it's impossible to baby proof because the older kids all leave doors open, cupboards unlocked, gates open, pens out, outlet covers off, . . . The list goes on and on. It's a good thing he's cute.

Holiday Baking with Friends

On Tuesday of this week, a few friends came over for a pie making day. We spent the entire day making pie filling and pie crusts to go in the freezer for holiday use.

Liz Mitchell (cousin), Me, Deborah and Karin (friends from Utah)


We made 4 quadruple batches of chocolate filling and 4 quadruple batches of vanilla filling. (Vanilla is for banana cream pie, peach cream pie, coconut cream pie, etc.)

And we covered the entire table in plastic wrap and rolled out 58 pie crusts. My niece Sheryl showed up to help, too, and made off with a razzleberry pie.

And we made a giant mess of the kitchen.

And when the kids all asked if they could have pie, I said, "As soon as the kitchen is clean, we can have pie!" They were happy to oblige.

All totalled up: 32 pie fillings, 4 razzleberry pies, 2 apple pies, and 46 pie crusts.

What I got to keep for my freezer: 4 vanilla pie fillings, 4 chocolate pie fillings, 1 razzleberry pie, and 20 pie crusts to use for pecan pies for neighbors and home teachers! My holiday baking is more than halfway done!