Christmas 2012

Christmas 2012 can be summed up with "Less is More!"  I loved it so much! 

We started as we always do with a trip to Grandma Strawberry and Papa Cheese's for Christmas Eve!  We had 9 out of 11 grandchildren present so that is pretty good and also means a lot of chaos!!

 

The hit of Christmas Eve was Rocco got ANOTHER cell phone, but this one text messages so Rocco was estactic!!

 

As always, Hadleigh was not in the mood to cooperate or enjoy the moment!!

 

Bryan had to leave at 5:30 so he could make it to work on time. 

 

 

I took the kids home and they changed into their Christmas pjs.

 

Then Christmas morning....Jillian woke up to find the Tooth Fairy had left a sizeable reward for her latest tooth!

 

 

Bubba got a bike (without training wheels I might add)!

 

Jillian got a new Razor pink scooter!

 

and Hadleigh got a baby!

 

Then lunch at Bill and Summer's with part of my Mom's family and part of my Dad's family (I took zero pictures over there??)

 

Then later to my Mom's to open presents with the 6 kids!  Again, Hadleigh showed how cheery she is this holiday season!!

 

We really had a nice two days of Christmas but the Christmas fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks when we got home Tuesday night.  I am still recovering and I want all of the Christmas decorations up pronto!  Hopefully will do that tomorrow!

Merry Christmas from the Family

I am linking up again today with Kelly's Korner

Today is done!!!!  I am finished with teaching until 2013!!!! 

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!!!

Rocco's Christmas Program

During the first week of December, Rocco had his Christmas program.  He did awesome!!  Did you expect anything else?  He was actually very serious while singing and was very proud of himself for not goofing off like some of the other boys.  Ha!!!

This is Roc and his morning teacher Ms. Dee.  She is wonderful!

The is Roc and his afternoon teacher, Ms. Alina.  She is wonderful too.

Roc has been soooooo blessed with great teachers this year that love and adore him.  We are so thankful that he has had such fantastic teachers this year. 

Here he is singing "Go Tell It on the Mountain." 

Christmas Dance Showcase

Last Thursday was our day to visit Jillian's dance class.  She is now the "older" student in the 4-5 year old class. 

 

 

Showing off her handstand...

 

She did great ballet work!!

 

We have been waiting and waiting for Jillian's tooth to fall out and wouldn't you know???  It came out in the middle of dance class. 

 

 

Hadleigh really wanted to get out there and show off her moves too!  Here she is "stretching."

 

 

Finally, they did a little tap number - I'm Getting Nothing for Christmas.  Notice how much she is messing with her gap!  So funny!!

Christmas Decor 2012

This is the first time I am linking up with one of my favorite blogs Kelly's Korner so if you are visiting for the first time - welcome!!!

Since I have been married our theme has been silver and gold.  I am actually getting a little tired of this theme but I still do it.  Ha!!  Here is our tree.....  I think it turns out really beautiful.  You probably cannot tell that most of the decorations are from Wal-Mart!!  I have no problem with the kids touching the tree although really the kids don't mess with it even Hadleigh.  Don't get me wrong - we have had broken ornaments but I really don't get upset as they are from Wal-Mart. 

This year we did something different and let each child get their own tree.  (I scored all of these trees on Black Friday at Big Lots for next to nothing.  I love a great deal!!!)  Of course, Jillian picked a pink tree with pink ornaments!!!!

Rocco really wanted a blue tree but every Big Lots that we went to was sold out so we settled for a green tree with blue ornaments.  He loves it!!!

And Hadleigh boo got a purple tree with purple ornaments!!

This is our mantle.  Not the best (I probably need more beads and ornaments)  but it works!!!  I do sooo love our stockings from PB.  They are so beautiful!!

 Here is our front door!! 

Finally, we have two nativity sets in our house.  This one, Bryan's mom made and we just love it.  Of course, the kids can't touch this one. 

This is the BEST purchase I have ever made!!!!!  The kids play with this almost every.single.day.  They love playing with all of the characters and love listening to the music.  Seriously, it is such a joyous sound to hear one of the kids say, "Let's play Jesus.  I will be Jesus and you be Mary.  Hadleigh can be one of the sheep."  Ha!!! 

That's what we have this year!  Thanks for stopping by!!!

Guest Post by Red Ruby Rose

Hi.  My name is Red Ruby Rose.  I am the newest member of the P household.  Ashley didn't want any part of the Elf on the Shelf organization.  With all this "over-celebration of Santa" and all, Ashley thought that the "Elf phenomenon" that is going on is also out of control. 

BUT  unbeknownst to Ashley, her sister-in-law got the kids an Elf on the Shelf book with Elf AND another Elf that they can touch (more on that later).  Her sister-in-law delivered me to the P household and left me in a bag on the front porch.

When Ashley and the kids got home from school and found me on the porch, Ashley genuinely did not know who delivered it.  The kids bought the whole thing hook, line and sinker.  Ashley couldn't turn me away because the kids had already seen me and were dying to open me up. 

Ashley said they had to read the book first and discovered that they had to name me and Jillian and Rocco thought of Red Ruby Rose.  Isn't that the most beautiful name???  Well, for a girl.  Neither of them seemed to notice that I was a boy.  Oh well. 

Then it says in the book that I will travel to the North Pole every night and tell Santa how the children behaved.  I will fly back and the children have to find me in the morning.  Each morning I find a new place to hide.  Isn't that fun?  Isn't that a great game?  Ashley does not act like this is the best game in the world.  I don't know what her problem is??  Finally in the book it says that the children cannot touch me.  The magic will end.  No more flying to the NP.

So here are some of the places I have been hanging out this week. 

I hope Ashley finds it in her heart to love me as much as the kids do.  It is a long way till Christmas!  If she doesn't then I am going to start being a mischevious little elf!!!  That'll get her!!!

It was great talking to everybody!!  Love, Red Ruby Rose

Santa Rant

Daon ranted yesterday and I want to share my rant today.

My rant is in concern to this guy. 

A week ago, I was at a children's birthday party where I was the outsider.  I only knew the hostess and her kids but did not know any of her friends/family.  I was trying (I swear ya'll I really was trying) to go outside my box and to be nice to strangers and make small talk. 

BUT that never seems to work out for me.  One of the moms came up to me and said, "I just want to warn you that my kids know the truth about Santa.  I am a Christian.  I do not lie to my children.  Soooo if the kids bring up Santa, I am not sure what they will say." 

Um, OK.  All of the other mothers shook their head in agreement like Santa was 2012's Wicked Witch of the West.  I didn't say anything.  I did not know what to say.  Evidently I was out of the loop and no one really spoke to me the rest of the evening.  Awesome!

On a different day, I had another incident with a mother where basically she went off about "America's Celebration Obsession with Santa" (these were her exact words) and that her children would not be involved because we are Christian she yelled at me.

Um, OK.  When did this happen?  I felt like a freak.  Two crazy incidents about Santa, I knew for sure that I have been so busy with my job, husband, kids, home, etc. that I had missed the announcement that Santa is now evil.

What???  Isn't that weird?  I mean Santa, Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, Papa Noel, Father Christmas, etc. has been around for centuries all around the world.  We didn't all turn out bad believing in Santa.  I believed in Santa for a long, long time and I was not scarred when my parents finally told me.  Not for one second did I EVER feel like they had LIED to me like it was something that devastated me. 

My kids know about Santa and are not horrible kids.  I do think you have to balance why we have Christmas and my kids know exactly why we have Christmas and we spend time going to church, singing about Jesus and not just Santa, Santa, Santa. 

I just don't like when people take their attitudes to the extreme (either way).  Be moderate people!!!!

I am on Team Santa!!!!

Almost 2

I have not posted about Hadleigh in forever and wanted to document what she is up to.  Grrrrrr!  She is my #1 mess-maker!!!  She has brought mess-making to an art.  If it can be spilled, she will spill it.  If it can be broken, she will break it.  If it can be ripped, she will rip it.  AND then will give you a great big knowing smile when you say no-no. 

All of her therapy is working.  Her physical therapy is focusing on her sitting.  Hadleigh will only sit in a W.  When she sits, her knees go forward and her feet are in back.  Very painful to watch as an adult but she is not bothered by it.  We want her to sit Indian-style but that is definitely NOT her preference.  BUT a fairly minor issue in the scheme of things.

OT is focusing on her mouth muscles (which also ties into speech).  Hadleigh drools all of the time.  It has nothing to do with getting teeth or sinus.  It has to do with the strength (or lack there of ) of her jaw muscles.  She has to be reminded to close her mouth.  We got her an electric toothbrush that is supposed to stimulate the different parts of her mouth and get her moving her mouth.  It is a difficult process because what almost 2 year old wants Mommy or Daddy sticking a noisy toothbrush in her mouth??

This is my FAVORITE outfit right now!  Isn't it the cutest?  And see her sassy face?  That is all of the time.  You have to really work to get this girl to smile. 

Her speech has improved a LOT but there is still a lot of room for improvement.  She says a lot of words randomly and will never say it again.  She only consistently says Mommy and ball and bye.  If you ask her "What does a lion say?"  She will roar (courtesy of a lion lesson from Aunt Mashure) but other animal sounds not so much.  Her speech therapist says she does not like pressure.  For example, if you are in front of people and ask her to say ______ or "perform," she does not respond to the pressure.  But if you are looking at a book and pointing to pictures and naming them, she is more likely to join in.  She knows a lot of songs but will hum them and not say the words.  She LOVES Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Twinkle, Twinkle, If you're Happy and you Know it, but she will not say the words.  She only hums along. 

She still is a good eater and will try almost anything.  She is still a good sleeper and takes a super nap every day and goes to bed about 7:30 and would sleep to 8:30 if we let her. 

She gets along with her siblings pretty well.  Better with Roc that with Jillian.  Jillian likes to pick her up and kind of gets right up in her face and Hads does not like that while Rocco and Hadleigh will play baby and school for hours together and he just lets her be.  Also maybe because Tues/Thurs, it is just Hadleigh and Rocco, Rocco will go along with what Hadleigh wants. 

She loves to snuggle and wants to be held all the time.  She still has that one curl in the back but her hair has started growing more lately.  I almost think she needs a little trim to clean things up.  I cannot believe we are heading down the road to 2.  It will be here before I am ready!!!

Annoyance

I have not been writing because
1.  I am busy and have no time to write my thoughts and
2.  blogspot is annoying me.

Blogspot is annoying me because it has said I have reached my limits on pictures and I can BUY more space for pictures for like $4.99 a month.  Aaaaaa, no!  I refuse to pay to blog.  But what to do???  Summer figured out that you can go into Picassa and delete pics but again more problems.
1.  deleting the pics also deletes them from the blog
2.  i haven't figured out how to delete the album so you have to delete one by one and there are 1000s of pictures. 

ANNOYING!!!!

ANYWAYS,

Thanksgiving was awesome!  We basically did nothing!  Very relaxing!  We did go to the zoo and we did put up the Christmas tree.  Bryan has officially turned into Clark Griswold and our entire house and trees and anything standing still are completely covered in lights!  Pics will follow (well, maybe??)  Last year, he got 2nd in our neighborhood contest so he is looking to take over #1!!!!

I did go shopping on Black Friday but just got a few things.  I did get myself a gift.  Evidently I am the last person on the planet to not have an electric toothbrush.  My dentist has been harping and harping on me to get one and I finally caved.  Target had a Doorbuster and I got a pink electric toothbrush.  Such an annoying gift to spend money on myself.  I'd rather have anything else like a new purse, a new scarf, a new shirt.  Anything!!!!  I still have not opened it or tried it.  I'll get to it.....

I am really, really trying to not go crazy this Christmas and teach my children to be happy with just a few gifts and NOT GO CRAZY.  Seriously people, I have to contain myself.  So far, it is working!!!  I have put myself on a budget. 

18 days left of school until Christmas break but who's counting????

The Voice of an Angel

Well, to a Mommy anyways!!!  Since Jillian is now in kindergarten, she is now eligible to join the choir at our church.  Jillian LOVES choir.  She eagerly goes to practice every week and we have been patiently waiting for her first performance. 

Here she is in her choir robe......

The small children performed several songs and then joined ALL of the choirs for the grande finale.  This is a video of the grand finale.....

She did an excellent job!!!

RRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Halloween 2012 was a bit of a bust but whatever!!!  The kids were super tired that evening. 

But we put on their pirate gear and headed out for a little trick-or-treating around the hood.

KK visited us for a little bit and added to the pirate legacy!

Jillian liked wielding the sword.

This is Rocco's tough face.

This is where Hadleigh's attention was at....

Always giving me the stink-eye....

The kids lasted one block and Jillian was crying because of the scary houses, I was carrying Rocco, Bryan was carrying Hadleigh and so we threw in the towel waaaaay early but they still got enough candy to make them happy.

I am over Halloween.  I CANNOT believe we have two weeks until Thanksgiving.  Where is the time going???

Crazy & Happy

Seriously people, I cannot describe my level of busy.  Basically I am at a death-con 9!!!  This explains my MIA status on the blog. 

This week is Red Ribbon Week at my school.  Monday was crazy socks. 

Tuesday was crazy hair!! 

I put 3 pipe cleaners in Jillian's pigtails and braided them into her hair.  It took 2 seconds and worked perfectly the whole day. 

Today is Halloween and all 3 kids could wear their costumes to school (isn't that great?  Can you hear my sarcasm??  There was a lot of tension and tears getting these 3 in costume.  But you can't tell in the picture).  These are not their real costumes.  I am not letting them put them on till we get home for fear of ripping or spills, etc. I will give you a clue - RRRRRRRRR!!!! 

Rocco as Spiderman (well actually finger-sucking Spiderman - this is the toughest level of Spiderman)

Jillian as Belle.

Hadleigh as the Pumpkin. 

This morning we had the kindergarten 9 weeks award ceremony.  I cannot tell you how thrilled I am about how Jillian has adjusted to school.  A mommy (and a teacher) could not have wished a better experience.  She is always skipping down the halls, she always has a smile on her face and at her parent/teacher conference I heard from her teacher that she is well-behaved in the classroom, she strives to get the right answer and she is caring towards the special-needs students that visit the classroom. 

This morning she was awarded the Principal's Award for outstanding achievement for the first 9 weeks.

She received a medal and a pencil. 

She also received the award for outstanding P.E. student.  She LOVES P.E. and I think has basically charmed the coaches into doing whatever she wants.  On Fridays, P.E. hosts a dance contest and she has won a couple of times.  Her favorite songs are Firework, Baby and Call Me Maybe. 

Have a happy Halloween!!!!

Blazing HOT Pumpkin Patch

Soooooo lately, it has been next to IMPOSSIBLE to get a good picture of all 3 kids together....but today I was determined to win!!!!!  I had planned out all of their clothes and set them all out but then I looked at the weather.  Today it is supposed to be in the low 90s.  Geez!!!!  Just not great fall pumpkin patch weather!!!  So I threw out Rocco's outfit and just put the boy in some shorts and J and H had to sweat with their tights on but I again I was determined to get a good picture. 

 

You know where this is going....try as I may, I did not win.  First of all they would not sit together.

 

 

Jillian, Rocco, please lean in closer to your sister....

 

Hadleigh, Mommy is over here!!  Look over here!  HADLEIGH!!!!

 

HADLEIGH LOOK AT MOMMY!!!!

 

Soooooooo, I settled on two out of three!!!!

 

And Miss Stink-Pot, she just sat and gave me the stink-eye the whoooooole time!!!

 

Rocco loved the little pumpkins!!!

 

Jillian is always willing to pose!

 

She is looking so grown-up lately.  I hate it!!!

 

This boy is such a mess!! 

 

Told you, giving me the stink-eye the entire time!!!

 

All of the cousins were at the patch and this is the best of the 10 pictures we took.  Pretty good other than the man in the jeans right in the middle of the pic!!  Oh well!!!

 

We were out there for maybe 30 minutes and I was sweating my tail off.  We had to get out of the heat!!!