We got GRINCHED and the Rest of Our Crazy Week

Last week was crazy. Lee left early in the week for a conference in Baton Rouge. So it was just myself, 3 kiddos and a zillion things going on.

Monday: I was exhausted but had already volunteered to work at the concession stand at the Basketball game for one of Amy's activities. They don't allow kids to work it and the organization sponsoring it gets the money. It turned out I was the only parent who volunteered (well, another came later) and I didn't get home until nearly 10pm. I was so tired!

Tuesday: Lee left for Baton Rouge. His flight was early which meant we left the house around 5:30am. We left Amy in charge of feeding the boys and getting everyone ready for school. I got back home right in time for school. I was so impressed with them as they all got ready, ate and did what they needed to do. They were ready to walk out the door when I pulled in. Tyler also had a field trip that morning that I was going on. It was to the musical of Madagascar at a local theatre. It was cute.

Wednesday: Amy had her monthly allergy shot that morning and it swelled her arm a LOT. She went to school but was miserable. I had given her an antihistamine which just made her tired. After school we had the usual Piano Lessons and church activities. We drove into the piano teachers driveway when Amy said, "Can we just skip lessons today?" Um, no, we are already here. We had a shortened lesson though as she just played her recital pieces and Will had his usual lesson. I ended up cancelling the church activities (I do fun stuff with the girls ages 8-11 on Weds nights) because I just had to bring her home. Her arm was nearly swollen double and she was so exhauted from the medication that she has moved into the "loopy." stage. 


Thursday: I took some time to myself that morning and got my hair done. Woohoo, that's always nice. I hosted Book Club that night. We read "A Redbird Christmas" by Fannie Flagg. It's a cute book. I happened to find Red Bird candies in Georgia and I asked mom to paint some cardinals for me. I then made those into ornaments for everyone to take home. Thanks Mom! They were perfect! Everyone brought a recipe from the back of the book which was fun too.

We ate dinner on the floor (since everything was already set up on the table.) If you know anything about Lee, you know that he hates it when anyone gets on the floor. He's so funny about it. So I sent him this picture and I got a "Nooooooooooo!" reply. hahahaha.

Friday: Overnight the GRINCH got into our house and Grinched us. He took our ornaments. He scattered our books. He even tied up our elves!!!

Oh man! That GRINCH!! 

That night Amy had her friends from church over (They call themselves the"CTR club.") We had to explain to them why our tree didn't have any ornaments! The girls were sweet and I had them read to the boys. One had brought her flute so she played them a goodnight song. 

They made several crafts and had a sock/favorite treat exchange.

Cute, cute girls. I'm glad Amy has made such good friends at church.

Saturday: Luckily, the Grinch's heart grew three sizes and he returned our stuff. The elves were untied. The ornaments were back on the tree and he even left us his book and tickets to see his new movie.

He did leave us with some Grinch juice though.

We tried it and it was really GRASS SODA! Oh that Grinch!! (It wasn't terrible, but it did taste like what you would think grass would taste like.... with a lot of sugar added!)  

The kids all hugged each other that morning and then said, "Mom, take our picture!!" It was a sweet moment.


Amy had an archery tournament that morning. Our school was hosting and we were asked to volunteer but I couldn't do much because of Lee being out of town. So I volunteered to make cinnamon rolls. I have to say, I make a good roll, but it meant another early morning!

Archery is new to us, and we are learning its a quiet sport. Not necessarily something for energetic little boys. I was climbed all over, my hair was restyled and I said "Shhhh," more times than I can count. Lee got a few of these "I wish you were here" photos!

(Amy is 2nd from the left, with the braids)

Amy was really disappointed in her score as she did the worst she's ever done. She's been borderline on getting a cold so she hasn't felt 100%. She has one more tournament next weekend and then her season is over. She wants to do it again next year though. I think we'll get her a bow for her birthday so she can have more practice.

After the tournament we went to the movie. The new Grinch movie is really, really cute. I had my hesitations but we all really liked it.

Afterwards we went by the Dollar Tree. The kids are buying gifts for each other this year and taking all three of them to buy gifts for each other, while keeping it a secret from one another, was a task! Will did not buy this mask, but he thought it was funny.

After that we went to get Lee from the airport. On the way there I laughed at the kids- everyone was worn out!

Lee got back safely and all was right with the world again. We were supposed to go the the church's Christmas party but we passed and everyone, yes everyone, in our house was asleep by 7:30pm. Whew! What a week! I'm usually busy but this week was just a killer for me for some reason. I was glad it was over!!

Christmas Tree and Elf Arrival

We got our tree the first weekend of December. I have friends that make fun of us for going to Lowe's, but hey, tradition is tradition. This ended up being a very busy day for us.

First we stopped at Home Depot to do their free kids builders craft. I thought the reindeer and sled were cute.

We browsed the trees at Home Depot but were less than impressed. They also were really expensive. There's a limit to how much I'll pay for something I'm just going to throw away in a month!

So we went back to our "tree farm" and picked one out at Lowes. It was a drizzily, cold day- one not conducive for arguments over which tree we should get. We finally got everyone to agree on one.

On the way home we saw a rainbow!! Don't you just love seeing rainbows??

We got home, decorated the tree and managed to get a few lights hung outside. Most of our lights were not working though which was a real bummer. We'll get some after Christmas and then next year... it's Clark Griswold around here. haha! (We really want a LOT of lights. We want to be "that" house!) 

I went to meet Talana at a house tour that happens every year. It was still cold and drizzily and we both were kind of preoccupied with other things. But it was fun to go through a few houses and explore inside.

The next morning- the beloved elves arrived. We were afraid they wouldn't be able to find our new home! Luckily they are magical elves and knew our new address.

The elves always bring the Star Wars Advent calendar. Will was trying so hard not to open it until Tyler woke up!

That Tyler, this kid LOVES his elves! He talked to them all day long. He re-read their note. He asked them questions. The elves are his favorite thing and it's so cute to watch his stumble out of bed each morning ready to hunt for them.

Since their first arrival they have been up to their usual shenanigans. The teepee'd the tree and hide in places (like the lamp) where the kids fear they will get burned. Those elves!

(make sure to click "older posts" for another update that isn't showing up on the home page------>)

So Much to Catch Up On!

I'm always amazed at how quickly time flies. You think you have a ton of weeks and then poof, the day you were waiting for is already here. Example: Our ward was collecting hand-tied fleece blankets for Project Linus. I bought our fleece back in November knowing we'd have plenty of time before the Dec 8th due date. Well, Dec. 6th came and I stayed up one night tying two blankets all by myself because I simply forgot/ran out of time. I guess everything is busy this time of year!

At church I'm working in the nursery. Yes, that's laughable. I'm not sure it's the "right" place for me but I am adapting as best I can. It's mostly the easiest thing I've ever done but seeing that I like to stay busy, it's also the most brainless thing I've ever done. I decided we had to do something fun (I cannot build another robot lego or eat another piece of fake food....) I brought in paints and had the kids paint sled ornaments for their parents. "Paint" with 18 month-3 year olds was not my brightest idea. But we managed to only have one dress ruined. I offered to buy her another but the mom laughed at me saying this was her 5th child and promised she had just about grown out of it so it wasn't a big deal. Phew! (It was washable paint... but "washable" doesn't really apply to tulle....) The ornaments turned out cute though.
 

 I tried an experiment called a Black Snake or something like that. It was one of those "on the internet it looks really cool" type things. It consisted of filling rocks/dirt/sand with lighter fluid. Then adding sugar and baking soda to the top and lighting it on fire. Sounds smart? Right??

I made the kids stand behind the door :) 

The wind blew the flames into the stray leaves, which caused them to catch fire. Then I was running around trying to stomp everything out while I could hear Lee inside the house saying things like, "Look kids, mom's hair is going to catch fire!" "Look kids, mom's shoes are going to catch fire." It was quite comical.

In the end, the experiment only "kinda" worked. I'm sure me almost burning myself (and our backyard) was more the show.

A friend of mine hosts a Holiday Running Streak every year. The idea is simple- just walk/run at least one mile everyday from Thanksgiving to New Years. Simple in theory, not so simple when it's freezing cold. We have had the coldest December since we've moved here. I dressed like this the first 2 days and haven't done it since. I'm such a wimp. I'ts 23 degrees today, I probably won't go out today either.

We played a silly, but fun game. A friend told me about it- it's called Telepathy. It's simple. You have several sets of the same objects. You then put up a divider and you try to "read the mind" of the other person and hold up the same object at the same time. It provided a lot of laughs. And Lee's creepy eyes are hysterical. For the record- Amy and I got it right most of the time. I don't think the boys ever made a match. 

Will's class went on a field trip to TPAC which is the fancy theater in downtown Nashville. They saw a show called 1,2,3 Andres (meant to read Uno, Dos, Tres, Andres so it rhymes.) It was a spanish/english 2 person and a band show. They did a cute job. I was most amazed that we sat about 10 rows from the front, in the orchestra section. I would never be able to afford seats like that for a normal Broadway play. (I LOVE musical theater but man, the tickets are so expensive!) 

Nashville State Capital. It was a beautiful day, but it was freezing cold!

Will is loving Cub Scouts. He got his first advancement to Bear (?) I know nothing about this program. But he loves it. The church is bowing out of the Boy Scout program in 2020. At this point we are unsure if we'll find another troop or go with whatever new program the church puts forth. He is loving it though!

I believe those are all the pre-Christmas updates.... now, onto CHRISTMAS!