And in Other News...

 We ended November celebrating Thanksgiving in Osseo and Minneapolis.  We ate at Macy's this year with the Lettses and then stepped outside for our annual viewing of the Holidazzle Parade.

That Sunday we saw Anna in her performance as Grace Farrell in Annie.

 We spent the 1st Day of the Advent in Manitowish Waters celebrating Bumpa's birthday, so we began our advent calendars when we got home.

All of the kids were great helpers in decorating for Christmas.

After 5 weeks of his cast, Evan was ready for it to come off.  Luckily, he did not use the new saw & tool kit he bought with his gift card from Ya-ya & Bumpa.

 

 And then, of course, Owen had a sledding accident.  Nothing but a sprain, but after Evan's arm... well, I wasn't exactly feeling like Mother of the Year.

He got his cast off on December 14th.  I think it hurt a lot more after it came off than since it had been on.  For a few days, his skin was incredibly dry & itchy and he couldn't move it very much.  But within 2 weeks, he had full range of motion.

 

His healing was quickened by serenades by Mia.
(At least in her mind.)

 

And, the day after Christmas, the kids and I went skating with Grandma & Grandpa at the Depot.

 

This was Mia's 2nd time skating and although she is crying at the beginning of this video, she actually had a great time.  Each time we finished a loop she wanted to get right back out there.

Letts Family Christmas 2012

Jim's brother's family hosted Christmas this year and they invited us to stay the night. 

Auntie Gina gave all the big kids lacrosse sets.

Mia got an entire set of dancing princesses from her cousins.

I didn't think I would ever be able to get this Cinderella out of my house still in the box.  Mia stole it from my "wrapping station" a dozen times.  When you push Cinderella's necklace, her chest glows blue and plays a magical sounding song.

 

Evan insisted on bringing Owen's treasure box.  He filled it with change from his piggy bank which he wanted to give to each person in the family.  It was so heavy, I could hardly lift it.  He had wanted to do a treasure hunt at his birthday party.  He'd been planning it since Easter! With all the chaos the week before his party, we forgot all about the treasure hunt.  He was crushed after the party when he remembered.  So, today we did let him pass out some coins to each person, but I'm not sure he got the reaction he was looking for.  We'll have to come up with another idea.

After presents, the kids went downstairs to practice their acts for the talent show we planned to surprise Grandma & Grandpa. Evan was about to give up on the puppet skit he planned with Addie, but I finally was able to get them to practice a few times without Addie bursting into silliness. I thought it turned out pretty good. All Mia wanted to do was sing "Jingle Bells." I'm not sure if someone loaded her up with sugar just before the performance or what, but instead of singing she was bouncing off the walls... and off of Addie! Owen planned to sing with Ellie, but I don't think they really practiced. She got stage fright after listening to her sister laugh at them. Owen went on despite only knowing half of the words.

After the show, the kids snacked on the giant plate of fruit.  Then the adults began sharing our charity gifts.  Jim and I shared a new charity this year: Save the Redwoods League, which we found after our life-changing trip this fall.   Jim's parents gave a generous donation in each of our names to The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT,) an organization that has been close to our hearts for years.  Ellie gave us each a beaded ornament she bought at church that was made by Maasai women through WorldCrafts.  The money made from these ornaments is enough to replace goats that die during the dry periods in Tanzania & ensure that the women can nourish their children.  I don't exactly remember all of the details of the charities because right in the middle of it, there was an unexpected visitor.  Jeff, an old high school friend who also knows Jen from college, stopped in.  He was home for the holidays from Chicago.  And then somewhere between the visiting and charities, the bed shuffling began.

We tried to pair the kids up with their same age cousin, but my kids are night owls and T & J's are up at the crack of dawn.  After an hour of trying, we ended up with Ellie & Owen in the basement, Mia with Jim in Addie's room, Evan slept with me in Ellie's room, and Addie & Margaux slept in Margaux's room.  Between our visits, our charity sharing and the game of Musical Beds, we might have let the little ones get a little riled up in the bedrooms.  But hey, it's Christmas!  And in the end, we all had a cozy bed to sleep in - something that not everyone has.  Which reminds me to share with you the charity we did not share with the family this year, but that is always near our hearts: The Listening House or as many call it, the livingroom for the homeless.  I'm not going to lecture here, but if you look around and see you have enough, if you're local to Saint Paul, if you want to give a gift that really makes a direct difference in the lives of others, consider giving to The Listening House.

  As usual, Evan was the last to rise.  Addie waited as long as she could.  Mia doesn't like to miss out on any fun, so even though she was tired, she popped out of bed once she saw her cousins.

Yummy tea ring and fruit for breakfast.  You can see my kiddos are still half asleep.  It was a quiet ride home.

THANKS FOR A LOVELY 

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION TOM & JEN!

Our 1st Christmas in our New Home

 It's was our first Christmas in our new home.  We weren't sure what to do with ourselves.  Growing up, I always went to candle-light service with my family on Christmas Eve.  I caught a nasty bug on Sunday and as a result, it was kind of last minute that I realized we didn't have any Christmas Eve plans.  But there was one loving family that was not going to let us stay home.  

 Our friends, the Yeagers, insisted we join their annual Christmas Eve gathering and it was lovely.  After an amazing meal that started with soup from Panera's recipe and ended with a delicious Yule Log, we were treated to caroling accompanied by Owen Y.  When our Owen saw his friend playing music that we could sing along to, he decided he was ready for piano lessons.  There will be a whole blog post on this one because I am really excited about this music education theory.  After Owen Y's performance, the kids (and Jim) took turns playing on Troy's drum set.  He has some cool toys.

 When we got home, I declared it would now be a family tradition to climb into bed together and read The Night Before Christmas.  About half-way through, my voice gave out and Jim had to take over.  The kids were asleep pretty quickly tonight, unlike night's past where Santa couldn't stuff stocking until the wee hours of the morning.

The reactions this year weren't as big as in previous years, but I think everybody got what they asked for.

 And some got things they didn't ask for, but will hopefully love.  For Evan, it was a workbench for the saw he got for his birthday and all the big ideas he has for building projects.

 Owen got an XBOX 360 Kinects, but apparently did not get the game he wanted.  Just in case anybody is wondering why Santa messed that up, he already has that game on the Wii.  Santa does give the best presents, but he is also a practical guy.

 Mia got a princess doll - Rapunzel.  She held her all morning.

 Jim had to work unexpectedly late yesterday.  While he was working, I took the kids to the dollar store to pick out gifts for each member of our family.  Owen went off on his own.  He got Jim some Gatorade for when he's working out.  ... Did you hear that?  That was all the people who know Jim laughing at the thought of him working out.  In Owen's defense, Jim did recently purchase an elliptical on Craig's List.  He's used it twice for a total of 30 minutes now.

 Evan was more excited about the wood he got than the workbench, although he did say it wasn't nearly enough wood to build his next project: a playhouse big enough for him and Mia!

 The most cherished presents are those from the heart.  Evan made this ornament for me in school.  The poster he has in his hand is a Vikings poster from our babysitter.

Jim received the best gift, in my opinion: an air hockey/ping pong table. Really it's a gift the whole family will love. (Yes, and our friends. Come over anytime Yeagers!)

It wasn't easy keeping this a surprise.  I bought it on Black Friday.  Luckily, I went alone when I picked it up the next week because it filled the van.  Mayra, our neighbor, helped me unload it into her garage.  It was so heavy we could hardly move it.  We laughed until tears streamed down our faces.  Then, she and her husband went to Mexico for Christmas, so on Christmas Eve I had to get our babysitter and her brother to help me get it across the street and in the house.  It took me and all three kids to wrap it and it took Jim and I three days to arrange a place to put it.  I think it will get more use than the elliptical. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Gingerbread Houses

 Owen's class made gingerbread houses today.  His teacher asked for parent volunteers.  The last time they needed volunteers, I was on vacation, so I jumped on this one as soon as I got news.

 It turned out, I was the only parent volunteer.  I was a little nervous about trying to do a project like this with such a high adult/student ratio, but Owen's teacher is amazing.  Even though this was her first experience with this project, she anticipated any problems.  The students watched a video on YouTube that went over the steps.  She then had the students write a process paper on How To Build A Gingerbread House.  The day of, they verbally recalled the process before they gathered their supplies.  I was amazed at how smoothly it went.

Owen was one of two kids who broke a graham cracker.  Not bad considering.  One thing I learned about making this project, "Frosting is your friend," use lots of it.  I didn't get to stay for the decorating part.  That happened later after the frosting hardened, but Owen said it was fun and his gingerbread house made it home in one piece!

Why We Should ALL Wear Helmets

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Christmas Baking

 In years past, I have found Christmas baking to be difficult.  For one thing, I always had one or more children under the age of 3.  I also use to have an incredibly small kitchen.  This year, however, I was not only calm about Christmas baking with the kids, I actually enjoyed it.

 The kids were patient and followed directions.  I still had to help Mia with her frosting, but it was totally manageable.  Plus, with my double ovens, I could keep up with my speedy decorators.

The rule was that you could eat one cookie for every 5 you decorated.  Evan decided he didn't like the taste of the frosted cut-out cookies, but he still enjoyed decorating them.

In addition to the cut-out cookies, we made peanut-butter star cookies and Rolo cookies.  With my cookie exchange coming up this Thursday, we should be set for the season!

American Girl Bistro Birthday Bash

 Shhh.  It's a surprise.  Don't be late.  We're having a birthday party at American Doll Bistro for Addie!  Grandma and Gina were there.  Mia and I joined the party.  And Aunt Kelly came with Avery.  Avery thinks that Grandma Connie is her Grandma too.  Mia did not like this notion and wiggled her way between them.

 After a short wait, Addie arrived with her mom and sisters.  Mia rushed out to hand her our gift.

 All of the girls brought their American Girl Dolls.  The staff lent one to Mia.  They also gave each doll a high chair and a birthday hat.

 Ellie with Josephina.

 Margaux, Addie & Avery brought their dolls too.  Some of them are named McKenna, but I'm not sure which ones.  When Evan saw the pictures of the party he was so sad.  I told him that he had school that day, but I think we'll need to make another trip to the Bistro in the future.

 The girls all had a really great time.  They had strawberry spritzers and pink lemonade.  The menu had a nice variety of items for kids and adults.

 Addie opened her gifts. Evan picked out ours.

 

 Her other Grandma sewed matching pajamas for her and her doll!

  

 They brought a special cake and the kids enjoyed a special dessert.

It was hard to leave the cheery Bistro.  On our way out, we snapped a picture of all the girls with their dolls in front of their beautiful tree.

And before Mia & I headed home, I agreed to one ride.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDILOO!

1st Snowstorm of the Year

 Jim's cousin, my good friend, Anna use to do a lot of acting.  But since becoming a mother, she hasn't been in a single play.  Recently, she was given the part of Grace in the production of "Annie" at Lyric Arts Main Street Theater in Anoka.  It's been a struggle to balance practice and performances with her career, her husband's crazy schedule and taking care of Charlie, but she has lots of good helpers, including us.  Today, we watched Charlie all afternoon during the play and we got him a little extra thanks to the snow!

 When you're home with 4 little kids and it snows like this, you have to go sledding, right?  Luckily we have a little hill right in our yard.  

 

At least we thought we were lucky to have a little hill right in our yard.  We have watched the neighbor kids go down this hill all last year and a couple of times this year.  We even followed their tracks!  Yet, somehow, Owen nailed his ankle on a pole.  Jim & I didn't see it happen since we were busy dragging the 3 year olds through the deep snow.

 When he wouldn't help me take the little ones over to the big hill, I sent him inside with Jim.  After two trips up the big hill, I decided sledding with 3 year olds is only fun with other adults around to help.  As I was trying to drag them back home, Jim opened the door and told me to hurry up because Owen broke his foot.  Oh boy.  Here we go again.

Luckily, it wasn't broken; just sprained really bad.  He was completely better in about 4 days.  But, for a few days, I tell you, I was not feeling like Mother of the Year.

Chatting with Clause

 If you have followed this blog for more than a year, you know that we are lucky enough to know the REAL Santa.  He comes to the Mall of America every day in December and flies back to the North Pole each night.  His reindeer wait for him on the roof of the mall while he visits with children, some of whom travel hours to see him.  

Santa is a busy man and wants to see as many kids as possible, but he also loves children and wants to spend time with them, so he has a secretary elf who makes appointments to see him.  That way children don't have to wait in long lines.  Although Mia looks like she's been waiting forever, there was only this one other family there.  We had the last appointment on a Friday night.  It was the perfect time to come!

 Owen is not too cool to see Santa, but he is too cool to wear dress pants, long sleeved shirts, pants pulled up to his waist... really, anything that I want him to wear.  

 Mia was excited to show Santa her "white legs."  She was about to protest her tights when Evan exclaimed, "How come I don't have white legs!?"  While visiting with Santa, she lifted her dress up to show him.  EEK!  When the photographers and I started gesturing frantically for her to put her dress down, she looked like her feelings were hurt.  Guess we need to go over a few "white leg" rules.

 Evan was the luckiest of the bunch today since he got his cast signed by the Big Man himself!

Santa seemed to think these guys were on the nice list so it looks like an X-box, a Bears NFL Tackle Buddy, and a kitty that purrs will be finding their way to our house this Christmas.