Gingerbread Play Date

Yesterday I was pretty wiped out after a super fun, but slightly exhausting play date -- which is what you get when you mix Christmas anticipation + decorating gingerbread with all the candies you can imagine + 6 kids. And then right after that, I had to take Ember to her well child check-up and by the time I got back home I needed a break. So, I told the kids they had to go and watch some TV.

Yogi opened his eyes wide and said,

"What? Why?? Did we get too much exercise??"

The photos:

Working at our BIG table - perfectly sized for 6 kids and their gingerbread houses!

Beck's finished house.

Margaret and Yogi worked together.

Yogi's finished house.

Some Christmas Bits

The kids got their annual photo with Santa the other day and now suddenly Ember knows Santa. She keeps looking at our past Santa photos and yelling out something like, "Dnta! Dnta!" And then she points to her mouth because the Santa she met gave her a candy cane which apparently was a pretty big deal to her! She also yells this out when she sees any kind of holiday display or Christmas yard decoration or even random people wearing a red coat like the lady we saw in a store yesterday.

And then we've been playing Christmas music here at home and the boys are starting to listen to the words and sing along. This year they noticed the line, "...you better not cry I'm telling you why! Santa Claus is coming to town!" I heard them have a long conversation about it while they were playing in the living room. It went something like this:

"Wait a minute! Why can't we cry? That doesn't make sense. Why would Santa say we can't cry?! What if someone hit you in the face? Then you would have to cry! And you would still get presents! That's not right. Right, Mom??"

Adventureland

We actually made it through an entire movie last night! This was a great film -- probably in part because I was the same age in 1987 as the characters in the movie. Plus I had the same crazy, fun "summer only" jobs and experiences. Nostalgic, funny, uplifting, sweet. Watch it.

the Curve of Time

The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a pleasure and an inspiration to read. The author was an early unschooler; she loaded up her kids onto a 25 foot motorboat for several months of poking around and exploring all the bays and inlets near Vancouver Island off the coast of British Columbia each summer. Her adventures took place in the late 1920's and early 1930's when visiting still-used winter Indian villages and remote logging camps, seeing abundant wildlife, and enjoying the stillness and wildness of the coastline was still possible. It made me want to do it with our own three kids!

View all my reviews >>

'tis the season

Some bits and pieces of the season:

Against my warnings, the boys left their advent calendars out and Ember popped open most of the little windows and scarfed down all the little chocolate pieces.

We lost Mary from our Playmobil "Jesus Set" (as Beck calls it!)

I bought "The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas!". I played it for my book party, loved it!, and then brought it to my parents and somewhere in the transition it disappeared. Gone.

We attended out first ever Feuerzangenbowle with some German friends. The kids loved feeding the fire, but the drink was for adults only!





The kids got to see Santa arrive by chopper at the museum of flight.


I talked to Ember about seeing Santa and every time I said the word Santa she put her finger to her lips and said, "Shhhhh". Not sure where she learned that, but it cracks me up every time!

The Pain in my Toe

Big news: I have to have open toe surgery on January 15th. My left big toe has a "pothole" in the joint bone which needs to be filled. Little pieces of cartilage are breaking off and getting caught in the joint which is terribly painful when it happens. So, unless I get it surgically repaired, they'll have to fuse that joint together at some point.

Anyway, the worst part is that I won't be able to put any weight at all on my left foot for 4 weeks and then I'll have limited ability to walk for another 4 weeks. That's a long time when you're normally busy on your feet all day with three young kids!! My parents have generously offered to be here 4 full days a week so between their help and a few days of vacation time from Chris, I think we're covered.

More on Moo

I just have to put in another plug for Moo cards! We recently ordered our second batch with all new photos. They are just as wonderful as the first time, but we thought they'd been printed a little dark. So, we emailed the company and asked what we could do about that. And you know what they did? Re-printed the entire batch and sent us this improved second set, for free! It's a great product and a great company! If you see me, ask for one of my new cards!

Goodreads

So, you might have noticed my new widget on the sidebar over there. It's for Goodreads, a website to manage your literary life. Please go check it out and start your own "bookshelf" because:

1. It's a great way to keep track of what you want to read and titles you want to remember

2. It's a perfect place to read reviews and get more information about books

3. You can see what your friends are reading, how they reviewed what they've read, and you can recommend books to them

4. It's fun, it's free

5. And I need more Goodreads "friends"

Click on my bookshelf link above and check out my shelves! And then go start your own and friend me.

When Yogi Messes with Beck's Toys

"What?? (Beck picks up his lego Glatorian.)

"Yogi, stop putting crystal boobs on my Bionicle!!"

Now, that's a sentence I never thought I'd hear!

It's Beginning...

to look a lot like Christmas!

See those red bulbs? I think Ember has pulled down and broken about 10 of those so far.

We let the kids take complete control of the tree this year: they picked it out and except for the lights, decorated it all themselves.


And as soon as it was up, they got busy under the tree using it as a background for playing with all their little figurines and set-ups. You can see a Star Wars guy laying there on the floor by Yogi's feet. Apparently there's a Jawa still hidden in among the branches somewhere!

Grundens

Here are the last of the photos from our trip up to the cabin last weekend. You'll notice the rain gear which the boys also wore for Halloween. Those pants are Grundens which is what commercial fishermen wear. I wish I had discovered them a few years ago because they have given us a new and wonderful sense of freedom in our rainy weather. Seriously, the boys last so much longer outside, they stay dry, warm, and clean. I love it! Also, I bought all three kids neck gaiters which have made a big difference as well and yesterday at REI we got waterproof gloves for them. Isn't it great? Now we can be outside and be comfortable all year long! I had a boyfriend a long time ago that said, "There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes."

Beck catches some air as he launches his stick.

The boys just can't stay out of the water!

Yogi and I are talking about something and it must be good!

Beautiful Ember.

Ember tries out a stick.