December

I almost went an entire month without blogging.  In fact, I had to go back and look at my pictures just so I could do a quick update: quick, before someone interrupts me!

We studied Russia before we went on Christmas break.  I found blank Matryoshka dolls at the second hand store and made them the center of our study.

December is the best month to learn about Russia.  We watched my favorite version of Peter and the Wolf.  I read all about the Russian revolution and watched Fiddler on the Roof.  No one was required to watch the movie with me, but everyone did. Inspire, not require.

Then we said goodbye to our couch.  Remember Ode to My Couch?  The time had come to send it to the dump; it was just too dangerous to sit on with all the broken boards sticking out.  We got our money's worth out of it.

The couch belonged to a friend of mine who has seven kids, so I knew it was sturdy.  The couch is all attached now, but you can see it has two recliners and it fits us all.  It even has a hide-a-bed!  And because we are a bit weird, I saved the couch cushions of the old couches.  They are so comfortable and perfect for building forts in the kids' rooms.

Then we had a few hours of snow.  My little kids have no memory of snow, so our pathetic dusting was so exciting!

Always up for some fun!

Just WATCH OUT: He has a NAUGHTY sense of humor (that would be a shot put in his hand)

 Then we started our series of Christmas crafts and parties...

The dolls and aprons came from Ian's friend's mom who hosts a Christmas party every year.  She sewed all the aprons.

Mark headed up to his Master's dojang to help out with a black belt test.  This is always fun for us because Mark brings home the boards that were broken during the test.  We use the boards for kindling all year, but they need to be broken into smaller pieces.  I could probably dedicate a whole post to the videos I took. Maybe someday I will get good at video editing so I can string them into one video with Fiona's unsuccessful attempts nestled between Genna's perfect breaks.  (Fiona does eventually break her boards)

Here is a link to the board breaking. 

At this point in the Christmas season I get a bit Grinchy.  And Scroogey.  It all started with the trip to the local Santa Event.  We got our free picture with Santa and they handed out gifts that were prewrapped and sorted by age and gender.  Half my kids were either puzzled or disappointed, so we had to spend some time talking about the meaning of Christmas.  Genna fell into the 11 years and older group, so her surprise gift was a hair dryer.  That would have been a great gift for a 13 year old, but she is still a little girl. For now.  Heidi got this crazy androgynous Barbie doll named Prince.  I have a hard time believing that a person would think that was an appropriate gift for a three year old girl.  That doll went straight into the trash when we got home.

But never fear! We got a proper visit from Santa when he visited on his sleigh with the local fire fighters! They came on a Monday night, which is the same night as Cub Scouts, but they were here in time for Daniel to see Santa too.  Heidi was crashed out on the couch and Ian was more or less happy to be the person in charge.

Waiting in the scary dark!

Here he comes! Sirens, lights, and carols played over loud speakers!

Mark and Daniel scooted off to the Cub Scout Christmas (dessert potluck) party where they learned a little more about each other.  Mark and Daniel I mean.  They learned that when Daniel takes two cookies off one plate and Mark says only take one off each plate, Mark doesn't mean take one cookie off EACH PLATE on the table and then eat them.  He meant just take one of the kind you want to eat.  They also (re)learned that Daniel is so sensitive to sugar consumption and motion, that if he plays cakewalk after eating one of each cookie, he will literally toss his cookies.  Luckily, Daniel knows when he needs to barf, so they made it to the bathroom in time and then came home.

One thing I absolutely love about Ian is his Christmas spirit.  Every year (since last year) he runs a sibling gift exchange that he calls a Red Elephant.  The gifts must be home made and thoughtful.  I provide assistance and supplies if needed.  This year, Genna made a writing box for Fiona since they are still writing letters back and forth on the pulley they rigged in their rooms.  I purchased a box, scrapbook paper, and stickers.  We cut the paper into smaller pieces and folded them into letters.  They are so pretty!

Ian carved or wove gifts for everyone; he is pretty talented with wood and paracord.  Shane made a candle and an oil lamp of Ian's video game characters, Glom and a Lavalcano.  Fiona made a snake for Daniel out of finger knitting.  And Daniel made a board game for Genevieve (with lots of help from me) called Prancing Ponies.

The kids had LOTS of playtime while I got ready for Christmas and just freaked out in general.  I'm not good at Christmas.

Fiona is Santa, Genna is an elf, and Daniel is a reindeer...in a lion costume.

My older sister and her family came down from Alaska for Christmas this year!  We had lots of fun and I really enjoyed their visit.  Christmas Eve is when I finally chill out and really start enjoying the holiday.

We also got to visit with Laura and her family and Ami would have come down too if her kids hadn't been sick.  As the kids get older, we see them less and less.  It makes me hold on to my littles that much tighter.  We've had a very full, very happy Christmas and we are currently celebrating New Year's Eve.

Goodbye 2016!