We had: Christmas parties for MOPS, Homeschool Co-op, Cub Scouts, Vaulting. A end of the year potluck for football. Shane's black belt test. Genna, Fiona, and Daniel's color belt test in their class. Visiting Santa at the local Christmas event with Santa picture. Santa coming to the end of the driveway on the fire truck. Shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping and did I say shopping? Also, four dentist appointments. Who in their right mind schedules dentist appointments in December??? Caroling at the Assisted Living Facility. Cookies and butchering on the same day (whose idea was that? The kitchen is crowded enough as it is). And then Christmas Adam, Eve, and Day.
This post will be the BC pictures (Before Christmas) that mostly came from my phone. I will include every. painful. detail. so I can laugh and remember when I am old and gray and have forgotten everything. Just like The Notebook, only about parenting.
First, the Homeschool Co-op Christmas party. Co-op has become one of our favorite parts about homeschooling. It's so fun! We've never been to a Christmas party with them, so we were really excited. I was supposed to bring a potluck dish, but I can hardly cook for my family, so expect something store bought for any group meal I attend (largefamilyFUNctioning). I brought a big box of goldfish cracker snack bags and a big bag of Chicago style popcorn. Just as I was setting them on the table, Heidi started to barf. On the table, on the floor in front of the table. All we could do was stare in shock. I threw my purse to one girl (Genna?) and my keys to another (Fiona?). I pulled Heidi's coat off and turned it into a bowl just in time for her to lose the rest of her breakfast. I was able to get her and Fiona to walk to the bathroom where I dumped her coat-bowl contents in a toilet and made the two girls stay put until I got back from cleaning up her mess on the floor. It was really really embarrassing. And smelly. I may have held back tears. And I had five other kids that really really wanted to stay with their friends for the party. So Heidi, Jason, and I sat outside in the parking lot for two hours. She ran and played and threw rocks and acted NOT sick for the rest of the day. Could she possibly get carsick?
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| Heidi acting NOT SICK after puking on the snack table |
The best thing about Santa and the firefighters this year was meeting our new neighbors! And at the last minute I called another new family that lives nearby and had them come meet us too! So instead of waiting in the dark at the end of our own driveway, we waiting at the end of the new family's driveway with new friends!
After seeing Santa, we rushed off to the Cub Scout party (while Ian was at the football potluck and Genna was at vaulting) where Heidi had so much sugar that she fell flat on her face just walking and then freaked out and ran out into the parking lot because she wanted to skate on the frozen sidewalk. Fiona tried to grab her before she got run over, but Fiona slipped on the ice. We were all calling her and she just wasn't hearing us because her brain had quit working. I swore I would never take her to another after-dark event that involves sugar. She is just too Downen (along with Daniel and Mark and probably some other kids in this family).
This is our free picture with Santa! I love each and every kid in all the ages and stages they are in. I love my grumpy teen that would rather be doing streaks on Snapchat. I love my two year old who is freshly weaned from his binky. I love my crazy four year old and my super happy five year old. I love my seven year old who changed his mind at the last minute about what he wanted for Christmas and threw a fit and sobbed for hours on Christmas Eve. And all the nice kids too.
The next post will be the belt test at Mark's school, so stay tuned (hahaha)!
