So today was a no-go on the Christmas themed activities. Between house cleaning, laundry folding, errand running and baby feeding/changing, there wasn't much time for anything else.
I did prepare for our playdate tomorrow where we'll be decorating "ornament" cookies in the shapes of bells, stockings and balls. Icing, candy bits and sprinkles galore for two 2-year olds, a 3 year old and a 4 year old...hmmm, perhaps I should have waited to mop the kitchen floor. :o)
Honestly, with it being 84 degrees outside today, it was difficult to get into the "Christmas mood" and way more fun to play in the sandbox in the backyard. We did watch "Diego Saves Christmas" today before naptime...does that count?
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
25 Days of Christmas - Day #20
Today Camden, Alison and I worked on a few last gifts for Daddy. I can't tell you much about them here since he'll be reading this as well...but let's just say mixing cement was involved. :o)
Camden and I also spent a little time today going through some of his toys and talking about what we can give to other children that might not be getting any toys for Christmas. I say we spent a little time because we had to stop when I couldn't think of ways to answer his questions. I'm going to throw them out here so perhaps you can help me...
As we discussed that there were kids that might not get any toys for Christmas, he asked me if it was because they hadn't been good and if that was why Santa wasn't coming to see them. And, if they hadn't been good, then why did he need to share with them. I could answer the second one with relatively little stress, but the first one has kinda thrown me for a loop. We're definitely a "Jesus first, Santa second" kind of family and we try not to get caught up in the "you'd better behave, Santa's watching you" kind of stuff - b/c I want him (eventually them) to behave because it's what they should do...all year long...not just when Santa might be looking in on him. But we do celebrate the magic of Santa and we will wake up on Christmas mornings and make the mad dash to the living room to see just how much of the milk and cookies he consumed. So I am at a loss for how to answer the question about the other kids not getting a visit from Santa.
Any suggestions?
Camden and I also spent a little time today going through some of his toys and talking about what we can give to other children that might not be getting any toys for Christmas. I say we spent a little time because we had to stop when I couldn't think of ways to answer his questions. I'm going to throw them out here so perhaps you can help me...
As we discussed that there were kids that might not get any toys for Christmas, he asked me if it was because they hadn't been good and if that was why Santa wasn't coming to see them. And, if they hadn't been good, then why did he need to share with them. I could answer the second one with relatively little stress, but the first one has kinda thrown me for a loop. We're definitely a "Jesus first, Santa second" kind of family and we try not to get caught up in the "you'd better behave, Santa's watching you" kind of stuff - b/c I want him (eventually them) to behave because it's what they should do...all year long...not just when Santa might be looking in on him. But we do celebrate the magic of Santa and we will wake up on Christmas mornings and make the mad dash to the living room to see just how much of the milk and cookies he consumed. So I am at a loss for how to answer the question about the other kids not getting a visit from Santa.
Any suggestions?
25 Days of Christmas - Day #19
Today Ryan got his Christmas gift from me...tickets to the Redskins vs. Cowboys at the new stadium in Arlington.
And even though we had just toured the stadium a few days earlier, it was a completely different feeling when it was full of people. They also had the roof open for this game (it was closed during the tour) and that was kinda cool too.
The Redskins couldn't pull off a win, but it was a close, action filled game and it was nice to enjoy an afternoon without the kids. We're very grateful to our friends Jaime and Esther for keeping them for us so we could enjoy (actually watch) the game.
The Redskins couldn't pull off a win, but it was a close, action filled game and it was nice to enjoy an afternoon without the kids. We're very grateful to our friends Jaime and Esther for keeping them for us so we could enjoy (actually watch) the game.
25 Days of Christmas - Day #18
Today we went to ICE! at the Gaylord Texan. For those of you who aren't "locals", the Gaylord is a giant hotel and convention center not far from where we live. Each year they bring in 40 or so artisans from China to carve intricate sculptures in ice that usually go along with a theme. This year the theme was "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" which is Ryan's favorite cartoon Christmas special, so of course, we had to go.
Yes...all of that is carved out of ice...the characters, the tree, the tree's decorations...all of it.
It was really cool...literally. The room is kept between 12 and 17 degrees and everything that you see in these pictures is made of ice. They do give you giant parkas to wear and it doesn't last so long that you get tired of the cold.
It would appear as though Camden is not enjoying the outing if you look at this picture. The issue is that he is enjoying it and doesn't want to stop for a picture! :o)
There were giant slides in the middle (yes, made completely of ice) and of course, I had to go down one of them. Camden went down the "kiddie" slide as well. Ryan and Alison waited for us at the bottom and took some pictures.
The coolest thing was at the end. They had a giant "crystal" nativity scene carved out and they were playing the story of the birth of Christ over the sound system. As they spoke about each person or group in the story, that person's crystal lit up with a bright light and remained on until that person "exited" the story. Kinda like the Christmas Eve candlelight story that is done at Pleasant Hill (for all my Elkin peeps!). It was really cool...and it was great to see that the nativity was not only included, but highlighted.
Camden really did enjoy it...and has continued to tell people that he went to Charlie Brown's house several times since then. Alison just rode around (strapped to Ryan in her baby carrier) and enjoyed playing peek-a-boo at everyone through her "hole" in Ryan's parka.
It was really cool...literally. The room is kept between 12 and 17 degrees and everything that you see in these pictures is made of ice. They do give you giant parkas to wear and it doesn't last so long that you get tired of the cold.
There were giant slides in the middle (yes, made completely of ice) and of course, I had to go down one of them. Camden went down the "kiddie" slide as well. Ryan and Alison waited for us at the bottom and took some pictures.
The coolest thing was at the end. They had a giant "crystal" nativity scene carved out and they were playing the story of the birth of Christ over the sound system. As they spoke about each person or group in the story, that person's crystal lit up with a bright light and remained on until that person "exited" the story. Kinda like the Christmas Eve candlelight story that is done at Pleasant Hill (for all my Elkin peeps!). It was really cool...and it was great to see that the nativity was not only included, but highlighted.
Camden really did enjoy it...and has continued to tell people that he went to Charlie Brown's house several times since then. Alison just rode around (strapped to Ryan in her baby carrier) and enjoyed playing peek-a-boo at everyone through her "hole" in Ryan's parka.
Friday, December 17, 2010
25 Days of Christmas - Day #17
Tonight was another "Christmas Lights" night. Ryan was able to go with us this time and we decided to make an event of it.
After changing into our pjs (yes, even me and Ryan) we loaded the CD player with Christmas music and set out in search of some festive yard decor. We enjoyed a "picnic" dinner from McDonald's as we drove around and saw everything from the simplistically beautiful to the excessively obnoxious. We passed by one house that had a real Santa sitting on a sleigh in their front yard - and yes, I got my pajammed butt out of the car so that my child could tell yet another Santa that he wants a train set for Christmas...only this time he also added that the train set should have a bridge. All I know is that it's a good thing there aren't that many more days left until Santa comes...otherwise his elves might not have time to honor these specific requests. :o)
This isn't part of the 25 Days, but I would also like to share an email that Camden got from Santa earlier this week. You can watch it by clicking the link below:
It takes about 30 seconds to load, but it's worth the wait. I only wish you could watch Camden watch the video...it's way better than watching the video itself.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
25 Days of Christmas - Day #16
Unfortunately I am a little under the weather this evening so tonight's blog post is short and sweet...and still no video of Camden's preschool performance. Sorry - hopefully I will feel like doing more than putting on my jammies and crawling under the covers tomorrow...
Today Ryan and I took a tour of Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington. It's a long story about why we were taking the tour on a random Thursday morning...but that's what we did. After touring the general admission seats, the private suites, Jerry Jones' private viewing box, the cheerleader's locker room and the player's locker room, we headed out to the field to stand on the star for some photo ops.
Because we aren't Cowboy's fans, we decided not to have the professional (i.e. pricey) picture made, but we did get a couple with our own camera.
Just before we headed off of the field to wrap up the tour, I surprised Ryan with his early Christmas gift - tickets to Sunday's game...yes, against the Redskins. To say he was excited would be putting it mildly...he has assured me that this is way better than the dress shirts or the bigger microSD card he'd put on his wishlist.
Now if the 'Skins can just pull out a win on Sunday, it'll be even better.
Today Ryan and I took a tour of Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington. It's a long story about why we were taking the tour on a random Thursday morning...but that's what we did. After touring the general admission seats, the private suites, Jerry Jones' private viewing box, the cheerleader's locker room and the player's locker room, we headed out to the field to stand on the star for some photo ops.
Because we aren't Cowboy's fans, we decided not to have the professional (i.e. pricey) picture made, but we did get a couple with our own camera.
Just before we headed off of the field to wrap up the tour, I surprised Ryan with his early Christmas gift - tickets to Sunday's game...yes, against the Redskins. To say he was excited would be putting it mildly...he has assured me that this is way better than the dress shirts or the bigger microSD card he'd put on his wishlist.
Now if the 'Skins can just pull out a win on Sunday, it'll be even better.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
25 Days of Christmas - Day #15
This morning we got a jump on our activity for day #15 of our 25 Days of Christmas. I was kind of at a loss on what to do today - I had planned for today to be our "take toys to those in need day" but we (and by we I mean Camden) woke up this morning and it quickly became apparent that he was in need of a low key day at home. Luckily my pal Kristina mentioned making these with her daughter so we jumped at the chance to stay in our jammies and eat pancakes!
Yummy! Snowman Pancakes!!!
Alison loved them too!!!
Later today we'll spend some time going through the toys and deciding what to donate...but we'll take them on Friday when hopefully we are in a much more "it's safe to take me out in public" kind of mood. :o)
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