In the same way my body is craving a salad, my soul is craving this house to get back to some sense of organized normalcy.
It's been a fun, celebratory month for sure. We began with David's company holiday party (for which I shopped endlessly for a dress only to order one, pay two day shipping, and have it not arrive in time. Don't worry...I didn't go naked. I wore one of the few formal dresses I'd held onto that I'd worn to the party about 8 years prior. Can you believe no one recognized it?! ;) ) Believe you me, though, it looked very different on me than it did pre-children. Thankfully I had a scarf wrap and it was dimly lit in there.
Anyway, the party was great. It was at the Georgia Aquarium downtown, which was an amazing venue. We got to tour the place first, so I ignored my aching feet and we walked through some of our favorite spots with David's coworkers. We circled back to the ballroom and sat at the table with several of his employees (that stills sounds weird that people call him "boss.") Dinner was delicious and the company around us was delightful. I tried not to consider the fact that they may have just been sucking up. We stayed and mingled for a while before making an early exit to get home and relieve my dad and stepmom.
Gussied up for David's 2015 holiday party
The next morning we wrote notes out for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, prayed over them, and delivered them to church. That afternoon was our neighborhood Cookies and Cocoa with Santa event. As usual, Audrey was timid and Luke was mesmerized. They sat on his lap for a quick chat and a few pictures. We visited with some neighbors as the kids ate the GF cookies I brought and had some craft time.
2015 Visit with Santa
Luke's 2015 Preschool Christmas Program
Eyes squeezed tight, hollering for heaven to hear.
The rest of that week I spent busily preparing for the kids' class parties, shopping for gifts, mailing Christmas cards and packages, etc. On Saturday, we took the kids out to dinner and then drove around in search of Christmas light displays. Our church did something really interesting this year by giving a "reverse offering" to the congregation. They asked us to pray about what to add to it and how to give it away. Our family chose to buy some Publix gift cards and then drive around less affluent neighborhoods and put them in mailboxes with a note that read "Your light display really brightened our holiday. We hope this gift brightens yours. God loves you so much" and had 12Stone's info on it. The kids had a blast picking which houses to give them to and it was neat imagining the families' faces as they got that surprise the next day. After our deliveries, we drove around a few more neighborhoods and discovered when we were almost home that our own was by far the most decorated. The social committee put on a competition this year and the neighborhood really stepped up its game.
The next day we had church and delivered mini pound cakes to the kids' small group leaders and teachers. (Note to self: Order them next year.) Afterward, we ate lunch with some of David's dad side of the family and then raced home to get Audrey to a birthday party and David on the road to the airport for a business trip to New Mexico. Not the best timing, for sure, but what are you going to do?! Thankfully the week flew by, but because I'd managed to get a lot of stuff accomplished the week before, it wasn't too overwhelming. Some highlights: On Monday Luke and I had lunch with my dad and stepmom to celebrate Dad's birthday and I finished Christmas shopping (yeah...dirty little secret: I'm rarely done with everything for everybody until mid-December. I really want to get better about that, but somehow it never works out). I spent most of Tuesday at Audrey's school decorating and getting the kids' fingerprints for a teacher gift and Wednesday was full of final teacher gift prep and class party details. I loaded up the van that night and tried to get some sleep for the next day which was...dun dun dun...BOTH kids' class parties.
The morning dawned early and the coffee brewed strong. I managed to get everyone up, dressed, fed, and out the door on time and we dropped AJ off at school. We went over to Luke's preschool early to deliver all the little gifts for his school's admins, music teachers, director, nurse, etc. and then help set up for the party. His party was super simple per the teacher's request. There were no decorations and no special food, just four centers for the kids to circulate through. They got to decorate a cookie, make reindeer food, complete a craft, and do a bell toss game. We finished earlier than planned, but managed to stretch it out a bit by giving the teachers their framed fingerprint prints and gift card wreaths. Poor Luke cried when I had to leave, but Mrs. Alyson swooped him into her lap and I made a clean break.
I headed over to Audrey's school and unloaded the van for party #2. Because of the timing of the party, we couldn't do much set up until the class went to lunch. My co-room mom got sucked into a longer subbing job than she expected, so I was flying solo getting everything ready. I was in a full-on sweat by the time some of the parents showed up and I immediately put them to work laying out the craft while I finished decorating. The kids came back from lunch and marveled at the Candy Land Wonderland: gingerbread house door decor (from last year's party), laminated paper squares on the floor to make a walkway, paper lanterns wrapped in cellophane to look like candy hung from the ceiling, and a candy bar set up with tulle and white lights. I led the class in doing their gumball machine ornament craft (admittedly not with the best explanations, but live and learn) and then they all took some time to play Candy Land at their tables while I hot glued the ornament together. After the game, we presented the teacher with a Glory Haus initial burlee and gift cards attached and a framed Christmas tree print with the kids' fingerprints. They settled in to watch the Candy Land movie while snacking on popcorn as we called them back to fill up treat bags of candy from the candy bar. They were so adorable as they made their choices. Many could hardly believe their luck and looked skeptical that adults would just stand there as they took gobs of sweets. You could definitely tell a lot about personalities from observing them: some would gingerly pick out a few from each jar, some would make comments about getting one for their sibling, and others would take fistfuls until we intervened. The movie ended and the kids began packing up to go home. My co-room mom and I stayed and took down all of the decorations (Audrey thought it was the coolest to get to be at school "so late") and then we loaded up the van and drove home. I walked in the door more exhausted than I've been since the Timber Trek (possibly more so?!) and incredibly thankful that David was home from his trip. We filled him in on the day's excitement and then I disappeared into a hot bath until it was time to make dinner. The day had been a success...and also a glaring confirmation that I am not meant to be a teacher. Being around all those kids was mostly fun, but there are a few I would absolutely smack upside the head if I had prolonged exposure. Still, I am glad to get to make those special memories for my two and their classmates.
Double Class Party Day
We headed over the state line the next morning and spent the day eating delicious food, unwrapping gifts, and visiting with David's mom's side of the family. The kids were delighted with all of their new toys and goodies. After showing such interest at Thanksgiving, Audrey a keyboard from her Aunt Barbara. (We got to hear a lot of Jingle Bells.) We also went outside and tried Luke's foam rocket launcher. It was such a fun day full of family and playtime.
David's maternal grandparents with their grandkids and great grandkids
On Sunday we went to church and then had a total chill afternoon. We put together some legos that the kids had gotten the day before and played a game. We baked cookies and delivered them to neighbors. I ignored the mess around us for a little longer and just relished the day with everyone together at home.
That Monday the kids and I got up and drove to Greenville, South Carolina to meet our sweet friends the Taylors at a children's museum we love there. Kara and I caught up as best we could in between counting children and running them to the potty. We ate lunch there and then exchanged gifts in the parking lot before trekking home. As usual, we hated to leave them and wished they lived closer, but were very thankful we got to spend the time together that we did.
The Sinyard and Taylor kids
The next day I cleaned the house from top to bottom and hit the grocery store to stock up for the rest of the week's celebrations. Thankfully the kids did a fantastic job of playing together and entertaining themselves. I tried to only intervene in the arguments that looked like they were going to result in bloodshed. Ah, siblings. Can't live with them, can't kill them and blame it on someone else when there's only two of ya.
On Christmas Eve Eve (yeah, it's a thing), we had plans to go do a special Dollar Tree sneak attack idea I'd seen on Courtney DeFeo's website (author of In This House We Will Giggle). You leave stashes of $1s and $5s around the store with notes so that people can find them as they're shopping and hopefully get a really sweet surprise. Unfortunately, our minivan had other ideas for us. I'd noticed the night before that it seemed a little slow to start, but when we buckled up and I turned the key, it was dead. I tried several times over and long story short (read: edited because it's still too fresh), when I finally pushed the van out of the garage to get it ready so I could ask a neighbor to pull in our driveway and jump it, it started. We drove up to Auto Zone and they tested the battery only to tell me that it was not the battery. They suggested it was the alternator. Sounds expensive, doesn't it?! I took it to a repair shop across the street and left it running while I went inside and asked if they could squeeze me in. They could not. So I called another mechanic we'd used before and, thankfully, they said they could do it that day. I asked for a ballpark figure and tried not to swear in front of the children when he answered me. We took it in and waited for David, who had been at work all of two hours by that point, to come get us. We ended up doing our Dollar Tree mission, though I won't lie and say I didn't think about keeping those stashes for ourselves at that point. We picked up our Honeybaked ham slices and drove home, trying to remain cheerful. It was a real effort on my part mainly because of the money, but also out of selfishness. Dealing with that was not how I wanted to spend my last day alone with the kids before we began making the Christmas celebration rounds. The pouring rain outside didn't help things. (Side note: this has been the wettest December ever.)
Anyway, to make a long story short, we bought a new alternator for the van for Christmas. I kept reminding myself to be grateful...an expense like that right before Christmas would've meant no visit from Santa for many people. It would've meant returning a lot - or even all - of the gifts under the tree. For us it did hurt, but it didn't send us into a panic and I truly was thankful for that. We made and decorated Christmas cookies that night, which surely helped lift our spirits. David and I just sat there and marveled at how big the kids had gotten as we watched them concentrate and do such cute details on their masterpieces.
Fast forward to the next day: Christmas Eve. David's parents came over that morning and we exchanged gifts. Their company and generosity was much appreciated and we had fun watching the kids dive into their new toys before eating a gourmet meal from Pizza Hut. (They really do love me just as I am, God bless 'em.) The morning ended with rousing slot car races and it looked like a quintessential Christmas with the kids hovered over their new track.
Audrey and Luke with their Grandmom and Granddad
After they left, we put the kids down for a rest and cleaned up a bit before getting them up and ready for our Christmas Eve service at church. Childcare was only offered for preschool and under, so since Audrey was going to sit with us we gave Luke the option as well. He debated after hearing our repeated warnings about staying quiet but ultimately decided to join us. It was a nice service (except for the part where the pastor explained the three stages of life: you believe in Santa, you don't believe in Santa, you are Santa - WHA?! Why would you do that with a room full of kids, sir?! Thankfully, we didn't get any questions about it from our kids , though I imagine he fielded his fair share of them from parents.) Singing Christmas worship songs with the kids was really cool and they managed to do well sitting still.
Dressed up for Christmas Eve service
We drove home listening to Alabama Christmas CD and cracking up at Luke belting out "There's a CANDLE in the WINDOW!" We quickly threw together our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of tacos and sat down to eat. Now here's where you'll have to humor me as I keep it real: I don't know what happened exactly, but things began to unravel. I think we were stressed from the rush of getting to church and keeping the kids quiet there and then racing home to get them fed. We had a small disagreement about something minor and then suddenly David and I were snipping at each other. We took the kids outside to pour out their reindeer food on the lawn and noticed the Christmas lights had shorted out again from all of the rain. The snipping continued. Then I pulled out the kids' traditional ornament gifts for them to open and barked at Audrey for starting to open hers when I wasn't looking. I apologized and smoothed things over, but then she broke it pulling it out of the box and burst into tears. I slowly turned those into laughter by making some jokes but everyone was more than a little edgy. Insert more snipping. I swallowed my pride and attempted to reach out to David by teasingly poking at him, which he was not at all in the mood for. He got more frustrated and I felt humiliated. The damage was done and I started crying and couldn't stop. Not because anything was so terribly wrong, but more because it was Christmas Eve, everyone was stressed, and we were fighting over absolutely idiotic stuff. In other words, my expectations of the picture perfect evening had crumbled and I was furious with myself. I knew better than to have those silly expectations in the first place, let alone react this way when they didn't get met. The night we'd waited weeks...months for was finally here and we, mainly me, were ruining it. Ah, perfectionism. Just when I think I've tamed you to a manageable level, you bite me in the butt.
I tried to hide my tears through the reading of our last advent story and then get a grip while I read The Night Before Christmas. You know how it is though. Sometimes the more you try to calm yourself down, the more the floodgates open. I snuggled with Audrey as she talked sweetly to me, knowing something was wrong. She asked me if there was anything I wanted for Christmas (not helping the tears, kid) and I squeezed her tight and assured her that I already had it. That was the real reason I was so mad at myself: I had every single thing I'd ever wanted and yet I was behaving this way. I prayed for God to help me get it together and the anger slowly dissipated as I sang her a song and tucked her in. David and I talked things through and made up before Santa came on the scene. We crashed into bed exhausted but feeling a lot better than we had a few hours prior.
The next morning Christmas came and I woke up early and took a shower. While David woke up and got dressed, I turned on all the Christmas lights and did a final check on the layout. I prepped the cameras and then we went in together to wake the kids around 7:30 (because of the layout of our house, they can't leave their rooms without seeing the stash from the catwalk, so we make them wait and then close their eyes until they're on the stairs.)
Finally they walked down and ran to their loot, exclaiming that Santa was "very generous!" We ate breakfast (just pancakes, bacon, and eggs because that's what AJ wanted) and then opened stockings and began exchanging gifts. Since we only give the kids three from us, we stretched it out all day and let them take time to play in between. We built the fort they got, let them dress up in their costumes (Batman and mermaid), listened to karaoke on their new mic, and played with the Gotham City Jail and Shopkins storefront. For lunch, we ate leftover tacos and then David and I opened another gift from the kids (the first was GT boxers for him and a robe for me, the second a map puzzle centered on our address for him, jewelry for me.) Everyone settled in for a nap/rest and then, when they woke up and we saw the sun peeking out for the first time in days, we went out for a walk and some scooter riding. As we strolled to the end of the driveway, we noticed our mailbox had been hit. We later found out our neighbor's son saw it happen, but didn't get a good look at the car and the guy had only jumped out to assure him it was fine. Regardless, I was determined not to let it ruin the mood, especially given the drama the night before. We went inside and let the kids watch the Tom and Jerry DVD Audrey had given Luke for Christmas while we cooked dinner. I called everyone in the dining room where we enjoyed our ham, mashed potatoes, GF mac and cheese, deviled eggs, green beans, GF corn pudding, and GF rolls. It was delicious and the kids loved eating on fancy plates with candlelight. We cleaned up and they opened their last gifts (Journey Girl doll for AJ and a set of super hero mashables for Luke) and then did FaceTime with Pam and Ed for a little while.
Opening some gifts
We tucked two very happy kids in bed and I relished the inner calm I felt and thanked God for a great day. David and I finished watching Christmas with the Kranks and ate Publix peppermint ice cream. It had been a lovely Christmas day.
The next morning I woke up early and did what has become my traditional post-Christmas shopping spree from 7am - 10am. I didn't buy much - no decorations - but did grab a few gift bags and boxes and found Luke a birthday present and some new pajamas. It's more about me getting a few hours alone sandwiched in between days of extroversion. David and the kids met me and we drove to my mom's to celebrate with her, my brothers, and their families. We ate lunch and visited while the cousins had a blast running all around and playing together. The food and gifts were secondary to the company, catching up, and reminiscing, as they should be. It was a nice visit and after snapping a few pictures, we left early afternoon to make our way back home. Our van was acting up again (yeah, SUPER excited about that) but we made it home without incident.
David, the kids, and I with my mom, brothers, and their families
Monday brought about our fourth and final family celebration (fifth if you count our personal one...We're practically Jewish) at my Dad and stepmom's house. We ate brunch, opened gifts, and watched the cousins do more running around and playing. My sister-in-law set up a makeshift nail parlor and painted Audrey's toenails and fingernails with some of her new nail polish, which she loved. All too soon, it was over and time to pack up. The van started like a champ thanks to my amazing hubby's handiwork. We drove home, unpacked, and ate hot dogs in front of the TV like the health nuts we are.
David, the kids, and I with my dad, stepmom, brothers, and their families
The next day we made some returns, let the kids spend some of their Christmas money at Toys R Us, and went to pick up my birthday present: A new iPhone 6s to replace my four year old iPhone 4. We came home and began taking down some decorations until David's parents got there to watch the kids while we went out on a date. We went to an indoor shooting range and then out to dinner at Tin Lizzy's. We stopped by a little gift shop I like and then hit the grocery store for a few things on the way home.
Wednesday was my birthday. 33 - yowza. I woke up to pouring rain announcing that I would not be taking my birthday run like I thought. I sat in the sunroom and worked on this post before getting the kids up and feeding them breakfast. We continued the work of taking down all of the Christmas stuff and they were actually big helpers at disassembling the tree and wrapping up ornaments. We played around and I got to open my presents (a long cord for my new phone and a paper cutter I asked for). After lunch, Audrey gave me a birthday manicure...with a little help. When they got up from rest, we went out to a couple of stores including Barnes and Noble, where they loved playing and reading. Before long, it was time to head over to Provino's for my birthday dinner. They give you a free meal on your actual birthday and also have a gluten-free menu, so it was a no-brainer. We ate and then I made a quick return at Kohl's before we drove home to hear a lovely rendition of Happy Birthday and eat some peppermint ice cream (David had snuck over to Great American Cookie Company to get me a slice of cookie cake that was devoured later.) The kids really did treat me so sweetly all day and adhered pretty well to the "no whining or fighting on Mommy's birthday" rule. In fact, it was a nicer birthday than I've had in the last several years. Not because of any grandiose gesture or gift, but simply because the kids are older and "get it" now. And the recent reminder I'd experienced about adjusting expectations probably didn't hurt, either.
They treated me like a queen all day - complete with a crown!
My husband beside me, my sleeping babies down the hall, a full belly, a beautiful warm home and family and friends that love us as much as we love them. Thank you, God.
Happy New Year and may 2016 be your best year yet!
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