In the Spirit of Christmas

This post is actually something that happened last Christmas Eve, I've been meaning to write about it since then.  We went to the annual Christmas Eve Children'

Vivian wearing her Moana necklace playing with GrandJoe.

s service at my parents' church that is usually packed to standing room, as it was last year.
Vivian was wearing a new Moana necklace with her outfit, which glowed when a button on the back was pressed.
As the service progressed, the lights were dimmed, then went off completely, as the shepherds and the wise men processed.  There was one glowing light that represented the North Star to guide them through the darkness.  That it is, until Vivian, uncomfortable in the darkness, pressed the button on her Moana necklace.  A glowing green light eminated from the orb of the Heart of te Fiti.  Nana gasped and quickly covered it with her church program.  Luckily the Wise men were wise enough to continue on their way to the manger and were not tempted to reroute towards the Heart of te Fiti.

Merry Christmas to all.

Cinderella and the Mailman

Vivian was "reading" Lanie Cinderella the other day, while I was getting ready for work. 

Lanie's latest reading behavior is to interject, "what's that?" throughout the entire book, multiple times a page.

"What's that?" she asked.

"That's the mailman," Vivian replied.  "He is bringing the mail."

I thought to myself she'll explain the delivery of the invitation to the ball.

"He's the one who brings all the packages that you order on the computer." Vivian continued.

"Oh, yes." said Lanie.

Or that.

Frankie the Frog

Vivian had a homework assignment last week of bringing her stuffed frog home from Kindergarten.  He was supposed to be involved in our family activities and outings and then we were to journal our experiences in the class book.  At first I misread the assignment and thought he was with us just for the weekend, which was good, because it made me do all the photo taking and printing and get the bulk of the work done on Sunday. When we reread the information that night I realized we had a whole week with Frankie.


Of course, every single activity that we did outside of the house, we forgot to get Frankie.  So Frankie did not get to choose a Christmas tree, put lights on the tree, go to the park, go to dance class, or go on a playdate...

Frankie's missed outing to find a tree.

We did remember when we folded laundry and went to dinner at my parents. He got to hang out with the family, so that was good.
On the actual Sunday night before Frankie had to return to Kindergarten, he disappeared, no where to be found.  Vivian's things tend to do that. We had a few talks about how very, very sad her entire Kindergarten class would be if Frankie was lost, including her beloved teacher. Vivian was not entirely persuaded. We discussed how it wasn't fair that some children got to keep Frankie for a longer time than others, and everyone should have a chance. Nothing.

Sam wanted to pose with Frankie.

Eventually I gave up to read stories, figuring I'd deal after the kids went to bed.  I sat down on the couch and out of the corner of my eye I spotted something that I first thought was the dog. It was Frankie, sitting on a dining room chair, pushed in under the table. I retrieved him and kept him safe until the next morning and lectured Vivian on how much trouble she would be in if Frankie didn't make it to school.

A Bug

Vivian has had an upset stomach for a few days now and keeps asking why her stomach hurts.  I told her she probably had a little bug and needs to rest and drink.
She asked me again a little later and I said, "remember, it's probably a little bug?"
"Or a fly," she told me.
"Um, I think a bug, which means a little sickness."
"Right. Like a fly. Probably a mosquito.  Remember mosquitoes make big bites on me? I think one did it inside my stomach.  I have a mosquito."
"Perhaps."

Frosty and Playdate

I was driving to work with Lanie the other day listening to "Frosty the Snowman" on the radio.  I asked Lanie if she liked the song and she said, "yes."
"Yes, mama, I like Frosty." pause, and a minute later, "I think we have Frosty over for a playdate."
At this point I've deferred a simple, "yes, that sounds nice," instead of reasoning it out.
"Actually," Lanie said, (it's about a 6 syllable word when she says it), "let's go to Frosty's house for a playdate!"
"Great!" I agreed.

Folding Laundry

I was folding piles of laundry the other day, while the kids were getting dressed.  Sam tossed a clean shirt that he decided not to wear in my direction.
"Um, you could fold that, Sam," I told him.
"No, it's okay mom, you can fold it. You're the professional," he answered.

Lanie's Nail Polish Fiasco

Lanie was supposed to be napping yesterday and skipped her nap.  I came home from the gym and put her back in her bed.  She still didn't sleep and insisted in "going downstairs."  I needed to go and run some errands with Vivian so I settled her in my bed as a compromise.

While I was out, I got a text from Chris, that Lanie had "gotten into my nail polish."  I had painted both her and Vivian's nails that morning when they had asked me too, already. Apparently that wasn't good enough for Lanie. She got a child's chair from another room, dragged it into my room, and climbed up and got it off the dresser.  Dark purple.  The same color her sister also applied in my bed around the same age.

Link to:  Vivian's Make up fiasco

When I got home she was standing in the hallway with a smile wearing gloves.


"Why are you wearing gloves Lanie?" I asked.
"Oh, you no see my hands mama," she replied.
"Really?" I asked.
Through this whole encounter she was giggling, encouraged by the other two.  I finally closed them in one room and put her in time out.
"If you can't listen to mummy and daddy, Santa won't give you presents," I told her. She burst into tears. We revisited the topic later, but not after her asking me two more times to use my nail polish that day and she cried when I said no.

Time out.

It is now all hidden.

Vivian and Lanie's hands yesterday.

Bathroom Shenanigans

I relaxed on the couch for a little while yesterday morning.  Lanie used the bathroom and then took the opportunity to do a little decorating with toilet paper.

Sleeping Arrangements, Part III

My child who every few weeks has a sleepless night and wanders around.  Sometimes I find her sitting in her rocking chair rocking back and forth in the dark, which is a little disconcerting.  Other times she will wander, downstairs to see what Chris is doing and hang out with him, I'll find her in bed with one of the other children, or she'll climb in bed with me and stroke my hair.

Sam is sound asleep.

Other times, on different days, I'll find her "resting" in various places around the house. 

"Mama, I nap here in Jack's bed?"

Jack discovers her in his bed.

Lanie resting on the bathroom floor while I take a shower.

Socks

After we moved, I had no time to match socks up, so I started throwing them in a laundry basket after they were washed.  The kids would get their socks directly out of the laundry basket and often wear two unmatched socks.  The other day I finally thought of paying them to match them up, since I often ask them too and they do a few pairs and wander away.
I paid them a penny a pair and we got about forty pairs matched up in about 15 minutes.

Christmas Decorations at Home Depot

Lanie spotted this giant holiday decoration when we were at Home Depot yesterday.  The polar bear's head moved from side-to-side.  Lanie watched it warily for a while and then turned to me and said, "mama, you tell the bear to not come down?"

This video is from her watching it the second time.

"Want to see my dress?"

I have a friend's wedding coming up this weekend, so last weekend I was organizing and getting things together for it. 
I called to Vivian, "do you want to see my dress for the wedding?"
She and Lanie came running, "yes! Where is it?" she asked.
She surveyed it in silence.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"Well, I would like it better if it was pretty," she told me.
It's a black dress, with a grey skirt and Vivian likes color, so I'm guessing it would be more appealing to her if it was colorful.
I looked at Lanie, "dress is big," she told me.

"Ughy"

Lately when Lanie has been having temper tantrums or is frustrated, she yells, "ugh-ee, ugh-ee, UGH-EE!" at the top of her lungs.
Recently when she was yelling it, I said, "it's hard to help you because I don't know what ughy means." (Lanie is very verbal and has a huge vocabulary).
Sam looked up from what he was doing, "I'm pretty sure ughy is Lanie's version of the F-word mom."

Actual Halloween

We lucked out with a warm Halloween evening this year, so it was fun to be out trick-or-treating.  Here are a few photos from the evening. 

Sam's friend arrived dressed as a toilet, which was really funny as it looked like Sam was wrapped in toilet paper (it was really gauze).

Nana with a witch's hat with the kids.  Vivian is a rainbow vampire, Sam was a mummy, and Lanie was Curious George.

One of the fifth grade classes wrote persuasive essays about what the teachers should dress up as for Halloween.  One of the boys recommended homework, and then that our dog eats the homework, so here is my quick costume.

Lanie posing as Curious George.

Halloween Preparation and Practice

We did some pre -Halloween activities, Vivian's costume came so she wanted to try it on.  She choose to be a vampire, I painted her face and she put the whole thing together.  Then she looked in the mirror and said, "no mom, I wanted a butterfly on my face."

I said, "so this is usually how people dress up as vampires."

She just looked at me.

"Viv?" I asked, "do you know what a vampire is?"

"No," she said.  

I guess I really shouldn't have been surprised.  She went through the catalog that came in the mail and "chose" several costumes, until I figured out she was choosing only the costumes in which the models were wearing high heels.  We had a long talk about how the costumes didn't come with shoes and how she was not wearing high heels on Halloween.  I think the vampire costume was just the next best choice to her.

 Lanie by default is either Curious George or an owl (costumes we currently have in the house).  She wore the owl costume to go to a Halloween celebration with her caregiver.  Ironically she is currently scared of monkeys but loves Curious George.  However, looking in the mirror with the hat on also alarms her.  It just seemed like a warm choice for Halloween night.  Sam wants to be a mummy, which is fine as long as the gauze stays wrapped.  We went with gauze instead of toilet paper in case it rains.

Practice round to my parent's neighbors, MaryEllen and Mark.  Sam is half wrapped.

 On another note, they actually participated in carving pumpkins this year, I guess I complained enough about getting left with the pumpkins that they did it.  Vivian wanted a skeleton with flames, we settled for just a skeleton face and Sam pretty much did his by himself.  Lanie choose the littlest pumpkin she could find and then got distracted because we got "Booed" mid carving and she started to eat candy.  She drew "numbers" on hers (I think she was copying how Sam does his homework), but I carved a smiley face. 

Finished products.

 There's a street in our town where every house has a skeleton dressed differently with props.  It's really fun to walk down and check out.  Unfortunately I'm pretty sure Lanie dropped her prize Barbie somewhere on the street, she had earned it potty training and would not put it down.  Of course it's now long gone.

Jack's Attire

Until we can rectify the situation, Jack is wearing Sam's old shirts.  Good to have extra old clothes on hand occasionally.

Jack's Haircut

It was getting to the point where Jack possibly couldn't see through his fur so I booked him an appointment at local groomer. 

He returned looking like a whole different dog.  I might have thought he was a different dog until he pooped on the floor, perhaps to punish us for taking him, perhaps to prove it was really him.

When Lanie woke up from her nap she was sitting on the couch with him and I asked her where Jack was.
"Oh, he at store getting a hair-cut."
"Oh," I said, "who's that?"
She regarded Jack, "a doggie."
"What doggie?" I asked.
"Dis doggie momma."
"Is it Jack?" I asked.
"No, this is different doggie."  Not at all perturbed that she was hanging out with a strange dog in the living room.

Poor little patchy guy, now we need to find him a doggie sweater and jacket.  Vivian keeps wrapping him in blankets.

Lanie's Fan Club

At dismissal at the children's school the other day, I was trying to finish something up on my laptop, so Lanie went to hang out with a mother we know.  She was loving the attention and a little group of children proceeded to gather around her.  She ended up bossing them around, "you run!" and they'd do a lap around the playground.  "You fall!" and they'd drop to the ground.
She thought this was great fun.

Spinning at the Playground

We find it way too funny when the kids get off the spinning equipment and can't walk in a straight line. 

Autumn Walk

I was taking a walk with the girls at a local cemetery and trying to get them to take some photos for me with the foliage (video below).

A woman happened by with her daughter and offered to take one of the three of us.  She only took two, but it was probably the best two photos I have for the past few years.

When mom tries to take a photo.

"Um, um,...."

Jack and the Doll

 It appeared innocent and cuddly, but he likes to chew up plastic and cuddly toys.  Lanie was not thrilled.

Apple Picking

 Apple picking and fall activities last weekend with my mom.  The apples weren't perfect, but everyone enjoyed.  We also ate lots of donuts and have made a bunch of applesauce.  Hopefully we'll get around to making an apple pie this weekend.