Before Jesus Gets Packed Away...

You know, and not to be thought of for a whole 'nother year 'till next Christmas... Check out his sandy-blonde hair! You never knew that all of Jesus' entourage was colour-coordinated before this, either, or that all the hay in his stable was *miraculously* clean. I think this miracle is probably in one of those "lost gospels" or something because every creche I've seen has colour-coordinated and there is NO cow poopy near baby Jesus, ever.

Our Last Pumpkin Post of the Year!

We finally decided to cut open our pumpkins and see how many seeds are inside. Big pumpkins have larger seeds than smaller pumpkins. We made guesses as to how many seeds were in each one. The smaller pumpkin had 259 seeds, and the larger contained **469** seeds! I don't think we're planting all of the seeds next year. But we'll sure be able to be choosy and select the nicest-looking ones for springtime.

Dig the New Get-Up.

Baby J, in his new Christmas jammies from L.L. Bean. I almost never buy new things for the younger boys, but this looked so soft and cuddly that I just had to get it. Hopefully it's "gender-neutral" enough that a girl could get away with wearing it later. Mmmm... it's very soft and snuggly. I *would* wish that it came in my size, but at this stage of pregnancy I go to the bathroom about every five minutes, and those zipper jammies are a real pain!

More Gingerbread Houses!

We tried making gingerbread houses just like on April's blog, but without the necessary skill and the little milk carton, they kinda fell down. They turned out more like little shanties than houses. They were still quite a bit of messy fun for the children to make and eat, however. They *did* remind me a bit of the ghetto gingerbread homes... click for link in bad taste, if you dare! http://www.gingerbreadghetto.com Found the link through Fark.com, as you would expect on a high-class endeavour like that.

G and Patrick, 1996.

I wish they could grow up, but still be as cuddly and sweet as they used to be. Where's Momma's kisses??? I don't remember receiving any today from them.

After Christmas.

There is just a little time after the presents are unwrapped, when we become contemplative. We just seek a little quiet, and maybe some solitude from the bustle of the holidays.

Thanks For All The Toys, But...

Time to play with my old standby, Diet Pepsi bottles.

Christmas 2007

Well, the cake didn't turn out exactly as we had planned. It was *supposed* to look like presents for Jesus. There was, however, plenty of excitement over the events of the day. Happy Christmas, everyone!

Look! A Present!

What I do with my presents is, I take them and run away so you can't "help" me open them. I look at them and play with them a bit. I eat the wrapper. Then I cry while you open the gift for me.

Merry Christmas!

This photo was taken on Christmas, 1996. Patrick was three and G was 1 1/2. I was... much younger as well.

Good Morning!

SOMEONE gets up at 2:30 or 3 in the morning, traipses downstairs and plays his GameBoy until he crashes. I wake him up at about 5:30. See the little bag under his arm? That holds his game cartridges, and his game is tucked under his chin in the corner, but you can't see that in this picture. I tell the Emperor I don't mind so long as he doesn't make a bunch of noise, and so long as he is able to do all his work the next day and get up on time. Never been a problem!

Just Me and My Dad

Throughout the 1970s, my parents had odd decorating and fashion ideas just like everyone else. Note the rotary telephone (museum quality!) and the IDOL OF BUDDHA on the coffee table. Groovy, huh??

Me, With My Baby Brother, Jim.

I guess I was ahead of my time with the mullet-cut thing. Are all of you parents of small children just LOVING this playpen or what??

Jesus Is Not Here Yet.

He's stashed in the buffet drawer beneath the creche and makes His appearance on Christmas morning.

Boys in the Backyard

The four older boys had a blast playing in the snow recently. They came in pretty cold, though. Our sled from last year had cracked, so they decided to roll downhill and get all wet, frozen, and dizzy.

I'd Like to Be... Under the Sea...

Oh, why not? The boys wanted a unit on octopi. We have learned that their eyes are attached to their BODIES and not their heads. That some are very poisonous. That they're extremely intelligent and one of the few invertebrates with a good-sized brain. They're just cool. Elf and Emperor have enjoyed learning about them. Did you know they're mollusks as well??

G's First Birthday!!

In this picture, Patrick is 2 1/2 years old and G is turning one. D is organizing our pictures from our photo albums and scanning them into the computer. Likely this is not the last "vintage" photo you'll have to put up with if you read my blog.

Free Ad For Spray 'N Wash!

This is about the only product that can not only get out *most* grass stains, but also, when added to musty-smelling laundry, helps it come out smelling fresh and Spray 'N Washy. I love this stuff. The little deodorant-stick thing for applying to stains isn't as good, though. Don't waste your money on that.

... While Visions of Treasures Danced in His Head.

Elf thinks the "alligator god" pictured in the book is really cool. He says he'd like to make his own mummy, not to worship, but just to find out how they did all those things in the book.

Yay For Patrick!

Eighth place this time, but mostly against high schoolers. We were looking outside at the snow this morning and wondering if he'd make it to the chess tournament at all. Not as many "interesting" stories this time about the tournament; last time a sore loser stuffed chess pieces into his mouth and had a tantrum, but this time, I guess everyone was pretty well-behaved.

Storage, Storage, Storage

We have every outfit from every child in storage. When our middle children, Elf and Emperor, grow or the seasons change, I dig around in our vast storehouse and pull out a "magic bag" full of clothes for that season. I have all of Patrick and G's old clothes waiting for Elf and Emperor to fit them. All of Elf and Emperor's clothes are waiting for J to fit them. All of J's old clothes are waiting for "the girl" to fit them. Someday, we will be DONE with car seats, potty chairs and about 100 bags of clothes. Meanwhile, it takes up a lot of space.

What Happens Late in the Afternoon.

Lately, Woodjie has been conking out on the couch in the afternoons after screaming for about an hour and a half. That's fine with me. It's an improvement over the screaming for about two hours and then having to be in my arms for another hour or ELSE. I am a little nervous about his falling off the couch, but not nervous enough to disturb him while he is sleeping!! I just put several blankets and soft things beneath him, just in case. He has not fallen yet, and seems to know where he is while he is while he is sleeping. I've found him a few times almost halfway opening his eyes to see where he is, and then zonking again. Maybe someday he will learn to fall asleep all by himself away from Mom and Dad. As it is, D has all his blankets and curls up beside this couch to go to sleep each night. Otherwise, Woodjie PANICS. I have never seen a child who has such sheer TERROR of being alone or being bathed. And at such a young age, too.

Wii Shortage at Christmas

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/technology/14wii.html?em&ex=1197781200&en=89496a4944567156&ei=5087%0A

You would think Nintendo would get their act together after a year and have enough Wiis available for purchase by the average consumer. I am NOT going to chase delivery trucks around or camp out for several hours in the hopes of maybe getting one of these devices.

Patrick wants one very badly. He has saved his money for over a year now for this system. Ordinarily, I would tell the kid to forget it and move on, but he is quite determined. He is GOING to have a Wii system no matter how long it takes him or how badly the company is treating those consumers waiting to buy.

I've bought the older boys each a sweatshirt and gotten them a CD to share. I told Patrick I was budgeting about $30 per child for Christmas and I've really run out of ideas for him. I took him through Wal-Mart and let him look around. He stopped at the Wii display and asked for $30 toward an "accessory pack" for the system.

Awww...

Sorry. Mom is not buying that unless you have a Wii. That would be rather like buying a fancy emergency roadside kit and spare tire for him before he has money for a car.

OK, he just wants the $30. Cash, please.

Our New Desk.

Well, homeschooling doesn't work at the kitchen table because SOME little boy can open all the cabinets and cause trouble. One of our desks is now being used for an old computer, which leaves only one desk and two children. Solution: Mom gets the desk for teaching. The children are educated with a footboard that keeps falling off G's bed. It scoots away when not in use. For a while, Elf's desk was an I Spy book and Emperor had a Butter Battle book. This gives them a little more room.

Christmas Cookies!

We like to do our home ec. stuff on Tuesdays. Usually we eat a little snack and read. But this... was an undertaking. I think the cleaning alone took me an hour! All the older boys but Patrick had turns decorating cookies. I guess Patrick thinks he's too old or something. By the way, ALL the photos I've loaded up today are by D! He stayed home today because of the ice storm.

Pretty, But You Don't Want to Drive In It.

My House

OK, now you all know where I live. See the tree bending in the background?? A coating of ice is on about everything right now, but we are very grateful that we have power. D has had a fire in the woodburning stove over the last day so that the chimney will not freeze over with ice. If the power goes out, we'd like a good chance of staying warm without breathing hazardous fumes.

Patrick, 1994

We figured out that sunscreen would have been a really great idea for our blonde child after he began getting surgeries to remove suspicious moles.

Not Chubby Enough

This picture was taken about six months ago. Woodjie really has skinnied out - it makes me sad. He eats enough that he should be rolling to get places, but I guess all that walking and climbing on furniture he does now expends a few of those calories.

Jousting

This jousting tournament was brought to you by: one plastic lid, one belt and a small plastic golf club.

Snow!

This is the view from our porch. You can see our church in the background - it's a brown building, across the intersecting street. Photo by D!!!

Christmas 1971

Diet Pepsi And Me: Photo By D!

I can play with other toys, but I simply MUST have my Diet Pepsi bottle nearby so I can hit things with it.

Go Away!

Do we *really* need telephone polls? Do I really care what my neighbours think about a particular issue? This article makes it sound as though the entire world is just going to fall to pieces unless a nice chunk of representative American households complete lengthy surveys by telephone on a regular basis:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22140953

I don't think I've ever answered telephone surveys that were randomly generated. I think I've answered a total of ONE survey, ever. That was from my local city, and it was well-publicized that they'd be calling some households to ask about how happy we were with city services, etc. I had some nice things to say about the road repair crew, because when I called about a problem they were out in less than HALF AN HOUR and fixed the problem (yay!). I had some not-nice things to say about city planning and schools. I think their goal was 1,000 households so I had, like, 1/1000th of an impact on a survey that the city planners might get 'round to looking at. Go me!!

Happy Birthday Baby J!!

Woodjie has gotten so much bigger! He was born at *barely* seven pounds (No, seriously, that's preemie size for our family) and had to be hospitalized for a while after birth. We're so glad that he's home with us, and has grown so much! Now he can walk, hit people on the head with empty pop bottles, and give drooly love. Next year, sweetie, let's work on the "going to sleep at night without having to be on the floor with Dad," ok??

Snacks From Japan!

I briefly met my now pen-friend Kuniko while I was in college. Every year at Christmastime, we send each other a small box of lightweight things like snacks, bandaids or tissues. This is our haul this year.

Look at My Tooth!!

Woodjie banged his head into the Emperor and knocked his tooth out! Emperor is *happy* about this because he's been working on this tooth forever. Now he gets TWO dollars. Patrick is annoyed because he got, like, ten cents each for his teeth.