"I like Santa"

Santa came to our church Christmas party. I had completed all the Christmas shopping because I knew what the kids already wanted. Then Everly gets on Santa's lap and starts spouting off all these new items. #toobadforEverly

But her face of all serious-business cracks me up.

I've WAITED for a Santa-twins picture forever. (never had one) and NEITHER cooperated. Wynn wouldn't look him in the eye. Iley at least said thank you for the candy cane.

As we walked away Wynn said, "I LIKE Santa". 😂

My favorite Santa (Emerson) is the one goes up on the roof to blow off leaves for me.

Taking off the shirt is an added bonus for all those driving by.

Sometimes I like to do family pictures focused around something big in that area. Well, since the Razorbacks are everything to all Arkansasans, I thought the large painted wall would be a perfect place to do our Christmas card picture. There really wasn't one night that we had open to take the picture BEFORE it got dark. Finally Brooks said, "If your mom wants it, we're making it work." We literally picked up sweaty Bronson from basketball practice, handed him some clothes and told a teenager to meet us at the "wall" to take our picture.

The OTHER part I failed to mention is the wall is on the second busiest street in Russellville which I knew my older kids especially would LOVE to smile by for a picture. hahah

There were milkshakes promised, 5 pictures taken, and BOOM, the kids were back behind the safety of tinted windows.

Although the pictures turned out a little blurry I think the cards turned out fun.

Christmas 2018

(Camden on his tippy-toes 😃)

I married a genius

While I READILY admit Brooks was a genius for marrying me, this is NOT what this post is about.

This post is about strategic parenting...or sneaky and gaining parents?

Anyway, on a Black Friday deal I bought Camden a phone to give to him on Christmas. Brooks was NOT a huge fan of the idea before, but we still decided to do it in the end.

Camden, who thought he wouldn't get a phone until a LONG time in the future was always making comments about how he REALLY wants a phone and if we would buy him one. Those comments made me inwardly chuckle now since I HAD his phone hidden in my room. 

One day one of the elementary kids came home with cursive homework. Camden went off how useless that was and how he never learned cursive. Brooks told him that EVERYONE should learn how to write in cursive. Then Camden said, "Okay Dad, if I learn to write in cursive will you get me a phone." When Brooks hesitated, I saw Camden's face light up.

Brooks answered, "Okay, I will give you until the first of the year, to write perfect cursive. You have to write a letter to your mother on how much you love her and are grateful completely in perfect cursive." 

Every day after school he would practice and practice on the table.

The funny thing is we were going to GIVE him a phone anyway. This way we got a few things out of it. A kid who can write in cursive (and work towards something) and a thankful note to a mom.

See? Genius husband.

Another one of his genius ideas came in December too. I told him about a few families I knew who wouldn't write the names of the kids on their Christmas presents so the kids wouldn't know who's is whose until Christmas morning. One friend used reindeer names and some used made up names.

I told him that was a fun idea and he said, "Yes it is, but let's use body parts instead."

Brooks is ALWAYS up for giving an anatomy lesson. So while we were going to give them the presents anyway, my kids now know what a latissimis dorsi is, for example.

I couldn't stop laughing in the kitchen when one of the younger kids said, "Who's Fallopian tube?"

BWHAHAHA.

(it was Bronson, by-the-way)

Christmas Cookie TIIIIIIIIME!

Growing up my family always baked sugar cookies, decorated them and hung them on our Christmas tree. Unfortunately it is a tradition I have kept alive with my kids. PROBLEM is...... I ALWAYS seem to have a toddler in my house. (that is a "problem" I have had for 14 years). Anyway, my toddlers have always wanted to eat our cookies. Over the years I have come up with ways and added ingredients to deter the toddlers from eating them. The trick I've found is to find something so yucky but that also doesn't stink up your tree of oh.....chili powder for example.

This year I nailed it I think. There was some major chili powder and cayenne pepper added along with some huge amounts of cinnamon (for smell....and gag-factor?)

After decorating picture

There have been years where I've THOUGHT what I added was enough to deter the toddlers, so the rest test was when the babies ate some of the cookies off the counter waiting to be strung for the tree.

LOOK AT THOSE FACES!!!!!!

This is where I did my mental motherhood victory dance!!!

Needless to say they stayed away from the cookies the rest of the season.

But don't worry, they forgave me for the horrible tasting cookies I left out.

These babies are so fun. I found Emerson in the living room with Iley, like this.

They were BOTH so pleased with themselves to be sharing a sweater.

Royce turns 8!

 My baby boy turned 8 on December 5th! 

On his actual birthday he got some Beyblades and a junkbox from us. He was clearly VERY excited it was present-time.

 

 

 I'ma gonna be honest. Poor Royce gets the shaft a lot when it comes to birthday parties because December is just plain busy and since his birthday is at the FIRST of December I still feel like I JUST accomplished Thanksgiving by the time I need to make a piñata. So the poor kid has had some "easier" piñatas lately because of my lack of on-top-of-it-ness.

THIS year he said, "I STILL want a Ninjago Lego guy but can it be his WHOLE body instead of just his head like last year?!" (see what I mean?!)

I guess he was onto me. Soooooooo, I went to work on a full-body red Ninjago Lego guy. Here is the process.

 Seeing the boxes like this makes us look like the LEAST healthy family ever. haha

 Finished! And I had a VERY thrilled 8 year old.

 December birthday are ALSO (not) fun because the weather is so nasty, all boy wrestling, running and testostrone-releasing activities are IN my house. 😂

Good thing I love all of these boys so much.

Royce had his Christmas program for 2nd grade at school around that time too. He got a speaking/dress-up part. It was a "Christmas Down-Under" type of a program and Royce got the part of Ringo the Dingo.

Which Brooks and I LOVED hearing him say it because he still can't say his "R"s. So when asked what he was doing in the program he would say, "I'm Wingo the Dingo"

Here's "Wingo".💚

(the whole "wear green" memo thing got to me a little late soooooo.......)

Thanksgiving 2018

Just like last year Brooks' brother and family came to our house for Thanksgiving. It's always such a FUN time to get these kids together!

There's a WHOLE lotta Elsa in this picture!

RIGHT before they got to our house Brooks comes home with a bunch of fish from a local pond. (the babies just sat there staring at them)

I think Brooks actually caught one of them himself, and the rest were given to him by another fisherman there. Regardless, he was pretty pleased and SO was Royce!

Hopefully you SEE the problem in the timing of his fishing trip though. You see, fish stink. And we were about to have house guests. So I told him the RULE was that they had to remain outside. PERIOD!

Shortly after they arrived and hugs were exchanged, Linsey and I went to the store real quick....okay, okay, it was Walgreens! We were hoping for a good haul like last year. Unfortunately, they didn't have as good of Thanksgiving deals for us so we went home early and came home to THIS scene.

As soon as he saw us his eyes went all wide (like he'd been caught) like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Not only were there fish being fileted on my kitchen counter, but a TOILET SEAT was laid on there while Brooks was fixing it. 🙅

The twins have never had this much access to a pregnant belly and they took FULL advantage of having Tia Linsey here.

And Aleeya and Emerson went to work their magic on trying to get Houston to like them. He's captain of the "playing hard to get" club.

Camden, ( or "Bones" as Tio Bug calls him) showing off his muscles.

We went over to the Lake Dardanelle mini aquarium and the babies were LOVING the turtles! Those turtles got a LOT of "high fives" that day.

Thanksgiving meal is SERVED! And here all the little kids with basically rolls on their plates.....oh and jello.

But we BIG people appreciated the plethora of food!

After dinner and BEFORE the pie, as always we have our Family Turkey Bowl football game while the unsupervised kids play on the playground.

And THIS year's football game was graced with Camden's amazing leggings. 

They must have been lucky leggings because he FINALLY (for the first time ever) was on the winning team and got his name on the football!

Brooks, me, Aleeya, Royce and Camden beat Tio Bug, Papi, Emerson and Iris.

(blurry but a 6 year old took the picture)

Thankfully Tio Bug wasn't an all around loser because he DID beat Brooks at golf.

The REAL winners of the week are me and Linsey though. We SCORED at Walmart on Black Friday deals. Having never gone to Walmart during that time it was quite entertaining.

We also made these wreaths from dollar store stuff and were PRETTY proud of ourselves! Me especially since I am NOT crafty-patient lady.

And having extra kids around the house is pretty good too, especially when they help in a pamper Mom session. Hey, we women deserve it after putting together a Thanksgiving feast right?!

The little things entertain US!

I have been introduced to FACE coasters and they legitimately make my belly hurt from laughing so hard. They KILL ME! 😂😆

(Wynn)

This is my reaction when the kids ask where their candy went...

She was giggling behind the coaster. :)

and while I whole-heartedly can get behind the fun of face coasters, I can't QUITE fathom my kids' attraction to plungers. Let alone the level of giggles it induces from Wynn (by-the-way, this is a NEW unused plunger....ya know, for clarification purposes) 

Emerson just thinks he's sooooooooo funny!