Real Life

Okay, so one Sunday morning we attempted to get a nice picture of the kids in front of the Christmas tree.

Wait, let me fix something.

Two happy girls, one solemn boy, and one very unhappy little boy.

Now, we're waiting for the wee one.

Oh, dear.

"I do not want to be here right now!"

This was the best one we got, and we finally gave up.  At least I can now look at these pictures and find it funny!

Our Christmas Tree

On the third weekend of Advent we put up and decorated our Christmas tree.  The four big kids and I worked on it while Anthony took his nap.  We barely had enough time!

The kids took turns getting on the step stool to put ornaments up higher.

Catherine places an ornament just so.

One of the kids swiped the camera.  I had to delete a lot of pictures but this one of Anne was funny.

Dominic's turn.

My four helpers, proud of their work.

I liked this picture that one of the kids took.

Joseph smiles for the camera.

Oh, Anthony was very excited to see the Christmas tree, and could not keep his hands off of it.  

We ended up with 4 or 5 broken ornaments and many of the rest ended up on the top third of the tree.  Several times I caught him standing on a step he had carried from the bathroom so he could reach higher.

A miracle:  all five of them facing the camera, if not all looking the same way.  You take what you can get!

Before Christmas

A few weeks before Christmas, when the weather was nice, Dan got the outside Christmas decorations out.

Bringing a load from the shed.

Hold on tight!

The kids check out the reindeer.

Anthony was fascinated, especially when the reindeer's head started moving back and forth.

A few days later, when we had cousins here, Dan pulled the nativity over to the front of the house.

A few little munchkins hitched a ride.

Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, and the adoring children!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our family on Christmas Day after Mass.

I have a big backlog of posts to do, so watch out!

Been There, Did That

Joseph, mischievously: Hey, Dominic, let's eat some Play-Doh and see what it tastes like.

Dominic:  No!

Joseph:  Why not?

Dominic:  Because I did before and it's yucky.

Anthony At 21 Months Old

You wouldn't think this cute little guy would ever cause any trouble, right?

One day, I was just getting started with making dinner, and the kids were playing a loud, rowdy game in the living room.  I thought Anthony was in there with them, and then all of a sudden it got very quiet, as the kids finished their game.  I said, "Where's Anthony?!"  No answer.  So I went looking for him. 

I went in my bedroom to see this:

Then I looked into the bathroom:

And around the corner of the bed:

A few days later he got hold of some toothpaste and squirted it all over the bathroom floor.  It smelled very minty in there for a while. 

He climbs, oh does he climb!  He climbed onto a kitchen chair, got on top of the desk in the kitchen, and proceeded to somehow open the very top cabinet and get out a bottle of vitamins, which he then opened and dumped out onto the floor.  All that while I was changing a load of laundry. 

He easily climbs up to the top bunk and throws things at the kids on the floor below.

Oh, and he can climb from a regular chair into his highchair, onto the table, back into the highchair, etc.  Sometimes he sits like this:

He is so cute and funny and loving, though, it is hard to stay mad for long!  He currently likes to play with blocks and build tall towers, he loves to jump off things like the coffee table, he likes the train track and trains, he likes to pretend with the little kitchen, he likes Hot Wheels, he likes to dump things out, draw on things with markers, take things apart, break things, destroy things, and of course, go outside!

Our sweet little Anthony

Shoe Storage

Look at what Dan made for me not long ago:

Custom made to fit the space under the coat rack, this has solved our shoe clutter/storage problem.  Each child has his/her own section and is responsible for keeping his or her shoes in it.  Hooray for handy husbands!

November Catch-Up

The kids and their cousins waiting for their concert to start.

 

This year the homeschool choir concert was held in mid-November.  The little kids chanted the Our Father, then sang Father, I Adore You and Had a Little Rooster. These were followed by four songs accompanied with either rhythm sticks or egg shakers. The kids loved using the instruments.

The combined little kids' and big kids' choirs.

   Together the choirs sang Oh, Susanna! and How I Love My America.

Close-up of the kids.  Catherine and Dominic are in the second row and Anne is in the front row.  There were 25 kids in the little kids' choir this fall, though not all of them sang in the concert, like our Joseph. 

The weekend before Thanksgiving we were able to visit my parents.  We had a nice visit.

The kids with my mom.

Catherine hugs my dad, thanking him for the birthday present.

Thanksgiving was spent here at our house.

The kids watch Daddy prepare the turkey for the oven.

What fun to rip up lots of bread for the dressing! 

Our Thanksgiving feast!

All Those Girls!

On Friday, one of my friends came over with her five girls to play.  So the boys were seriously outnumbered, 7 to 3.  The fun started out with a tea party, as you might expect.  However, my friend and I were surprised to later discover the kids playing a rousing game of what they called "War."  They divided into 2 teams and doled out all of the nerf guns, cap guns, pretend laser guns, bows and arrows, swords, shields, etc. that belong to the boys.  I don't think my friend has too many of those kinds of things at her house!  They all sure had fun, though. 

After they left, I asked Dominic if he had a good time.  He said yes, then thought about it some more and commented, "I just couldn't keep track of all those girls!" 

Happy Baptism Day, Catherine!

Here's our Catherine, learning how to knit.  Eight years ago today she became a child of God!

On The Feast Of St. Nicholas

Yesterday St. Nicholas visited our house and brought some of these:

And a new book to read:

We also discovered that it had snowed the night before and it was the first snow of the season to actually stick to the ground. 

So after..

...we finally...

...found everyone...

...a hat...

...to wear,...

...and coats and mittens and snow boots,...

...the kids went out to play.

Anthony was trying to figure out what this stuff was!

It was only 8:00 in the morning, so it was cold!  17 degrees, I think!  Anthony only lasted about 10 minutes, everyone else 15-20. 

When they all came in, we had some hot chocolate and marshmallows.  Mind you, this all took place before school started!  Luckily, we can have a flexible start time.  Good thing, too, because the snow was mostly gone by lunchtime. 

Later, we read our new book, True Story of Santa Claus, a story about a boy named Nicholas and how he stays up to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.  Then when Santa comes he tells Nicholas a story about another Nicholas long ago.  It is published by Pauline Books.

In the afternoon, we watched the DVD, Nicholas, The Boy Who Became Santa.  This is one of those wonderful DVDs from CCC of America.  We have five of their DVDs and they are really neat.  You can find them at many Catholic online stores and probably at your local Catholic bookstore as well. 


Disclosure:  If you follow any of the links to Amazon and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

A Scary Gift

This morning we were reading about the three wise men in school, and I asked the twins if they remembered what any of the gifts were.

Anne proudly said, "Gold, Myrrh, and Frankenstein!"

Miss Potato Head