End of the year...

I have been really busy since that last post....and we have all been sick. I was sick on Christmas eve til the day after Christmas (I still have a migraine, actually). Cassie was sick Christmas eve, Lino was sick the weekend after Christmas, and Maggie has been sick since yesterday. Blah. I am ready for us to be healthy!

Despite all of that, the kids really enjoyed Christmas. Santa brought them lots of new things. Lots of Sleeping Beauty for Cassie, Tinkerbell and Diego for Maggie and Stickers (Lightning McQueen) for Nate. I have no idea where we are going to put it all. In fact, due to my migraine issues, most of it is still around the tree.

I sewed a total of 10 tote bags...1 for a friend, 3 for teachers/principal, and 6 for Lino's mom, aunt and cousins. I forgot to take pictures of the cousins bags. I broke plenty of sewing needles, found a new place to get twill tape and poked my fingers more times than I care to remember. (It is nearly impossible for me to sew with bandaids on, and I can't use thimbles....) I got a thank you note in the mail today from the principal, she really likes hers, and all of the cousins seemed to like theirs. Yay.

I was able to get the family jammies done, and am pleased with how they turned out. Eight yards of red flannel, 5 white tshirts, 5 yards of white fuzzy trim, elastic and drawstring. Easy peasy. I might even try doing some for Etsy next year. Nice simple design that I can do in some common sizes ahead of time.....we'll see.

Nate is doing great with no more Mama drinks. It went much easier than I thought. He still needs either me or Lino to lay down with him til he falls asleep, but we expected that. No tears at all about stopping nursing, so that made it a whole lot easier.

I hope everyone has a super safe New Year's Eve, and a very blessed 2009. I tend to not make resolutions, because it seems as though I never keep them, but I do hope to 'stress less' next year. Enjoy all of the little things, and not be so anxious. (I do worry a lot, and it isn't good.)

Merry New Year!

Is Santa missing some reindeer?

I think Santa may be missing some reindeer. We found them. Hiding Transformer style in our driveway.

Nate got a big kick out of the Reindeer Car costumes that Lino brought home yesterday. Lino had seen these a few Christmases ago, but only now found them in a store.



So, the Big Red Car has been renamed the Big Red Reindeer for the next month or so.





Nate has taken to hiding under his or the girls' beds when he is sad/mad etc. Yesterday we were getting ready to go shopping and Nate wasn't in the living room with Lino. He wasn't in the bedroom with Maggie and Cassie. So Maggie checked under the bunkbeds, no Nate. Lino checked under Nate's bed. He was there. Asleep.

I don't think he had been under there too long. I am glad he hadn't gotten undressed, though. The floor was cold! You can see Maggie in the background...she crawled under to try and wake him up.

Speaking of Christmas, I have added some Christmas songs to my blog. Lino made fun of me, he thinks most of the versions are terrible. (And he likes Christmas music. He is already listening to the 24 hour Christmas music radio station....)

I love Christmas music. Really love it. Even the really religious ones sound really pretty. I have different versions of songs up there, and am trying to find more. I really like the Little Drummer Boy. Not sure why. I also like the silly ones. I am still looking for Domenic the Christmas Donkey.

The one song you won't ever hear on my playlist though is "The Christmas Shoes" (I don't even know if that is the right title). I just know it is quite possibly the saddest/worst Christmas song ever. I heard it for the first time the year my mom passed away, I was crying my eyes out about a minute into it and made Lino change the station. I can appreciate the sentiment of the song, but I won't listen to it.

Christmas fun

Christmas was so much fun. Maggie was the first one up. She came to get me, telling me that Santa left something in our stockings. I got up and went down to the living room with her, and she was right--Santa came.

It was still very early considering what time the kids went to bed the night before, so Maggie and I hung out and had our chocolate milk while we waited for Cassie and Papa and Nate to wake up. Cassie was the next one up, and Nate and Lino were last. The girls were super about being patient and waiting.

The girls were excited to read the card that Santa left for them, thanking them for the chocolate milk and honey bee cookies. Maggie asked if I drank the milk-'oh no, honey, that was Santa's chocolate milk. I put it out before I went to bed, I didn't see Santa'. (they put out the cookies, but we waited on the milk so it wouldn't get warm) Lino suggested the honey bee cookies instead of chocolate chip ;)

Nate was a little unsure about opening presents. He had to be 'helped' with the ones he did open. He was very excited about finding Ernie in his wish box.

Maggie had a trumpet in her wish box, along with some purple hair bows. Cassie got the new pink bows she wished for, along with a clarinet. Santa also put a harmonica in Nate's. Fun! Santa brought new slippers for the kids. Nate was so fond of his, that he refused to leave the house to go to my dad's in sneakers. He wore his 'melmo' slippers instead!

Maggie loves her new dinosaurs! I love that they have their own bucket to keep them in!

Taking a break to try out the new markers and paper that Santa brought. Thank you Santa, for making them washable markers. The marker came out of Nate's shirt and jammie pants!

Cassie got the princess carousel horse carriage that she wanted. She was very excited, and although I didn't get a picture of it, had a huge smile!

I tried to get a picture of Nate just as the horse pops out of the box. He likes it, but jumped back each time it opened.

I will post the pics of the things I made for my dad and sister later. It is very late and I should get some sleep! Lino is working an overnight --I don't sleep well when he is gone.