Christmas

Christmas went pretty well.  As Steve reminded me on Christmas Eve we have a different normal than most people and our expectations are pretty low, we don't ask for much.

We celebrated Christmas with my mom, dad, Jim, Amy and kids on Sunday the 23rd.  My dad had the Flu the week before that turned into the Super-Flu so he could only take us all in small doses before retreating to the bedroom for a mini nap.  The kids were very excited about all the gifts they received and we watched old home movies on the big screen that is sitting in the kitchen at mom's waiting to be hauled away.  She said there was a reason it was still there - the guys could watch something on the real TV and we could watch old movies.  Jim made up lies, as usually, about me picking on him when we were little and that I was the brut, the movies mostly prove him wrong with a few exceptions.  The kids all got a big kick out of seeing us so little.

Our Christmas Eve tradition has become Mass with mom & dad the pizza at our house.  Dad couldn't make it to church so mom skipped our house too and we ate Walmart pizza instead of delivery.  Last year we showed up early to Mass to sing carols and Mitchell made it to the homily before he was ready to go.  This year Steve & Mitchell arrived about the 2nd reading and lasted through the entire Mass.  It is so wonderful to have us all in one place at one time on Christmas Eve, even if it is for just 40 minutes.

Grace was figity and loud until she fell asleep on me.  Steven and Caroline sang their hearts out like usual and we fed Mitchell fruit snacks if started to yap or flap a bit too much.  Steve & I just smiled at laughed at the sight of us all.  The people around us did the same.  I'm sure we are quite a sight to people who don't know us well and maybe even to those who do.

When we got home Steven reminded Caroline that Christmas Eve is school night bedtime schedule so after pizza and baths everyone settled down quickly and Mitchell was in bed about 10:30.  They slept until 7:45am - the presents aren't going anywhere.  Happiness filled the room as each child opened their gifts, there wasn't a disappointing sigh heard at all.  Santa & I stuck with the lists this year and it was well worth it not to get creative and impulsive.

Grace had pretty  much the same reaction to every gift and Caroline was happiest with her most wanted gift - Monster High High School.

 Mitchell slept in until the majority of chaos was over then positioned himself in his chair.  We brought the gifts to him and he managed a smile or 2 before beginning his Minecraft marathon for the day.

This is how all most things play out with us.  Steve putting toys together for the girls, while Steven repeatedly asks for something and Mitchell sits in his chair, away from the crowd, playing the ipad. 

Andrew, Ron, Grace & Baby Leo (on Joey's lap)

Grace and Baby Leo

Mitchell took his place in the living room, M&M's close by.

By noon we were dressed in our best and heading to Aunt Bonnie's for wonderful appetizers and bloody mary's.  Katie's son "baby Leo" was a hit with everyone and it felt the paparazzi was there will all the flashing going on.  I took more pictures this year than before because my kids were all OK to be left alone for minutes at a time.  Mitchell did run out the back door in only his socks so I had to wash and dry them but that is way better than his days of eating candycanes off the tree and wiping his sticky hands all over the walls or crawling through the laundry room closet door into the bathroom an surprising Kim's

A few of us were matchy matchy so of course we had to get a picture and we wrapped it up by 3:00.  On to the next house!

We got to the Ivey party at Scott's house for some more appetizers.  This is the first Christmas not at mom & dad Ivey's house and it worked out great with plenty of room for everyone including our crew.  Grace went straight for Aunt Jeanna's little bear dolls, Steven and Caroline settled in with the other kids and Mitchell proceded to attack presents and spin around on the table in living room.  It appeared it was going to be a short lived stay with Steve mumbling "we're leaving after dinner."

Things settled down a bit and by the time dinner was served (sort of) and Mitchell wanted to go outside when he was finished crawling under the dinner tables. This is one plus to being at Scott's, Mitchell could play on swingset.  It was a beautiful night so Mitchell played on slide then asked me to swing him.  We stayed outside for about half an hour then Steve came outside and I ate peacefully with the adults and enjoyed some good conversation.  Grace was giving everyone a little splash of glitter Aunt Jeanna had given her so we were all sparkly for the celebration.

After dinner was cleaned up Grace convinced Grandma it was time for gifts so we rushed upstairs and everything was ripped open quickly.  Mitchell went the opposite way to the basement where it was quiet and sat by himself until he was ready for his gift.  Steve & I were able to relax for a little while and then we gathered our children and all their stuff while they were still in good spirits.  Everyone had a magical Christmas.

Happy New Year

So 2011 has come and gone and I am not quite sure what I got out of it. I guess it's a good sign if nothing is really sticking in my head, it can't be all that bad. At least Dec left us and we managed to stay healthy for the holidays. Christmas was a success. Mitchell enjoyed his bowling alley, my keepon and Mickey Mouse for all of 10 minutes and then it was back to the ladder & Mario Kart. Grace loves her stuffed kissing Lion King animals and her Vet Center and has been wearing her Jasmine nightgown, or nothing at all, for 5 days. Caroline can't decide which DS game to play or should she fly her giant inflatable clown fish around for a few minutes. And Steven loves his upgrade to a 3DS, what can be better than playing your favorite games AND watch them jump off the screen at you. After it was ll said and done,the craziness of the day is well worth it. On Christmas day we head to my Aunt's for some awesome appetizers and wonderful family time. Mitchell managed to snag a few candy canes off their tree before I moved the rest to the back, then he discovered chocolate covered peppermint bark. Yum! Who can resist that? Caroline spent most of her time harassing my cousin's dog Lucy with Grace close by when she wasn't munching on yummy food. And of course Steven was hanging with his cousins. Surprising enough we stayed longer than 2other families who had places to go as well. Next, we drive to Steve's parents house for the Ivey festivities. Last year it only took Mitchell maybe 30 minutes to crack his head and we spent dinner time in th ER. This year we faired much better. Dinner was great as usual and other than Mitchell being told every 5 minutes to get off the railing it went smoothly. Oh and Mitchell did bust in on one of his aunts going potty and every snickered that she should have locked the door but if that was the worst then so be it. There wasn't any pants dropping or poopong incidents which was a huge relief and when Mitchell started getting restless it was time to open presents and that bought us a bit more time. We left while all the kids were still at 100% and ended the day nicely. Even for Steve and I it was great Christmas as far as gifts go. He surpised me with a Nook Tablet and I bought him a knife sharpener - I knew there was a conversation about dull knives in my future. Dad Ivey commented I should sleep with one eye open now, ha ha. And the kids gave daddy some techy gloves he can keep on while using his phone. I like it when we can think of useful gifts for each other that maybe we wouldn't have come up with on our own. Going into 2012 I can only hope our lives continue to get better. This past week I have created a list of priorities, and it's funny how they change so quickly, but the new year is a great time to start making changes.

The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

Christmas season is upon us. With it comes hope, joy and constant worry. I start to worry about what to get Mitchell for gifts. He can't tell us what he wants or write a letter to Santa which leads to the unhealthy worrying about the future and if he will ever be able to tell me what he wants for Chtistmas which leads to will he ever be able to tell me when he's hurt or how he's feeling which leads to will he know what's going on when Steve & I die and what happens if he developes cancer or some other major health problem and so on. See how out of hand this gets? I know I should just worry about the 2 weeks school is out for the holiday but that makes my stomach drop so I try up think of other things and my kind just goes crazy. As for the school holiday , and all school holidays of the future, we have hired 2 of Mitchell's aides from school for a few hours on weekdays w/o school. This will be a huge relief for all of us. Mitchell will have someone to play with, who won't leave him alone as much as he'll try to ditch them and I can take a shower everyday before Steve comes home for dinner. There is winter camp again this year but only for 1 of the 2 weeks he is off school. My heart rate increases when a day off school approaches, a couple weeks might go me in. So glad we found found some help. We got so used to having therapy everyday that when we condensed our 6 hrs into 3 days it left us with a lot of free time. It is nice not having to drive to therapy on Thursday & Friday but it makes for a long weekend for Mitchell. So this Saturday we are going to a free social group I found for 2-6 yr olds about 30 minutes away. Hopefully it will be a good fit and can turn into a regular activity. For some reason all the cool things for Autufm are not far south like we are but I don't mind driving because that fills time too. We are looking into Aquatic therapy at the same place, sounds like fun. Glad I got that of my chest, I might be able to sleep a little tonight and have nice thoughts.