What I Learned In 2010

I took a little time to skim through my posts this year and discovered I learned a thing or two about myself. Here goes...

1. I made two resolutions last year - TWO! - and did not even come close to meeting either one of them.
2. My grandpa was a pretty great man. I already knew this, but I was reminded of that this year even more.
3. My four year old thinks he's allergic to light. He also thinks he doesn't have to obey when he's sick, and that all people in nursing homes look like they are "about to go to heaven". I think I will avoid visiting nursing homes with him for a few years yet.
4. It is a MISERABLE feeling to lose your wedding ring, but, oh, the JOY that follows when you find it!
5. Writing curriculum for a computer class is about the least favorite things I've ever done, and I've done a lot of not-very-fun things. Mind you, I did not say that my computer CLASS is my least favorite, just writing the curriculum. Let's not get those two things confused. (Next quarter I may just teach them how to create a blog, so one can never be too careful!)
6. I am nearly the last person left on earth under 50 (possible slight exaggeration) who does not have internet access on their phone.
7. I must have been D.R.E.A.M.I.N.G when I wrote my 40 before 40 list. Maybe 40 before 80. More like "40-I-wish-I-could-maybe-possibly-accomplish-sort-of-before 80.
8. Summer was BUSY. No wonder it flew by so quickly.
9. At first I thought this was a fairly "typical" year, but I was wrong -- school accreditation, new neighbors moved in across the road, serving on another accreditation team, my grandfather passed away, my brother moved to Oregon, I started teaching two classes at the very last minute, 7 week maternity leave sub...no wonder I'm tired.
10. Bye Bye 2010!!

997

....And when the "last" piece was put in place, we had this.


Just in case you didn't catch that, here is a closer view of two of our little issues.

I cannot describe in words my feelings at that moment.

We started scouring the floor with an intensity unseen since....well, since I lost my wedding ring last month.

Thankfully the search did not last terribly long, or you may have personally heard my screams at whatever location you live on planet Earth.

Tada. Complete. Finished.

We are currently walking around in a post-puzzle daze trying to figure out what we are supposed to do now.

The Christmas Puzzle

I love puzzles. I have been waiting for my boys to get old enough to start the "family puzzle" tradition at Christmas.

My plan was 500 pieces or less, so of course, the only one we liked was the 1,000 piece puzzle.

The boys unwrapped the puzzle tonight.

And in less than 5 minutes.....

Bah humbug. So much for family time.

On the other hand, this may have been the most time my husband and I have had all week to hold a decent conversation. Maybe this plan will work out better than I originally thought.

Unless we never find that missing edge piece. Then we may lose our minds.

HELP

Things I should be doing:
*Writing Finals
*Finishing our Christmas letter
*Mopping the floor
*Creating Spelling Units
*Finishing a scrapbook (it's a gift I need to mail.....yesterday would have been ideal)
*Writing rubrics for projects
*Dusting
*Figuring out what to make for dinner.

What I am doing instead:
*Sitting on the couch
*Blogging
*Reading
*Talking on the phone

Someone please send me some motivation - NOW!!

First Christmas Program

My four year old had his preschool Christmas program yesterday. I had no idea what to expect. I would not have been shocked if he would have cried through the entire thing. I would also not have been shocked if he would have run circles around everyone on stage while making obnoxious pig noises.

I did not expect this.

Pure boredom.

Is he really yawning? At first I thought he was actually singing, but I am pretty sure he did not have a solo. The other kids have the actions going on, but it doesn't seem to be a singing moment.

But hold on to your hats (or in this case, stars), because nothing ends boredom like glittery stars! I wish I had the time and talent to post a video of this, because his star had to moving at roughly 100 mph in a 30 mph zone.

And just for the cuteness factor, check out these reindeer hats. Guaranteed to make your nose itch so you will swat at the ball 54 times during "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".

On a side note, I believe every kid's Christmas program should have have a staff member completely in charge of clothing. Her title could be "Director of Making Sure the Children Arrive On Stage Looking the Same as when their Parents Dropped them Off." I spent ten painful, grueling minutes getting that shirt tucked in just right. The poor child will be devastated when he realizes no one saw that amazing belt he was so proud of.

But, all in all, it was a fantastic program!

All 16 minutes of it!

In complete seriousness, kudos to those who made it all happen. It takes a special person with a special talent to teach preschool....and still smile!

Signs

See that little sign? I love that little sign. It has changed my life.

Well, that may be overstating it a little bit, but I like to celebrate the small things.

On one side is the name of one child. On the other side is the name of the other. Whoever's name is up will be unloading the dishwasher the next time it is ready.

We've been at this for 5 weeks and it is STILL WORKING. Stop laughing, five weeks is a long time.

It's not that they love it. It's not that they never complain. However, it is not a fight, or a whine-fest. They know it's the system and it's just the way it is.

I may just hang signs all over my house. I'm thinking the washer/dryer, the toilets, the windows, the vacuum sweeper.......this could get interesting.

The Christmas Chain

In 2008, I started what I thought would be a fun, memorable Christmas tradition. My son and I made an old fashioned Christmas chain, one link for each of the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas. On each link I wrote an activity for the boys to do as we counted down to Christmas. The kids were excited, and all in all, it turned out to be pretty successful.


Last year I tried this again. We did some of the activities....Christmas lights, gingerbread house, the 18 hour reindeer cupcakes....but I'm pretty sure that there were still 10-12 links left hanging in the boys' room on Dec. 25. Not so successful.


This year I was debating whether or not to create the Christmas chain. It does not really thrill me to do things halfway.


Then my 4 yo started having meltdowns everywhere he went - preschool, Sunday school, kid's church, etc. When his preschool teacher talked to him about what was upsetting him, he mentioned Christmas and not being able to wait. She told him she was SURE his mom would be doing some things with him to get ready for Christmas and make waiting easier.


Break out the construction paper.

The chains are made.

Chains (plural) - because, of course, each child had to have their own. They give a beautiful finishing touch to the "Blessing Tree" - a.k.a. the tree in the corner filled with pictures of my children glued to tin can lids and puzzle pieces (the pictures are glued, not the children).

Here's the current status on the chain:

*Dec. 1 - "Make Snowflakes To Decorate Bedroom Window" - Snowflakes are made, still sitting on the kitchen counter.

*Dec. 2 - "Make Christmas Placemats" - My 4 year old got very into this. His is super cute. My 8 yo chose to play the wii and wanted to 'do it later'. Later has not yet occurred.

*Dec. 3 - "Frost Christmas Cookies" - Much more fun to eat than frost!

*Dec. 4 - "Watch a Christmas Movie" - I was shopping all weekend with friends, so I thought this would be easy for my husband. My oldest child insisted we needed to watch one as a family for it to 'count'. Sounds like passive-aggressive let's-punish-mom-for-going-shopping.

*Dec. 5 - "Christmas Maze" - Again....gone shopping....easy.

*Dec. 6 - "Dip Chocolate Pretzels" - Yum!

*Dec. 7 - "Make Something for Music Teacher" - I keep trying to figure out how to get my children to think of others instead of themselves. The Christmas Program was that night, so it seemed appropriate to make a card or something simple for my son's music/piano teacher. Unfortunately, we opened that chain link AFTER the program.

*Dec. 8 - "World Vision" - I honestly think this was my 8 year old's favorite day so far. It was mine too. We sat down with the magazine last night and looked at all of the things you can give for Christmas....farm animals, fruit trees, clean water, school supplies, clothes......he was amazed by the "gifts" listed. After much discussion, he chose fruit trees. It made me smile, because soccer balls were a choice too.

I'm pretty sure it will be the best gift we give this year.

Underground....Sort Of

Do you see those children playing at the end of the driveway?

No?

Me either!

But they are there, along with the blissful silence of them playing.....in the culvert.

It is the new secret hideout for my children and the neighbor boys.






There is one....although not mine.





Two.....




And four.....and a dog. I'm relatively sure that the dog was not in there with them. But not positive.

Apparently culverts are very warm when you sit (lay?) (roll up like a roly poly?) on one blanket and use two more blankets to cover each end.

Can that be safe?

They don't really care, because it's FUN!

They also think putting a plastic bag over their heads is fun.

I really hope the boys' mother does not think this was my idea.