big girl bed

Faithy oh Faithy.  Totally awesome totally a handful.  After thanksgiving she figured out how to climb out of her crib.  At my parents she figured out how to climb out of the pack and play too.  She won't sleep in my bed she craws out or up to the windows.  She likes to climb up in her brothers top bunk to wake him up and say "HI HI HI Yah Yah HI Hi HI".  But her climbing out of her crib was not safe as she would free fall down.  So the best option I had was get her a big girl bed.

I got Dora, of course.  I got a canopy because I had one as a little girl.  Her big girl bed is just a toddler bed but it  works for now.  One after noon Yah Yah and I put it together.  He was a great help.



She waited so excitedly.



And now she has a big girl bed!



It has been very tough nights this week.  We are all looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday.

Take 2, another try at a dinner with Santa

When 1 dinner with Santa goes terribly wrong isn't it logical to try another?  Oh yes that was my unrational thought of the weekend.  It will be fun I told myself.  Will it be different I wondered?  This time Santa was going to pizza hut and I asked my parents if they wanted to come too.  Friday - Santa at the club = bad, no Santa at a different pizza place = good, Sunday - Santa at pizza hut = ???

We got there early right at 4 when Santa was supposed to be coming   Showing up with a party of 8 or 9 wherever we go is daunting to restaurants and hard to seat.  So we got there early in hopes to be able to be seated right away.  We were,  it was fine.  They sat us in a little corner there was plenty of room for us and a few more.  Even better Santa was not there yet.  We sat down and started eating and Faithy never saw the guy.

She was able to eat we all were able to eat.  No crying fits or melt downs.  Yes.

Through dinner my mom and I kept sneaking kids to see Santa.  He was a wonderful Santa, real hair too!  He was so nice to all the kids.  He talked and listened to the big boys.



To bad he won't be bringing them what they asked for.  I can't believe the prices of their request.  They are not unreal but when I have two of them asking for ipads, Wii U, new ipods, computers, games, remote control cars (those I have got them every year and every year they last less then a month.)  Sheez I don't want to think about when I have 5 only asking for and expecting high ticket items.  But you never know, hopefully I will be able to spoil them .  I will take each day as it comes and be thankful.

He was enamored with Grace.



But aren't we all?





He sweet sweet self and infectious smile.  They way she jumps with excitment.  We all love her more than words could every describe.





She is amazing!

So it fit Santa would fall in love with her too.





I am so glad this year she is not scared.

Smiley snuck around him at first.  He was being shy, being mischievous, being a joker.  But in no time he wanted to join his sister.



So much better than Friday.  The kids were full, they got to see Santa, they were happy.  But faith kept yelling stuck and hitting the strap on the high chair.  She wanted out.  She wanted to find out why her brothers kept running away.  I told her she did want to know but she had to find out for herself.  I took her out of the chair and walked over towards him.  And again as soon as she saw Santa she broke out in to tears and screamed.  There was no way she was getting close.

I kept a hold of the princess and that still was not good enough.  She is scared of Santa, in real life.



On packages and tv she is okay. Like Smiley last year she calls him HOHOHO.  He no longer does now its Santa, awe he is getting big.

Even though we still had tears it was a better night.  But it is the last time.  I don't want to keep torturing my daughter.  Not to mention it is almost Christmas! 7 days, I can't believe it.

The best of the worst

I did not think I had this one....



It was the best of the worst.  Oh that appointment was horrible.  So much stress.  I could have screamed, I am sure I did, it was more than I could handle.  Or close to it as God won't give you more than you can handle.  He has been testing that line lately.  looking back I really like this photo.  And you know all the flaws that I see in the "good" one are not there in this one.  Not one child is looking and it is okay.  I like it.  I like the expression in Santa's eyes.  The oh my!

Sometimes steeping back and giving it time erases the bad and lets in the good.

Christmas dinner at the club

Christmas this year is not like every other year.  At least not entirely.  We do have a tree up but the decorations are quickly disapering.  Faithy grabs them off everyday and throws them to the ground breaking the.  I went out and got the gly shatter proof ones it does not mater if she can reach it she can break it.  The other kids did this too.  it is just to tempting hanging shinny object beautifully lit up.  We will proubably go through it with Grace too, next year, maybe after that smooth sailing?  She has also been destroying many of the other Christmas decorations I have out so in a change I am undecorating.  I have been boxing things back up and returning them to the shed.  I am not that heart broken really.  It makes for less stress in my life. I can't stop her from ruining everything so I will just remove it.  It will be less to put away after.  What we have is suffient.  The other kids are not complaing, yet.  Evan got to do some decorating and that is important to him.  I hung up some lighted garland and he wonderfully surprised me by hanging all our stockings on them.  it looks great.  Gregory put up a few Nuttcrackers, Faith has broke most of them but since they are all ready broke I might as well leave them.



We are having a lot of fun finding Jim, our Elf on the shelf.  Faithy found him today she was so pround that she then grabbed him and ran around showing her brothers.  This of course upset them all so now he is laying in a sick bed with cinamon sticks.



We tried to have our annual dinner at the club with Santa tonight it went just a little worse than the rest of the times we saw Santa.  Faithy screamed and hollered at the sight of him, before she was even close.  Her dad had to take her away while I got pictures with only two of the boys this year.

Gregory was great and more than happy to see him.  And this is a fabulous Santa pair.  The hair of both of them is real, they are as nice as can be, and we have been seeing this couple for 6 years now.





Evan saw him to but I don't know why he was so sour, I think he was just hungry.



Smiley refused to get close to him because of the reaction of his sister.  But he got close to Mrs. Clause as she handed out so many sugary treats.  It is nearly 11pm and they are still up running around, thanks Santa.

So we left and headed to a Santa free zone, a pizza place.  The kids were happy and the food was good.  It all turned out to be okay.



They even got more candy there.  Wonderful.  They certainly did not have soda with their meals.









But I got to have all my kids with me loving them, eating with them, and most days I think they are growing so fast but lately to me they have all been looking like babies, especially the older two.  I will take time moving slower for a bit.  I might not have a house full of decoration but we are full of Christmas spirit and my little elf's take it with them where ever they go.  As long as Santa is not there.

The bean bag chair

Well It looks as if she figured out the art of the bean bag chair.



The most comfortable way to watch Dora.



But this chair feels a little lumpy?  Are bean bag chairs supposed to lick, kick and squeal?



Aww that is the problem.  it's Baby.



And Grace would not want her blanket to be any one else.

Who let the dogs out!

Who Who

                               I know you are singing it!

                                                                                Me too.

                               okay me and my  son are laughing!

last day of Fall Semester

It is almost over, fall semester that is.  Tonight is my last final.  My Spanish one.

Source: puns.icanhascheezburger.com via Karen on Pinterest

Ha if only it was that easy.  It is tough learning a different language.  Tougher than I though it would be.  It is not just speaking it but learning correct grammar  tense, sentence structure.  You have to relearn English to learn another language.  My the rest of my day will be spent going over and over preterit and imperfect tenses, direct objects, and watching Dora.  For better or worse its done tonight and I can't wait for it to be done.  To have another semester behind me.

I finished my Sociology last night, ended with an A  Yeah Me!



Lets hope for a good grade in Spanish too.  Off to study.

Source: rumerhasiht.tumblr.com via Karen on Pinterest