whew.

We made it. It's not just Hannukah that lasts 8 days, I'm certain it's Christmas too. Maybe Mary had a r-e-a-l-l-y long labor, or the wise men had some trouble following the star... whatever the reason, it's over... finally...and we're all four alive. We have just arrived home from our 6th Christmas celebration... Don't get me wrong, it was great fun-filled family time complete with all the trimmings: driving an estimated 500+ miles, a visit to santa (who was rather grumpy for a chubby man that only has to work 25 days out of the year), last minute gift card purchasing, wrapping paper overload, spending $325 on boarding 2 dogs for 5 days, two dancing elmos, a call to 911, two snowstorms, a shattered ornament, cramming 20 adults and 5 children in our modest suburban home, eating many-a-mystery-casserole, two vikings games (that's nearly 10 hours of football!... have I mentioned I don't like football?!), two birthday cakes for Jesus and one for Ryan, a power outage, setting the grill on fire (the outside of it), a forgotten ID at the liquor store at 9:59 on a saturday (remember we live in MN, no booze on sundays), a plethora of items made in china (hopefully sans the lead), dogs attacking a turkey carcass, hundreds of twist-ties that spent their short lives anchoring trucks and barbies to their expensive packages only to be lodged in the gut of my Dyson, a bonfire that easily exceeded our city's 3'x3' limit that, which by-the-way, was lit using tiki torch oil (and I thought Ryan was a boyscout), and last but certainly not least; having to reach my bare hand into a public toilet to retrieve a 20¢ sparkle headband... yes, a public toilet... there you have it folks, another Griswald family Christmas. Until next time....

In regard to the black & white striped shirt I'm wearing:

"Mommy, your shirt looks like the wicked witch's legs!"

(she hasn't watched the movie in months... what an amazing memory!)

boongie's vocabulary to date:

"mama" - mommy and daddy
"moh" - milk
"moh" - more
"nah-nah" - pacifier
"bubbah" - bubbles
"apah" - open
"uff" - off
"bappah" - grandpa
"jat" - friend Jack at school
"he-go" - here you go
"ah-dah" - all done
"oh-oh" - when something falls on the floor
"duck"

signs: please, eat, all done

and tomorrow it starts.....

Friday 12/21:
- take car (ahem, minivan) in for oil change
- pick-up "Happy Birthday Jesus!" cake
- pick-up uncle nick from airport
Saturday 12/22:
- drop off dogs at spa (aka: gross, confined, chain-link kennel @ $45/day)
- go to swimming lessons
- pack up two kids, 20 gifts, mom, dad & uncle nick into van
- drive to owatonna, eat.
- drive to winona, eat.
Sunday 12/23:
- go to LaCrosse, WI mall, attempt Santa's lap photo (no, ella, that's not the real santa, the real santa is too busy to be at every mall across america....and yes, I understand his breath was stinky and you didn't like his beard)
- play at "Bockie & Boppy's" house the rest of the afternoon & evening
Monday 12/24:
- Go to Great Grandma Anne's house, eat.
- Go to church
- Go to Great Grandma Mabel's house, eat.
- pack up two kids, mom & dad & strap 50+ gifts to roof
- arrive home around 1:00 am
Tuesday 12/25
- Have the Arnold offspring & Bockie & Boppy over, eat.
- nap
- Reflect on how, even though the last 4 days were incredibly stressful and tiring, family is irreplaceable and Santa will always have bad breath.
Wednesday 12/26
- pick up [dirty & ticked off] dogs
- go back to work wearing sweatpants, and weighing at least 7 pounds more than on 12/20

stinky parents:

This morning:
"Mommy!, guess what?...you're not stinky today!!...and neither is Daddy!!"

(well, that's great, I guess...)

kohl's is having a sale. no really, it's true...biggest sale of the year....

perhaps I should stick to girl's haircuts:

the other babies:

bffs: joie & jake

behind mommy's back:

mommy: ella, why are your playing with my nice necklace?
ella: because I took it when you weren't watching.
ella: mommy, when you're not watching I make naughty choices.
mommy: you do?
ella: yep, I do.

my baby boy:

wasn't I just pregnant?!...my baby is growing up, he's such a big boy!!... now, we've just got to get rid of that "nah-nah."

Laundy Weekend How-To:

10 Steps to a successful "Laundry Weekend"
1. sort into whites, pinks, blues, yellows & greens, darks, towels and specialty items.
2. dust bust remnants: dried-up peas, small pieces of play-doh, dog fur...etc...
3. wash

• 3 loads- white
• 2 loads- pink
• 2 loads- blue
• 2 loads- yellows & greens
• 1 load- towels
• 1 load- darks
• 1 load- special items...bras, 30-1/2 year-old blankies, princess dresses, stuffed animals...etc.

4. move cushion from love seat in family room
5. pile all clean laundry on love seat
6. fold over course of one day
7. designate one basket per resident
8. let clothes sit in baskets in each resident's room until next laundry weekend
9. use items as needed from baskets
10. put away into drawers/closets on 13th day, at which time you'll need the baskets again for..."Laundry Weekend!!"