The Rundown: December

*Kids shouldn't have trials. That's what I think.

*Logan's cooped up energy equals a lot more taunting of little sisters. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. We joined a gym. This gym has activities for kids, too. WAHOOOOO! Even Logan. He can swim while we workout. How great is that?

*I am so happy to be at a gym again! It is so good for me in so many, many ways. I took a core class the other day. I'm still paying for it, btw. Love that! The instructor came up to me after class and asked if I have ever taken classes before, because I had correct form. I just smiled and said, "Yes. Yes, I have." No need to elaborate. They won't have certain expectations if I don't tell them the truth. Oh, and just so you know, we planked for five minutes. Five. We varied it, but it was still five minutes. Dude. That makes us superwomen. And you can't deny it. The longest I have ever planked for was 2-3 minutes. Of course I am bragging! Duh. You would be, too, if you planked that long.

*In reality, Logan's hip program is going well. It still stinks to watch him go through this. Every once in a while, I throw in a pep talk for him (partially for me, too) to let him know that we will get through this. Period. And we will do it as a family. Period. He is not alone. I really admire that little guy. He's tough. So very thankful for that. Inner strength is such a blessing.

*The Pox turned out to be nothing more than a reason for Haley to stay home and play. Thank you! And while she entertained her sisters, I baked bread. Fresh soft pretzels. All sorts of new things. And we made it through a week without Z. He came home bearing Green Chile Pistachios, but not Tamales. :*( I let him in the house, anyway.

*And I didn't rejoin the Soccer team. I felt like we need to focus on getting our family active during these cold winter months. It's more of a priority than soccer at the moment. Soccer would have stretched me thin, had I joined. Life's too busy.

*We are switching up Christmas this year. We'll have relatives to spend Christmas Eve with for once! Yay! Zane's aunt and cousin. And so I'm doing a Christmas brunch for us to enjoy on Christmas morning. My Christmas gifts this year are fantastic, IMO. I'm thinking it's a no-returns kind of Christmas. In this house, anyway.

*I'm basically prepared for Christmas, how about you?

My snowglobe.

While the kids were doing this...

I was doing this...

My window was a snowglobe that I stared, mesmerized, at for hou... a long time.

This is precisely how I listened to church today- what with Z working and the Chicken Pox

making their appearance. It was beautiful. Church, not the pox.

The green parts are back to white by now. Bring on the snow, I say!

Just not the cold. I could go for

a snow day, snuggling with my kids all day long. Well, I'd be snuggled up

and they'd pry be outside. But I'd love one nonetheless. Pretty please?

And anyways, I deserved it. Not only is it the day of rest:

But I was feeling rather overwhelmed with everything. So I went

check, check, checkity, check on my to-do list.

Prepared for the holidays and took care of business.

And lifted some weight off of my shoulders.

So it was kickin' back time. You know when you do that- you also get

temporary relief from the weight. But it'll still be there when you get up, so

you still need to get up. It's not a permanent cure.

It is, however, just what the Dr. ordered for now.

It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas!

Is it itchy in here or is it just cuz we got the Chicken pox?

Yep. And she had the shot and the booster.

Just in time for the holidays.

What do you mean 'what are those'?

Duh. Some people do not have an eye for true art.

Sheesh.

My girls rock the cookie decorating.

They are snowmen!

I love making Christmas cookies and sharing them. Except these babies. If I've shared them with you, you are perty darn special. (Or tarts.) Reason: I doubled the recipe for these cookies and ended up with 36 cookies. It doesn't make very much. And they disappear in this house just as quickly as prune tarts. Funny story about those: I did share tarts with some of my favorite people in NM. Again, if you got them- I must really love you. Our friend Fern loved them so much that he actually ate a couple of them raw! I had given them a tin of frozen ones with directions to bake- he didn't see the note. It was pretty funny. He said they were still delicious, even raw! If you have had tarts, you understand. Sigh. I really miss NM. And I'm realizing that I won't have Tamales at Christmastime this year and it's not helping matters. I *love* tamales. Like I *love* tarts or these cookies:

Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies: (sorry this got all spacey. Julie once told me how to fix it, but I was also- apparently- spacey at the time)

3/4 C. Butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 c. flour

3/4 c. cocoa

1/2 tsp b. soda

1 tsp b. powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 milk

Filling:

3tb butter, softened

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 TB milk

2-3 drops green food color

2-3 drop peppermint flavor

Add moist ingredients and beat. Add dry ingredients and mix. Shape into two rolls. Chill for several hours. Slice. Bake at 325 for 10 min. Spread filling on cookies and press together to form sandwiches. Enjoy!

For Len-nerd Skin-nerd

She's so bossy. Always telling me what to do. Whatev.

I won't lie. I was most excited to decorate my catwalk. It was a pain in the rumpus.

But I learned a lot for next year.

My perty, perty glitter trees.

Eww. My walls are not that color that they look in the bottom picture. And I wish I was a photographer.

Or at least had my other camera repaired by now.

I still really, really, really love my house. The end.

Superbaby: 11 months

Oooh, kids make life so interesting and worth living.

That's actually exactly what I was thinking when the cops showed up.

True story.

Turns out, Kaija does know how to dial 911.

Phew. I can breathe easier knowing that I can count on her in an emergency.

Plus, I got a moment to feel like a really good mom standing at the door, beaming with pride at the nice officer. Pfft. Some people's nieces.

It's just one of those rides.

This past week was like going down a rocky hill on a sled. Slightly fun, but mostly it just kicks your butt. And I'm not sure if this week is shaping up to be much better. Although I am now getting somewhere with this Christmas stuff. 'Sbout time. Sometimes you just have to laugh or else you will cry. Z was on the way to SS yesterday and got a flat at the end of our shared driveway- good thing he left before the neighbors. The kids hopped in with them. On the way home, Z found it very important to dig for a Butterscotch candy, of all things, and rear-ended somebody. (Slow-mo style) Way to impress the three extra kids in the car, Z. It gave our minivan that extra bit of character it needed- a hole in the bumper. Perfectly round. From the muffler on the other car. Cute.

(I laughed and told him that this was going to make it on my blog. So glad it was him and not me!)

It's all in the cars

Why is it when the mechanic calls, I suddenly can't intelligently utter the most basic thing?
Like "Check the shocks, struts and ball joints, please." It's more a bunch of garbled stuttering. And I look like a blond woman. Oh wait. Heh. But, I mean, really. Having me talk to a mechanic is about as smart as owning a pet Tiger. Some day you are just going to be eaten alive. I'm just saying. Sure, I can eventually get three words out, but if you don't know exactly what they are and exactly what they do (I have a general idea) the mechanic can figure that out in two seconds flat. Next time I'm going to hand him a note and pretend I'm deaf. Except I don't know what I'll do when the kids start running around uncontrollably. Well, at least it gives me a good excuse to drive Zane's truck. Cuz you know I want to. If you haven't seen it, all I need to say is: we paid cash for it. Ha. It's nice. I won't lie. My favorite thing about it is that you need to wind down the window to open the door. Izzy told me, "No fair! I want to do that." I know, Izzy, I know. That's what everyone says. And if they can't drive that, they want the minivan. We're classy folks. The only thing that could possibly top that was Aimee's old Saturn. That thing was mint. Well, almost. It was actually seafoam green. 'Cept that spot held up by duct tape. That was grey.