Weeks of festivities and excitement and Elf shenanigans have finally come to a close with MULTIPLE Christmas gathering. I really enjoyed spreading out the family celebrations and while I am exhausted, I think it was actually a really good pace for all of the fun. I love Christmas. I love the details and the decorations and the Elf and all the things. But yes, indeed, I am READY for normal, quiet, boring life to return… and maybe reasonable wake up times for our children.
Our final few days with the elf were fun- we had a climbing wall day, a basketball day, complete with new shoes. There are a ton of elf accessories and merch that you can buy these days, and mostly I have resisted. The majority of our elf fun is DIY. But I could NOT resist spending $8 on these shoes and wish I would have bought them sooner. He will never take them off. Our final elf visit is always bringing the boys an ornament, wrapped in the wrapping paper their gifts will be in on Christmas morning.
A few weeks ago Xander said, “I’m wondering if maybe you’re the elf?” and a different time, Gussie said, “he’s just a doll” so I know our time with them believing in the elf is limited. I fully plan to continue the elf until they are in college, but them actually believing… this might have been the last full season of magic. I am hoping I have one more year though…
A few days ago, Xander said, “I think I am going to add guitar to my Christmas list” and then proceeded to explain an elaborate plan of writing his own songs, being wildly famous and going on tour. I was offered a position on staff as his manager, Nate will be managing his money and Augustus will be working security. Super stardom here we come. What I didn’t say was, “dude, Santa has been done Christmas shopping for weeks, so don’t add anything to the list!”
I have ZERO musical ability, like, I think it’s possible I’m actually tone deaf. I can’t clap on beat. But I WISH I could play an instrument. So, Christmas aside, if Xander wants to be musical, I’m here for it! I am not “rush out an spend a lot of money on a new guitar” level supportive, but I am, “post on the buy nothing page and see if I can get a guitar for free” level supportive. I got lucky and had a kids-size guitar in my hands 10 minutes after posting on facebook. Xander was VERY excited. We tried some youtube guitar instruction, but it hasn’t quite caught on. I think after Christmas we might see about a few lessons and figure out if this is a real interest.
The boys had school on Monday and Tuesday, and then spent the day with Grandma Debbie on Wednesday.
Wednesday night was “Christmas eve”. Gussie ended up in bed super early as he wasn’t feeling great. Xander was in charge of putting out the cookies and milk for Santa on his own.
Long after both boys were asleep, Nate and I carried up all the gifts and as I was putting them under the tree, all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nate LUNGE. He was halfway up the stairs with a very sleepy/confused Augustus before I even realized what was happening. I ran up after him, telling Augustus, “thank goodness Daddy grabbed you, the puppies were being so crazy.” He wasn’t 100% into my lie though and said, “no, I saw you putting presents under the tree” to which I replied, “no, that was the present I just wrapped for Daddy!” We got him snuggled into bed and back to sleep, hoping the combination of being sleepy and cold medication would erase his memory.
At 3am, Gussie woke up screaming and complaining of ear pain. At 4am, I was making an online appointment for the Urgency Room. At 5am, Xander woke up and I told him it was too early to get up. 6:30am, we were all up and ready for presents. Gussie rallied and was in a very happy mood. Both boys were VERY excited and it was so fun to watch them delight in every gift.
The puppies were VERY excited by their new toys and brought an added level of chaos that every Christmas morning needs. After presents and stockings and ripping open every new toy, Gussie’s adrenaline was gone and he was pretty miserable. Perfect timing, as he and I left to go to his appointment. Ear infection.
We got some antibiotics and spent some time resting.
Shortly after we returned, Brad and Angela came over for brunch and visiting. At that point, Augustus was back in bed, where he stayed for the whole day. But the rest of us had fun playing games, chatting and hanging out.
Overall, “Christmas Day” was pretty relaxed and low key.
On Thursday we got up and had everything packed and loaded into the van before 9am. Gussie was feeling much better and we were ready for a road trip. I have struggled with the car since I was a kid and it’s never gotten better. I get carsick. I get antsy. I hate being in the car. Xander gets carsick, but overall, the boys are way better at car trips than I am, and Nate could switch careers to be a trucker or a delivery driver or something, because he enjoys the car. However, overall the 9 hour drive wasn’t terrible. The boys watched a lot of movies. We had lots of snacks. Xander and I both napped in dramamine induced hazes. And pretty soon, we were in St. Louis!
We were all very excited to meet Baby Reece who is already 10 months old. The boys got on the floor to play with him and Nell (who is now 3 and the most precious child of all time). And then about 10 minutes into playing, Xander said, “I’m gonna puke!” and then proceeded to frat-guy vomit all over their bathroom. Closed toilet seat, which made puke hit the walls, the shower curtain, the trash can, basically every possible surface. It would have been impressive if I hadn’t had to clean it up! We continue to be the WORST houseguests, but luckily it was just a combination of carsickness, fast food, and 9 hours in a car, because he didn’t end up actually ill.
We spent the next several days playing games, eating good food, enjoying the gorgeous weather, and spending time together. We went to see some amazing neighborhood Christmas lights. Kyle and Renee are building a house about 30 minutes away and so the boys and Nate went on a field trip to see the construction zone. I stayed back and managed to write an entire article for the magazine. On Christmas morning, we opened presents and then the boys played with their new toys. Nell let me braid her hair and lent me bows and sparkly clips for my hair. I loved having some girl time, but there is no doubt, I was meant to be a boy mom. At one point, she brought me a lightsaber, and my first instinct was to poke her with it, which would not have gone over well with a sweet little girl! I wish we lived closer together though, because I want to hang out with her more!
The boys were both obsessed with their baby cousin. Xander kept picking him up and they both really liked making him laugh. He is a chubby, smiley little dude and just the cutest!
My mom sent updates from home as she was the dogsitter while we were gone. It was nice to spend several days relaxing and hanging out. My mother-in-law is a fabulous cook, and it was a treat to not have to cook everything. It was really nice to spend time together and stay up late chatting and hanging out.
On Tuesday, we loaded everything back into the van and headed home. Actually, no, we didn’t pack everything. My work computer… the one that has all my interviews and half completed articles for the magazine saved on the desktop- that stayed behind. We were 2 hours away from St. Louis when Jud and Kara discovered it. Ugh!!! I told them I would pay to overnight it and BLESS my brother in law, who were right to fed ex to get it shipped so I would have it asap. We are the worst guests! Luckily it arrived on Thursday- professionally packed, all in one piece and magazine writing was able to continue.
Aside from forgetting my computer, the drive home was uneventful and smooth. Wednesday, both Nate and I were on PTO and our family spent the day playing with new toys, taking down all the Christmas decorations, running errands and hanging out.
On Thursday, Nate and I were both back to the office- luckily my computer arrived first thing in the morning and I didn’t have to spend an entire day trying to do meetings on my phone. The boys spent the day at Camp St. Croix. It’s been unseasonably warm, so there wasn’t any snow at camp for the typical sledding and outdoor fun. But they built some gnome homes, played games and they got a break from each other for a day. It was perfect timing because they were starting to bother each other and they needed some fun time apart.
On Friday, the boys spent the day with Grandma Debbie. They helped her set up for the Christmas party in the party room. They moved presents and food and by the time Nate and I arrived at 4:30, we were all ready for Christmas #3.
We had dinner, exchanged gifts, and then played a super fun game that Danny and Heather gave us called Klask. Klask is kind of like air hockey, and we played it all night.
On Saturday morning, the boys were up bright an early, blasting music on the Alexa, assembling legos on the table that was still piled high from the night before. And then it was time for Christmas #4.
We were back to Grandma Debbie’s party room, this time joined by aunts, and cousins for our annual Christmas bingo! I ate so many chicken wings and so much smoked salmon- there was SO much amazing food. We played games, we chatted, we played bingo. It was so nice to see family we don’t see as often. It was another wonderful Christmas celebration.
Today is Sunday and the celebrations continue. Tonight is New Year’s Eve with the neighbors and then there are a few more days of winter break for the boys. I am ready for our normal routine to come soon, but not quite yet…
