Celebrating Christmas

Everyone celebrates Christmas just a little differently, but a lot of it is the same.  At Chez Madsen, we have extended family parties,





We act out the Nativity at Grandma's.  See the fuzzy little sad sheep?



And we light our German Christmas tree while we read the Christmas story with Grandpa while it spins.





So since we have an arch in our house now, we decided to collect the presents on top, and then on Christmas Eve, Daddy hands them to us according to whom it's from.  You get to take all your presents you're giving to people and put them under the tree.





Santa comes, fills the stockings with an orange, peanuts, candy & a little toy, then leaves a present by our stockings, and new pj's wrapped at the foot of our beds.  The rest of your presents are from your family members.  The children have a big sleepout together:









When we wake up, we put our pj's on, say family prayer, and take a picture on the stairs, waiting for Daddy & Mommy to set up the camera, turn on the fireplace, etc.



And let the presenting begin.  Merry Christmas!

35 years young

OK, I turned 35. I guess I didn't think it was very old, until I was watching a movie with Jeff at the end of the day, and he referred to me as an old woman. Somehow when he said it, it was more real. But I really like it when he calls me Woman, so he's forgiven.

Since it's my blog, I'm going to post my day, so if you're not interested, time to log out. =)

I had a breezy day, not too stressful, it just breezed by. After the Ward Christmas Breakfast (if Santa weren't coming, we would never have dressed our kids early on a Sat. birthday morning) it was a blizzard outside, so we cancelled our Toys R Us trip, and I just didn't mind. Jeff told me to put my feet up, and he grabbed the broom while I talked to my sister on the phone. He took the kids to Grandma's to wrap my presents and give me some alone time. Then they came back & we unwrapped & enjoyed, until Jeff told me to go upstairs and take a nap because I was tired. (Instead I wrote our letter for our family newsletter, but still it was the alone time and thought) while he took the kids to the basement to play video games and keep the house quiet. Then we got our girls off to 2 birthday parties, took the others to Grandma's house, and went out to eat at The Roof in Salt Lake... soooo yummy. Then we got the kids in bed and watched a movie & cuddled. Just relaxing and enjoyable. Nothing stressful, no expectations, or anything that couldn't wait or be changed or cancelled. My kind of birthday. I don't really love cake, so it was sweet to have a divine cheesecake at the restaurant - no loud singing, just a little candle in a single small cheesecake with fresh berries... I'm hungry for it right now! Then tonight we celebrated with the Madsens... so nice & relaxing and I love them. Ta-da! I'm 35.

Church Christmas breakfast -- Good morning babies! The only picture we took on my birthday, but gotta limit the amounts of posts without pictures, so here it is!

My kids are growing up

We got early snow, and the kids were out in it every chance they got:











Play-doh is the best:



And this picture looks super cute and calm, but H&K were actually really distressed that I walked outside without them.  They started bawling right after I shot this:



Everything is ok now.  Phew.



Chloe is 11 months old!



Breakfast in bed for Miranda.  She's 11!



Her friends had to use the letters of this sign to come up with as many other words as they could:





Hurricane:



Presents at Grandma Madsen's house:







Derek turns FOUR!









And we host Thanksgiving with the Madsens

Secrets

Jana tagged me on FB for 7 secrets. I don't want to publish them for everyone to see, so I'll put it right here in "private."  Here goes:

1. I do my laundry every Tuesday, always have. On Mondays, I can scour the rooms, make sure everything is out of the corners, clothes are off the floors and in the baskets. Everyone brings me their baskets on Tuesday morning, and there is a load for every color of the rainbow. Seriously, a PINK load, sometimes two. And all clothes get hung up to dry.  Not undies & towels & pj's, but even jeans start looking faded & old right away if we don't hang them.  I try not to tell people about my weirdness, because I want them to like me more.

2. Nerdy moment #1: I have a Word file for my grocery list. ½ the page is a menu, to plan the week. ½ the page is a list in order of where things are in the store. I hate doubling back for things I forgot. What a waste of time.

3. Nerdy moment #2: I have a file for Christmas presents as well. “As well” is a very nerdy phrase that seemed perfect there.  A Christmas chart organizing who is giving what to whom.  Password protected, of course.

4. There is a perfectionist dying inside me every time something is a little out of line, or messy or unorganized.  I let her go for sanity purposes as the family grows. But I hope I can pick her back up again one day when I have more time.  Maybe she died, though.

5. I have a somewhat photographic memory… maybe it’s selective. I can remember numbers, including birthdays & license plate numbers without thinking about it too much. I can look back in my head and see what papers say, and I recognize businesses by looking back at their logos in my head. Starting to weird you out, yet?

6. Sounds pretty braggy so far. Let’s see… dirty rotten secrets: I’m a brown thumb. I will kill any plant you want me too. How’s that for dirty. I can’t keep plants alive because they can’t tell me they need something. Noisy plant gets the water.

I just am not to that security level where I can really reveal dirty dark secrets.  Maybe someday.

7.  And last because it’s the most… secret.  Moonlight Adventures is all I can say. And Jeff & I are not explaining.

Contraband

This morning I was going insane trying to keep the twins at bay while I cleaned up from our whirlwind weekend. I finally asked the boys to take the babies down to the basement and show them some toys. I cleaned for a little while, and decided to check the computer. I only read 2 blog entries, my CIL Kathryn and Kierste, both about their twin girls. I was ready to start back to work, but finishing Kierste's comment... hadn't pressed send yet, and the comment was something about how cute it was when the girls shared contraband snacks with each other. I felt a little squishy hand on my arm, and looked at my overjoyed Kierste, covered in Miranda's pink birthday cake, and her sister, opening the office shutters with her cakey hands. I followed their trail back to the kitchen - each of them took a different route, of course - and I am happy to say I chose the good part. I had already been upset today. I had already found myself inwardly thinking of all the rooms that locked.

This time, I got the camera and blogged it.

Strawberry cake with a package of Wild Strawberry Jello and pineapple in it doesn't look as messy as it is when you're following it with a washrag down the hall and through the dining room. I thought it would be fun to make it Texas sheet cake style for Sunday dinner, so everyone's piece was more fancy looking: larger and flatter... but all it did was make more surface area for baby hands... we were going to finish that off for FHE tonight!

Happily unashamed of her amazing find!

So, okay, here are some other recent contraband incidents. While I made dinner, I saw H & K out on the tramp together, and thought it was cute that they were just 2 little dots out in the yard together. Grabbed the camera.

What sweet pals.

Zoomed in on my darlings. What the...

Sharing the last of the bagels from the bread drawer.

Whole wheat appetizers for impending dinner... fine.

Okay, in hindsight I realize the cupcakes -- you know, the grody, more-than-a-truckload-of-food-coloring ones -- were too close to the edge of the counter.

The consolation for the trauma of all that food coloring coming down on your face? Getting stripped naked and eating them on the deck

And sister wins, too

Twinners

Okay -- The portraits that will grace the walls for the next while. I absolutely can't believe these pills. THREE sittings, so many frowns, and finally, I take Halle's hairband out of her hand, and it snaps back at her. And Fred snaps the picture. Ta-da! They were never so happy to see someone check out of KK.

I'm not saying I wasn't smiling. I haven't laughed that hard for a long time. I was amazed at the cold, stone frowns--nay, glares they gave the 3 other girls who tried their hand at this. Then red-haired Fred came on the set, and their glares turned to mild disinterest. 45 minutes later, these rare moments turned up:

Halle -- Unexpected Gift

Kierste -- Follower of Christ

Like most little ones, they love their baths. But they also love:

Getting wrapped up and sitting on the counter for a few minutes playing in the mirror with Mommy. I say, "Who wants to get out and be a Lucky Duck?"

Where was this smile--yea, glee on portrait day?

Happy Note: When Jeff's brothers (we won't embarrass Alex & Tyler by posting their names outside of parenteses) were younger, they would disguise giving hugs & kisses after prayers by calling them "an H and a K."

Halle, AKA: Hals, Hallery, HallyPal, Bethy, Halla

Kierste, AKA: Keekers, Kiki, Janie, Bitty One, Kiersta

(Pills), Twinners, Babies, Tiny Ones, BooBoo's, Pumpstebooeys, Princess Booeys

H&K = Hugs & Kisses

There's 6 of them!

I was already taking a picture of Halle & Kierste in their new dresses after church, and all the other kiddos came over. We got one snapshot, and it's my favorite picture in a long time. Jeff and I look at our kids sometimes and shake our heads in awe... there are 6 of them. When did THAT happen? We would never go back and have it any other way.

I was so proud of Carlie playing her last soccer game in the SNOW, bare knees and all. What a trooper!

You can't tell me 5 year old soccer isn't one of the cutest things in the world, with the coaches acting as referees and walking in between the players. The tumbles they take are still so adorable because they're just barely past toddlerhood, and hurray for herdball! I love it. Kevin Stoker is a great coach, and we love him.

You know, Jeff took this picture, and I see that "The Beast" is framed nicely in the background. I have to wonder if it's a subconscious thing, because I know he loves his truck... He may very well just orient himself toward it without even thinking. I don't often see The Black Pearl in the background of the kids' pictures, although I know my vehicle is at the scene of the crime.

Evidence as to why we don't have portraits of the babies yet. If one doesn't have a shiner, the other one has two... it is so sad. They are especially clumsy at "grumpy time:" 8-9pm right before bed, and I cringe every time they fall. Sure enough, another postponement of portraits.

Well? Yesterday, we noticed that neither of them were marred! So my MIL & I made a date for Tuesday, rain or shine to get them taken. (See first picture of post for Kierste's unmarked face this afternoon.) And what did I behold before I put Kierste in bed? Another clunker right on the noggin. Time to break out the concealer - yes, I said concealer - I'm tired of 4 portraits on the wall and 2 blank spots.