And A Happy New Year!

We celebrated the new year like we did last year, back in Massachusetts with family and friends.  Despite a long delayed flight that lost our luggage and didn't get us to Nana's house until after 2am, it was leaps and bounds better than last year's trip, when we discovered a lice infestation among us.  I'll take lost luggage any day over lice.

The kids were amazing, AH-MAY-ZING!!!!! through the whole ordeal.  I can shout it from the rooftops because usually, my sensitive brood is the first to crumble in a stressful situation like that, and things could easily have gone down the tubes in no time flat.  Part of me expected them to cry the entire flight. I was gritting my teeth and ready for a nightmare.  Instead, they were totally, UNBELIEVABLY calm and flexible, braving delay after delay, sleeping on the plane, in the car, and then in Nana's warm cozy beds.  It made it so much easier on Marc and I - in fact it really seemed like no big deal at all.

What did we do on vacation?  We just hung out!  The kids used their Christmas money to buy some new toys and loved playing with the ones that stay at Nana's house.

Nana and Papa keep the TV on for background noise.  Papa loves to watch the news, but he was nice enough to turn on Nick Jr. for the kids.  The kids enjoyed this treat a little too much I think!

Ben loved "doing his hair" in Nana's sink.  It was all fun and games until he got into Daddy's expensive hair pomade and gacked up his hair with handfuls of the gluey stuff!

We also had a great time visiting Revere at Nannie and Grey's house, Mary and Grace's house, and Nana Nancy and Pa's house.  Jack and Molly slept over for New Year's Eve weekend and Nannie and Auntie Eileen took them on the T to First Night in Boston with Mary and Grace.  It was a bit foggy, and Jack said the fireworks at 8pm lit up the entire sky like none he'd ever seen.  Then they went back to Eileen's house and dropped their own homemade tinfoil ball out the window on a fishing rod at midnight.  Grace dressed up as their own Lady Gaga and they banged pots and pans in the front yard.  I'm sure the neighbors weren't thrilled, but the four kids will be talking about their adventure for decades and lifetimes to come.  They stayed up until 1:30am, and the next day was not an easy one, but if you ask them, it was worth it!

If I learn how to upload video, then you can see for yourself the meltdowns that happened in the car on the way home and you can judge for yourself if it was worth it, lol!  At one point, Molly was screaming so hysterically (for a solid ten minutes) that Marc had to pull the car over because he couldn't drive safely listening to it.  It was all over her seatbelt, which she found to be uncomfortable.  We finally had no choice but to unbuckle her for the last part of the drive because it was the only way we could stop her from screaming.  I know that Marc and I spent years of our childhoods without buckles and survived, but letting Molly ride without one, even for ten minutes, felt akin to smoking in the schoolyard and risking getting caught by one of the nuns....not that I ever did that, I'm just making an analogy!

I hope Nannie and Uncle George send me the pictures of NYE because I'd love to see all the fun they had! (hint, hint)  This was the kids energy level the next day...

Even Auntie Eileen's homemade peanut butter cookies couldn't get them going much faster than that!

We'd missed Christmas Eve at Nana Nancy and Pa's house, but Nana made Sunday dinner for everyone, even with special extra treats like bracciole and cannolis!  I couldn't catch many pictures that night on account of the NYE hangover (the kids', not mine!) but it was DELICIOUS!!!  And the company was even better :)

Nannie and Quincy

Our 'scientist' at work making potions out of everyone's drinks at the table.  This was a great point of contention with his parents.  He was undeterred by all attempts to get him to cease and desist, however, and eventually landed in a time-out in the bathroom and caused our early exit. 

Mmmmm Dessert!

The Mallett Boys

Loved this :)

We enjoyed a few unseasonably warm (meaning 45 degree) days.  It was fabulous to be outside this year, whereas last year there was 4 feet of snow on the ground and it was frigid.

Even Auntie Treecie and Milli couldn't resist joining the fun!

We played "follow the leader", and when it was Ben's turn he ran and ran!  Then he turned to me and said "I'm exhausted!  Can we go back now?"  I told him he was the leader so he could go wherever he liked.  Then he turned around and ran and ran back toward Nana's house.  By the time we caught him, he was lying on the street.  "I'm too tired to take another step!" he promised.

Molly thought it looked like fun, so she joined him.  We were "following the leader" after all!

Mommy was pretty psyched to see that wet asphalt makes for a darn good photography backdrop.

Holey moley, is that girl cute or what?

But watch out for her brother, because he's a little TOO easy on the eyes...I fear what his teenage years look like.  I swear I didn't Photoshop.  His eyes really are that blue.  And his lips and cheeks really are that pink.  We are in so much trouble...

Daddy even got to shoot some hoops!

And then we went next door to Mr. Tetreau's house.  Papa knew he had a Christmas village set up for his grandkids and wanted to show Jack, Molly and Ben.

You just don't get trees like this in Illinois.  At least not our part!  It was nice to soak them in for a bit.  

The village was amazing!  Especially to little people.

This plane was Ben's favorite part.

He also liked the campfire.

Jack loved the working cable cars.

And Molly's favorite was the horses.

Little did she know that Mr. Tetreau had ponies of his very own in the back yard.  That's where we went next.

Mr. Tetreau could be Grey's long lost brother!

Seriously, how lucky were we!?

Even luckier, because Nannie and Auntie Allison came and took the kids out bowling the day before we left.  "Bowling" of course is a euphemism for "arcade games and dollar store".  This time they really did bowl though, with Molly being the only kid to finish 10 strings.  Go Molly!  Of course they came home with buckets of cheap arcade winnings, which oddly didn't make it onto the plane when we left.  Hmmm, wonder how that could have happened??

But of course, the memories did make it onto the plane.  :)

I tried Deb, really I tried!  But those were the best I could get!  Buncha screwballs I tell you!

There are a few more fun antics from Team Screwball, but they'll have to wait for tomorrow, because I've got a New Year's resolution to keep (more on that later) and I'm pushing the limit on bedtime!  (actually, I'm an hour late, but let's not split hairs)

Christmas 2011 - The Details

Our Christmas books were at the heart of our Christmas again this year, though with a new addition!

Molly wrote her own story to add to the library.

"God is Grait God is Good"

Be still my heart!

Last year I wrapped the books up and used them as an advent calendar.

This year I simply ran out of time and it fell off the priority list.

Luckily, Jack got an idea all his own saved the day!

He drew a Christmas Tree and put 25 ornaments on it.  

He was unwavering and diligent in coloring in one ornament each day.

I love how he cut his own banner out of red construction paper for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

He really did a great job!

Once Marc returned from London the weekend after Thanksgiving, we took a day to get the biggies in place.  First the tree...

Good thing the ladder reaches!

The little elves had a field day hanging ornaments.

Above is the "cute elves working" picture,

Below is the obligatory "smile at Mom" picture.

This is the "Molly hugging Daddy's leg" picture

Followed by another "look at Mom and smile" picture.

This is the "I look like Melissa Egan" picture.

The "Wait, someone take a picture of me to prove I exist!" picture.

And lastly, our "This is Serious Business" Elf, 

ready for action!

(do you love the brownie crumbs around his mouth? He takes this job seriously)

The tree looked AMAZING when we were done.

It still takes my breath away every time I look at it.

We moved it to the back of the house, next to the fireplace this year.

But I think what accounted for the tree going from GOOD to GREAT

was the addition of 20 giant snowflake ornaments.

Giant snowflake ornaments from DOLLAR TREE!

(Dollar Tree!  Can you stand it?)

I first saw them on The Yellow Cape Cod, a decorating blog that has some really great ideas.

In fact, when I recently found it, I realized I'd been bookmarking her home on HGTVs Rate My Space pages for years!  I never realized that many of the different bookmarks belonged to the same house or the same homeowner/designer.  Just goes to show that when someone has a decorating "style", it's something you can identify, even if you don't know that's what you're doing.  I don't know what style it is that Sarah Macklem has, but I do know I like it!

And I like her $1 snowflakes too! 

After the tree, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without our dear Nutrackers standing guard.

This year, Marc suggested we put them on the entertainment unit.  Smart man!

They looked so good!  

Next year we want to put a giant wreath in between them.

We might need a bigger ladder though.

Everyone wants to know where they came from.

(personally, I'd like to know what in the blazes was on TV when I took this picture??)

They were a total indulgence from The Christmas Tree Shop in Pembroke, our old hometown.

At the time, we were on a tight budget with me staying home and Marc working, and I stood and stared at them for the longest time thinking "How am I going to afford $30 each for these?"  

I put them in my cart so no one else could snap them up, and wandered around the store trying to come up with a plan.  In the end, I think I skipped grocery shopping that week and we ate leftovers and pasta instead.  

Today, they are a trademark of our holiday,

so I'm ever so glad I made the choice to go for it!

Another idea I borrowed from The Yellow Cape Cod was the idea to stuff a tutu under Molly's pink tree as a tree skirt!  The base to her tree has long since bitten the dust, so I wrapped towels around the plastic 'trunk' until it was thick enough to wedge into my miniature garden urn with her lime green tutu on top.   How cute is that?!

She'd just come from Irish dancing class, which is why she's dressed all in black.
(you know, in case you were wondering if she'd gone Goth on us)

I told Molly I had some extra special decorations for her tree.

Her great-grandmother had spent the whole first year Marc and I were married, collecting Precious Moments ornaments from the "ornament a month" club
(at least I think that's the story!)

They always ended up getting lost in our big tree, but grouped together on 

Molly's little tree, they were perfect.

This little ballerina holding the Nutcracker was her favorite.

In fact, she asked Santa for a nutcracker all her own and he delivered!  If you ask her, she'll tell you that it was her favorite Christmas gift this year.

Her tree turned out darling, just like her.

The boys wanted in on the action too!

So we took one of the small trees that we used to use outside and let them go to town.

They also had some special ornaments for their tree.

These ones have been favorites of all my kids from birth.

These ones are from Nana Nancy too.

But these ones she made with her very own hands.

Again, they get so lost on our big tree, 

but having a small tree just for them was perfect!

The finishing touch was the Santa hat all the kids wore as babies on their first Christmases.

All of it together makes the tree more than just a tree.

It makes it a scrapbook of memories that make this mama pretty nostalgic.

Of course we also wrote our letters to Santa, 

and stuffed them in our shoes on Saint Nicholas day, December 5th.

In the morning, the notes were gone and the shoes were filled with treats!

Ben wanted Spy Gear, a Power Rangers Megazord, and Transformer Play-Doh

Santa brought the first, Auntie Ulia and Uncle Paul delivered the second, and Mommy and Daddy gave Ben the third gift.  He was one very happy kid!

Molly wanted an American Girl Doll,

Xia Xia hermit crabs, and a new Aqua Pet.

Santa delivered all of them to one very happy little girl.

Jack was a little more ambitious with his list.

Black leather jacket, Ferrari watch, air hogs hawk eye, iTouch, iMac.

He was warned that his list was too over-the-top, and apparently Santa agreed!

The holiday season really does a number on his sensitive spirit.  Even at 9 years old he just can't process all the excitement and ends up in hot water over and over for outbursts and arguments.

The week before Christmas, on the way to Karate class, he burst out in tears in the back seat of the minivan.  Ben asked him what was the matter and he answered

"I just know I'm going to get coal for Christmas, and I deserve it!"

He may have been right, after all he put his family through this month.

But luckily, Santa knows that inside his fiery temper and behind the mouth that gets him into trouble so often, there is a sweet and kind boy who wants to, and tries to, do good.

So Christmas turned out great for Jack, even if he didn't get what was on his list.  

He got gifts that let him know he was special, and at least for that day, that's exactly how he felt.

Finally, our stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

And with more dollar snowflakes!  They tied the mantle garland (a gift from Nana and Papa) in with the tree.  I also tucked in some mesh ribbon and some glittery green leaves...which I thought looked great, but in this picture they are kind of making me think "Pterodactyl"

Hmm.

SNOWFLAKES!!

Now all that was left was to wait for the jolly old elf himself.

And that's just what we did!