at long last...

i don't usually do new year's resolutions...but this year i think i am going to: blog more. talking with some mom friends the other day, a friend mentioned that at times moms (or parents) forget as our kids get older that we still need that community we may have created while the kids were babies or toddlers.

& i am so guilty of letting this go...whether blogging community or our playgroup. that community was such a support during some stressful moments. i mean, i received not just words of encouragement, but the knowledge that i wasn't alone when my girlies were beyond frustrating. & i even had other bloggers send me gifts of encouragement (or to my mom! hello, friends). part of the reason i've pulled back from blogging this year is because some of the things most affecting me right now, well, i can't write about them on a blog, they're just too personal for me or someone else. ugh.

so all that to say: i want to be more present in this blogosphere.  not meaning i'll blow the cover on what are the more personal things, but i'll be here more to read what others are going through & offering some of my own stories & such.

there is my resolution! hold me to it!

***

now for the fun part: pictures!

 millie-bean's preschool christmas performance

 while the class sang "up on the housetop" amelia & her co-reindeer (summer, our neighbor!) got to jump out of the line onto the platform. then when santa is mentioned, that kid dressed as santa also jumped out. i didn't think amelia would do that, but she did. so cute, so proud.

the train

 addy's addy doll clothes gifts from grandma sue & paw paw bruce.

wes wearing one of amelia's gifts: belle's tiara. 

post-gift play time

amelia is one of the speediest gift openers ever. she was through her gifts in no time, then began playing immediately, usually with a huge smile & lots of jumping on wes & i squealing: i love you! thank you for my gifts! *smile*

 

 the gift i searched the most for...

a large, stuffed pinkie pie. *sigh* AND crumbs sugar cookie lalaloopsy (not pictured here) of which i somehow bought THREE. 2 were ebay mistakes, 1 i found very cheap at a thrift store!  anyway, this smile & addy's love of them this month has made it all worth it...

 after opening gifts the girls immediately went & packed for gramum & pop pop's house. & then they laid by the door, begging wes & i to "be ready" or "what's taking you so long?!" "can't we just eat breakfast in the car?" etc etc. wes even had to take them out of the car once...

by far, adeline's fav gift of the christmas: a guitar. she now walks around the house doing performances, & is actually pretty musical. (must fine piano & guitar lessons for her)

what its all about: cousins!

shock & awe: a mini doll castle!

tea party the day after christmas. my mom even provided fancy hats!

more of the tea party...

loveliest of all: my deariest friend, holli & newborn, Aoife (ee-ffa). both are so sweet & doing well.

i think i need to visit these two again...very, very soon.

& another friend, stephanie & brice had a wee adorable baby, crimson. who is totally adorable & all & whom i also want to visit with soon...gee, what a lucky friend i am to have all these babies around! 

***

what a month, eh? i'm hoping january goes by  just as fast as december, mostly because of my annoying cleanse. folks have asked if i'm doing this for weight loss. big answer: no!!! it's been suggested by my doctor & a new dietician. the purpose is to detoxify my body/cells. so my cells are apparently very elderly, according to a test done by the dietician. so hopefully by the end of the 28 days, my cells will be more hydrated & larger, meaning that toxins are taking less out of my cells. i hope this is making some sense, *smile*. so today starts the intense part of the cleanse: 7 days of specific fruits & veggies only, in addition to this DISGUSTING medical food that i mix with fresh apple juice, 3 times a day (plus some detox pills). kinda unique for a home baker to not be able to eat sugar or carbs (or caffeine!). supposedly this week i should begin to feel better, maybe even amazing...but so far i am gassy & bloated & grumpy &  my fibro still is loud & proud. argh!

***

enough of that...i think i could complain about it for a very long time. ah well. so now i must get amelia her lunch, then pick up addy, then take amelia to the neighbor's house (carpool is awesome, eh?), then get addy her lunch, then do some housework crap, then pick up the preschoolers, then...sudoku? somewhere in there is a lot of laughing & chasing down little girls from their hiding places & forcing socks & coats on & reading books to them & having them read books to me & playing legos... good stuff mixed with the BLAH.

christmas

maybe i said i would post a movie. did i? (yes). sorry, that's not going to happen...b/c it's already wednesday night! where do the days go? i was hoping-thinking-wishing i would have more time to do things like a movie since wes is home. but i don't, somehow. the days are filled with random & daily errands & visits. but i will come through with a synopsis of our christmas.

***
christmas eve

we, meaning *me* (heidi) really wanted to attend our christmas eve service (they had 4 of them, the least we could do was go to one of them, eh?). somehow we picked the one without childcare. (or maybe they all didn't have childcare?) so amelia spent 40 minutes on wes' shoulders & adeline spent the 40 minutes splaying herself along our 4 chairs, attempting to crawl under the seats, annoying the very old & grumpy woman sitting next to us, & then also turned around interacting with the 4 college age guys behind us. i spent the 40 minutes trying to keep adeline from disappearing in a crowd of 2,000, trying to sing along, etc.

but the service was amazing. it was complete with the candles, choir, solos, & bunches of kids looking very cute & antsy in their christmas outfits. i'm not quite sure who leads worship yet b/c there is nearly always a different person each time we go--which hasn't been so often these past few months--but this person deserves quite a pat on the back. there was this one solo of oh holy night...if you watch this video, she's the white lady in a white shirt to the left. amazing. i think even the college boys behind us had tears in their eyes. or maybe that was b/c adeline threw a pencil at one of them & their laughing lead to crying. hard to tell.

after 40 minutes & 10 minutes trying our darnedest to sit through the service we decided to go out into the atrium & let the kiddos run wild...stepping out into the atrium was like stepping into the wilds, holy night for sure. there were dozens of kids going crazy, running around in packs up & down the steps, chasing each other, dancing, de-clothing (not one of mine this time!). so we let them do the run-wild for another 10 minutes then it was time to jet home to plop them in their beds. i think amelia was asleep by the time we arrived home 10 minutes later.

a picture of the kids before the service

i just think this picture *adorable*
***
christmas morning

adeline woke up a bit later than normal, nearly 7:20 a.m.! we had closed the top gate hoping to keep her upstairs to wake us up...but somehow wes & i were both already awake & we waited a few grueling minutes with adeline until amelia woke up.

then. it was the best moment of addy's life. oh it seemed that way. she saw the presents & was all 'oh my. oh wow' in some awed whisper voice. she picked through the presents giving amelia her gifts & then ripping her own open with gusto. i really don't think we had time to get a decent picture of her opening her gifts.

adeline then moved on to helping sleepy amelia open her gifts...which was taking forever. i'm not quite sure if it was b/c she was so tired or we just didn't get what amelia was hoping to get. so adeline finished opening amelia's gifts. (i'm sure next year the situation will be so different).

adeline going through her stocking

amelia yawning through her gifts. this is about as excited as she was the entire time.

***
miraculous drive

so after breakfast we loaded the car up & off we went, driving to avon lake for 3+ days. i was prepared for the crying & whining & packed a very substantial 'fun' bag for the 2 1/2 hour journey. BUT WE DIDN'T NEED IT. the girls watched the curious george movie & laughed. they played with each other. they only went through one snack bowl each. amelia slept for a wee bit. adeline would happily start to sing jingle bells randomly. it was amazing. (is this how other people's kids have always behaved in the car?!) somehow we made the 2 1/2 hour drive into a 2 hour 3 minute drive. wes & i just looked at each other as we pulled into the driveway: brilliant christmas gift, a quiet & pleasant car ride.

***

christmas afternoon & evening at the gerbicks

my in-laws totally rocked the doll situation, folks. our girls now each have an oak doll cradle, share an oak doll bunk bed, have an oak doll high chair, an oak doll stroller, an oak doll ironing board...seriously. if you want to get some serious doll playing action in, come to our house. these doll toys will live longer than me!

the girls in front of their tree (i think this is actually the 26th of december. my foul.)

sorry for the sorta boring post. i'm pretty tired & have had headaches & migraines for the past 2 days, so...(& no, i don't think it's b/c wes is home. i fear what our house would have become over the past 2 days if he wasn't home. maybe rubble?).

it still shocks me that tomorrow is thursday already. how? where have i been?