Christmases

We spent our Christmas doing the things we usually do: heading to my parents for Christmas Eve, and then spending a lazy Christmas Day at home. 

 

{Our crew has outgrown the couch!}

We still managed to get all of our gifts open before the sun came up. Some traditions never change!

Every year the kids open jammies on Christmas Eve so that they have something new and cozy to wear all of Christmas Day, and, in some cases, the next several days. This year, I had “most likely” shirts made for everyone. No picture evidence of them, but here is what they said:

Mason: Most likely to wake up first on Christmas morning. [And he did.]

Camryn: Most likely to be an angry little elf. [And she was.]

Jacob: Most likely to get poked in the eye with wrapping paper. [Because something always ends up in his eye.]

Caleb: Most likely to catch a reindeer. [Or any deer for that matter. But despite his best efforts, he didn’t.]

Morgan: Most likely to crash the sleigh. [I have a history.]

{After presents, the kids transformed the family room into a giant sleepover space, where they lounged the whole day.}

{I caught some of the new Top Gun movie with my favorite co-pilot.}

{Even Molly took full advantage of the lazy day.}

Illuminations!

We made our third (almost) annual trip to the Morton Arboretum last week for the lighted walk through the woods. It really is an amazing show, and I am so glad we can share this experience with my mom! 

The weather was perfect: no wind, no rain, mild-ish weather temps, and spiked cider made our walk quite enjoyable! 

{The time they must spend stringing the lights on the trees is insane, but the way the trees glow with electric colors is amazing. One of my favorite parts of the experience!}

{It seems the older my kids get, the more time I spend enjoying things with them rather than making them take pictures. But I did snag a couple.}

{These trees are mine and Mason’s favorites. We could sit and watch them forever, with the way they change in the light, and at one point it was as if they were inhaling and exhaling. Truly amazing!}

Jacob is 14!

And it was a great day that included many things like building a Lego, hanging with grandparents, going to Bass Pro, selling a camper, and test driving a car. 

{Mornings are much easier when presents are involved!}

{This will forever be one of my favorite pictures. A remake felt fitting this year.}

{Not nearly as adorable, and I hope I never see this play out in real life!}

{When your birthday is so close to Christmas, seeing Santa sometimes ends up being a birthday activity.}

{We capped off Jacob’s day with a birthday dinner with all the grandparents. Jacob picked steak and baked potatoes for the menu, and Grandma Joan cooked up an angel food cake for dessert. Jacob has amazing taste in food!}

Cheers to 14 years, buddy boy! 

Molly Photo Dump

To remind myself that she is a pretty fantastic dog even though she ate Camryn’s figure skates and sometimes pees herself when she sleeps. 

{She stands near her dish giving us a death stare during the 5:00 hour while waiting for her 6:00 dinner}

{She can literally fall asleep anywhere!}

November Bits

 The pieces of our November puzzle.

{Big trees are amazing. Until the leaves fall off.}

{Camryn and I started to put up Christmas decorations a little earlier than necessary. But it seemed necessary.}

{Jacob got this gross rash all over his body. And the genius nurse we overpaid at the pediatrician diagnosed it as dermatitis. And then prescribed us a medication he already had. Bonus.}

{Our neighbor’s house caught fire in the middle of the night. Seven fire trucks and almost two hours later, everyone was safe and the fire was out. Molly woke me up (Caleb wakes up for NOTHING in the middle of the night), and I ran downstairs thinking our house was on fire when I saw the truck parked at the end of our driveway. It took me a bit to get my senses about me, but, wow, it was a sight to see. The quickness with which the firefighters rescued the gentleman and his dog, vented the roof with chainsaws, and sprayed water to put out the fire was amazing. The house is currently uninhabitable, and if the wind blows just right, you can smell the smoke still lingering in the house.}

{The kids went to Iowa. And caught fish.}

{Jacob’s legs were caught on social media doing the right thing. I love it when my kids are amazing!}

{It snowed.}

{We got our carpet cleaned, and relocated the furniture to the kitchen. Everyone seemed to make themselves comfortable with the temporary setup.}

{I love my kids. I hate how they clump ALL the ornaments together. A whole tree full of branches, and this is the best we can do?}

{I guess Sprite Cranberry is a thing. TikTok says so.}

{Camryn drove on the land. The boys drove on the country roads. Jacob said he waved when he saw me. I suggested he keep both hands on the wheel.}

Educator Extraordinaire

So I’ve been working full time since the beginning of the school year. A one-day sub assignment at the boys’ school for the FACS teacher (formerly known as Home Ec) quickly escalated to a semester-long gig. The teacher, who is slated to retire at the end of the year, will be taking off her final year with FMLA leave for reasons that aren’t my business. The school principal, who is really an amazing administrator, immediately asked me to stay in her absence. Except that I wouldn’t be cooking and sewing (though I am highly qualified for both, the district doesn’t allow subs to be around children in open flame/knife/powered needles type settings). Instead, he asked that I teach journalism. Turns out that I am highly qualified for that as well. Of course I took the job, and my mom and dad are so proud that I am finally using the major they paid for me to get! The only problem with teaching journalism is that the district approved the curriculum days before the school year began, which means there was no committee to construct a day-by-day lesson plan so teaching students the standards has been left completely up to me. But I love a challenge, so let’s go. Or as the kids in my classes say, “bet!” There have been several highs and lows to this experience, and I am sure that a small handful of kids are out to get me (but I teach 190 kids, so if only a few are trying to sabotage my day, I consider it a win!) Everything the kids have learned this semester has been left up to me, including our latest project in which students had to come up with their own news story, interview their sources, and write their article. I have overheard many kids talking about how fun that project is, so the pain of not making mug cakes and smoothies in FACS must have finally worn off! Next up: a movie review, complete with three days of promised popcorn and Halloween candy as we watch the movie of choice: Sandlot. This really has been an amazing experience, and I will be sad to see it end come semester break. But I will also enjoy getting to see my long-lost friend again: free time. 

{My classroom. Taught among 24 sewing machines neatly tucked into each cabinet. Just in case.}

Sports

This is my favorite time of the year because there is a welcomed lull in sports activities, but leading up to this time, WE ARE BUSY! 

Mason played fall ball and flag football. This is his first time playing flag football, and he can say that never in his life has he lost a flag football game! 

{Baseball was a bit disappointing, but Mason had some great hits and great plays in the field, so there’s that. Oh and there’s also that one time when the ump threw himself out of the game…}

{Mason learned a lot playing with a group of boys that were all strangers to him before the start of the season. They were a great group to watch and were so kind to each other. And they won the Super Bowl after going undefeated in the regular season!}

Jacob finished up his final season of youth tackle, a challenge when you are a kid playing against dad-sized peers. C’mon puberty! 

Camryn continues to work on her tumbling. She is working on her round-off, back handspring, back tuck combo. She has perfected her round-off back tuck, and yesterday she began working on her back layout. Makes me dizzy just thinking about it!

And as quickly as it began, we are down to a one-hour sports commitment each week. Time to breathe! 

October Bits

 The pieces of our October puzzle.

{Mason has always been very hair aware, but took it to a whole new level last month. He tightened up the sides (so much hair on that floor!) and I have been appointed to the role of daily hair curler. No joke. I curl my son’s hair before he goes to middle school. Oy.}

{I love my kitchen. Especially the island, which is long enough for two kids to lounge on while eating their after-school snack. Perfectly unplanned.}

{Family time is the best. Depending on who you ask.}

{It wouldn’t be a trip to the annual pumpkin patch with my mom without the rain…}

{I picked out this beauty to add to my collection. One of my all-time favorite traditions!}

{We took this picture several years ago.}

{And this picture last month. It screams blackmail and instant regret.}

{My editor eye is twitching.}

{We had a house guest. It was exhausting for us all!}

{My favorite fall road. The trees are on point!}

{Grandma and Papa took the kids to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard while they were in town. And by the looks of the tracker app, they tried to ditch them in the corn maze.}