Finding Joy in the After Christmas Mess

 

12 things to remember from Christmas 2016

1. Papa bought a new massage chair. The Green family was extra rubbed down this year at the Long Grove Christmas.

2. Eric surprised everyone with a Wii. Wii love it!

3. Sam got his super fun "narvel" run that he was asking for.

4. We visited the Boyds on Christmas afternoon. Their basement reminded me of the game room at Happy Joes off Brady Street. Very fun and interactive!

5. We went to the Schulzes on December 26th. Grandma was housesitting for a friend and watching over their cat named Nicholas aka Nick. We couldn't find the beloved cat anywhere in the house and finally found him under a bed. Sam reached for Nick and he hissed at him. Sam said, "He sneezed at me. He's a little bit sick."

6. Laura got a Barbie Dreamhouse with a working elevator. I think I was around her age when I got my Barbie Dreamhouse with an elevator. :-)

7. We woke up to Laura barfing in the hallway  at Grandma's house. I think it's always interesting to see how others clean up barf and the containers others use for barf receptacles. Laura was a trooper!

8. Laura and Grandma worked on constructing the Dreamhouse while the engineers, Sam, Aunt Liz & I went ice skating. 

9. Laura was 24 hours vomit free so we went to Chicago's Science & Industry Museum. We packed a kitchen bowl and towel (just in case). Although Laura wasn't 100% she did really well and we had a great time. Sam got to go inside of a tornado, Laura wanted me to read all of the information next to the exhibits (she's just like her grandpa), & we got to witness a chick hatching from an egg. We love science!
10. We were discussing memorable Christmas cookies which spurred me to look up their recipes. I found a common theme in Grandma Claussen's cookies. They typically had 3-4 ingredients which included peanuts, melted chocolate, milk, & occasionally marshmallows.
11. On the last day of being in Illinois we went skating again so Laura and Grandma could join us. Laura wasn't "feeling it", but Sam sure was. He said, "Just bend your knees, Laura. It's easy." I'm sure that was exactly the encouragement she needed to hear from her little brother.
12. I got a Ninja blender and I've been blending up a storm. Last night I made Dirty Bananas to take us back to Jamaica. Although they were delicious, drinking a frozen beverage in sweatpants next to a fire didn't quite get me out of Iowa.

Tomorrow I head back to work and I still need to take down the Christmas tree, secretly throw away the gingerbread house, and find "homes" for all the new Christmas gifts. Christmas is a wonderful time which is full of anticipation and excitement that symbolizes the anticipation and excitement felt at the birth of Jesus Christ. We often talk about that wonderful night Jesus was born, but what about Jesus as an infant?  What about the cluster feedings, sleepless nights, and cloth diapers Mary and Joseph had to deal with when Jesus was an infant? Is that the after Christmas mess for us? Despite the mess, I'm trying really hard to find the joy in the mess even if I have Lego pieces stuck to the bottoms of my feet.  

 

Accident

There was a fender bender on the way home from daycare/school on Monday. As we drove past the scene I told Sam to check it out to try to figure out what caused the accident.

We drove past and Sam said, "I don't think anyone peed their pants." Apparently preschoolers view "accidents" with a different definition.

Thanksgiving

With both sides of our families celebrating Thanksgiving prior to Thanksgiving break, we have five days of immediate family togetherness. We kicked off the time off with Disney on Ice which Sam kept calling Ice on Disney. The kids were fully engaged and Sam was very concerned how the characters could see where they were going while wearing costumes.
On Thanksgiving we started our own family turkey trot relay tradition. Laura made a turkey baton out of paper and we would run laps around the neighborhood pond with a turkey baton in one hand and a walkie talkie in the other saying "Gobble gobble, over". It was full on dorky-ness, but that's how we roll. We also set up the Christmas tree and outside lights while listening to Pandora's Christmas Radio. We made our own pizzas for supper and put out our Thanksgiving table cloth for everyone to write what they're thankful for. After everyone shared Sam said, "Isn't anyone going to say they're thankful for Disney on Ice?!"
I'm so thankful for our family, friends, laughter, and love. As I looked at the Black Friday ads and put together the lists of who's getting what for Christmas this year, it dawned on me that the things we cherish the very most are free.

Sam's Treasure Hunt Birthday Party

Ahoy! Sam's fifth treasure hunt birthday was a hit! This was the first birthday celebration we've had away from the homestead. It was so nice not to keep the house in "company's coming" condition while frosting cupcakes & setting up games. Eight friends met Sam at the Saylorville Lake Visitor Center which is surrounded by wooded trails, a butterfly garden, & within walking distance to the beach. A perfect setting for a treasure hunt!
The first part of the party was a photo scavenger hunt which led us back the van to get drinks. At the van, everyone got a shovel and we headed to the beach to search for the buried treasure. Yes, I had visited the beach earlier that day and buried a spray painted styrofoam cooler to look like a treasure chest containing party favor bags inside. While walking down the path juggling a shovel and a spray painted cooler, I hoped nobody would call the DNR to report suspicious behavior.
The kids found the buried treasure and when their shovels hit the cooler lid, it broke into a million pieces which got wet sand inside the cooler which compromised the integrity of the favor bags. We were able to keep the kids' bags separate but they all had ripped, dirty bags filled with Rolos candies (gold) inside. Yummy! I'm sure the kids' parents were impressed when they picked up their kids from the party.
We lucked out with fabulous weather, good spirited children, and nobody had to go the bathroom while we were there! This is a good thing because the visitor center has closed for the season and there wasn't a bathroom available except for the woods. We like to live on the edge!

The treasure map had burned edges and was soaked in tea. An old trick I learned from GG.

 

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Conference Week

After a long day of conferences, I came home to find this. God, love him!

Marathon Mama

2008-Eric and I spent months painting/repairing siding on our blue ranch, I taught 4th grade, Eric worked at EFCO, we had no children, and we trained for our first marathon together.

2016-We live in a new house that has vinyl siding, we both have different jobs, we have two kids, and in July I decided to train for my second marathon. Eric* (bless his heart) spent many Sunday mornings entertaining the children so I could get my long runs in and he squeezed in his own triathlon training when he could.


There have been so many things that have changed in the last 8 years, but my love for running has been constant. The marathon was HARD and miles 22-23 were brutal. At times it felt like it was self-inflicted torture and I questioned why I would spend $100 registering for this race when I could have gotten a massage instead?! I crossed the finish line under four hours (which was my goal) and have never felt so proud of myself. In the end, I found out that being a mama has only made me stronger and more determined. A massage wouldn't have given me that.


"Very rarely do the best things in life fall into our laps; we have to work for them."
Emilyann Girdner




*Mad Props to Eric. The behind the scenes guy never gets the credit he deserves. 2 days before the race we found out my minivan's tire was punctured and needed a patch. We had it repaired the day before the race, but that evening we discovered that there were actually two punctures and the tire needed a second patch. I was able to get to the race by taking Eric's car. Eric was determined to cheer me on so he put the spare tire on the minivan, packed a lunch for the kids, and brought the good camera to document the whole thing. Just the thought of him rolling into downtown Des Moines with the donut tire on the Chrysler and homemade posters to boot gives me the cry ball. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Bad News...

We're in the thick of school routines and on days I need to take Laura to the bus stop and get Sam dropped off at daycare every second counts. This morning was one of those days as Eric had an early morning meeting. While I was getting Laura loaded on the bus, Sam was in the van eating a bagel and listening to Star 102.5. When I got back in the van he very solemnly said, "Mom, I've got bad news." Thinking this phrase usually leads to a wardrobe change and being extra late for work, I replied, "What?" With a sad face he said, "Someone else got to pick a purse today."  http://star1025.com/pick-your-purse
Sam, I appreciate your empathy as your mama likes a good hand bag, but we need to have a talk about probability.