We put away the Christmas decorations yesterday.  I got very sick of the tree quickly this year, and the kids ‘displays’ of their gifts.  With five kids the mess can get out of hand really fast and I can’t stand clutter.  I also don’t like to be harping at them constantly, so I took down the tree, gave them all their loot to put to put away and hubby carried the immense tree box downstairs.  The kids followed with the boxes of decorations, lights and garlands from the stairs.  Everything was stashed away in the closet under the basement stairs, and the door shut for another year!  I vacuumed and organized and then we were done!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Yippee!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             It felt really great for a couple of hours, and then we realized that the tv remote is missing.

After the kids had been in bed for a couple of hours on Christmas Eve, my hubby and I started skulking around the house with the plastic bags that had been secreted away in our various closets.  Of course, our kids were coughing, as they do pretty much from September to March each year, but they were particularly congested on Christmas Eve and coughing, coughing, coughing.  We thought for sure that one of them was going to wake up while we rustled and banged down the stairs with our bags of gifts.  We stopped in alarm at least three times, and I made hubby turn off all the main floor lights except for the tree lights, just in case someone crept downstairs without us hearing them.  It was darn stressful and not easy to see in such darkness-we felt like burglars!  We finally got to bed around 2am, to be awakened at 6am by the loud whispers of our children as they tried to peer down the stairs.  They had been told to stay in bed until 7 and to NOT wake one another up.  Mmmhhhmmmm…

 By 10 am on Christmas morning we had experienced quite the range of possible feelings at our house, with our overtired, over excited brood.  Tears of joy, tears of sadness, tears of anger, frustration, happiness, and giddiness. 

We went to my inlaws to eat yet another big meal (I think I have gained 5 pounds this week alone.)  When we got home and put the kids to bed, we allowed them to play musical beds as a special treat, so Sabrina camped out in Paulina’s room, and Gregory went to sleep in his big brothers’ room, on a mattress on the floor, between the two beds.

We were all exhausted and they fell asleep quickly, although Jeremy and Jack were still coughing.  About an hour later, as I sipped my tea and finally began to relax, I heard the unmistakable sounds of retching and vomiting from upstairs.  I ran as fast as I could to the boys’ room, flicked on the light and ran for the garbage can.  Jeremy was emptying his stomach contents into his hand, over the side of his bed.  How he remembered that his baby brother was lying there, I do not know, but only a small mess hit the floor, and nothing affected his bed, or Gregory’s bed, although the mattress was only an inch from being hit.  Hubby and I cleaned up, talking, overhead light on the entire time.  And not one of the other boys awoke.  Not even when I opened the window for 15 minutes and aired the room out, and their breath was hanging in the air as they slept.

In the morning, Gregory was not at all impressed to awaken to a barf bucket (though empty) sitting right beside his mattress.  He questioned me at length about the vomit in question.  That night, when we allowed musical beds for just one more night, Gregory refused to sleep in the same room as his brothers’, choosing instead to move back to his own bed, and sleep alone, something he has NEVER done.  He wasn’t taking any more chances after such a close call.

Ahh the holidays…nothing says Christmas around here like a good barf session.  I don’t think Jeremy will ever eat turkey again.

I have no idea how many of my readers are Christian, but regardless, I am going to wish you all a Merry Christmas. And if you do not celebrate Christmas, but celebrate something different, or even nothing at all, I wish you love, happiness, and importantly, LOTS of good food.  I don’t expect these good wishes to offend anyone, as I would certainly not be offended if someone wished me a happy Hanukkah or Ramadan.  Good wishes are good wishes, no?

I have friends who are Muslim and have a long celebratory period, with lots of feasting and prayer.  But regardless, they put up a Christmas tree.  Why?  Because they think it is beautiful and like that it represents peace and goodwill. 

In the wise words of my late, dear, devoutly catholic grandmother, ‘it doesn’t matter what religion you are, as we are all striving toward the same goal.’  Isn’t that the truth?

Back to Christmas…I hope that if Santa comes to your house, that he does not mix up your children’s stockings like he did at our house last year.  This is a very good way to ensure that there will be no peace on Christmas morning, and that hard feelings will last all day long.  It seems that kids get very sensitive when Santa makes mistakes like that.  And they don’t forget.  The year before last, I had the brilliant idea of moving the stockings upstairs, so that we could open them in our big bed together, in the morning.  This meant that the filled stockings lay exposed in the upstairs hallway, and when at 3am Jack wandered down to our room to look at them, he began crying hysterically because the wrong Webkin was in his stocking.  Again, Santa had mucked up the stockings.  Jack continued to cry hysterically until 7 am, our allotted time to get out of bed, and by then he had woken everyone up. So, because Santa is obviously so deliriously tired on Christmas Eve that he can’t think straight anymore, the kids have written their names on their stockings.  Why didn’t we think of that before?

I love myself. You will never guess why, and I’m sure you are dying to know, so I will tell you.

I organized my spice cupboard. I really did. Honest. Pinky swear. It used to be a disaster, spices mixed with baking supplies, mixed with children’s cold meds, bandaids and plentiful bottles of vitamins. Every time I reached in for something, I couldn’t find what I wanted, and sometimes things would even fall out while I was cursing and rummaging around for oregano or whatever.

Then I went Christmas shopping and my eyes popped out of my head with joy when I saw the new object of my affection. A spice rack. My old love was my Kitchen Aid mixer, which I still love, but I don’t kiss it anymore. The honeymoon only lasted a day or two. Anyway, yes, my new love, my shiny 16 bottle spice rack. I have never had a spice rack before and God knows I needed one. I don’t know how I lived without one for so long.

It is stainless steel, holds 16 bottles of spices-and get this-it spins!!! IT SPINS!!!!!! I LOVE IT. I LOVE MYSELF because I took an hour and emptied my messy cupboard and filled all 16 little bottles. It took longer than I expected and my kids went to bed late because I was so fixated on getting it done. I didn’t care. Hubby was out at a Christmas party, one that spouses were not invited to (like all his Christmas functions), so instead of putting on a little black dress and partying it up, I stayed home in my sweats and filled spice bottles. Glamorous, I know. What made it really worthwhile was when my hubby reached in the next day and said ‘oh this is neat!’ and I said nonchalantly ‘yup’. He spun it around a couple of times and said ‘Where is my pepper??????Why isn’t my pepper in here?’ I didn’t answer….truth is, I HATE PEPPER!!!

Hi everyone,

I want to let you all know about an amazing website where Santa will send a video to your child, complete with photo and personal information.  Check it out at http://www.santa.sympatico.ca.  (Not sure if it’s for Canadians only-sorry if it is!)

Also, if you are looking for something to do with the kiddies, try making these Christmas ornaments, they are easy, smell delicious, fun and best of all, no baking is required!!

1 cup of cinnamon

3/4 cup applesauce

Mix together, use your hands.  This is messy!!!!!Add more cinnamon if necessary and either pat or roll on wax paper to about 1/4 inch.  Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and let sit to dry.  About 2 days.  Then decorate.  Glitter glue is nice and the kids love it.  (Dont forget to use a straw or something small to make a small hole that you can pull string through for hanging-before they dry.)   I bought cinnamon in bulk, a biggggg bag and it only cost me $3.24!!!

We are going to make these this weekend and decorate them next week.  I’m planning on making some small ones to put on gifts.  They smell delicious and apparently stay this way for years! 

Now I’m off to Walmart for yet another visit, hopefully, my very last!