First Little Chief, and Then Everything Else

This is Pop's mantra.
Every time I step away from Little Chief, Pops gently chastens.

Pops speaks from experience.
No matter how much you think you can "accomplish" while Little Chief is "occupied" elsewhere, it cannot compensate for the disaster that this little hurricane can create.

This is 'Lil Chief greeting me as I walked in from work. Yes those are scribbles on his thighs. Yes, he dumped the contents of the spare change bowl over his head. Yes, he undoubtedly has also dumped a cup of something down his front. Can't say what he did with his pants.
But you have to admit the kid has an interesting perspective. It takes fresh eyes to see a pair of shoes in a couple of lids...
He is definitely observant. While he was "helping" unload the dishwasher he discovered the little container to the mini Cuisinart Pops uses to chop up chocolate chips for his killer cookies. 'Lil chief rushed to the cupboard and grabbed some chocolate chips and the base to the Cuisinart. Give him a week or so and I'll bet he will crack the rest of the recipe.
He is also quite self sufficient. Not only can he make his own squashed up banana-graham-cracker sandwich, but also grab a step stool, drag it to the counter, snag a juice box, remove the straw, unwrap the straw, jam it into the little foil hole, and suck it down. I personally have known 5 year olds who were incapable of such feats.
Although, he could still use some refining in the shoe matching arena.
But maybe this is the fresh hip look, what do I know?
Whether perched up on the bar creating a masterpiece...
Or snuggled by the TV peeling a carrot... this kid is BUSY *all*the*time*!

Lunch Date

Look what the lunch time express hauled into South Station! A lunch date for me!
I'm pretending that I was the main attraction, but really the boys were here for a little train appreciation time. I suspected these little guys would be fans of the Christmas village train set here for the holidays.

I'm shameless when it comes to getting 3 handsome dudes to come have lunch with me.

Was Santa Even Watching?

Finally! Christmas Eve came. That has to be the longest countdown of all time.
We prepped for the big night by making a certain chubby guy some tasty cookies.

And we had some friends come join in the fun...

Pops stoked the fire...
This made Superkid a little nervous for our midnight guest. Pops promised to have everything cooled off and cleaned up before the zero hour, although I'm sure Santa knows how to work around such obstructions.
Next we slipped into our cozy matchy jams and swapped gifts we bought for each other. It was super fun to have a little something to tie us over until the major avalanche of gifts arrived.
As you can see, the kids were way too goofy for sleeping. But they gave it their best effort.
Hey, you don't want Santa to pass you by because you are still awake!

I tiptoed in after I heard Santa whisk up the chimney and snapped a pic of the major haul...
It was a confusing and overwhelming morning for Little Chief, but once we FINALLY got some toys unpackaged he was pretty pleased with the holiday.
Tadpole was in 7th Heaven.
At the peak of ripping it up, amidst mounds of paper and toys, Superkid exclaimed,
"Tadpole! You must have been REALLY good this year!"
Tadpole stopped, became pensive and said, "I don't think Santa must have been watching."
Abizella has been talking non-stop about the doll she was going to get for Christmas. Who knew that it would come with a PURPLE triple bunk bed and PURPLE armoir to boot?!
She was so unsuspecting that she walked past it about 7 times before she noticed them. She was very complimentary to Mrs. Claus, who she recognized spent a long time sewing blankets for her dolls (I'm guessing 12 hours between the blankets and painting, but it is just a guess).
She quickly assigned everyone a place on the bunks
(Mindy Lee gets the bottom, because she is afraid of heights).
Superkid made out like a bandit. He loves it all, but I have to say that the bear shirt is a major fav. I know because he wore it for 5 days straight. Probably would still be wearing it too if it weren't for that cheap trick I played by throwing it down the laundry shoot after coaxing him into the shower.
Pops loves the shirt too... he's taken up bear hunting!

Naughty or Nice, Here it Comes!

We're putting our best foot forward. It's definitely not worth taking risks in the zero hour. Nothing says, *Angelic Children* like big cheesy grins and new Christmas clothes from Grandma! Here's hoping Santa sees this! AND our list too, which we humbly submit below:

Little Chief would LOVE a mountain of Thomas the Train books. He drags the books we currently have around with him ALL THE TIME. I have to admit that I am a huge fan too because it is the one thing that will get him to sit still for a couple of minutes. Just imagine this wiggly little escape artist calmly sitting in a shopping cart, contently flipping through a train book, muttering "Choo! Choo!"
Tadpole is taking in the big picture this year. He said to Pops, "Dad, I don't remember how to be naughty. Can you tell me how to be naughty?" Pops queried, "Why do you want to be naughty?" Tad replied, "So I can get coal for Christmas! I need coal for my coal tender! I am getting a train for Christmas of course!" That's a tough one, Tad. Hmmm... how to be good enough for a train... but still manage enough naughtiness for a workable amount of coal...
Abizella didn't mess around. Thanksgiving weekend she sent a letter to Santa (and she also kindly made an illustrated list for all of her brothers too) detailing her desires. They are 3 fold: #1 an American Girl Doll #2 an art kit #3 Cousin Boo to come back
(she thought Boo was moving after Thanksgiving **sniff**).
As for Superkid, learning about E-Bay and Amazon has been life changing. He has mulled over these sites for hours, challenging the search engines for the most particular toys. In his words, "I understand if they don't make real World War II bi-plane bombers but I am going to freak out if they stopped making toy ones!"
I wonder if Santa has an E-bay and Amazon account?

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

Abizella has made me supremely happy. She has given me the honor of plucking her first baby tooth. Okay, so maybe there are few that share my macabre appreciation for all things relating to the body. I am completely content. ...and happy for Miss Abizella who got her first visit from the tooth fairy!
That's right, I have to get a picture of the fleshy hole the tooth left behind...
And, little toothy number two was close to follow. This little gem is currently rolling around on the dusty floor of the school bus, adding to the collection of about a couple of dozen others lost by school children over the years.

The best part is Miss Abz fluttering through the house singing the Christmas classic,
"All I Want For Christmas".

Take-Your-Grown-Up-to-Preschool Day

Pops called at worked and told me about Gingerbread House making day at preschool; my heart sunk when I found out it was on a Thursday, the craziest work day of the week. After some scrambling and arranging an O' dark thirty arrival at work, I was able to arrange things to be Tadpole's grown-up. After all, how could I disappoint the kid who, before wiping the sleepies from his eyes, says, "Is Mom still here?!" If I'm not home I am guaranteed a phone call.
It was also the first time I got to go in his class room and chat with his teacher. She is WONDERFUL. Just a well seasoned professional with confidence and kindness. Tadpole is a lucky little pupil. When Mrs. Curtis saw me, she scrambled over and just oooozed about him. She said after teaching for more than 25 years, Tad was easily the funniest kid she has ever taught. She said that one afternoon there were TONS of announcements over the intercom. They finally were able to start class when the principal came back over the intercom. Mrs. Curtis is an expressive woman and threw her face into her hands and said, "If there is one more announcement I AM GOING TO GO CRAZY!" She said her nutso display went right over the pre-schooler's heads. Two minutes later Tad came up to her, cupped his hands around his mouth, and in a serious, authoritative tone said, "Mrs. Curtis! I have another announcement for you!" He then uncupped his mouth, giggled and said, "Are you going to go crazy now?!"
Love this kid. I'm SUPER happy to be his grown-up today and everyday.

Bring On Christmas!

We've stoked up the fire (and cleared the chimney for fat-man clear passage)...

We've been reading all of the great literature of the season...
Spending lots of time snuggling...
And we found the perfect tree!
We loaded it with LOTS of colorful decorations and tinsel...
Until everything looked just right!

Now we just need a jolly man and 8 tiny reindeer!

Matters of Texture

Tonight I told the Toads that if they tried everything on their dinner plate, we could make brownies for dessert. Superkid has a storied past of skipping dessert in the name of protecting the delicate sensibilities of his taste buds. But with peppermint candy ice cream in the fridge, I got his number. I didn't want to drag it out, so I mounted a small scoop of mashed potatoes on his fork and told him he better eat it before I got to the number 10 or we weren't making dessert. I was 90% sure there would be no dessert. His eyes grew as large as silver dollars, he held his breath, closed his eyes and before I could say the number one, he jammed the fork in his mouth and gagged, involuntarily. Shocked that he actually tried the bite, I handed him a glass of water to help wash it down. His eyes got bigger and he actually turned green. His mouth sagged and mashed potato goop clung to the sides of his mouth. He retreated within himself. It was like he was trying not to touch what was actually inside him.
Then it all came right back up.
Splat! Mashed potatoes all over the kitchen table.

Pops took Abz and Superkid to KFC yesterday for lunch. Superkid is a major fan. Perplexed, Pops asked the kids how they could LOVE chicken nuggets and chicken strips but not the chicken cordon bleu we had for dinner the night before. Superkid said, "Dad, sometimes I just don't understand myself."

I think I've got it Superkid. If it is creamy and smooth, bottoms up!
If it is gritty and and course, take cover!

The Poet

We've got this kid. This kid is a master of language. He has the most interesting way of expressing himself, it is partly in his facial expression and intonation, but also in the way he strings words together.

It is the little things like calling Francesco from Cars II, "Mr. San-Francesco". Or when he philosophised about the moon, "Mom, I think the moon looks for good kids to follow around. Ah! There he is now, out the window. He is following me in the van. I must be the good kid he is looking for."
He draws his brow together and scratches his head with his finger and looks pensively in the distance before some of his deeper thoughts. "Mom, did you know there is booger gravy in your nose? It's a brown soup your body wants to eat."
How could you not just love that kid?
After a long day of work, he came up and said, "Mom, you are always in my heart."
He has an agreement going on with Pops. He must have a silver tongue because he somehow negotiated "sharing" me with Pops. He asked me, "Mom, now that Dad and I are sharing you, can you get a bigger bed. I need to snuggle with you all night in our bed."

I love you Tad!

BOMB fire!

It's a good thing that we loaded up on Thanksgiving goodness because we definitely needed the energy reserves to clean up the leaves in this gigantic yard.
We're talking about more than 90 bags of leaves.
It's a good thing we have a crew of little workers.
Abz was suffering from the post-sleepover blues.

After 2 fun-filled days and nights with cousin Boo, she was in prime form. She didn't appreciate my cheerful singing or reminders of Santa Claus watching. I thought her pouting lip was so funny that I went to grab the camera. She wouldn't give me the pleasure of capturing her sour face... but at least she busted out a smile (even if only to mock me).
While we did have moments that could have passed for one of those sweet Mormon family loving commercials, Pops pointed out, that like the Mormon commercials, the love also only lasted 30 seconds.
The big reward was burning all of the twigs and branches we found in the yard in a giant
"Bomb fire", Superkid's term for a super big fire with lots of exploding twigs.
After an afternoon and evening by the fire roasting hotdogs, make s'mores, and chatting with neighbors, I'm not sure we will ever cook inside again.
And, oh, the snuggle time! ...BTW those are Tad's boots on Tad's feet, not me with moon boots.
The house is looking fabulous. We are in love.
That's it. We're never leaving.

Gobble! Gobble!

This has been one of the best weekends of my life!

Thanksgiving is becoming my favorite holiday.

The fun started with Pops making the BIG grocery shopping trip on Tuesday. I received 3 completely giddy phone calls from Pops at the grocery store. He made sure we had it all, even down to plenty of egg nog for the blind taste test.

Wednesday Pops and the kids watched as a gaggle of turkeys raced back and forth from the front yard to the back in a tizzy. We have regularly been visited by turkeys each morning on the back lawn, but they are usually pretty docile. These turkeys were in Thanksgiving *Freak Out* mode. ...even if they look like they are calmly ambling by in the photo.

Thanksgiving eve the party arrived! Our RI cousins came to help prepare for the big day.

Pops made his famous stuffing while an eager young audience looked on in admiration.

Then up early the next morning to get the bird going and get the snuggling started!

Time to load up the bird...

And get on with the Belgian waffle pig out!

Between the actual feast and our breakfast feast was another major pig out on Andie's amazing buffalo chicken dip and pine nut artichoke dip. I would have taken pictures, but both fists were full of creamy goodness.

After all that eating, we had to take a long drive and stroll on the beach to make a little room for more feasting. Pops stayed behind to make sure the bird would be cooked to perfection. We came home just in time for the carving...

AND the feasting!

Peas and carrots, Pops amazing stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttery roll, cranberry sauce, turkey and HH's Yummy Yummy Yams Yum Yum Yum! I have eaten this meal over and over and over the last 4 days and it only tastes better each time!

Dessert anyone? Yes Please!!!

By the end of the day, there was not a gut in the house that could be held in with a button or snap.

In fact, our RI cousins had to stay an extra night to recover, which included watching 5 hours of Downton Abbey and sneaking out early to play Mrs. Claus.

Like I said, best holiday ever.

For more fun, and even better pictures click here!