A Week's Worth: The Storm Before the Calm

Next week is quiet, calm, still; perfect for settling in, being together, and feeling that delicious Christmas spirit. The kids are out of school, all school/kid/church/work/friend events will be on hiatus for a short while, Adam is taking work off through New Years' Day starting Tuesday, my Mom and Dad will arrive Wednesday for a week's stay, we have no real plans that are set in stone. I am sure there will shopping, cooking, eating out, trips to the movie theater, and maybe some other fun adventures here and there, but mostly we'll just relax, play, read books and watch movies, because that is what we love to do on cold December days.

But the past two weeks have held so much, have been so fun and so busy all at once, that it makes this slow down so much more anticipated and appreciated. They have been weeks where I look back and think, "Wow, that was a lot, I can't believe we pulled it all off!" Many of the things we have done have had their own posts already, but there are a few things that I wanted to make sure to note from the past 7 days.

Monday:
Zach's birthday, but also his choir and handbell concert. The past 3 months, Zach has not only been busy with after school activities, but he also chose to join both the school handbell choir and the vocal choir: the Ringers and the Singers. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings he leaves the house early to go to his practices. And he really enjoys both. He's a musical kid. Monday night was the holiday concert, and the kids were fantastic. The pictures aren't fabulous because our flash didn't reach to the stage, but I've included some anyhow. The first picture is of Zach playing the drum for one of the Hanukkah songs sung by the choir. And don't worry, Mom, there are videos waiting for you when you arrive! Tuesday:
As he jumped from the car to run to the Kindergarten line-up, Josh told me, "Mom, I love you! I think I'm going to marry you!" Then he turned around and said, "Point in fact: Mom, you are already married." Yeah, THAT'S the reason he can't marry me. :)

The Christmas cards were finally in motion, much later than planned, and everything that needed shipping was wrapped and prepped for the post office. I got the Christmas cookie jars I was giving as gifts to my preschoolers done. I ran errands, purchased some last-minute gifts, and then ran some more errands.

Wednesday:
Post office with packages. A very nice lady helped me carry my things into the post office, which put me in a good mood. The boys were {mostly} not insane, so it wasn't too torturous. Whether the other patrons agreed with me, well, I guess that depends on their kid tolerance level.

Adam's company Christmas party. We went to the Warehouse Restaurant in downtown CoSp. Tasty hors d'oeuvres, Blackjack and Craps. It was very enjoyable! That said, despite Adam's colleague Frank's best efforts at explanation, Craps is still way beyond my comprehension. I also won an i-Touch in the raffle...sweet!!! I guess I can't say I never win anything anymore; that was a pretty rad prize. I wish I had snapped a picture of Adam and I, we were dressed to the nines, I even wore eyeliner!

Thursday:
Preschool Christmas party. Sugar cookies. Holiday crafts. Kids almost on vacation. Gifts to exchange. The Grinch. It was a little wild, but fun!

Thursday night was the Christmas gathering of one of the book clubs I belong to. My other club met last week at a delicious Italian restaurant called Biaggi's. This group met at my house, so of course I had to have a very Christmassy treat. Unfortunately, the day was packed getting ready for the preschool party and picking up pictures from Costco, and in the evening I got busy with the finishing touches to Christmas cards, bringing dinner to some friends, getting our own dinner on the table and making baked artichoke dip. But never fear, my hero, Adam, stepped in for me and made the incredible chocolate peppermint cupcakes I had been planning to make. They tasted so good! At the end of the night I was one book-exchange book richer: The Scarlet Pimpernel, which I have not read, but which TWO people from the club brought to exchange, so I'm betting it's a good one.Friday:
Christmas cards in the mail. 'Nuf said.

Helped my dear friend Shaina pack her house for her move. I was feeling pretty sad the whole time, even though I tried to boost my mood by turning on the AMAZING 2010 version of a "mix tape" [read: iPod playlist] Adam made for me for my birthday. Shaina isn't moving far, but it feels far.

Josh came home with a reindeer crown with antlers made from his hand prints and his nose colored red. I loved it!

At dinner Luke said, "This is the good Superman, this is the bad one (Bizarro). The good Superman peed on the bad one and killed him. Yeah, he has, he has fire pee." Fire pee. I don't think that's a super power I'd be interested in having.

Saturday:
A day we thought would be pretty open, but ended up being stuffed full. {deep breath...speed read!} I realized I needed to do laundry, and that is always a huge task. Zach had his last basketball game of this season (that will get its own post). Adam was in and out during the day with the two older boys, helping our friends pack their truck for their move. We frosted and decorated a good deal of Christmas sugar cookies. Tommy was grumpy all day, I'm worried the ear infection didn't clear up completely. The boys' Cub Scout pack signed up for Salvation Army bell ringing, so Ben, Zach and I spent a freezing hour outside of Walgreens ringing bells. They were such darling little ringers! However, I did have to go into the store about halfway through and buy the boys some Hot Hands hand warmers, it was cooooold! I also bought chocolate-covered marshmallow Santas, just because they are yummy. Fortunately, people were in the giving mood and about 5/6 of the people who came out of the store donated, so the boys felt like the hour was well spent. Ben was taken to get ice cream while running errands with Dad because he helped with the move both in the morning and the afternoon, and while Dad was ordering Ben asked, "Why are we getting only one? Let's get some for everyone." And BYU soundly beat UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl...YES!Sunday:
Christmas Choir at church. It was a lovely service, our music director did such a fabulous job. I always enjoy being a part of the choir at Christmastime. Christmas music touches my soul.

Made the annual batches of "puppy chow" a.k.a "muddy buddies." Whatever you call them they are those chocolate-peanut butter covered Chex and they are sooooo good. We made some, packed them in bags and plan to deliver them to our local friends tomorrow night. This is a tradition that goes back to Adam's family. We call them "Puppy Chow" because once, when Nicolle was making some for Christmas, someone pointed out that the finished product looked a lot like dry puppy food, and that was that!Puckett's open house. We enjoyed a couple of hours partying with our good friends the Pucketts as they hosted a Christmas gathering at their home. We ate great food, sang carols, and spent the time talking with many excellent people while the kids played. It was a great evening! Thanks, Pucketts!