Three Christmases

Add one more and we could have been like the that old Vince Vaughn/Reese Witherspoon movie....Four Christmases.  I have to admit, I am happy that there wasn't one more to add.  Three was a charm for us.  A charm, that had to be polished and shined on a few occasions.  After this year, I realized why we established the "we will stay home for Christmas" tradition back in 2007.

Having said that, I can not deny that this Christmas was magical just as I predicted.  The few moments that needed "shining", so to speak, were the traveling, packing/unpacking, and slightly over tired kids.  All of the in-betweens were  absolutely amazing and certainly out weigh the other stuff.

Our first Christmas was at our very own house.  After having to finally wake Jack up at 8:30 am (I'm not complaining, trust me) we followed Santa's clues down the stairs to our basement.  And under the kid's Christmas tree were a plethora of packages and goodies for Jack and Maggie.  Jack's were wrapped in Toy Story paper while Maggie's were in Mickey Mouse.  It took them each half a second to figure who's was who's.

In those first few moments, Jack immediately began tearing in to anything with blue wrapping paper and Maggie spotted her kitchen and a pretty pink purse waiting under the tree for her.  Santa could have called it a day with those two items for Mags and she would have been perfectly content.  The next hour looked something like this...Maggie cooking in her kitchen and Jack excitedly opening presents.

After much persuading, we were able to peel Mags away from her kitchen and purse and get her to open a few gifts.  Not until this last one would she do it by herself.  No, she wanted Daddy to help her with all of the others.

Jack's Christmas was filled with lots of Toy Story loot and Batman goodies.  We were kind of hoping that Batman was replacing the Toy Story obsession.  No, it's only widened it.  Now, Jack has two toy obsessions.  I'm thinking two is better than one though, right?

Our second Christmas was spent at GG's house in Kentucky.  This is where all of my Christmas memories are housed.  I remember my cousins and I sitting on that same floor with tower high stacks of presents each taking turns.  Now here I am looking at my two little ones and trying to teach them the "take turns" Christmas rule.  It's not easy for anxious little ones to wait on the adults.  {Especially already over tired little ones.}  But, we got through it.  And Batman Jack would have to admit it was worth the wait.

Although, our visit to GG's house was short lived it was so incredible to be with extended family this season.  We did come after Christmas, so we caught the tail end of the Christmas guests.  It was wonderful, none the less.  We got to see the festival of lights by the river and don't let Jack's pensive face fool you, this may have been the highlight of his visit.

Maggie's highlight, however, may have been "cooking" in GG's kitchen.  Maggie was insisting on a "bunny snack" {in a very 2 year old way}.  After explaining to her that we didn't have any bunny snacks, GG lovingly came to the rescue.  And Maggie and GG created their own bunny with raisins, peanut butter, pretzel sticks, and bread.  Gotta love GG and her kitchen.

Jack spent a lot of his time playing with his new cousin, Halle. {for any of you who may know...this is Joel's daughter...is she precious or what?} Jack was so incredibly sweet, while he taught her shapes, colors, and played peek-a-boo with her.  He has been such a great big brother to Maggie, I should have known how well he would take to baby Halle.

Our third Christmas was spent with Grammy and Grampa.  Poor Grammy and Grampa, they certainly got a very overtired Cibula family.  By this time, we had spent 14 hours in the car traveling, packed 4 suitcases twice, and spent 3 nights away from home in a period of six days.  But as always, they were such troopers and endured my slightly wound up and exhausted kids with a smile on their face.

In an effort to cut travel time down, we did meet them halfway and exchanged gifts in a hotel suite.  It doesn't matter where you are when you are with the people you love.  But, this is a little taste of what Christmas in a hotel room looks like.

After our gift exchange {which by the way, Clay and I got the most beautiful watercolor painting of our kids on the beach...stunning!  It seriously brought tears to my eyes  I can't wait to find a place to hang it  Thanks Grammy and Grampa!} So back to the after party, we enjoyed a nice dinner out, and...

a carriage ride around downtown.  Jack was the driver.  We opted to tip the other guy and just give Jack a giant kiss for a job well done.

The next day we said farewell to Grammy and Grampa after playing at a nearby park.  It was a short little visit, but so important.  Jack adores his grandparents and Maggie is well on her way {especially when she is well rested}.

So there you have it, three very family and present filled Christmases.  Believe it or not, I have actually found a place for 98% of the toys the kids got.  The other 2% is adorning my living room right now.  So don't expect to be invited over any time soon or at least until we get this loot put away.

Christmas with Jack and Maggie truly was amazing, I can not deny that.  The glow on their faces {which I could never seem to capture in all of the excitement} was something I will forever keep locked away in my heart.  We are beyond blessed to have so much family that loves us enough to put up with our crazy little crew and actually welcome us.  We love you all so much!

Now, this Mommy is looking forward to a New Year and our Old Routine back!

Santa Wuz Here

And he left clues to prove it...

A torn piece of his sleeve... it must have happened on his way down the chimney.

A button from his suit.

And footprints with North Pole snow leading straight to the kid's basement Christmas tree.

Yes!  Just as we suspected...Santa has been here!

And look at all he left for the nice kids at the Cibula house.  More to come...

Countdown to Christmas

It's the "calm before the storm" at the Cibula house.  As I write this Christmas day is actually 9 hours and 43 minutes away.  The many moments leading up to this have been busy.  Since school let out, we have been counting down til' Christmas totally kid style.  But, for the first time in several days, I am taking a brief moment to myself.

The kids are napping, I am clearing off my camera, and preparing for what I suspect will be the best Christmas morning to date.  How could it not be?  Jack's anticipation is absolutely contagious and Maggie is just a little bubble of happiness.  Christmas morning will be good, I can feel it.  Two and four, those sound like pretty happy Christmas ages, huh?

Jack's anticipation has certainly been fueled by the last few days of activities.  This is what we have been up to on our countdown to Christmas.

We exchanged Christmas presents {early} with Uncle Jon.  In case you didn't know, and you probably didn't because I haven't blogged about it, Jon has been staying with us doing an Engineering Internship.  His 3 month stay is coming to an end and we are going to miss him dearly.  He has been a fabulous house guest.  The kids agree since he got Jack a Batman toy {his latest obsession} for Christmas.

And an Elmo chair for Maggie.  Currently, Maggie is living in this chair.  Okay, so maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but not much more.  She adores this thing.  And as much as I am anti-too many toys in the living room, I can't bring myself to take this thing to the playroom {yet, anyway}.  Maggie can be found doing pretty much anything {or nothing} in her new chair.  Sometimes she's in the living room just hangin' in her chair.

We spent Christmas Eve Eve {which Jack thinks is hilarious to say} at Catch Air.  So either I am so out of the loop or people have been keeping an awesome secret from me and my kids, but this place is great.  I am not a bounce house venue fan, but I will endure it for Jack's sake.  However, this was actually fun....and clean!  There were such a variety of activities and so much climbing and crawling.  I'm all about the crawling for my kids...firm believer in the crawling/reading thing.

I think the place could have been an empty warehouse and Jack wouldn't have cared as long as "Millah" {Miller} was there.  These boys can wear each other out and I love it.

Maggie was definitely a fan of Catch Air, but of course, needed her warm up time.  And a few 'cling to Mommy' moments if something was new or unusual.  But, other than that, I could tell she was having a great time.  Her favorite...the giant green slide.  Something about this gal and slides!

And the countdown brings us to this morning...Christmas Eve .  Yes, we forgot Christmas Eve Eve jammies again, but at least we have aprons.  Especially Maggie's festive one, compliments of the Fokens.  Thanks Miller and Eliza Kate!

Our annual Christmas Eve Tradition of Gingerbread Men and a House did not disappoint this year.  Even Daddy was way in on the action.  I just love how Jack is already in to our traditions.  He reminded me a few days ago that on Christmas Eve we do the Gingerbreads.  Of course, I had remembered that, but to hear my 4 year old anticipate it was rather endearing.  I hope we are making lasting memories for each of them.

Jack needed very little help this year.  He is getting so grown up {when he wants to be}.  He did all the icing himself and was very particular about the placement of each piece of candy.  It was a regular work of art when he was finished.  I made the mistake of saying, "it looked like a monster gingerbread man". It seriously looked like it had 5 eyes, but I quickly learned those were his nose and mouth.  For a moment I didn't know if Jack was going to laugh or cry at my comment.  He chose to laugh...sheeeew! {insert swipe of the forehead here}

We topped off our Gingerbread party with the house for our little men.  At this point we had mentally lost Maggie.  She was more into transferring candy from one dish to another and listening to it clink against the glass.  Jack was still going though.  Again, he was very particular about where everything went, even the pieces he was sneaking into his mouth.  And yes, you guessed it, he declared he had a "belly ache" when we were all done.  That's two for two this week. So much for natural consequences.

My moment to myself is quickly coming to an end.  It's time for me to get dressed for Christmas Eve mass and then wake my kiddos for the same.  We are off to tell Jesus Happy Birthday {by the way, Jack asks me every year if Jesus will be at Church so he can wish him Happy Birthday...how sweet, huh?}.  I thought I'd leave you with this pictures of our small nativity scene that is in our living room.  It is just eye level for Maggie and perfectly reachable for Jack, so I am not sure who the culprit is. But everyday, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the angel are in a new arrangement.  I had to laugh when I saw this one today.  They are in an absolute perfect line {almost like they are walking down the school hallway...hmmm? could that be a clue?} And note, poor Mary is missing a hand.

This is the stuff that I pray I never forget.  Merry Christmas to all!  Wishing you a blessed and joyous day with your little culprits.

Made With Love and Germs

Time for Christmas cookies {and colds} around here.  Seriously, what is December without sprinkles, icing, sugar cookies, and cold germs?  A few sneezes and a lot of snot {lost your appetite, yet?} didn't stop our little bake shop this year. We spent an entire Saturday wearing PJ's, wiping runny noses and baking and decorating in the kitchen.

Maggie definitely deserves the award this year.  She gets first place in the cold department and in the cookie decor stamina race.  Jack comes in a close second with cookie decorating.  However, I get second place for a nasty cold.  Poor Mommy and Mags {and whomever eats our cookies}.  I must note we did wash our hands at least 52 times and we didn't dare give any of our cookies to unsuspecting recipients.  No, we kept all 4 dozen of them here at the Cibula house.  And believe it or not, we've barely put a dent in the three Christmas tupperware dishes we filled up.

But, eating the cookies is no where near the fun.  It's all in the decorating.  We had such a great time this year.  Maggie was actually right in the middle of the action, unlike last year when she was only slithering across the floor.  And cooking is so up her alley.  I literally can't even walk through the kitchen these days, without Maggie spotting me, tottering in with her pseudo toddler run, and chanting, "help Mommy?, help Mommy?".  Thank goodness Santa has a play kitchen on his list for her this year.  Pray she continues to be "nice" so it makes it onto his sleigh.

And sweet Jack, well, please take sweet very literally here.  I can't deny that Jack is an incredible eater...veggies, fruits, healthy choices...no problem.  But, my, my, this boy has a weakness for sweets--just like his Daddy.  This has only evolved in just the past year or so. And, I am trying, in my most non-controlling way, to curb it.  So having said all that, Jack munched on sprinkles and icing during the entire process.   And when it was all over, he somberly declared, "I have a belly ache".  Hmmm...imagine that.

Before Jack's unsuspecting "belly ache", he made it through the decorating of about a dozen and a half cookies.  Maggie, on the other hand, didn't leave the kitchen {or my side} until the last dozen was out of the oven, cooled and decorated.  Remember now--we made 4 dozen.  That is one focused little cook.

So a few germs {surely those germs died in the oven, right?} and lots of love later, we had a super messy kitchen and super messy kids to match.  It was the most beautiful mess my kitchen has ever seen.  And my kiddos looked so yummy with their icing lips and sprinkled fingers, I seriously could have eaten them up, had it not been for the cold symptoms I was fighting. {and the cookies didn't look so bad either}.

I promise all of our cookies didn't look like this...this one just happened to be Jack's special creation.  The more {sugar} the merrier.

I'm pretty sure Maggie cut and re-cut this exact Christmas tree from this exact piece of dough about 22 times.  {If you look closely enough you can see her first 12 cut marks on the dough}

Finally, he is using this rolling pin for it's intended purpose.  Anybody who has a boy and a rolling pin at their house may know just what I'm talking about.

I love how Daddy got in on the action {and so did the kids}.

Yes, we used blue and yellow icing {in addition to the traditional colors} for our Christmas cookies.  In case you've forgotten--blue and yellow are Jack's two favorite colors. 

I would have to assume Jack had just finished downing a spoonful of yellow icing here.  Check out those pursed lips.

Caught in the act and, boy, did she think it was funny.

And finally Maggie got to reap her rewards.  This was her first legal bite per Mommy's permission.  

Naughty, Naughty Elf

Clarence has been up to no good around here.  He's toilet papered the bathroom, got into the cookies, filled up the mud room sink with bubbles, hung from the chandeliers, pulled out endless amounts of toys in the playroom, made a mess of the baking ingredients, and the list goes on.

Jack and Maggie wake up and hit the floor running to find out where our little Clarence is and what he has gotten into.  6 more days of his charades!

What has your naughty little elf been up to?

Trim Their Tree

Trimming our own family tree and the kid's tree just wasn't enough this year.  Thank goodness for the Heilman's.  They invited us to a "Trim Our Tree" party.  Their white retro tree, that is.  So out of the norm for me and oh, so fun to shop for.

I was on a mission for green or hot pink ornaments {per the invite request}.  Doesn't sound too challenging, huh?  But, it was.  Maybe it was just my Christmas shops of choice.  This traditional gal was struggling.  But, finally, lo' and behold, I found what I was on my search for.  I got an awesome green lantern shaped bulb with a fabulous ribbon for Jack to hang.  And I got a, not quite as fabulous, but still cute, pink spiral bulb, for Maggie to hang.

All was well, I was feeling pretty accomplished until the night before the party.  Yes, less than 24 hours before bobble hanging time, I dropped Jack's bulb on the hardwood floor. {insert a smash and crash here}  Seriously, when did I become such a klutz?  Off to plan B {which seems to happening often lately}, I had to make a super fast run out on Saturday morning to replace the broken ornament, only to find they were sold out.  {Told you I picked out a beauty} So now to plan C, first store I could find, park, run in {literally}, and grab a "not as cute" green ornament. How bummed was I?  Fortunately, Jack didn't have a clue {but, now the Heilman's do}.

The happy ending to this story...we made it to the party with two intact ornaments and the party was over the top fabulous.  I'm still debating what was tastier the White Russians or Donna's signature salmon and caper rolls {yum, I am a sucker for salmon and these things are so delish}. Not to mention, the kids were in tiny tot and toy heaven,  There must have been 30+ kids there and at least 10 times as many toys.  A party for all ages.

So, I was kind of hoping this would become a yearly tradition, but I can't figure out how we could "trim the Heilman's tree" every year.  Hmmm...still thinking on that one.

Jack and Maggie pre-party.  Please note how clean {and festive} they are.

Jack hanging his Plan B Plan C green ornament.

Maggie was one of the last to hang her ornament, you know she needed her staple 45 minute warm up time.

Don't ask me what we were thinking or why we thought this would work, but a few of us tried for a group picture on our way out the door.  Lot's of things clearly wrong with this...it was post party, it was late, kids were wooound up, Clay had been drinking and still was {just kidding, honey}, it was getting cold outside, and the host family is missing.  Even more reason to have this party next year...picture retakes.

Merry Christmas to Mommy

Christmas is about the kids...that is my motto {circa 2007}.  I would seriously be perfectly happy if I didn't have one present to open on Christmas morning and just got to watch my kiddos.  I know all you Moms out there can relate.

But, we all know that is not going to happen.  Clay is going to get me something {because that is what husbands do} and of course, my Mom {well, because that is what Mom's do too}.  So this year I reluctanlty verbalized my wish list and poof, here it is 15 days early.

Now, that my {very early} unwrapping is complete, I really can have my favorite gift of all...enjoying my Christmas morning present free with all my attention on Jack and Mags.  And until then...I am lovin' my early Christmas loot {and meal time is slowly getting easier}.  Thanks Mom and Clay!

My new fab bench for the kitchen table.  I am thrilled with this!  Mags is permanently out of the high chair and now with the bench, I don't have to worry about her doing back bends in her chair, nearly tipping it over every night and in turn, nearly giving me a heart attack.  And if that wasn't enough, I've added extra seating to my table...anyone want to come over for dinner?

I couldn't stop there with new seating.  Three {just in case we ever make up our mind} new bar stools.  And these are actually bar height, not counter!  So my hungry kids can sit at the bar and actually reach their plates.  This has been heaven at breakfast.  No more navigating around the bar to get to the breakfast table to deliver spoons, extra napkins, a verbal warning, etc. while I'm trying to do all the other things that school mornings entail.  Aahhh...talk about a gift of peace.

And if you are lucky enough, you just might have one of these sweet things to climb all over your new furniture.  Is she yummy or what?

And no, this is not one of my Christmas presents {but, it sure could count as one}.  However, the new camera lens is!  Clearly, I don't have a clue how to use it.  {I am waiting on Erica's family to heal so she can give me a tutorial...sending "get well" dust her way}.  But I sure have had fun playing with it.

It's a portrait lens.  I wanted the cool "blur in the background" look.  I've gotten pretty good at the inanimate objects, i.e. Maggie's sippy cup, Jack's spoon, tree ornaments.  But, as you may have guessed, I didn't put this lens on my list to take pictures of sippy cups.  It was, actually for the kids {I'm beginning to see a common thread in Christmas gifts this year...hmmm}. And unfortunately, it's the kids that are nearly impossible for me to get the effect with.  If they would just sit statuesque still....uhrumph.  What is wrong with my 2 and 4 year old?

Hello Kitty {and Doggy}

When Cristina told me her sweet 2nd daughter, Alexandra, wanted a "Hello Kitty" party, the first thought out of my mouth was, "how are you going to make that cute?".  I should have known not to underestimate the power of the party planner herself.  She is 3 for 3 this year!

Alexandra's 3rd birthday was absolutely purrrfect.  There was something for everyone {including my crazy boy, which I was slightly concerned about when I got the invite for a kitty party}, lots of sweet pink treats, and absolute preciousness in the way of decorations.  I seriously don't know how Cristina found the time to throw such a precious party in the midst of Christmas mayhem.  I know I'm slowly drowning in wrapping paper around my house.

Jack, Maggie, and I, however, were able to climb out from underneath the Christmas storage boxes and celebrate Alexandra's big "3".  But in the process of escaping Christmas decor, I forgot my camera, yet again.  {Or maybe I subconsciously decided that I really needed one less thing to worry about} Either way, Cristina was more than willing to offer hers up. {And I'm starting to slightly get the hang of this Cannon thing}  So post party, she, once again, got to sort through 40 plus pictures and email my little kitty and doggy over to me.  And lucky you, here they are...

Hello Kitty! Face painting was one of the party activities...how cute, huh?  And this little kitty has worn her ears at some point everyday since the party.  Some nights she doesn't even want to part with them at bath time.

And Hello Doggy!  I told you there was something for everyone.

And these are the doggy ears that are impossible to see in Jack's close-up up there.  He lasted in them for about, oh, 8 minutes.  It was a cute 8 minutes though.

The Birthday Girl!  Yipee, Alexandra is 3!  We love you precious girl!

How great are these milk bottles?  There were so cute that I almost had a glass of milk myself and I hate milk {shhh...don't tell my kids that}.

These were about a fourth of the sweets that could be found at this party.  I think my kids could have used blindfolds instead of ears.  All was as tasty as it was cute though!