♥ Marissa's Sweet Joys ♥: December 2010

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Friday Kidisms 12/17/10 and Weekly Re-cap (MOPS, 2nd Grade Show, and pictures!)

{oops...apparently I hit save instead of post last week!}

This was Braylon's last week of school before the Winter Holiday and I am soooo excited to have all four children home for 3 weeks! We're going to have so much fun together! My New Year's resolution for this year was to get all of the Christmas planning, shopping, and in-betweens completed in a timely manner and NOT stress about it-and as I'm sure you saw in my October Christmas Card Post, I was not messing around. Well, we have been smooth sailing through December. Christmas Letters were created, printed and mailed without too much of a fuss, gifts purchased waaaay in advance, homemade gifts worked on a little at a time and Holiday Parties and Events scheduled in. Not to mention, I was able to finish reading the book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, work on our 10 Year Reunion, and start researching and budgeting for 2011 Summer Camps for the kiddos. Really, it's been very laid back and I am proud of everyone for pitching in! I just remember back to this time last year when I had such extreme morning sickness...I am very thankful to be feeling great!

Monday morning was the December MOPS meeting at our Church and it was amazing! I truly love the discussion group I am in and am very blessed to have such amazing friends and Sisters in Christ. We had a sweet speaker, delicious breakfast, wonderful fellowship and worked on a craft. It is so refreshing to have a few hours without the children to carry on adult conversations. Here is a picture of our Discussion Group!

Tuesday was a big day for Braylon! He had his second grade winter concert and I was not sure if he would be able to really handle it (he got really upset the past 2 years and did not attend his kindergarten or 1st grade shows). But, he woke up happy and excited to attend AND perform! My father, daughter and I watched him joyfully perform 6 sings, all with dance moves! I was SO PROUD! It was a wonderful experience.

Wednesday was fun. The kiddos attended Open Gymnastics during the day and Braylon assisted me in the evening putting the final touches on his teachers homemade gifts (blog video will be posted after Christmas!).

Thursday my husband had off work and we met up with one of my MOMS Club playgroups at the local bounce center (buy 1 get 1 free!) and the kids had a AWESOME time! Time flew by and before we knew it it was already 1pm. That evening after dinner we headed to the local Botanical Gardens to look at christmas lights. This was a real treat considering my kids go to bed very early! We then cruised through the local subdivision that has 100's of homes decorated and also collects money for Hospice. The baby started to fuss and superdad jumped in the back seat keeping him entertained! Love him so much :)

Walking to the Botanical Gardens!

Cruising through the local subdivision. And yes, that is Santa riding a sleigh pulled by Orca whales! haha

Today was a lovely laid back day. I was very humbled when our MOPS Co-Coordinator called and asked me to film a segment for our HD Church Service. We have a spiritually blended family and this will be the first year Vu and I will be celebrating Christ's birth with our children! It's a very joyful time!!! :)

Friday Kidisms 12/17/10

"I am such a great Gigolo!" --Braylon on his juggling skills. LOL!

"No mom! That is the Publisher and this is the Author!" --Peyton correcting me when we were reading together. woa.

"If God can see everything then where can I change my panties!?!?" --Peyton

"Thank you, thank you food...AMEN!" --Kyan's new dinner prayer.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Because Every Mom Needs Short Cuts...

Indeed! I have some short cuts, as I'm sure every mom does. And no, these are not the well thought out Meal Plans, Freezer Meals or daily lists and schedules. These short cuts evolved from "in a pinch" moments (often called moments of desperation in my book) into parenting live savers. The first five that came to mind are...

5. On-line shopping for new clothes, presents, and all the in betweens because I simply cannot make rational purchases with four children in tow! I know it may come as a shock, but I really do not even enjoy shopping...even by myself. I'm sure my mother can attest to this! Growing up I absolutely despised back to school shopping. On-line there are no lines, no pressure no tasty temptations.

4. My dishes wait until evening (sometimes the next morning gasp!) to be washed. I will rinse and leave them in the sink during the day. Shocking, I know, but honestly having dishes in my sink doesn't annoy me...what annoys me more is spending what should be 45 minutes of quality time with my kids standing behind the sink. My husband is also amazing, he does a good deal of the dish washing. I am so blessed. So yes, if you stop by, the sink will most likely be full! I have no shame.

3. Nighttime Grocery Shopping has become my grocery salvation! With my husbands new schedule, this venture is finally more than a possibility...it's now my reality! And I looove it! I no longer spend wasted time in the store singing a tune that usually goes something like, "Sit down. Please don't touch that. Arms IN the cart. You have to go potty now? Yes, they are all mine and no, she is not adopted. Yes, I know what causes babies...and I like it. Yes, I am old enough to have four." I usually make my weekly run right after Braylon goes to sleep at 8:00 and I can no complete it in record time!!

2. The "sock bins" Oh my goodness, sock pairing has become a MAJOR challenge in our household! That is the main housework grumble that I complain about. It's frustrates me to no end not being able to find matching socks for six people! A few months ago, I just gave up. I mean, I was having anxiety about socks? Seriously? I started tossing them into two large containers and this has now be included with our laundry "norm." Toss and pull as needed. It has saved tons of time (in my opinion) and finally all the socks end up in one place. A very organized unorganized way of sockin' it up! Certainly doesn't work for everyone but it has made our laundry routine bearable!

1. Paper Plates to the rescue! After Pax was born, I felt as though by my husbands 4th shift (his hours and days vary) I had such a difficult time with dinner dishes. Four kids, up and down, often plates end up on the ground, kid hunger strikes, nursing while disciplining...it was often overwhelming with the amount of post dinner clean up that needed to be accomplished by myself. One day I found some left over paper plates from a Holiday Party and it dawned on me, what is keeping me from using these? I do not have super powers and sometimes I need a break! So if the break was occasionally using paper plates...then I was all game! This short cut has been such a life saver for me on rough nights! Just serve and toss the plates afterwards. It is environmentally friendly? Obviously not. But for now, this temporary short cut has been "sanity friendly."

What are your mommy short cuts?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

"The Girl" Trilogy by Stieg Larsson...fabulous, fast paced reads! :)

Let me first preface this by stating that I am not a big reader. But, I have found that as a stay-at-home mom, my mind seems a bit, well, mushy at times. Earlier this year when I was at a party, I excused myself to, "use the potty." shakes head Oh my, my, my. Therefore, my desire for some sort of outlet that did not involve potties or parenting lead me to these books. The first book, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is wonderful...once you get through the first 150 pages of financial jargon. 650 pages later I was desperate for book #2, The Girl Who Played With Fire. Well, after I completed reading it I could not WAIT for #3 to come out in paperback (and there was a mega wait list at the library) so I splurged on the hard back copy. Woa! I highly recommend all three! They are fast paced criminal novels that will have you guessing and thinking outside the box.

In my opinion, books like these are much more dangerous than tv. You can turn off a tv but have a much more difficult time closing a small portable book. I would read in car line, at the play ground, at home...you name it! Finally by #3 I realized that my time with my kids and husband was being jeopardized by a book (lame as it sounds, it's true). So I caution readers...make sure you schedule in reading time for:

1. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2. The Girl Who Played With Fire

3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Two Week Re-cap (photos!)

I've been MIA from blogging recently because we've been having a very difficult time with our oldest. And as many blended families can relate, the transition is never seamless when a biological parent moves away (especially when they only see their son once every 6 months). We been working through a "grieving process," and he is now experiencing a lot of anger. From the moment he wakes up he is furious and some days it has continued until he goes to bed. He's a had a few happy times in the past 4 weeks, but for the most part, he has been very angry and has had extremely defiant behavior. . His Psychiatrist warned me of this phase, and said it could last a few days to a few years. His teacher and school guidance counselor are very proactive and have been a tremendous support during this challenging time. On Friday, he woke up as "happy Braylon" and the trend has continued through the weekend!!! So we accomplished a lot and enjoyed a handful of family events since dad was off Friday and Saturday. Today was another sweet day. I volunteered for my first time in the nursery at church. It was so much fun!!! I am on a monthly rotation in the "crawler" room :) After Church, I raced home to get Peyton dressed for a day with her Mimi and Grandma. They went to lunch and then attended a Play at the local Theatre. Peyton had a wonderful time! The rest of my afternoon was spent hanging out with the boys (daddy was at work), laundry time, and cooking baby food.

Below are the pictures from the past few weeks! Including: 2 birthday parties (we love our friends so much!), evening cookout with my parents, MOMS Club Holiday Party, gymnastics, Gator Fred's, Holiday Winterfest, Busch Gardens and all the in betweens!

Birthday party craft!

Only got a few shots before my camera died. Sooo much fun!

Little crafters :)

At Mimi's to roast marsh mellows and make s'mores. Unfortunately, I was getting sicker by the minute.

Roasting!

I believe he ate about 10...lucky duck!

Pax is such a big boy eating food! And B. enjoys helping.

Arts and crafts

Very focused

I love this shot. Braylon working hard and Pey and Ky building legos in the background.

MOMS Club Christmas Party!

65 people attended! Yay!

Me assisting Santa

Pey waiting patiently in line.

I was the candycane holder and our Santa did an AWESOME job!!!

"I want toys." Thaaaanks for making easy ;)

Kyan got up! So proud of him!

Pey and her little pal watching. It's so sweet watching their eyes light up when Santa arrives!

Almost all of us! Braylon was boycotting Santa in the back.

Our sweet family!

Bray with one of his best pals!

All the donations our MOMS Club Chapter collected for our local homeless shelter! wow!

Birthday party fun!

The death of a bounce house.

Decorating gingerbread houses!

Braylon's school project! This is the main character from a Fictional book of his choice. Meet Fly Guy! On the back is a summary of personality traits and physical traits. His school requires 1 project per month and we are very proud of Bray!