It has been a crazy busy month for us. A ton school parties and field trips, Christmas crafts and projects and SHOPPING. Oh, and basketball season is in fully swing! We managed to get it all done and mostly with joy. Or with the appearance of joy which is really the same thing.
On Christmas Eve we had Grandma Diana and Joe come over for some Prime Rib. Yes, you have to capitalize that mess. Prime. Rib. I’m not gonna lie, my dinner kicked serious booty and I’m a horrible cook. My husband says I really don’t have grounds to claim that any more. That’s a serious compliment folks.
This is my Christmas dinner table. Pretty, no?
The set up was inspired by this image that I found on Pinterest awhile ago and I was OBSESSED with duplicating it. Just ask my friends. I needed those polka dot plates like I need my calcium. Here’s the thing though. THEY DON’T FLIPPING EXIST ON THIS PLANET! Believe me I looked. So I altered my expectations and started looking for suitable equivalents. I wanted something that wasn’t just for Christmas and I didn’t want to spend any money.
So, obviously I failed on the “I didn’t want them to be just for Christmas” goal, but I did manage to do this on the cheap. The first thing I found were the white dinner plates, on clearance at Fred Meyer. The clearance price was $2.49 each and the sale was 70% off of that. Sold. Even if I never found anything to go with them.
Then one day, I was tooling around my local grocery store (on Christmas EVE EVE) and to what did my wandering eyes should appear? These flipping adorable snow flake plates. AT THE GROCERY STORE. They too were on clearance and I think I paid a little less than $2 each for them.
I left the grocery store and headed to Target for one last shopping trip and in their Christmas clearance section I found this table cloth for $6 and these snowflake place mats (which I had been coveting for weeks but wouldn’t pay full price for) for just over $1 each. They were one short for my needs (but I made do) so I will now forever be in search of that final missing flake.
Hello Christmas dinner.
In my usual style, once the party got going and I got busy, my camera never saw the light of day again. But Dinner was awesome. Then it was time for church.
Hubby asked me to bring my camera along because some of his basketball girls had asked if they could get groups pics done in front of the tree. If not for that request, these pics would not exist.
The candlelight service is one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve. This year, Jake took his first communion since being saved and baptized. He took it very seriously. The other two just really wanted juice. They were pretty ticked when I shut them down.
After church it was time for our annual Christmas Eve tradition. NEW JAMMIES!
This photo became a facebook sensation because our friends duplicated it with their children.
The Duncans
Even I got new Jammies. Well, Hubby and I both did but these aren’t the ones I bought for myself. These are the ones that Hubby and kids picked out for me. All I’m going to say is that I have a really long torso and the PJs do not. Let your imaginations run wild.
Next we read the Twas the Night Before Christmas
And we set out cookies and milk and carrots for Santa and crew. Nobody believes in Santa anymore but who gives a crap about that?
Divalicious needed one more photo before bed.
Even though nobody believes in Santa, I love to wait until all kids are asleep before bringing out the gifts. Until this moment, my tree was bare and empty aside from a few packages that the kids had wrapped for each other and us. I love love love the shock and awe of the kids waking up to this.
The previous occupants of this house installed permanent hooks under the fireplace mantel so even filled to capacity, the stockings can hang.
My sweet friend Lucy made me these stockings. Twice actually. The first set was ruined in a house flood and she surprised me with another set the following Christmas. I cried.
A sneaky shot of Jordy sleeping before I headed to my own bed.
CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!
Stockings first of course.
Jordan has the best faces on Christmas.
We cleared out the furniture to make room for the mess. My happy place. Sitting on the floor with my coffee and observing my happy babies.
My absolute favorite way to “do” Christmas morning (a system I derived from my pops) is to drag it out for HOURS. In my family, we opened gifts one at a time and everyone watched everyone else and we rotated turns opening. With little kids I altered things slightly. Every kid opens one gift at the same time and then they go play with it. Three hours later, we still have tons to open!
We even took a breakfast break. Darrin made some egg sandwiches. He was maybe somewhat annoyed that we were out of mayo.
Some favorite gifts included new video games...
Hero Factoy Lego kits were a huge hit! Thank you Grandma Diana!
CANDY!
My new white watch...thanks myself! You shouldn’t have!
New video camera for recording basketball games...
Other Lego kits...
Somebody received a DS of her very own...
Have I mentioned Legos yet?
Little piles of Christmas carnage everywhere I look.
SLIPPERS! Everyone received new slippers except for me. I bought myself new slippers last month.
Christmas was fantastic. My kids were full of energy and excitement and joy and energy.
Two days later
Bye bye Christmas. Sad. Until next year.
Still festive, even in piles!
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