Some things I did today

Took down our Christmas decorations and deep cleaned our house, organized my mess of a closet, began compiling homeschooling materials to start doing with Naomi when she turns 3, hung beautiful picture frames on our walls in our new basement so that it is finally finished, by now you should have caught on that I am lying and did none of these things today...

But we did have a fun day. First we went to Starbucks and got some delicious donuts and coffee, it really set the stage for our Saturday excursion. Then we went to the library where we got a plethora of books on tape and listened to a bit of a beautiful live concert going on in the library lobby- random. Then we snatched up a pass from the library for the History museum, our new favorite place (lest you be duped into thinking we are actually cultured or educated, there is a phenomenal kids play place in the basement of the museum, hence our frequent trips). It is the best:

there is a canoe

and a stable with hay and rocking horses

And an entire mini pioneer village with a little house, a one room school, a post office, a blacksmith, and a store... oh and a covered wagon... and fake hills with a little lake where they can fish for magnetized fish and cook them over a fake fire and there's a tepee. And you get in free with a library card. free. Yet ANOTHER reason you should all move to, or at least visit, SB. Moms and dads can just sit on the benches right there in the middle and let their children run wild and do anything (anything but take the hay out of the stable, you MAY NOT take the hay out of the stable- they are serious about this.) So I sat and drank my starbucks and ate a donut- bliss. We made it home in one piece with only one major tantrum throwing event from the Nomes on our way out but luckily the staff lady came to the rescue with a snowflake made out of q-tips and everyone was happy.

While the wee ones napped I busied myself finishing up altering another pair of old college jeans from Gabriel Brothers, if you've never been to one you have not lived. They're flashy and they have diamonds on them, that's right diamonds:

yeeaahh

So here they were the other morning

fresh out of bed with pajama shirt and bed hair

and now they are better, not great, but better

dressed in every day clothes

dressed in something I would never actually wear

While I was sewing these Naomi made her first honest to goodness pun. She looked at me and said "you're sewing jeans. mommy, you're a jean-ious" then burst out laughing, it was awesome. 

Alrighty, and lastly (you did not think you were in for such a looong mother of a post, I am killing like 5 birds with one stone)... we had some fantastic friends over last night and my dear friend Megan was donning what was, in my opinion, the cutest little handmade hair clip I had ever seen. And since my hair is at a super awkward stage where it doesn't fit into a normal looking pony tail and if I don't flat iron it I look like a grungy teenage boy, I have been wanting some cute hair accessories. Every time I go to the store I stand in the isle with the hair clips for at least 5 minutes and pick out a few cute clips and then put them all back because they are so darn expensive. Anyways, I tried my hand at this little fabric number and came up with this.

It is not that great good, but I am going to work on it, like maybe by purchasing some cute colorful fabric and using that instead of this brown on brown combo. Megan's was waaay better, but it is something and it works.

To those of you that stuck out this, I commend you. Good night and God speed.
Ana

2nd batch

This will be the last post full of Christmas vacation updates and pictures, I promise. I know you're all dying to get back to the regularly scheduled program of an over-abundance of details about my ever so exciting life.

Things really got better back in the Ville after my last virus post, once the girls got back to full health they were loving every second of cousin/uncle/aunt/grandparent time they could get, plus Bernadette finally stopped acting like she hated everyone else but me and Mike. Here is a taste of Christmas vacation with the Homols:

My new god daughter, Elsabet Theodora

It was a super beautiful Byzantine baptismal rite

best dad ever

older broski

what's going on here?!?!

20 something grandkids 9 and under= mayhem

hot sisters, hot mom

So that's it. The girls are sleeping much worse since getting home and were completely underwhelmed to be back at our house- they much prefer constant stimulation and distraction by uncles, cousins and grandparents to their boring parents. Anywho, it is good to be back home, hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year- you should read this, it was pretty funny, as she always is.

Happy Thursday

We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy case of hand foot and mouth disease.

Nothing says "Christmas" like a good virus, especially one that comes with a fever and a full body rash... good times. This is what I get for NOT sending my children to day care or "pre-school" where this little strain runs rampant. Perhaps they picked it up at one of the nasty toll road rest stops where they were walking/crawling everywhere and had their little paws on everything as I attempting use the bathroom while transporting them a few hundred miles via mini van by myself... and maybe, just maybe I forgot to wash their hands (badmom?yes).

Anyways, this Christmas, instead of a visit from a fat old man who watches you all year round and then breaks into your house in the middle of the night, we were visited by hand foot and mouth disease and went ahead and infected (most likely) all 13 of the cousins present and probably the four coming in a  couple of days too. And they thought we didn't get them all presents!

Most of the children are reacting just fine to the little "disease" but not my eldest. She is a veritable basket case almost all day and is sleeping like a non-champ, with wake times ranging in the before-6 a.m. range some mornings. Luckily I have a saintly mother-in-law who takes her at a more reasonable hour (7 a.m) and lets me enjoy a few more hours of slumber, best ever.

But for real, I am done complaining and will now showcase some of the fun filled times. There was much castle fun and movie watching in honor of the birth of our Lord.

castle awesomeness

family awesomeness

you can't see naomi's little "oral lesion" but it is there in all its glory

a couch shot whilst view the Lion King the day after Christmas

This is minus any pics of my side of the family since the girls were at their worst on Christmas day, the day we were supposed to all spend over there- I am sure you'll be graced with plenty more after this coming weekend's madness (more of my siblings, more grandchildren, and more baptisms than you thought possible.)

And God bless us, every one!

Post Thanksgiving

At my brothers wedding a couple months ago I left our camera case with the cord that connects it to the computer and now our camera is tragically dead. And so until I figure out which replacement cord I need to order and actually do it there will be no new highly anticipated pictures of the current goings on here.

Such as: 

the making of terribly cute Thanksgiving cupcakes,

a day trip to see family in Richmond, IN for Turkey day,

playing outside on an unprecedented beautiful late November day, also prompting myself to go for what I am sure no self-respecting human being would call a run, but it felt freaking good, Mike searching or some critter that we are pretty cure died and is rotting right above our kitchen- a really wonderful place to have rotted corpse smell emanating,

  and last but not least the erecting and decorating of the 4th annual Griswold family Christmas tree... it is probably better that I do not have photos as it would clearly too much for your little eyes and hearts to handle.

But here are some fake pictures of other people's lives for you to enjoy in lieu of our own:

Were my kids this helpful? In a way, no.

 These are the only pictures that is actually real

Joy abounds