The Week Before Christmas

Last Monday was going to be our only "healthy day" of our entire week but we obviously didn't know that at the time! I probably would have tried to make it more exciting haha.

 

Monday morning I had a doctor's appointment at my OB so after we took Calla to school we drove across Wheaton to my doctor. I haven't taken Kelsey and Jay to an appointment before, but I didn't have a sitter and thought I might be ok if I brought the iPad-sitter along. Well I didn't remember the iPad but I did have my phone, so I put a Thomas episode on for Jay at about the time the doctor walked in. The appointment was super short and painless. (-:

 

We walked out and then headed to the grocery store. We had enough time after the store to unload our groceries at home before heading back to Calla's school to pick her up.

 

Monday afternoon we hung at home. Jay slept, the girls played. Jonathan got home from work and we ate dinner and he gave the kids baths. Then I set up some craft paper so the kids could "make" some Christmas wrapping paper. Calla carefully drew lines so Kelsey knew where to keep her "designs," and same with Jay.

 

below: Jay working with a very small section on the edge of the paper....

 

 

 below: serious business! (Mimi notice your "craft box" in the corner...it's gotten a lot of use this year!)

The kids decorated several shirt-boxes worth of wrapping paper before we "wrapped" it up and put them to bed. ha.

Tuesday morning I took the kiddos to the sports center. I was pretty overdue for a workout, and now (a week later) I am even more overdue but I am too worried about picking up anymore sick germs to head back there. Plus, I have to ease up on my workout schedule so I have a reason to make a New Year's Resolution.

We had about an hour between the sports center and gymnastics, so we headed home. I straightened up the house, and helped Kelsey pick up her room. She was having a playdate that afternoon, which is usually motivation enough for her to help me clean up a bit. (Well, I am not sure how motivated she is, but I am. ha)

Tuesday was the girls' last gymnastic classes. I took some pics.

below: CAREFUL! haha jk

 below: what a cute little body in that little leotard

 below: The gymnastics coach told the moms that the girls could not walk up the ramp without his help at the beginning of the session, and now they are all pros.

 below: carefully walking up the ramp...

 below: jumping off the high beam into the "pit" of foam

 below: weeee

Since Kelsey didn't have preschool last week, I didn't have to rush her to school. We just picked up Calla from school and then got to watch her lesson through the window.

below: Calla (in purple) and her buds

 below: receiving instruction from a man in a sweatshirt and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pajama pants. (Only professionalism at Gym-Nasti gymnastics.)

After gymnastics, we headed home and brought Kelsey Ann and Maggie with us.  The girls were hungry by this point, so we sat down for some lunch.

below: Jay and the girls

 below: Cheese

Tuesday afternoon Birdie went down for his nap. The girls played and played and he missed the whole thing. Kate picked up her girls at 4 or so, and a little while later I went into Jay's room to wake him up.

below: This is a child who doesn't want to be woken. He rolled over and stayed like this for awhile. The light hurts.

Tuesday evening I had plans. (-: A friend of mine who has been living in London was in the area for the holidays and so a couple dozen of us met up at a shop in downtown Wheaton for some cookies and cake and drinks.

below: So pretty in Wheaton at Christmas

Jonathan and the kids ate dinner and then watched "Frosty the Snowman." Jonathan said Kelsey was super concerned about Frosty melting. Then he put them to bed, and all four of them were snoozing when I got home at 10:30.

Wednesday morning Calla's class (along with the other kindergarten classes, and the first and second graders) had a Christmas-themed chapel. Parents are invited to attend all their monthly chapels, but this was the first one I could make it to. We dropped Cal-Cal off and then Kelsey and Jay and I went through the front office and to the classroom where Chapel was meeting.

I'm so glad we went. It was really casual but so sweet. Ironically, it was our baby-sitter Stefani's mom who played the guitar and led in singing some Christmas carols. (Stefani went to Wheaton Christian.)

below: all squeezed in. The kindergarteners sat in the front.

 below: singing

below: Jaybird was very serious

 below: Ha I think this is a cute pic of Kels. She watched with rapt attention for about ten minutes. Then she got out a pen and paper from her purse and started writing randomness.

 

 below: I spotted Kelsey and Jay spontaneously holding hands while they listened to the school vice principal read a story.

 

 After the Chapel, Kels and Jay and I walked down the hallway to visit Calla's locker. (This was Kelsey's request.) kelsey even helped herself to opening it and poking around inside. Nosy one, that girl.

 Then of course we visited the big Christmas tree in the lobby before we left. We ran into Mrs. Olsen and Mrs. Jones (Calla's teachers) who had just dropped off the class at the library. Kelsey Mae made a real impression (no not really). They asked her a couple questions and she ignored them and twirled around a few times and then went wandering down the hall. Jay went chasing her and she started laughing and Mrs. Olsen said that Kelsey's laugh sounds just like Calla's (which I never noticed) and I tried to politely excuse myself to corral the children.

below: yes, these children.

We headed home for a couple hours before it was time to go back and pick up Calla. Jaybird was starting to get a cough - it had really began on Tuesday. It was the cough that sounds like a seal, which means he had croup. Icky. Kelsey Mae had croup a couple times when she was little but I think this is the first time Jay ever had it.

Well, cough or no cough, we made some cookies until it was time to go get Calla.

below: My sous chef

 below: Fellow taste-tester

below: hahaha love this pic.... 

 

After we got Calla and had a little lunch, she and Kels and Jay started playing in his bedroom. I was busy doing the dishes and when I checked on them, I found the girls had set up a bed for Jay on the floor.

 

Jay wanted to take his nap there so I obliged. hahaha. I checked on him later and he looked comfortable enough:

Well Birdie's nap on the floor wasn't exactly lengthy, so he was up in time to help me and the girls finish some cookies.

below: too many cooks in the kitchen

 

Jay seemed cheerful enough, but I wasn't sure I should take him to Puggles since his seal-cough was pretty obvious. Plus, one of the moms of my Puggles kids is a nurse and pretty germ-conscious. I emailed the lady in charge of Awana and asked if she could advise me. She said I should definitely keep Jaybird at home and she'd get a sub.

I didn't think Jay would mind staying at home, but he was really sad when we finished dinner and got Calla and Kelsey ready to go. He kept saying "Cubbies." I think he meant "Puggles." Easy mistake.

Calla invited her friend Annie Roth to join her at Sparks. (They get a special "jewel" when they invite a friend to come to Awana.)

below: It was "backwards" night at Awana. These three were thrilled.

 below: Shirts and leggings on backwards too. Calla wished outloud she could find a way to wear her shoes backwards too.

Daddy got home and gave Jay a bath to help clear out his croup cough. Then he put him to bed while I went back to church to pick up the girlies. We dropped Annie off and headed home. We tiptoed in to not to disturb Birdie and then I put the girls to bed.

Thursday Jaybird woke up and seemed to be feeling much worse than Wednesday. Poor little guy. We took Calla to school and he fell asleep on the way. That's a bad sign. He didn't sleep for long, but I knew he wasn't feeling like himself. I had decided to stay home from BSF. Kelsey and Jay and I hung out at home all morning. Jaybird kept getting snot and icky flem (sp?) in his tummy and so he threw up it least three or four times over the course of the day. Yucky.

We picked Cal-Cal up at school and then settled in for the rest of the day at home. Jay took a long nap which gave me a chance to get dinner done. Once he woke up, he was really clingy.

The girls worked on their wrapping paper some more so I set him up with a pillow and his little corner.

below: bravely coloring

below: Thursday Calla brought home this adorable Christmas card from her kindergarten class.

Thursday afternoon I offered to bring a meal to my friend Kate since she just moved and is in the throes of unpacking. She invited us in which was really nice because I would love a tour but I didn't want to bring Jaybird and his germs inside!

We took our time driving back home so we could look at Christmas lights. Calla kept requesting I take pics of all the houses.

below: Calla's favorite

Thursday evening Jaybird just wanted his mother's attention. Thankfully, Jonathan was home. We ate dinner and he gave the kids a bath. We thought a lot of time in the steam would help Jay's cough. It must have helped, because it seemed to be improving.

I put him to bed and he slept horribly. So did I, consequently.

Friday morning Jaybird was still under the weather. He had a fever and I spent most of the day holding him like he was a newborn.

Kelsey Mae helped me with the little tike:

We took a break to pick up Calla. Calla came to the car in an incredible mood. She had a bag full of crafts from the week and even gifts from her teachers and some of her classmates.

below: Christmas came early

 below: ornaments from her teachers

Calla was super sweet about sharing some of her candy and trinkets with Kelsey Mae.

Jaybird had fallen asleep in the car on his way home which was just as well because he was misreable. I put him to bed and he woke up an hour later crying to be held. So I held him while he slept for two hours. Thank goodness Calla and Kelsey were good sports about playing by themselves.

I was still holding Jay when Jonathan got home from work. Jaybird was absolutely misreable unless I held him, when he seemed fine enough. He didn't have a fever as long as he had his dose of Tylenol and his cough had settled down. Thankfully he hadn't thrown up at all on Friday.

Jonathan and I had a small group Christmas party on the schedule for that evening but I called up Stefani and cancelled her. Instead, Jonathan went for the first half and I went for the second. (You know two extroverts are married when neither of them wants to miss out on the party ha!) Jonathan helped me feed the kids dinner and get them in their pajamas. He even put Jaybird to bed before he left.

The girls and I wrapped presents for their cousins and then I put them to bed. Then I changed out of my sweatpants (finally!) and got ready to head to the party. I'm so glad we decided to trade places because it was so nice to have some adult conversation after two solid days on house arrest with the sicko.

In fact, I was still so upbeat from the party that it took me awhile to fall asleep. Which is a big shame because Jaybird was a terrible sleeper that night. Oh poor sick little Bird.

A Trip to Wisconsin

Last Saturday we headed up to Madison for the Wisconsin game. Jonathan has been to a few this year, but this game was a first for the rest of us! The game began at noon, so got on the road at 8:30 or so. We wanted to have time to grab lunch beforehand. Plus, it was snowing outside so we weren't sure if that would affect the drive.

 

We reached the Nitty Gritty, and grabbed lunch with Mema and Opa. Some friends of theirs were there as well. I got a pic of Jaybird and Daddy:

 

We had just enough time when we were done eating to head over to the Kohl Center to watch the game. It was COLD and snowy!



 

below: Brrrr.

 below: I had practical shoes on, but somehow I am always walking behind these people. Too slow.

Each year, Mema and Opa's seats change and so we got to check out their new location. (The seats get closer to the court every year.)

below: Some serious fans

 below: Jaybird and Daddy, wearing their coordinating hats. Mema and Opa got Jaybird a hat just his size.

It was such a good game! They won, which we expected (they weren't playing a terribly difficult team). And Uncle Ben had twenty points, so that made it fun. Lots of cheering to be had.

During halftime, we took a bathroom break and Opa went and bought the kids cookies.

below: Kelsey and her cookie

below: Towards the end of the game, I broke out some books. The kids were getting restless. Actually, Kelsey was the main culprit. She did, after all, ask me if we were "staying for the whole game" about five minutes into it. Yes, we are.

 below: Haha. Jay's expression cracks me up.

 below: Sharing seats

After the game ended, we headed downstairs to the hallway outside the locker room to wait for Uncle Ben. Here he is greeting the girls (his head is hidden behind Jonathan's legs.)

 below: Happy girls. Uncle Ben got those hair bows for the girls last year for Christmas.

 below: Family pic. Jaybird is ready for the snow (check out the footwear). Ironically, i don't think Jay even stepped foot in the snow. I guess it's good to be prepared.

Uncle Ben gave us a tour of the locker room which is a first for me. It was so nice I don't know how they can even convince the team to get out on the court.

We walked over to the Nitty Gritty after and had milkshakes before we headed on the road.

below: Uncle Ben getting in some coloring with his nieces.

 

Nitty Gritty has amazing milkshakes. I can't believe it took me until Uncle Ben's senior year to discover this. There will certainly be no reasons to drive to Madison, Wisconsin for a milkshake next year.

We said goodbye to Uncle Ben, and his girlfriend Sarah, and Mema and Opa, and their friends, and headed on the road.

We weren't driving more than a couple minutes when this happened:

below: three nappers with their Nitty Gritty balloons.

It was difficult to wake them up, but it was almost 5pm and I didn't want the nap to set bedtime back too much. Calla was by far the hardest to wake up! I kept throwing stuff at her (I am such a gentle person) and finally had to get out of my seatbelt and climb back to her and rouse her.

We put on a 45-minute Boz video and that took us until dinnertime. We stopped at Chili's. I think I ate there last in college. Anyway, the kids were hungry but I was pretty full from my milkshake. Jonathan and I split appetizers. I took Kelsey to the bathroom three times, Jay two times, and Calla once. i should have asked the waiter just to drop my food off at the restroom.

We got back in the car and headed home. We only had twenty minutes or so left so it was pretty painless. The kids got in their pajamas and played a bit before bed.

below: Jay loves to line up all his chick-fil-a and beanie-baby cows. I caught him lining them up for "storytime."

Last Sunday we headed to church. I had to work in Jay's class, so we went to the first service. I wanted the kids in there for all the Christmas music, so we sat in one of the last rows. Jay kept quiet eating his Fruit Loops.

below: Daddy and Bird, reading the bulletin

Calla stayed with us for the whole service. (Kelsey and Jay left before the sermon.) Then Daddy took her down to her class and I went to Jay's. There is no one especially naughty in Jay's class, but that age tires me out! Ha.

Well we had a low-key afternoon planned, so that worked out. We came home and it was snowing and the perfect day just to hang indoors. The kids got out of their church clothes and I told them they could wear whatever they wanted. Jaybird picked pajamas and Kelsey ended up in capris. She just loves capris, which doesn't make much sense to me - doesn't that little section of leg get cold?

After lunch, Jaybird and I took our afternoon naps. Calla and Kelsey hung out with Daddy and watched the Bears game. (Well, their idea of "watching it" is different than his, but they thought they were watching it.)

At one point after Birdie had woken up, I noticed he and Calla had curled up together with our beach photo book. haha. A good snowy afternoon book of choice.

below: longing for the white sand and blue waves.

We determined that after dinner we would go see the Cosley Zoo Lights. It was SO cold but Daddy came up with the idea and when Daddy mentions these things we are always on board.

It took me it least twenty minutes to get everyone bundled up. Two pairs of socks, you know the drill. We put on our snow boots (which have taken up permanent residence at the front door) and headed out.

Cosley Zoo in December is decked out with lights. It was literally in single-digit temperatures outside, so we kept moving. Most of the zoo is outdoors.



below: We did visit some farm animals inside the warm(er) barn. Jay checking out the cows.

 

 We probably spent a half hour there, tops. It was so cold! We had to keep moving. Jaybird insisted on being held but he was so cold. I think he would have been warmer if he'd agree to run, but he just wanted to be carried. What a baby (-:  We admired all the lights and the animals and then headed into the car to warm up.

The girls were surprised we were leaving so soon (soon?) so Daddy agreed to drive around or awhile and look at Christmas lights. Jaybird is very enthusiastic about them. He likes to yell out the colors (whether or not he is accurate or not). Calla likes to keep a running tally over which "side" (her window or Kelsey's) has the most lights. Competitive, much?

We headed home and into warm pajamas. (yes, even me.) I gave the kids some hot chocolate and cookies and once their bodies were back to a reasonable temperature, we put them to bed.