An interesting Christmas giving concept

On one of the forums I participate in, a poster gave her friend's idea for giving gifts. I thought it was a very practical and meaningful way of remembering the gifts that the Baby Jesus was given.

"My good friend... told me how she and her husband give their children gifts every Christmas in a way that reminds them of Jesus. They each get 4 gifts symbolizing gold, frankincense, myrrh and swaddling clothes.
Gold -- whatever they really, really want. A toy, video game, etc. Whatever is in your budget but it is only one thing.
Frankincense -- a scent... perfume, cologne, bubble bath, toiletry set even
Myrrh -- myrrh is a symbol of suffering and used for embalming. As a gift to the Christ child, it was a practical gift since He was to suffer and die. So this gift is something practical that they will need in the upcoming year. New clothes, shoes, backpack, school supplies, a book, etc.
Swaddling clothes -- pajamas, slippers, or a robeI thought some people here would be interested in a more Christ-centered gift giving plan. "

We've done some of those things. I've already gotten the kids new Christmas PJs, socks for the girls, and peppermint smelling shampoo and body wash, but I think I might try to follow this next year. Hopefully Kevin will be able to understand the meaning and it will help restrain the urge to over-indulge.

'Tis the season!

Nope, not Christmas. It's wrestling season! My nephew, Trevor, is a senior this year and Trev
s brother, Brett, will be starting wrestling once basketball is over. Trev had a double dual tonight and won in OT in his first match, then got a pin in the second. The first match was big because he beat a kid who had beaten him before and he'll have to wrestle again down the road. The kid he pinned was a JV filling in for a highly ranked (top-ranked?) teammate who was injured so what could have been a huge challenge for Trev turned out to be an easier match, but he wrestled well. It's great fun seeing how Trev has improved since he started wrestling as a freshman. Kevin will probably start wrestling a lot earlier than his freshman year of high school, but I hope he's as good of sport as Trevor is.

Kevin had a funny tonight. Bob asked him where his liver was and Kevin started off that it was on his toe and he gets them from stepping in the sharp grass. He thought Bob was asking him about a "sliver" instead of "liver"!

Oh, where to start?

Las Vegas was great. Lots of food, amazing shows, a nice hike in Red Rock canyon, some time with Bob, what's not to love:) We stayed at Mandalay Bay and saw KA at MGM and La Reve at the Wynn. Both were terrific. KA freaked Bob out a little. We were in the front row so the platform and heights got him a little nervous. La Reve is diving/water type stuff and quite beautiful. The theater is round so there's not a bad seat.

We ate at Strip Steak at Mandalay on Friday. Yum. Anyplace that can make french fries that make you want to lick the plate and even better steak is worth the $$. Saturday night we ate ate Diego at MGM. It was good, like a B, but compared to Strip Steak and then Aureole on Sunday night, it placed 3rd. Aureole was delish. We did the 7 course tasting menu and the only course that wasn't wonderful was the cheese course, but that's mostly because I don't care for strong cheeses. The tuna tartare was really excellent.

Speaking of food, the girls decided that weaning wasn't on the menu yet so we're still at it.

Thanksgiving was nice even though Bob was on call. He wasn't too busy and was around all Thursday while everyone was here. We had, as usual, plenty of food and lots of visiting. We're going to do Christmas at Beth's the Friday after Christmas so it looks like our Christmas Day is free since Becky is having Bob's family's Christmas the Saturday after Christmas.

Our bathroom still isn't even started, maybe the beginning of the year...I hope. We have everything except the labor.

Christmas shopping is basically done. A few toys and books for the kids, practical stuff for mom, the bathrooom and an Iowa t-shirt for Bob. I gave it to him early in case he wanted to wear it to the UI-ISU wrestling meet- won by Iowa:) - but he declined. Gift cards for the boys. Pretty basic.

Kevin has his pre-school program Thursday. They're singing "Away in the Manger", "Jingle Bells", "Mary Had a Baby Boy" and "Happy Birthday". I hope he behaves:) We made Christmas cookies with icing today. He's been hot to do that for a few days now and even though it's a great big mess, it's kind of fun and he loved it. He said that toys used to be his favorite, but now it's food (meaning candy!) and he really wants a lollipop for Christmas. There's a picture of a big, multicolored lollipop in one of his books that really caught his fancy. I found a green and white one at Target for his stocking, but I'm going to keep looking to see if I can find one that will fit his image.

The girls are getting new clothes. They are getting into a lot of 18 month stuff already. It seems like they should still be my little babies instead of my little climbing monkeys! Nothing is safe in the house, but they're sure fun to watch!

ETA: Delaney's in the red, Claire's in the black:)

Daylight savings time, holidays, and the Halloweenies

I used to love "falling back" to CST. Unless I had to work that night, it meant one more hour of sleep. Then I had babies and the extra hour was lost in the turmoil. Last night we put the kids to bed a little later than usual and they slept to about their normal time, which was fine until they all decided that they wanted lunch at 10:15am! Oh, well. They were satisfied with toaster strudels and a side of their favorite green beans. I, on the other hand, have been out of sorts since this morning has seemed extraordinarily long. I've watched Claire learn that throwing herself off the couch onto the blanket is great fun, Kevin cry really loudly when he got his finger pinched in a book, Delaney discover "hair" equals the stuff on our heads, and the Backyardigans discover that you can shake chocolate milk in the absence of a stirrer.



Even though November is still, technically, autumn, once Halloween is over, it just feels like winter. I'm thinking about roasting turkeys, prelit fake vs. real Christmas trees, and how amazon.com is trying to screw me over on their 4 for 3 promo. (Pssst, Amazon....splitting my order into 2 so it doesn't meet the eligibility criteria should get you a lump of coal in your stocking.



The kids did a good job trick or treating. Bob was on call so I loaded the girls in the wagon and Kevin walked until he could hitch a ride in Katherine and Samantha's wagon. We just went around the cul de sac and then up to visit Bob, which was just about right. Kevin was a lion, Delaney was a polar bear, and Claire was an elephant (all costumes Tom Arma- love them!)

The ending of an era

That's Claire in the white and Delaney (with her very best oversmile) in the brown.

How do you turn down these smiley faces?? I'm feeling a little verklempt tonight. My babies went to bed without their nightly snack from Mommy because I've decided to try to wean Claire and Delaney before we go to Las Vegas in 3 weeks. It's partly because I don't want to wean by abandonment, although they do fine with whole milk and regular food, and partly because my supply is going down and their more voracious nursing sessions cause some pretty bad vasospasms that I could sure do without. It'd also be nice not to have to haul the pump to Las Vegas.

Bob and I took Kevin to Trev's last football game on Friday night and had Assembly last night so they hadn't nursed for the last two nights, but this is the first time I've been around at bedtime and not nursed. It was odd to be just cleaning up the kitchen and not snuggling them to bed. I think I'll try the "don't offer, don't refuse" plan that I used with Kevin. It'll probably be more challenging for me than for them.

We made it 15 months and I always had it in my head that once we got past a year, it'd be a mutual decision to keep going. If we aren't completely done by the time we leave and they want to pick it up when I get back, it's no big deal, but their sessions have really tapered off in number and duration so I think they're ready too.

In other news, I'm typing this from the kitchen table. That's right- I've gone wireless. I found a relatively inexpensive laptop (allegedly a "family Christmas present" and for Kevin to use instead of my desktop;) ) and, with the invaluable help of my friend Nancy, I got a router set up. It's pretty neat and even Bob thinks it's handy to have a computer in the kitchen!

Top Chef finale

Casey choked, Dale missed big on one dish, and Hung was the winner. I was sort of hoping to see Casey win. She seems to have a good sense of what she needs to do even though I think she's by far the least experienced of the group. Hung was the best technical chef and just didn't make many big mistakes. Yes, he did stupid things like finish the trout challenge way early, look all arrogant, then forget lemon juice, but what he lacked in personality ( and perhaps caution- no running with knives!) he made up in skill. Dale was good with the BS, but he seemed to lack focus and had a hard time executing his vision completely...plus I didn't need to hear about the cowboy conquests!

St. Louis

St. Louis was a good trip. The weather ended up being in the low 80's- good thing I brought some warm weather stuff for the kids. It's got a ton of things to do with kids, but it's pretty easy to get around and would be good without kids too. We went to the zoo, Grant's Farm, the Arch, and Bob and Mom went through the courthouse. We stayed at the Hilton at the Ballpark. Terribly slow restaurant, mediocre room service, but decent rooms.

I'm always surprised at how much longer it takes to get places with kids, especially twins. People seem fascinated with them. We got so many looks and comments that after a while I just quit counting. I need some flip cards that say: Yes, they're twins. 14 months. Both girls. Yes, they keep me very busy.

Kevin had a bit of a rough trip. He came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease on Friday/Saturday. He'd complained that his tongue hurt when he ate, but we thought he had just bitten it because Bob didn't see anything on the middle of his tongue where Kevin complained of pain. Sunday morning he was super cranky and I finally convinced him to let me look. The whole edge and underside of his tongue was covered with sores. Poor guy! We were going to stay in Iowa City Sunday night, but decided to push through, which turned out for the best. Kevin was completely wiped out, but slept better in his own bed. In St. Louis, he'd insisted on sleeping in the regular bed instead of the crib. He had a little bit of a time getting to sleep and staying in the bed. He also fell out the first two nights, but I think our crib days are numbered!