Fifth Post of Christmas

Poppop flew in today and was immediately put to work reading stories, playing Princess card games and zooming cars across the kitchen floor. He was tired from his long trip but still fresh and easily engaged in our ongoing chaos, he hasn't tuned it out yet. The reinforcements have arrived just as Yiayia is getting tired.
Later that evening, we got a call. A prerecorded message from Santa himself, first to Athena, then Zoe. He said how wonderfully they've behaved lately (luckily catching them just after they cleared the dinner table) and that he would be sure to stop by our house first. The look on Zoe's face was priceless. Athena is sometimes teetering on disbelief, I know she's over heard some things on the play ground, but she has yet to ask a direct question. And we are doing everything possible to reinforce the myth.

My sister and I wholeheartedly believed in Santa at their age. Even when my Dad tried to convince us that Santa would prefer beer and peanuts to milk and cookies, we still believed. We even tried to stay up all Christmas Eve to catch a peek at him. I think that was the year my parents put a red cloth over a bouncing flashlight and jingled bells outside our bedroom window, perpetuating our belief for at least three more years.

So are we going to keep up the myth, you betcha! It's endless fun to see their faces every time they find their elf in a different place. This is such a special time of year and Santa is the embodiment of the excitement and joy and indescribable magic of the season. Besides who wants literal children, I want mine to believe in fairies and magic and that they can fly if they just wish hard enough, you know, at least for a few more years.

P.S. Thanks Uncle Stu!

Sixth Post of Christmas

The girls are getting so excited about Christmas coming soon. Every night as I tuck them in bed, they count down the days, "Six more days until Christmas!" they said breathlessly, "only six more days!" Only six more days, g'ah, there's so much more to do!

Here's a new tradition we started this year, which I hope to keep up. The kids love mail and love all the wonderful mail we get around Christmas. So, after school pick up we've come home with bundles of card-like handwritten mail and made a snack of hot cocoa with whipped cream and candy canes for stirring. A Christmas cookie makes a nice garnish. The hot cocoa is homemade with milk, cocoa and powdered sugar and it really does taste great with candy canes, however I prefer mine mixed with heated up, leftover morning coffee - so yummy.

Then the kids get to open all the holiday mail.

"Yay, Uncle Stu!" Zoe says. "I got Bailey!" says Athena. Then they look at Jack's card, a card from a dear friend of mine from Kentucky. "Who is that?" the girls ask, looking over Jack's shoulder at Nicole's darling little two-year old girl, Taylor. "That's my friend!" Jack says confidently.

Ever since that afternoon, Nicole's card has become Jack's card, he even asked to take it with him during naptime once ("my card! mycard!") and as I closed the door I saw him staring at the picture before cuddling up with it. Now Taylor's picture is on our fridge (slightly wrinkled) where Jack can see her everyday, and Jack knows her name "That's Taylor! She's my girlfriend."

I know he doesn't really know what a "girlfriend" and that he is just using the language of his sisters, but it is so darn cute.

So, I'm wondering how old they need to be before I can set them up.

Seventh Post of Christmas

These are ready to go out in the morning. Each year we promise ourselves we'll get started earlier, and each year we're just getting them in the mail to hit before Christmas Eve. This pile of Christmas CDs represents quite a few hours of work getting them created and assembled, not to mention the photo shoot (oh the photo shoot!) and updating all the new addresses! But it is a labor of love. And we are very pleased to present our fifth annual Liebel Family Christmas CD. Look for it in your mailbox shortly, or PM me to receive one. Let me know when you get it, so I can post the outtakes, they are dooseys!

Eighth Post of Christmas

I left to run a few errands and hit the mall, by myself, for a little solo Christmas shopping. The traffic lines to get into the parking lot were overwhelming, but I had great shopping mojo and got a few great finds, can you say Gap Long and Leans for 40% off!

When I got home, hours after I was expected, I found Yiayia playing Uno with the girls and these chocolate raindeer looking at me from the kitchen counter.

They are way too delicious, my new Long and Leans are already tight....oof.

Ninth Post of Christmas

Nothing terribly Christmassy happened today, so for the ninth post of Christmas I'm going to catch everyone up on our Elf activities, as I've had questions. First, no, we did not invent the elf. The elf exists at many a Barnes and Nobles and can even be found at Target, however OUR particular elf came from Santa himself...

See it all started when the girls wrote their letters to Santa.

The very next day (speedy Santa delivery) a package arrived at our doorstep.

The brown paper package tied up with string (Chris asked if Santa put the string back where it he found it) arrived mysteriously. Inside was an elf with a book that explained how the elf helps Santa determine who is naughty or nice. The elf watches you during the day and flies to Santa with his reports at night. Every morning he is in a different place, but you must never touch him because that will take away his magic. We named our elf "Bob the Happy Elf" and he is very silly and mischievous.

Isn't he cute? Chris thinks he's slightly creepy.

The first night he made us a snowflake to decorate our home.

A few mornings later we found him making flour angels on the counter.

He brought gingerbread friends, that were very delicious.

Although Jack cried a little when he ate them.

Then, after we decorated our tree, all the elves who normally adorn different branches
all met on one branch, having what seemed to be a party...or, perhaps, a meeting.

The next morning all the elves were dispersed to different rooms of the house, we even found one in the car. Perhaps they became elfish minions of Bob and are now helping him supervise our activity?

"Mom!" Athena exclaimed, as if she had just discovered something amazing,
"The elves are alive!"

The following morning Bob was found like this, with quite a few Christmas cookies missing...hmmm.
and then the following performing a puppet show for the Smurfs.
Bob has provided lots of entertainment. He's the first thing the girls look for in the morning and are so surprised when they find out what he's been up to as they sleep. He's brought them snow globes and Christmas socks, hung from the chandelier, windows and snuggled in their stockings.

What on earth will he do next?

Tenth Post of Christmas

Tonight was Athena's Christmas concert. The kids, all K through 2nd graders, were amazing. I simply cannot believe how many new songs they learned, one in spanish even, and all the spoken word filler telling the Christmas story from A to Z. It was pretty impressive. I know they've been working hard on this program as I've heard bits and pieces of it throughout the last few weeks, when Athena sings to herself, but it was wonderful to see it all put together.

Before the performance I had time to snap a few pictures of the little ones all dressed up.

Athena and her BFF, Amelia...

My darling Zoe totally scrumptious in her Christmas dress...

and Jack who really was not into it.

My photo session was cut short by Chris meeting us at the performance,

he came straight from work.

Remember what I said about "parent papparazzi" -
few point and clicks here, they go for the full on telephoto lenses. I'm soo jealous.

After the performance we came home to attempt a few more photos, with Yiayia this time.

Yiayia arrived last night, Christmas has officially begun!

Eleventh Post of Christmas

Today we went to see Santa at the mall. We actually went to the mall for another purpose and used Santa as a "bribe" as in "if you're good and if we have time, we can go see Santa!"..."Yay!" they all screamed, even Jack. But once we got up to the "North Pole" they were placing ten foot tall nutcrackers by the entrance and hanging a sign that said "Be Back in 1 Hour"

"Oh well, I guess its closed" I rolled my eyes and sighed. But Zoe ran to the exit and said, "No Mommy, look we can get in this way!" just as she and Athena wiggled past an 18 year old elf and caught sight of the big man himself. "Please" I said when I caught up "Just one picture before you go on break?" the elf shrugged okay. A Christmas miracle.

But it didn't really matter because Athena was already talking to Santa. I have no idea what she was saying, I was negotiating with the elf and couldn't hear her, she made a bee line straight for him and told him something that was very urgent apparently, he nodded in agreement and I have no idea what he agreed to.

Zoe was hesitant, not as immediately familiar as Athena, but still not terrified. But Jack wanted no part of it. He clung to Mimi like a chimpanzee and all at once got hot. Mimi whispered soothing things like "Don't worry, you don't have sit on Santa's lap." Ummm, yea, you do.

See Mimi has the fear, she remembers all to clearly her total petrification of the man in red. I had to speak with Santa alone many a year, because she refused and she wasn't going to force Jack to go through her childhood horrors. But I was.

And Jack hated it. Poor baby. But its an awesome picture.

Twelfth Post of Christmas

There are so many Christmassy things going on right now I don't even know where to begin. And there's even more on the schedule, practically every day. So I'm going to post the Twelve Posts of Christmas leading up to the big day...just twelve days away, by the way.

On the twelfth post of Christmas, I give you Zoe and Jack's preschool Christmas concert. It was 41 minutes of total cutenesss that I will not forget, attended by close to 800 people and throngs of papparazzi.

Mimi came down for the event and Athena attached herself to her.
Isn't this a lovely picture...I could fill a book
with the beautiful pictures I have of Mimi and the babes.

Zoe and her BFF, Aubs, got ready for their stage debut.
We left them in their classrooms and then went to find our seats.
Zoe did a darling and remarkable job singing and signing the song "Mary, Did you know."
Then Jack appeared as an angel stomping and
jumping to the tune of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" wearing one of his sisters old turtle necks. It was so, so fun and he ended it with a great "ta da" move
of arms outstreched and jazz hands that had me in tears.
Can I just take one moment to point out the other children on stage.
See that sweet little thing to the left of Jack, that is a normal sized 2 and 1/2 year old,
and my humungo baby next to her. Normal size...Humungo.

I had to elbow a few paparazzi to get close enough for this money shot. Unfortunately, Jack's out of focus, but check out that little guy to the right, he is totally rocking this look.
Zoe and her latest boyfriend, Vinny.

After the performances we collected our little ones, fighting the the throngs of people all trying to snap pictures and find their children. The kids did so great, and were so beautiful, this was a proud, special Momma moment for me.

Back at home, I tried to bribe them with candy canes to sit, just for one second, not make a face, don't touch your sister and look at me...look at me! But, this is what I got. Chris thinks this should be our Christmas card picture as it captures the pure chaos we call home.
Ah, the magic of the season!

A Whole Lotta Punkins

I believe if you have little ones you are required each fall to traipse through a pumpkin patch at least once, sometimes more. It's an annual photo op...even if you can't get all your kids in the same picture.

I still remember baby Athena's first pumpkin patch trip in Kentucky like it was yesterday.

Even though Bakersfield does not have fall, per se, and in October it's still 90+ degrees in the shade, we go and traipsed around the dry brittle vines in the baking sun.

Check out poor Jack's flushed, hot cheeks.

The day after Zoe's birthday, while we still had our Jen and Stu around, we went to the mega pumpkin patch/Fall festival Family Farm thingy with the whole crew.

They had a hay ride, and a big, bouncy pillow, face painting and a corn maze, as well as a massive pumpkin patch that kind of looked like like they just dumped a bunch of pumpkins on the ground to make it look like they grew on the vines.

***

And then, later that week, Athena had a school, field trip to a different pumpkin patch with her class. I volunteered to drive and we were paired up with her best boy -uhhh- friend, Wyatt.

Wyatt is, apparently, the Macaroni to her Cheese. She luhhhhhves him.

So, um notice a certain closeness here?

So, yea...uh...hmmm. They held hands the entire, frickin' time, I kid you not. Actually, it was more like both Athena's hands on one of Wyatt's but he didn't seem to mind.
Luckily he comes from an excellent family.

****
So with all those pumpkins gathered it was time to get them carved. Our total take this year was seven pumpkins, too many to carve all of them and, in fact, a couple were just too small. We picked the biggest three to cut open and painted the rest.

Athena had no problem digging out the guts this year.

Jack wanted no part of it. "Yucky" he said.

And the end result! A funny face, a "scary" face and a pirate. Just in time for Halloween.

Zoe's 5th Birthday Extravaganza

No birthday goes unnoticed in this house, and especially not a 5th birthday. The fifth birthday symbolizes so much. It seems as if Zoe has grown overnight, no longer my sweet, chubby little baby, Zoe's a full on kid now.

The morning began with tears, mine. I cried all through her "Happy Birthday" wake up song then reached in for my first five year old Zoe hug and kiss. After waking her up at the crack of dawn with singing, we had a birthday breakfast of "Yia Yia" cake and presents, as is our tradition.

Everyone loves birthday breakfasts, especially Jack! He thought it was a great way to start the day.

With her new purple swede boots, from fellow boot lover Auntie Mimi, and her birthday outfit, off she went to school!

For dinner, my birthday princess requested a "brinner" of eggs, toast and bacon and
then chocolate chocolate cake with scads of sprinkles.

The next day, Zoe's Daddy (who prefers to give experiences over "stuff") took her to Disney on Ice for her special birthday present from him. Just the two of them, a Daddy Date. As luck would have it, Disney on Ice this year was Toy Story 3!! Zoe's favorite movie series - she drank it in and got a Jessie hat as a momento.

***

Then it was Saturday, the day of Zoe's birthday party! We've been planning her Sock Hop party for months. I can't even remember when we had the idea first. I think it was during one of the umpteenth times we watch Grease over the last year.

It made me feel a little bit old that Zoe asked "What is it?" when I showed her the prototype of her handmade birthday invitation. "It's a record, sweetie!" I answered. "What's a record?" she asked. It made me feel even older when I explained to Zoe's BFF's 27-year-old Mom that we were have a Sock Hop because Zoe loves the movie Grease. "What's Grease?" she asked me.

Yiayia and I made adorable poodles skirts and shirts for Zoe's Sock Hop 5th birthday party. That was the whole reason to have a Sock Hop, you know, poodle skirts. Yiayia cut and pinned and sewed, I traced appliques and glued ribbon and sparkles. It was a labor of love and I think they came out special and amazing and about ten times less than what we would have paid in a costume shop.

Seriously, how cute is this?

and The Dude was simply dreamy as a little Greaser.

So much of the success of the party goes to my fellow lunatics, especially the "Soda Jerks," who gamely played along and made my Sock Hop vision complete. Chris and Stu even got haircuts for the occasion.

Guest began to arrive, poses were struck, pictures were taken and the dancing begun. Many of our little friends came wearing their own bought or found or Momma-sewn poodle skirts.

We had a little "photo booth" in the nook of our great room so that pictures could be taken as our guests arrived, real 45 records hung from the ceiling, on the walls and made a
"Happy Birthday" sign on the fireplace, pink and black balloons and steamers were everywhere.

Zoe's Soda Shop was soon opened, with a customized menu (a la Jen) and pink and black flag sign. The soda jerks got to work making chocolate and vanilla shakes, root beer floats, sliders, pigs in a blanket and shoe string fries. My dream of little girls in poodle skirts belly up to our kitchen counter, drinking from vintage Coca Cola glasses with tons of whipped cream and a cherry on top was complete.

There was a moment of regret soon after the realization of this dream - thirteen five year olds pumped up on caffeine and sugar began to jump on my couches in the living room like a bunch of wild monkeys. So, time for some organized activities...

starting with the limbo...

and then musical chairs, hosted by those silly Soda Jerks...

and finally chocolate chocolate birthday cake and presents!

It was all worth it for this moment...when Zoe laughed and smiled, and actually blew out her candles, basking in the attention...which she has never, ever done before.

It was such a fantastic day, such a fun three days really, a great celebration with family as well as friends. Thank you to Mom, Mimi, Chris, Jen and Stuart for making it so much fun!

***
When I asked my little five year old what her favorite part of her birthday was, she said "Disney on Ice!" When I asked her what her favorite birthday ever was, she said "When Daddy took me to Disneyland!" Oh, well, I guess her Daddy's always going to be first with this little Daddy's girl.

Next year, she says she wants a Haunted House...already thinking...