Merry Christmas and a Smidge of Bah Humbug

I am the worst about posting 'Christmas Day'. Not really sure why. I have narrowed it down to these possible reasons:

1. I want to be in on the action, so I don't bother getting the camera out.

2. There is no ONE good scene to photograph. People open presents, there is chaos, and I usually end up with a hundred mediocre shots.

3. Christmas is a vacation for me too, right?

Whatever it is, I look back and see that Christmas is often left off the blog. That is not the best trend for posterity. I can already picture them now...Mom, what the freak, why is there nothing in here about Christmas? (I'm all embarrassed now because I just finished reading a book and afterward made fun of the main character for always imagining future conversations. Perhaps it isn't quite so crazy after all. But, I digress...)

So my own guilt got me motivated this year. You get lots of mediocre pictures, and I get a pat on the back for saving memories. Are you ready for this yule tide slide show?

We do Christmas Eve pajamas. What can I say, it makes me happy. I am in charge, so we will be doing it for the foreseeable future. I thought you might like the progression of Daisy's pajamas. All my children have been very interested in dressing themselves. (This is fabulous because in general, I never have to nag them to get ready. On the contrary, I sometimes have to beg them to NOT get dressed several superfluous times a day.) Here is Daisy donning pants.

Now bedecked in her angel shirt as well. (I did not notice the wings on the back when I bought the outfit, but I am digging them.)

Then because I didn't specify not to, she got dressed in the second set that came with her pajamas. She is thorough.

I don't do matching jammies because all my kids have unique sleepwear needs. June only wears an undershirt and pajama bottoms to bed, Robyn overheats and therefore needs lighter attire, etc. Here are my five ready for bed on Christmas Eve.

So we sent them to bed and then spent two hours wrapping everything. Tyler was slightly appalled at the amount of time it took and swears that we are going to wrap everything by the 20th next year. (I'll let you know how that goes.) We were happy with the finished product. (I love that Santa wraps his gifts in different wrapping paper so the girls can spot his stuff right away.)



Another tradition we have is stockings first and then breakfast before opening the bulk of the presents. (It helps stall the impending greediness and bedlam, and frankly my parents always made us wait, so it is one of those torturous traditions I am carrying on.) But I try to make breakfast fun in the meantime. This year we ate Santa. He was supposed to be made with a pancake, but I wanted to use up some bread, so we did French toast instead. You get the idea though.

Then we enjoyed a wondrous morning opening gifts. The girls were surprisingly calm and complimentary.




Pearl was not sure what all was going on, but she liked the paper and bows.



This face here probably sums up the general spirit.



And as if I haven't regaled you enough, I would like to tell you a story of my superb genius gone awry. I wanted to make Tyler's shopping experience with the girls a quick and painless one. I am usually in charge of what they give each other, but in the end, he has to take them out shopping for me. So this year I requested earrings: Easy, cheapish, plenty of variety. It was the perfect plan.

I guess I have just never perused all the uncommon choices out there. I assumed that I would get a unique selection, but I had no idea. I actually love each pair I received, but I am sure I will turn some heads when I wear them. But what mother wouldn't wear a gift from her child? I will try to get a picture of each, but here is one to wet the appetite.



Whenever I saw myself in the mirror, I thought I was wearing ponytails. It was almost like wearing a necklace instead of earrings. Extravagant, eh?

And there you have it. Christmas in a nutshell. Good times. I'll leave this last Christmas picture.

Things that make me happy:

*Skinny jeans (man is she skinny)
*Jumping rope
*Yep, those earrrings
*Zero gravity hair
*A gift that will be well used

Merry Christmas everyone!