crossrhodes

Our family is so blessed with children, I wanted to make something for each family unit this Christmas. I found these inexpensive clocks at the big W that came apart and back together easily with a screwdriver. I “altered” the clock faces with pics of the kids. The most time-consuming part of the project was finding the right pictures… oh, and waiting at the so-called “1-hour” photo counter at Walmart.

The first 2 clocks at the top are for the grandparents, with room to add more pics of future grandkids. The other 4 are for each of Don’s and my siblings. I’m hoping to still have time to “scrap” something for them next Christmas even with a baby in my hands.

On every birthday or Christmas in our family, whoever gives the gift that gets the most attention from the kids is the WINNER… or, a la Filipino accent, the WEINER =) Last night at our Christmas gathering, Auntie (that’s me!) was THE BIG WEIII-NER!!!

One of my nieces is particularly into dress ups right now. I found online a Disney princess dress up trunk AND matching wigs for each princess costume. The wigs, especially, were a huge hit! My SIL put the costumes on the little girls (and boys!) and they just hammed it up for the camera! These are what memories — and pure adult entertainment — are made of!

I can’t wait for next Christmas when we’ll have two more babies in the family!

Don hit the mark on my gift this Christmas! And James bought me a case for it, too. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! This is the best Christmas gift from the hubby that I did not pick out myself =) The last time I jumped up and down in excitement was when I got a final grade of A in my college algebra class! This is an A+++ for Don!

And tomorrow, the day I’ve been excited about since October, I get to watch the kids open their gifts from Auntie. That’s the sucky part of doing my Christmas shopping so early… waiting, waiting, and waiting.

I felt the baby kick for the first time on Sunday!!! Wasn’t sure what to make of the tickling, poking feeling to the right of my belly button. It occured every minute and it tickled so much, I thought it would keep me up all night giggling! The baby calmed down before I went to bed… not that I would get a good night’s sleep anyway.

I haven’t slept straight through the night in weeks. Everything is swollen, including my nasal membranes, which causes me to snore (worse than usual) at night. Don has occassionally slept on the couch so I don’t wake him up with my “freight train” noise.

And my carpal tunnel hasn’t gone away since last Thanksgiving’s prepping and cooking. I cramp up and loose my grip on pens, hair brushes, ever-so-sharp 8″ chef’s knives! I feel a constant tingling from my finger tips to my elbows and shoulders. It must be what restless leg syndrome feels like, only it’s on my arms and it keeps me up at night.

The good news is: WE’RE HALFWAY THROUGH THE PREGNANCY THIS WEEK!!! Woo-hoo!!!  I saw “we” because my husband is sharing the downside of pregnancy, including sympathy weight gain, sympathy belly stretch marks, and sympathy fatigue right along with me. *LOL* After all, it did take two to tango =)

Mannn, I wish I had little kids N-O-W!!! This baby is taking too long to come out and play with me. My brother’s kids are in the Christmas musical at church. My sister’s kids wrap gifts and bake cookies with her. My kid? He’s too old and grumpy (teenagers!) to care about Christmas fluff (unless he’s finding the perfect gift to impress his girlfriend) and cares even less about taking down and putting up the tree from the attic. So, I didn’t even bother to decorate this year.

A house with little kids is more fun at Christmastime, don’t you think? And when I have my house of little kids, I want to:

1. Trim the tree with ornaments I make or buy for the kids each year.
2. Dress up the dog in a reindeer costume and go sledding. (Note to self:
   Get a dog!)
3. Make an Advent Calendar of fun activities or little gifts for each of the 24 days.
4. Unwrap and read a Christmas book to the kids each night from the 1st day of December, saving The Night Before Christmas for the 24th. (I LOVE this idea!)
5. Build a gingerbread “cottage”.
6. Make snowmen cupcakes.
7. Bake Christmas cookies and wrap as gifts.
8. Recylce daddy’s old sweaters into stockings to be filled with goodies by The Three Kings (aka Wise Men of the East).
9. Watch classic Christmas movies in brand new Christmas pajamas.
10. Hand-cut paper snowflakes to deck the halls.
11. Send handmade cards to troops overseas.
12. Go on a toy-purging spree to donate and make room for new toys.
13. Take pictures with Santa at the mall… or, since this mommy hates the mall, Photoshop Santa into a family portrait =)
14. Sing Christmas carols on kareoke and record it on home video.
15. Be a wise man, shepherd, or even a donkey at the church Christmas pageant.
16. Recite the story of Christ’s birth in Greek and Hebrew on Christmas morning. (*hehe* Alright, that’s a little ambitious.)
17. Practice the proper way to dip their pan de sal, jamon, and queso de bolla sandwich in hot cacao on Noche Buena.
18. Make snowglobes on New Year’s.

Do you have fun traditions and activities that you do with your kids? Share! Share! Share! I’ve got lots of time to compile a list before I have a litter of kids to play with.

[Edit] Thanks for the comments everyone! Added them to my list:

19. Drive to see Christmas lights AND stop for hot cocoa.
20. Buy gifts for local children AND send shoebox gifts to children overseas.
21. Bake a symbolic cake in honor of Jesus’ birthday AND remind the kids that His birthday isn’t really in December.
22. Have the kids pick their own ornaments each year AND make keepsake ornaments for them like this and this and this.