A morning with John Denver and the Muppets

Christmas really snuck up on me this year.  I just got my shopping done on Saturday (December 22nd), we never really finished decorating, and the house is a disaster.  Attempts to discuss the true story of Christmas with the girls end up with fights over nativity scene pieces.  So I'm having a hard time finding the "Christmas Spirit" this year.

While attempting to get my kitchen back under control, I put the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas CD in.  Near the end is a song called The Christmas Wish, and although I've heard it a million times (I love this album), it seemed to have special meaning this morning.  So I thought I would share the lyrics.  Merry Christmas!

I don't know if you believe in Christmas

or if you have presents underneath a Christmas tree
but if you believe in love
that will be more than enough
for you to come and celebrate with me

For I have held the precious gift that love brings

even though I never saw a Christmas star
I know there is a light
I have felt it burn inside
and I have seen it shining from afar

Christmas is the time to come together

a time to put all differences aside
and I reach out my hand
to the family of man
to share the joy I feel at Christmas time
For the truth that binds us all together

I would like to say a simple prayer

that at this special time
you will have true peace of mind
and joy to last throughout the coming year

And if you believe in love that will be more than enough

for peace to last throughout the coming year

Seth's Outback Birthday Adventure

Eating out with the Goodmans is never dull.  Tonight's dinner at Outback for Seth's birthday was no exception.  Oh yes, I decided to suggest that we take all three kids out to dinner at a decent restaurant. Am I crazy?  Possibly.  But Seth had specifically said he wanted steak for his birthday dinner, and I decided yesterday it was probably best if I didn't cook (cough-kill) it.

For the last 24 hours I've been instilling the fear of, well, anything I could think of into the girls regarding their restaurant behavior (yes, I have the best parenting skills ever).  That worked so well that Lizzie waited to start whining until the girls and I had been seated for a whole 10 minutes, and there was still no sign of Seth.  And it wasn't like I could call him since I apparently left my phone at home.  And that's just the beginning.  Here's the highlights:

• Seth got there, told me what he wanted, then immediately went back outside to take a work phone call
• Lizzie lost the blue crayon in the black hole (literally, there was no light) under the table and was on the verge of a meltdown when Anna graciously shared hers (after mommy told her to)
• I forgot to tell the waitress to bring the kids' food out with the salads, and not to wait for the entrees.  It was close to 6:00pm and apparently my kids were starving to death.  Because that snack at 4:30 was ages ago.
• Seth's steak was tough.  So tough that when he tried to stab it for the first time with a fork, the fork did not go into the steak.  It just smashed one end of the steak down, so the other end went flying up, and the crab topping that happened to be on that end went flying onto Seth.
• By the time his replacement steak got to the table, the girls were done with dinner and antsy.  We ordered them dessert, which was apparently on the house, yay!  (Also the cheapest thing they could probably comp.)
• I had told the staff it was Seth's birthday when the girls and I came in, and that must have been forgotten during the steak fiasco because she brought the check and there was no singing or birthday dessert.  Which was actually fine because Seth decided he wanted ice cream and cake at home.
• When we got home, Seth got out of his car and informed me he had another work conference call.  So the girls went nuts because they wanted to watch their daddy open his presents.  But by the time we got home and Anna finished her homework, it was time for bed and Seth was still yelling at people on the phone.  So Seth will be waiting to open his presents until tomorrow, when the girls can watch.

Makes you want to eat out with us all the time, doesn't it?  You know you do!  Actually, it really wasn't that bad, and Seth did have a good time talking to the girls and helping them do the activities on their kid menus.  And I had a good time because I didn't have to cook a thing.  Oh, and Xavier was there, he's just not mentioned above because he was quiet, smiley, and perfect the whole time!

Happy Birthday Seth!

Family Portraits - The Outtakes

As you can see from our updated family portrait on the left side of our blog, we actually did get at least one good picture out of our portrait session this week.  Actually, we got more than one (see some of the good ones here), but not as many as I would have liked.  Between the kids and the photographer, I think we had some missed opportunities for great pictures.

Here's a sample of some of the pictures that will NOT be making it into the Christmas card this year!  Seth and I also tried to get some taken of just the two of us, and those are so bad they aren't even going to be shown here :)

Anna's making crazy psycho eyes, Lizzie appears done with the whole thing, and Xavier is wondering what the heck is going on - and this was the first pose we tried.

Not sure why the photographer felt it was a good idea to have my really tall husband stand.  He kinda makes the rest of us look like midgets.

Not too bad, but look at Lizzie's eyes.  I don't know what she was looking at, but they look like they are going to pop out of her head.

I think Anna's in pain.  Or just gritting her teeth.

Family portrait time!

When Anna was a baby, I think I had professional pictures taken once a quarter. When Lizzie was a baby, it was at least twice a year. Now I think I'm doing good if I get them done once a year!

I told myself a few months ago that we would get portraits done at the beginning of November so that I could get Christmas cards out right after Thanksgiving. Considering today is December 4th, you can guess how well that worked out for me.

Today started out with a bit of a to-do list, and all of it (except maybe dishes) had to do with getting pictures taken. I had the realization early today that I had totally forgotten to get Xavier anything to wear for "fancy" pictures. Thankfully that was an early realization, so I was able to get that fixed. Next was laundry... the girls had clothes that fit the bill, but half of it wasn't clean. There were also children to wash, snacks to prepare, a big bag to pack with changes of clothes for everyone... you get the picture. Miraculously, we were out the door on time.

Now, at this point you might expect to see samples of pictures from our session. That is a legitimate expectation, but by the time we were done taking pictures, looking at pictures, selecting pictures, etc., the girls were climbing the walls, the baby was crying, and there was no way we were waiting another 15 - 20 minutes for them to print and for the cd to burn. I'll be picking them up tomorrow. For now, imagine three kids never looking in the same direction or smiling at the same time, and sometimes making crazy faces in what would have been an awesome photo for everyone else. And if you can't imagine it, I'll post a sample once I actually pick them up :)