Are you ready for Christmas?
Before I get started on Christmas readiness: The only NSN activity I see is a few expat referrals. I do not believe there is a direct correlation between expat referrals and “regular” referrals. Congrats to those who just received a referral! Please feel free to share your news with us when we do our next Babies! post.
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All of our gifts are purchased, with only two items that have not yet been delivered. They should be delivered tomorrow, and then we will be officially done. I have not shopped in stores for anything this year, every bit of my Christmas shopping has been done online. We met some friends at a restaurant near the mall over the weekend, and getting into and out of the general mall area was a nightmare. I’m pretty happy that fighting those crowds is no longer a necessity.
But don’t think that means I’m ready for Christmas. I have not yet wrapped the first present. I’ll be working Monday next week, and then I’m taking off the rest of the week, so my game plan now is to sneak downstairs after the girls are in bed one night and wrap the girls’ presents, and then to get them to help me wrap everything else Tuesday. I have a lot of bags saved from last year, and I bought a few beautiful bags at the dollar store (right beside the restaurant this weekend, so I guess I did shop for something). Large bags with fur and glitter and… I can’t get over how pretty they are, or that they were at the dollar store. A few of the extra-large presents will have to be wrapped, and then I generally wrap the really small stuff, and put a good bit of the in-between sizes in bags. Still, it’s going to take a while to get everything wrapped and bagged. I’m not complaining about it, I feel blessed that we are going to have a very abundant Christmas.
The house needs a thorough cleaning, and I’ll need to do a run to the grocery store at some point. I have a few craft projects lined up for the girls to do next week while I’m home with them, but I’d like to get one of those Gingerbread house kits to put together, too. I always buy extra candy and frosting to use when I buy the kits, but the kits make the house building part of it easy.
This week is turning into a bit of a marathon week. TwinkleToes was again invited to be in The Nutcracker, but I had not expected GlitterGirl to be invited since she’s only taking a hip-hop class and it seemed to me that only the ballet students were invited. But, she was invited to be a toy soldier, which means she’s had to attend some extra classes in the past month to learn what to do. It’s not really ballet, mostly it’s just stiff walking and some slow motion high-kicks, with some front and back walkovers here and there (my guess is that it is the ability to do walkovers that got her invited). She’s on stage a really long time, but part of that is battling the rats, then shooting at the rats and then dragging them offstage, so there was only about three minutes of a routine to learn even though she’s on and off stage a lot during a ten minute period of time. I thought last year was chaos, having one child in the show. But having two children in it? Let’s just say that when I got home last night after a rehearsal in costume (not to be confused with the actual dress rehearsal Thursday night) and finally got everyone into bed (two hours after their bedtime) I fixed myself a very strong drink and then I crashed and knew nothing until RK very gently woke me up this morning. This week is extra rehearsals, and then there have been costume fittings to go to as well. Thursday night is the official dress rehearsal at the theater, and then this weekend the show is put on several times. TwinkleToes is in two numbers (which means two costumes) and GlitterGirl is in one number. And each costume has lots of “stuff” that goes with it – different shoes, different tights, one has a crown/tiara thing, one has a headband with flowers on it, and the toy soldier has this huge hat. I now have a “stage bag” I’ve assembled with bobby pins and safety pins and make-up and hairspray and hairbrush and.. does that make me a stage mom? I think it might.
But, the owner of the studio is constantly reminding the parents that the kids should be having fun, and not to stress out about things too much. She’s good at keeping people from getting too serious about things, and I really appreciate that. It’s chaos (I won’t even go so far as to call it organized chaos), but everyone is nice to each other, and considerate of each other, and the kids aren’t pressured and stressed out about everything.
How is your Christmas Season going? Is it so hectic you can’t enjoy it? I admit that this week has been right on the brink of that. But, I’m planning my week next week so I’ll have time to stop and spend time with the girls – all nice and relaxed and happy. Or that’s the plan, we’ll see if it works out that way.
December 16th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, RQ! Thanks again for all you do!
This year has been a VERY relaxed one for us….since we are SOOOOO close to referral (4-3-06), my hubby and I decided to scale down the Christmas decorations, we only have candles in the windows and a tree in the house! My neighbors think we’ve flipped our lids – one asked my hubby if I was sick! We decided that NEXT year when we have our “china doll”, we’ll go back to going ALL out again! My hubby only wants sugar cookies, so I’m planning to make those this weekend. We are all shopped (have 1 neice and 4 nephews to spoil) and wrapped! So its been wonderful! ENJOY!
December 16th, 2009 at 11:41 am
I too have scaled way back this year. Since its DD’s first year home (she is 5) it has reminded me what is really important….being together. I don’t think she gets the concept yet of a list and getting what you want for Christmas, so I haven’t ever STARTED shopping yet..whatever we get her will be much enjoyed, and I am just not stressing. I even had our Christmas dinner catered…I am just letting go this year. I will probably be a little more stressed come next week, but I am trying to just enjoy the time with DD.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
What is an expat referral?
December 16th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Here we are, another Christmas and no baby. This is our 10th. We haven’t given up hope. Instead of feeling such a void, I buy a special gift for a child off the many “angel” trees at the mall. I pretty much go nuts and make the Christmas as special as possible for a child who might not otherwise have a nice Christmas morning. It makes me happy Christmas morning to know that a little one is opening up their many gifts. I have so many blessings. I have a beautiful home, a wonderful husband and a family who loves me. Hopefully in 2 years, we will have a little one of our own to spoil.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Both my girls were in our local Nutcracker production, and Thea had 4 parts! I was exhausted between the constant rehearsals and then all the running backstage and then back out front to take pictures, backstage again to do hair for the next role. I am sooo glad it’s over til next year! Hope your kids have as much fun with it as mine do – and that you don’t get too frazzled!
I have yet to start shopping for the holidays. Hoping to get to that today, once cookies are done.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
DD is DONE and wrapped, I’m waiting for two more crucial deliveries, and I still have a couple more items to pick up. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, I cut my thumb really badly Sunday night, and one of our cats has just been diagnosed with diabetes, and the other one put on Prozac. DD has been really difficult – all hopped up on Christmas for weeks, and I’ve heard myself warning her at least daily that “Santa is watching you”. The cards are sitting on the diningroom table mocking me, and there are two batches of cookie dough still sitting in the ‘fridge (we may just end up eating hunks of raw dough). And the house is a disaster. Wanted to finish painting DD’s new room as a surprise for Christmas, but I don’t think it’s happenin’. Just gonna have to keep crawling around the “big girl furniture” piled up in the guestroom, and pray for no overnight guests…
December 16th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I’m a Nutcracker stage mom too and we had our first dress rehearsal last night and 3 of our angels (my daughter is an angel) fell because their dresses are too long. Gotta get my mom to work on the dress today. I guess that is why you need a dress rehearsal!
December 16th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Plenty of experience here as a stage mom for my first daughter, 14 yo! So I thought I was prepared for our new DD who has been home with us for 9 months! She is 4 and was so mesmerized by her big sister’s dance class, that I enrolled her in her own Creative Movement class. She was the littlest one up there performing “All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth” and I completey lost it in the first row, blubbering like an idiot alongside DH, my sister and my mom! I just looked at her up there with her big smile and pride in her eyes and thought about where she was just a short time ago. I was a mess and it took me 2 more numbers to compose myself! Sigh! Tears of joy!
December 16th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
We too did virtually (no pun intended) all of our shopping online this year and I LOVE IT! so nice not to have to brave the crowds. We are pretty much done shopping, DH is the wrapper in the family and will do that last minute as always…but hey, it gets done. This holiday season we have not packed in so many activities as to get frazzled while still doing fun things and it’s been great! Definitely not as stressful as other years. DS leaves for Germany Saturday with my parents to visit family. That will be difficult for his mama but a great opportunity for him! He comes back the 27th. We will go to my MIL’s on Christmas Eve through the 26th and the girls will eat up all the attention they will get. Happy Holidays everyone!
Steph
December 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
We are SO NOT READY. We have been home one week with our little one so we are behind. DS is staying with friends on Friday so DH and I (along with dd) can Christmas shop.
The house is a wreck so we are headed to family for the actual Christmas weekend.
We have yet to have a Christmas photo made but we are going on the Polar Express on Sunday – our annual visit to the North Pole – even more special as we have not one kiddo but two to enjoy it with.
Happy Holidays to all!!!!
December 16th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
All the gifts are wrapped and under the tree :) I’ve lined up all the books I intend to read during my 3 week vacation (starting on Friday!). OH YES !
And lots of projects for the year to come !
Happy Holidays to everyone. Thanks RQ for everything you do xxx.
RDT.