Christmas Eve

We spent christmas Eve at Husband's parent's house.

The boys played at the nearby park and burned some energy.

Then we returned for dinner.  The boys watched a movie and played while the adults prepared food and the table.

And yet again, I left my in-laws house without my favorite chairs in the world.  

They are red.  

They are comfy.

They rock.

And they spin.  

If you see any like them, tell me immediately.  

Because I think it would be really awkward to steal my in-laws chairs and then invite them over to enjoy them at my home.  

Apparently, to keep peace and integrity intact, I need my own set.

Need.  Not want.  I love these chairs!

And so do the boys...

At first Baby was being very gentle with the baby doll.

Then he chucked her hard against the wall.  Yep.  That's my Baby.  He throws everything.

Later on he did some cow tipping and raced some cars.  He was very busy.

After dinner we did a short program about Jesus and his birth.  We focus on Christ's birth on Christmas Eve.  Usually I am a little more prepared but this year I could not find the set that we usually use on Christmas Eve.  So I grabbed another set.  Not as good. 

But the boys know the story well, as we spend every December evening reading parts of the story and all its details in the scriptures.  So...a win in the end? 

Builder Bobs

We put on a Christmas movie and spent time together building some Christmas gifts (from our thanksmas gift giving).  

Four wanted to play with his BioChem set.  I said, "No sir.  Not on the carpet."  He argued that Betty got to mix acids on the carpet (in Morris' Disappearing Bag).  I conceded that Betty seemed to have a lot more leniency from her parents than he would get from his.  Sorry.  No dice.  So he helped Five instead.

Alexander Spells

Back in the beginning, when I used to teach the boys sign language...Four was pretty good about reading the signs.  Putting them altogether was another adventure entirely...

Name Game

Andrew Plays Basketball.AVI

Alex Plays Basketball.AVI

Alex Plays Piano

Way back when Four used to take beginner piano lessons...

Andrew as Mario.AVI

Five from a few years ago...

Four and Five at Grandma's a few Years Ago

It's A Wonderful Life Without Studio C

Loved.  Really loved.



Merry Christmas everyone!

Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, Christmas Edition - Studio C

And now the boys all want bb guns.  So they can seem more hardcore...

Oh Snap!

I have had my Oh Snap shirt for a few years now and I always pull it out at the holidays to wear it.  Because it is funny.

Well, funny until you are the one saying "Oh Snap!".  

Same leg too.  What are the odds?

I've found the shirt slightly less funny this season but hopefully will find it funny again for next season.

In the meantime, I had a checkup for my fractured fibula.

My bone was 90% healed and so the doctor decided I could switch to an ankle brace.  Turns out that I also sprained my ankle during the fall, and he said the soft tissue would be sore for another 2-3 months.  

Say what?!

Then he said that I needed to put as much weight as I could stand on my foot as possible, as soon as possible.  I could even go jogging if I was a jogger.  

Say what?!

I calmly explained that I had a pesky shooting pain run up my leg anytime I tried to put the slightest weight on it.

He said I would definitely have that for another month or so.  But that I needed to push through it.  (What kind of a person does he think I am?!)  He also explained that since I had been in the boot, my nerve endings were going to be a little finicky for a while.  And by finicky, he apparently meant that I would have a thousand little pinpricks of pain in my heel every time I put it close to a surface.

Then he told me that he might take my crutches away and make me walk on my foot.  (I think he could sense my reluctance to get on board with his plan.)  In the end he didn't take my crutches away - because at that point I would have just (in the most dignified manner possible) crawled out of the medical building - just to prove that my foot was not ready for pressure any time soon.  I may have a stubborn streak...    

He offered pt because my ankle joint was so stiff.  I declined but accepted the exercises he recommended.  I'm friends with a pt.  And I can hear her voice every time I resist.  Thanks for being in my head, Buffy!  I don't even know that you know that I got hurt and you are still in my head about the importance of following through on exercises!

Friends!

With all my shock and awe at the office, I have to say that he was a fantastic doctor.  He explained everything in such a way that I could remember it well after.  He was great.  

And a little more confident in my left appendage than I was.

I spent the next day cheating with crutches or crawling when necessary.  Because my foot really, really hurt when I put any pressure on it.

This might be a good time to digress and discuss my knees.

You may have noticed that I, unfortunately, am a little on the skeletal side.  I would prefer a more rounded frame.  (Botero is one of my favorite artists because everyone just looks so fat and happy). 

But, due to food allergies, I have a very restricted diet.  And it has left me all angles and edges.  In short, I am a little bony.

And that description aptly describes my knees.  I have very knobby knees.  They are pretty much bone and a thin ghost-like layer of skin.  No cushion or padding to speak of.  

Because I have had to crawl up and down stairs or across rooms, my knees are ready to kill me.

Seriously, if I end up dead, they should be your first suspects.  

They are sore, bruised, and chafed.  They've officially had it with me.  

Now that I have acknowledged their grievances, let's get back to my obstinate struggle.

So, on day two, (while hearing Buffy's voice in my head) I tried to put a little more weight on the foot and a little less reliance on the crutches.  

Day three was a touch more.  

And by today, I walked around church without crutches at all.  Sure, I hobble as fast as a ninety-seven year old.  But I am walking!  

And my hands are free.  

I took for the granted the idea that if you are on crutches, you can't actually carry anything from one point to another unless you put in a backpack on your back.       

Can I tell you how great this feels?

It feels amazing! 

I can pick up something and walk across a room with it.  It's like a Christmas miracle!

So, sure, I had a (literal) 'oh snap' moment.  But, now I am entering a new phase.  

"Oh sweet!"  

Basket O' Treats

So while I have been a little less mobile due to my leg (yes - that is sarcasm), we have had to come up with some shortcuts.

One of those shortcuts is Baby's basket o' treats.  

Since I couldn't just hop downstairs every time he got a hankering for a snack, the older boys would fill the yellow basket with likely snacks and leave it upstairs.  They would fill it with pretzels, dried fruit, teddy grahams.  You get the idea.  

Well, Baby quickly learned that the yellow basket at the top of the bookshelf was filled with delicious treats for him. 

So he would stand on the ground, point, and make a bunch of 'eh, eh, eh' sounds which roughly translates to 'get me my basket of treats, Lady, cuz I'm hungry!" 

And yes, one day he found a lollipop - his favorite - and a package of fruit snacks from one of the kids Halloween baskets.  Oh happy day!

And here he is, the youngest tween on record, taking a series of selfies on my phone because Baby really likes what he sees when he glimpses his own face.

Christmas Tree

I love Christmas lights.  So husband decked the house out with them to make me happy.

I handled the tree.

So far, Baby has only pulled the tree down twice.  Scaring himself both times.  Hopefully, he will remember and stop trying to climb the tree!  Time will tell...  

Christmas Party with Santa

The theme was Christmas Around the World so there was an incredible variety of food.  There was ham, potatoes, salads, fruit, inari (?), two types of sushi, tamales, and cinnamon rolls.  Wow!  It all looked so good!

L had tamales for the first time...

Baby caught me taking yet another picture of him...

...and the boys chowed down in general.

Then the kids visited Santa...

...oh and an adult.  Santa kept insisting.  I finally gave in and joined the group.

Merry Christmas!

Dress Up Time

Young Love...or Friendship...You Know...Whatever

There have been many hands taking care of us these last few weeks as I patiently wait for my fibula to fuse back together. 

One family, in particular, has helped with Baby many times.  

Our friend took these pictures of her daughter and Baby playing together. 

And they are, perhaps, the cutest little couple on the planet. 

I Knew It

Three and I have had quite the adventure when it comes to school.

He has no interest.  I think it is important.  We were at an impasse.

However, if we lived in the old days, I would have given up the ghost long ago and let him go work outside or in a factory or something.  He just does not care to sit at a desk for hours and hours to learn something.  I get that.  And I would totally have let him go and do - then.  But you can't do that today.  It would be called child abuse to let your kid not go to school.

So we tried to work within the system.

But after many struggles with him about taking it seriously, I gave up several months ago and said it's homeschool.

Homeschool could offer flexibility with regard to content and structure.  He could take robotics classes or coding classes.  He could finish work at his pace.  I thought it might be more functional for him.

And while Three is very, very social and I didn't want to take him away from a social setting, I was tired of the fight.  And the seeming cluelessness from him about what he was supposed to do at school in the first place.  Like I said, sitting down at a desk and learning from a book just doesn't interest him.

Even though we talked about homeschool as an option for him before, he seemed blindsided that I might be serious.  So I gave him a choice.  Homeschool or we go back to therapy to work through some of these issues.  He chose therapy.

(For the record, we have done therapy before to work through the bonding and adoption process with him.  Therapy is awesome and helpful.  And there is nothing wrong with having help when you end up in a power struggle with your kid.  It is not failure.  It is taking advantage of a super helpful tool.)

So off we went.  It was great during the summer when there was no real school responsibility.  We worked on setting up little markers or responsibility to get us ready for school. (I agreed that he could go to regular school if he participated in whatever the therapist had us do.)

School started.  And so did the struggle.

And every week my question was always, can he not do the work or does he just not care?  The question matters because it alters how I tackle the problem.

His therapist worked with both of us to get through some of the power struggles and set expectations.  She talked me off the cliff repeatedly.  And I felt like I was hauling this kid up the school mountain on my own.  He said it mattered to him to be in a regular school setting but he didn't always show it.  Which added to the frustration.

I feel like I should interject and say how awesome he is in general.  As a person, as a son, he is great.  Really great.  We love him to bits.

We just needed to get on the same page with regard to school.  Because we sort of think it is important long term for him to graduate high school and maybe have some options for future employment.  Silly parents.  Always thinking two steps ahead of their kids.

So this week is finals week.

After a rough start and a short power struggle this last weekend, he got on board with the studying.  He worked hard.  He studied.  He took initiative to sit down and work on his notes, making notecards, rereading chapters.  (After seeing him taking it seriously, I was prepared to be proud of him no matter his test score.)

However, his major score was posted tonight.  And he aced it.  I mean, he rocked the socks off the final test, which covered 11 very boring chapters (and yes I mean that as I read the chapters with him).

He earned an A+.

He quickly realized a few things:
*Earnestly studying can make a huge difference.
*He can definitely do the age appropriate work.
*He is more than smart enough to get the concepts taught.

I knew it.  I totally knew that if he actually chose to drive his own car, he could do it.

But I can't tell him I told you so.  That would be wrong.

But I can totally tell him how immensely proud I am for getting on board and working hard.  For taking it seriously.  And for acing a very difficult test. And I can get him something that he really wants to show him how seriously I take his attitude change.  (One of his love languages is gifts.)  He is going to love his surprise!

What a stud.

Now let's just hope that that little light bulb that seemed to go off over his head as he checked his score tonight, stays lit and burning bright.  He can do this!  We can do this!  

Uh Oh!

Guess who has learned the phrase, "uh oh?"

Baby is super cute.  He says it every five seconds.

He says it as he falls down.  He says it as he throws toys in the trash.  He says it as he bashes you over the head with a book.

So we are still working on context.  We need him to eventually learn that it should be used when someone has an accident.  Not when someone assaults someone or is naughty on purpose.

But he can say it!

So that's about halfway, right?

Bunny Boy

It was Three's job to get Baby in jammies after bathtime.

This is what he did... 

Nice Try...

When Baby writes his thank yous, we trace his hand and have him draw a scribble, if possible.  Well, after our early christmas, Baby had a few thank yous to write.  (Four)

After the first one he was tired of the work.  So he kept pushing the back of the pen to make the ink go back inside so he could be 'done'.

Sometimes this kid is too clever for words...

Father and Son

I can't make these pictures any bigger because of the kind of file that they are, but someone took these of Husband and Baby and I think they are really tender.