FISCHER CHRISTMAS

The kids & I hitched a ride with my sister on Friday & were able to spend a few days with my family before Scott came to get us & celebrate Christmas on Sunday.

On Friday night, we ordered pizza & played games at my parent's house. My grandmother joined us & we were able to visit with her awhile.

On Saturday, mom & I shopped for a bit then Dad ran the kids & me to Kim & Michael's house. We hung out there for awhile before Kim & I hit the mall & Target for some bargains. Scott joined us that night after a very long trip. The roads got bad while he was on his way. I couldn't wait for him to walk through the door.

On Sunday, we celebrated Christmas. We had a wonderful brunch at Kim & Michael's. Everyone pitched in and made food. We opened gifts & played a fun present game that the kids love. We had a wonderful time! On the way home, we stopped by a mall so that the kids could pick out something since they had money burning a hole in their pocket. We also ate at our favorite restaurant, Granite City before heading home. I was ready to get home!


I spent yesterday taking down Christmas decorations, doing laundry & running the vac. Today I hope to finish cleaning & organize the kid's rooms. I'd love to tackle other closets, cupboards & drawers too...we'll see! No plans for NY Eve & looks like football watching on NY Day.


Jake & Drew
Nana, Papa & their grandkids (Ben, Allie, Jake, Maddie & Drew)
The cousins (Drew, Maddie, Jake, Allie & Ben)
My family

The whole Fischer clan: (front) Jake, Ben, Allie (middle) Drew, Kim, Mom, Me, Mandy & Maddie (back) Michael, Mike, Will, Dad, Scott

Allie & her new toy
Me & Al

Michael & Al

Kim & Al

CHRISTMAS EVE & CHRISTMAS DAY

We had a fabulous Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve here at home, just the four of us. It was really nice. We had a delicious steak dinner, watched Elf & got ready for Santa's arrival. We read our usual Christmas stories & left milk & cookies out for the big guy.

The kids woke up shortly before 7:00 ready to see what they got. The had stockings filled to the brim & lots of other things left under the tree by Santa. Jake got his IPOD & his video games that he asked for. Allie got her easel & blendy pens that she wanted. Both got lots of other things from Santa as well.

After looking over Santa's gifts, we opened gifts from each other. I got my pink IPOD from the kids & Scott. I love it. The kids also made some really neat ornaments at school for me. The kids got lots of new clothes & a few other things from us. They also exchanged gift between each other & loved what the other one picked out.

Once gifts were over, we had a brunch & waited for my sister, her kids & my parents to arrive. We had munchies/snacks with them & played lots of board games & some video games too. It was a great day!

The day after Christmas, the girls went bargain shopping while Papa stayed home with the kids. Once we were done shopping, the kids & I hopped into Mandy's car & rode back to my parent's house to spend some time with them until our family Christmas on Sunday. I'll post about the weekend later.

Jake with the ball that Allie got him.

Allie with the new Barbies that Jake got her.

Our stocking are filled

Here's the stash that Santa left. He tends to go a bit overboard!

The kids leaving cookies out for Santa.

The kids by the tree.

Jake frosting cookies on Xmas Eve.

Allie with Santa (Jake refused to sit with Santa).

12 DAYS OF DECEMBER

The kid's music teacher taught the kids a new version of the 12 Days of Christmas. They sang it at an all school sing along last week. The entire school was really into it & it was SO cute. Here are the words starting at day 12 (to the tune of the the 12 Days of Christmas).

On the 12th day of December a student said to me:
Bet your gonna miss me.
Will we watch a movie?
I forgot my homework.
He threw a snowball.
There's a snowstorm coming.
School should be cancelled.
Will we get out early?
Is it recess yet?
Dr. Reid is coming.
Am I in trouble?
I lost my mitten...
and when is the class party?

FAIRFIELD CHRISTMAS

We went to Fairfield to visit Scott's family & celebrate Christmas. We drove through a blizzard to get there & the roads were awful. We had a nice time catching up with his sisters from Texas & Kansas, we don't get to see them except once year or so. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins too. We stayed up too late, ate great food, had good conversations & an overall nice time.

The kids playing with a gift Jake received (Nerf Dart Tag)
Alex, Jake & Lucas

Maddie & Allie

SANTA?


I am pretty sure that Jake's doesn't believe in Santa anymore. He refused to sit with Santa & get his picture taken. He reluctantly wrote him a letter & we mailed it at the mall. Today, he got a reply to his letter...he rolled his eyes & grinned slyly as he read it. He said "yea, right it came from the North Pole".

Why does he have to grow up??

I HATE SNOW!

Yes, I hate snow. I know, I live in Iowa...get over it! I can't. We got (unofficially) about 12 inches of snow from about 10 pm last night to 7 am this morning. Snow ruins fun. No school on the last day before our holiday break. No holiday party for the kids. No "see you next year" jokes from the kids as they leave. No caroling at the hospital for Allie's class. No frosting gingerbread cookies at school. No fun!

Did I mention I hate snow?? I hear more is coming tomorrow, then comes wind with "ground like blizzards". What the heck? When did I move from Iowa to the North Pole?

TRADITIONS

As Allie & were putting up our Christmas decorations, I started thinking about traditions. We have lots of traditions in our family. Some are new & started when the kids were born. Others date back many years to my childhood or even further. Here are some of my favorite Christmas traditions:

• Putting up our Christmas trees and other decorations on or a day before Thanksgiving.
• The gold angels that float when the candles below are lit. This was always on my grandma Marge's desk when I was a child. Several years back, she passed it onto me to share with my children.
• Reading Twas the Night Before Christmas to my kids before bed on Christmas Eve.
• Black Friday shopping with Mandy & Kim. Oh what fun we have!
• Enormous stocking for Santa fill. My mom quilted the stockings for us. They are beautiful. The oversized stocking came from Scott's childhood.
• Waking up on Christmas morning in my bed & waiting for the kids to wake up & see what Santa left for them. They have TONS of unwrapped gifts waiting under the tree from Santa. They also have a few from us.
• The star on top of my Christmas tree. Jake picked this out when he was about 2. It isn't pretty, but I love it.
• Watching Elf & A Christmas Story with the kids.
• Reading the kids Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. My mom read that book to me when I was little.
• My sentimental tree. I have ornaments that the kids made over the year, I have ornaments that adorned my mom's tree when I was growing up & even a few from my grandmother's tree. I love that tree!
• My Hallmark ornaments. I have the "mom" ornament from every year since I became a mom. I also have TONS of Wizard of Oz ornaments and many other.
• I love all of the holiday baking that I do. Many of the recipes are ones that my mom used to make for us & many came from my grandmother, aunts or other relatives over the years.
• Setting cookies out for Santa on my plate that reads "Cookies for Santa" and leaving him milk in my mug that reads "Cocoa for Santa". What a great gift from my dear friend Cris.
• My Christmas CD's. We play them when we bake.
• I love my white ceramic tree with the colored bulbs. My mom & most of my aunts had similar ones in their houses as I grew up. I knew I wanted one for my kids to love too. My grandma Dot gave me one for my bridal shower. I love that thing & now my kids do too!
• Appetizers on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day & watching a Christmas movie together.
• The old broken Rudolph stuffed toy & Santa candle. Those were always on the end table at my mom's house. She says they were from her childhood. Mom told me she is ready to hand those down to me this year! I can't wait!!
• Opening just 1 gift on Christmas Eve (usually the kids open their new PJ's).
• Steak & shrimp either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
• Being with family. We usually spend Christmas Eve/Day here at our house & we really enjoy that. Sometimes my parents or siblings join us, other times it is just us. We travel to our extended family the weekend before & the weekend after to celebrate Christmas too.

I am glad I am able to share these traditions, old and new, with my children. I can't wait to see what traditions they continue with their families & the new things they add!

TOYS FOR TOTS

Jake & his friend Paul had a joint b-day party last weekend at the UNI pool (Paul's b-day is in October & Jake's in January). They were allowed to invite about 40-50 kids (capacity of the pool). They opted to donate their gifts to Toys for Tots. I was pretty proud of them!

Jake & a couple of the guys.
Jake & Paul with their donations.

The whole group!

PERSUASIVE LETTER

Jake had to write a persuasive letter to me. Here it is:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I know you think I'm a very cool third grader. Do you know what would make me even cooler? An i-pod.

I need an i-pod, do you know why? Do you know how loud my CD player is? An i-pod is silent. It comes with headphones so I can only hear my music. I can also download my music for less money than buying a CD. Did you know you can put math games on an i-pod? I can get better at math facts. An i-pod can keep me busy in the car on long trips. Don't forget, my MP3 player is broken, an i-pod can replace it.

If you buy me an i-pod, I will take good care of it. I'll share it with my sister. I will always ask permission to use my i-pod. I will keep the volume low so I don't ruin my hearing. I will help pay for the music and games we download.

Thank you for considering this. I would really like an i-pod.

Love,
Jacob Grinstead

SANTA LETTERS

The kids wrote their Santa letters today. Here they are...copied JUST like they wrote them. If you think like a 1st grader, you will be able to read Allie's...also HSM stands for High School Musical and HM stands for Hannah Montana...again think like a 1st grader.:


Dear Santa,

I would like for christmis:

1. an esill
2. blendy pens
3. HSM prom dalls
4. the pink flying pone
5. HM been bags
6. my famlly to have a good christmis

Love,

Allie

Dear Santa,

I would like an i-pod nano or a i-pod touch and I would like Madden 09, NCAA 09, FIFA 09 and NHL 09. I sometimes treated people unfairly, but I've been fine.

Love,

Jacob T. Grinstead

HALF WAY THERE

Jake & I were talking this morning about his upcoming 9th birthday in January. He was talking about how soon he'll be a teenager (GOD) and about how when he's 10, he won't be 1 number anymore. Out of no where, he looked at me and said "When I turn 9, I'm half way to being a grown up". OUCH!! He's right, he'll be halfway to 18 years old! Where did the time go??? And why can't it slow down????

DEAR SANTA

I got this from my sister in law & think it is too funny not to share!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my own doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out -- over several Christmases. Since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now - - *** Here are my Christmas wishes ***

* I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (-in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

* I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

* If you're hauling big-ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

* On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

* I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

*If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

*If you don't mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

*It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back.

Have a safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come in and dry off, so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours always with love and appreciation,
A Mom

P.S. One more thing . . You can cancel all my requests, if you can keep my children 'young' enough to believe in Santa. . . .