Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve

Since Christmas was on a Saturday this year, Dode got 1/2 of Thursday and all day Friday off.  You'd think that would make Christmas feel nice and leisurely but for some reason, I was flat out exhausted this year.  I don't know why, it was the same number of kids, the same number of parties, but for some reason, by the time we went to bed on Christmas eve, I was tired beyond words.

We had a surprise visit from Anastaya and William's Grandpa Mecham on Christmas eve which was a delightful gift for Anastaya.  She was able to cuddle up to him and play him some of the Christmas songs on the piano she's been working so hard at.  For dinner, we had homemade lasagna (which I never make because the ingredients are so expensive) but I love. 

Christmas Day

Are you wondering how the book surprise went?  I woke up in the middle of the night and snuck the books into every one's bed.  I had to disarm the motion sensor in Isaac's room, which woke him up.  He knew I was up to something but was unsure what exactly.  Miriam found her present when she woke up, as did Isaac and William.  But, they weren't sure what was going on so they didn't open them.  When I told them it was ok to open them, they were pleased.  The girls spent about 20 minutes looking through their room for their gifts before they found them.  A little later, Jacob said, what about me?  He'd been half asleep when he rolled out of bed at 9:00 and had totally missed it!  As we were talking about the books later, Miriam said to me, "Next year, can you make it a toy?"

Dode and I worked on getting breakfast going while the kids opened and played with their stocking stuffers.  The kids had spilled something on one of the burners to such a degree that the garbage on the drip pan ignited into flames.  The fan we have over the burners is 40 years old, noisy and pretty ineffective.  As smoke billowed through the kitchen, Dode stood there with a piece of foil, trying to direct the smoke into the fan.  I informed Dode that a new fan would make a great gift.  He told me that I'd say that wasn't a very good gift if he did buy it for me for Christmas.  (It must have been Dode that purposefully added something to that burner because not 30 minutes later, I unwrapped the user manual for a new fan!)

After all the hours I spent wrapping presents, it took the kids about 30 minutes to tear through them.  Maybe next time we should prolong the torture and have them open them one at a time!  I was conflicted as we began.  When the kids look at the base of the tree, they see all the presents and think, "Oh yeah, I'm really going to make out this year!"  They forget that those gifts are divided up among six siblings plus extended family members.  Last year, it was Jacob who was left bitterly disappointed.  I figured someone else would have the experience this year.  It was Isaac.  The kids all know how much I spend on each of them and he wanted to know how much each of his gifts was so he could figure out if he got his fair share.  Oh, the joys of parenting. 

William with his new pirate boat

Miriam got an armful of webkinz

Anastaya loves doing art

Elizabeth REALLY wanted an RC helicopter

Once we were done with the unwrapping, it was time for Dode's family to join us for our annual breakfast feast.  We all ate way too much food and I heard several times that the cinnamon rolls were better than ever this year.  (I think I hear that at least once each year)  Apparently, my cinnamon rolls are so good, memory just can't do them justice! 

I received a call on Wednesday afternoon that Dode and I had been assigned to give talks in church on Sunday of 15 minutes each so each time we had a spare minute, instead of sitting and enjoying the day, we had to turn our thoughts to our talks.  I never want to say no when asked to speak.  But, after I got off the phone, I thought, "I'm hosting three separate family parties, I've got piles of gifts to wrap, I have six kids to  help with new gifts on Christmas, I'm really really busy, why not add something else to the list?"

My Mom, Greg, and my brother Matthew joined us for Christmas dinner. 

Matthew got some Chuck Norris joke books that all three boys loved reading

Miriam had been asking for a rocking horse and 12 days before Christmas, my mom and Greg decided she'd have one.  They worked tirelessly to build her this oak rocking horse that I know will become a family heirloom. 

Boma made the other kids exceptionally happy by buying them the new Xbox Kinect. Kinect is the newest tweak on gaming.  It allows you to play games without using the controller.  There is a special camera that recognizes your movements.

Matthew helped Dode install my new fan.  It was a few inches shorter than the old fan and needed some modifications.  Typical for home improvement.  We'll need to find some tiles to disguise where the old fan used to go down to.

Since Matthew and Dode were installing my fan,

I needed to be creative to get our special Christmas dinner done. 

Day After Christmas

Between Dode and I, we spent a sleepless night with one of us being awake, worrying about delivering our talk in church that would be a benefit to the listeners.  A funny thing happened when we were done.  Because the kids can't sit by themselves, we'd taken turns sitting with them while the other spoke instead of sitting on the stand together as people generaly do and having the joy of watching our children misbehave.  We'd both noticed that the gentleman sitting behind us was deeply asleep throughout the meeting.  When the meeting was over, he leaned forward and told us how much he'd enjoyed our talks.  William cried out indignantly, "You were sleeping!"  Luckily William has a speech impediment and the kind brother was talking with Dode about something so he was spared the embarrassment of being called on it.  Both Dode and I got quite a laugh out of it! 

My Dad and his wife Cheryl joined us for a nice dinner and we celebrated Christmas with them.  They took the girls home to their house for a few nights.  Dode and I drifted off to sleep with the sound of thundering feet as the boys played the Kinect.  They were doing a track and field game.  It requires them to run in place with really high knees.  It kept increasing the level of difficulty as they played so they were really working up a sweat as they tried to meet the next challenge.

The funny things kids say

Now that Christmas is over, I'll miss hearing Miriam singing...

"Away in the danger, the danger the danger" (Away in the Manger)

and

"We miss you a Merry Christmas"

And, when we set up our manger with rafia straw and a baby Jesus, Miriam said to us horrified, "They were going to feed baby Jesus to the animals!"

Digging Out

Monday morning, the house was a complete wreck.  There wasn't one room that didn't need some major digging out.  Packing up Christmas, putting new things away, picking up bits of wrapping and packaging, it made for a full day.  By the time Dode got home from work, I'd managed to get the house mostly back to order.  I love decorating the house for Christmas but there is something so satisfying to having it all put away and a nice empty room again.

Leading up to Christmas

Nativity
Once again, we celebrated the Nativity story with Dode's family.  We were happy to have Grandma and Grandpa back home with us, instead of participating through the wonders of Skype.  I've been saving old Halloween costumes and trying to think "Nativity" when browsing garage sales.  Lisa has also picked up some costumes.  It's getting quite professional looking.  Of course, for the actors, it's still a rough production.  We didn't get any photos, but Isaac and Jared were shepherds.  The big girls changed into Wise Men outfits once they were done with their pre-show song.

Miriam: Mary, Savannah: lion, William: Joseph & Samuel the Lamanite, Jenna: angel, Piper: angel

Zander: wicked Nephite, Darcy: Angel

Great Grandpa found our production very soothing

The girls provided some pre-show entertainment, singing "Are my Ears on Straight" (they raided my lipstick for their blush)

When we went to write the birth certificate for Miriam, we realized the name we'd agreed on was NOT the same name.  We'd both been saying "our" name but were thinking different things.  Dode wanted Mariam (his little Mary) and I wanted Miriam.  After turning to the scriptures, we learned that Miriam is the sister of Moses who watched over him as he floated in his little basket while Mariam is the wife of wicked King Harrod.  We went with Miriam.  But, here's his Mary, for a night at least!

Ellie is a royal queen

Our dear friend Janon came to the party, here is her son Zander performing the part of a wicked Nephite

Janon's son Cage is a cow from the stable

William as Samuel the Lamanite.  None of those arrows hit him, he just grabbed them in the air and threw them back!  He also had angels on both sides of him protecting him.  I bet the original Samuel did too!

Piano Recital
Isaac and Anastaya take piano lessons from a teacher who has a winter and spring recital. Anastaya played Away in the Manger and Isaac played British Grenadiers. Anastaya had been practicing the song over and over at home. Apparently, stage fright got to her because half way through her song, she forgot her notes. She came right home from that recital, sat down at the piano, and nailed it over and over. We felt really badly for her.





 My dad and his wife Cheryl were able to come watch the kids perform.

waiting her turn, she was practicing on the hymnal

Sticky fingers
Due to William's cognitive challenges, he has a difficult time understanding that it is not ok to take something that belongs to someone else.  I've done what I can to try to prevent these small thefts.  It's a "learn as you go" kind of thing.  William is under direct supervision with short amounts of time in another room without someone watching.  William only goes upstairs (where all the bedrooms are) if someone goes with him because he kept taking things and destroying them.  The pockets of his pants are sewn shut because he kept putting some many things in them, he had to hold his pants  up when he walked.  Finally after someone's MP3 player went through the laundry in his pocket I'd had enough and now he asks me to sew his pockets.   I use a purse with a zipper top because I almost left a store a few times with something he'd shoved in there.  I imagined trying to explain to the security guard that I had no knowledge of what I was shoplifting and how it was the sweet child I had with me.  I remind the other children constantly to keep their things put away.  But, it's not something I can eliminate 100%.  William knows what has value to the other family members and seems drawn to those items.   At school, the teacher checks his desk regularly for items that don't belong to him.

Last month, Elizabeth left her camera in the living room and it disappeared.  When asked, he said he'd not seen it.  A month later, it showed up under the couch (where I'd already searched a few times) with digital evidence that William had been playing with it and had stashed it in various places around the house.  She was so mad!  Apparently, it was my turn to experience the loss of something important.  Miriam had seen my wallet in the car and thought it would be safer to bring it inside and put it on the piano.  She never told me she'd done it.  Unfortunately, William did notice.  When I went looking for it, he told me that he'd had it, but not where he put it.  After going through all  his normal hiding spots, we still can't find it.  It's such a hassle to get a new driver license, 3 debit cards, temple recommend, store loyalty cards, Costco card, insurance cards.  I was able to print out a temporary license but it doesn't have a photo on it.  A few times, I've been asked for photo ID and when I explain that my wallet was stolen, they tell me how sorry they are, not realizing that the culprit is the sweet dark eyed boy standing beside me.

The van is fixed!
After loosing our 3rd serpentine belt, we turned to the Internet to see what others had to say about the problem.  It turns out, it's a design problem that lots of people with our kind of van have dealt with.  We found a solution by replacing the pulleys the serpentine goes around with another kind of pulley and using an aftermarket belt.  Now, the belt can no longer slide off the side.  When I think back at the times our van has broken down, I know that if Dode wasn't such a great mechanic, it'd be retired long ago.  The parts that have broken have been inexpensive, but they seem to be deep down inside the car where it takes a lot of time (and mechanic time is money) to get down to.  It was $100 to replace the pulleys and belt with our solution but it should be a permanent fix.

My birthday

I've had a birthday, shout hooray!

I love my birthday.  I love my birthday week.  (It usually includes Christmas.)  I love my birthday month. (It's full of family activities.)   That being said, when planning my birthday, I really wish I was born in the summer.  IF I was a summer birthday girl, I'd spend my day at Jetty Island, watching the kids play in the water while burying my toes in the warm sand, reading a fun book, and snacking on healthy and not so healthy treats.  But, since I jumped out of heaven on the day before the winter solstice, I need to find something inside to do.  I used to go skiing on my birthday because you could ski free.  Stevens Pass quit doing that a few years ago.  Now that I have to pay, I'd rather go skiing another day and skip the out-of-school crowds up there.  If I'm paying full price, I'm going on a day when I don't have to wait in line to get on the lift! 

I thought and thought about what I wanted to do on my birthday.  I realized that more than anything, I wanted to feel like a good mom on my birthday.  Doing things with my kids helps me feel like a good mom, so I knew I wanted to do something with them.  The Seattle Aquarium is as close to a beach as I want to get this time of year (unless you're offering somewhere tropical) and I could take the kids.

I'd decided since it was my birthday, instead of exercising in the morning, I'd lay in bed for 45 minutes and read my book.

It was a good, although confusing, read. It reminded me of The Name of the Wind (which is a much better book). That being said, I enjoy Orson Scott Card and am looking forward to the sequel.

We'd had our annual Dickson family Nativity the night before my birthday and Lisa and I did a kid swap.  She took Isaac and Miriam to her house and I kept Lainey, Allison, and Jenna with me.  Janice had some free passes to the aquarium (thanks so much Janice!) which the Oak Harbor cousins were able to use.  The kids enjoyed the touch tanks while I stood and watched the jellyfish go round and round in their donut shaped tank.  They're so relaxing to watch, I could have spent a lot more time in front of them!  We stood in front of the lion fish tank for a long time watching the workers feed it.  Every time I go to the aquarium, I think of how great it'd be to be there without the kids so I could sit in front of a tank and just enjoy watching the fish.  The kids are always so quick to glance at something and then want move on.  That being said, I can't imagine leaving them at home.

Dode called to see how we were doing

one of the very appealing touch tanks

We spent about two hours at the aquarium.  We'd parked at a meter with a two hour limit and I wasn't sure what the rules were in Seattle for feeding the meter.  I asked one of the employees if I was allowed to put more money in the meter.  "Sure", she said.  "Great", I replied.  Then she added, "Just make sure to check your tires for marks."  So apparently it's NOT ok to feed the meter.

After the aquarium, we went over to Pirate's Plunder (a gift shop) where each of the girls picked out an inexpensive souvenir and I found a few stocking stuffers.  It was pure torture for William to be around so many things he wanted to touch.  I think we made it out of the store having purchased everything we had with us.  I'd planned to go up to Pike Place Market and get some of the tiny donuts you can buy fresh and hot.  But, it was a cold ugly day and the kids were starting to run on empty.

We left Seattle and met up with my mom for lunch at Barlee's in Edmonds.  My mom treated the entire crowd to lunch in my honor.  My mom and I had a nice visit during lunch with only one spilled drink on the table!  And, everyone ate what they ordered, amazing!  The kids wanted me to open my present up right away.  I prefer to savor the unknown.  Once I opened it, a knife, they weren't very impressed.  Don't they realize the tasty things that will come out of the kitchen thanks to that knife?!

my lunch, a seafood omelet

thanks mom

lemon meringue pie, it ended up being the only candle I blew out!

a new knife, can't wait to put it to good use

The girls were pretty tired all day.  They were treating me to some birthday entertainment while driving by singing camp songs from a booklet Janice gave them.  Part way down to Seattle, Jenna announced that from then on, she'd be trying to sleep.  She dragged around a bit at the aquarium and once we filled her tummy up with lunch, she passed right out for the drive home.

That evening, Sharon babysat the kids for us so that Dode and I could go out to dinner.  We went to La Casita in Mount Vernon.  It's a Mexican restaurant in the middle of a residential area.  We've eaten there lots of times and really like it.  (Unfortunately, I got spoiled at those Mexican restaurants in Pasco that have a fresh tortilla and salsa bar.  I really missed one!)  After dinner, we went to See's candy where I got to pick a pound of chocolates.  (1/2 scotchmellow which are my favorite, 1/4 caramels because it's nice to have some variety in life, and 1/4 assorted so I could share with the family).

After our date, I read (and finished) my book.  Dode sat beside me on the couch working on the database for my produce co-op.  (He's such a wonderful guy!)
 
All in all, it was a great birthday!  I got to spend time with the kids feeling like a great mom, spend time with my mom feeling like a loved daughter, time with my book feeling like I'm on another planet, and time with my husband feeling like a teenager.  What could be better?!

Christmas Books

I read in the newspaper about "A Book on Every Bed" and decided to incorporate it into our Christmas traditions.  The idea is to purchase a book for your child, wrap it, and sneak it into their bed Christmas night.  They wake up in the morning to a new book just waiting to be discovered.

I found this online:
"Historian David McCullough (author of "John Adams") says that every Christmas morning during his childhood, he woke up to a wrapped book at the foot of his bed, left by Santa. McCullough's children (and now grandchildren) are also recipients of this literary largess, creating a wonderful Christmas tradition, as well as a legacy of literacy to be passed down through the family.

Mr. McCullough: "There are few things that start the day off better, and especially on Christmas, than discovering a new book at the foot of your bed. "I think my love of books began on Christmas mornings long ago and the love has never gone stale."

We're a family of readers.  The kids are regularly staying up way too late at night to finish a chapter on a book they're reading, and then getting so into the story, they just don't put the book down.  Miriam was once mad at me for hours because we drove up to the library and they were closed due to inclement weather.  She was sure if we'd gone earlier in the day, we would have been allowed inside.  I knew getting a book surprise would be a real treat for the children.

I wanted to make sure to get something they would like so I used my super spy skills (and the eyes in the back of my head) at the bookstore last week to watch the kids.  Which book was their 2nd choice?  I felt quite clever when I was able to figure it out for everyone.

Jacob:  The Definitive Book of Body Language
Isaac:  Cinda Williams "Heir" trilogy
Anastaya: Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Elizabeth:  Magic Tree house Mummies in the Morning
William: Color Surprises (pop  up book)
Miriam: Dora the Explorer collection of books

I can't wait to set the books into place!  As excited as I am,  I am a little concerned it might not unfold the way I expect.  They don't have a clue what I'm planning.  What if they don't notice them?  Anastaya and Elizabeth choose to share a double bed and it's always heaped with blankets.  Miriam floats around, sometimes in our room, sometimes the girls, and sometimes Jacob's.  She makes a nest on the floor of blankets.  Will she notice a wrapped gift in the tumble of blankets?  Isaac's bed not only has blankets, but also a half dozen books, flashlights, food wrappers, and discarded clothing.  I'm fairly certain Jacob will notice his since he keeps his room nice and clean and I'm 100% certain William will notice his.  It will be like manna from heaven for William.  (We check his bed every time before he gets in it to make sure he hasn't squirreled something away that doesn't belong to him.  Dode says he might just open the present and hide the book for use at a future bedtime instead of bringing it down.)   It will be great to their faces when they come down in the morning after finding the books.  I'm thinking it will be an easy, fun tradition to continue each year.  Maybe we'll expand it to include birthdays too!

Santa Train 2010

It's time for our 10th annual Santa Train trip.  My mom, (Boma to the kids), treats us to a fun day in Seattle. 

We start with a train trip on Amtrak.  This year, we left from the station in Everett.  My mom, Millie, Gabe and Carmen joined us on the train in Edmonds. Taking the train is definitely not the most efficient way to travel.  We need to leave home an hour before the train departs the station to give us time to park, get to the station, wait for the train, and get on the train.  When the train pulls in, it remains in the station for less than two minutes.  So, there's always the stress of keeping the kids, bags, and stroller right beside me and ready to go at a moment's notice.  Then, the train ride itself takes about an hour.  So, by the time we arrive at the train station in Seattle, we've been on the road for two hours. (It takes me about an hour to drive to Seattle).  Once in Seattle, we have to walk to the Metro tunnel to catch a bus to down town, adding a bit more time to the commute.  But, the kids think riding the train is a great treat.  The train ride is always more fun on the way down.  The kids are fresh and rested, it's light out so we can see out the windows, they're looking forward to all the fun they're going to have. 

waiting for the train

They'd oversold the train so instead of sitting in standard seats, they sat us in the dining car.    If we were just a small group, it would have been easy to find us single seats here and there.  But, there was no way it would work for us.  It felt pretty typical to be a too big family difficult to accommodate!  Due to the inconvenience, they gave us coupons for free beverages.The kids drank them down and once we were in Seattle, someone had to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes.  (I think I know where to find a bathroom anywhere in the four block radius we frequent on our yearly trips!)   

William enjoying his time in the dining car

Once we get to Seattle, we take the underground buses to downtown. The kids try to hold their breath as we go through the tunnels. I don't think anyone ever makes it. The bus tunnel has a station right underneath where we go for our Santa picture.

We always go to the Nordstrom's Santa.  They're really nice at making the time spent in line (1 1/2 hours this year) more bearable by periodically passing things out: crayons/paper, hand warmers, cookies and more cookies, cider.  The kids spent their time coloring, people watching, and playing on Millie's ipad.  I had dead batteries in my camera so William and I took a walk around the block to a drug store to buy some more.  We also left the line to go to Starbucks and get a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.    I'd read on someone's blog that they're to die for.  I don't think the person who made that claim had ever had the Extreme Dark Hot Chocolate from Dillatante or Hot Chocolate from Fran's because I just don't agree.  Unfortunately, after getting the Starbucks cocoa, I was hot chocolate'd out and missed out on Dillatante.  I will know better next year!  With our trip to the drug store and Starbucks plus two separate trips with different children to the restroom while waiting in line, the time passed fairly quickly for me.

I let the kids vote if they wanted to wear church clothes or matching shirts/scarves.  They chose scarves.  Miriam wore the same Santa dress she wore last year.  She's been wearing it around the house for over a month.  Isaac's scarf is artfully hiding a spot on the front of his shirt.  Anastaya spent a lot of time in line smoothing down her newly straight hair.  Elizabeth made sure her long hair was pulled to the front to show it off.  Jacob is trying to achieve the proper "cool" stance.

After the photo, each of the children got a chance to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.  Here's Elizabeth letting him know she wants Wii Music. 

We always eat at the Cheesecake Factory where the kids can find something they like off the extensive menu.  Usually there's a long wait for a table, but this year we got right in.  Most of the kids ordered pizza.  The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake was a perfect finish to lunch. 

We shared slices of this rich decadence.  It was so rich, there was even some left over to take home.  Yum!

Then it was time for the Gingerbread Village.  We crossed the street to the Sheraton hotel where professional chefs and architects collaborate together to build amazing gingerbread creations.  You can make a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation at the exhibit.  Anastaya and Jacob noted the irony of it.  We had to make a few more bathroom stops here.  As I was taking someone to the bathroom, I overheard some ladies behind me decide to follow me because , "It looked like I knew where I was going".  Finding public restrooms is one of my talents.

Our next stop is always the book store.  We went to Barnes and Noble where everyone gets to choose a book as a gift from Boma.  The girls knew just what they wanted and quickly selected theirs.  The boys took a bit more time.  We enjoyed the quiet time away from the hussle and noise of Seattle to browse.

Our final fun stop of the day was the Carousel at Westlake Plaza. 

After some window shopping in Westlake Center, it was time to head back to the train station for the trip home.  Jacob and I diverted off into the International District to visit Uwajimaya (a huge Asian grocery store in Seattle) so I could get some difficult to find ingredients for making Pad Thai.  The train ride home is always harder.  The kids are tired and hungry, it's dark outside the windows, people on the train seem crankier.  This time, we weren't able to sit together and were scattered around the car.  Miriam was heartbroken because somehow, we'd manage to not purchase a book for her.  So, she sat sobbing in her seat to the delight of everyone sharing the train with us.  Fortunately, I'd bought her a book for Christmas that I was able to produce to take some of the disappointment away.

We left the house at 9:00 am and made it home around 8:30 pm.  It was a full, fun, exhausting day.  I was glad the next day was a Saturday we didn't have to get up early and do produce.

Ornament Party

Ornament Party
It's time once again for my annual ornament party!  Here's how the day went.... 

Drive the kids to SVS (the school they attend part time) and find a "designated parent".  Parents are required to be on campus with their children unless you find someone to sub for you.  Drop Miriam off for a play date.  Home to clean up.  The house is silent, it's just Jacob (in his room) and me.  I realize that most stay-at-home moms with children the ages of mine live this life every day.  I'm certain they don't appreciate it like I did.

                                        Here's the island after the morning routine. 
                                                      Time to dig out. 

Put on my new Christmas apron courtesy of Crafty Maiden and blast the Christmas music.  I actually got to enjoy some music! With the kids gone, the music does not have to compete with their noise.  On a whim, check amazon and shout for joy that Transiberian Orchestra has released my favorite song from their concert,  Carmina Burana.  Turn it up, loud, get chills and tear up listening to it, it's that good!  Crack open a new 25 pound box of chocolate chips for the yummy caramel chocolate bars I'm making for dessert. 

                     (The box says to use by 6/2012, that will not be a problem!) 

Finally get around to making my sample ornament.  I got the idea after searching blogland.  Google how to make a floral bow, try to and fail, google again, try again, google again, this time succeed, sort of!

Whip up scarves for the kid's Santa picture on Friday.  Fleece scarves = easy as can be!  The girls each have the same fun ball fringe on the bottom.  I made each of the boys' have a different fringy fleece finish. 

Lunch, leftover homemade chicken curry.  Even better the day after!  Suddenly realize that I have only an hour left until I have to start transporting children around.  Once that starts, I won't have any time to do things before the party starts.  In that time I need to clean the horribly dirty kitchen floor (apparently the kids never notice when they spill something), clean the bathroom, vacuum up little bits off the carpet from decorating the house, make a second dessert, raspberry cheesecake bars (a must!) and make the sandwich rolls.  Yikes, I'll never get it all done!  Jacob volunteers to help.  He makes the bread dough while I coach him and clean.

We get it done.  The house is clean, the food is ready, I have time to brush my hair and put on my eyeliner in the car while waiting for kids to get buckled up.  I get to listen to Carmina Burana one more time before my first guest, Janice, arrives.  We have a fun time visiting, eating, and crafting. 

the island was messy again, but this time with fun party stuff

the girls got in on some crafting too

necklaces and two different ornaments

our fun table

a whole lot of crafting going on

Janice's ornament

Viv's ornament

Sharon's ornament

Lisa's ornament

Sheri's ornament

my ornament

I even got to re-use the trellis Dode built me for Crafty Maiden.  We put our partially completed and finished ornaments on it.  We started earlier than usual this year, getting going around 4:30.  That made for a nice earlier evening as we were done with everything by 8:30.  It's so nice to have Sharon back with us.  And, in what I think was a first, she completes every ornament and is the first finished.  Way to go! With a quick clean up of toys and plates, the house looked as good after the party as it did before the party.  Success!

A successful fix and another problem
The septic repair man came out and fixed our problem!  When he pumped the tank, he found that some diaper wipes had been flushed down the toilet and had gotten stuck in our septic pump.  Nothing could get past them so the water was flooding out the top of the pump tank all over the lawn.  We're up and running (underground) again!  Elizabeth found the process fascinating and sat at the window with a clipboard documenting everything the man did and illustrating some of the steps (she had 22, many said "Squirt with water, filter water out"). 

That night, Dode and I were out delivering newspapers.  We'd just finished up and were driving back to the church to pick up Isaac from scouts when the familiar noise of the serpentine belt breaking was heard under the hood.  Dode quickly pulled over and turned off the car and although we lost the belt, this time it didn't get wound up in the timing belt and disable us.  We were able to get home on battery power.  Now Dode has to figure out why the van keeps eating the belt, and then fix it.  Until then, I'm driving the big rig around.  It feels funny to be in the big van with just myself or one child.  Usually it's reserved for trips when I've got everyone.  It's kind of lonely in there with just me.  But as a bonus, I can listen to the radio (the little van doesn't have one) and the heater works really great.