Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Christmas Eve included going to Mass and over to Papa and Grandma's for munchies and presents.

 

Hannah was so excited to be there!

The elf came back again this year and hid some more little presents for the kids.  After the hunt for all the trinkets, Papa read Twas the Night Before Christmas to the kids.

 

Then on to present opening!  The twins were so excited to finally be able to open presents!  They kept us all on track so it would get to be their turns again.

After opening our presents, the kids got their baths and pjs on and we headed home to set out cookies and milk for Santa and nine carrots for his reindeer.

 

The next morning, Ava woke me up at 6:45 to see if Santa had been to our house during the night.

When everyone else finally woke up, we opened the presents from Mom & Dad and that Grammy and Grampy had sent.

 

Carter got the Shellraiser truck to go with all his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  (finally a collection of boy toys we've found that he'll actually play with!  With 3 sisters, the poor boy spends most of his time playing Barbies or dolls if he wants someone to play with.  Now the Turtles will rescue Barbies!)

Ava got her American Girl doll, Julie.  Ok, in all honesty, she was given this gift at the beginning of December.  Going to the American Girl store and picking out your doll is such a fun experience that I felt she needed to do it too since Ellie did when she got Kit for her 7th birthday.  So we went one afternoon and picked out Julie, whom Ava had already decided she was getting (I think because of the blonde hair and brown eyes!).  I caved and left her play with Julie and we wrapped her up Christmas morning while everyone was still sleeping so she could open her up with all the rest of her presents.  One month in to owning Julie and I know it was the perfect gift for Ava.  She takes Julie everywhere with her and plays with her constantly.

Grammy Sara and Grampy Tim sent each kid a nutcracker.  Grammy sends us at least one nutcracker almost every year.  Mommy thinks she better cut it back to one nutcracker for the whole family next year or our house will be overrun with nutcrackers in just a few years!

 

Hannah got a potty chair for her big Christmas gift.  She loves to sit on it and practice wiping.  Now we just need some time to work on the concept!  I'd love to have her trained by spring so we only have 2 in diapers for a short time.

Meeting Santa

Two weekends ago, MVMOM - the Mothers of Multiples group - had it's annual Santa Party.  This is similar to the Halloween party and is again one of the parties I was in charge of planning for the two years I served on the board.  Let me tell you, it is much more enjoyable to go to the event with zero responsibility than it is to have to plan and run it!  The activities were fabulous and Santa and Mrs. Claus were awesome.  The twins are no longer scared of Santa, which I think was helped by Santa looking fairly authentic.  Somehow the board found a group that will dress up and do events for free for non-profit organizations.  Amazing!

While there, we ate Christmas trees made from waffle cones, green frosting, and candy.

We made snow globes with baby food jars, winter themed toy pieces, glitter, and water.

One of us sat around bored as she was too little to join in many of the crafts.

And we even got an extra visit with Santa while making our necklaces!  Talk about special!  He visited with the kids for nearly 5 minutes as there was no one in line for his lap and we were the closest table to his spot.  The kids had so much to tell him.

Here's our Christmas card for the year.  Sorry if you didn't get one.  I thought 40 would be enough but I'm thinking we might need to order 50-60 next year!  This summer, I treated myself to Photoshop Elements when it was on sale and I've enjoyed playing in it while making things.  I made up this entire card myself and then had it printed out.  My poor mother had to check her email almost every day for a week while I made up various designs and layouts and sent them to her for feedback!  I still haven't figured out how to edit my photos in Photoshop but I can whip up any type of card or wall art you might want!

Otherwise, all is wonderfully well and happy here.  We are blessed with a healthy and fairly happy household (depends each day on each respective child's mood!).  Despite my mid-month near meltdown, everything has come together for the holiday season as I had planned.  I finished up the Christmas shopping Friday evening, got the yearbook photos for Ellie's school turned in on time, got my hair highlighted and cut, got the kids' haircuts done, and completed every other thing on my Before Christmas portion of the Before Baby list.  We can sit back, relax, and enjoy our Christmas celebration the next two days.  Carter has really gotten into the meaning of Christmas this year so I'm sure he will spend the next few days sharing it with all of us.  As they say, "Jesus is the reason for the season!"

 

Wishing everyone a blessed and Merry Christmas!

Snow!

Better late than never!  Two weeks ago, we got dumped on with snow.  It was supposedly around 10.5 inches.  The kids were ecstatic!  Of course, we had to go out and play in it.

 

Hannah could barely walk through the snow it was so high.

After being outside for awhile, Hannah was ready to come in.  She wants to climb up the snow hill that the plows make in the middle of the cul-de-sac so badly but she can't do it on her own.  My philosophy is that in order to go up there, she needs to be able to do it herself.  Exhausted from her efforts, she and I came in after 45 minutes out and she warmed up on the couch with some juice, a blanket, and the fireplace on.  Next year Little One, next year!

Preschool Christmas Program

The twins had their preschool Christmas program on Monday.  It was super adorable!  Both kids sang the songs and did the actions, which is a step up from 2 years ago when they went to their Mom's Day Out Program and cried during the Christmas program there.  They sang with the other 3 preschool classes that are at the same time as their class.  Their class goes from the end to the boy in the blue sweater in the second row and the boy in the red sweater in the front row. 

 

 

 

I'm having trouble uploading the second video so I may include that one in a future post.  But the song about the peppermint stick is one of Carter's favorites!

We're Back!

Thanks to the help from a kind friend and developing just a little patience (for both the page with 900+ photos to load and to go through each single photo and delete over 150), I have managed to make some room to continue uploading for free.  I'll have to start paying once I fill up my free capacity this time since I deleted all duplicates and unnecessary photos but I should have some time now.  I did try to outsmart blogger and create a new blog but as it uses my email address to log in, it wanted to store the photos in the same album that was already full.  So that didn't work.  But I finally found a way and we are back in blogging business!

 

Real quick, here are all the photos I mentioned in the previous post:

 Papa's party.  Don't the girls look like they are having fun?!

Ellie's concert.  She's the peanut in the front row in pink.  You can just see her little head.

November was amazingly warm for Minnesota so we got plenty of outside time in. 

Hannah wants so badly to be included in the older kids' games.  She tries so hard to follow along with their make believe!

Hannah Attack!

Our Christmas tree shopping event.  It's funny how Jake used to argue with me regarding getting a real tree (thankfully I've never listened to his opinion!).  Now he's the one who wants to get the tree as soon as Thanksgiving is over.  I'm still working on him with going to a tree farm and cutting down our own tree but since the Home Depot trees seem to do the job just fine, at least I get my real tree each year with no complaints.  Fraser fir all the way!

 

I saw this awesome photo of some kids in front of a Christmas tree on Pinterest.  The lights are all aglow and light up the kids' faces.  Adorable.  Of course, this is when my camera started getting goofy with focusing and the settings necessary for the photo to turn out are tough ones to get a good photo at.  I could go on about ISO, shutter speed, and aperature but since I still barely understand how they work, I won't bore you!  I do like the photo and I plan to try again with the kids when my camera comes back.

What else is new?  I almost had an emotional breakdown last week.  It seems when one thing goes wrong, everything does.  It's not even that there was anything catastrophic happening.  Just all the little pieces that weren't fitting together like they are supposed to.  I don't think people realize how stressful it is to be a Type-A, super organized, slightly OCD and neurotic control freak.  It really is a hard role and add into that being in the final weeks of a pregnancy and Christmas approaching and you've got emotional basket case. 

It all started with a very long Tuesday.  Nothing in particular, just a long day with the kids.  Hannah had the flu Monday and we were still stuck at home Tuesday so she could kick the bug completely.  This meant no workout for me.  Tuesday night, we were going to take Ellie to FEP (church class) and the van battery didn't work.  This was the 2nd time in a month and like the 5th in a 6 month period.  My battery was still covered under a 5 year warranty from when I bought it so I added "get battery looked at" to my long list of to-do's.  We got Ellie to FEP, Rich took the other 3 to his house and Jake and I went out for a quick dinner to just get away for a bit. 

Then on Wednesday, Carter got sick.  This meant he had to stay home from preschool.  You can imagine how well that went over when Ava still got to go.  Thankfully he fell asleep watching tv and I had time to get the house picked up.  Of course, my to-do list continued to grow because with Carter home, I wasn't able to start sewing on the kids' bags for Christmas.  Thursday, everyone was fine and healthy but we decided to stay home for one more day of recovery.  Another day with no workout (I try to go Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday each week).  Friday morning everyone was finally feeling good and healthy and I convinced the kids we should go to the gym.  We all got dressed and bundled and loaded up the van.  Only to have the battery refuse to start again!  One of my neighbors was out working on his car at the time and he had the privilege of witnessing my temper tantrum!

Rich came down during lunch, we jumped the van, and took it over to the place where I bought the battery.  Of course, they also wanted to check the alternator to make sure that wasn't the problem.  We came home for the afternoon where I sat and stewed about everything piled up on my plate.  Christmas shopping to be done for nearly all gifts yet, my camera which was still being looked at and could potentially not be covered by warranty, the potential for the van needing a new alternator, the yearbook photos that I volunteered to take at Ellie's school that I haven't taken yet and need to be turned in before Christmas, the blanket for the baby that needed finishing, the bags for the kids that needed starting, and everything else that could weigh my mind down.  To say I was feeling Scrooge-like would have been an understatement!  Of course, I'm married to Mr. Optimistic so his attitude was "get over it-we are all healthy-what's really important in life".  It's times like that when it is good he goes to work all day because had he said that to me in person instead of in a text message, I may have punched him in the face, I was that riled up and cranky!

However, God is good.  Jake is right and we are all healthy.  And the good news started that day.  It was just the battery on the van and since it was still under warranty, they replaced it at no cost.  I checked on my camera that afternoon and it was finally repaired and being prepared for return shipment.  It should actually arrive tomorrow!  Saturday morning I finally made it to the gym and I spent Saturday afternoon piecing together the baby's blanket so that is finished.  Ava did get sick with the flu Friday night and didn't wake up in time but in an effort to be optimistic, I used the opportunity to wash every article of bedding from both girls' beds (she was actually sleeping in Ellie's bunk when she got sick but we'll keep that between us!).  While I spent Saturday doing 5, yes 5, loads of laundry, everything from the girls' mattress pads to their comforters and throw pillows have been washed.  That was on my after Christmas list anyway, so it's one more thing I can cross off now.  Sunday I prepped as much as I could for the sewing project without the kids seeing too much of what I was doing.  Yesterday while Hannah napped and the older 3 were at school/preschool, I got the bags sewn and done.  My Black Friday purchase from Old Navy finally arrived with some of the kids' presents.   And I stopped by Ellie's school today and got some of the photos taken for the yearbook.   

So all in all, things are finally coming together and I can start to relax.  Being a little too organized and list-obsessed, I did sit down last night and make a before Christmas and after Christmas list of things I want done before baby comes and put deadlines on each task.  I finally feel that I can enjoy the holidays and these final 4 weeks until we add yet another to the bunch.  So I've switched from crazed, psycho, very pregnant woman to a little more relaxed and chill version.  Everything will come together as it should and if it's not the way I planned, who cares?  I'm trying to let go of the control freak and live in the moment.  Not an easy thing for me but I'm working on it!

So that's life at the Wendorff household in a nutshell.  We'll be back again soon now that I can put photos on again and my camera will be back tomorrow!  Yay!!

Update on the Bunch

Ack, it's been a while.  I know.  It's not for lack of having things to update the blog about.  Nor is it lack of times that I've tried to update.  The main issue at the moment is that I have apparently reached my capacity to upload photos for free to my blog.  Apparently Blogger, which is owned by Google, has oh so kindly saved all my photos in a Picasa album for me.  I've now reached my free storage capabilities so they want me to buy an expanded storage plan.  I have spent more time than I like trying to figure out how to clear out this album and such to no avail.  So at this point, I'm trying to decide if I want to pay to have my blog each month (ugh) or start another new one for free.  I'll keep you updated on the final outcome once I make a decision.

So what is new with the Wendorffs?  All sorts of things have been happening, things I've had several blog posts about. 
*We celebrated Papa's birthday.  I have the funniest photo of Hannah and Isabella on Papa's lap looking like they are being tortured that I hope to share soon.

*Ellie had her fourth grade concert.  This year included the introduction of the recorder to the grade.  I also had the privilege of learning the recorder in the 4th grade, from my Papa who was our elementary music teacher.  I remember my mother mentioning in high school how different the band concerts were from the ones I had in middle school.  I now know what she meant!  While the recorder isn't by any means a pleasing instrument to listen to in the first place, hearing the 98 4th grade students at Christina Huddleston attempt to play 6 songs on them was ear piercing!  The whole concert attending experience is torture-esque to Jake so I'm not sure he paid much attention but I can tell you that to the musically trained ear, I was in fact able to detect different pitches in the recorders and heard many noises that shouldn't come from any type of musical instrument.  It will be interesting once Ellie starts band and we get the privilege of more concerts as the musicians learn the instruments!  She's currently thinking she would like to play the flute (gag!).  5th grade band was cut a few years ago during a massive budget reduction so I've got some time to convince her the saxophone is the way to go! 

*We had a quiet Thanksgiving with Jake's parents.  Just us and them.  Rich and I whipped up the meal and it was terrific (minus the gravy.  Still working on perfecting my gravy techniques).  I passed on the Thanksgiving shopping deals but did make a run to JoAnn's on Friday with their 25% off everything coupon.  I now have several projects in the works that include a Christmas present for each kid (monogrammed library bags -shh, don't tell!), a crochet blanket for the baby (about a 1/3 done already), and a sewing machine tote for myself which was a steal on sale and with my coupon.  So I mostly shopped for myself but that's ok, right?!

Otherwise there's not much to report on around here.  #5 will be 34 weeks on 11/28.  We are as ready as we are going to be for him/her.  The only thing #5 does not have much of is clothing.  However, this is intentional as I don't want gobs of yellow clothing.  I have saved a few of the gift cards from #5's shower so once we know a gender, we can buy the babe some appropriate clothing.  Otherwise, the cradle is in place, the closet is loaded with a car seat and bouncer, and we have a bag full of diapers, bottles, lotions, and other necessities.  All we need is #5.  We have more or less settled on a girl name and each have a boy name we like.  I'm just glad we have a girl name agreed on.  I have a suspicion that when the parents do not know the gender, the baby can change at will.  I think this was the case with Hannah.  She decided to be a girl because we didn't have a girl name.  So hopefully we can trick this baby into being a boy by not having an agreed upon boy name!  Although in the long run, gender is not important to us.  We just want a healthy, happy baby.

We've also started decorating for Christmas.  The tree is up and tomorrow we'll dig out the box of other decorations.  We have to keep it pretty simple this year as we have an un-decorator in the house.  I already busted the toddler menace removing ornaments from the tree not once today, but twice.  So not much more will be going up this year!

That's pretty much it around here!  My beloved camera started acting goofy last week and had focusing issues when trying to zoom in.  After discussing the issue with Canon tech support, it was decided to send her in for examination.  She's still covered under warranty so hopefully the issue is something they will fix for free.  If it's not, they will give me a quote and I can decide how to proceed.  We mailed her off to the repair center today.  I'm hoping to have her back by Christmas but definitely need her back in 5-6 weeks!  I feel as though I've lost a limb by sending her away.  Of course, she wasn't doing me any good not working right so it is a necessary separation.  They just better get my camera back to me before #5 comes!  Good thing I can't upload pictures at the moment any way!

Hope everyone is having a blessed and wonderful holiday season.  I'll update soon regarding what I decide with the blog.  I'm feeling cheap, so it will likely be the start of another blog.  Toodles!

Just Another Day

One day last week, Hannah decided to boycott her nap.  This made for a very long afternoon but after an early dinner and bath, she conked out for the night nestled next to me on the couch at 6:45 pm.  Not quite time to give up the napping little one!

I made this delicious dish on Monday this week and decided it must be shared with all.  It's sweet and sour chicken and I found the recipe through Pinterest.  You can find it here.  It's a labor intensive prep but the end result it so delicious, it's worth it!  We've had it a few times now and the entire family loves it.  This was the first time I made the fried rice to go with it.  Wonderful as well!  A new family staple!

( PS- yes, my dishes look like crap.  Reason #461 of why I can't stand our cheapy dishwasher and why I also need new dishes (see the chip for proof!). )

 

Hannah loves to cuddle with anyone willing.  She and Ellie snuggled up one morning before Ellie headed off to school.

 

Sister Sandwich!

Carter has a very active imagination.  On Tuesday, we played Secret Spies and Detective.  He was a secret spy keeping Ava's special cookie recipe safe from thieves.  He wore his special pumpkin mask (one of Grammy's Halloween treats) so no one would see his face!

Ava also wore her secret spy mask (from Grammy & Grampy as well).  Ava had a challenging role in this game as she had to double as both the chef whose recipe is in jeopardy and a secret spy who has to keep the recipe safe.  She performed admirably.

I was handed the role of detective.  I served very little purpose to the game as I was busy prepping lunch but every now and then, the secret spies would run up to tell me about the bad guy trying to take the recipe and I would take notes to help solve the case.

Rather than join in and play with the rest of us, Hannah continued her quest to fall from the pantry shelves while sneaking food.  She has yet to fall but as she continues to climb the shelves multiple times every day and likes to climb all the way to the top if no food on lower shelves catches her attention first, it is an inevitable ending in the near future.  Unfortunately, closing the pantry door is not a solution as it is a bi-fold door and the little menace knows how to open it.  I have a few ideas of how to keep it closed from her but have yet to get to the store to get the required objects so we continue our game of Hannah scaling the shelves and me lifting her down 5+ times a day!

Preschool Puppy Parade

Last Monday, the twinks had their Halloween party and parade at preschool.  Instead of having each child dress up in their costume from home, each class made costumes for the kids to wear for the parade.  This idea works double duty in giving the kids their art project for the week before and preventing anyone from not having a costume or not having one as nice as the next kid.  Genius idea!

Ava and Carter's classroom made puppy costumes.  They were so cute!

Preschool is a fun experience for these two.  They love going each week.  We talk about preschool all the time and when it is their day to go and when the 3 year old classes attend.  I love the structure and learning that is happening when they are there and they are loving it too!  Makes me even more excited for Kindergarten next year!