It was a fabulous break! It was full of visitors, good food and lots of fun. All my kids were together for the first time since last December. Yes, this meant more work in some ways, but it also meant the wholeness that only comes when they are all here. Each of them holds a piece of the puzzle that makes the house full. Yes, I know that kids grow up and out, but it doesn’t change the fact that there’s a completeness to them all in the house together. It was good for the younger kids to reconnect with their older siblings who are away at school. It was good to hear their stories and to visit with them and good to have them lend a hand in all the things around the house.

This was our first Christmas since we’ve moved and since my divorce. The kids did as well as could be expected with going back and forth between houses. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we all gathered in my house and celebrated. Yes, there were moments that were strained and even uncomfortable, but this is new, all of it. We did well!

~Sigh~

Now it’s back to mostly “regular” life. I make a late-night trip to the airport for Maddi tonight and Mariah is staying until the 22nd. But other than that, it’s back to the busyness of sports, school and alarm clocks. It’s time for me to refocus on my business and time to finish packing all the Christmas decor back into boxes in the garage.

I’m thankful for pictures that create an indelible image of moments in time. There were good moments to capture and I’ll be happy to revisit them when I miss my older kids!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

Clayton-19, Tristan-12, Mariah-18, Max-9, Arianna-16, Lex-5, Madison-15, Gabi-7, Kateri-22 and Me

Everyone’s been enjoying each other’s company and getting comfortable with the new house. We had a house guest for a few days and spent a day up in the Gold Country visiting my parents and taking in the sights of the shops in Nevada City. Christmas Eve was a day full of finishing errands, finishing wrapping, going to Mass and getting ready for St. Nick’s big arrival. We were very VERY blessed this year by several different Christmas Angels who worked many Christmas miracles. It was all very beautiful and magical!

Christmas Day meant a house full of family and plenty of food. The trampoline that St. Nick brought was assembled and new toys were thoroughly tested. I was the lucky recipient of thoughtful gifts from my older children. It was a great Christmas!

Opening presents on Christmas Eve

Gabi with some of her favorite gifts

Lex in the middle of it all

Now the rotation of traveling kiddos begins. Kateri is on the road to the airport with Mariah who is traveling to Phoenix to spend a few days with her boyfriend’s family. Later this week Madison gets to go visit friends in San Diego (I’m jealous!) and on Sunday, Kateri leaves for a trip to Germany where she will visit with family friends that she nannied for a year ago. The house becomes a revolving door at this point. We are looking forward to visits from friends, as well.

Here’s to the busy, craziness of the holidays and hopes that you each had a wonderful celebration. Eyes on the New Year and all that it will bring!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

Now I’m filling up my evening time with whatever I can think to get done so I don’t fall asleep. I need to head out around 11 to start picking up kids at the train station AND the airport. I made some treats with the kids that we will pass out in the next couple of days. I’m not much for baking, but there are some simple treats I like to make and give out.

White Chocolate and Milk Chocolate melts

Old Fashioned Peppermint Sticks

Dip the Peppermints in the melted chocolate (we were using a spatula to get a better coating on each stick)

Add Sprinkles while each stick is still freshly dipped and let dry. Easy!

I’ll add some of these to plates of cookies to give out to friends, neighbors and teachers.

As I’ve written, I’ve realized that I better take a nap until it’s time to go. I’m just too worn out to try to stay up. But I know there will be plenty of energy once I get to the train station and the airport! It’ll be good to have everyone here! Tomorrow JJ will get here in the evening and then we can finally decorate the tree! It’ll finally feel like Christmas is here.

Doing the Dance of the Children-A Little Sleepy, But So Grateful~

Instead of each of the stories, I’ll take the time to tell you my favorite performance experience of all the kiddos-Tristan’s preschool Christmas program…He came home and told me he was the star of the program. I’m sure I patted him on the head and said something like, “I’m sure you’ll do a great job”. When the day of the program rolled around, I realized I hadn’t heard of any costumes that needed to be provided or what he should wear. So I put him in his Sunday best and sent him to school. When I arrived for the program, there was my son, indeed the Star of the program. He was decked out in a HUGE foam stat that fit on his head, with his cute lil face framed in glitter and real, working lights. He had a battery pack in each pocket to light up that huge star. I giggled and teared up at the same time. Yes my sweet boy, you ARE the star. I’ve paid closer attention to what words the kids use when describing their parts in performances, since then.

So here it is-My youngest lil guy, Lex just had his Kindergarten performance. As each of my kiddos has passed through Kindergarten, I’ve locked them into my memory at this precious stage. It passes so very quickly and suddenly they’re away at college, planning their own lives. So it was an emotional piece of time for me, yesterday.

Lex chose a white button-down and black tie for his attire. He wore that shirt proudly all day, even to make a gingerbread house in class (red frosting stains to be tackled soon!). I got teary-eyed as the class signed Silent Night and giggled when they sang a song I’d never heard of and on investigating the program, saw that it was the Kwanza song. I had no idea there was a Kwanza song. But it was so cute to here them all singing their lil hearts out!

So now we move forward into the Christmas Break and then into the 2nd half of the school year, that will surely zip right on by.

Grab those little moments and file them away. They pass much too quickly!

Lex after his performance

Santa came to visit and congratulate the kiddos on their performance

Me and my last little kindergartener

Doing the Dance of the Children~

Truth is-I’m not really sure how it will all fall into place. But I’m confident it will. It might not all be grand and it certainly won’t be overdone. But it’s gonna be good. It has to be! ALL my kids will be here for Christmas. I haven’t had them all together in a year and I refuse to allow this time to be anything BUT good! We will be together. We will decorate our very tall tree. We will cook and bake. We’ll take a least one walk. The older kids can take the lil ones to the park that’s just across from us. We’ll drive through the beautifully lit neighborhoods. We’ll pray together. We’ll laugh. We’ll probably bicker and disagree on things. The little ones won’t like the things the older ones want to impose on them. Someone will likely feel like someone else is in their space. Yep! It’s gonna be good! It’ll be normal family stuff and I can’t wait! So presents and cards and decor…well, we’ll see how that all works out, but the real stuff. The stuff we’ll talk about down the road, that’s a for sure!

Good Stuff!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

You know I’m ALWAYS on the hunt for cool, FREE, fun for the kids. Being new to the area, I’ve been keeping my eyes and ears open and in the last week I kept hearing about the lights on Pebble Creek Dr. Last night, when there was nothing but boredom and bickering at my house, I told the kids to load up and be ready for something great. I managed to convince even the teens to get in the van (a sure sign that extreme boredom had been reached!). Off we went to find the lights. On the way we found some great houses in our own neighborhood and a house not too far away that modeled itself after the famous internet video of a light display playing to Trans Siberian Orchestra’s Wizards of Winter. Good Stuff! Then we found Pebble Creek Dr. Oh MY GOODNESS!!!! House after house of themed light displays. We were in a long line of cars that drove very slowly through the loop. It took us about 20 minutes to creep through the neighborhood and the kids were constantly finding something to shout out about-”Look! Frosty! It’s Charlie…”. We saw many, many favorite characters and amazing decorative feats! There’s even a red wishing well in front of one house that’s playing a video and is a drop-off point for canned food to benefit the hungry. If you’ve never been over there and are local, GO! And if you HAVE gone, go again! We will.

The only problem I can see is that when we were on our way home, we were saying our night prayers and Lex had this prayer, “Dear God, please let my house look like those houses for Christmas.” Yeah, I whole-heartedly believe in the power of prayer, but I am no Christmas light’s genius!

Doing the Dance of the Children to Other People’s Talents~

Smoke and Mirrors!

I had meant to make it over to Costco on Christmas Eve to pick up pies. I knew exactly what I wanted, but just couldn’t find the time for the trip over. So, at the last minute I ran over to Vons, picked up 2 pumpkin pies, 2 apple pies, whipped cream and some vanilla ice cream. It all sounded good, but the apple pies looked a little pathetic…just too…Store-Bought.

Solution!

I sent Kateri to the internet to pull up a crumble topping recipe and make those pies our own! Seriously, it made all the difference!

Running short on time? Wanna perk up a store-bought apple or berry pie? Add your own crumble topping, bake until golden and ENJOY!

Doing the Dance of Children With the Help of Smoke and Mirrors~

I’ve listened to, helped write, mail and passed along everyone else’s Christmas Wish Lists. I figure that it’s time for me to put mine out there.

After assessing everything around me here’s the list I’ve come up with;

New Pyrex-a couple of my key pieces have fallen prey to slippery kiddo hands and the hard floor, rending them shattered.

A Mani/Pedi-Have you seen my hands?! Workin Mama hands for sure! They need a little love.

Polishing cloths for my Silpada items. I have several pieces that could benefit from some time spent with a polishing cloth!

My car washed and vacuumed out. My car’s been being used by the several drivers in the house and it’s looking a little haggard and worn out. A good washing and vacuuming would help it feel and look better!

M.O.M. time! Actually I’m going to take a little time to myself next week to recoup from Thanksgiving/Retirement/Christmas. I’m hoping to give this little website of mine the attention it’s been lacking and get everything all perked up for the New Year!

An evening out at Costa Brava with my friends. It’s been WAY TOO long since I’ve spent an evening catching up with and laughing with all the great ladies in my life!

New belts-I’ve been limping my black belt along for far too long.

That’s it. I don’t really need/want much. I’ve been very blessed with all that I truly need.

Merry Christmas everyone! Here’s to all the Mamas out there who are locked in their bedrooms/garages/guest rooms, wrapping gifts and making all the magic happen.

Doing the Dance of the Children and Looking Forward to the Priceless Look on Their Lil Faces After The Gifts are Under the Tree~

While I was out shopping, I picked up a new wallet for myself. So this morning I was switching everything over when I decided it was finally time to get rid of those cards in my wallet.

I haven’t used a credit card in several months. I made a decision to use only cash for all my grocery shopping, filling up the cars and personal shopping. Each payday I go to the bank, take out the budgeted amount, divvy it into marked envelopes and off I go, staying on budget and being more conscience of what I’m buying. But…I left the cards in my wallet, like a security blanket. It was silly, really, because they’d been canceled and weren’t even there for “emergency usage”, they just simply made me feel better.

This is the first Christmas that I can EVER remember that I’m going out to the stores, cash-in-hand. I know exactly what I’m spending and I won’t have any remorse come January. It’s been a really great experience! A difficult transition, in the beginning, yes, but SO worth it in the long-run!

So today, I grabbed the scissors and the garbage can and I made confetti of all those useless and enslaving cards! New wallet and no security blanket!

Doing the Dance of the Children and Staying on Budget~

Wrong!

As I got the names on each envelope, I started addressing them, leaving the hard-to-find addresses for later. As I would finish each night, I’d put them in the mail. 2 key things have gone wrong;

1) I’m unsure who I’ve sent cards to. Yes, I have an idea, but I’m not CERTAIN!

2) I wrote out the names and my return address in a pretty, gold gel pen-that has now run out! It’s not like I can just run over to Michael’s and get another because it was part of a 40pk. So, from here on out, anyone receiving a card will have their name and my address written in gold and their addresses written in green.

Guess I should’ve taken my own advice!

So, excuse me for odd envelopes and if you happen to receive NO card or TWO cards! M.O.M. is Doing the Dance and didn’t pay attention to the steps~

It’s rainy and cold outside and I’ve got the 4 lil kiddos around the dining table with a couple different Christmas crafts while my laptop plays How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s quiet and peaceful and it’s exactly what I want for today.

Yesterday I was out shopping for the ENTIRE day and by about the 4th hour I was becoming frantic and unfocused. I had to take time to sit down with some iced tea and rewrite my list and come up with a plan for exactly where I was going from there. It’s maddening out there! Just when you think you know what you’re shopping for, something shiny and amazing catches your eye and you begin to wonder if your list is long enough or if you’ve included everyone!

So today I’m boycotting the front door. I will not be walking out of it. I think it’s an important strategy, if I want to give my kiddos any sense of Holiday Spirit. Otherwise it’s just all about Mom running a zillion errands and coming home tired and grumpy.

After crafts I plan to hang all the cards we’ve received and start packaging up the peppermint sticks that the kiddos dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with holiday goodness, so that they can be passed out in the neighborhood.

Here’s to taking a break from the frenzied Holiday pace and regrouping with my kiddos~

I think I was hitting my breaking point and my 18 year old son could hear the, uh, tension in my voice. He broke the day up for me, took on the church cleaning and told me to go do something “fun” with the lil ones. God bless the kiddos who tune into M.O.M.’s human moments!

So I loaded up the 4 youngest and my daughter who needed a ride to work. We dropped her off, sat down with some hot chocolate at Starbucks for a little bit and then were able to go out and catch the last game of the girls’ tournament. Now that they have hit the showers and can take a little time to relax, I think I’ll take the lil ones out to a Holiday Carnival that’s going on nearby.

Hmmm…none of that actually solves ANY of my Christmas decorating or shopping issues, but it did diffuse the tension I was feeling. We have an event this evening, so maybe after we get home I can sit with a glass (or 2) of wine and start addressing those cards. One of these years I think I might just make 1 card, scan it in, post it and wish everyone a Very Merry Holiday Season. Hmmm…

Here’s to kiddos who help M.O.M. and ease a little stress and here’s to remembering what this season is all about. I need to remind myself sometimes!

Doing the Dance of the Children~

“Mom, is Santa real?”, “Mommy, is there REALLY a Santa Claus?”, “Mom, what’s the truth about Santa Claus?”, “Mommy who was the REAL Santa?”, “Mom, was Santa a real man?”

All us mommies have heard these questions. I know I asked them when I was little and I was always given the story of the North Pole, Santa and his reindeer and all the elves etc. When I became a mom I made the decision that I would tell my kiddos the truth of Santa from the beginning. This morning Gabi (6yrs old) came into the kitchen and asked, “Mom what’s the real truth about Santa?”. And for the umpteenth time, I gave this answer;

Saint Nicholas was a REAL man that lived a long time ago. He was born into a family with a lot of money and when he got older he really, really did put gifts into shoes. He died a long time ago and is now in Heaven with Jesus and together they help us get presents on Christmas.

I’ve given this exact same explanation to each of my kiddos over the years. I’ve never changed it. I’ve never woven tales of toy shops or flying reindeer, but it hasn’t stopped my little ones from excitedly exclaiming that on Christmas Eve, they’ve spotted Santa and his sleigh’s lights flying overhead. What are you gonna do?! I don’t take away their excitement when they say these things, but when I’m asked, I give the same answer. Heck! Look it up! You can actually find the real history of St. Nicholas, so why not share it?!

I let them have their magical ideas but still give them the truth. So far it’s been well received and I’m happy to keep giving the answer.

And by-the-way, when I’m asked about the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny I simply say, “isn’t it fun to believe in some things that seem impossible?”.

Doing the Dance of the Children and Trying to Keep it Real~

Here’s a rundown of how it went in the Lang house-

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care…ok, we have no chimney, so they were hung from the bookshelf with lots of lighted candles.

This just might be my favorite gift of the evening. Thanks Mariah!

My brother spent Christmas with us and he brought these snazzy antlers along. They definitely kicked up the holiday spirit!

Christmas morning we went to Mass and JJ and Tristan served together.

The annual Christmas picture in front of the the tree in our church. Everyone’s getting so big! I’m thankful for the remaining little ones!

After church it was time for me to get cooking while the older kids played board games…

…the younger ones played outside…

…and the men drank beer on the roof (I’m still chuckling at this).

After dinner we had guests over for dessert.

It was a very nice Christmas Eve and Christmas day. The house was full and busy and we had some of the required wackiness. I’m calling it a success!

Now, my bags are packed, the house is silent (other than the clicking of the keys on my keyboard) and I’m about to wake Clay to take me to the airport. I’m heading up to Northern Cal for a few days to visit with friends and family and to see an ill friend and help out where I can. Clay will be in charge of the kiddos and the house for the next 3 days….

Have a great day~

Where to begin? Hmmm…how ’bout if we start with the tree?!

Isn’t it pretty?…in the dark!

Look again! There are only lights on it!

Let’s get a closer look

That’s right, just lights.

With all the waiting for JJ, Clay and Kateri to get home, I was trying to leave some things that they could be a part of. Well, it’s backfired on me and now it’s Christmas Eve and the tree has only lights on it!

But that’s just the beginning!

Not one single present has been wrapped. Not one! Let’s see, 5ish presents x11 people…Oh! My brother’s coming into town today too, so let’s add a few presents for him…You do the math! Don’t forget that Santa has to stuff stockings…So now, divide all of that by the # of hours until 7pm, when Santa will have come and gone (of course I’m estimating, no one can ACTUALLY know when Santa will appear. But I DO know that because of his amazing magical powers, he’ll come, work his magic and disappear while everyone is out of the house this evening and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be a little before 7 tonight…just a guess).

So…It’s now 5 am, I’ve got coffee and a big glass of water in front of me and I think it’s time to get moving. I better move the slumbering kiddos out of my bed, start the crock pot (yep, 3 nights of crock pot in a row. But tomorrow, I promise to turn on the oven and cook a turkey with all the trimmings), get all the presents out of hiding, lock my bedroom door, put a movie on and get going!

I think I’ll leave the tree trimming to Clay and the kiddos!

A very Merry Christmas Eve to each of you! May there truly be comfort and joy all around~