Category — Christmas

Today is St. Nicholas’ feast day. At this house that means that there are a host of shoes littering our front porch. Some of the kids put out one shoe and some try to put out every shoe they own, in the hope that they’ll wake up this morning and find a candy cane.

For me, who forgot to buy candy canes, that meant a 4:30 am trip to the local 24 hour drug store. Thank goodness there is one!

I hope you are each enjoying the various traditions that come with this season! I really love having it mean more than just presents on the 24th and 25th! To learn more about who the man who became Santa Claus really was click here

Have a great day~

I am sure that some of you have the house, inside and out, completely decorated and ready to go for Christmas. I am not there yet. I started opening the boxes yesterday. It’s a days-long process for me. Yesterday I started by taking out all the artwork that the kids have created over the years and beginning to hang it up. It’s always a trip down memory lane. I love it! There’s nothing like looking at hand-print wreaths from when Kateri was in grade school! It does tend to make me feel old, though. So, today, it’s on with the decorating! I’ve got the little ones in front of a Christmas movie, while I try to get everything organized and in place. We pack the movies away with the decorations so that they are exciting for the kids instead of being watched throughout the year and becoming “boring”. Then, it’s onto the many, many Christmas cards that need to be addressed. I love doing it, just wish I had more time! Starting last night, I am out for social functions EVERY night until the 12th. Yes, it’s fun, but it also becomes tiring. My sitter is happy to pad her pockets with some extra Christmas cash, though.

Tonight is the squadron Christmas party at a local hotel. I love the military functions! It’s always nice to get dressed up and to visit with everyone. So, off I go to continue decorating and then to prep for an evening of adult time.

Have a great day~

Last night I attended the first of a string of ornament exchanges and Holiday parties. I have to admit that I wasn’t really ready to jump into the Season even though I know it’s around the corner. But there’s nothing better to get you into the spirit than a little Christmas music, some great food to overindulge in, a beautifully decorated house, Christmas presents and a real tree. How this amazing woman was able to have a REAL Christmas tree BEFORE Thanksgiving is beyond me, but she did it! By the end of the evening I was ready to get home and pull out the decorations, hit the stores and write the Christmas cards. There is truly a feeling that goes with the Season!

I am realizing that the whirlwind is upon me. Tonight, JJ gets home for a week of Thanksgiving break. Kateri comes in on Monday. Next week will come and go so quickly! We have plans for family activities like spending a day at Knott’s Berry Farm and of course a big dinner with lots of friends for Thanksgiving. Then, the week will be over, the kids will fly back to school and I’ll stand in the whirlwind that is “the last days before Christmas”. There will be the flurry of decorating. The shopping for everyone. The endless wrapping. The writing and addressing of Christmas cards. The string of parties. The calendar is already so full until the end of the year! It seems that as a military spouse, this time of year gets overloaded with parties. Yes, there are the parties with civilian friends and people from school, but it seems that the social gatherings with others whom we are connected by the military are abundant.

So, it’s time to shop for a great party outfit, or two, double check the calendar and try not to get stressed!

To the Holidays!

Have a great day~

So, here we are at the end of the Christmas Break. The tree has been taken down and dragged outside (one of my wall sconces being dragged along with it ). The pine needles have been vacuumed up. The Christmas decor boxes have been repacked. JJ has headed back to the cold, snowy depths of PA. And now I’m faced with packing lunches, waking kids while it’s still dark and dressing everyone, making sure there hair is brushed and checking their breath, all before 7:30 am. Ugh! I don’t want to! I liked this break. Usually the Christmas or Easter breaks are a little hectic because it’s just a couple of weeks. But this break was really enjoyable. I was sort of hoping that we could all just forget about going back to school and keep up the routine we were in. The thing about going back that’s hard for me is being on someone else’s schedule. It makes me a little frantic sometimes. 

They’re going back to Science Fair projects, sports and 6th grade camp, all good things. However, they require me to adhere to deadlines that the kids aren’t paying attention to.

Anyway, back we go, like it or not

!I hope you each had a very enjoyable break and are recharged and ready for the New Year!

Have a great day~

Good Morning! I hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope that the Spirit of the Season touched you.

We had a very nice Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve, the kids all went out with Clay while I helped Santa get everything arranged in the house and the stockings. He nibbled on the cookies that were left and drank the coffee that Maddi felt he should have instead of milk. We thought ahead this year and put the video camera on the tripod and had it all ready for filming the kids opening the presents. Everyone had a nice time opening gifts and giving out anything they had bought for family members. Christmas Day we got dressed and left for Church. I made sure that we took pictures because I knew that the moment we got home everyone would undress and go play. We spent a good portion of the day at a friends’ house and the kids played and visited. It was a rare, relaxing day! Then I cooked dinner for our family. Clay and I slipped away for a movie in the evening. We went to see Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet St.. Well, I love Johnny Depp movies and he does a fair job of singing in this one. But the blood was a bit over-the-top. Clay said it was the last movie I get to pick.

It was a really great couple of days!Today it’s back to the daily grind. One of my sisters and my niece are coming to visit and Clay is taking some of the kids to spend gift cards at the sales. Brave man!

Have a great day~

Yesterday was a very nice day. Some wonderful people thought of our family and a “Secret Santa” showed up at our door with some gift cards to help with all that comes with Christmas. I was dumbfounded! We always manage, but there are certainly times when we wonder HOW we’ll manage. I was just trying to think of a creative and tasty chicken breast recipe that would seem festive, because I had forgotten to buy a turkey when I did the grocery shopping and I couldn’t go get one, because the food budget was gone, when this Christmas Angel shows up at the door. See what I mean? We would have had a perfectly good Christmas dinner, it just wouldn’t have been turkey. But now…….turkey! So, I want to say that I am very thankful to whomever thought of us and to everyone else, I want to say, Merry Christmas! The Spirit is alive and well!

Here’s a little story that Clay thinks I should share; A few days ago, his squadron had a Hail and Farewell that was a tailgate party before a football game. He invited JJ and some friends to go along. After the game, he called me to say that JJ was on his way home with our neighbor, who had gone, but that he was staying behind because there was a full keg and some BBQ left. Well, I went high and to the right! He had been gone for several hours, enjoyed the tailgater and the game. Why in the world did he need to stay behind to drink himself silly?! I let him know that the doors would be locked if he showed up drunk…..blah, blah, blah and a little yadda, yadda, yadda thrown in for good measure. JJ showed up about 1/2 an hour later and said he’d had a good time. Well, Clay came through the door about 1/2 hour after JJ and started to ask why I was so upset. I yelled that I couldn’t understand why he couldn’t have just come home with JJ and why he had to stay behind just because there was a full keg?!!!!! Well, he REALLY made me angry then, because he started laughing. Yes, laughing! Then he says, “keg?! I said that they had a full cake!”

So, my New Year’s resolution?……………working on my listening skills.

Good night~

Merry Christmas to everyone! Around here the excitement is building and the kiddos are getting antsy. One or two are wondering if they’re getting coal. This year, we’re doing a few things differently, like getting our tree for Christmas Eve and doing the Christmas letter digitally. In this show, I remember a very military Christmas, way back in 1995.

Thanks for visiting MommyofMany.com and for listening. You can subscribe to the show by clicking the button on the left of the page. You can always email me at Jen@MommyofMany.com, or share your Christmas memories, right here, on the site. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy!

It’s the last day of school before the Christmas break. That has meant a busy couple of days. We had school programs yesterday and then the assembling of the gifts and cards for teachers and friends. It’s also meant finishing my Christmas letter and getting the rest of the cards in the mail. Now, it’s on to the job of wrapping and tagging everything that’s in a huge mound, covered by blankets in my bedroom. I’ve never done that before. I usually shuttle gifts to “the North Pole” as I buy them and then spend a few evening at “the North Pole” wrapping and enjoying some wine. This year I’ll be locking the bedroom door for the weekend, turning on some Christmas music or putting in a movie and tackling the job. Whew! All the work pays off when the kiddos come through the door on Christmas Eve and see that Santa has been there.

Alright, off to start the day. I still have to clean up all the craft stuff that the kids used to put together their friends and teachers gifts.

 Have a great day~

What a day! It started with phone calls around 7 am from room moms to let us know that school was canceled due to a sinkhole in front of the school. The kids had mixed reactions because the girls were supposed to have their Christmas performance yesterday. They’d been working with friends on their dances for weeks. Tristan was happy to not have to go. I was happy not to have to pack lunches!

Later in the day, a friend of mine dropped by with a Christmas gift. Clay and I are still laughing! She gave us this, very pretty, cross that can be hung on the wall with the phrase, “with God, all things are possible”. However, the bag not only held the cross, there was a very nice bottle of wine inside. She let us know that if the phrase on the cross didn’t work that we were to drink the wine. LOL! I’ve got great friends!

We ended the day with roving carolers. Over the years of being in this neighborhood, I’ve seen groups of neighbors do this, but last night it looked like a group of college kids. They had a van following, so I’m pretty sure they weren’t from here. I sent Gabi out with a plate of cookies. She was greeted warmly. I took pictures, but they didn’t turn out well enough to make an appearance at the top of this post. Dang it!

So all-in-all it was a good day. Today the kids are heading back to school and they’ve rescheduled the girls’ performance for today just before Tristan’s performance. Yikes! I’m going to be at the school all day!

Wish me luck~

  I know it’s been quiet over here for a few days. Sorry! Much has been happening. Thursday Kateri made it home for the Christmas break. She hit the ground running and hasn’t had a chance to catch her breath. She got in from the airport and was shuttled off to the high school to help Mariah with an audition for the Spring Musical. Friday she babysat for me for several hours. I forgot how spoiled I was when she was living at home. She does such a great job of jumping in and helping out! She took the kids to the park and library while she was babysitting. It was a nice treat for them. It will be good to have her home for the break!Friday Clay left for a weekend flight to N. Cal. He has been able to visit family and friends and still get some work done.On Friday I went to a Change of Command for Clay’s last squadron. What a great ceremony! There’s nothing like a Naval event to dredge up feelings of pride!JJ got in EARLY this morning (just after 1 am). His flight went well and he’s just now, feeling tired. He brought a promotional video with him, that some of the alumni from his school have put together and has been excited about the prospect of showing it to people. It’s so nice to see him feeling so proud of his school and to be excited about all it has to offer. He’s REALLY doing well there.Today I spent 3 hours in the Apple store! I had a 9 am appointment to fix, what I thought was, a little problem. 3 hours later, it seems I still have some troubles. The original problem seems to be fixed, but now I can’t upload my next show!!!!!!! I’m sure it will be fixed soon, but that’s why you’re getting blog instead of the next Mommy of Many show. Be patient, I’m sure it will be here soon. Geesh, computers can be tricky! However, the guys at the Apple Store were awesome, as always! Thanks guys!    After getting home I loaded the kiddos up and we went to our friend, Maria’s, house to make gingerbread houses. The kids had a great time. They got a little sugared up, but came up with some great designs. Max added artillery to his, because some marshmallow, snowmen, were trying to sneak in. Gotta love that kid!    Then it was a quick stop at Target for some essentials and then on to a Christmas party held at our local VFW for military families. What great gifts they gave!!!!! They really do a good job!After that event, we went to friends’ house for another event. Whew! I’m exhausted and so are the little kids. The bigger kids seem determined to stay up forever.Well, it’s been a very full few days. Clay will return tomorrow evening and it will be time to begin a new week.Thanks for checking the site. I hope the next show is up for you in the next day.Good night~

Clay has taken on the project of transferring our family movies to DVD. It’s been a trip down memory lane. I need to break out the video camera and get some new video while these guys are still little. We have tapes of Kateri, JJ and Mariah when they were tiny, but the other kiddos have gone untaped. We have TONS of pictures, but the movies are so great to revisit. Ok, that’s it, I’m committed to breaking out the camera and the tripod and getting some footage. After all, it all goes so quickly, I better capture it now!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Well, I forgot my camera tonight, so there aren’t any quirky pics of the squadron party. But, it was lots of fun. I realized that I must be getting older because I got tired around 9pm and the high energy dancing was beyond me. People looked like they were having a great time. Whew, I’m just getting old. Plus, I have to think back and realize that I’ve never gotten really comfortable with being out drinking and dancing. Having become a parent at such a young age, I jumped right into work and school and didn’t go out “partying” with friends. I like to see people having a good time, but I also don’t feel like I missed out. Ok, a couple of you are probably saying, “wait! We went out.” Hmmmmmm, maybe twice and we were too young to go to bars. So, it’s a whole scene I’ve just never done. But, again, I enjoy seeing people having a good time and WOW! Some of those guys can dance!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Well, I hope the kids didn’t give the sitter too much trouble. She didn’t really give us a report and sounded really tired. The evenings can be challenging. I guess I’ll get a full report from everyone in the morning. They are all pretty good about letting me know who did something wrong (of course they never tell on themselves ).Ok, off to bed.Good night~

“I AM GREAT” this is the sentence that I was told should be “screamed” in the car before recording or doing any presentation to build confidence and create a mood.  A good friend had recently gone to a leadership conference and these were her words of wisdom for me.  So, if you happen to be walking by my van and here me, loudly proclaiming my greatness, just keep walking.  It’s all about the mood.  ;-)   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The above picture was taken this weekend at the Children’s Christmas party for the squadron that Clay is in. The importance of the picture is that, not only is Santa coming out of the helo, BUT Clay is the pilot. This is his second year of “flying to the North Pole” to pick up Santa and bring him to the party. Imagine our kiddos’ excitement! It looks something like this;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Well, I have my Christmas cards all ready to be assembled and addressed and mailed. Now, if I could just finish the final Harry Potter book, I might be able to focus on something other than Horcruxes! I love to read! Clay and I, both, have been avid readers for many years. Unfortunately, I’ve had a very, hard time reading anything besides Reader’s Digest since Gabi was born. So, making my way through this book has been a challenge. I can’t wait until Luke-Xavier is a little older and I can go back to regular reading. I miss that feeling you get when you’re taken away to another place in a great story! All of our children (so far) love to read. It took JJ a bit longer than the girls, to LOVE to read, but by 4th grade he was devouring books with the rest of the kids. Max is looking forward to reading. He looks up to Tristan and wants to do everything that Tristan does and that includes reading.I hope everyone had a peaceful weekend!Good night~

“Hey Jen!  You’re show’s out of order.”  Yes, I know I should be releasing show #6 today, but show #7 it is!  Just think of it as one of those “insider” things that you’ll know someday when Mommy of Many trivia comes out and you’re able to answer the question, “which 2 Mommy of Many shows were released out of order”.

Christmas is around the corner!  This week I talk about getting ready and the importance of making your list before hitting the store.  Remember that it’s the Spirit of the Season that’s important and not how much you can cram into the next few weeks.

Thank you for stopping by the site and I hope you enjoy the show!

 

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