Trifecta...

it did not even cross my mind that today was Friday the 13th, and you would think as superstitious as i am that this would bother me, but today was a good day. earlier in the week i received an email from P-Donculous' teacher saying he was going to be receiving an award for the 2nd 9 weeks of school. of course he had no clue, but they try and make it a surprise, and i think it keeps the kids from bragging all week in front of the other kids. anyway, this morning we tried our hardest to get everyone ready to be out of the house by 7:45am (almost impossible). i dropped the boys off in car pool line like we normally do, and then i pulled around to the front of the school to park and go inside to position a good seat in the cafetorium. P-Donculous getting an award isn't really a surprise; he's definitely a people pleaser, and most of the awards in kindergarten are all about people pleasing (good manners award for example). but as we sat there for what seemed forever in the overly heated room (i only noticed because i think i forgot deodorant in my rush to get ready this morning), we were quite shocked when his name was called not once, not twice, but 3 times! the first award i was expecting, it was from the Spanish teacher for his achievement in their Spanish class (surprising in itself, because no one in our house speaks a lick of any kind of other language). the second award came from his teacher, it's called the Folsom Friendly* and i think it's given to one student from each class that shows a great attitude towards other classmates and other teachers (but i'm just guessing, i really have no idea what it's for). the third award came as a complete shock. the vice-principal gives an award that she calls the STRIVE award (a really long acronym for being awesome) and only one student in each grade level gets it, so, when she called out for P-Donculous, my jaw dropped and a little tear formed in my eye (okay so maybe it was like 5 tears, but i wiped them away before anyone saw). after hearing all the kids, teachers, and other parents cheering for him as he walked up onto the stage, i knew why he received that award...everyone knows who he is...future politician anyone? i'm so proud of my little P-Donculous...

*this is the second time he's gotten the Folsom Friendly

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

what a whirlwind, but then again isn't every holiday a whirlwind? we opted this year not to do anything at all for Christmas. and by anything, i mean we didn't do anything, no travel, no family, no parties, nothing. it was kind of nice not packing up the truck with a butt load of gifts and driving 24 hours round trip, or getting all dressed up for 5 minutes of an eating frenzy. i think the kids enjoyed themselves, but who wouldn't with a 5 foot high pile of new toys!

we decided to take the kids to see Santa a little differently this year. about 30 miles away there is an actual vintage train that takes the kids on a 30 minute ride with a surprise guest...yep, Santa. i think P-Donculous was the only one truly excited about the whole thing. he was all giggles and grins when he saw the man in the red suit. (i guess i should have uploaded the picture they actually took with Santa, maybe later...)

now, on to the big day...let me just say, do you know how upsetting it is to find out that your camera battery is dead on Christmas eve? and then to remember that your battery charger was in the bag that was stolen when you were on vacation last month? momma was one sad panda with no camera on Christmas. so, the only pictures we have are from my phone (very disappointed). anyway, the kids were very good about not waking us up until 8am! you can see from the picture that we like to position ourselves just perfectly before opening any gifts. once the green light was given, it only took about 10 minutes before the pretty picture was turned into a mountain of boxes, paper, and ribbon. Santa was very good to us this year and we have a lot to be thankful for, other than the ungodly amount of toys he brought. i think my favorite gift was the replacement family photo (don't get me wrong, i really enjoyed the new fancy crock pot and North Face jacket too)...

Merry Christmas Y'all!

hating on the elf...

i normally won't post about silly little things, but for some reason this really bothered me. it seems there is a little backlash towards the Elf on the Shelf. i've been seeing quite a bit of re-posts of a certain person's blog (that i'm not even going to bother re-posting). apparently there are those out there that are offended by the antics of some little elves. how can you be offended that some people just like to put the extra effort in to having fun with their kids during the holidays? as you can tell, i'm on the side of the "over achieving elf on the shelf mommies". our elf, Rex, likes to get into trouble. he may not be mischievous everyday, but he does know how to have a good time. the kids really get a kick out of getting up every morning to see what he's been up to the night before. i feel sorry for the kids whose parents aren't really into it. if they don't enjoy the antics of the elf, then why did the elf come visit their house in the first place?

how can you not find the humor and fun in something so simple? even if your elf rummages through your underwear drawer and replaces your stockings with the family skivvies....get over it people and quit being so crabby, it is the holidays after all...

Rex has returned...

i'm pretty sure everyone and their second cousin has heard of the Elf on the Shelf. well, ours is named Rex, and he returns in some magical fashion every year after Thanksgiving (rules of returning in our house are whenever the tree goes up in the house). Rex is quite the little pesky elf. he manages to get himself in little bits of trouble every night. when he showed up on the doorstep the other day (yes, in the middle of the day...and he even rang the doorbell) i was not quite prepared for the next few weeks of cleaning up after his silly antics. the first night he got into the bag of Oreos and made a terrible mess, crumbs everywhere. last night he strung a zip line back and forth from the kitchen cabinets and left candy canes all over the house. we're hoping that the kids see this as the not so favorable behavior and act in the complete opposite fashion...