Look Who Dropped In

Our elf Gus just dropped in for the Christmas season.

OK, the picture is awful, but better than nothing, right? Yeah, let's just go with that. 

I can't wait for the kids to find him tomorrow morning!

Before I crafted Gus's parachute this evening, I hacked our elf. I added some 12-gauge floral wire to each arm and leg. Just snip a couple stitches, slip the wire in and don't forget to coil the ends in the hands and feet so they don't poke back out. Then stitch your elf back up and add a little Velcro to each hand. It will be much easier for him to hang, grab, sit, perch, bathe, swim, or pose any way you can dream up.

Unfortunately, it won't make it any easier for the parents to remember to move the elf every night!

© Trippin' Mama 2012

A Halloween Picture!

Thanks to my friend Ellen, we DO have a photo of the kids in their Halloween costumes.

 

And based on the fact that all four children are standing and most of them are looking at the camera, I should hire her to take our Christmas photo. 

 

© Trippin' Mama 2012

Black Friday Photo Frenzy

I did just one thing on Black Friday. I roped the WBH into taking the kids to JC Penney to have their photos taken. I was lured in by the $150 CD of all of our session photos for $50.

We had an appointment, so no lines and no crowds -- well, except for the one that we brought. And they were not particularly well behaved.

The poor photographer just wanted the kids to stand in a line from tallest to shortest with their hands on each other's waists. It was a simple request.

However, the boys suddenly developed an inability to stand. Every time the photographer had them about set up one would yell, "Whoa, whoa, whooooaaa!" and fall to the floor. The other two would immediately pile on.

We tried bribery and coaxing to no avail.

I finally turned to the photographer and asked if she thought they'd do better if Jeff and I stepped out of the studio. She looked at me with sheer terror in her eyes.

Yeah, I get that. I feel that way too, sometimes.

In the end we were drenched with sweat from the struggle and the exasperation, and we got two usable group shots and some semi-usable individual shots.

Those of you who get a Christmas card from me better appreciate the effort that went into getting that group photo!

I think it would have been easier to rush the doors of Wal-Mart at midnight with the crowds. 

© Trippin' Mama 2012

Run, Run As Fast As You Can...

As I'm catching up here, the next logical post is Halloween.

To be honest, I didn't get a single decent picture of the kids. And since I was working on a political campaign, we just took the kids to Target a couple weeks before Halloween and gave them all $20 to pick something out. No creativity, no homemade costumes, no family theme. Just a little overworked Mommy desperation.

The kids loved it.

We had two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Sam and Alex), a Spiderman (Isaac), and a fairy (Amelia) who nearly got frostbitten in the cold!

On Halloween the kids and I were in the van and they started talking excitedly about how it was almost Christmas. Really? We have to start talking about Christmas on Halloween? Are you being raised by a major retailer?

Sam started talking about how it was almost Christmas and then we'd get to make "gingerbread mans!" Pretty soon everyone was talking about how they would decorate with raisins and cinnamon drops.

Then Sam said, "And then you can put him in the oven and when he comes out I'm going to gobble him up!"

I said, "What if we open the oven and he leaps up and runs away like in the Gingerbread Man book?"

The van got completely quiet. Then Alex piped up, "Let's make them without feet!"

Genius. Pure genius.

Later Isaac suggested we could make them without eyes so they would run into the wall and couldn't get away.

So watch for a few batches of maimed, blind gingerbread men to come out of my kitchen this season. They may not make Martha Stewart's top ten list, but in this house those guys will be a real hit!
 

© Trippin' Mama 2012

The Trio Turns FABULOUS Four (A Belated Post)

Well, that was quite a hiatus, wasn't it? I'm finally getting around to posting about Sam, Isaac and Alex's fourth birthday waaay back in October. October 8, to be exact.

We celebrated the day before with a train ride out to the pumpkin patch, just like last year. It was the boys' request. The difference is that last year is was about 70 degrees, and this year it was about 40 degrees. We didn't stick around long!

We came home for cake and presents with friends, and everyone had a fabulous time. Just look at these happy birthday faces!

 

Happy four years old!

Sam

 

 

Isaac

Alex 

 

Spiderman shirts, Batman action figures and Hot Wheels were the order of the day. And now we've got three four-year-olds on our hands. They are ever-energetic, riotously loud, can rival professional wrestling, and ask questions nearly nonstop. They can be very protective of each other, and sometimes even of their sister. They are oh-so-sweet and such stinkers, sometimes in the blink of an eye.  

 

Who knows what four will hold for all of us? I can't wait to find out!  

© Trippin' Mama 2012