Go Tackle Somebody

So Christmas happened.  
And now it's ov-ahhhhhh.  I'm sorry all of you Christmas lovers out there who are sad that the holly jolly season is done.  I feel a little bit like it's the last day of school.  The pressure is off.  It's too late to study and prepare.  The test has been taken and it is done.

Yeah, Christmas joy is the test in this metaphor. I think if I were to get a grade...it would be a B+.  I could've done better, budgeted more carefully, been more thoughtful, sung a few more Fa-la-las, created a few more traditions.  But it wasn't as bad I stressed and worried it would be.

Money was tight.  Money is always tight.  Tim broke the news that I had to make a choice the week before Christmas--either get my roots done or buy the kids Christmas presents.  What a dick.  Just kidding, sort of.  It was a tough decision (just kidding, sort of), but ultimately I sacrificed my hair for my kids just like Jo in Little Women (well, sort of).

I took my two-toned hair, and my family, to church on Christmas Eve for the annual pageant.  The pageant where we usually take up half the roles.  I sat out this year.  The rest of my family played the roles of Roman soldiers (Tim, JT & Wade), an Angel of the Lord (Lucy) and a Wise Man (Peyton).  It actually worked out to be pretty damn good casting.

Not sure if Roman soldiers had tattoos and batting gloves, but JT thought they made him look like more of a tough soldier.
I agree, it did up the badass-ness of his church costume.

Wade waiting backstage to make his Christmas Eve pageant debut.  Well, he was Jesus a few years ago, but he didn't do much for that role.

They look like a girl group--Angels of the Lord.

The whole cast.  Notice Wade in the left corner just about to reach for a little hay.  I was honestly hoping he would throw some around just to shake it up a bit. 

Everyone knew this would happen eventually.  Everyone.

The kids held it together pretty well, but then Wade went a little nuts after the show.  But come on, it was Christmas Eve and he was soooo excited, so of course he had to tackle someone. Duh. I was relieved it was his fellow soldier, his brother.

After the pageant, it was off to Christmas Eve at Grandma's.

"We come bearing over-excited, rowdy kids," I announced as we walked in the door with our extremely loud gaggle.

Then it was all matching PJs, cousins, dinner, storytelling, presents and all sorts of excitement and sweetness.

Fast forward to Christmas morning.  I was nervous that maybe Santa sucked at our house.  I was worried that it wouldn't be enough, that it wouldn't be magical, that it wouldn't be believable.  Let's face it, my hair is expensive but it really doesn't go a long way when buying Christmas presents for four kids.  Three out of four of those kids believe that Santa and his elves can make ANYTHING happen.  That's a lot of pressure.

But I should have known, I should have trusted and remembered what I always preach--kids don't need a lot of things, they need time and love and stories and moments and attention and more love.  

The kids went shopping for each other at the Dollar Store a few days before Christmas.  It's a tradition we started when the kids were very little.  I promise you, they were more excited to give and get those gifts than the presents from Santa.  The game they played with most was the checkers game JT bought for Lucy for one dollar.

The one Santa gift no one could stop talking about however was the phone that Peyton got.  The phone that I didn't know had Internet on it.  The phone that I was pissed at Santa about.  But it sure did bring a lot of joy.

Merry syncing. 

Tim tried to take a nap on Christmas day.  Ha, ha, ha.

Wade's favorite gift was a Doc McStuffins doctor kit and doll.  I love that this kid can kick the crap out of a 9-year-old but has no problem carrying around a purple glittery doctor bag.

Time for a check up.

December 26th is officially "Go To Pittsburgh Day" in our house.  We roadtripped our Christmas-y selves to more family celebrations, more toys, more excitement, more stories, more food and more fun.

A million and five army guys= Wade's little piece of heaven.

They are reading the Great Brain series right now and loving it.

Wade doesn't really look like my baby Wade here and it is freaking me out a little.

A new football tradition was born this past week because quite simply, my boys can't go one week without playing it.

All of these "big kids" (otherwise known as dads and uncles) were pretty sore the next day.

The kids didn't get a pony or a trip to the Bahamas from Santa, but they got a whole hell of a lot of love and attention.  Looking back, maybe I'll give myself a better grade...an A-?  

While it was all pretty damn good, I'm still glad it's done.  January is almost here.  A month full of absolutely zero expectations and no holidays that involve buying presents, um it's my time to shine folks.  I'm so excited I might just go tackle somebody.