Two Months 'Til Christmas

Today is October 25th.  EEEKK!!!! 

The winter holidays are a stressful and busy time for us under normal circumstances.  But this year, it is even moreso considering the fact that I'm DUE to have a BABY the day AFTER Christmas. 

The tricky thing about babies is you have NO idea when they are going to come.  I'll be term (37 weeks) on December 5th, so anytime after that is fine by me!  Although, I really would like her to come in the year 2010.  You know, tax breaks and all.  Nothing to do with the fact that the idea of going overdue is less than appealing....

Actually, I don't want her to come ON Christmas either.  Let's face it, you can't compete with Jesus' birthday, no matter how cute you are. 

I do fear, though, that she will come on say December 23rd and we'll still be in the hospital on Christmas!  Given that I have two little boys at home eagerly awaiting the jolly old elf already, that would be very disappointing!  But fear not - I do have a back-up plan.  IF Isla comes with such comedic timing, then I will have Carter send an "emergency" letter to Santa telling him to come back the next available day.  Yeah...that's the best I've got!

So, my goal for Christmas shopping is to have it all done and wrapped BY Thanksgiving this year.  To accomplish that goal, I think Ace and I will just have to schedule a "date" night and go to Toys R Us and hit them up in one trip and take it all back to his office for a wrapping spree. 

But what about Christmas cards?  I'm thinking I'll just skip that this year.  Its just too complicated.  If I send one out with just a picture of the two boys and then Isla does come before Christmas, then I'll feel badly she wasn't included.  Besides, I'll be turning around and sending out birth announcements shortly thereafter.  Maybe I can make the announcement dual-purpose...

And should I buy her a Christmas dress "just in case"??  I know - everyone is saying I won't want to bother with dressing up a newborn.  But what about the photo op????  

Ok, now my head is spinning.  It's too much.  I think my ultimate goal is to give birth, survive, make sure my kids have a magical Christmas, and if anything else gets done on top of that - bonus.  So, if you don't get a Christmas-Card-Birth-Announcement from me with a picture of my three kids in coordinating outfits, you'll know I'm just surviving.  And that should be enough holiday cheer - don't you think?

Merry (belated) Christmas!

Be forewarned - there will be a picture explosion in this post! I take that as a sign of a great holiday!

Our festivities started Christmas Eve! Carter and I set to work in the kitchen busily cooking up a storm! See me here modeling my new apron my mom made (yes, with her own two hands) for me!
Carter and I baked a delicious cranberry-apple pie! It was very yumm but a tad tart, so of course, you must pair with vanilla bean ice cream. Of course!


Pie in hand, we headed north for a celebration with my family. Here is Grandpa with his two boys! These kids adore him!
Bennett tackling Grandma!My sisters made the most wonderful gifts for the boys this year! My sister Katie knitted stuffed animals - a lion for Carter and a rabbit for Bennett! They are toooo adorable!

And my sister Tia knitted each boy a blankie with their initial on it! Bennett instantly took to his!
Katie also made me this adorable wall hanging! Well, she didn't carve the frame, but she sewed the little quilted picture that went inside! She is opening an Etsy shop soon, and I will share that info with you once I get it. Of course!

Then we made the late-night trek back to our abode. Christmas morning, Carter came downstairs and warily tiptoed toward the family room. Afraid to peek in, he stopped short and said "Mom, did Santa come???" Then he did his happy dance and bee-lined toward the mountain of presents. Now, I should put a disclaimer that this mountain also includes presents from Nana and Pop Pop - we don't spoil our children that much. Nope, we let their massive family do that!

Bennett seemed to prefer to climb on top of his presents...
The poor thing isn't heavy enough to operate his bouncy-turtle, so we have to bounce it for him! Soon little buddy, soon...
Modeling the new boots daddy got mommy!
Chillin' in his new wheels - his absolute favorite gift. From Nana and Pop Pop!


Later Christmas day, we headed to Ace's parents' house. Here I am with my gorgeous sisters-in-law!

Here is the whole clan! Including Ace's 99 year old grandmother!
Our little family. Don't ask me why Ace wore orange on Christmas....My favorite part of Christmas with Ace's family are the games his dad comes up with! Each year, he has several games, and he awards cash prizes to the winners! This year, we had diaper races with the babies! Here are my nephew Ethan and Bennett (who are only 2.5 weeks apart in age!) racing! I loooved the awesome racing shirts my father-in-law had made for them!
Bennett took off with zest, only to be intercepted by Carter, allowing Ethan to take the lead and steal the win!
Then the big kids decided they needed to race too! My niece Charlize handily won that match :)
We had such a wonderful holiday this year! Everyone was in the Christmas spirit! So much love and laughter.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Just when I thought I was ahead of the game, I realized I still have several laps to go.

Christmas. Oh, beloved and festive holiday. Oh blessed and holy time of reflection. Why doest thou causeth me so much anxiety and angst??

Seriously?

I had an afternoon to myself about a month ago to do some Christmas shopping while Ace took Carter to a movie. By "myself," I mean me and Bennett, but Bennett has no clue what is going on, so he doesn't "count" on this particular occassion. I briskly roamed the aisles of Toys R Us and Target and snatched up the things that were on my list for the kids and rushed home to stash it all in the back of the laundry room before the boys got home. (That's a pretty safe place to store the goods considering that I am the only one who ever even opens the door to the laundry room.) I was pleasantly surprised that everthing on "The List" was available at the store, and much of it was marked down.

And yes, I am quite glad I got that little head-start. I sat back and had a good laugh at those who waited for those coveted Black Friday deals this year. Apparently, retailers are maintaining lower inventory (anticipating that people wouldn't be shopping as much due to the recession), which actually has the opposite effect of driving the prices UP when the products are in higher demand. I was amused to see that nearly everything I had purchased a month prior was actually marked UP on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Neener, neener, neener!!!

So, I was feeling pretty darn good about myself and patting myself on the back for making the holidays this year a little less stressful. That was until I realized that the presents were only the start of it...

On my Holiday To Do List still remains:

* Advent Calendars (yes, I realize its already December 2nd...)
* Christmas cards, and I haven't even taken photos of the kids yet... And I was thinking about doing one of those family "newsletter" dealios this year too...
* The Tree (and I'm dreading the logistics of keeping Bennett from knocking it down...)
* The stockings
* The compulsory gifts for various people at work
* Make something for the grandparents from the kids
* My "secret santa" gift for Ace's family's gift exchange.
* WRAPPING said gifts...

And what would the holidays be without the umpteen events and get togethers? I mean, that IS the point, right?

I do love the holidays, but there is just so much that goes into the production, especially now that I have children and am charged with the responsibility of creating the "magic." I guess I better start listening to the Christmas channel on the radio to get myself in the spirit!

Am I alone? Does anyone else feel overwhelmed??!! Who is in the spirit? Pass me some of your happy-juice!