merry christmas

We hope your day is wonderful. Ours has been. The kids woke up around 8 {I'll enjoy this while it lasts} and Santa did come...even after many "threats" and worry that he wouldn't! I guess the kids were good afterall. ;-) I mean, they are pretty cute, they have to be good, right?

I hope that amid all of the Santa madness, however, that you remember the reason for this day. And the importance of our Savior's birth. And the importance of the greatest gift we have ever received, which is that of the Atonement. Something, that I am very grateful for, nothing else under the tree can compare.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


{for those of you who never sent your address ;-), or who I just couldn't find an address for, or for those that I may not even know...}

The day we took our pictures, Macie had a fever of 102, Jacob was just getting over strep, and I wasn't feeling the greatest, but the picture turned out pretty good! I love the palm tree in the background. It gives a little California vibe. Not a bad picture taken from the back of our car on self time, eh? ;-)

Here's a few more that didn't make the cut:

suspicions

I heard the truth today. After telling the kids multiple times to clean up the living room and put away their playdough, Noah turned to me and said, "I like it better when Dad is with us. He doesn't makes us clean. We just watch Netflix and movies, and eat everything on the couch." I knew it! My suspicions were right.

christmas is almost here

Five days. That's it. Holy cow, I better get crackin! I had all these ideas for Christmas presents this year, and now it's only 5 days away, and I haven't done much with them. Crap. Oh well, I do it every year, I think 'Procrastination' should be my middle name! Can I use the "I've been sick" card?? It'll come, it'll be good, the kids will love it!

We do have Christmas decor up, however. Not the outside lights, though. {ahem...Adam? ;-)} Maybe it's 8 years of marriage that will be the lucky one to have outside Christmas lights? It's been fun having the Christmas stuff up, the kids love it. This year we have three trees. Yes, three. One in the "book room", or the room you first see when you walk in our house. Another in the TV room, and then the kids have one in their room. I had hoped that it would detract them from taking all of the breakable ornaments off the "good" tree, but so far we have had one casualty, I guess it didn't work so well. Our elf "came" back this year, too. Since we are ghetto, and didn't want to pay the money for the Elf on the Shelf book, we compromised, and just bought an elf. It serves the same purpose, and it works! It's kind of creepy, but isn't the whole idea of the Elf on the Shelf creepy anyway?;-) But, I think the novelty wore off this past week, they haven't been so good , and even the threat of elf watching them doesn't help!

I am excited for Christmas, I love this time of year, I do. I just don't like the stress that is involved! Most of the Christmas cards are out, you should be getting yours soon! Watch for it.

the big two.

Happy Birthday, Jacob Maxwell! I can't believe that it's already been two years since we first met him. But, yet, it seems like he's been here forever! I wouldn't trade him for anything! He's the best little guy. He always has a smile on his face {even while at the doctors, he'll even say thank you when he gets a throat swab!}. He always has us laughing. Always. He comes the most alive at night, however, when the other two are in bed, and then he starts spinning in circles, singing songs, everything he can do to keep himself awake, really! He just loves having time with Mom and Dad. He talks very well. He'll repeat any word you say, but says phrases, too, so we pretty much know what he wants usually. He repeats one scripture every night, and is pretty good at it, but his favorite thing to say is "And it came to pass". He says his nightly prayers by himself without any help...

"Father, Pease bless Papa. Pease. Grateful. happy, sleep well. Amen."

He loves his crocs. He has other shoes, but would much rather wear the crocs everywhere, and he puts them on himself {always on the right feet}, he used to wear them ALL of the time, but now it's just when we leave. He loves his Aunt Erin. They are best buds. He loves anything associated with a bike, it isn't uncommon to see him with a bike helmet on! He loves his sunglasses, and wants to wear them all of the time. He's pretty smart, he can figure something out pretty quick. {he loves ice, he's always asking for it. After watching me so many time get it from the fridge dispenser thing, he figured it out, and would do it all of the time, so we put the lock on. To get the lock off you just push it three times fast. He apparently watched me to it, and now knows how to unlock the fridge.} there is no stopping this kid! He love his Momo and Pa, and his Nana and Papa. He talks about all of them daily. He wiggles his eyebrows and sticks out his tongue--just like Papa. He has the best eye color ever, it's not blue, green, or brown, they are hazelish. He weighs 35 pounds, is 34 1/2 inches tall, wears a size 8.5 shoe, is in 3T clothes, and growing everyday. We love Jacob! I'm sure I could go on for days about all of the things of Jacob...he's great! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAKEY BOY! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Here's to another year full of playing, laughing, kisses, and snuggling!

Star Wars Party

{I'm kinda slow in the posting of this. I guess I forgot about posting it. I'm not a very good blogger anymore. I'm going to start over! But, the party was too great to forget about.}

Noah has really been into Star Wars. He loves anything and everything Star Wars. Sadly, his pirate themed bedroom will shortly be transformed to Star Wars. The pirates seemed cuter {well, not the skeletons and cross bones, but the blanket}. I guess it just means he's getting older. I have been planning this party for a while. It's always been in the back of my mind. And, really, it wasn't a very expensive party either. I was proud of my money saving tactics! Here is what we came up with.

The invite:

The decor:

{it was pretty simple. but it totally worked. we also had a star wars tablecloth, but that isn't pictured for some reason.}

The Food:

{the decor was really all about the food.}

and we also had "saber dogs", there isn't a picture of them either. birthday parties are crazy, forgive me, please! They were just a hot dog with a crescent roll wrapped around the bottom. they loved them. and they were cheap and easy.

The Activity:

Each child was issued a "Jedi Tunic" upon arrival to the party. They were going to participate in Jedi Training, so they needed to be official. And then with an adults help they were able to pick their color and "build" their lightsaber. Or, duct tape the foam, whichever works! And they they were put to the test in mock battles and exercises to test their Jedi abilities.

And then Darth Vader made a surprise appearance. They learned well in Jedi Training, Darth Vader got quite a beating with those lightsabers!

And you can't forget the pinata!

It was a very fun party, we had Star Wars, the movie, playing in the background the whole time for those who didn't want to participate in thje lightsaber duals. Or if they were just tired. It turned out well. Another one down and one more to go for the year!

Happy Birthday, Jedi Noah!

the dentist.

So, I previously blogged about Noah going to the dentist, and then having to go back for a follow up and to get a tooth pulled. Remember, the tooth fairy "forgot" to come? Yeah, well, he had to go back and get another tooth pulled out. And the tooth fairy remembered that night. And even took the tooth! But, the dental excitement doesn't stop there. Oh no, he had to go back again today to get a space maintainer put in, and get a 'pulpotomy', or a root canal for kids. Poor kid. I feel like the worst mother! I really do brush his teeth, I promise! It's so crazy. It's a good thing he's such a good kid, he has been so great all four times he's gone. Now we just have one more visit to fill one more cavity and we'll be dentist free for 6 months!

Keep your fingers crossed for no more cavities!

Macie has been asking for the singing and dancing Dora doll for a while. Today, she grew up, I guess. She told me,

"I don't want the dancing Dora anymore, now I want a 4G iPhone."

She's 4. I'm starting to worry.

seven.

You've heard of the "seven year itch" right? Well, we've surpassed it! We made it SEVEN years! Seven years ago we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Idaho Falls Temple. It was VERY cold. {I think it's colder there now, so I'm glad it was seven years ago!} But, it was the best day of my life. In those seven years we have graduated college, had three children, lived in 3 states, and 8 different houses, owned 4 cars, and we still love each other! Amazing. ;-)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, ADAM! I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING!

6 years old.

Noah is 6 today. I'm in shock that it had already been 6 years ago that I held him for the first time. He is the best kid ever! I love him so much! Everyone does! He is so imaginative, and so full of energy. He is very social, but shy all at the same time. He's very sweet and tenderhearted. He looks after his brother and sister. And his friends too. Just today he didn't get any candy from his pinata because he was worried his friends wouldn't have enough to take home. {there were two HUGE bags of candy in that thing...it was very full} He's just a good kid!

I'll never forget the day he was born. The day I became a mother. It must not have been too horrible, I did have two more! ;-)

Happy Birthday, Noah! Here's to another awesome year.

opinions

My children all have very strong opinions. On pretty much everything. And they let me know it. I've been planning Noah's birthday party coming up tomorrow. It's been crazy, but not NEAR as crazy as Macie's birthday party. Luckily boys are little more easy going...but not much, in my case! We are doing a little Jedi Training. I had two ideas. One was to make Jedi "tunic/cloak things, or I thought it would be cute to do a freezer paper iron on to a t-shirt for everyone to take home. Apparently, I was wrong, that was not a good idea. Noah told me, "Mom, are you trying to ruin my life? This is a Star Wars party. We are doing Jedi Training, and we have to have Jedi shirts. Just like this. {and he showed me a picture.} My friends are going to want a Jedi shirt thing." Okay, Noah, you win. But the rest is up to me! ;-)

Momo and Pa visit

We really like visitors. This past week my mom and dad made the journey to come see us and hang out with us! It was a lot of fun. We were able to squeeze in quite a bit in their 3 1/2 day stay. We played a lot, ate lunch at In-n-Out, gawked at the oddity of the Madonna Inn, loved being in the sun at Avila Beach, licked yummy ice cream at Avila Barn, hit the jackpot of sunsets at Shell Beach, searched for fabric in Solvang, glady accepted the fudge samples in Solvang, trekked to Oso Flaco to watch yet another sunset on the beach, took lots and lots and lots of pictures, ate homemade chicken soup, celebrated Noah's upcoming birthday was a "trial run birthday", went to church, and finished with a meal of honey lime enchilads. It was a good time. Come back again, soon!

10 Holiday Survival Tips

{once again, I've copied you, Kara! Thanks, though! You just have lots of good ideas...and we miss you! ;-)}

The holidays are quickly approaching. Yeah, the holidays. Can you believe it? I swear we just did this! Before I can fully embrace the holidays, we do need to get two more birthdays out of the way! We all have our own traditions and traditions we want to start. It gets so crazy! And, with that, we all have our own ways we make the Christmas season easier.

Here's mine:
1. Eat lots and lots of Brach's Christmas Tree Nougats. They are the best thing ever. Granted, I think I pulled a few fillings out of my mouth eating them, but they only come around once a year. Indulge.

2. Never buy Christmas decorations for the current holiday season. They will be overpriced. You shouldn't ever buy Christmas decor at full price. Odds are, it will all still be there after Christmas. You can use it next year.

3. Make things simple. No one will notice if you hand stitched every ornament on your tree, or every Christmas card. {Take advantage of modren luxeries like TinyPrints.com}

4. If you have children, adopt an elf to sit on the shelf. Even if you don't have the actual book, Elf on a Shelf any elf will do. It's amazing how much power that little elf has. We may keep ours around ALL YEAR next year!

5. Shop all year. {I have a hard time with this one} The bill won't be so overwhelming. And, if you designate a storage box for each child or spouse, you can just throw things into it throughout the year. It makes things easy! And you won't forgot what you bought and where you "hid" it.

6. Always looks at the lights around town. It's a must. If things are crazy, this always makes it better. When you are in the car, listening to Christmas music, and you HAVE to be together, it's a memory in the making! Even if you don't see any lights!

7. Homemade is a good, but not always cheaper.

8. If you wrap every present, have different paper for Santa presents that they haven't ever seen. It helps keep the magic alive.

9. Give away things before getting new ones on Christmas. Make the room to put all the new presents before opening them. Eliminate the stress of having the Christmas mess.

10. Last, and MOST important: REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THE SEASON, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Be grateful for his life, and the gift of the Atonement in our lives. That is the best thing we can get. No other present we open can be as great as that. Be sure to always include the Christmas Story scripture account into your festivities.


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teeth

Noah and Macie went to the dentist about two months ago. It had been a while since Noah had gone, and Macie hadn't ever gone. So, it was time. However, there weren't any Pediatric dentists within a 50 mile radius that were on our insurance plan. Of course. And, there weren't any densists on our plan that would take kids under 5, and I knew Macie needed to go. Noah had 4 cavities filled when he was 3. So, we got a recommedation of a dentist in Lompoc {thanks, Ginet!} and he was great! We loved him. And not only was he really nice along with the staff, but he's a bishop, too. It made him that much nicer!;-) It's very uncommon to find a copy of the "Friend" in a waiting room in California! I loved that he actually did the cleaning , too. Adam and I went to a dentist that has the hygenist clean your teeth. I swear she uses and ice pick to clean your teeth. I KNOW my teeth aren't that bad. But, there was blood streaming out of my mouth. That little bib thing that you wear, was covered in blood. Remember, I just went for a cleaning! And then after that my mouth hurt for days! Awful. Sorry, I digress. Back to the kids. {that's why you read the blog anyway, right? ;-)} They did awesome at the dentist. Opened wide, followed all the directions, and said thank you when they left. Macie left with no cavities. Noah, however, was not so lucky. FOUR CAVITIES! And, one tooth was pretty much gone because of decay. He needed one molar pulled out {totally beyond repair!} and a spacer put in. But, since it is a baby tooth, they were going to pull the mirrored tooth on the other side to put in a spacer so his teeth don't go weird. Goodness. Poor kid.

So, we made out appointment to come back. I left the younger two with a friend and headed to Lompoc. Where Noah, again, was awesome. He barely complained when he got the novacaine shot. And just sat and watched Kung Fu Panda the entire time. They pulled one tooth and filled one cavity in less than 30 minutes. The tooth was disgusting. I don't even want to take a picture of it. I'll spare you the details. But, we took it home. Noah insisted he needed it so the Tooth Fairy would come. I was instructed by the dentist to not let Noah bite his cheek or lip, but on the way home, he did. And it got huge. But, he was very excited that his "hurty tooth" was gone. Maybe now he'll eat better?

That night he put his tooth under his pillow with high hopes of waking up to find the Tooth Fairy surprise. We read scriptures, said our prayers, and the kids dozed off. Meanwhile, I was downstairs doing whatever. I got tired and went to bed. It wasn't until I heard, "SHE DIDN'T COME! THE TOOTH FAIRY FORGOT ABOUT ME I STILL HAVE THE TOOTH!" that I started to panic. Noah was heartbroken that the Tooth Fairy didn't come. That Tooth Fairy is terrible! He didn't even want to go to school he was so upset. CRAP! So, while he ate breakfast I got to work. And a few minutes later when Macie woke up she found something under HER pillow. It was a letter for Noah. Oh my goodness, that silly Tooth Fairy, right? The letter read:

Dear Noah,
Thank you for the tooth. But, I want to leave this one with you to
remind you to always brush your teeth to get rid of the sugar bugs.
Love,
The Tooth Fairy.

Good save, right?

the curls...

...are gone. We did it. Jacob got his first haircut. Believe me, I put it off for as long as I possibly could. But, if you saw him today with his Albert Einstein, ratty hair, you would have agreed that it was WAY past time! {Well, you probably thought I should have done it a LONG time ago!} But, his curls were so great. I loved looking at his curly locks. But, a little boys hair should not get snarls and knots in it. So, the curls are gone. He looks SO old. It's sad to see how old our baby boy is! But, it's inevitable, I suppose. However, there is still some wave in his hair. Maybe the curls will come back? Maybe this time a little more tame? I don't know, we'll have to see. I do have to admit, there were a few tears shed, and most of them from Noah, actually! He was very teary and held onto Adam's leg to try to stop him! He was so sad to see the curls go, poor kid! I am saving all the hair we cut off. So, if you want a curl, let me know! ;-)

He did so good throughout the whole thing, too. At first he was hesitant, but after the clippers started, he loved it! He sat on the counter and held very still. Hopefully this will continue. He does look very cute, but so old. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Primary Program

{This is a few weeks late in the posting. One of these days I'll be all caught up and won't have anymore back posting. Thank goondess Blurb lets you rearrange your posts!}

The Primary Program was on October 24th. It was Macie's very first one. Both kids were so excited. They have been practicing the songs all year long. Macie really has caught on to the whole singing thing. She memorizes songs very fast and so well! She was a little disappointed that she didn't have a part for the program, but there is always next year! Noah knew his part the very first day that they handed out the slips. He had it down. Well...until Adam confused him. Poor kid. His part was, "Through the Atonement of Christ, all man kind may be saved." Just a portion of the 3rd Article of Faith. But, Adam told him the entire thing. That totally threw him off, but in the end and after lots of practicing, he said his part perfect and without any help! I was shocked at how many of the kids has their parts completely memorized, it was so great! All of the Primary kids did awesome. But, my kids did the best! ;-) It was so cute to see them both up there singing their little hearts out. And, I didn't even cry. Adam was sure that I would. When they practiced a song for a ward activity a while back, I was a sobbing mess, but I did good this time. I was just worried that Macie wasn't going to make it through. She yawned and yawned the whole time, I was sure she'd fall asleep.

I love the Primary Program! And I love our Primary Leaders, they did great!

haircut

It was time for a haircut. My hair grow way too fast, and it always grows out weird. The layers I had before were awful and it never really looked like it did the day I left the salon. I wasn't ever really happy with my hair. It's thick, too. And she didn't thin it out much last time. So, I made the appointment and knew I wanted to go short. I love it. It was probably the longest haircut I have ever had! I was there for 2 1/2 hours! But, it was worth it. I should have done this a long time ago!

first talk.

Macie gave her first talk in Primary today. She did awesome. She was so excited to get to talk in the microphone like a big girl. She didn't want anyone to help her. She insisted on going up there like a big girl and giving her talk on her own. BUT...because we know how her "lessons" she gives during the week are, we knew we may end up being there a while! So, we let her help write the talk. The theme for November is service. She REALLY wanted to talk about Joseph Smith and tell a story when she did service. So we came up with this:

One day I was really sad. My friend brought me over some cookies to help
make me feel better. I did, I felt happier. Service helps other feel happy. We
are also serving our Heavenly Father.

I can give service, too. When I was at storytime, there was a boy who was
sad. He started to cry. So, I held his hand and he felt better. And now we are
friends. As I did service for him to help him, we became better friends,
too.

Joseph Smith is a great example of service. With the help of Heavenly
Father, he translated the Book of Mormon. I read the Book of Mormon everyday
with my family, and am grateful for the service he did for me.

I hope that we can all serve others and help make others happy.

Although she was a little itchy and liked the feeling of her silky dress, she did AWESOME! Good job, Macie!

Nana visits.

A few weeks ago, Adam and I found a killer deal for a plane ticket from Seattle to Long Beach. Killer, I tell ya. It was the featured destination on Jet Blue. We called Carol and told her {we didn't really ask} that she would be coming on October 27th and leaving on November 3rd. She gladly accepted and the tickets were ordered.

At the time we didn't know, but it really could have been inspiration for us to find those tickets when we did. Because it was pretty random. October 27th is Bryan and Carol's wedding anniversary. They have married 46 years. And an eternity more. It was another "first" since his passing. Which, is understandably harder. So, it was a blessing that she was able to come to California for a fun visit. We were able to share lots of memories with her, and make many more.

We had a lot of fun with Nana. It wasn't as action packed like the last trip. It was definitely more relaxed. But, still a lot of fun! I can't blog about the entirety of the visit. I'm still behind on the last one. But, I can tell you we had a very great time! We miss you already, Nana! I'll start making the itinerary for the next trip! ;-)

nutella

Nutella is a staple at our house. Much like ketchup, really. Adam loves it. And if we don't hide it, will eat the entire jar! He has passed this love onto our children. Adam makes pretty good crepes, and a nutella crepe is pretty darn good, so we usually have in the pantry. What's not to love about hazelnut and chocolate?

I noticed a commercial on tv the other day for Nutella. I don't watch much live TV {Gotta love DVR} so I don't know if it's a regular commercial or not, but apparently it caught Noah's attention. He woke up the other morning in tears probably due to lack of sleep and too much sugar. Everything was triggering more tears. He didn't like cereal, he didn't want milk, he didn't want waffles. It was a bad morning. But then, through the tears, he said, "On tv, it said that Nutella is a nutritious way to start my day. I want that on toast."

I have never thought of Nutella being nutritious, but since he's a great cute kid, I had to relent and give him his toast and nutella. Congratulations, Nutella Marketing. You win.

blame

Jacob is a ham. And very clever. {this may be too much information, but it's necessary for the story...} He's been a little gassy the past few days. This morning he "tooted" quite loudly. I turned to him and called him on it. He got a huge grin on his face. I asked him, "Did you just toot?" He looked at me with this mischievous grin, and pointed at me, "No. Mama!" that little turkey, already passing the blame!

Halloween Sunday

It was a pretty scary Halloween. All THREE kids looked at the camera and smiled, even. That never happens. But, weird things do happen on Halloween.

May the force be with you.

Happy {belated} Halloween!

The Star Wars theme was very fun.

And, there weren't any other Leia's running around.

We did run into one other Darth.

Another Luke, too.

But no other Han Solo or Chewbacca.

We went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat on Saturday night, and the kids made out with quite a stash of candy, along with apples, toothbrushes and floss! Jacob refused to wear his mask, but I'm pretty sure most people caught on to what he was! Macie's hair did have a few malfunctions, but it worked. Noah's costume malfunction many times, too. Don't they know that costumes are just for you to stand there and smile? :-)

Since we live in California, we did go out Trick-or-Treating last night. It only seemed fair that if we had to give candy out, we should be getting some in return! It was fun. This is the first year Macie has really caught on to it, and ran to each house with her bag on her shoulder. She looked like she was on a real mission. Jacob even got into it and said, "Treat" and "Tank you" at every door. {they all got extra candy at many houses because they are so cute!}

But, we can all breath a little easier at our house. No more costume for a while. Maybe the stress level will be reduced. Maybe? I'm already thinking about next year. Here's a hint

Cinderella.

Macie is very opinionated. I really think she is a 16 year old stuck in a 4 year old body! It's interesting sometimes. We have been planning to do a Star Wars themed Halloween for a year. She has been onboard to be Princess Leia, and very excited about it.

However, when she learned of her Halloween costume party at her dance class, she did not want to be Princess Leia. "It wouldn't be Halloween yet, Mom. I have to be something else."

I tried Alice. She has the adorable Alice dress from her birthday that my mom made, perfect! But, no. People have seen her as Alice, that will not do. Belle? No, that was so two years ago. Sleeping Beauty? No. That's a dress up everyday costume. She insisted on Cinderella. I have been in the process of making her a Cinderella costume for a while. It was yards and yards ot double tulle, satin, and a makeshift petticoat underneath. A lot of layers, really. When I was like 98% done, I ripped the dress bodice, so it has sat on my sewing table for months. I guess now would be the best time as any to fix it. So, we did. And she looked pretty adorable. Complete with "glass" slippers even. Since I procrastinated it so much we didn't have time for gloves, but that's alright, she looked pretty darn cute anyway!

{***Editors Note: I guess I should probably also add to this post. Macie was invited to a storytime on Tuesday morning. The day before the dance party. At the last minute...really, like think 20 minutes before we were leaving, I got an e-mail that the storytime was a dress up storytime. Of course, Macie had to wear a costume. And it had to be Cinderella. I was hoping for a whole day to complete it before dance. So, in 20 minutes, we made a casing for the skirt, put ribbon in to tie it on her, used a few safety pins, whipped up a headband in like 2 minutes, and scrounged to find black ribbon for her necklace. It was quick, but we did it. It was almost better to get it done in a hurry and not look at it and critique everything and notice all of the flaws. Life is better that way. One day I'll be like that...}

Halloween Extravaganza Part 1

Last night was the San Luis Obispo Farmer's Market/Halloween Carnival. We had heard good things about it. But, we didn't get there until 7. It started at 5. We saw kids with pillowcases full of candy. As we walked down the street to get our candy fix, we kept running into a problem, and the same sign: "We're sorry, we are out of candy!" Our kids walked away with 4 pieces of candy. No complaining from the parents, really. A 6 year old with multiple cavities does not need any mrore candy! But, it was kind of sad to see them walking around with empty buckets when other kids had quite the loot! However, the Christensen kids did have the CUTEST costumes there. They will get better by tomorrow, last night was just our "Dress Rehearsal"!

want some?

Jacob has developed a new preference. It's a little odd coming from the Christensen house, however. But, he asks for it for every meal. He thinks it's pretty good. What is it? Well, today was a Jacob specialty! Peanut Butter and honey on whole wheat bread, dipped in...RANCH! What else? You try it and tell me how it is.

You see, ketchup has been a staple in our house until now. Adam has instilled in our children that you put ketchup on EVERYTHING: tacos, grilled cheese, beef stroganoff, you name it, he thinks it works.

But, Jacob is not a ketchup boy. He loves his ranch. And asks for it, very clearly. Who woulda thought?

Not us.

escape

Sometimes I wonder where my children came from. They come up with the most random things to play. It's interesting at our house most of the time. Sometimes they come up with very morbid things that I won't even blog about. Today, though, Macie had a new storyline. I was in the other room and she was playing by herself. I heard her telling her dolls to hurry and get in the back and she would help them escape from their country.

Macie: "Get in the box. No one will know you're here. I'll mail you to my
house and you'll be safe. Hurry. No one will know. No one from your country will
find you. I promise. Get in the box."

{then I heard her closing the box, and opening the door to set the box outside. A few minutes later she opened the box to greet the "mail man"}

Macie: "Be very careful with that box. It's fragile."

What on earth is my child watching? I swear she only watches Disney and Nick Jr. Where did she come up with this? It's almost disturbing! Goodness.

preoccupied.

There have been so many things going on in the Christensen house. Mainly, sickness. I swear we are always sick around here. It goes around once, and then just keeps going. We really aren't boring, we do things. I still have to catch up the past month. Goodness. We're working on it, don't worry. But, for now, {and for my 500th post} I wanted to give you a little Halloween preview.

She's very excited and wants to wear her hair all day long. It's still a work in progress, but I'm sure by Halloween we'll have it all figured out! She makes a pretty good brunette, but she's the cutest as a blonde!

Macie's Wonderland

{September 25, 2010}

(The long awaited post. Probably more on my end than anything else. I'm pretty proud of Macie's party, and so I have to brag about it...just a little! ;-) WARNING: There are lots and lots of pictures. You will almost feel like you were there! Oh, and before I forget, thank you, Kristyn for playing photographer for me! You're great!)

When Macie was turning two, I thought it would be perfect to have an Alice in Wonderland birthday party. But, since she was only two, I thought she was a little too young to have a tea party with friends. And so we postponed it a year, but she didn't want to have an Alice party, she wanted Minnie Mouse, and Minnie won last year. But this year, she was very excited to have her Alice party. I had so many ideas running through my head. I seriously could have spent thousands of dollars just on a 4 year olds birthday party. It was pretty intense. But, I didn't. Don't worry, I wouldn't think about even spending a ten of that! Close, though. Very close!

My mom made Macie an adorable Alice dress. I have been purposely letting her hair grow a little just for this, and she was a perfect Alice. And, after about a year of collecting decor, it was party time!

First, was the invitation. Sadly, I don't have a picture of the outside of the invite. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture. So, let me describe it. It was light blue, the color of Alice's dress, and regular card shaped. On the front was the white apron that Alice wears, and wrapped around the whole card was a headband with a black Alice bow. We opted for "Alice bows" instead of party hats. And then the inside of the card:

And then the decor.

{Adam drew and cut out those card people...impresseive, eh?}

Yes, the party guests were to go through the "rabbit hole" into Wonderland. We had high hopes for the rabbit hole, and lots of ideas, but ideas that probably would have been much too elaborate for a 4 year old birthday party.

Did I mention that the day of the party was THE hottest day? Oh my goodness. We had all of the decorations ready outside and it was about 10 AM. The party wasn't until 2. But, I ran inside to check the temperature, and it was already 95! IN SANTA MARIA! Hot, hot, hot. It was too late to move everything in, so it stayed outside in the fricken heat! But, if it got too unbearable, I decided we could just watch Alice in Wonderland {the cartoon version} inside.


After crawling through the rabbit hole, we colored pictures until the rest arrived.



After everyone arrived, a special guest arrived! ALICE, HERSELF! {sadly, I don't have pictures of her grand entrance. She came with balloons and a gift just for Macie, and in complete character! It was DARLING! She NEVER lost the character, the whole time she was there she was Alice...another post, I think! ;-)}

We played a game of musical chairs, but didn't play the right way, we just ran around the table, it was fun! But, oh so hot!

And then Alice drew a flower on each girls hand with their favorite color! They loved that part.

There was a bit of playing in the pink sand. It may sound cute and fun to have pink sand, right? I mean it's PINK SAND! But, that pink sand has been cursed around our house ever since that party. That stuff isn't like regular sand, it gets everywhere! Maybe it just gets everywhere because it's a more noticeable color, but it really is everywhere! It was fun, though. They got to play with tea cups and tea pots in the sand, they loved it.

And then it was tea party time. "Alice" was the greatest ever, she told the girls how much she loved tea parties and told them about when she has tea parties with the Mad Hatter and her best friends the White Rabbit. And then she told them to remember to put their pinky up when they drank tea, it was adorable. However, it was still hot. The sandwiches I made just a little bit before were pretty much toasted by the time they ate them! Macie picked the spread of food: pb&j, cheese puffs, marshmallows, licorice, skittles, tootsie rolls, raspberry lemonade and grapes. Quite the combination, and quite unhealthy, really. But, hey, it's a birthday party for heaven's sake! ;-)Poor little girls, though. They were all pretty rosy cheeked and sweaty by this point! And then we moved inside.

We played pin the tail on the white rabbit, and then hit the pinata with a croquet club. {that was a bit dangerous, though!} The pinata was built by our friend, Paul. He made it to look like Mrs. Potts, and it was perfect! I wished I had the time to actually put the crepe paper on it, but spray paint worked just as well...they just broke it anyway! I did put pretzels inside the pinata to kind of offset the amount of candy and sugar that was distributed!

After a little cool down inside and after the "eat me" cupcakes and presents were opened we headed back in the heat for a little croquet. You can't have an Alice party without croquet! It's the favorite game in Wonderland. However, our mallets were not flamingoes. But I don't think they seemed to care!

After all of Macie's friends had left, it was time for Alice leave Wonderland, too. She gave Macie a big hug and left the same way she came. The magic was never lost! When she left Noah said, "She looks a lot like Zoe who taught us swimming lessons." {Which it was...} But Macie said, very convinced, "No, Noah, that was Alice."

For a four year old, it was pretty magical.

It was quite the party. I have many more pictures...it just takes so long to post them! I don't know if I'll ever do another party again after that one! Holy cow. It's almost been 2 weeks, and I'm still recovering, well...my house is still recovering! But, we do have clean and folded clothes now, I guess that's a plus! She's already started planning her next party...at the skating rink! That one might be a little bit easier!

And now to plan for a certain going to be six year old's Star Wars party...