57 Hours and 23 Minutes To Go (if you trust a 4th grader's math that is)

The house is decorated, treats have been made, the kids are off school, all the presents have been bought and wrapped, and we just got 10 inches of snow overnight.  It really feels like Christmas is imminent and in case I lose that feeling in any way, I have two people in my house who are more than happy to remind me, again, and again, where we are in the countdown to the present opening.  Ethan even calculated up the number of hours remaining this afternoon.  I didn't check his math but I think we'll just go with his number.  Here are a few things we have been up to in preparation for Christmas.

A few weeks ago, Drew's special needs class went on a field trip to a local mall.  Our school is the only school in our district which has a deaf and hard of hearing program in addition to the special needs classes and the typical students.  This mall, every year, brings in a special Santa who is trained in working with people with special needs and who also is fluent in American sign language.  It is pretty cool because kids who otherwise would not be able to communicate with Santa can tell him what they want and kids who would have a difficult time with the over stimulation that Santa at the mall can bring get an opportunity to visit with Santa as well. 

This year, Ethan, who is in 4th grade, finally admitted that he is aware we are Santa Claus.  Kevin and I decided to go ahead and tell Drew about Santa, since he is in 6th grade and we are sure all of his regular education classmates are aware that there isn't a fat man living with a bunch of elves in the North Pole.  We had told him maybe a few days before his field trip to the mall.  A few days after the field trip, he was telling me about a toy he was going to ask Santa for.  I reminded him the Kevin and I are Santa.  He said, "No!  I saw him at the mall.  He is real!"  It cracked me up because it is so like him to be so literal.  If he saw him with his own eyes, it has to be real. 

Ethan got these reindeer antlers when his Scout troop went to sing Christmas carols at a local retirement community.  Of course, we had to put them on the dogs.  Tucker was uncooperative, as any self respecting 11 month old puppy would be so he didn't get to be in the picture.  We even had to sequester him in order to get Ella's picture because he seemed to be under the impression it was his JOB to remove those hideous antlers from Ella's head.  Ella had to be bribed with some treats to pose and if you look closely at her expression you can see she is kind of hating me for making her do this. 

Monday, me and the guys made a gingerbread house.  They used every bit of candy and frosting that came with the kit and fully intend on eating that candy off the house as soon as Christmas Day comes.  They are very proud of how their house turned out and I think it looks pretty darn good. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and get to enjoy spending some time with your family and friends.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Getting Caught Up

Remember how I promised to get my blogging butt in gear and get some pictures from Drew's birthday and Christmas up? Uh, yeah, then the dog died and I got sidetracked, yet again. So, now, finally here are some pics from our December activities and then I will be good and caught up and ready to post ahead with more current things.

In early December, we celebrated Drew's 11th birthday. I really can't believe that he is a "tween" (frightening) and only one year away from junior high. It doesn't seem all that long ago that he was a tiny 5 pound guy. He is doing so well this year in school and is also maturing some (now if I can just get him to care about his room looking like an ad for the Hoarders show). For his birthday, he had a small party with some boys from his significant special needs program at school and we took him out to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Harmer and Aunt Tiff, who was in town. He also got a fortune in gift cards from the grandparents, Aunt Leslie and family and Auntee T and Uncle Peter. He went shopping with all his cards and came home saying, "I am just a happy boy!"

For Christmas this year, we celebrated at home with my parents. My mom and I made an excellent dinner (if I do say so myself) of prime rib, rolls, scalloped potatoes and a raspberry trifle. Christmas day was spent opening gifts and then playing with all the new stuff. Drew and Ethan both got PaperJamz guitars from Santa and I think those were one of the favorites for both of them. Kevin and I got a kick out of watching all the posing and face making that went along with the guitar playing. I think there is a little frustrated rock star in both of them.