Couple of things

Elizabeth helped me run errands and get my packages all sent. Everyone has their gifts from us now. Phew. I love her princess Santa hat!

Jingle Mouse got interesting for a night. He entertained in Izdet's doll house.

It snowed. We built a snowman. It rained. The snowman melted...all in a 24 hour period. It was actually nice that way.

I'm A Scrooge!

I admit it...this year I am a total Scrooge...or Grinch...whatever you want to call me...go ahead. I had classes and finals until the 14th. If I had planned better would that have mattered? Absolutely...but I'm a flake most of the time these days, so I got myself nice and overwhelmed. Now, Christmas is in less than a week, we don't have any lights in our windows yet, no nativity scene or other neato décor around the house, and I have no desire to get it all done. We do have a tree...it's a lovely tree. We drove over to Swain's General Store in downtown PA, paid $20 and took the first tree we saw...all still wrapped up in it's strings. We brought it home and had a Griswold family Christmas tree  unveiling. Luckily it wasn't too full, but was full of sap.

In the Scroogey spirit that I have, I admit that I have barely remembered to move Jingle Mouse around the house...and I definitely have forgotten to take pictures, but he hasn't been too exciting...Thank goodness Elizabeth is little enough to be excited just because he moves each night. He did bring them each $5 with instructions to go to Dollartree and buy a gift for each family member. They thought this was pretty cool. We all went together and each child did a great job choosing things for each other,  then they each did their own wrapping. It's pretty exciting to see all the presents under the tree...even if they are from Dollartree.

We did some baking on Monday. I was pretty excited to bake this year, especially after our oven died and we had to wait a week to get it fixed. (funny how when it's working fine, I had nothing to bake...it dies and suddenly I HAVE to bake those 10 dozen cookies!) We took a bunch to Walgreen's and to our neighbors and friends.

I Forgot...

Saturday, while the younger three and I were at the church, Joseph and Travis were at the Minnoch's house. A deer threw herself into our van and shattered the headlight, so Jason, the amazing one, helped us install a new one. Jason has a great big snazzy garage....filled with boy toys. Joseph was in heaven! Here are some pictures of Joseph and the "toys". (When did he get so big?!)

Catch Up

A quick catch up....Jingle Mouse came on Friday night and brought a bag of change and a note...think of others...donate this money to the Salvation Army. There was some arguing and much rudeness in the house Saturday night, so Sunday morning, Jingle Mouse hadn't budged. (Mostly cause mommy fell asleep) The kids understood that they need to try harder to get along, so this morning they discovered Jingle back on the move....and eating a healthy carrot!

Saturday morning we went to the church and practiced for the Primary program and then they decorated cookies. Sunday, I admit, my kids were awesome in the program. All three said their parts and sang the songs. I was so proud.

Also, on Sunday, we woke up to frozen pipes in the bathroom. I admit, I panicked. Our friend, Jason, called me and told me just to run the water and heat up the house and it would probably thaw. 5 hours of running the water and turning the house in to a sauna, it thawed. I was so grateful because I really didn't want to have to call Landmark. They sent us a letter and warned us to be careful with the pipes. I didn't think too much of it because we are always home, the house is always warm....except while we are sleeping...and it's 14° outside....oops. Lesson learned.

I'm off to write my last paper and study for my last final until next year.Oh, and clean the oven out cause the element broke last night.

Ward Christmas Dinner

Tonight was the Christmas party. Lasagna, salad, rolls and desserts galore. The kids loved the food, were excited to see that my homemade rolls were the first to go, and had fun singing. Of course the best part was seeing the man in red. Travis had to work, so it was just me...I take the kids to church on my own all the time, but a party with a buffet table..including a fondue fountain...I kinda lost control. We took daddy a plate of food after it was over and now we are watching movies and having a dinner party (while mommy studies). It was a fun night!

December 5th and 6th

Jingle Mouse brought ring pops and played in Dora's casa. I'm afraid he's not super creative at the moment.....Mommy has finals this week and this weekend, so until this weekend is over, mommy isn't feeling the Christmas spirit too much....but starting next week...partay!

December 4th

Connor woke up in the middle of the night with the pukes. I'm not sure what he has...no fever or other symptoms...I guess we just have to keep up the tradition of one person being sick right before Christmas. :-)

Jingle mouse appeared in a parade today. I was desperate for something simple (thanks to the pukeathon), and was afraid that the kids would say it was totally lame, but they all thought it was funny and cute and Elizabeth was beside herself to see HER animals taking Jingle Mouse for a ride in a parade.

December 3rd

Apparently I'm not getting the lights up quick enough, so Jingle is helping us out.

He's Back!

Jingle Mouse returned to our house this year! No Elf on a Shelf around here! We did read the book, and the same rules apply, but we have a country mouse Santa helper. After reading the story, we gave him a key to the house and Elizabeth drew a picture for him. Here's to looking forward to silly fun and special treats from our favorite mouse.

November 30th...Story read, picture drawn, spare key given.

December 1st...Jingle Mouse brought fancy hot chocolate, and Hershey's kisses. He also dug out our Polar Express book and movie.

Jingle Mouse isn't naughty, but he does like to be silly....The kids all totally cracked up at this one.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was nice and quiet. The entire family just hung out, snacking, watching Christmas movies, napping, eating, snacking....it was nice.  Travis was able to be home all day this year, so that was extra nice. In the afternoon, I took a bag of thanksgiving dinner, plus a whole pecan pie, to his boss as a thank you for working all day so that Travis wouldn't have to.

Now...on to Christmas! ....as soon as I take all my finals....

Halloween

This year for Halloween we had a zombie (Joseph), a kitty cat (Izdet), a sheep (Connor), and the 10th Doctor (Spencer). The 'rents were Duck Dynasty and a Jack-o-lantern. Travis had to close, so I took the kids to the church by myself for trunk or treating. They had a lot of fun and got a fair amount of candy. They only went around the circuit once...unlike most of the other kids that hit me up multiple times....but they got enough to make them happy. Elizabeth talked about it being Halloween all day and if her brothers argued or teased, she would yell at them for "wuining my Halloween!" Haha...it was super cute.

Thanks to mom buying me a cricut for my birthday, I was able to decorate the trunk a little this year. Elizabeth drew a picture to help decorate it, so I think it looked pretty good. After trunk or treating, I took the kids to a fancy dinner at Taco Bell and then we went to Walgreens so the kids could show their dad their costumes.

All in all it was a good night. The kids declared it a success and thanked me for being a good mom and taking them by myself.

October

This month has gone by in a blink of an eye! I started a new term with school...my classes are wicked hard this term! The kids are excited about Halloween and extra excited that Christmas is approaching!

Let's see...Joseph went on another Temple trip, Connor had a birthday, and Spencer got new glasses.

Here are some pictures to document our month.