A Visit to Santa

Feeding my kids is one of my least favorite times of the day. Breakfast is OK, but I hate packing lunches (they want the same thing everyday and it's not great stuff) and dinner is a battle. They sit fine, but getting them to try something that isn't a buttered noodle or a pancake is the challenge. I pick recipes that have ingredients they like, but for some reason mixed together makes them want to gag. I texted Andrea that I was eating dinner (at 4:00) because I knew the kids wouldn't eat what I was going to serve up and I wanted to eat w/o complaints (Andrea's kids are picky too and we text a lot about unimportant crap 😉). And what do you know - they actually ate it! So I'll keep trying and I'm sure they'll keep gagging 99.9% of the time.

Speaking of gagging, Finley got his baseball retainer last Monday. The expander moved his teeth and the retainer will hold them in position until his mouth is ready for the next step - we haven't actually discussed the next step w/ the ortho yet, but I'm sure we're just getting things lined up for braces someday.

Finley was nervous walking in that the retainer would hurt. Dr. Matt put it in and it seemed like he did OK. The assistant brought us to the sink to discuss cleaning/care and the schedule for wearing it (he's supposed to wear it whenever we're at home including overnight). Finley was holding his mouth in an awkward open position and (what I didn't realize) he wasn't swallowing so saliva was filling his mouth.

We walked out front to make our next appointment and I noticed he was hunching his shoulders weird - gagging! I grabbed a garbage can and yup - he puked right in the reception area. Dr. Matt came running up front (he knows Finley has horrible gag reflex), we sat Finley down, he was white as a ghost, and debated...stomach-bug or retainer-flu? I brought Finley home, he laid down, was hungry, seemed fine, so off to school he went.

The next two days sucked, he cried when it was time to put the retainer in - he was scared he would puke and he BEGGED for his expander back. So we timed it - 10 minutes in, 10 minutes out. And for all 10 minutes it was in, he refused to talk and would hold his spit until it overflowed down his face and into a washcloth. After two days he started wearing it at night - I seriously googled Can you drown on your saliva? because if he wasn't swallowing?! Fortunately his body is smart enough to swallow automatically. 

On Friday (four days later) he FINALLY started talking w/ it in (I'm fairly certain Patrick promised him every toy in the world if he wears it, because he's been asking to go shopping 😕). Now the only one gagging is ME when I have to clean it, so freakin' gross. 

Apparently Aiden (a boy at school?) has been chatting-up the Titanic, so much so that Hadley is obsessed w/ it right now too. She watched clips on YouTube...

...and built her own Titanic w/ Magna Tiles.

She's also made a "play area" out of presents. A few presents have already been repaired w/ packaging tape.

Hadley had her last gymnastics until mid-January and she wanted nothing to do w/ a picture.

We celebrated Charlie's birthday at Red Lobster - my kids ate chicken fingers and mac n cheese, sounds about right.

Little Sister's hair is getting so long, most days we pull it up, so when we actually comb it out I can't believe how long it is.

We attended the M&J Christmas party, it was fun to get dressed up for a night.

The Children's Choir sang in church yesterday. Neither kid looks thrilled, but they were ;)

Chippy has been having fun! The kids are obsessed w/ Tsum Tsum's right now, so Chippy brought them each two new ones to add to their collection.

He flew in one night...

...he emptied the garbage...

...played Elf Twister...

...and made a "ginger bread" house to sit next to the kids' houses, it needed a little explaining, but I thought it was clever (an idea stolen from a friend).

My favorite Chippy trick of the week, Chippy in a Jar, was almost a total fail.

Finley came running to me crying because he did NOT want ANYONE to touch Chippy in a Jar. Not him, not Hadley, no one. He wanted Chippy in a Jar to sit on the shelf, he was also concerned how Chippy would get back out of the jar (Houdini?).

And I'd worked so hard to make Chippy in a Jar cute 😉 Come on - who wouldn't want to carry him around for a day?!  My big kid.

Thankfully he came around and was willing to move him around a bit.

In the end, both kids had fun carrying around Chippy in a Jar. (Although I think Hadley's turn caused some anxiety, Finley was so worried she'd take him out).

EASILY the highlight of this week was visiting Santa! My mom & I brought the kids to Hudson for an interactive photoshoot - so awesome for the kids. Ahead of time, I'd shared some info - hobbies, ages, extracurricular activities, and interests. So the kids were FLOORED when Santa talked to them about Cub Scouts, gymnastics, Harry Potter books, and our trip to Disney World. He also asked if Chippy & Snowball have been playing tricks. 

Santa thoroughly went over their lists and asked if they also liked surprises (thank you Santa!). But of course the next day I purchased a few things off each kid's list, because I'm keeping Santa real like it's my job these days.

Santa shared stories about each reindeer (Cupid likes to kiss!) and gave each of them a bell off the reindeer's harnesses (Santa keeps a box of the old bells).

They looked at a globe and Santa showed them how he gets everywhere in 24 hours - when he starts near Japan, we're eating lunch on Christmas Eve!

The kids had cookies & milk w/ Santa - seriously, their expressions were priceless.

Santa let them hold the magic key that unlocks the doors to homes that do not have chimneys.

Then Santa checked his bag for a special present, only to find his bag empty - their faces!

Santa made a quick call to Bernard (head Elf) on his iPhone w/ speakerphone. The kids each checked the bag and holy cow - a present had shown up!

Both received a nightlight so Santa doesn't trip when he comes to our house.

Finley & Hadley were in disbelief nearly the entire time. Anytime Santa said something personal, they would look over w/ HUGE eyes. They 100% believe!