Taking the Scenic Route

The kids have been told repeatedly by the neighbor who lives here to not climb the tree.  It is diseased and not safe.  These kids are not only climbing it, but trying to get Zora to climb it.  I told her no.  When I ducked inside to refill my coffee, when I came back out, they were trying to get her into the tree, not FIVE MINUTES after I made it clear that she was not to climb the tree.  (she was outside playing soccer with a different neighbor kid until these kids came over).

I am officially the “MEAN MOM”.

It wasn’t long after this that the tree cracked in half.

The whirl of holidays and birthdays are complete, the only thing left to do is catch up on the blog and clean up the messes. Thanks to friends and relatives, this was a wonderful holiday season for us. I was so distressed going into it with no money, but people came through for us in a big way, and my kids are happily playing with their new toys.

Zane had to wait for Oma and Opa to unwrap the gifts.  It was worth the wait.

And Uncle Steve & Nora, who gave Zora her heart’s desire (bike) for her birthday, came through with Zane’s heart’s desire for his birthday.

Then Oma & Opa’s gift:  A trip to Chucky Cheese.  Much cheering ensued.

You know the sweet part?  Zane didn’t really want anything, so he happily gave Zora  his tickets to get what she wanted.

Than back to the house to meet up with Robert’s family, who came to join us for cake.

Zane decided that he didn’t want a Mario themed cake, and for a while he wanted a pirate ship cake.  Then, being a sucker for TV advertising, he begged for this for his birthday cake:

He wanted it with chocolate chip cookie layers instead of the pictured cake, notable for a very literal kid.  We chose chocolate frosting to go in between the layers.  It doesn’t look fabulous, but it was SO GOOD.  There was not a bite left, and that never happens.  We remade it a few days later just to have leftovers. lol.

Those are trick candles, they keep reigniting, amusing Zane.

By the end of the evening, he was “Peopled out” and went back to the corner, found his new book, and got lost in that.

Perfect day.  The days events would have been turning him into a crazy person a short time ago, but he not only handled it, but enjoyed it.  So proud of my boy.

Santa came!

Club Penguin membership that he has been asking for since summer

And the “WOW” gift, my parents got each of the kids a DSi, Zora’s was the regular size one, blinged out by my mom, Zane’s was the XL one, which means that motor issues are lessened with games that require writing/manipulating with the pen/stick.  Zane’s old DS died and we had been unable to replace it, and it was Zane’s constant companion.  The kids were THRILLED!

Zora and Oma had a tea party

A huge thank you to friends and family this season.  After nearly a year of unemployment, and the kids having to go without, we were very worried about how we were going to be able to afford Christmas.  We were blessed with friends and family that really went the extra mile, sending presents, sending giftcards, and especially my parents, who spent more than usual getting the DSi for each kid.  We were very blessed.  It was a happy season because of others who cared about our family.  We were humbled by the generosity.

I tried to convince the kids that Santa would like Birthday Cake just as much as cookies, but it was a no-go

Mommy! My cake smells like BUTT CREAM!
Zora, it’s pronounced “Buttercream”

First Oma came by and we opened gifts.  A car from Oma & Opa, a weaving loom from Zane, and a bunch of cookie cutters from us.

Then the cake.  After an ever changing cake request, Zora finally settled on a “rainbow cake”.

The layers are a combination of strawberry and vanilla, topped with homemade buttercream frosting and marshmallow fondant.  I discovered while making it that kool-aid does not work as a coloring agent.  Makes a flat cake that tastes like a sweet tart.  lol.

Then we went to McDonalds to have a happy meal, per Zora’s request, and met up with some friends.  After supper they came by the house and helped us eat cake.  Eilysh got her an Eeyore stuffed animal that was an instant favorite.

Making the birthday girl’s “Rainbow Cake” tonight. I know I will get a lot of “help” frosting it, so I thought I would save myself the stress of dealing with food dyes and batter by getting the layers done tonight.

Disadvantage of going digital: no leftover newspaper for wrapping presents. hmmm…didn’t think that one through very well. lol.

As we were getting out of the car today we ran into the maintenance guys fixing the chimneys. Zora asked why they were fixing the chimneys, and I amused the guys by saying “to make it safe for Santa”.

Although we will have my parents over on Christmas day, this is the official family celebration, including Grandma and Steve & Nora.  Since Steve & Nora won’t be there on Christmas they brought along the kid’s gifts.  They really made a huge impact with their gifts this year, and we are very thankful because we didn’t have the ability to do it ourselves.

How to drive a (almost) 5 year old crazy.  Tell her that the big box is hers, but don’t let her open it *right now*

First glance under the big box (after pulling off all of the wrapping paper and then realizing that she just had to lift it up…we are so mean)

Zane was also very pleased with his gift.  It was a building toy that Nora loved as a kid.  She helped set it up and they played with it together for a while.

Grandma and Zora talking about her jacket (the pattern)

The other thing he got was the connect four game he has been asking for the last few months.  He was quite happy.

After building with Zane, Nora (and Steve) went outside to help Zora learn to ride the bike.

Great day, great food, wonderful family.