Merry Fishmas!

We woke up before 7 to find out Santa had made it to the House of Chaos. He brought many fish-themed items and some horse ones as well. Heather got a few nintendo ds games, some little pet shop items and Trevor got fish, fish, fish - even a chocolate fish in his stocking. Both kids got stuff for their beds - Trevor got fish blankets to go with his fish sheets and Heather got horse sheets to go with her horse blanket. Trevor ran through the house screaming Merry Fishmas! Also, Holly the guinea pig has been taken out of the cage three times already and put on the floor to run around once in the bedroom (its 11:30 a.m. so far).....he's adjusting to the kids well. They are still in love with him on day two. Eric even held him once and then suggested a second guinea pig. Unfortunately, I looked up the cage dimensions and the pet store was right so I'm standing firm on one pig per house.

Xmas Eve with Santa at Nana's House

Everyone had a merry time and sung Christmas carols - Santa showed up and gave the kids pillow pets - they had coveted them all year long. Heather got a purple unicorn and Trevor got a dolphin (the closest to a fish they had). Trevor named his Made in China because that is what his tag said. He rode him all over the basement. It was quite comical.

Christmas Comes Early to the House of Chaos.

Heather busted me while I was trying to sneak in the cage to surprise them on Christmas morning. This meant I had to tell her what the cage was for and then change it to being from Mommy and Daddy - Santa was gonna leave it in the morning for them. She's two for two this week with ratting me out. They are very very excited and have dubbed him "Holly" for Christmastime. Holly hasn't come out of his box yet, but he has let both kids hold him and he seems very nice and gentle. The original plan was for two but they told me I'd need a bigger cage so we settled for one.

My Daughter the Stool Pigeon

So I had my eye on a cute little purse for weeks. I decided to splurge - it was $20. I snuck it into the house. I was congratulating myself on getting away with it and getting ready for work. Until.....Heather announces loudly - Mommy, where did this new purse come from? Me: There is no purse, its a old purse. Heather: Nooooo....I definitely never saw this purse before. Me, now while Eric is eyeing me: No you are mistaken, its been in the closet for years. Its an old purse. Heather: MOM - its DEFINITELY a NEW purse. Its black and white and has a big bow.

She's a stool pigeon I tell you. Stool pigeon.

Holiday Photo Op

The prince and princess love their photo shoots!

Holiday Open House at the White House

Hurry up and preserve the memory - we are freezing.

A Christmas miracle - yes Virginia, there are fishes on the White House tree.

After attempting several times to get a good pic/photo op - Mama gave up.

Ho ho ho - nothing says holidays like a giant fabric dog.

What's up with the dog?!

Yeah, what's up with the dog?!

So we had a special pass from the Senator to attend. I could only bring six and Eric opted out (what a smart man I married) so it was me, the kids, Mom, Dad & Mike......we drove by the White House. Dad asked why all the people were waiting in line. We decided it was the "commoners" without a special pass from the Senate. We walked up to the White House and got told to get in the back of the line. We waved our pass. They must be mistaken.....and then we got back in the end of the line. And waited. And froze. And waited. And froze. Lots of others with special passes walked up to the gate as well to inform the officers that they were mistaken. I'm sure the officer just loves holiday open houses. We finally got in after I took some time publicly berating my parents for not following the rules of what one can and can not bring (they got through just fine, thank you!) and prepared to enter the White House to witness the magic of Christmas during the holidays. I fondly recall my childhood memories of going to the White House with my parents and grandma. Yes it was cold but walking into the giant room with all the trees and gingerbread made it all worth it! So, seizing upon these memories, we walked into the grand entrance to find.....most rooms roped off. No gingerbread. No big room of trees. AUGH. We got to see a giant six foot dog made out of fabric loops - ho ho ho - nothing says Christmas like Bo the dog. Trevor and Heather were confused. Mommy was confused. Trevor decided the only thing that would save this trip was to find a tree with fish on it. I started to prepare my boy for failure - and then the magic of Christmas happened. My boy found his fish. That was about it....Heather then searched vainly for a horse on a tree but she was out of luck. I told them to stand on the steps so we could preserve the memory because we are never going back to the White House...never. Oh Eric is a smart one I tell you.....

Today our Girl was a Dancing Snowflake and Stole the Show.

She is beautiful every day, but today her hair was done and she just shone and danced beautifully! We are so proud of her. She had a full row of supporters. Mom, Dad, Trevor, Grandma, Grandpa, Nana & Papa and made sure to give us tiny waves and smirks. She also was sure to boss the other snowflakes around when she thought they weren't doing a good job - gee, wonder who she takes after?!

Christmas Threw Up on our Yard - its Still a Work in Progress...

We are "that house" on the street. Eric loves his inflatables and the kids picked him out two new ones this year - a Christmas tree and helicopter that spins. I still have some more lights to add but the rain set us back a few days.

After the Party We Decided to Decorate Gingerbread Houses.

We decorated the yard Saturday and went to the Christmas party today so we decided to continue the spirit of Christmas and decorate gingerbread houses. Surprisingly Heather got messier then Trevor.

Christmas Party with the Kids Friends

Perusing the candy bar....

Hard at work at the craft table.

Listening to Mrs. Claus and Santa read the Night Before Christmas - they were
listening so carefully!

The magic elf ended up juggling knifes at the end!

The kids were invited to Matt and Ingrid's Christmas party - its always a big hit and Santa and Mrs. Claus came. There was also a candy bar, crafts and a magic elf. They had a wonderful time and are so lucky to be invited for yet another year!

Practicing for the next big keeper

Trevor's newest acquisition thanks to Grandma Judy - a stuffed Walleye. He hasn't stopped smiling since it arrived.

Fishing at the End of November....A Boys Gotta Fish When a Boys Gotta Fish!

Trevor insisted upon fishing. Unfortunately the marinas do not carry worms in the wintertime. So after furiously digging in the dirt we found enough to be successful and catch this "keeper" - we set him free to go back to hibernation after we caught him.

Thanksgiving was a quiet affair

Kids were fighting colds - hence Heather's Desitin mustache and jammies!

Trevor's Fish Party was a Hit!

Oh he was just in his glory that day. I didn't take a lot of photos because I really didn't think about how dark it was there and they weren't coming out. I should have taken some pics in the party room, but everyone was having too much fun going back and forth and seeing the fish.