Does Mom Work?

On Monday Corbin made a comment (and later Dyllan agreed) that I don't do anything but make them do everything.  He was angry because I was giving him extra jobs, but I also got angry (my pride) and said "I'll just stay in bed tomorrow and you can see how much I do."

Tuesday morning I actually stayed in bed.  I didn't wake the kids up--they know to get up with their alarm and do their 5 jobs.  I didn't help with the jobs.  I stayed in bed and read.  My phlegmatic/type 2 nature is wishy-washy and I wondered the whole time if I made the right decision.  "Do I really not do anything?  Am I being prideful?  Will they learn anything from this experience?"  My choleric/type 3 nature had a hard time sitting in my room doing nothing.  I also thought, "My job is to teach my kids to run their own home, so if I'm doing things right, if systems are in place, they shouldn't need me today."  But I know I do a lot of reminding--time to get up; you have 5 minutes; the kitchen needs cleaned; what is your job now; etc. Yes, I ask my kids to do a lot but do I do my share, too?

I wrote down some of my thoughts as the morning went on.  I'll share directly from my journal.

It is now 10:00.  It's been a slow morning.  The kitchen is still a mess--all the food is still out and dishes haven't been done, there is stuff on all the counters.  But, the bathrooms have been cleaned, kids are dressed and hair and teeth are brushed.  They are doing a lot of playing.  No one is there to remind them to work.  Braedi did take charge to get the bathrooms cleaned and it was her day to cook so she got breakfast made. Curtains are still closed in the bedrooms, stuff is on the floor, laundry hasn't been started and I've only heard one mention of school.  At the beginning when Braedi too charge, Corbin had a hard time with her authority. Jonathan talked to him about his attitude.  I heard Dyllan and Ephram turn to Braedi for answers to questions.  

A little before 11:00 Jonathan and I called the kids in to talk about what happened.  We talked about what happened.  We talked about Corbin's feelings and my feelings.  We talked about communicating.  Jonathan shared his appreciation for me and the importance of the kids recognizing all that I do.  Then we went and cleaned the kitchen and read scriptures and had a little school time.  On Wednesday (instead of a musical) we watched a movie (Jimmy Neutron) where the parents are kidnapped by aliens and, after a day of fun and craziness, the kids realize how much they need their parents and how much their parents do.  I told the kids that we were watching that because I wanted them to learn something from it.  They got the point.

I hope that the kids learned something from this experience.  They were surprised that I actually stayed in bed--so was I.  I think we all learned something.

I got a lot of reading done!

Utah Trip

Christmas morning we learned that my Grandpa Garrett passed away.  We were expecting it--in fact we were asked to pray that he wouldn't have to suffer long.  We found some warm clothes, borrowed some coats and headed up to snowy Utah for the funeral.  The funeral was nice--I learned some neat things about Grandpa.  I saw some cousins that I haven't seen for a long time and it was great to visit with everyone.  We also got to visit with the Hodges side of the family.  It isn't very often that we can get together, but I love seeing all my aunts, uncles and cousins. 

There was a lot of snow on the ground and the kids begged to be able to play in it.  They had on their borrowed coats, some mittens and beanies, jeans and tennis shoes.  I thought they would only last for a few minutes, but I finally had to call them in after an hour because it was starting to get dark. 

The funeral was on Saturday.  We decided to drive home Monday.  We stopped in St. George to visit with some of Jonathan's friends from Uganda then went to the temple to see the Christmas lights (because we failed see them at the Mesa temple). 

It was a was a great trip.

Christmas Day

I love being able to spend Christmas morning with Jonathan and the kids.  After sleeping in a little, we went into the living room and opened stockings.  The kids got fruit, some candy and a toothbrush.

Then we each opened our individual presents.  The kids each got one present from their wish list and then a few group presents.

Braedi did some nice homemade gifts for everyone.  She wrote several poems for Jonathan and she crocheted a hat for me (with the help of Grandma Garrett and Aunt Christy).

Then we had our traditional Puff Pancake breakfast and hung out together all day.

Christmas with the Garrett's

My mom wanted us to join her and dad for church the Sunday before Christmas and then return to her house for dinner and Christmas festivities.  My brother and his family were in town and it was great to see them. 

After church we took some family photos (still waiting for a copy) then had a yummy dinner.  Next the kids acted out the nativity then played Silent Night on the chimes. 

Then they got to open presents.  I made my kids' wish list this year and some of them weren't too happy, but I didn't want my parents to spend money on toys.  I opted for some fun science kits and school games.  Turns out they love them and have been playing with them often.  I got some new boots and then Jonathan and I got some money that we will use to buy a new stove.

One of my favorite things about this time of year is getting to spend time with family.  The kids have so much fun playing with cousins and I enjoy visiting with the adults.  Memories are being made.

Christmas with the Mecham's

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to make gyoza with the Mecham side of the family.  This year we did it up at Jeremiah and Christy's new house in Prescott Valley.  Kosette and Matt came down from Oregon and Alison and Patrick brought their cute new baby from Utah.  The only one missing was Uncle Philip (he opted out). 

We got there early and went for a hike.  It was a little cold and it sprinkled on us, but it was beautiful.  We had lunch and then relaxed.  Finally it was time to make gyoza--this is something we look forward to all year. 

After gyoza we cleaned up then shared Christmas presents.  Earlier in December Grandma Mecham gave all the grand kids their presents--monkey's that she had crocheted (she learned how as a YW goal--Awesome!).  They were supposed to be Christmas tree ornaments, but the kids kept them down and played with them instead.  Jonathan and I got a camping "stove".  I'm not sure what it is called, but it looked cool and we look forward to using it.  We'll go camping as soon as it warms up.  The siblings did a homemade gift exchange.  We got Alison and Patrick.  I stole and idea from a friend and made a name board for them.  Lucky for me it was pretty easy and I had some help.  I think it turned out cute.

We got candle holders that Jeremiah carved on his lathe.  They look great on top of our piano.  The kids got some wands, too. 

We attempted to take an outdoor family photo, but it was too cold, so we tried again inside and were successful. 

Christmas Eve is also the night when the kids get to open their new pajamas.  This was another fun day visiting with family and letting the kids play with their cousins. 

The Days Before Christmas--Days 14-22

Day 14--Make and deliver Christmas goodies
I wanted to do something simple this year for Christmas presents.  I like the kids to give something to their Primary teachers and leaders.  I also like to give something to the sisters I visit teach and to Jonathan's home teaching families.  And I give something to my Primary presidency.  It's also nice to have a few extras to hand out to friends.  Jennie helped me make a simple "cookies and cream" fudge and some peanut butter and chocolate bark.  Then we put a small amount in a cute bag, added a Christmas ornament from oriental express, taped a note and passed them out at church on Sunday. 

Day 15--Ward Christmas party
Dinner and some music--super simple and super fun.

Day 16--Nativity
I always include a day where we can act out the Nativity, but I think I need to do it earlier in the month next year.  As we get closer to Christmas we get more and more busy and advent calendar activities get pushed aside.  Instead of doing it this day, we did it the Sunday before Christmas when we celebrated with my family.  My mom has the cutest costumes for the kids. 

Day 17--Make presents
I like to have the kids make something for their grandparents for Christmas.  This year they made a journal.  They painted hand prints on material then folded them around notebooks.  I attached the first part of President Eyring's talk O Remember, Remember. 

Day 18--Read a Christmas story
I checked out some new Christmas stories from the library and we read a few.  It's fun to read something different, but it's also fun to read some of the classics.

Day 19--Watch a Christmas movie
My goal was to introduce the kids to A Christmas Story, but it never came from library.  We founds some cute cartoon Christmas movies on Netflix instead.

Day 20--Service Project
Every year we get to do a service project in lieu of gifts for Grandma and Grandpa Mecham.  We love doing this.  Braedi helped pick out and organize the project.  We did a food drive and collected 2 and 1/2 boxes of food to donate to the food bank. 

Day 21--Popsicle Christmas tree
We never got to this activity.

Day 22--Gingerbread man Party
This was actually on the calendar for after Christmas, but we had a friend call and invite us to the park to make gingerbread houses so I traded it with Christmas lights.  The friends that joined us the park were the same friends we were going to invite to our party so it worked out great.  I made cookies and the other moms brought graham crackers for houses.  The kids could do both or one. 

The Days Before Christmas--Days 1-13

Every December we do an advent calendar of sorts to help us get in the  holiday spirit.  I like to think that the kids enjoy these activities and they will be part of the things they remember about their childhood. 

Day 1--Write letters to Santa
The kids know that Jonathan and I are Santa, but I still wanted them to write a letter to Santa so that I could know what they wanted for Christmas.  I found a cute, simple template on-line. 

 Day 2--Watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional
What a great start to the season.  I love listening to those men share their testimonies of the Birth of the Savior. 

Day 3--Decorate the Christmas Tree
I tried to talk the kids into not decorating this year, but got out voted.  That's OK, though, because the tree sure is pretty.  After taking this picture I realized how short our tree is (it's hard to see over our heads).  Sometime soon we'll have to get a bigger one. 

 

Day 4--Drink egg nogg
This is the only time of the year that I will buy that drink and I'll drink only 1 glass.  Dyllan can't stand it, but the other 4 loved it.  We drank ours with graham crackers.

Day 5--Watch a Christmas Movie

Every Wednesday we watch a musical.  We've watched a lot of different ones over the past year and a half.  For this month, though, we swapped our musical with a Christmas movie.  Today it was a Veggie Tales one about the origin of St. Nicholas. 

 

Day 6--Write and preform a Christmas play

We just finished reading A Christmas Carol followed by Jacob T. Marley so the kids decided to act out the 3 ghosts visiting Scrooge.  Ephram was Scrooge, Braedi was Marley, Faythe was the Ghost of Christmas Past, Dyllan was the Ghost of Christmas Present and Corbin was the Ghost of Christmas's Yet to Come. 

Day 7--Paint a Christmas Picture

The kids used oil pastels to draw a picture about Christmas then painted over their picture with water colors.

Day 8--Play a Christmas Game

We ran out of time to play the game on this day, but we made sure to fit it in during the next day.  I found a site with a lot of fun Christmas games and we chose 2 to play--pass the ornament and who am I Santa.  We had lots of laughs. 

 

Day 9--Read a story from the Friend

The Friend always has good Christmas stories.  We just received it in the mail the day before so all the stories were new. 

Day 10--Christmas craft
Aunt Alison sent the kids a cute craft to make.  We printed them off, cut and glued and made a little penguin family.  Thanks, Alison!

Day 11--Christmas movie
This time we watched Christmas  Bunny--a cute story about a foster child who finds a new family. 

Day 12--Color a Christmas picture
Some days we needed a short, simple activity and this was one of them.  We took coloring pages with us while we ran errands and helped Grandma and the kids colored as they had time and desire.

Day 13--Paper Christmas ornaments
For this activity we took scraps of wrapping paper, cut them in strips and glued them to a piece of paper.  Then we cut out a circle from our paper and added string to make an ornament.  They turned out cute.