Sinterklaas

I'm not sure when or why I started this little tradition of ours, but for some reason it stuck. Each year the kids put out their wooden shoes on Christmas Eve and Santa leaves candy in them. It's all very fun and exciting, but it is always overshadowed by the stockings and presents. This year, since we are in the states, I thought I'd bring the real Sinterklaas tradition home.

Thanks to our recent trip to the Nederlands, we are all equipped with wooden shoes. All, that is, except for mom, but does she really count anyway? Anyway, the boys started asking about it since many people here celebrate Saint Nick. The short version of the story is that in a lot of Europeon countries, they celebrate St. Nick (or in Dutch: Sinterklaas) on the 5th of December and it is actually Christkind (or the Christ Child) who brings the gifts on Christmas. Obviously, we would have a bit of explaining to do if we suddenly decided to ditch Santa, so we are doing our own little version.

There are three reasons for the celebration: 1) To bring back a little Europeon tradition, 2) to have the chance to wake up to a little Christmas in our own house since Christmas will be spent away, and 3) a little reminder to any misbehaved children that Santa is really watching. And I took #3 very seriously. Aiden had already been warned that he was on the naughty list. I was hoping that when he woke up in the morning to find only one shoe filled, he'd change his ways. I admit, when I saw the empty shoe I was worried that he would be so upset. Nope. He looked at me and said, "This is all that I really wanted anyway." You've got to be kidding. We then read the note, written in all Dutch (thank you internet!) that told Aiden if he was good, Sinterklaas would make sure that Santa delivered the rest on Christmas and he was an angel the rest of the day.

It was nice to have a little Europe in our home, I miss the simplicity of Christmas across the pond. And as for Aiden, well, I think this attempt at making him better has lasted only a day. Hmm...his track record isn't so good. First the tooth fairy told him Santa was watching - that worked for a day, then the elf - that worked for a couple days, and now Sinterklaas. Next year, I think we'll send him to our friends in Switzerland to see the Swiss Santa and his friend Schmutzli. He's the one in black below - he takes care of kids on the naughty list. You should have seen Aiden's face when I showed him this picture...better be good next year Aiden!

The Christmas Bell

We had our one and only Christmas program for the year last night. A bit different since we weren't there to see Jacob, who was feeling a bit out of place sitting in the audience, instead of basking in the limelight. No, this time it was Jeb and Aiden.

Both the boys attend Little Lambs, a preschool program at our church, on Tuesday mornings. I had been hearing a little singing here and there throughout the past month, so we were all excited to watch. I sat the boys down and gave a two rules. Jeb: no pulling your shirt up to show everyone your physical therapy tape (which he loves doing), and Aiden: do no pick your nose.

They all made it up on stage with Jeb smack dab in the middle, front row. Aiden was a few kids down. Everyone sat down and then Jeb stood up, just to make sure Aiden was still there - something he did for the next hour. The singing started and Jeb's sweater, well you guessed it, up it went. Just for two seconds, but I was kicking myself for not taking his tape off (it's a big X from his hipbones to his ribs). It didn't stop there, he eventually got bored with singing and started making faces to try to be funny. Can't imagine where he learned that at.

Aiden surprised us all. He came in dressed as a present. Hmm, how curious. And then he stood up with his friend, Ally and went to the microphone. I nearly fell over as he started to sing a duet. My shy boy has an alter ego! And the finger did go up to the nose, but just to itch, not to pick. It was a really fun night. You never know what surprise you'll get.

The Elf on the Shelf Who Changed Our Christmas

I'm not going to lie, it's been a rough week. With last week being an exciting Thanksgiving week back in Michigan, the kids are just plain tired. And when they are tired, watch out. Actually when I am tired, watch out. It's not a good match-up.

I'll give a quick example - last night, I asked Aiden to take a shower. He looked at me and said, "No, I want to take a bath." It was late and we needed to be quick, so I pressed on. This time the answer was a screaming 'no' followed by flopping on the floor. It wasn't a pretty scene.

I was at the end of my rope with telling the kids that Santa was watching. It just wasn't working. I did get a bit of luck last night when the tooth fairy visited Jacob. She left a note with Aiden saying that she had seen Santa and heard that Aiden was almost on the naughty list. Upon seeing the note, Aiden handed it to me and walked away. A few hours later he asked how the Tooth Fairy knew Santa. (btw, google it - there is a story!)

I knew I had to do something. And the answer came through a phone call with a friend who told me all about this 'Elf on a Shelf' thing. Apparently I have been living under a rock, cause all the moms at school knew about it too. Anyway, I rushed out and got it.

The boys discovered it at dinner and were suddenly looking very angelic. We read the story and named him - get ready for it - Tim. After Tiny Tim. I did ask if he could be a girl and everyone disagreed with me. Oh well.

So, we have Tim and he is making a huge difference! I asked Aiden to take a shower tonight and he said 'No'. And then he looked over and saw Tim and immediately said yes, followed by an 'I'm sorry mummy'. Yes, I have found the solution! May the next 21 days be filled with peace, thanks to Tim...the elf on the shelf!

Thanksgiving

It's been 4 years since we celebrated a proper Thanksgiving in America, so this was a very exciting, and educational, time of the year!

The kids only know Thanksgiving as a time to make paper turkeys, hear a very watered down version of the story (can't tell the whole truth to my British friends!), and eat chicken. Yes, chicken! Turkeys are for Christmas in England! Anyway, this was my chance to tell the whole story. But, I didn't have to...school had it all under control!

The week before Thanksgiving, the boys indulged in a Thanksgiving feast at school. Aiden got to go in early for lunch and I heard all about the turkey and fixings when they got home. The best part was that Jacob, as a second grader, got to dress up as a Pilgrim - Captain Myles Standish to be exact! They studied the Mayflower the whole week and, on the day after the feast, I boarded the Mayflower to hear all about it. It was very cute! Check out the video below.

We kept the tradition of making turkeys and saying what we were thankful for. Jacob: his cousins (he also wrote food, cause without it we'd die!). Aiden: Georgie (his stuffed monkey). Jeb: blankie. Pretty simple stuff. Was kind of wishing to see 'mommy' on one of those thankful feathers, but I'm going say that that was a given...hopefully.

The actual day was spent at the Blauwkamps. I don't think I've ever seen my mom so happy to have us all around the table once again. I'd have to agree. I've got a lot of things to be thankful for. My thoughts always tend to go back to 2008, when we brought Jeb home from the hospital on Thanksgiving. We were so thankful to have him healthy again. Things have changed, but health is still something I'm thankful for, along with all the crazy stuff that having three boys brings! Yep, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

p.s. It's "I have fiery red hair and a temper to match."

A Little One on One

And I'm not talking basketball here. I'm talking one child, one parent. This, however, doesn't happen too much and we have suddenly realized it.

Lately, in the midst of running around, bringing one boy here or another boy there, we've lost the basic communication skills that lie outside of "Did you do your homework?" or "Have you made your bed?" Jeb seems to get the most one on one time, but to be honest, most times he's being carried around in the same fashion as my purse. We just need to get the errands before school pick-up, so off we go! Sounds fun for a 3 year old doesn't it?

So, we drew a line in the sand and established "Breakfast Saturdays" for the older boys. And, Jeb has experienced his first library storytime with mommy. Sadly, Jacob was about 3 months old for his first storytime. Sorry Jebbers...I'm trying!

Anyway, last week was Aiden's turn to go out to breakfast and he chose mommy. I didn't realize how exciting this would be for him until I heard knocking on my bathroom wall (from his bed) at 6:45 in the morning! I went in his room to find him fully dressed and ready to go. Ok, this is going to be an early breakfast! Off we went 15 minutes later and we slid into our booth by 7:10. I ordered myself a coffee and Aiden a chocolate milk - every kids favorite. Except Aiden looked at me and said, "mommy, I don't like chocolate milk, remember?" Oops, I guess the one on one time is good for me too.

And the following day, I took Jacob to the park. We haven't done it in ages. He was trying to race himself on the monkey bars and I was supposed to be timing him. I looked down at my watch and then up at him and everything seemed to stand still. The fall colors were behind him as he moved along the bars smiling. And then I realized he wasn't so little anymore and I'm just not sure where that time has gone to. Sounds cliche, doesn't it? Not to worry, my sappy moment was soon brought to an end when he was yelling at me, clearly annoyed that I wasn't timing him.

Here's to one on one time. Bring on the waffles, story books, and monkey bars - it's all we need to make some great memories.

Halloween!

It's been about three years since we have really celebrated Halloween, so we tried to really do it up this year! First, came the explanation of what trick or treating was. Aiden, as always, had an abundance of questions leading to the ultimate question of 'why do you trick or treat?' And the final answer of, 'to get candy.' His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he realized the simplicity of trick or treating - free candy if you ask.

The festivities began the Friday before with a Halloween Parade at school. The weather was nice, so the kids were allowed to walk around the neighborhood. Who should lead the parade, but the child who has never trick or treated before - Aiden (aka Darth Vader). He was all smiles. Jacob was pretty pumped about it too. It was a great sight to see and I got the warm fuzzies of being back home to celebrate this event.

Saturday was designated the day to carve the pumpkins, but before diving into that project, we did a trial run of trick or treating. Downtown Elmhurst was opening up the businesses for trick or treating and I think the whole town came down. It was a bit crazy. The boys went from store to store collecting their loot and at one point I couldn't get in with them, so I waited outside. Big mistake. Suddenly, a 7 year old vampire was at my side with a member of the Lightning McQueen pit crew. Through tightly gripped plastic teeth, Jacob looked at me and scolded me - "You must hold Jeb's hand!" Could it be that I just got yelled at by a 7 year old? No, I must have heard wrong. On to the next store. This time the little vampire took both Tom and I aside and gave a little lecture of holding Jeb's hand at all times. Yes, just when you think you've got it all figured out as a parent, your kid tells you you're doing it all wrong.

We made it home without losing McQueen (phew!) and got out the pumpkins. No one wanted to use the templates, so Tom and I listened intently to our junior pumpkin designers and carved to our hearts content. Jacob insisted on doing his own and, thanks to the kiddie knife from Pampered Chef, we didn't lose any fingers.

Sunday was the designated day to trick or treat by the city of Elmhurst. And it all started at 3:30. A scary vampire, Darth Vader, and a Lightning McQueen Pit Crew memberall took off with daddy to join the neighborhood entourage of dads and kids begging for candy. The kids came back loaded down with goodies and very excited! We had dinner with some friends and took off soon after finding Jeb trying to take a nap on the stairs. The day had taken it's toll, but it was so exciting.

The candy count? 110 peices on average per boy. We all know 25% goes to mom and dad...or is it 50%? Happy Halloween!!

Halloween Parade

Ready for candy in their cool costumes

Off to trick or treat

It's time to go home when you find your kid napping on the stairs

The loot

Saturday at Shedds

This past Saturday we took some time off from watching college football to go enjoy some family time together. Ok, Michigan had a by week, but even so, we thought it would be fun to get away and see some fish at the aquarium. We were meeting some friends from Michigan there, so the incentive was even greater to get there and enjoy.


We lucked out with no traffic despite the rain, so we were in the city within 25 minutes. Tom dropped us off so we could get the tickets while he parked the car. We had debated on bringing the stoller since we don't really need it anymore, but it did offer the chance to go into the side entrance, which is never busy. But, hey, who is going to be at Shedd's on a rainy Saturday? As I turned the corner in the pouring rain, the answer became clear - EVERYONE was at Shedd's today!


Armed with no umbrella, three hyper boys, and no raincoat for myself, I turned to Jeb and told him to turn on those brown eyes and find us some shelter! It only took a few minutes and soon we were sharing umbrellas with two kind ladies from Michigan. And, after 1 hour, we were in the doors. Wait, there was another line to purchase tickets. Why didn't I take that stroller?!?! Forty five minutes (and one very angry Tom) later, we were looking at the fish and with our friends (who did get in the side entrance! GRR!!)


The day only went up from there and we had a great time catching up with old friends and seeing all the cool fish. But, we knew it was time to go when we saw four boys (clearly not ours!) running around and waving the paddles of the show canoe and when we turned to see Jeb pulling down his pants and yelling, "I need to go to the toilet!" After a great ten yard tackle by Tom, we had all situations under control.


We walked out to clear skies, a beautiful skyline, and, well, no line.