There was lots of holiday energy all week long – both because of nights 3- 8 of Hanukkah, the gifts that continued to arrive after Thursday and the build up to winter break.

One of the kids’ gifts this year was individual lego tables. There was a lot of fighting over space on the lego table so the now each have their own and they have wheels which will hopefully make them more useful. And I made them! I put together the tables, with help from Penni and Gabby, and then cut and glued the lego bases. A definite labor of love.

The work in progress…

By the end of our FL trip, the liner of Amaya’s water proof cast was starting to unravel and the fiberglass between her thumb and index finger had split so we got her an ortho appointment for Monday afternoon. After a fourth and final set of x-rays, the verdict was that she’s ready to be cast free! She’s got to take it easy for 2 weeks but her cast is off!

Sammy has this Jacob Ellsbury card with a piece of uniform and we took this picture to show Uncle Dave and Grandpa Homey.

Monday – night five!

One of Sammy’s gifts from Nana and Papa is a floor piano which he uses to make beautifully loud music.

Ugh. The van. After a successful test ride of high back boosters in FL, we officially transitioned at home, too. That meant taking out their seats and dealing with everything underneath. Blargh. The boys did help try to dust bust but it ultimately required a visit to the car wash vacuum station.

This might have been the last time, for a while, that the kids can pop outside in open toed shoes and no jackets.

I love these earmuffs.

On Tuesday – night 6 – the kids opened gifts from Gabby. Among her gifts was a mermaid blanket that Amaya loves.

Sammy got a “slime in the face” game which, as the gift giver, Gabby had to play lol.

One of Sammy’s gifts was a magic kit which he tested out on Wednesday. I love the joy.

Bunny Amaya coming with me to get the mail.

From Penni: “He forgot to add ‘safety plan’ to the sentence ‘My family keeps me safe by fire’ and is super giggly about it.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Steven, Sammy and Amaya got to meet Mrs. O’Niel in person for the first time! She had a materials exchange and made arrangements to be there for a hour in the afternoon when the kids came. She’s a fantastic teacher and I’m really glad the kids got to say an in-person hello. What a weird year.

Amaya in her booster seat. Truly a big change for us. I love those five point harnesses but they’re tall enough, weigh enough and are mature enough to sit properly so here we go!

Steven really wanted time for just the two of us so, Wednesday evening before Gabby left, we had some together time for two games of Sum Swamp. (Each won one!)

Steven asked me to use the picture where our heads are tilted toward each other.

Night seven!

Sammy got a Nintendo Switch for Haunkkah and I got myself a Switch Lite so we are now gaming buddies. We both have Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening and are helping each other out with what we know. Photo credit for this photo goes to Steven who was also supporting our play and offering helpful tips.

Thursday snow day for the boys! Even a little snow can make for some good sledding on the hill in our backyard. I wish our yard was deeper (pool, anyone?) but the hill is a great perk.

Night eight! A wonderful Hanukkah for the whole family!

The kids do a wonderful job with the Hanukkah blessings. <3

Gifts from Penni!

Every other Friday, when Claudia comes to clean, the kids do school in the basement. They were learning about “needs vs wants”.

At three different times the kids were all gifted with these little kits where you dig toys out of eggs. (Think archaeology.) Amaya has fairies, Steven has pirate treasure and Sammy has dinosaurs. They’re a lot of fun and very very messy.

Playing dreidel with a box of gelt we had in the pantry.

Baking banana muffins with Penni.

Last zoom of the year! Steven said, “We won’t see Mrs. O’Neil until next year on January 4th!” Their final activity was painting snowmen.

Steven’s (Cucumber eyes)

Sammy’s (Red and white mint eyes)

Amaya’s (Not a man)

Jason got this amazing photo of Sammy and Sally sleeping together. Never did I dream…

As a family gift, Jason got a beautiful wooden monopoly set which we tested out together on Saturday.

Steven showing off a present he bought with a gift card from Uncle Austin.

Some Saturday time for the girls. 🙂

Jason started something new in the house which helps keep the house clean and helps the kids earn money. If he sees something that needs cleaning – outside of normal “you live in this house” responsibilities, he puts up a post-it note with the name of the task and the amount it’s worth. The kids can choose to do that task and, afterward, they bring the post-it to one of us so we can see the work that was done and, in return, they earn the dollar amount on the post-it.

Sammy played his “slime in the face” game with a twist – whipped cream! I love the goggles lol.

We had some good eats today. First up was Lunch by Amaya courtesy of a cookbook that Penni gifted her for Hanukkah. She made a delicious Hawaiian salad – served in pineapples! Everyone loved it.

Along with a renewal of Raddish Kids, Nana and Papa gifted the kids cutting knives. They’re the real deal but great for small hands because the blade is shorter and levers well. Amaya was excited to be the first to use a new knife.

Proud Girl.

Dinner was Cozy Chicken and Dumplings from this month’s Raddish Kids kit. Sammy did his usual good work with the chicken. Amaya chopped vegetables and made the dumplings. Steven cooked the veggies. We ate it all!

And it was a big game day, thanks to Aunt Ouize and Uncle Todd. We played two games of Carcasonne (winners were Steven and Sammy). The kids were also gifted three new games from the Scofields this year – Secret Code 13+4 for Steven, Ticket to Ride for Amaya and Catan Junior for Sammy. Today we tried out Steven and Amaya’s games. (I think Ticket to Ride is going to land on my favorites list.)

That’s a wrap on this week! The kids are off from school for winter break starting tomorrow. Options are limited when with the pandemic but we’ll do our best to have an eventful week! Have a great one and Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!