Our First Maine Christmas

It was lovely! Really! Mike and I got to bed at a record early time this year. We actually had everything wrapped before hand! We only had one put together item and then just set up. 10:45 pm in bed!! Crazy! last year with the drum set and electric guitar it was hours of work for mike. I wrapped gifts last year for three hours on Christmas eve!




Ok so i was up at 5:30 crawling right out of my skin wanting someone to wake up! Of course this would be the day even the baby slept in. 7:00 Harland and Indigo got up, so we woke the bigs and into moms room for stockings. They shared stockings this year because our baskets are still in MA. Next it was out to see what Santa brought. SKIS! for the three older boys skis boots and bindings. And a ride on toy for Indigo. Clearly Santa is not have a rough financial year like us! But with season lift tickets all ready purchased what choice did he have really! Santa also slipped awesome new boots under the tree for me. Interesting since i clearly told santa no gifts for parents we just couldn't afford it and i didn't get him anything but i did need the boots and i love them. They feel like slippers and i haven't taken them off yet. Too bad i have to wear them outside!




Indigo instantly had a tantrum because he couldn't make the truck move, so we quickly moved on. Blankets next! We made thomas tie fleece for the littles. We left the skull blanket kits unfinished so the boys could do it themselves. they are too small tied so we were thinking grommets or something. Indigo loves his! We had our usual oatmeal for breakfast while the cinnamon bun dough was rising.



Presents went remarkably well. I was concerned this year. It gets tougher and tougher to keep things "fair" with ages ranging from 14 years to 15 months. The Bigs are just so much more expensive. It worked out fine. I think the littles had like 1 or to more gifts than the bigs. I cut the words "Guitar and Drum lessons " into letters and gave the vowels to one and the consonants to the other. It took 45 minutes for them to get it. They are thrilled.



The biggest hits this year were the thomas tunnel, the card board house you color yourself, and as usual, they all love their little lego sets i got them.




The day was awesome quiet and fun. I didn't cook, we had veg turkey, stuffing and cranberry subs, so i could play and relax. As you can see here i also didn't clean. We did honestly do several pick ups but the aftermath was still pretty bad. I'll get to it today.


So right now mike is at the ski shop getting bindings set so we can go to Saddleback tomorrow. They will all take their first lesson and hopefully be on their way to an awesome winter of skiing. Harland says its a cool way to spend his 5th birthday. I can't wait! I know they will love the music lessons as well once they get started.

My only sad note was that i really wanted to do mostly homemade. I did do the blankets and capes for the littles, but no desks or kitchen set.





The fact is we started to late and don't have enough time. We spent a bloody fortune per usual. My kids really do appreciate it and are very grateful but we need to plan better for next year. You can't live on a strict budget all year and then completely blow it on one day. Even if it is a blast! watch for my new years post. I have big plans for changing things around here. we'll see if i actually follow through.
Merry Christmas to everyone! We love and miss you all!