Happy Christmas

Why do we say "Merry" Christmas and "Happy" New Year?

My South African neighbor recently told me "Happy Christmas," and I couldn't stop giggling.

So I have absolutely no point to that and this is going nowhere, so I'll get on with the photos that have taken me forever to get together and post for my two readers -- who are probably family members who are hoping their faces show up on the internet. Just kidding. :)

The Darby family put up a real tree and covered it in sparkly twinkle lights and plan to leave it up until almost every last needle has fallen off. And I let Mimi begin the decorating this year.

And this is where all the ornaments are placed when one allows a tiny creature to decorate the tree.
We played in a little snow. Although it was only a little. And it was gone by Christmas.
I felt the need to be crafty and finally made a stocking for Mack. The poor guy didn't even have one last year.
And jommer pants for Mimi.
And then got all cocky and made matching jommer pants for Mimi and me . . . I know this is getting ridiculous, isn't it?
And I made Christmas pillows for my neighbors (by the way, totally stole some of these ideas from Bumbletees. "Like" them on Facebook because they're awesome).
And kitchen towels for Mimi's teachers.
And then a reversible skirt and matching headband for Mimi.
And then I almost lost my marbles because I was pretending I had enough hours in the day to sew all this crap along with actually getting everything else prepared that needed to be prepared.

And I broke down and bought one of those stupid little elves. You know the one that everybody and her sister posted photos of on FB every morning? "Look what my silly little elf Bozo did last night. He threw all the clean, folded laundry all over the den and cracked eggs all over the kitchen!" I just couldn't go to those extremes, so "Chippy" (that's the name Mimi gave him. And then I learned it was the same name as in the movie, which makes the little elf even more freaky) had about 5 spots that he moved to in the middle of the night. We read the book and I get why so many parents and kids think this is fun, but I think it's manipulation.

And I'm also a little weird about the Santa thing. Of course we read stories about him and the kids had gifts from him and normally have their photo taken with him (somehow didn't happen this year), but I tried very hard to not talk about the whole "if you're good you'll get gifts. If not, then Mommy will need to talk to Santa." I actually saw a dad take a little one out of Old Navy and lecture him in the freezing cold about how he and Mommy have a direct line to Santa . . . all while the tyke was crying his eyes out. How about we just teach them to be good because, well, that's what we're supposed to do, right? We don't hit because it hurts others. We listen to Mommy because she's smart and wants to take care of us. We are patient in line because others are also waiting. Geez.

But, like I said, we do allow Santa to come to our house . . . . simply for this reaction:
Whew. So glad the big guy pulled it off this year because it's getting harder and harder for him to sneak down the chimney and quietly get all those little pieces set up just right.
That is the coolest doll house ever, by the way. It has a grill and a laundry hamper and a high chair and bunk beds. And Mimi has almost as much fun playing with it as I do.

And my little man received cars and wooden pegs and a hammer and a t-ball set and lots of other boyish and noisy items. He was in H-E-A-V-E-N.

I am the Queen of Christmas presents! You will bow to my light-up sceptor! (which was broken within 4 hours)

Do you have any idea what they are supposed to do with that red bowl-shaped thing in the photo above? It's called a Bilibo. Nope? Me neither. I bought it on sale at a local toy store simply because I saw that it won a bunch of awards, and then I got on-line to see exactly what to do with this thing. And guess what. The makers of this thing don't know what to do with it either! I read several articles that ask, "What exactly is the Bilibo? It's whatever kids want it to be!" How ingenious! Why can't I make a product like this?

Santa actually came to our house a little early since the monkeys and I were flying to Nashville before Christmas. Yes, the flight was awesome. The kids were so psyched about it that this is what they did as soon as they got in my sister's car:

That RARELY happens.

We had beautiful weather in Nashville, and the kids (all 7 of them! No, my sister's not a Dugger. That's her children plus mine plus my brother's) were so amazing. They are old enough to entertain themselves along with entertaining mine. Soooo fan-tastic!

Teaching Mack to play football. The pacifier helps him concentrate.
Lainee-Luckett still has the best arm in the family. And she brought her own jersey. Watch out for her as the first female Ole Miss player. I'm serious.
M & M kept wandering over to the neighbor's yard because they were fascinated with their little bridge. And when there are two children and bridge, what is a mom to do? She is to teach them to play "Pooh Sticks," of course. Now I'm not going to go into the rules of the game because they are just too difficult to explain to common folk. Get a copy of an old Winnie the Pooh book, and if you're smart enough, maybe you can figure it out. My clever children are quite fantastic at this sport.
Where we put the children when they got too rowdy.
Sweet girls. Watch out for the two older ones. They are trouble. :)
Oh my, oh my. What is that book Mom is reading to Mack? It's Curious George, of course. He is OBSESSED with George and Pooh. Almost as much as I am.
Clint is the Dog Whisperer. All creatures love him. (or maybe he just smells like bacon)
You are about to see a photo of the happiest man alive . . .
. . . and this is why . . .
Have we lost our minds to give this man a gun? It's quite possible, but it's all he's wanted for the past few years. I feel like I should send a hand-written apology to his neighbors.

Some kitty cat love at the Darby's in Memphis.
Stinker pants. He used Mimi's Tinker Toy box as a drum. I think we may have a musician in the family. Is he carrying on the legacy, Top?
Chaos in the kitchen floor. Just give them some pots and pans . . . and a pirate ship, and that will keep them busy for, oh, at least 7 minutes.
This was the only moment these four monkeys were still the entire time we were in Memphis. What a fun little group they are.
And then home again, home again . . . back to reality. And I do hope your holidays were as happy as ours :)